#Rusty Lake Ask

[gmanmedias]

Rose Vanderboom for @lunarmourning !

🕰️ 🕰️ 🕰️

🖤 🖤 🖤

⌛️ ⌛️ ⌛️

[eyeballsoup7310]

Hey Harv, buddy, where’d you get fresh deer meat from this late in the season

[seagullcharmer]

the lovers

[nomgeonmunchie]

Reverse mermaid from rusty lake?

[escapetothelake]

got this ad on your blog lmao

I do indeed have a luxury home for sale

6 bedrooms, a laboratory, 3 and a half baths... pls just take it off my hands

[callmegaith]

hey man, check this out

Fly rabbit David real?!?!?! Holy shit :0

[thethreetimepieces]

hey did you know franks dad is a bee

[thecrimsonvalley-creates]

~ Seriously? ~ When the boss tells you to just ignore your new crush and not start something with the detective that keeps snooping around the hotel! Preposterous suggestions all around >8( Based on one of the "I'm so F***ing done" poses by @capochiino! Animated verision under read more: huge thanks to @nattravn-art for figuring that out T3T <3

[nthflower]

Harvey is trans because he laid eggs as a bird and Frank is trans because he only have a mother as biological parent and rose is trans because I said so and Laura is trans because he used to be her own grandfather hope this helps.

[noridal]

I was just going to reply to @sunshine-herricane under the original post, but I figured why not make a longer infodump. So, mind your spoilers and get ready to click a read more link, because it's time to enjoy my personal

Harvey lore rant

Harvey is one of the first two characters to be introduced to us in Cube Escape: Seasons along with Laura. It is known to us that he's a relevant character because otherwise Rusty Lake wouldn't bother to make Cube Escape: Harvey's Box, in which you play as him; plus, if he wasn't relevant you wouldn't need him alive to complete Seasons.

The thing is, I think it's easy to forget about him, or brush him off as a secondary character, since we only see him as a sort of "sidekick". Apart from Harvey's Box, he just makes minor appearances and gets nearly killed by Laura on various occasions (Think of the scene in Cube Escape: The Mill in which Laura, as a corrupted soul, almost chokes him to death).

Things change with Rusty Lake Hotel, where, if you manage to give Owl the Rusty Lake Cigars, it's revealed you're playing as Harvey. This is huge, because at this point you find out that Harvey isn't just a pet, but a character that can be compared to Mr Owl or Mr Crow, which up to this point are the people playing puppeteer with the other characters of the plot.

This is why it's logical to imagine that Harvey's role, in this situation, is to act as a butler for Mr Owl, and one can easily assume that it was Owl's idea to kill the hotel guests. In other words, Owl is the boss, and Harvey is just following orders, whether he likes killing those animal-people or not.

Before getting to Paradise, I think it's important to make a quick stop through Cube Escape: Birthday, in which we see him with his humanoid form for the first time:

And we also get to see an interesting piece of lore about the corrupted souls of the hotel guests breaking free from their containers and attacking both Harvey and Mr Owl. This way we learn that Harvey is also a shapeshifter, and contrary to Owl or Crow, who have a human and a hybrid form, Harvey seems to be naturally a bird that somehow achieved this (I'm assuming) "enlightened" state of half bird, half human.

This is important information because it indicates that Harvey is likely immortal. This is in line with Rusty Lake Roots: judging from that level in the Emma storyline, Harvey is around the lake in 1891, and is also around Laura's death (1971 according to Cube Escape: Case 23). Now, I know nothing about parrots, but 80+ years is a pretty long life for a parrot that seems suspiciously to never age.

One could argue that this could be just a similar parrot or whatever, but we also know that Hotel takes place in 1893, and Harvey is definitely in that game at least.

Now we get to the infamous Paradise Easter Egg: it's fairly missable, but you can find Harvey sitting on the window sill during the third plague

This happens in 1796. And being Paradise Mr Owl's origin story, well, this is clearly evidence that Harvey has been around longer than him. This is a theory of mine- but he probably was Caroline's pet, or the one that sparked her research around the lake and immortality.

