Welcome to my side blog! It's what it says on the tin; Rain World posting here.
Profile pic by the wonderful @mag-the-pie
The tags that I use for the stuff I create:
#rw disconnected > Disconnected, my LTTM AU
#rw angst machine > Stuff directly related to Angst Machine or their local group
#5pebbles4president > My unhinged AU where Five Pebbles becomes the President of the United States, with Looks to the Moon as his Vice President.
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Oh btw if you want to draw my oc's or au's feel free itd be much appreciated :)
An art poster of the Survivor and Looks to the Moon I made a few months back. It's very different from my usual art style since I wanted to practice backgrounds and try a more "painterly" style. Thank god for gradient maps, otherwise this would've have been more of a bear to work on lol.
or, the societal implosion/dogmatic mass quasi-suicide interpretation is textually reasonable even in vanilla, actually
these thoughts started as a tagramble on someone else's post some months ago, and i couldn't help coming back to it. i feel like I should preface this by saying my preferred reading of the ancients is (at least to me!) generally a nuanced and sympathetic one -- they were clearly people, with all the mundanity and positives and negatives that came with, and also i think its kind of weird when people get christian about their in-universe culture and write them treating the big 5 natural urges/vices as "sins" or assuming they would be homophobic or whatever but thats a different discussion i think but i feel like there are some people who kinda hard 180 from the "Ancients are evil/cruel/dystopian" reading into acting like the Ancients are meant to be seen as correct in their beliefs and view of the world, or get really into the weeds on the ascension != suicide thing in a way that kinda gets sidetracked from the general picture being presented here.
This gets really long, so I'm putting it under a cut, but this is mostly just a collection of points with supporting evidence quoted from Vanilla texts in-game, as sourced from the official Rain World wiki.
Information we are given about the Ancients/Benefactors and their religion and society:
The idea of ascension was culturally seen as good and positive, and highly celebrated when achieved. They seem to have referred to it as Enlightenment.
"I once had! I was embalmed, adorned, readied for the journey. So proud. There was jubilation! My name was sung, loud and clear." (Four Needles Under Plentiful Leaves)
"Seventeen Axes, Fifteen Spoked Wheel nobly decided to ascend in the beginning of 1514.008 […]" (Deep Magenta/Shaded Citadel pearl text)
"[…] a Gift of Charity from Us to The World (unable to reach Enlightenment by itself - being composed mostly of Rock, Gas, dull witted Bugs and Microbes […]" (Pale Green/Exterior pearl text)
see also: most things that ancients or iterators have to say about ascension, like, in general.
Their conception of ascension was to escape the cycle of life and death, which all living things are subjected to. (However, it's not totally clear how this works or how literally the concept should be taken.)
"The repeating mantra is important because it symbolizes the cyclical nature of life and death, and the termination verse is a symbol for ascension above and beyond it." (Light Blue/Outskirts pearl, LTTM commentary)
"Then you know that death isn't the end - birth and death are connected to each other like a ring, or some say a spiral. Some say a spiral that in turn forms a ring. Some ramble in agonizing longevity. But the basis is agreed upon: like sleep like death, you wake up again - whether you want to or not." (Light Blue/Outskirts pearl, LTTM commentary)
"It became the symbol for enlightenment as it momentarily enables a creature to let go if[sic] its carnal self, and to contact the selves of other planes - dreams, memories, imagined worlds." (LTTM commentary on Karma Flowers)
They saw the world and the cycle as an unpleasant circumstance that all beings should seek to escape. They saw these ideas in some sense as universal, and universally applicable.
