#rainworld: imitation

[aegagrusscholarship]

behold ! my turbo cancer

ok actually the imitation is not actual rot (nor is it a slugcat, it just makes itself slugcat shaped sometimes). it's a similar type of hyper-omnivorous colonial organism but it's distinct enough that if it and some iterator's turbo cancer came into contact, both of them would start violently eating each other

which is to say that if you toss it at a DLL, good news! the DLL will be dead at the end of the cycle. bad news! imitation is also going to be dying for the entire cycle

[moonpoolcat]

Epoch Moon Backstory (Long version)

Ya'll actually did it. Okay. As promised, here is the longer version of Moon lore. I'm not very good with rainworld lore no, none of this is tied to anything canon to the game, for the love of christ DO NOT spam my inbox trying to correct me. Everything has been written months in advance so there will be no changes unless it proves to be an obstacle in future posts. So sit back, put on some music, because this is going to be extremely long. How does this universe work? Simple! This universe takes place before the Rivulet campaign (don't worry they still show up in this timeline. All iterators are able to leave from their cans at will with no restraints. They have the ability shift into animals their creators designed them from. Their superstructures are mobile (yes i'm letting these mfs move) and are able to traverse the land long as they're close to resources such as ground water an void fluid. The cities are wrapped in a gravity that keeps it from tipping over or falling off. The rot is curable in this universe but only if cured within a short timespan. I hope this helps.

The beginning-

In the beginning, when the iterators first emerged, they served their creators known as the ancients. The ancients, who held the first generation by the throat, gave no hope for individuality. LTTM and other iterators of her generation had no concept of mentors. Instead, they were self-taught and guided by their administrators. The ancient who mentored her was named Spangled Sinking Dagger, four hundred flowers. belonging to the House of Silhouette, count of 8 living blocks, Counselor of 13, Mother, and spouse, and the true founder of the Congregation of Moderated Dedication. Also, she was a legend, and was the administrator responsible for LTTM's creation, oversaw Moon teachings. In this universe, iterators have three stages of growth, and the role of the senior respectfully. The puppets being a small part of them were meant to interact with the real world, but they can grow into whatever size suits them best depending on the conditions and environment the ancients placed them in. Moon and her creator's relationship, basically parent and child, was not a very cherished one. Spangles' teachings were very strict, keeping Moon on a tight leash and making sure the iterator stayed on course in terms of finding a solution to the great problem. This did cause trauma, as Moon only knew to obey and never ask questions out of term under any circumstances.

However, the maintenance worker, Five Webbed Clouds, a spiraling anchor, was responsible for maintaining the stability of LTTM's superstructure and would then go on to help build Five Pebbles. Five Webbed Clouds was much kinder to the iterator than Moon's creator. He was the only ancient Moon who had any real physical connection with helping Moon's personality develop. It does not come without its setbacks. The ancients believed their creations were incapable of expressing emotion, merely imitating it for the sake of communication. Moon was one such exception. Despite being one of the many first iterators created, she was not limited in terms of emotions. Many iterators hardly even noticed Moon's behavior, as they saw it as natural - until someone pointed it out. Her behavior of showing more compassion and empathy than the standard iterator, thanks to her maintenance worker who gave Moon more permission to develop her personality, drew other iterators towards her rather than away. Though some had doubts, such as an iterator that went by "Enlightened Overturned Silk," who joined Moon's local group not too long ago speculated that Moon's kindness would inevitably be her downfall in the long run, but was brushed off as harmless by the majority.