Point is, this is a huge turn on the Harvey-Owl dynamic: where at first Harvey seemed to be a servant, now he feels a lot more like an equal. At this point of the story I thought that Harvey could've been the one to suggest to Owl to take revenge on his family/hotel guests, and Owl could've been the one saying "let's go for murder".

Except that underground blossom came out.

I won't share screenshots of it because it's another stance of the Rusty Lake franchise being weird about nipples, plus I don't want to spoil much of that game, but to cut it short: toward the last few stations, Harvey decides to torture a pickpocketer for stealing Rose's timepiece.

This is another strong statement about Harvey's personality, since it's clear that he really had no problem killing the various people during Hotel. This puts a bunch of things into perspective, because I mean, c'mon, he deliberately hurts unaware bystanders who just steal shit and aren't really involved (so far) in the plot. One could've said that the Hotel guests "deserved" it (since it's clear they aren't really pleasant or good people either, even before Paradise came out), or again, Harvey was just doing what he's told. But this one scene screams "Harvey is a sadistic bitch" and at this point I'm not even mad about it.

Now the only thing left to find out is when he actually gains his human form- but by the looks of it, the clues are pointing towards him being the oldest immortal bird-person in the lore, and probably the one who knows the real secret to reach ascension and enlightenment.

[petergriffensbuttchin]

Drew some of my favorite corrupted souls from an underrated game series😩

Theatre

Case 23 part 4

Harvey’s box

Some items or things were added in some drawings for some context

[gmanmedias]

Albert Vanderboom (Rusty Lake) for @redacted-blue !

🪦 🪦 🪦

☠️ ☠️ ☠️

⚰️ ⚰️ ⚰️

[aldous-the-crow-man]

About to play Underground Blossom

[immernichts]

Underground Blossom thoughts, and also some ramblings about Rusty Lake in general. (spoilers!)

I feel like I should point out that I haven’t played The White Door. I know the gist of what happens in it, but maybe there’s something in this post that contradicts or is explained by that game, idk.

Something that intrigued me the moment the demo came out was Rose and Laura’s relationship. Given what we saw of Rose in Roots—pragmatic and emotionless—I always assumed she didn’t give Laura much of a normal childhood, and probably deliberately left her at some point.

In the second chapter of the game, Rose does indeed leave Laura. But, it turns out that she didn’t actually want to go, and, based on the note she left and Laura’s description of her, Rose was a loving mother.

I’m not sure if Rose’s lack of emotion in Roots is meant to be taken as nature or nurture. On one hand, it could be because of the unnatural nature of her birth, as artificially created humans are often portrayed in folklore and media as emotionless. Or maybe it’s because she had Albert for a father (who could not have been a good dad), and the only person we see her interacting with as a child is William Vanderboom (via ouija board).

I like to think it was because of nurture, and that raising Laura made Rose a more caring, affectionate person over time. Rose also refers to Harvey as a ‘dear friend’, so maybe he also played a role there? Curious to know how they met.

Sadly the good times don’t last, because this jackass shows up.

Albert, you are an awful person. I know that was already obvious from Roots, but jeez.

I think this scene is one of the creepiest I’ve seen in a Rusty Lake game. Something about Albert saying “She has to come with me” is just…. Aghhh. It’s notable to me that, earlier, Rose tells Harvey that she might have to leave, whereas the phone call has Albert saying “She knows”.

Anyways, poor Laura is understandably scarred for life after witnessing this. It’s rare to see a character in Rusty Lake actually react normally to something horrible happening.

That brings me to something I really like about this game, we’re seeing Laura as a person. She’s been a mysterious figure for a majority of the series (even in the games where you play as her), and now we get to jump through her life.

We see moments where she’s actually happy, or at least not actively sad, which feels very different for a character who’s mostly been defined by her mental illness and mysterious death.

