#Since if it's a scavenger or lizard

[tropicalcontinental]

[cobaltscar]

Whoops I made ocs to use for silly

[foxstens]

i just went through the outskirts toll and didn’t even have to pay bc everyone was dead

[needlemeister]

i've been working off and on for a while on trying to figure out what all of the major symbols and glyphs mean in rain world, and here's the final product! kind of.

these are all purely hypothetical, so don't treat it as 100% canon - however, you can use these interpretations however you please!

elaboration for some:

The "knowledge" glyph sometimes manifests without the central line. I'm not sure if it changes the meaning or not.

The "power/authority" glyph often manifests with the two lines meeting instead of just apart.

"Importance", "rain deer", and "echo" are nearly exclusive to Scavenger graffiti, but they're included here for posterity. Especially "echo", since accents from it show up in symbols insinuated to have similar meanings.

"Pet" contains "travel", albeit with the circle closed.

"Defying fate" very subtly includes "survival"

"Martyrdom" appears to be a combination of "hunger" and possibly a corruption of "survival". I believe it may represent the process of shedding the facets of oneself that align with the bottom five Karma levels in order to achieve ascension.

"Fragile, do not harm" is almost entirely based on context clues. It's a glyph seen next to the "ally" glyph written by Scavengers in Moon's can. A longer form of my theorized meaning for this would be "this ally has important information for us. They are weak, please do not make them weaker".

"Lizard/animal?" is part of the "dragon slayer" passage glyph.

[ihavethedreamies]

Deserted | Hoshi

Kwon Soonyoung (Hoshi - Seventeen)

Rating: M (18+) MDNI

Word Count: ~5.1k

Pairing: Hoshi x AFAB!Reader

Genre: Sci-Fi AU!, Reader-Insert, Smut, Some Plot, Hookup/One-Night-Stand/Strangers to Fucking

!!This is smut…if that much isn't clear you should probably leave now!! MDNI!

Warnings: She/Her Pronouns used, Pet Names (Sweet Girl, Baby Girl, etc.), Swearing, Kissing, Oral (M! & F! Receiving), Deepthroating, Unprotected Sex (Use a condom!), Added some piercings for ~flair~

Author's Note: I had my best friend read this the other day and she said it was a little much for her, but still enjoyable and she was sure others would love it.

I am planning on doing something like this for each member, so stay tuned!

-> Series Hub <-

-> Woozi's <-

-> Wonwoo's <-

-> S.Coup's <-

I am cross-posting this on Archive under the same name. Please reblog! If you know anyone that would like this or future fics but they aren't on Tumblr my name and icon are exactly the same on the other site. Happy reading!

"Oh, you have got to be kidding me." You groaned as your sand-rover grumbled in protest, slowing down before it halted. The engine not only shut off, but it let out a giant puff of black smoke. The smell of burning rubber stung your nose and you groaned louder, grabbing your bag off the passenger seat. Throwing the door open, you're glad that happened as the sun was setting and not when it was high in the sky. The desert, however, could be very cold at night. A gust of wind blasted against the door, almost slamming it shut on your legs. With a yelp, you swung out your arm to catch the door and sighed when it didn't keep going. Unwrapping the thin scarf around your neck, you rewrapped it around your head and face to protect you from the blowing sand. Slipping your goggles on over to cover your eyes, you winced when the leather cracked further. Getting another strap would be a pain in the ass. Grabbing the door, you let it slam closed and slung your bag over your shoulder. Walking around the vehicle, you noticed that is had been hit harder than you anticipated. Since your rover was just that, you had no gun mounted on it, so when the acid-spitting space worm shot out of the ground, you could only flee. The back tire had finally been eaten away enough to go flat and there was also a hole that led to the gas tank. Only a bit of the fuel dripped out and you knew there was no chance of getting the now wrecked rover anywhere. Climbing up on the other back wheel, you got the hatch in the back open so you could grab your bigger pack. Grunting, you swung it onto your back and cinched the straps tight. Turning back to the last outpost you had been at was a no go. There was a huge alien monster in the way. You weren’t sure where the next outpost was, so you pulled out your old, beaten up holo-tracker. When you turned it on, the holographic screen glitched, so you slammed the body of the device against your thigh a few times and then it evened out. Clicking the buttons, one of which kept getting stuck, you saw that the next outpost was miles away. Walking that far would be an absolute drag but at least it was going to be night.

"Freaking desert planets…" You grumbled as if you had ever lived on a different one. You grew up on Sierra-Victor-Tango, but after taking a trip to several other human worlds, you learned that your home was…well, a shithole. Everything was old and falling apart. In the cities, crime was rampant, and the smaller outposts and towns were poor. When you told your mother you were going out to scavenge through the desert, she was unsure. Not because she was worried for your safety, but she had no idea what you hoped to find. It was a sandy wasteland inhabited by weird space bugs and lizards. You had never known earth like your grandparents so when you learned Terra animals and bugs looked so different, you understood why your grandma was so skeeved out.

Looking back at the wrecked rover, you wondered if it could give you some credits for scrap, but the work to get all the way out to it was not worth it. Hiking up your pack again, you set off, holding the scarf to your mouth as a gust of wind blasted you. A little blinking cursor flashed on your holo-tracker indicating where you were as you walked toward the setting sun. Behind you and to the right, the two different moons rose higher and got clearer. Twinkling stars began to appear and the cold was starting to set in. In the distance, you saw a giant rock outcropping and you headed for it. It was off the packed-in road, so you couldn't go very fast in the shifting sand.  When you reached the rock, you walked around to the other side, looking for a crack or something you could wedge into for shelter. What you were not expecting was some kind of shelter erected against the stone. It looked semi-permanent and constructed around some kind of indent in the giant rock.

Creeping closer, you saw someone sitting at a fire pit, their back to you. What startled you the most though, was a giant feline-like shape lying next to the fire as well. You had never seen one that big and it looked like a tiger from the books your grandmother brought from earth. Instead of orange with black stripes, it was black with white stripes and had long top fangs. The wind shifted; it was coming straight behind you instead of at you. The beast lifted its head, beginning to growl. At this, the person turned around and you saw it was a man. He had a scar across the bridge of his nose and his ears were heavily pierced. Another piercing accented his right brow, and he had a long narrow tattoo behind his ear and down his neck. You immediately shot your arms up in surrender and he motioned his tiger to lay down.

"Who are you?" He called and you dared not step closer.

"Uh…(Y/N), of Morgran Town." You had never seen someone like him before. He was incredibly attractive, and his poncho-like cloak hit right at his ribs, and he had nothing on under it. His muscles were toned, and his skin was smooth other than a scar near his hip. Tight leather pants clung to thick thighs and his big boots highlighted his long legs. Even his arms were well defined, a belt holding some sort of flask wrapped around his right bicep. His eyes were bright yellow, and you didn't know that happened naturally, his hair was white with black tips, reminiscent of his tiger.

"Morgran Town? You’re a long way from home." He replied, motioning with his hand for you to come closer. Finally, out of the shadow of the rock, he could see you in the double moonlight. You felt…tiny. He wasn't super big, not like some you've met, but he wasn't short either.

"Well, I'm a traveler, my rover broke down a few miles back." You finally let your arms down and instead moved to grip the straps of your pack.

"Headed to Korvo?"

"Yes."

"Don't."

"What? Why?"