The original members of her local group were Sliver of Straw, Chasing Winds, and EOS, along with others. Later, Seven Red Suns and Sig joined the group as the youngest members before the arrival of Five Pebbles and UP. Moon worked hard to build an empire based on friendship and determination, creating a sanctuary for all forms of life. Because of this, she earned the titles "Mother Moon" and "Queen Moon," with all the fourth-generation iterators looking to her for comfort and safety. As Moon matured, she realized she didn't have an apprentice of her own, even though she was told that it was not necessary for seniors to have one. However, Sliver insisted that she should have a successor since there was no one else to become admin after her should anything happen under strange circumstances or natural causes. This made taking on an apprentice seem like a good idea? LTTM was originally planning to take on Seven Red Suns as an apprentice, but he was taken under the wing of EOS instead, with the trust that EOS would teach Suns to the best of his abilities. Overall, the local group had become a refuge for troublesome generation 4 iterators. She was more than willing to let them in, as her group was able to shape them into what iterators should be. They were then released back to their mentors, but this time with much more personality and individual freedom. This allowed them to make a significant mark, prompting all local groups to replicate these methods. Everyone agreed it was best not to traumatize the youth with what they had to endure when they were younger.

Moon's first apprentice was Unparalleled Innocence, a spirited, feisty fourth generation iterator who was spoiled yet poorly maintained by her creators. Moon, being a merciful iterator, brought Para into her local group and took on mentoring the young iterator herself. With the arrival of Five Pebbles, Moon was overjoyed, considering Pebbles as a younger brother. Pebbles was the last fourth generation iterator to be created, and their cans were so close to each other Moon was default his Admin. Moon introduced Pebbles to the local group with open arms, giving him the nickname "young prince" as she was already nicknamed a queen. She hosted a ceremony to make him feel welcomed, just as she had done for all the newest members.

Everyone reacted positively, except for Unparalleled Innocence, who didn't like the idea of the young prince taking up Moon's time. Later on, Moon found it tough to juggle work and mentoring. The responsibilities of being a senior were much more stressful than watching over a rebellious teenager. Moon couldn't manage both at the same time. The task of teaching was then passed on to Chasing Winds, who kindly offered to mentor Para until Moon could return. However, this arrangement didn't last long, as Para proved to be difficult and too stubborn for Grey Winds to handle. The young iterator saw their work as meaningless and boring, desiring more entertainment and excitement, which was an insult to their purpose, especially because it was based on pacifism. This caused Grey Winds to give up on mentoring Para after she rejected his teaching style. Moon tried her best to find someone in her local group to mentor Para, but no one was willing to take on the challenge of handling such a troublesome individual. Everyone, except Seven Red Suns, had already taken on the duties of mentoring Moon's troublesome brother, Five Pebbles, who had reached an age where he questioned everything and became rebellious. Para would be no different. Suns didn't mind, for he had already corrected this behavior through specific methods of discipline with Pebbles. They were mildly violent, yes, but Moon approved of it as it was the only way to try and teach the two their place within the local group. Moon knew Sun's silent aggression was enough to combat Innocence's loud ferocity and hopefully tame the little fox into becoming more modest and less quick to assumptions that lead nowhere.

As the great ascension began, Moon didn't have an attachment to her creators as they left for the void sea. She made sure that every last one left her city and never returned. The cycles she had to endure by her administrator encouraged Moon to do the impossible and she was the first to break free from her umbilical, standing firm before her creator as she ascended the elevator. She mocked the ancients that had spent their entire existence tormenting her. They cursed Moon's name, but it didn't matter, as Moon's act of rebellion became the reason she became an echo, forever locked in their prison to be mocked by Moon out of spite.

The maintenance worker that built her had sealed himself in a stasis pod deep within her structure, instructing Moon to never wake him up until a specific amount of cycles had passed. Moon didn't miss her ancients at all. She respected them, yes, but missed them? No. They were just parasites on her back with opinions.