Even though it’s sad and messed up, I do like the irony of the situation—After all the hard work you had go through to bring him back to life, William is reincarnated as a woman who suffers from depression and wants to die.

I was actually taken aback at how some parts of this game made me emotional. Rusty Lake has had its sad moments before, but this game is much more cinematic. The music is especially beautiful and does a great job complimenting these scenes.

More subtle but noticeable during certain moments is the art evolution the series has gone through. The voice acting has also improved a lot compared to the earlier games. I especially liked the voice actress for Laura.

Easily one of my favorite games in the series, and I’m excited to see what comes of that sequel hook at the end.

[nomgeonmunchie]

Corrupted soul from Rusty Lake

[escapetothelake]

Harvey and mr bat for the ship asks? :D (you don’t have to if you’re not comfortable)

ooh this is so silly!! thank you for giving me something to chew on >:) btw i will do any ship people throw at me, even if i don't like it (as long as i can reasonably write for it & it doesn't involve minors)

mr. bat and harvey have few spoken lines, so pls forgive me if my characterization doesn't align with urs. i also made them a little toxic 😐 if you want a healthy relationship portrayal, please specify!! hopefully this is still enjoyable though heehee

i'm going to try to keep this contained to rusty lake: hotel as that is the game in which they interact. also i’m using he/him for harvey

who made the first move: mr. bat was immediately aloof with harvey when the latter first got the job at the hotel. harvey was content with ignoring him, until he realized that he hated the feeling of being disliked so much. he made a point to talk to mr. bat everyday when he went to visit mr. owl, which mr. bat was not receptive to. then harvey thought to bring him food, thinking he would likely be hungry and tired after being on his feet all day. mr. bat took it wordlessly, but his eyes would flit back and forth between harvey and the snack as he ate. from them on, he gradually started to become more open and even friendly to harvey—especially when the bird had food.

who kissed who first: i’m trying to figure out the logistics of this lol. i could see mr. bat kissing harvey for bringing him something exceptionally tasty. later in this post i headcanon that harvey bathes to wash the blood off, and that when he doesn’t have immediate access to hot water, mr. bat becomes his co-conspirator. perhaps harvey is panicking because it doesn’t seem the water will be fixed for a while, and mr. bat sees this, and begins to apprehensively lick the blood off harvey’s feathers. then they’re both like 😳😳

who started the relationship: it kinda just. happened. and while harvey is jealous, mr. bat is possessive. he wanted things to be exclusive, and harvey agreed.

who remembers things: when one of them remembers something, the other usually doesn’t.

nicknames for each other: admittedly, i’m a little floored on this one lol. i think mr. bat would call harvey “dear”, and harvey would call mr. bat “my moth”.

who is more likely to pay for dinner: harvey all the way.

who normally cooks: another cop-out here, but mr. toad. harvey supplies food though (😉)—as he kind of serves as mr. owl’s errand boy—and mr. bat occasionally enjoys hunting for his own food. harvey doesn’t like flying insects all that much though.

who remembers anniversaries: mr. bat EXPECTS harvey to remember anniversaries. with all the stress he’s under, however, he doesn’t always.

what would they get each other for gifts: you know those lollipops with insects and scorpions and stuff in them? yeah, mr. bat loves those. he literally shrieks with delight when he gets one. harvey also once gave him an amber necklace with a moth inside, and mr. bat periodically gnaws/sucks on it like a teething necklace. mr. bat isn't really a gift-giver (he wants princess treatment 💅), but he likes hunting for insects and then dropping them in front of harvey like a dog with a rat it caught for you.

most trivial thing they fight over: literally anything lmao. these two fight like cats and dogs, and i will die on this hill. food is the most common topic; sure, harvey is a foodie, but doesn’t understand how mr. bat can place that much importance on it. sometimes, it’s like mr. bat cares more about food than harvey (who, as i said, gets jealous pretty easily. you’d think he would have learned to detach after all those years).

