#(ask to tag?)

[moonscape]

[flickering-nightfall]

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.

[catboymoments]

Some hotel purgatorium/hellaverse redesign/rewrite info yahoo !! I really don’t know if I’m gonna be doing anything with the imp guys but I just wanted to try my hand at reworking them .

Also it bothers the shit out of me that viv didn’t do enough research on biblical lore so I guess being raised Catholic has its advantages sometimes /lhj

[kelocitta]

What if we were both girlthings and slugthings

[szethsmom]

I’m making memes instead of putting on lotion because I’m a very functional adult. 🫠

[foreverephemeral-art]

you brought this upon yourself

rb > likes

[arttuff]

OMG NO ONE LOOK!!! THESE BUGS ARE

[insinirate]

🐅🐍 cheap meat

[logicpng]

venty lil thing. i figured i may as well upload the small stuff as well

[Image Description in ALT]

[faygelehh]

CRINGETOBER 2023

DAY 2: SELF-INSERT

Ft. Bluey & Bingo! (or… Bingir? Bingo/Gir?)

[corruptimles]

it’s just a hot food joke

original Pop Team Epic version under cut

which has an absurd degree of context that I’m not going to get into right now

[avoidcrowdraws]

Chilaios Kinktober day 6 - biting

Chomp

[c-kiddo]

caleb has ocd to meeee , and yes , some of these behaviours are created from paranoia about very real dangers, but i think despite that all, he always feels safer when he creates rituals. clothes folded the same way Or Else, odd numbers or Else, distressed that frumpkin's whiskers are uneven (some fell out) and feels antsy until he re-summons frumpkin. he pats the doorframe or else he'll be found, lay down the silver thread, talk to each of tmn before bed, clench and unclench his jaw, cover himself in dirt so then he's dirty all over and not unevenly, pick the skin off his fingers, check the lock check the lock check the lock . etc etc

[catboymoments]

The first emergence of Bronwyn’s dormant curse.

“It was supposed to be just… a quick performance for my Bard class… I’d played in front of people before, so I didn’t think anything would go wrong…”

[ascene]

trohman: This fried bumble bee now lives inside my stomach, with it's entire hive. Tasted like corn nuts.

[popfizzles]

Thank you for the compliments on Smith's writing!!! <:) I tried to make him a complex character with some divisive traits.

As for Smith's opinion on sweets.. He'd probably like salted caramel sticks a lot (he is an apple, after all)!

He tried gum for a few years. Unfortunately, it didn't really help.