"Two weeks ago, they got hit by slavers, it’s a ghost town." The man motioned you closer and toward a stump he had carved into a seat. Slowly, you walked the long way around, avoiding the cold gaze of the animal. You removed your pack, letting it thumb next to your seat, but you didn't take off your other bag; just in case you had to flee. Now that you were closer, you could tell that some kind of meat was being roasted on the fire.

"It won't taste too good because I can't really cook, but it will be cooked." He flashed a smile, and it took you off guard. He was…adorable.

"You'll share?" You looked at the roast, your mouth watering. You hadn't had fresh meat in months, only dried stuff. You wondered if he made the kill or his pet.

"Don't worry about Horanghae, he won't bite unless I let him." He waved at the animal, and you nodded, still feeling nervous in its gaze.

"I'm Hoshi." He held out his hand to shake and you shyly returned the gesture, and he sat back down at a long bench.

"You're a traveler? What do you do that for?"

"Oh, uh, I'm mostly looking for old wrecks of like shuttles and ships and stuff." You shrugged. It took forever to find things like that, but you gained a knack for it, and it got you a crap ton of money sometimes. While not official, you basically worked for the International Assembly as a freelancer, so you did jobs at your leisure.

"That must take a long time." He smiled and you shrugged.

"Sometimes. What about you?"

"I'm a Ranger." He held up a medallion hanging around his neck that had an upside-down triangle-like logo on it. You had heard of them before, there weren’t too many of them, it was hard to get accepted. They traveled the desert and worked as bounty hunters. That's all people really knew about them.

"So, if Korvo is a bust, where should I head next?"

"Hm. There's nowhere close really, not that you can get to easily by foot…I can't leave here for a few days, so you can stay with me till then. I'll give you a lift after." He jutted his thumb over to a hover bike that was resting next to his abode.

"Oh! Thank you. That's very generous." You let out a sigh of relief, you had begun to wonder what you were going to do. You were really bad at hunting and had only so much water in your canteen. He told you about his situation as you waited for the meat to be done. He had a well that was in the back of his tent, which was half in the rock. He had blown a giant cave into it with a grenade and set up his home. Horanghae would hunt for him, and he had a communication relay set up as well to talk with the rest of the Rangers.

"I only have one place to sleep though…" He finished off his explanation and you waved him off.

"I can sleep on the ground, not the first time I've had to."

"No way. What kind of person would I be if I let my guest sleep on the ground?" He shook his head. Thanking him, he declared the food done and hacked of a chunk for you. Hoshi speared the meat on a wooden skewer and handed it over. Eagerly eating the food, he watched in amusement at your ravenous behavior and then ate himself.

"Thanks. I can't begin to thank you; I would've been a goner." You shuddered at the thought. If you had arrived at Korvo and found it wasted, you might have had a breakdown.

"Don't worry about it!" He took the rest of the meat off the spit and gave it to the tiger. He led you inside his hut, even carrying your big pack in for you. It was nice and cozy inside, beautiful colored Afghans and rugs were laid out everywhere. The front room was like a living room and had a pile of pillows to sit at and even had a fairly nice holo-screen set up. There was a curtain against the left wall that he told you led to the bathroom. The next room was the bedroom essentially and he told you to go in and make yourself comfortable, he would sleep in the front room. Thanking him again you scurried into the back. That's where he had his communication equipment set up, and there was an actual bed in there! Under all the blankets and pelts, there was not just a sack of straw or even a crate; it was an actual mattress. You hadn't slept on one in almost a year. Taking your boots off, you jumped on and groaned at the comfort. Pulling the softest Afghan over you, you drifted off quickly and slept better than you had in a while.

A soft beeping stirred you from your sleep. Glancing at your watch, you saw it was almost sunrise and so you sat up, stretching with a groan. The beeping was coming from the monitor he had set up. Not wanting to invade his privacy, you got up to go into the other room and inform him. He was still asleep, having spread out across the floor and pillows. His tiger must have been outside. It would have been cute to see him sleep like that if it wasn’t for the fact his torso was now completely uncovered and only his lower half was covered by the blanket. Not just that, but his tight pants were thrown over a chair in the corner, and the blanket was tented in a very obvious way. The realization made you squeak in embarrassment, and you fled back into the other room. While you had not been with too many guys before, you knew for sure what he was hiding under there. The soft beeping continued from the monitor, and you wondered what you should do. If he had to go in there to check on it, he might not realize he had a…problem. Living alone probably allowed him some freedom, but you were here, and you weren't sure he would think of that.

Dashing from the back room into the bathroom, you realized how bad you had to go. Once that was done, you realized in shock that the plumbing was…actually plumping. Kind of. It was one of those high-tech situations that vaporized the waste into nothingness. The sink actually gave you water and it seemed so would the shower. As you were still in there, staring at your face in the mirror, you kept thinking of how to wake him. All of a sudden, the beeping got loud enough for you to hear in the other room and when you peaked your head out, you saw he was stirring. That solved that problem. Peering through the curtain, you watched him get up and your jaw dropped as the blanket fell. Luckily, he was at least wearing undergarments, but they were tight and hid very little. He was very nicely defined, his muscles weren't huge, but he still looked extremely good. His hair was messy, and you were enraptured watching him stretch. He trudged into the back room, scratching his chest and seemingly ignoring his morning problem. You heard a ding and he spoke to whoever was on the other line. His voice was rough from sleeping and you knew you were in danger. How is it that you managed to find such a gorgeous man out in the middle of the desert? Another voice responded to him, but you couldn't pick out any specific words and soon their conversation was over, and you jumped back into the bathroom and away from the curtain.

"(Y/N)? You in there?" He was standing right on the other side, and you swallowed before answering in the positive.

"I, uh, need in there, but…" You knew why he was hesitating and for some reason, some stupid little voice in the back of your conscience screamed loud enough for it to come out of your mouth.

"I can help you with that." You blurted and gaped at yourself in the mirror. He didn't say anything, and you kicked yourself. Why, why did you say that? Before you could say anything else, the curtain pulled back and you saw him behind you in the reflection of the mirror. His look was much different than the night before. His yellow eyes that shined with laughter had turned sharp. It made you shudder as you made eye contact with him indirectly through the mirror.

"I-I mean, I don't know how to thank you for helping me…So, I uh, can help with whatever." You were glad the mirror didn't go too low, otherwise you would definitely be staring. You could see him slowly look you up and down and you froze under his gaze. It was like what the tiger did to you last night, but ten times worse. You felt like a deer about to be eaten, and it turned you on to no end. Wandering around the desert for a living doesn't exactly afford many opportunities for romantic or sexual escapades. You figured the case was probably pretty true for him as well, if not more. Realizing in the night you had shed your shirt; you were just standing in the wrap-around you used as a bra and your leggings. Because of the heat of the desert and the tightness of said leggings, you usually went commando, and you wondered if you were wet enough for it to soak through the fabric.

As he stepped into the small space, he let the curtain fall behind him but didn't step completely through the entryway.

"Are you sure?" He stared you in the eye, once again through the mirror, you did not yet have the courage to turn around. While you wanted to say you were joking, that it was just an impulse to tease, you couldn't. Seeing him to begin with was enough, let alone in his current state.