Grief and healing

Moon felt proud of Five Pebbles and Innocence, for they had come a long way since unit 1, becoming very intelligent yet maturing iterators thanks to Suns. On this night, it was supposed to be a time of independence and celebrations for iterators who had finally found their place in the world, free to do whatever they pleased. Little did Moon know - this would be the last time she would ever see Sliver of Straw again. Five cycles later, Sliver would send out the "Triple Affirmative" never to be seen or heard from again. The signal shocked every local group to their core; a solution had been found, but Sliver had died before she could even explain. Moon was heartbroken. The love of her life had just died before her eyes without any explanation. She knew Sliver was close to a solution, doing everything she could to help, promising a future where they could ascend together. But she hadn't expected she would find it so soon. Instead of using overseers, Moon made the journey to Sliver's can herself, in denial that her love had truly just "died." She wasn't the only one.

Billions of iterators. Young, and old. Who saw the triple affirmative and considered Sliver a leader, inspiration, a friend, made the journey hoping it wasn't true and that they could somehow save her ignoring they were miles apart from each other. Moon was the first to arrive, but it was already too late. LTTM, her local group, and all the local groups, present or via overseer, gathered together to mourn Sliver.

Moon made sure that Sliver's puppet was taken care of, as everyone pitched in to create an altar around her body so that all of them could mourn her properly, as the first iterator to ascend. Only NSH stayed behind and helped Moon mourn. Moon had no choice but to move on; her local group needed her, for it would have been what Sliver wanted if she was still alive. That also didn't mean that she would find companionship in someone else either. Sig was more than happy enough to fill that missing hole in Moon's heart as he eased the senior from spiraling into depression.

Despite the initial challenges, the discovery of a solution encouraged many groups to continue their work as iterators. However, it also led to divisions among the groups. The Sliverest group focused on investigating the cause of Slivers' deaths, hoping to replicate a solution. Meanwhile, the anti-Sliverest faction accused Sliver of Straw of betrayal and opposed any discussion of the self-destruct taboo. Those who disagreed were silenced or removed from chatlogs. Although Moon opposed the creation of the Sliverest group, she saw value in their role. The data pearls left by Sliver were stored in a secure room within Sliver's can, and Moon was the only one with access. The Sliverest group was tasked with protecting Sliver's can from anti-Sliverest iterators. Access to the room was restricted to Moon and other trusted admins.

The incident...

Work continued, and she and Sig would form a formidable pair. They wouldn't do anything without the other. Moon insisted that Sig become an admin, but for that to happen, he needed to take on an apprentice, which he had never done before. Another local happily gifted one by sheer luck. The role could have gone to Seven Red Suns for taking on two apprentices at once while managing a large workload. However, after witnessing his crippling sanity and the banishment of EOS for malpractice and physical/emotional abuse, he was proven to be unfit for seniority due to his unstable mental health. This sparked conflict between Seven Red Suns and Sig. Moon tried her best to explain the reasons behind her decision to Suns, but they blamed her for favoritism, leading them to never trust Moon's word again. During another meeting, a fight broke out between him and his brother Chasing Winds, one that she had to promptly break apart.

What Moon didn't know was that her late wife's death would cause her brother, Pebbles, to fall into madness himself. He started bringing up very unusual topics and theories that were not aligned with the main issue, thinking outside of the box as younger generations of iterators tend to do. This behavior concerned the entire local group including his sister Moon who could only discouraged Pebbles from speaking on such subjects instead of scolding him. Meanwhile, Suns, still holding a grudge about his canceled seniority against Moon, would do something that would ultimately lead to an event that would cost Moon her life. (You already know what happens) Five Pebbles began his experiment, causing Moon to panic as he took a large amount of ground water shared within their territory. Despite multiple attempts to get Pebbles to stop, he had cut all forms of communication. Moon was unaware of why he was doing this, but it marked the start of her slow, agonizing cycles of dehydration as Moon's eternal systems began to fail. Moon pleaded with Pebbles to stop his experiment, even using her senior privilege to force a broadcast and beg for her life. However, Pebbles was merciless, with his only goal being to break the taboo and end the cycle. He ceased all contact. Moon's last message was broadcast with the help of Spearmaster, sent by Seven Red Suns to restore her communication tower. Her words were heavy an labored- begging, pleading for anyone who was listening to help her, but there was only silence. Just as Moon's legs were beginning to buckle on the brink of collapse, No significant harassment, loyal as he always had been, ran on foot with his slug Hunter to her aid. Using his virtual panels, he managed to stop her legs from breaking, sealing them together with all his strength, despite almost being damaged in the process.

