Laurin Shattersmith is a gate of the Snarl?

[Rinazina]

Panel 12 http://www.giantitp.com/comics/oots0945.html
those eyes.

overall, The Dark One might made up a ritual as best of his knowledge... but he's a glorified goblin warrior ascended as divinity status. Which level of knowledge would ever have? less than epic wiz/epic priest have.

Laurin, She's a nearly-epic psion. Might she have the same power level to do she "move the snarl access" like the ritual is it intended to do? Ok, no nip-ticking, the ritual moves the gate and Laurin is in front of a broken gate. not the point.

I was wondering if this would be a table changer...
At the end of the day, we might not expect OOTS ends up like 80 years ago, with heroes sealing the gates and live everyone happy. Snarl and Dark One would be resolved somehow.

[arrowed]

An interesting theory. While I agree that the Dark One might not be as knowledgeable as other gods,

Spoiler: Start of Darkness

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In this book it is outright stated that the other pantheons originally tried to hide the existence of the Snarl from him

he is still a god, and did actually create the ritual that requires an epic-level divine and arcane caster to alter the Gates.
Laurin, while probably very high level, is probably not epic, and thus lacking in the one quality that seems to be required to manipulate the Gates beyond destroying them. Plus, randomly deciding to tap the power of an eldritch abomination doesn't seem in line with Laurin's tactical, careful manner.
What I consider more likely is that the Snarl has reached out and infected her mind, convincing her to try to release it or who knows what.
In any case the idea that Laurin has become that particular rift is somewhat undermined by the fact that the rift still appears to be in the crater, letting the Snarl kill all the soldiers around it. Although I wouldn't say impossible to the idea of a new rift opening inside Laurin...
I think your last paragraph is very astute though.

[TheNecrocomicon]

I'm not sure if the Snarl or its Rift actually infected Laurin or opened a new Rift within her, per se. We do know Rifts are immovable by mundane means and she was freely being dragged away by Miron as soon as the Snarl's breakout occurred.

It just appears to me that she was trying to physically or psionically peer into the Rift and maybe even scry what was beyond it, and her mind got overwhelmed and paralyzed by the power of the Snarl. It happened to Blackwing too, remember: eyes turning purple and general paralysis-via-mesmerization. He was never turned into a Rift in the process, and he got just as close.

[Werbaer]

those eyes.

The Snarl is reflecting in her eyes.

[TheNecrocomicon]

The Snarl is reflecting in her eyes.

The same way it did with Blackwing when he was carrying the phylactery, and nothing untoward has happened to him (nothing lasting, anyways). In fact, he gained beneficial insights by viewing the planet within that he was able to share with V and the party afterwards.

Sure, that doesn't rule out some lingering effects making themselves known down the line, but the fact that Blackwing has shown no problems given the months in-comic since his encounter happened, then probably Laurin is fine too, assuming she and Miron were able to get out of the Snarl's reach quickly enough.

[Gift Jeraff]

The Snarl is reflecting in her eyes.

This. Everything about Rich's commentaries on his writing style over the years tells me that dramatic reflection is far more likely than some kind of mind link or possession.

[Grey Watcher]

This. Everything about Rich's commentaries on his writing style over the years tells me that dramatic reflection is far more likely than some kind of mind link or possession.

This was how I interpreted it, certainly. I think Blackwing got weird snarly-colored eyes just by looking into the Rift, and Laurin was actively poking around with her telepathy to get a better "look" at what turned out to be the Snarl.

[martianmister]

This. Everything about Rich's commentaries on his writing style over the years tells me that dramatic reflection is far more likely than some kind of mind link or possession.

Circumstances are different. In 12th panel she suddenly stopped talking and seems lost her will to move. She simply stand there like she had no will to live.

[hroþila]

Circumstances are different. In 12th panel she suddenly stopped talking and seems lost her will to move. She simply stand there like she had no will to live.

I think circumstances are easily interpreted as being exactly the same, with Laurin simply being engrossed by the rift, trying to understand what she was seeing/perceiving.

[Steven]

Circumstances are different. In 12th panel she suddenly stopped talking and seems lost her will to move. She simply stand there like she had no will to live.

Blackwing stopped moving entirely and stared into the rift as well instead of tossing the phylactery into it like they were supposed to do.

[Peelee]

Circumstances are different. In 12th panel she suddenly stopped talking and seems lost her will to move. She simply stand there like she had no will to live.

Thats one helluva extrapolation, based on just the eye color changing.

[Kish]

Don't be silly. As long as you have the will to live, you always finish all your sentences and never get distracted.

[Peelee]

Don't be silly. As long as you have the will to live, you always finish all your sentences and never get distracted.