"Are you sure?" You shot back. You thought yourself rather plain with no distinctive features. Your freckled skin from years of sun exposure was highlighted strangely by the tan line that formed around your goggles. You were covered in dirt too because of wandering out in the blowing sand. His poor bed was probably covered in sand too. Not easy to find somewhere with running water, let alone hot water, your hair was pulled back into a braid but was not exactly clean. You were glad body odor had been genetically eradicated decades ago. Plus, compared to him, you were painfully average.

When he didn't verbally respond, you grew even more nervous, but he stepped in further till he was standing a few steps behind you. He peered at the mirror from behind, and he was nearly a head taller than you. His stare was even more intense now and you shivered. Taking a deep breath, you finally worked up the courage to turn around, and he was immediately on you. His kiss was searing, and you immediately groaned. Nothing about it was gentle, it did truly feel like he was trying to eat you. He bit your bottom lip and you moaned, his tongue quickly flicking against your own. Something cold and round hit your teeth and you realized his tongue was pierced. Oh lord. Hoshi's hand had come to rest around your throat, under your jaw, but was in no way harsh or tight. This way, he could angle your head just right. Your neck protested some and so you propped up on your tip toes, tipping your head and allowing the kiss to deepen further. His second arm wrapped around you, almost encircling you while his hand gripped your ass. The hand on your jaw moved to the back of your head and you wrapped your smaller hands over his biceps. Pulling back for air, his fingers buried further in your hair and yanked your head back so he could kiss down the column of your throat. You moaned as you felt his teeth buried slightly into the flesh, then sucked hard, definitely leaving a mark. As he pressed you so close to him, you could feel his covered hard-on against your bare stomach. Your head swam as he sucked on your earlobe and his hand left your head to wrap around your back.

"Jump." He ordered and you followed, his mouth landing on yours again as he left the bathroom. The man easily carried you and brought you to the bedroom, "Put me down a sec." You told him. Hoshi raised his eyebrow in question but did so. You immediately sank to your knees, and he groaned before you even touched him.

"You sure?" He asked.

"If I go to do something, I'm sure." You told him, implying for him to stop asking. He nodded and you nervously but quickly reached for the waistband of his only item of clothing. Exhaling, you removed the garment and gaped as he stepped out of it. Swallowing a build-up of saliva, you no longer had to imagine. What shocked you the most however was the two metal spheres adorning the head of his cock. A full reverse prince albert. That was the hottest thing you had ever seen.

"Good?"

"Yes." You cleared your throat, wiggling your jaw a bit then reached for him, laving your tongue around the head, the metal imbedded there cold where his flesh was hot. He swore as you began to descend. Your jaw protested some, but in the best possible way. You saw his eyes widen in shock then narrow as he moaned, your nose reaching his pelvis. Swallowing around him, the piercing was an odd sensation, you pulled back as little as possible so you could still breathe. Once you found the proper depth, you pulled off him and gave him a look, spreading your legs more and placing your hands on the floor.

"(Y/N)?" He asked and you simply opened your mouth wide, tongue out.

"Fuck." He practically growled and he adjusted your jaw by the chin and then he slid in. Keeping your teeth covered was a little difficult with his girth, but you managed. You could focus on that while he did all the movement. He had noticed what you were doing and made sure not to go too deep but every so often so you could still breathe. Your gag reflex was pretty much gone at that point for several different reasons, but with his size (and the piercing) you let out a small gag every once and a while. Hoshi's hands dug into your hair as he used your mouth, very quiet but high-pitched moans flowing out. Feeling him twitch, you knew he was close, and he almost pulled out. While part of him wanted to see your face covered, he much preferred it when you grabbed the back of his thighs and buried him completely in your throat.

"Oh, fuck." He groaned, throwing his head back as he came. You moaned at the feeling yourself and the vibration rolled his eyes back. When he was done, you swallowed to make sure everything went down and he pulled out fully, still half-hard. Licking your lips sensually, he huffed and reached down to lift you up under your arms. You yelped at the east to which he does this, and he literally tossed you onto the bed. He grabbed the fastener of your breast band; as he roughly pulled it open and off, the motion flipped you over onto your stomach. He was manhandling you with such ease. Hoshi moved your braid out of the way and started to lay seething kisses along your spine and over your shoulders. His hand came under you and ran down your stomach till the tips of his fingers reached the waistband of your leggings. He pulled your waist up, his now fully hard cock wedged between the cleft of your ass. You were definitely leaking through the fabric. Placing a final kiss on your shoulder, his hand hooked into your bottoms, and he tugged hard. You flipped over once again and as Hoshi dragged the last of your clothes off, he also tugged you to the foot of the bed. Before you could get your bearings, his hands gripped your thighs, tight, and pressed your legs open. You knew you would have bruises there in the morning and his hot breath on your core made your hips seize.

"W-wait-!" You gasped as his tongue licked a hot stripe up to your clit. You had never had this done before, just never really cared to. It was something new for sure and it was almost too much. The slight cold of the ball piercing his tongue made you flinch. You could feel hip lips curl into a smirk against you at this and caught him looking up at you. The sight was overwhelming, and he sucked hard on your clit, you head slamming back into the bed.

"You taste amazing." He groaned against your skin. His hands moved from your thighs, and he wrapped his arms around your legs and buried in deeper. The hold he had on you prevented almost all movement and your upper body squirmed to compensate. Hoshi's tongue seemed like it shouldn't be as long as it was, nor as strong. The piercing was brushing right against your entrance and hit your clit over and over. He was like a man starved, dehydrated, and he was sucking your soul out.

"Ah!" You almost screamed when he came back to your clit and your orgasm hit you, hard. It was stronger than you had ever experienced and lasted much longer. He groaned against you, his continued tongue movements dragging it out. When it finally calmed down, he pulled away as the overstimulation began to sting. The man let you catch your breath and when you were able to open your eyes to look at him and he was drenched.

"Oh my god!" You gasped and he just laughed, wiping his mouth and sucking everything else off his hand and fingers.

"You ever squirted before?" He asked and you shook your head, mortified.

"It’s okay, pretty girl, that was sexy." His smile was too cute for what he just did to you.

"You need a minute?" He asked and you rested back again with a nod. Delicately, instead of what he was doing before, he picked you up and shifted you higher up the bed. His lips came back to yours, gentle at first and growing heated again. There was something about his kisses, they alone made your head swim. Was it him or his skill? The tongue piercing? Who knows? As he felt your body become less tense, his arms wrapped around you and tilted your hips up so he could grind against you. You were still somewhat sensitive so even just the slight friction was so good. Already knowing this from when he was straining your jaw, you knew that his cock was going to stretch you so good. The sting would be so worth it. It had been a long time since anyone filled you up and no one had ever as much as you knew Hoshi was going to.

"You ready, princess?" He finally let your tongue go and you could not form a thought to make words, so you nodded. He smirked and the head poked at your entrance. As he eased in, the sting was more intense than you thought it would be, but so, so good. The stretch wasn't the only thing that took your breath away. That gosh darn piercing perfectly hit your clit and rubbing against your walls as eased in. At least he was self-aware of his size because he went slow, but knew he wasn't hurting you. Your hard exhales were tinged with a moan, nearly imperceptible. He was big, you knew part of it was because you were quite small, but his cock was impressive on its own.

"So tight." He grunted, grinding into you and your clit throbbed.

"J-just give me a sec." You gripped his shoulders, breathing through the delicious stretch. It felt incredible despite the slight pain. After you sat for a bit, he shifted some and then moved slowly, hiking your leg up over his elbow and he went even deeper.