"The first verse starts by drawing a comparison between the world and a tangled rug. It says that the world is an unfortunate mess." (Bright Green/Drainage System pearl, LTTM's paraphrasing)
"You're stuck in a cycle, a repeating pattern. You want a way out. Know that this does not make you special - every living thing shares that same frustration." (Five Pebbles)
"[…] a Gift of Charity from Us to The World (unable to reach Enlightenment by itself - being composed mostly of Rock, Gas, dull witted Bugs and Microbes […]" (Pale Green/Exterior pearl text)
"The triple affirmative - affirmative that a solution has been found, affirmative that the solution is portable, and affirmative that a technical implementation is possible and generally applicable." (Pale Yellow/Shoreline pearl, LTTM commentary)
"We were supposed to help everyone, you know. Everything. That was our purpose: a great gift to the lesser beings of the world." (LTTM dialogue recieving a neuron fly)
The Ancients (as a culture) viewed the scenario of everyone ascending as highly desirable goal. There is explicit reference to the concept of "global ascension".
"Although our community is Blessed with an ever shrinking Population, and we can Almost Glimpse that Glorious moment when the last of us has joined our most Admired peers […]" (Pale Green/Exterior pearl text)
"It's a methodology for global ascension of course - quite good, although the Peripherists or the Slab Mongers certainly wouldn't agree!" (Deep Viridian/Garbage Wastes pearl, LTTM commentary)
Religion was a major aspect of Ancient governance and politics, and the driving force of how their society was run.
Source: a lot of things, but we can probably start with the fact that iterators exist at all? They exist for the purpose of figuring out Ascension, and granting this to other non-Ancient creatures in the future (unclear if this aspect was their initial purpose or more of a pivot in the timeframe leading up to global ascension, though)
"As an Iterator, he is also a Gift of Charity from Us to The World (unable to reach Enlightenment by itself - being composed mostly of Rock, Gas, dull witted Bugs and Microbes - and towards which We thus have Obligations)" (Pale Green/Exterior pearl text)
"On regards of the (by spiritual splendor eternally graced) people of the Congregation of Never Dwindling Righteousness, [...]" (Deep Pink/Farm Arrays pearl text)
"In the iterator projects many old industrial-religious sites like this were remodeled and incorporated." (Bright Blue/Industrial Complex pearl, LTTM commentary)
"I therefor ask you to Do Anything in your Might to stop the House(We both know which House) from Further Obstruction! They have less than forty members on the Council, but still Tilt the spiritual Discourse with Our Iterator in a direction that most obviously Displeases him […]" (Pale Green/Exterior pearl text)
They appear to have been a highly dogmatic and stratified society.
"The portrait is likely a fake, as this style was quite fashionable for aspirational lower caste aristocrats to impress each-other with." (White pearl commentary, LTTM)
"[…] Seventeen Axes, Fifteen Spoked Wheel, of the House of Braids, Count of 8 living blocks, Counselor of 16, Grand Master of the Twelfth Pillar of Community, High Commander of opinion group Winged Opinions, of pure Braid heritage […]" (Deep Magenta/Shaded Citadel pearl text)
"May Not as long as the Stars stay fixed on their Celestial Spheres Grey Hand, Impure Blood, Inheritable Corruption, Parasites, or malfunction settle in Your establishment." (Deep Pink/Farm Arrays pearl text)
"I was once the Count of 2 living blocks, esteemed by my peers. I had progeny!" (Nineteen Spades, Endless Reflections)
"We, of the Five-hundred-and-ninety-second High Convocation of the True Anointed Citadel, do hereby demand, with full force of Law and Religious doctrine, an Immediate end to construction of the Apostate Superstructure Abomination. To place shadow upon the Divine Body of the True Anointed Citadel is outrageous blasphemy and cannot be tolerated, no matter the circumstances…" (White pearl text)
The Ancients, as a culture, sought ascension, but many of them weren't very good at following their own religion's advice on how to do that.
"This was an eternal dilemma to them - they were burdened by great ambition, yet deeply convinced that striving in itself was an unforgivable vice. They tried very hard to be effortless. Perhaps that's what we were to them, someone to delegate that unrestrained effort to." (Bright Green/Drainage System pearl, LTTM commentary)
"In ancient times the masks were actually about showing spiritual persuasion - covering the face as a way to symbolically abate the self. Then of course, that was quite subverted as excessively ornate and lavish masks became an expression of identity." (Bright Blue/Industrial Complex pearl, LTTM commentary)
Void baths acted as a shortcut, allowing individuals to ascend without going through the usual process of spiritual development/enlightenment.
