#watcher speculation

[slugcatmusings]

So I was throwing myself back into hell again (starting to replay the Watcher), minding my own business, when I suddenly had a flashback to that one lore pearl from Subterranean (it’s the teal one, I think), and went “wait… wait a second.”

“If you leave a stone on the ground, and come back some time later, it’s covered in dust.  This happens everywhere, and over several lifetimes of creatures such as you, the ground slowly builds upwards.”

Implying the dust falls from the sky, since the Void Sea is what lies below, right?  So… if it’s falling from above, somewhere…

(Endgame region spoilers below the cut)

There are falling stars in Outer Rim.  The sandstorms here have the same green as the stars in it.  There are things in the background apparently called STARCATCHERS.  The architecture here is OLD.  It’s Depths architecture, the same civilization that predated the Benefactors/Ancients/whatever you want to call the iterators’ creators by who knows how long, and it’s being buried in the sands by the ever-blowing sandstorms.

I looked at Shattered Terrace next since it’s the other ending-related endgame area and… 

It’s newer architecture, more akin to the architecture we see in the base game, but it’s falling apart.  Bits of rubble are floating off in defiance of gravity, while other parts of it have collapsed and been worn down into the dust you see blowing on the wind. 

In Outer Rim, we see the ground being built up with stardust.  In Shattered Terrace, we see the world dissolving.  The two endgame areas of the Watcher are representations of the beginning and end of that very cycle of the world that Moon explains to us with the Subterranean pearl.

[ladyofthebookcase]

spoilers

WHAT . WHAT. WHAT. the SKY WHALE?????? also those structures in the distance look like pyramids... i suspect we're on top of another one of those, given how their communication array thingies look, but the pyramid shape is what really interests me here since i think at some point someone on the dev team had said that iterator structures were originally going to be giant pyramids. i wonder if this means we're in the past in this specific region... maybe watcher is travelling through time as well as space... much to think about. i also think the heat deposit(?) region (the one with the fire) had huge iterator structure vibes, those blue things that fly around seemed like more advanced and specialized guard neurons or inspectors or sumn. the heat/static electricity generators also feel like some kind of version of pebbles' and moon's electric arrays, but i'm not sure if they would be more or less advanced. and turbulent pump could be a part of an iterator's water filtration? in the reservoir? idk im just speculating now. i would be fascinated to know what desolate tract is, just like at all-- when i first got there i found it kind of underwhelming but i think it's one of my top regions for this dlc just because of how bizarre it is. i love that place and its giant slop beasts. (that said pls don't tell me! i want to find out on my own.)

[rotten-machinery]

prince + rot speculative biology featuring organs and mysterious tubes

[bergoop]

go off king

also, the glasses guy in question (character Steve Christy):

sorry ryan you're wrong on this one

[teratocore]

Idk if this is the implication they were going for but Immortal not remembering Kate and having apparently lost his fucking marbles permanently in the distant dystopian future and Immortal in the present believing that he has never loved someone like her despite his past relationships in his long life seems like it’s implying something about the impermanence of human memory, especially on such a large scale of time where the human mind physically cannot hold all of those memories and experiences forever and someone living thousands of years will inevitably end up with parts of their lives just… lost to them in the minds attempt to be efficient or persist through traumas or something.

And now of course I have to go back to the season one finale. If Mark is someone who is, simply put, physically Viltrumite but mentally/emotionally/spiritually/etc human…. And he will “live to see this planet crumble to dust and blow away” what does that mean for his sense of self and memory on the unfathomable time scale in which a pure blooded Viltrumite is able to live?

[mebis-rain-world-corner]

Watcher future update spoilers without context

[spotsupstuff]

Watch this, actually. Pretty good.

[analog-autistic]

why is it so rare to enjoy vanilla rainworld, downpour, and the watcher???? why does nobody else seem to genuinely love all three

[tasty-littl-snack]

Ghoul boys so inseparable that you could invite one of their wifes on the podcast and that would still not change anything they'd still be on a wavelength that's incomprehensible to other people around them.

[cubitodragon-moved]

So I noticed something yesterday. It might be a bit of a stretch, but I want to raise it anyway and see what others think.

Yesterday, our brave hero WB012 (may they rest in pieces) was captured after arriving on Purgatory (formerly known as Egg Island), and trapped in a black box/void. One that infected them with splotches of black. It seemed unnecessary and cruel - which, to be fair, is the Watcher's MO - but why that guy in particular?