how often do they fight: all the time. so often. they are lowkey toxic 😳 mr. owl can expect to be woken up by some sort of petty squabble. it's not good for 'business', so he tells them to knock it off or lose their jobs.

who uses all the hot water: harvey—how else is he gonna wash all that blood off?

who calls up the super/landlord when the heat’s not working: harvey panics when the heat isn’t working because it means that he can’t clean the blood off of himself. it’s actually how he and mr. bat ended up getting closer—harvey resorted to calling mr. bat for assistance, and he got it fixed for him. so in a way, mr. bat is his partner in crime :) the couple that slays together stays together

who leaves their stuff around: mr. bat has few material possessions, but what he does have, he hoards (particularly food). actually, harvey touching mr. bat’s stuff is another thing they used to fight over in the beginning of the relationship. harvey sometimes leaves bloody garments around, which mr. bat scolds him for. he won’t admit it, but he finds it a little endearing.

who remembers to buy the milk: mr. bat would remember that they need milk. he expects harvey to get it though. of course, it’s readily available in the kitchen of the hotel.

who controls the netflix queue: mr. bat NEEDS his netflix after a long day. DO NOT mess with his netflix queue 😡😡😡

who steals the covers at night: this isn’t really an issue! mr. bat sleeps on the ceiling, so if harvey wishes to use blankets, he has them all to himself. though it seems like he can easily change into his anthropomorphic form, so he sometimes does that and sleeps perched by the window. (side note ooh what if bird!harvey slept in a cage in mr. owl’s room)

who cusses more: mr. bat screeches, if that counts. sometimes their “shouting matches” are just mutual screeching in a sort of display of dominance. it drives mr. owl bananas 🍌 🍌

who does most of the cleaning: the hotel has waitstaff. harvey is responsible for cleaning up after himself (iykyk), but mr. bat has found that he enjoys helping out.

what’s their favorite non-sexual activity: i think that, as much as it annoys harvey, they both secretly enjoy arguing. beyond that, they like spending time together during the late hours. it’s after harvey has completed his kills and work hours are over that they can find solace with each other. they are at their calmest when mr. bat has a snack in hand, and harvey his favorite music playing without any stress.

who’s the cuddler: lowkey mr. bat, though harvey likes the attention.

who’s the big spoon/little spoon: mr. bat leans his head on harvey’s shoulder or chest, and harvey puts his head on top of his.

who’s more dominant: mr. bat is kind of a brat 😳 sometimes he winds harvey up so much that he just… snaps 😏

who is the dirty talker: mr. owl, scolding them for being bothersome to the guests again 😆 in reality, i think they see squabbling as dirty talk

what do they do when they’re away from each other: mr. bat has separation anxiety (not that he would admit it). harvey often has to leave to run errands for mr. owl, so it’s not uncommon that they’re apart. harvey tells himself he’ll enjoy finally getting some peace and quiet, but he starts to miss his partner after a little while. mr. bat catches up on sleep and pretends to be unbothered, but his job gets boring and he often finds himself thinking about harvey.

what would they do if the other one was hurt: i think they would both freak out, but they’re also mutually self-centered. for instance, if one of them has an incapacitating sickness that the other could catch, then the healthy one would likely consider that for a while before going to visit them. one time, though, mr. bat got sick with a flu, and harvey brought him stew that he’d made for him. of course, harvey spent too much time with mr. bat, and he caught the flu too. he was a little annoyed, but when a healthy mr. bat brought him moth soup that he’d made, harvey couldn’t stay mad, even if he doesn’t like moths all that much :) (for once, they would NOT let mr. toad cook—they wanted to make it themselves :))

a headcanon: after harvey fled the hotel upon being attacked by the corrupted souls, he didn’t return for a while, which upset and worried mr. bat, but he continued to do his job as usual. eventually, mr. owl relocated him to the cave, where he could stay more comfortably after his service, but be called back as needed. mr. owl tipped off harvey to mr. bat’s location, and they were reunited again. now, they don’t interact as much as they did while working the hotel, but they’re still co-workers with a little something extra :)