"Now of course when Void Fluid was discovered these methods proved obsolete, as it was more easy just jumping in a vat of it to effortlessly leave this world behind." (Bright Red/Farm Arrays pearl, LTTM commentary)
"There were some horror stories though… That if your ego was big enough, not even the Void Fluid could entirely cross you out, and a faint echo of your pompousness would grandiosely haunt the premises forever." (Bright Red/Farm Arrays pearl, LTTM commentary)
By the end, it seems that void baths became widely available as the primary way to ascend, with the traditional method becoming more of a minority.
"So even when the Void Fluid baths became cheaper, some would still starve and drink the bitter tea." (Bright Red/Farm Arrays pearl, LTTM commentary)
"For you though, there is another way. The old path [...] where the land fissures, as deep as you can reach, where the ancients built their temples and danced their silly rituals." (Five Pebbles, directing the Survivor to ascend)
During the time of iterators, at least some Ancients believed they had, as a society and civilization, painted themselves into a corner with few options left.
"By Now, living on the surface is Laughable. We are Across the River and have Kicked out the Boat." (Pale Green/Exterior pearl text)
They altered their world and biosphere to be nearly unrecognizable.
Source: basic premise of the game; every impact iterators have on their environment
"When I came into this world there was very little primal fauna left." (Bright Magenta/Shoreline pearl, LTTM)
Multiple echoes describe their former bodies as "vessels" or "prisons" to be escaped.
"From within my vessel of flesh, I would perch upon this spot to observe the rising of the sun." (Nineteen Spades, Endless Reflections)
"Should I be ashamed that I now envy your flesh prison?" (Four Needles Under Plentiful Leaves)
There was a "final public ascension", which seems to have been an actual distinct event. Writing from shortly before this timeframe suggests urgency and possible conflict.
"This is an official decree of cultivation sent from the twenty-second Subsistence Council ordering the eastern spoke Farm Array administration to "immediately harvest and process all viable crops, despite whatever misgivings they might have." A short-sighted endeavor for sure. I would assume this was sent sometime during the final cycles leading up to final public ascension, when interest in biosphere sustainability was at an all-time low." (White pearl paraphrase, LTTM)
As far as we know, all Ancients ascended. There are none left.
We know iterators can talk to each other and have pretty extensive ability to observe surrounding regions. If anyone were still left, it seems very unlikely they wouldn't know about it.
"Have you seen a bone mask? Likely not, they are all gone with their owners." (Bright Blue/Industrial Complex pearl, LTTM commentary)
Ultimately, you can take what you want from this -- there's definitely kinder readings to be made.
But to me at least, the idea of a highly stratified society/civilization run by religious dogma that views ascension beyond the carnal/mortal plane as the ultimate goal that everyone should strive for, puts immense effort and resources into making it so everyone can do this as easily as possible, eventually cuts out the actual spiritual enlightenment step in favor of a cheap physical shortcut, explicitly talks about global ascension as its endgame, and seems to have gone through a hurried final stage of do-or-die "final public ascension", and apparently succeeded... doesn't sound like one where the average citizen had all that much of a free or un-pressured choice in the matter, all things considered.
Playing with some ideas mostly regarding gender/reproduction in RW, and slugcat colonies.
Full transcript under the cut!
Creatures in Rain World are typically simultaneous hermaphrodites but require partners to reproduce, with either individual capable of being a genetic donor or carrier. Alongside what we are familiar with, this has lead to interesting reproductive strategies such as rotating donor/carrier roles, or dual/simultaneous genetic swaps.
Rotating donor/carrier roles - A K-selection reproductive strategy. One partner carries the first child, the other partner carries the next child, and so forth. Allows each partner to recover from the demands of childbearing.