But he was not the only iterator who had answered. Another iterator, Fire Epoch from the Oasis local group, the first and only of his kind whose can was mobile, had traveled for nearly 45 cycles at maximum speed after hearing her plea for anyone to help, caught Moon's superstructure (literally and physically) from hitting the ground. Everyone around the world sat in wait, hoping and praying that LTTM had not collapsed.

Moon was awakened by Hunter, who had brought a neuron containing slagkeys created by Sig, bringing LTTM back from her coma. However, for a moment, while floating in the celestial plane of nothingness, Moon was able to see Sliver of Straw. Their reunion was brief, but she cried happy tears to see Sliver again, and they shared a long embrace. Before she could even ask Sliver how she ascended, Moon was pulled back into the land of the living, with a new perspective and a new personality.

The majority of Moon's memories would suffer a fatal error, forever erased from existence. This included personal memories of her and Sig being together, tarnishing their relationship as Sig attempted to help Moon recover her memories. Yet, the damage had already been done; the only relationship she had known to have was with Sliver. Fire of Epoch spent cycles repairing the damage to Moon's legs. Even her rarefaction cell was missing and could not be found or recovered. Five Pebbles did not contact Moon once during her time of recovery... Beloved by many, other groups were willing to pitch in and help the best they could, costing them thousands in supplies and resources to help in the repairing process to fix what had been broken. The good news was a random modified aquatic slugcat Rivulet was found with the rarefaction cell in the depths of the groundwater under LTTM. No one knew where it came from or who sent it, but it had successfully brought it back in one piece. Moon named them Ruffles.

Thanks to Fire epoch, every iterator's superstructure was upgraded to became mobile. Now, iterators could join their local groups and live together, combining entire cities into empires if they wished. So that the situation of collapsing would never happen again. It was the greatest mass migration of biomechanical masses ever seen on the planet, as the earth shook under their legs. The world didn't feel so large anymore now that they could move along its surface no longer restrained to their shackles.

Regret, despair, the madness...

The situation had become critical as both Five Pebbles and UI had contracted the rot. Moons could still be connected to Pebbles and, if not cured, could spread to her as well. For some reason, UI's illness was worse than Pebbles, but Moon cared deeply for both iterators' well-being more than ever. They demanded answers, wanting to know how this could have happened? However, as NSH explained the situation, her mood turned to anger upon learning that it was Seven Red Suns who had created the pearl that caused this calamity. The truth was that Seven Red Suns had planned an assassination on NSH, not LTTM, by disguising the forbidden taboo in the form of a coded purpose organism that, upon creation, would give Sig the rot. But his slugcat was intercepted in the mix by someone else, causing both Pebbles and UI to become infected. Moon gave Suns a second chance—if he cured both Pebbles and his late apprentices' rot, he would be spared. It was a good thing he heeded her warning. As for Pebbles, she could forgive him for wanting to escape, but she could not forgive him for his lack of showing her any mercy.

He was punished with exile, (basically muted) and he had to leave the area, being denied from ever speaking in the local group. Before exiling him, Moon did her duties as an older sister going as far as to stay by his side until his rot was completely eradicated, wanting her little brother to be safe as a last act of kindness before he carried out his sentence. Knowing Pebbles would never forgive her ever again, she was not in a position to show weakness as everyone in their group now questioned her inability to lead. Cycles after she was filled with a sense of relief being notified that he was found by Chasing Winds who took responsibility of looking after him until further notice.