"Fuck!" You moaned, your head tossed back, and you almost came again right then.

"You okay?" He chuckled some, he could tell by how you clenched that it felt good, not that it hurt. That fucking piercing brushed right against your sweet spot. Hoshi had already ruined you for any other man, and he hadn't even moved.

"Ready?" he asked, massaging your hip. You nodded and the hand on your hip tightened its grip, and his arm hiked your leg up higher. He barely pulled out, maybe an inch, then his hips snapped, and you came.

"Ohgodohgodohgod." He grunted as your walls clenched him tight and he was growing smug at the pleasure he was wreaking on you. In truth though, he was trying really hard not to cum already himself. He knew he would have some time before he could again given he had already came, but it had been a while. However, every other time he had waited this long, he could go for many, many rounds. If he could, he would keep you in his bed and in his hold for the rest of the day. He wanted to make it so you couldn't walk by the time he could bring you to the outpost. Honestly, he wanted to make it, so you never wanted to leave. When your orgasm died down, he waited a bit longer, you laid limp in his arms.

"You're gonna have to do all the work now." You told him with a tired giggle, like he wasn't already doing that. He smirked, notched your other leg up over his arm, then proceeded to fold your legs up to your chest. He pressed your thighs down with his hands, forming more bruises and you prepared yourself. His next thrust was almost hard enough (it seemed) to dislodge a kidney. It knocked the wind out of you and your sensitive skin burned. You were in for a ride. His thrusts were not even as hard as they could be, you knew. Hoshi only pulled his cock halfway out before he was buried as deep as he could go. After every thrust, he would grind down into your clit, the metal ball inside rubbing your g-spot. Your moans were getting harder to contain, you almost wanted to scream. Drool pooled out of the sides of your mouth; your entire body was on fire.

"Don't hold back, baby girl, let me hear you." He grunted out, his thrusts slowing but no less deep. Finally getting permission to be loud, you whined, and he unfolded you and led you to wrap your legs around his waist. Up on his knees, he positioned you to rest your lower back on his thighs and he rolled his hips to snap his cock into you over and over. The new position let that stupid piece of metal scrape perfectly against your walls, the head of his dick probably bruising your cervix. You were ruined, no thoughts in your head. You were letting out slurring moans of his name and pleas for…you weren't even sure at this point. He had fucked you stupid.

"(Y/N), pretty girl, where can I cum?" His thrusts had gotten more erratic, he wasn't able to hold back anymore.

"I-inside." You moaned, able to form a complete thought.

"Yeah?"

"Please." You keened and this sent him over the edge. Getting as deep as he could, he swallowed your moan, sliding his tongue back in your mouth, painting your insides white. The hot sensation gave you another orgasm, not nearly as strong though, and it was a relief. As the spurts of cum stopped, he pulled away from your mouth and he  chuckled at the fucked-out look you had.

"I'll let you rest, sweet, but then I'm going to fill you up again."

-> Series Hub <-

Master-Master List

Seventeen Master List

Taglist: @gaslysainz

[masc-ink]

Meet my version of Ghidorah(monster zero):

Meet my version of Ghidorah(monster zero):

Name: Ghidorah(Monster zero)

Right head- Ni

Middle head- Ichi

Left head- Kevin/San

Sex/Gender: male

Mate: (none/unknown)

Height: 542ft (sized up to be bigger/longer to match his mother)

extra: `all the heads seem to have some scaring mostly the right head of Ghidorah(ni) having the right side of his face fully torn, the middle heads(ichi) scaring goes across his entire face where it has healed/been put back together, while the left head(kevin/san) has a ring around the neck from when it has been ripped off more then once`

Parents:

Father- unknown)

Mother- Titanus/Queen Sagittarius)

Regeneration: regeneration for Ghidorah's works more like a lizard where they can regrow any part of there body over and over like a limb or there head rather then a slash or a cut

Ni-

`after the battle between Godzilla for earth, ni's face had gotten torn apart since it was not his whole head his face could not regenerate/regrow making his face scared and expose muscle and his sharp teeth`

Ichi:

`after being blown to shreds his he'd had regrown but not without some difficulty, being the main head it took longer for his head to fully regrow making his face scared /healed patchy `

Kevin/San:

`Sans head had gotten torn off and healed quite quickly as he had lost his head meny times before, becoming skilled at it, while his brothers where still healing it was his job to keep them alive by feeding, keeping hydrated and protecting them from scavengers while they were vulnerable`

[yayyyy! i finished meet my version of ghidorah, ye! finally did it, a few more things is san/kevin while still being silly and reackless is just as evil as the other two heads having no regrets for what he has done and will do it again as it is in his blood and he loves doing it- thats just my version tho :D]

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST OR USE WITHOUT ASKING FOR PERMS/AND IF U DO USE CREDIT ME PLS

[crow-aeris]

So i’ve been thinking (shocking, really) about the world building for my reverse robins wingfic.

ike, sure, it’s a little fic and ppl prolly won’t notice, but i just cant help but speculate.

in this au, everyone is born with wings unless afflicted with a certain illness, disease, or genetic defect that leaves you with no avian traits (which is the excuse the kents use).

but how would having wings influence the infrastructure? well, i’m glad you asked! cities are more compact because there isn’t really as big a need for transportation unless you’re an aves that’s just not built for long-distance travels like various passeriformes birds.

planes still exist, but they’re utilized by the avians who aren’t able to fly long distances. avians who have wings like albatrosses or terns or other soaring birds would probably require licenses to do their annual migrations and travels- same applies to regualr migritory species like ducks and geese- where the instinct remains despite not needing to migrate.

of course, with the constant migration through countries, i think there would be more mixing of races and ethnicities especially within the migratory bird communities, so there would probably be less overall hostilities.

now, there will still be discriminatory and hateful ideals, and some are shown in my fics. For example, Gotham’s elites are mostly made up of raptors and birds of prey like eagles, kites, kestrels, hawks, falcons, ospreys, owls, etc- birds who actively hunt down mammalian or lizards for prey (in the real world i mean), that is because of displays of powers. Scavengers like condors, vultures, buzzards, are regarded lower on the social ladder but not as low as perching birds and song birds simply because of their ability to have sustained flight.

like i mentioned briefly, songbirds and perching birds (passerines) are regarded lowly in general due to their “weak demeanor” and overall flashiness, which gives them the reputation of being only suitable to work in brothels and such regardless of gender (but especially dudes where the aves species exhibits sexual dimorphism, eg. cardinals, peacocks, golden pheasants, etc.)

there are definitely some exceptions, being corvids. some cultures have corvids as villans, whereas others may portray corvids as intelligent and charming.

now, we arrive to genetics. im still not 100% sure how i want the phenotype of an avian to be passed down. so far, it’s mainly just sons are the same aves as their fathers (like thomas wayne, bruce, and damian are all harpy eagles, but martha wayne was a kingfisher and talia is an imperial eagle), but im not sure abt daughters. genetics is messy, but i think i’ve managed to sertle on a 50/50 chance of being born either the same aves as their mother, or their paternal grandmother. like if damian had been born with xx instead of xy chromosomes, then he’d either have been an imperial eagle like talia, or a kingfisher like martha wayne. intersex people exist too, and i think their wings would be a blend between both their mother and father’s.