Yeah, that's a pretty good

[Jasdoif]

Don't be silly. As long as you have the will to live, you always finish all your sentences and never get distracted.

Yeah, that's a pretty good

Oh that reminds me, how'd that meteoric rise in the Navy work out?

[Peelee]

Oh that reminds me, how'd that meteoric rise in the Navy work out?

It went well, technically. There's a new crater and a high death toll.

[martianmister]

She isn't responding to anything. She didn't even tried to escape from Snarl. Seems she no longer has any will to live.

[TheNecrocomicon]

She isn't responding to anything. She didn't even tried to escape from Snarl. Seems she no longer has any will to live.

Once again, Blackwing was similarly mentally paralyzed by his gaze into the Snarl and no lasting or lingering effects seem to have occurred to him -- and being a familiar, he has mental stats (INT, WIS) that are in the normal range for adventurers.

There is no substantive reason to believe that Laurin suffered any worse, except for maybe the fact that she was psionically scrying into the Rift rather than just looking with her unaided eyes. But the immediate effect was the same.

[Kish]

A better question is, what exactly did the frost giants do that made the crew of the Mechane all lose their will to live? Since apparently that's what it means when you spend a panel just standing there after something shocking happens.

(Next-to-last panel of #1062.)

[Cazero]

Once again, Blackwing was similarly mentally paralyzed by his gaze into the Snarl and no lasting or lingering effects seem to have occurred to him -- and being a familiar, he has mental stats (INT, WIS) that are in the normal range for adventurers.

Blackwing was not propelling his very mind on the other side of the rift. Laurin was using psionic scrying. If her mind did as much as touch the Snarl, she's dead, instantly and permanently, no save.

[hroþila]

Blackwing was not propelling his very mind on the other side of the rift. Laurin was using psionic scrying.

That would be a valid explanation if it turns out something happened to Laurin that didn't happen to Blackwing, but in itself it's not a reason to assume that was the case.

If her mind did as much as touch the Snarl, she's dead, instantly and permanently, no save.

We know absolutely nothing about this.

[Dr.Zero]

I was wondering if this would be a table changer...
At the end of the day, we might not expect OOTS ends up like 80 years ago, with heroes sealing the gates and live everyone happy. Snarl and Dark One would be resolved somehow.

My totally random, unproved, unbacked by anything theory is that:
1) Being all alone, the Snarl got bored and then introspective
2) He remembered that one time when, in universe 1.0, he destroyed the puny living things
3) He tried to reproduce an universe just to get out of boredom
4) He managed to do so (after all he is divine, in some way) and created one universe with a planet
5) But he wasn't able to give life to anything
6) Now that the gates are opened he, for first thing, has tried to contact the lifeforms: this ability to contact is in some way limited by the gates (how is the ability to get out)
7) Blackwing was close (and weak willed?) enough to feel this telepathic field from the Snarl, and got mesmerized, but he didn't remain there for enough time to permit to the Snarl to properly detect him (or the remaining gates hindered the process)
8) Laurin was actively poking mentally the Snarl's universe (and with some force, given her level): this either made the Snarl feel his universe was in danger (which was my first hypothesis) or simply made the Snarl understand he could enter in contact with some lifeforms (which is now my main hypothesis, since Laurin said the Snarl's universe has no life)
9) Laurin remained close to the gate enough time -after the first time she gave a mental look (apparently while Tarquin was dealing with Elan and Nale)- for the Snarl to detect her properly and trying to reach her
10) The Snarl wants to abduct people/ask people to enter in his universe so to populate it. Or maybe studying the lifeforms so to being able to unlock his divine ability to create them
11) Coming to Hel/DO/IFCC interactions with the Snarl, we will discover the Snarl is no more interested in destroying OOTS universe or its gods, but he is interested in populating and managing his one, so the threats to unleash him to blackmail the gods will be moot.

Like with the MITD, we will discover that the eldritch abomination has become with time and introspection a non malicious (or even gentle) monster.

Obviously, given my past (and probably future) record of not being able to make good guess about the author's intentions, it's almost sure that nothing of what I've written is exact.

[Peelee]

Blackwing was not propelling his very mind on the other side of the rift. Laurin was using psionic scrying. If her mind did as much as touch the Snarl, she's dead, instantly and permanently, no save.

You seem pretty confident on this for someone who's not the author.

[137beth]

So if Laurin is a Gate, are any other characters Gates too? Maybe Elan is a gate: when he destroyed one Gate, he was just fighting for supremacy among the Gates. And of course the MitD is a Gate--the whole "What Gate?" thing is just to throw others off their trail.