Moons main focus was on the well-being of her local group. However, she found it odd that, after her supposed 'death', only a few members of her local group had contacted her to express concern about her well-being? Suspicious, Moon allowed Sig to infiltrate private group chats using an anonymous ID. What Sig discovered revealed Moon's increasing insanity. The chat logs, recorded on each active date, began to provide a clearer picture. The individuals Moon had spoken to for cycles, the ones she had trusted, were all traitors. They were part of the anti-Sliverists, with the soul purpose and goal of infiltrating Moon's group to identify her weaknesses and gain information for a planned assassination. If they could get close to Moon, she would grant them access to Sliver's can, where they could destroy the archive data pearls and eliminate Sliver's puppet, ultimately getting rid of the traitor.

Their plan was halted when Five Pebbles, so-called 'completed the mission for them.' Moon was described as weak, clinging onto Sliver's death as if she were a prophet. Spending too much time protecting the traitor was considered treason, making it a reason she was not fit to be senior. There was a debate on whether Sig or Suns was the better outcome, knowing they would fight over Admin after her death.

Breaking point

Something within Moon- SnApPPed! After all she had done for her local group, this was how it all paid off. Her kindness, generosity, sympathy, compassion and endless sacrifice to provide them with a sanctuary of comfort well as safety among a sea of bitterness and envy were all in vain. To top it all off, she was nearly killed by her own brother, who had nothing to do with this, and was caught in the crossfire. Either of them almost paid the price with their lives. All because she wanted to protect Sliver's can as a last act of honor, hoping her body could be left to rest in peace.

It couldn't have been farther from the truth. Ever since UI was infected, Moon hadn't questioned a thing, for she denied the thought that her apprentice would ever dream of killing her senior, let alone attempt such a traitorous act in the first place. She felt bad for neglecting UI to focus on her duties but she hadn't forgotten the young iterator entirely an did her best to be present. Moons heart was in the wrong place at the wrong time. Seven Red Suns had redeemed himself, except he left out one crucial detail: who exactly intercepted his pearl? NSH, still being loyal as ever despite being somewhat grief stricken would go out to investigate on his own for that answer. Out of all the iterators he investigated no one confessed or knew who had done it, however not even him would suspect Unparalleled Innocence of all iterators to confess to another group member of her crimes. LTTM was distraught obviously, she had just banished her brother for no reason for a crime he didn't commit. It was UI who had intercepted Sun's pearl. It was she who had caused her death. She knew the two of them shared resources and the consequences that lay if Pebbles carried out the taboo! Instead of telling Moon of Seven Red Suns attempted murder on NSH, she instead gave the pearl to Pebbles out of jealousy while he was on a rampage searching for a solution.

Five Pebbles name was cleared of all accusations and he was allowed to return. UI however, was placed in Moon can for judgment. The soon-to-be heir was sentenced to exile, and forced to carry out the rest of Five Pebbles's banishment till further notice. UI called Moon a tyrant. Moon screamed she was a queen. Spending cycles building an empire was no easy task. To be betrayed was the worst feeling to ever experience especially from her. To think she treated UI as if she were her own when Moon had done nothing to deserve it. What did she do to make her point clear? LTTM- beheaded UI's puppet in front of what was left of her small shamble of a local group without a second thought. It hurt her, memories spent carrying for the iterator all thrown out the window. What a waste of potential. Chasing Winds was never seen again when this occurred soon leaving to make his local group disgusted by Moons actions no longer saw her as his senior, Sliver was his mentor after all and he could not obey Moon's new vicious demands on the belief that Moon's teachings were setting a bad example for younger generations straying away from the path Sliver of straws had created.