now for the the supers and the other metas:

as mentioned previously, the kents claim that their adopted son had a genetic disorder that basically prevented him from growing wings (or just left him in a state similar to humans before they were all “cursed” by a diety to have wings, or whatever. in the dcu, that probably woulnd’t even be too far fetched), so clark lacked a major social component to his childhood. without wings and a tail, others would have a harder time reading his emotions, seeing as these appendages are crucial in nonverbal communication between avians, and that gives clark a leg up in reading other people, but having them not understanding what he’s thinking.

now with jon and kon, they have two VERY different situations. for jon, since his paternal side is wings-free, i just gave him lois’s ave- western kingbird- instead of making him no-winged. kon, on the other hand was a test-tube baby, so it was a toss-up on whether he’d get lex luthor’s purple martin wings, or clark’s no-wings since they’re both guys. I think kon would’ve enjoyed wings, so i gave him the purple martin wings. Plus, they’re pretty much invulnerable, and their wings are no different.

diana and the other ppl from themyscira wouldn’t have wings since they aren’t human, and same applies to the other jl members who aren’t humans.

on a wholly separate note: the lazarus pits. here, not only does it give you white streaks in your hair, it’ll bleach out your feathers. so liek if a peacock was thrown into the pit, not only would they die and come back manic, their feathers would make them look like piebald, or have different markings or white ticking.

anyways, that’s the end of my long post, and i hope yall enjoyed listening to me speculate and talk about birds and my silly little guys!!

[puppetmaster13u]

Thinkin' of Slugcat Batfam again.

And I was thinking on like, if they were actually in Rainworld what sort of abilities each would have. Y'know, if they were playable scugs. So have my thoughts lol:

Bruce- Pretty much a batarang, he can throw a returning bladed boomerang of sorts at the cost of a food pip. Can also carry up to 3 spears at once.

Barbara- Has a skull pattern on her tail that mimics a vulture mask, meaning predators get spooked if they approach from behind- gives a couple seconds to escape before they try again

Dick- Give this man a double-jump. He's light and graceful and fast.

Cass- She doesn't give off vibrations- is pretty much invisible in darkness allowing for her to go through areas that have no lights without worry of things like the cave lizards.

Jason- Has an ability similar to Spearmaster in spear-generation through openings on the tail. But instead of grabbing them they fire out in all directions. Would probably have a slight cooldown for balancing purposes.

Steph- This girl can carry so much stuff. Multiple spears and store multiple objects in the fur on her tail. Though if a lizard or predator gets a hold it'd probably cause her to drop said extra things.

Tim- Gets extra length with spears and doesn't need to throw them to attack something if its close enough.

Duke- Tail glows like a built-in lamp, meaning he doesn't have to carry one and can run by spiders without getting attacked if he doesn't just sit there for minutes at a time.

Damian- Doesn't get attacked by scavengers, since he is half scav. Also has increased attack power on things meaning less spear throws are needed, but is also vegetarian meaning you don't need to hunt things

Jarro- Yellow lizards can't use their telepathy trick near him meaning it's easier to escape them. Can also breathe underwater so is fine as long as he avoids water predators.

Terry- Night vision. Can also use up a food pip to know where surrounding enemies are.

Links to the previous Posts:

First Post [With Alfred Design] The Batkids Talia, Khoa, Kate & Ivy/Harley Superman & Joker Gordon, Selina, Harvey & Ras

[crevicedwelling]

my mom recently read in a novel that some larger praying mantis species have been known to kill and eat hummingbirds. I know about bird-eating tarantulas, but I was curious if you knew of other insects who prey on birds, mammals, etc.? I know most will scavenge anything, but what abt critters who hunt? the idea of insects who hunt large prey is fascinating to me

large generalist predatory insects like mantises and katydids predominantly eat other insects, but the majority of the vertebrate prey they take is probably frogs and lizards, and typically ones smaller than themselves. hummingbirds might not be too representative of typical vertebrate prey because (I believe I heard a mantis researcher say) their metabolism is so tightly wound that the stress of being caught is enough to kill them, and all the mantis has to do is hang on, which they definitely can do. still, vertebrate predation is pretty impressive for orthopterans and mantodeans, since they’ve got to do it all without venom!

army ants of various types are also famous for their ability to catch vertebrates, but most army ants are actually specialists on other social insects (ants, wasps, termites), and the few generalist predator army ants still predominantly prey on invertebrates (and don’t skeletonize cows and horses like they do in cartoons).

diving beetles will hunt fish and aquatic amphibians—there’s a reason their larvae are called “water tigers!” belostomatid water bugs are probably the most impressive aquatic vertebrate-eaters though, and use powerful venom to subdue surprisingly large fish, tadpoles, and even other vertebrates:

outside of insects, there’s a lot of spiders that can feed on herptiles, either by overpowering them with strength like huntsmen and tarantulas, or by snaring them in webs like widows, the most successful snake eaters:

plus, there’s always the famous Nephila orbweavers whose sturdy webs can catch avian prey, but this is probably a fairly rare occurrence.

going over to centipedes, giant scolopendrids are quite successful predators of vertebrates, with any species large enough likely preying on herptiles, and occasionally on some far larger than they are!

Scolopendra venom is evolved to take down large prey, so it’s no surprise they’re some of the most prolific vertebrate-eaters in the arthropod world. some very large Scolopendra (gigantea, maybe galapagoensis, viridicornis, heros) will hunt bats, sometimes by hanging to catch them in flight. other predation on mammals and birds seems to occur opportunistically, especially where the prey is helpless: S. galapagoensis was recorded feeding on baby rodents in the Galapagos; other island species like Cormocephalus coynei will feed on seabird chicks (enough with the “fluffy” avian favoritism, Nature! ‘pedes gotta eat).

oh, speaking of nestling-devouring, there’s also some freaky observations of slugs munching on soft mushy songbird babies! someone on Twitter had their nest camera record some chicks getting eaten by a large Carabus ground beetle, but I can’t find it again.

but I think the most shocking example of vertebrate predation by an invertebrate is probably Epomis, another ground beetle. as larvae, they feed on frogs far larger than they are by letting themselves get attacked, latching onto the would-be predator, and munching on it until it perishes. adult beetles also prey on amphibians, but just run them down instead of luring prey.

(there’s also video of the adult beetles preying on frogs, but they seem to all be stolen by some weird content scraper YT channels, so I’ll not post them here.)

let me know if I missed any good examples of vertebrate predation by bugs!

[rwpolls]

*i limited the options to items that any non-saint slugcat can eat. creatures like lizards, scavengers, etc are excluded since they're only edible for certain slugcats and i don't really consider them to be food items by default

[charmilyharmily]

The Amazing Digital Downpour

Woe, Rainworld and TADC au be upon ye.

It’s mostly just the designs but I’m still going to ramble about what’s planned down below

So the general premise is ‘What if the circus was in rain world’ and this is it.

Caine and Bubble are the classic duo of iterator and overseer. But Caine has kinda forgotten his original goal and so has taken on the task of keeping all these not ancient ancients from going insane through fun challenges and adventures. Especially since there’s no escape from his can due to some technical oversights during his creation, and the whole cycle thing prevents anyone from truly dieting, so that’s not an escape either.

(If they die they just get ‘respawned’ the next cycle with minimal harm; everyone still remembering and coping with it)

Now on to the main stars of this show. Everyone here was at some point an ancient and only remembers attempting to ascend before suddenly falling from a random pipe within Caines structure. Oh and ending up in rather unusual bodies.