And then it hit me.

There are no open windows here, no cameras, no TV screens. Everything is sealed with in the Federation's favourite polished white concrete.

The Watcher has no way to view inside here.

Unless they have a means of control, and a puppet to act as their eyes.

And once they were done with them..

Smart of them, to remove any sign of evidence they were there.

I'm now doubly afraid for Walter Bob, who was extensively infected, for Forever, who's hidden the black marks from everyone (save the few who saw him the day he got back), and Pac (and potentially Mariana), who doesn't remember going into the Nether..

Just what is the Watcher -- and any other other Shadow Infection aligned entities -- planning for the island, and our streamers?

[soggyfirefly]

I am very late to this but I started the Rain World art month prompts!!! I decided to make a new account since my old one has been inactive for years now, and it was seeped in fandom content for old stuff I'm not really into now. I haven't used tumblr in a LONG time, so please bear with me. I am doing my worst <3

Harpoonflies are a fairly common omnivore found exclusively in aquatic environments. They are fiercely territorial, and will fight to the death over their young (Harpoonfry) similar to the Noodlefly. A slugcat can befriend them by offering them food, but eating their fry would spell certain doom :)

[angelonhelios]

like i said. The Evil And Intimidating Horse. based off of @dan-lee99's idea for emily inheriting angel's phaseshift! ill have more to say abt this soon, its verrry fun to me.

[ladyofthebookcase]

the wiki is locked until the 11th so ive had to resort to making my own observations about creatures and what they do. here are some notes off the top of my head

nudibranchs:

definitely passive

aposematic and poisonous (but seemingly not all of them???)

give differing amounts of food pips also? between 1 and 2

if you stab them, you can make a poison spear and they can withstand one spear hit so they're tougher than they look

native to watery areas like coral caves and rusted wrecks

barnacles:

seem to like being in groups and climbing on each other to block off pipes

when threatened(?) they start to shriek and hiss and spew water out of their coral tubes? the purpose of this is unknown because it doesn't actually seem to do anything, but maybe is just a threat display idk

cannot be killed????

have mild electric charge as a defence mechanism

loaches/slop beasts:

seemingly omnivorous from what i've observed; they don't always eat slugcats, but it seems to be that if you fall on one from a great height and get stunned they'll slurp you up

otherwise they seem to mostly graze

rain deer ish ai; ive seen them climbing on top of each other and getting stuck on terrain before

they appear to be blind and have four long facial tentacles that they use to feel out prey

capable of eating green lizards

spearing them doesn't seem to do much

may have some connection to lizards/the rot because rotted versions of them were seen in rotted garbage wastes, and no other unlizard creature has been seen to be rotted so far? their eating is similar to rot but otherwise i got nothin

gila monsters:

their spit has some kind of effect that prevents cicadas from attacking; could just be that it dampens you, since mud does the same thing

bioluminescence??? their spit is at least brightly colored, which i'm not sure why

probably a lizard subtype like axolotls since they have a different head and body shape but are still able to become rotted (i have Theories about the lizards and their connection to the rot but that's a different post)

they can burrow out of the ground; it's probably meant to be limited to sand, but currently they can burrow out of ANY ground which like jumpscare hello there

those rattling things in rotted regions:

they rattle when you get near them, seemingly as a way to alert the rot creatures nearby

they don't actually attack or hurt you themselves, but will pick you up and incapacitate you; presumably this is also so that rot creatures can grab and eat you

symbiosis???

they make a batfly grab sound and i'm not sure what that does-- maybe a way to lure in slugcats? but they don't eat them so idk

can be stunned with a spear or rock, allowing you to pass

moths:

seemingly peaceful at least to slugcats??

i've seen a group of them kill a blue lizard tho

they sometimes pick you up and drop you from a great height to kill you-- i'm not sure if this is intentional or buggy ai bc they didn't eat me when they did that

clumsy, raindeerlike

some of them have their little proboscis tongues sticking out and others do not-- again not sure why but it's very cutes

are they carnivorous?? probably not with those tongues but then why do they kill

they cast shadows like vultures!

lizards are afraid of them

i thought the small moths in ancient urban were their babies at first but after seeing the [SPOILER] there i now think they're probably actually ancestral forms of the current moths; they are small, unable to fly as much as their current counterparts, and harmless.