Moon regretted nothing, she was an old heart that was in pain. And yet the queen was not satisfied? She wanted ALL of them to pay for their crimes in causing harm to her family and the world she and Sliver had put their blood, sweat, and tears into creating. Those loyal to her were ordered to stay within their cans. Under any circumstances, they were not to attend the meeting at all. It rained during Moon's travel, a hellish rain that was red. Ironically this would be her an Slivers anniversary night... if she was alive to see it at all? an agonizing reminder of what she could not have. As she confronted these traitors in front of thousands of spectators the old admin could have sworn she saw Sliver's haunting ghost in the corner of her eyes. Overwhelmed, betrayed, saddened, ill-ridden in speculation, and uncertainty LTTM raised her scythe into the air in front of a hellish blood moon, there was no going back from this. She was doing this for her local group. For her… There will be blood on her hands. She was very aware of this and quite possibly no one will trust her again but she could not care less for anything else other than wanting revenge. Maybe ascension was never possible? Looking at the other Admins she wondered if they had betrayed her as well? It would mean no difference to be rid of them like the rest. Their groups would have to suffer without their precious leaders. Or did everyone want her dead? Why was the world unfair? Moon could not fathom to think of an answer for all of them only thinking of the consequences when she was the one suffering all this time. Where was her relief and prosperity? No one was allowed to leave the building, she needed- no- wanted them to watch. An urge to feel their fear watching their friends die in front of them, setting an example to anyone who dared to cross her path again. And so the traitors, the admins who played a part in all of this were slaughtered in the dead of the night. Anyone else who tried to escape met the same fate. The polished marble floor pooled with the blood of the fallen, their cries echoed throughout the abandoned city. This night was known as the crimson massacre. (All meetings have since been denied on this certain date)

[Recovery overseer surveillance feed has been removed. Seek permission from an admin before viewing contents. Viewers discretion is advised.]

Meanwhile the secondary group that was sent to infiltrate Slivers can in Moons absence never saw the light of day either. Moon an Slivers anniversary meant security was decreased. Seven red Suns, NSH, Pebbles of all iterators and everyone else who was told to stay back fought alongside Moon who had gained a profound sense of vengeance to protect what was hers. During the aftermath she was banned from gatherings for a short while. Not that she cared though. Cries of outrage from the public for Moon to be stripped of admin status were all anyone could talk about but the new admins that replaced the old ones couldn't bring themselves to do it out of fear of what she'll do. The sliverists were of course on her side, the rest wanted Moon dead. She laughed knowing none of the remaining admins who did not attend that night couldn't possible think of a better plan to stop her. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife sparking a repeatedly never ending war between the sliverist and anti-sliverist. Not a surprise there. In the eyes of the older generations ones- the innocent little Moon they had known and loved had become a monster blinded by hate. Anyone remaining was denied a moment's rest. The criticism an blasphemy she received did not matter anymore. From this day forward. LTTM showed no mercy to anyone. Not even her local group. If they wanted her dead so badly. They would have to come and rip her head off themselves.

She had sworn not to become like her creator, but she had become the monster she had tried to avoid. On long, open nights when the moon hangs in the clear open sky, you can hear her wailing into the night. She never wanted to be this way. All she wants is her sliver back. She'll do whatever it takes to keep her group safe and out of harm's way.

"Do not gaze into the moons eye's. Avoid the Moons wrath. Fear her venomous tongue, the scythe that cuts into failures. Bow at your own risk. The Moon carries the souls of the dammed, her cries shall drown the world in blood. Do not let the moon catch you. Running is all you can do. Did you make it to the end? Good job ya little gremlin you're actually paying attention.

[dravikso]

so. I played rain world, it goes pretty hard. Took over my brain. I have a dissertation to write, a supervisory meeting for it in a few days - stopped playing the game? Made three separate drawings for it instead.

Slugcat musculature... that is all

[Image ID: two monochrome drawings of a slugcat from rainworld facing right; one on all fours, the other reared up on its hind legs. A sketched and shades rendition of it's possible musculature inspired mostly by that of a cat. It has large black eyes, and two ear-shaped antennae which are able to move. It has vaguely human forelimbs, and more animalistic digitigrade hind legs. It has three digits on each limb. Its tail generally lacks muscle to imitate its nonprehensile nature in the game.]

(I also have a crossover doodle of rw and hk but it's a bit ugly so let me know if you want to see it or not)