Caine has no idea where they come from nor how they appeared, so that’s a dead end. And escape is practically impossible as far as anyone is aware.

So what’s going on with everyone?

Pomni

Weird lantern mouse (her tail glows instead of her open tire body)

Absolutely minuscule

Practically shakes from how much anxiety she has

Otherwise she’s the Pomni you know and love

Just add on some extra existential dread

Ragatha

Mostly a normal slugcat

Just extra fluffy

Surpassingly craft for having less dexterous hands

Kinger

Scavenger

Just a weirdly colored scav

About as obsessed with bugs as he is with pearls

Somehow has managed to get quite the collection of both

Jax

Really weird slugcat

Got lizard in him or something

Still just as much of a jerk

Has absolutely gotten everyone killed once

Zooble

They’re just a mix of everything, you name it, it’s probably in there (somewhere)

Which has somehow led to them being pretty chill, guess all those instincts just cancel everything out

Takes full advantage of their size, and uses it to scare off Jax (no it has not stopped him from being the end of them)

Gangle

A garbage worm with some vulture

She’s still heavily influenced by her masks for her emotions, although to a lesser degree

Without them she looks mostly like a normal garbage worm (just red)

She gets very upset and angry, and will chase whoever stole or broke her mask (only does it for awhile till she tries herself out)

After she tires herself out she just acts generally mopey

Is in fact made of three different organisms, the smaller worms act as her arms

Bubble

It’s Bubble not much to say

He’s an overseer and acts the exact same, if not more annoying since he has more free reign

Caine

He’s an iterator, capable of controlling practically everything in his can

His face got destroyed before anyone can remember (Kinger doesn’t count)

Just as clueless on how ancients work, he didn’t get to talk with them much

He will often create purposed organisms and alter his structure to fit the daily adventure, trying to keep it from killing anyone

The structure is unusual, almost like it was made for what’s currently happening

With huge rooms and areas just mostly empty, and much more editing capabilities than most iterators

Despite being trapped in his room, he tries to stay connected vie Bubble and built in screens

A better image of the height chart

[thatpikmin]

SLUGCAT DESIGNS AND LORE

Nightcat/Watcher will come in the future

The survivor

After a terrible rain storm washing them down into outskirts survivor wonders the world looking for monk with Hunter and gourmand

- adult slugcat

- dating watcher

-

The monk

When hopping into the hole after survivor, he ended up in a different location searching the world for survivor with saint and inv

- teen slugcat

-

-

The hunter

Sent by NSH he goes to pebble’s land waiting for the collapse to help him recover after the fall, while traveling with gourmand and survivor however, after witnessing the fall of moon he saves her instead, and discovers the truth about his status

- trans 🏳️‍⚧️

-

-

The gourmand

After the clan banished artificer, he went out to get her back, but along the way, discover Hunter and survivor, he now has to stop his daughter from mass genocide and bring her home

- leader of their clan

- adopted arti

-

The artificer

Banished from their home, they searched for a new place to raise their pups but was in vain after their death swore vengeance against the whole scavenger population for killing their pups and hatred against other slugcats

- adopted daughter of gourmand

- acidic spit?

- blind in one eye

The rivulet

Was the next chieftain in line before an accident with scavenger toll becoming an outlaw, he met with SP.M in outskirts and joined him on his adventure until the fall of pebbles

- princess/prince

- dating SP.M?

- trans?

The spearmaster

A messenger sent to help pebbles with his rot, however after his pearl was ripped he began to make his way back to farm arrays, but then bumped into rivulet and been traveling since

- the SRS headphones allow him to listen to broadcasts

- patch made by himself

- dating rivulet?

The saint

they were buddies with “the friend” and and took care of a slugpup, (the poacher). Saint lost friend to a scavenger attack and poacher to starvation. They wondered the world alone until they found inv and monk

- dating inv

- weak from lizard related injuries

- coat from the friend

The inversed (inv)

Inv is a purposed organism made by SOS, they kept SOS company until they had enough of being ignored so they stole SOS’s solution to their problem and killed SOS, causing the structure to fall. Now they wonder the world with saint after helping monk find their lost sibling

- dating Saint

- egg is solution

-

The watcher

[Has no lore]

- dating survivor

-

-

[foxstens]

metropolis is weird

[bees-draws]

TWO TOMORROWS THEY/THEM

One of the eldest of their local group.

Original design incorporated a lot of knowledge on purposed organisms, intending for them to find a biological solution to The Great Problem, back when the Ancients were convinced the great Cycle could be escaped by finding how the "soul" was attached to the body.

When the mindset shifted from the biological changes to the use of void fluid, they were used less and less for their original purpose. For many cycles, they were simply used to help design and better purposed organisms- including other iterators.

When the Ancients disappeared, they occupied themselves by continuing this trend. They continued to create purposed organisms, such as Pipecleaners, Skyhauls, and Gardeners.

Gardeners are their favorite creation. They're large, cincipedal creatures that TT uses to interact with the world around them- mostly, by gardening. Their entire metropolis has been converted into a massive plane called the Sprawling Garden.

The Sprawling Garden, true to it's name, is a gigantic jungle of plants and animals contained on top of TT's can. Most of these organisms are ones of TT's own making- but many of the local flora and fauna has found it's way up there, including a variety of lizards, vultures, and even a clan of scavengers. TT doesn't mind these hitchhikers... so long as they respect the Garden.

However, despite their almost obsessive interest in being able to observe and interact with the world around them, they tend to shut themselves away from other Iterators... especially since many find them offputting, in the way they view the world. Many claim they've 'abandoned' their true purpose, and view other iterators almost the same as the other organisms that reside in their garden.

-----

Two Tomorrows is an iterator designed for @buoyantinnature's Collab Colony!

[endieshere]

That feeling when you are just trying to eat and some AH comes and throws a spear at you, just because you "were eating his clan".

BE WARNED! THIS ONE IS GOREY

//Yee, another RW oc and this time She is a big cookie. Don't have a name for her yet but she is a fusion between a Train lizard and a slugcat, making her taller and capable of taking 3 hits (now only 2 since that spear got stuck) before being killed off. She doesn't have the fast charge but she can climb poles and has a deadly bite with the additional a bit faster movement in general//

//Poor baby got stabbed by a scavenger, vote for Artificer to eradicate the threat >:[//

[flecks-of-stardust]

An Analysis of the Character of Artificer

Due to the design of Rain World as a survival simulator of a little creature in an ecosystem, the capacity for exploring complex narratives of the player characters within the game is comparatively limited. Even still, Artificer's campaign presents a clear and explicit storyline, both directly and indirectly through the way the world is shaped by their actions. In one way or another, Artificer's campaign presents Arti as someone who has committed mass slaughter and genocide of the scavenger population on Pebbles' facility grounds without driving home the implications of their actions until the very end of the campaign, allowing ever more carnage and destruction that only feeds into the themes of their story. In this post I'll be going into why I think it can be easy to overlook these themes, as well as how the mechanics of the game and some aspects of the code further assist the story being told in Arti's campaign.

*Note: There was previously a paragraph about NPC Arti's, but it has since been removed.

Preface

Throughout this post, I will be using they/them pronouns for Artificer. This isn't a reflection of my headcanons on them, but rather just a way to analyze them as a character within their story with fewer biases, I guess. I don't really care what pronouns you prefer for Arti, this is solely just based on my default of they/them pronouns for any and all slugcats.

