OOTS #1082 - The Discussion Thread

[The Giant]

New comic is up.

[Deepbluediver]

Geez, Hel is really coming across as kind of a... unhappy, rude lady.

[Darth Tom]

Evidence continues to mount for my "immature teen emo angsty death goddess" theory. Knowing how these things go, that means it can't possibly be correct.

Really enjoying how this arc is developing though. I didn't get it at first but it's working well.

[137beth]

Heh, he at least knows that flattering Hel is a way to get her to agree.

[Nith]

New old world info! Did we know before that the old world existed for a while before whatever happened to it happened to it?

[Eragon123]

So... the main job of her clerics is to be her PR team.

I guess they have a Hel of a Time.

[i6uuaq]

Hmm. Not sure what this strip is adding to the plot. Character development for Hel?

[MReav]

Okay, so we now know those are Death Giants (Ohhh... I wanted them to be mature vampire spirits).

Hel, why did you agree to this bet in the first place?

[woweedd]

Wow, first time i've happened to be on the site when an update was oisted. Either way, that was funny. Hel is an...interesting character, to say the least.

[Mariel Dragon]

New old world info! Did we know before that the old world existed for a while before whatever happened to it happened to it?

To my knowledge, we were told that the old world existed less than an hour before the Snarl destroyed it.

Edit: 27 minutes, in fact.

Edit 2: Misread it apparently. Oh well.

[Kantaki]

Well Hel, it's kinda your fault you have no wirshippers or clerics.
I mean betting with your father?
That's not the kind of gamble anyone who has ever even heard the name Loki should make.

A friendlier attitude wouldn't hurt either.

[Deepbluediver]

New old world info! Did we know before that the old world existed for a while before whatever happened to it happened to it?

Maybe? The issue is that although we, the audience, know more than the OotS about some things because we get to see all the characters, even we don't know everything there is to know because we only know what any character has exposited to another. The previous world might still have been "under construction" by deific standards, but have existed for hundreds or thousands of years from a mortal perspective before the snarl tore it apart.

[ORione]

Okay, so we now know those are Death Giants (Ohhh... I wanted them to be mature vampire spirits).

Hel, why did you agree to this bet in the first place?

My guess is that it wasn't obvious that the bet would screw her over. That it was something like, "You don't get souls based on alignment, but you get all of the dishonored souls, regardless of alignment." Hel didn't realize until it was too late that only dwarves had an honor system, and they usually tried to live and die honorably.

I'm not forgetting anything, am I? We don't know exactly what the bet was, do we?

[Keltest]

My sympathy for Thrym is rapidly fading. Nobody likes a sycophant dude.

[Deepbluediver]

To my knowledge, we were told that the old world existed less than an hour before the Snarl destroyed it.

I thought the old world was destroyed by the snarl IN AN HOUR, but we didn't really have a good sense of how much time there was between world-inception and snarl-creation.

[Dr.Zero]

New old world info! Did we know before that the old world existed for a while before whatever happened to it happened to it?

Until now we knew there was a world running for some time "Until the day it [the Snarl] struck" and then the old world was destroyed in 27 minutes.
Not it seems that "Until the day it struck" was a time long enough for Hel to raise clerics to spread her words and get a sweet taste of power.
(Years, or decades probably).
A nice bit of information, indeed (which at least on that seems to confirm Shojo's tale).

[Mariel Dragon]

I thought the old world was destroyed by the snarl IN AN HOUR, but we didn't really have a good sense of how much time there was between world-inception and snarl-creation.

Ah, right. Oh well.

[The MunchKING]

My sympathy for Thrym is rapidly fading. Nobody likes a sycophant dude.

The straight-line eyebrows make me think he's trying for a deadpan sarcasm. Hel just either wasn't paying attention or didn't care as long as he agreed with her.

[DeliaP]

To my knowledge, we were told that the old world existed less than an hour before the Snarl destroyed it.

Edit: 27 minutes, in fact.

Edit 2: Misread it apparently. Oh well.

I thought the old world was destroyed by the snarl IN AN HOUR, but we didn't really have a good sense of how much time there was between world-inception and snarl-creation.