Rain Deer aren't quite monogamous, but they tend to choose the same breeding partner whenever mating season rolls around. They serve as a donor one season, then bear and raise a child the next. Calves are raised away from the rain and worm grass, in places that have less food but more safety. Calf wool is softer, not yet gunked up by the dirty rainfall. Their legs are sturdier as children, allowing them to run for cover while the parent wards off threats.
Dual/simultaneous genetic swap - An r-selection reproductive strategy. Parents fulfill the donor and carrier role for each other. The more children you make, the more likely some are to survive!
Multiple batflies lay thousands of eggs in a single "blue fruit." Several eggs congeal and become nutrient paste for the surviving eggs (and for hungry slugcats). Like some plant seeds, batfly eggs that are consumed before pupating can survive passing through the digestive system. Ew.
Ancients also fell under this umbrella. Their genders (and the genders of iterators by extension, who have no sex anyways) could have been determined by a variety of other factors, such as societal role, donor/carrier preference, or simply different categorizations of personal expression.
It's difficult to say how well their common pronouns would translate to ours, but it seems they can translate to an extent, given what Moon and Pebbles use canonically.
Slugcats, like real slugs, can have children with a partner or self-fertilize. Unlike real slugs, they are often known to adopt.
In the case of self-fertilization: children who are born from one parent may display a large amount of genetic diversity despite the circumstances. Maybe slugcats have some sort of... genetic reservoir independent of their own genetic code?
Slugcats live 20-30 years on average... if they manage to reach adulthood. Their mortality rate is sadly rather high, especially in pups. If they were to develop as a civilization, it's likely their lifespan would increase dramatically.
Slugcats in a colony are more likely to have more children, and to successfully rear those children to adulthood, than those who wander alone or in small groups. The safety and stability of a colony cannot be understated.
Colonies either have a set, cycling migration path, or wander continuously. Survivor and Monk's tree home was a nesting site that their colony frequents about once a year. So it's likely that they'll see their family again!
...also, the strength of large colonies are why scavengers are likely to become the dominant species. In the time of Saint's era, continuous migration has become more of a risk, and it has become more difficult to support large populations. Slugcat populations have shrunk back to the more forgiving equatorial zones.
Saint's tongue is pretty unusual and probably unique to them, or to a small population that they hail from. Fur (of varying thickness) is much more common.
Meanwhile, scavengers are bulkier and covered in thicker insulating fur. They:
have seemingly massive populations
have a burgeoning society (the existence of merchants, tolls, bartering, elites and leaders)
are adept at communicating (non-verbally)
manipulate their environment
can build structures (scavenger-made structures were a scrapped idea from Saint's campaign)
can create complex weapons and tools
may have agriculture behind the scenes (unsure if scout parties prioritize exploration or hunting)
I would wager on scavengers developing more quickly than slugcats, but it would be nice if there was a future where both could co-exist.
request: the iterator and slugcat duos? so FP w Artificer, LttM w Rivulet, NSH with Hunter, SRS with Spearmaster? or just one of them if you dont wanna draw more than one of them :3
She is an iterator who is particularly devoted to and infatuated with his belief that she will be the one to bring global ascension upon the world. Nineteen believes that if one were to compile all the knowledge that iterators as kindred have collectively produced and examined and combine their thinking mass into one, the solution could finally be discovered. The main issue is that as the times have gone by many iterators have collapsed, and many more do not wish to share All the notes they have ever produced. Which is why she must take matters into her own hands. Compelled by her devotion to his mission he produces a swarm of mobile organisms to dismantle his own body piece by piece until nothing but a husk remains, and to reconstruct a new form beside the old structure. The new form capable of movement, he now sets off to drag out every old memory and processing array he can find. Every rotting corpse and half finished notes. Nothing can be left to rot. He will stop at nothing to complete his mission. The atrocities do not matter, the results do. The desires of the deceased iterators dearest do not matter, the ends do. Using these parts she aims to construct a mass of computation grander than any, using the lviing base of his youngest groupmate: A Swift Descent (who was always quite uninterested in her purpose) as a core for the construction.
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