Aside from that, this post primarily discusses the chieftain scavenger ending, wherein Arti reaches the throne room in Metropolis and kills the chieftain scavenger. The alternative ascension ending is acknowledged, but will not be examined in depth.

On top of that, whenever I make any comparisons between Arti and another slugcat, I will be using Survivor's stats and general gameplay as my default unless explicitly stated otherwise. The term 'slugcat' will be used in lieu of an actual name except when Arti is concerned.

Rain World's Design

Rain World is, at its core, a survival simulator. The player is given the bare minimum of tools needed to survive, and then is dumped into the game and left to figure everything out on their own. What's edible, what's friendly, what isn't, all of that is left for the player to stumble around, fail, and discover. Iggy is there to help sometimes, but by and large, the player is on their own.

One thing players will quickly realize is that enemies are eager to hunt them down and eat them. The first introduction many players have to enemies is likely either a green lizard, a tanky, resilient behemoth, or a pink lizard, which is nimble enough to chase the player up poles. At the same time, it's not hard to recognize that even though enemies will kill the player, they are all doing it to get a meal, something that the player is also trying to do. It's nothing personal, unlike how enemies will immediately attack the player for the sole reason of them being the player in many other games. It's simply a matter of survival.

In this manner, Rain World presents a dichotomy of player versus enemy. Either the player escapes the clutches of an enemy and survives, or the enemy kills the player and gets a meal to fill its belly. Ideally, the player would never run into any enemies at all—some cycles may prove to have such fortune—but most of the time, the player will be forced to deal with enemies and have to figure out how to escape dangerous situations created by these enemies. There's a variety of ways with which to do this; using spears to dispatch enemies is a quick and clean option if the player is experienced enough, but in a lot of cases, simply running will suffice.

There's not much of a focus on fighting enemies, however. Rather, the focus is on surviving them, and the enemy does not need to die for the player to survive. On top of that, there's little to no narrative weight applied to the survival of the player, or lack thereof. The world moves on regardless of if the player lives or dies, whether they sleep with a full belly or with hunger pangs wracking their body. The basic gameplay loop is both simple and complex: Survive, or don't. How that is achieved is up to the player.

Naturally, players want to survive. They want to live to explore and experience the game and any story that may be present. With whatever means are necessary, players will fight to survive, in a way that very much embodies what the slugcat they're playing as may feel too. The slugcat may, on the surface, be a blank state, but through the players' actions, they come to life in how they choose to survive.

The Design of Artificer's Campaign

Then we have Artificer. The first action performed by them in their campaign is to eat a scavenger's corpse, in a room littered with several other scavenger corpses. The implication is clearly that they killed all of them, a fact further confirmed by the immediate aggression of the scavengers to the left of Arti's spawn. It shouldn't take long for the player to notice that every scavenger they come across instantly becomes aggressive, a feature that is unique to Arti's campaign.

Regardless of how the player may feel about scavengers prior to playing Arti's campaign, if they want to survive, they are forced to kill scavengers. After all, the scavengers show them no mercy, so why should the player show restraint? And so begins a trail of bloodshed, one that follows both the player and Arti as the campaign progresses. Death is common, normalized, and quickly swept aside; it's all for the sake of survival, anyways. If it wasn't the scavengers, then it would be the player, and no one wants that.

By framing it as a matter of survival, the game itself sets up a framework for desensitization to all the murder that is occurring. The player's actions are always immediately justifiable with the notion of survival: Rather the scavenger than me. Body counts of ten, twenty, even up to fifty can happen due to scavengers actively seeking the player out to kill them, and if the player wants to live, the scavengers all must die. It's exceedingly easy to see the number of deaths tallied at the end of the cycle and rationalize it with the idea that it was necessary for survival. And for Arti's campaign, that's not untrue. In positioning the campaign as player versus scavengers, either the player kills the scavengers and lives, or the scavengers kill the player.

However, this ignores the fact that the scavengers are also doing this as a means of survival. They, too, are simply trying to survive. They are not killing Arti—or the player, who is acting as Arti—for the sake of bloodshed. They are doing it out of necessity.

Rain World Creature AI and Scavenger AI

One of the things Rain World is most lauded for is its creature AI. Creatures are, in many ways, not created to be enemies, but rather to fill in a niche in a much bigger ecosystem. What the player encounters in any given cycle is often random. The lizard that killed the player in their last cycle may have wandered off someplace new this cycle, allowing the player to progress further. What creatures do is also managed by this AI, which can sometimes lead to unpredictable behavior.

Scavengers are the creatures whose behavior is most often cited as unpredictable, in part due to having the most AI complexity out of any other creature present in Rain World. They operate on a level similar to that of the player, and also think similarly to the player in many aspects. Sometimes, scavengers may kill players for the crime of simply existing too close to them, or because they approached a scavenger when its back was turned and their presence startled them, or for some other arguably asinine reason that the player may find unfair. However, scavengers do not have a way of determining whether a slugcat is friend or foe until the slugcat is in their vicinity, much in the same way that players do not know whether a new creature is dangerous or not when they first encounter it until they interact with it. "Better safe than sorry" is a philosophy that almost all players will have used at one point or another, wherein they will kill a creature for simply existing because they were scared. Scavengers are no different.

Scavengers are also one of six different creatures with a reputation system in Rain World, and one of four with reputation systems that the player can meaningfully influence (the other three being lizards, squidcadas, and jetfish). Of these four, scavengers are the only creature the game ever teaches players to befriend. If following Iggy, the players are instructed to take a pearl and trade it with scavengers at the lower Garbage Wastes scavenger toll, and from there it is not a far leap to think that other scavengers may also like to receive pearls as gifts. They will also accept many other things as gifts, such as vulture masks, karma flowers, even spears, all of which increases the player's reputation among scavengers by some amount. It is easy, almost expected, for players to raise their reputation with scavengers, and many players opt to do this for the sake of simplicity. By going to a toll and paying it twice across two different cycles, the player's reputation will be sufficiently high enough that scavengers in a given region will never be a threat to them.

Conversely, in most cases, the player has to actively choose to anger and harm scavengers to decrease their scavenger reputation. The player has to go out of their way to steal items from scavengers, cross tolls without paying, or kill scavengers to draw their ire. Aggression in response to that is natural; the player has demonstrated that they are either untrustworthy, dangerous, or both, and scavengers are primarily concerned with their own survival. The act of scavengers killing the player is less personal than it is that they simply want their kind to be safe. The world does not revolve around the player. The world does not need to worship the choices the player makes. If they choose to harm creatures, they will face the consequences of their actions, and it just so happens that scavengers are often the most capable of handing out these consequences.

The reputation system for all creatures with reputation runs on a scale of +100, maximum possible reputation, to -100, minimum possible reputation. At 0, the player's reputation is neutral. Scavengers are uncertain around the player, and may react differently depending on their personality traits. Below 0, scavengers are more likely to be afraid of the player and attack them. Below -75, scavengers begin to send kill squads after the player, which always know where the player is and will automatically pathfind to them. In virtually any case, it is impossible for the player to reach -75 reputation or lower with scavengers without actively choosing to kill them, and by that point, the automatic aggression of scavengers is warranted. If the player has shown no mercy to the scavengers, the scavengers have no reason to show mercy to the player either.