Checking the previous strip 273... "And the gods, blinded by their petty squabbles, did not see the Snarl growing every day" and then on 274 "Until the day it struck... Twenty seven minutes after it revealed it's existence, the Snarl had undone creation... "

So World 1.0 existed for at least a few days before attacking, and then destroyed the world in 27 minutes. From Hel's description it appears that World 1.0 lasted for a lot longer than just a few days, and the Snarl must have been growing quite slowly. Huh, well there you go.

ps. Thanks for the new comic!

[MReav]

Well Hel, it's kinda your fault you have no wirshippers or clerics.
I mean betting with your father?

The bet was with Thor. Comic 1000, Subcomic 2, panel 4.

Loki was helping Thor to stop her representative from getting there.

[Keltest]

The straight-line eyebrows make me think he's trying for a deadpan sarcasm. Hel just either wasn't paying attention or didn't care as long as he agreed with her.

Based on his previous actions, it seems more likely to me that he is expressing outrage, feigned or legitimate, for Hel's sake so that she will appreciate him more.

[warmachine]

The old gods. They were ***** to each other, they were ***** to the mortals, even their worshippers, everyone knew they were *****, and everyone prayed to them hoping for clemency occasionally.

[Lord Of Mantas]

So... the main job of her clerics is to be her PR team.

I guess they have a Hel of a Time.

Spoiler: Mild Spoilers for Start of Darkness

Show

As it turns out, if Redcloak is to be believed, this is pretty much why gods bother with having clerics in the first place. (Namely, for the purpose of spreading their influence and dealing with issues directly outside their geographical domain.)

[The MunchKING]

Loki was helping Thor to stop her representative from getting there.

From the phrasing I had assumed it was her betting against a Thor/Loki team up, presumably with Thor as the front man so she didn't get suspicious until too late.

Based on his previous actions, it seems more likely to me that he is expressing outrage, feigned or legitimate, for Hel's sake so that she will appreciate him more.

That is certainly possible to. I thought it looked a lot like Roy's face when he did that kind of thing.

Also he's a demigod, so he probably has to cope with a lot less worshippers than the main guys already. So that would add another layer to why he wouldn't be happy that she was bragging about getting all the worship for NOT doing anything.

[Czhorat]

I want my...

I want my....

I want my Oh Oh Tee (s)

[Czhorat]

Hmm. Not sure what this strip is adding to the plot. Character development for Hel?

Not every strip needs to advance the plot. The plot is not the only point.

It also DOES clear up one plot point; the dialog with Thrym allows Hel to remind us why she can't just send undead giants after the OOTS and directly attack them. He essentially asks the question a reader might ask about why Hel isn't intervening more directly.

[Grey_Wolf_c]

something like, "You don't get souls based on alignment, but you get all of the dishonored souls, regardless of alignment."

"And you won't have clerics! You can keep all of your power, no need to share any with those ungrateful beings that'll only use it to cure your diseases!"

GW

[Keltest]

"And you won't have clerics! You can keep all of your power, no need to share any with those ungrateful beings that'll only use it to cure your diseases!"

GW

Actually, I don't think Hel's lack of clerics was directly part of the scam. As we have seen, she is perfectly capable of imbuing clerical powers in minions if she chooses to, its just that Hel is a Bad Guy in a world full of Heroes, so she cant actually establish a church because people keep breaking her toys. We do know that nobody living actually worships Hel, but I don't remember if it was ever explained why that's the case.

[MReav]

From the phrasing I had assumed it was her betting against a Thor/Loki team up, presumably with Thor as the front man so she didn't get suspicious until too late.

Point is is that the person I was quoting was chastising her for making a bet with Loki, when the bet was with Thor. If Loki was in on the bet, she was most likely not aware of it (god of trickery and all that).

[Veya]

I can empathize with Hel's desire to be worshiped when you consider that this sort of stuff literally fuels gods, she's got the rotten end of this deal and maybe if Thor had tried working something out that would legitimate benefit both sides, things wouldn't be going the way they are, I mean, she is still evil and I want to see her plans crash and burn in a spectacular pyre that would bring a tear to Loki's eyes, but still.