Artificer's Reputation

Artificer's starting reputation for all creatures is lowered, and as the player progresses through their campaign, it is likely that these values will only continue to lower. Killing any creature lowers an All Reputation value, which decreases reputation across the board; due to Arti's carnivorous diet, bloodshed is virtually inevitable.

Scavengers are uniquely exempt from All Rep changes, running entirely on their own reputation system, and for Arti in particular, scavenger reputation is locked to -100. It is impossible for Arti to raise their scavenger rep (without the use of mods), which forces the player to fight any scavenger they come across. The fact that their scavenger reputation is locked to the lowest possible value is also indicative of their past interactions with scavengers. Whether the player likes it or not, Arti has been killing scavengers for far longer than the game shows, enough that nothing they will ever do will atone for the deaths they've caused. There is no peaceful way forward between Arti and the scavengers. Any interaction they have must be marked in blood.

The only thing the player can do regarding scavengers is kill them. If they want to survive, there must be death. The player, as Arti, can only perpetuate the violence that has already been wrought, because the scavengers will not stop fighting for the survival of their own kind, and by the nature of Rain World as a video game, the player also cannot stop fighting. If the player is willing to see the campaign through to the end, there is only one way forward.

A Story Painted in Blood

Of course, if you've ever played Arti's campaign (or watched someone else play it), you know the reason behind Arti's hatred for scavengers. Two pups, dead by their heads. An understandable resentment rose from this; no one wants to grieve the loss of a loved one, let alone a parent grieving the loss of their children. Perhaps there was some initial notion of revenge in Arti's actions, fueled by those early moments of grief, because grief changes people. Grief is ugly, raw, and complex, and can twist even the most well meaning people into the most horrible versions of themselves. Desperation to avenge the deaths of their children could have led to the idea that killing the scavengers would atone for their loss. Or, in the throes of grief, Arti lashed out and grievously injured a scavenger, drawing the anger of the other scavengers at one of their kind being harmed, which started a cycle of violence between Arti and the scavengers. All sorts of theories and conclusions about the initial reason behind this bloodshed can be drawn from the loss of Arti's pups, but none of them would have any concrete basis.

What we do know is that none of that bloodshed changed anything. No death of a scavenger could ever bring Arti's pups back, and clearly it did not soothe their grief either. Everything that we are shown that Arti has done in the past has done nothing but fuel the situation that we see in their campaign: Endless violence, driven by the need to survive, which only further perpetuates the violence. It's a never ending cycle of blood and death that neither Arti nor the scavengers can break out of, because none of them are willing to be the first to stand down.

The survival aspect, too, intertwines with whatever notion Arti may have had of revenge. We are shown in no uncertain terms that their goal is to exterminate the entire scavenger population, and loosely implied beside that is that the deaths of their pups caused this. But genocide is not retribution; killing every scavenger they come across does not avenge their pups, because their pups are dead and no longer have a say in what they wish could be done. Everything that Arti does now is driven only by their own desire to keep pushing the cycle of violence forward. Is it revenge or survival if every scavenger Arti comes across must be killed before they are killed first? And this uncertainty only further fuels the flame. Every scavenger, every enemy that Arti comes across must die, because if it doesn't, then Arti will die (and their pups will have died in vain). With every push for survival that Arti makes, every enemy they strike down, they only make more enemies, endlessly perpetuating the violence that they attract.

The player only contributes to this. Choosing to survive means choosing to murder. To live is to survive at the detriment of everything in your way. And on top of that, many players choose to push it even further, hunting for the sake of hunting, killing for the sake of killing. Rain World is a video game in the end, but every death that the player causes is still, always, a death within the context of this world. Where even is the line between killing for the sake of survival and murder for the sake of murder when playing as Arti? And, if the line exists, does it mean anything? The violence only continues onward, no matter the answer.

Even if the player chooses to reject this way of life, hunting down the echoes and going to the Void Sea to ascend, Arti is at best one level of karma short of karma 10. The player, if committed to pacifism, has to wait for a viable scavenger corpse, or they must kill a scavenger themself to successfully bypass the guardians and enter the lower caverns of the Depths. This also does not erase however long Arti has chosen to wage war on the scavenger population, because once again, there is never any chance for Arti to increase their scavenger reputation. It has all gone too far, and Arti cannot change what has been done. Some things simply cannot be forgiven.

Cognitive Dissonance and Player Theory

Despite all of this, it is still easy for players not to register the impacts of what they're doing until potentially the very end of Arti's campaign, where a slideshow of Arti killing every scavenger in sight as they flee in terror is shown. The impact of any karma the player may have gained all being confiscated, once again and permanently locking Arti's karma at 1, as well as the post-game artwork that shows them covered in blood, are potentially the first instances of the player realizing how much death and destruction they've caused. It takes being slapped in the face with a visual representation of the trail of death they've left behind for many players to think about Arti's story as something not of triumph, but horror.

Obviously, one of the reasons behind this is the fact that Rain World is a video game. The player is simply carrying out a story, merely doing things because they're told to, directly or indirectly. Killing things is just part of the game, after all. Analysis of the game's events is done only by a subset of fans of a piece of media, in particular this sort of deep dive into what the actions of the player character mean within their universe. To a lot of people, this is just a game, and that's fine.

Building on that reason, however, is that Rain World is exceedingly good at dulling the impact of the death within the game. Every kill is simply just a number on the screen. Three lizards dead is just three lizards dead, and maybe a good meal from one of them. Twenty scavengers killed is just twenty scavengers. These are all pixels on a screen, little blips of light that don't mean anything the moment you turn your computer off. Killing something in Rain World is just a triumph of the player over the enemy, nothing more, nothing less. The player is simply surviving.

Taking a step closer to the world crafted inside the game, however, causes things get more sinister. Twenty deaths—parents, siblings, children, friends, other loved ones, even acquaintances—is an unimaginable number to most people. Losing everyone that you've ever known and loved and cared for, just in the snap of a finger, is not a scenario that most people would ever want to think about, and one that, hopefully, only a subset of people will ever experience. This is not something that anyone should ever experience.

But this is the reality of life for the scavengers in Arti's campaign. At any given moment, Arti could swoop in and slaughter a scavenger's entire family. There is no certainty of whether someone will live or die, whether they will still be there next cycle, because Arti could have killed them for the sole reason of them being a scavenger. An entire culture, a budding civilization, even, leveled at the hands of one singular slugcat. That is genocide. It's no wonder that the scavengers kill Arti on sight, and that there isn't a way for Arti to ever increase their scavenger reputation. When they've destroyed that many families, killed that many friends, children, parents, grandparents, partners, what have you, a change of heart on their part means nothing. It won't ever bring those who have been killed back.

It's easy to overlook, isn't it? What does 100 dead scavengers mean to you? And what does 100 dead scavengers mean to a scavenger? The player's actions hold no weight in the real world, obviously, but that doesn't change the impact of what it means within the context of the game. And yet, it's so simple to justify. You're just surviving, aren't you? It's kill or be killed. Rather 100 dead scavengers than me.

That is the mastery of Artificer's campaign. The story and its themes tie so well into the game's mechanics and the way that players think that many do not question it until the end. For the brief moments of playing Artificer, you adopt their mindset, without even really trying to. And that makes everything that you do—and that Arti does—much easier to ignore, and just makes it that much more horrifying. And that is a good story.