rats rats we are the rats

also found in ancient urban and nowhere else, so they probably died out

seem like common earth rats honestly

edible and harmless

very cutes

fancy neuron things:

when idle, they do a sort of "projection"; unclear what this is for but it's likely related to the mechanisms of the locations they're found in

exhibit a symbiotic relationship with the big living pipes in which they inhabit them and allow them to become mobile and defensive, blowing toxic smoke at infiltrating creatures

probably serve a role similar to inspectors in their host facilities, since they seem to be found exclusively in industrial environments

alive pipe:

incapable of moving or doing anything without a fancy neuron

you can pull out the stopper things in it and eat them and it's gross, it shoots out some water and squelches

those stopper things can be stored in a shelter, but they vanish and become intangible the next morning

they also appear to visibly decay when no longer connected to the pipe

they seem to have an optic nerve like thing?

glacial lizard:

seemingly extremely hostile and tanky

covered in "fur" that probably insulates them from their own extreme temperatures if i had to guess? since other lizards in those locations don't have it but rather have the spikey things they have in saint's campaign

are surrounded by winds that knock potential attackers away

they can charge up and release a literal beam attack for some reason-- unclear how this would have naturally evolved, so they could be artificially created because Come On Man how do you naturally evolve a fucking beam attack

i dont liek them they're too OP

drugs lizard:

have a natural field of time dilation similar to what mushrooms give you, that affects them and any creature that gets near enough

probably get this by eating mushrooms, like how monarch butterflies are poisonous bc of their diet

being in range of their field for too long causes you to start taking what i've been assuming is poison damage, or else a drug overdose; if exposed to it for too long you just die

they're very annoying and their ai seems a bit buggy

snear (snail deer):

another mostly defensive creature

walks on long legs to avoid the sandworms most likely

cicadas don't attack them

when a creature gets too close to them, they retract their legs, collapse to the ground, and activate "drill mode", wherein their snail shell ignites like an engine and they start bouncing around

instantly kills any creature that touches it while in drill mode due to excessive kinetic force

probably their shells are shaped like that to create a football bounce effect and heighten their potential for damage

they do seem to pursue you while in drill mode but they're pretty easy to evade

obviously not naturally like that

sandworms:

i'm not super clear on these cus i've only had a handful of encounters

they just hide in the sand and when you come near they attack you

can be hit with spears

frog:

amphibious, lives in dark damp areas or floats on the surface of water (can be avoided by swimming underneath)

latches onto creatures to suck out all the nutrients

not sure how you get them off but it's not by going in water

probably a snail would help

scav priest:

very cool

they can weaponize their karma and use it both as a defensive shield (it goes down each time they're hit and then releases a blast at karma 1) or to just explode and save themselves if captured

some have blindfolds and others don't, but all wear golden elite masks and capes

they can echolocate!!!!! so cool!!!

they probably trained themselves to do that by being blindfolded and i assume the karma thing is achieved through the power of religion

but also who brought religion to the scavs. how do they fit in with normal scavs. i have many questions.

ive probably missed something bc there are just SO MANY new creatures in this dlc it's really fantastic

[rotten-machinery]

So... the Prince just shoves stuff into his face to eat it? He doesn't have the signature "X" shaped "core" the cysts have... so where does it go? Through tube?

Also, I find it interesting how the Prince is significantly more sapient than the infectious Rot. Do you think there's a biological reason for this? Is he more directly connected to some sort of central nervous system or brain of the collective Rot itself??

Hmmmm..... i think that the reason he doesn't have the signature X on his face is because the core itself is exposed? Do you know how the rot has that distinct purple pigmentation closer to it's core, and then darker pigmentation further away from the core? I think thats just how rot internals look, purple mush .................... since prince has neuron glow, I believe that would affect the color of his cores as well!

i tried my best to provide some explanations here as well! I do need to note that while prince has multiple, many, internal cores, those cores do not have an entry point. the only core available to eat with is his exposed facial core!

yep, just shoving good into his facial core basically - as for how Prince became a sapient highly intelligent version of rot? no idea for now, still trying to decide on that- I assume that ingesting a LOT of neurons, and using those nutrients from neurons to somehow enhance the nervous system until a central nervous system forms (typical rot lacks a central nervous system), though i am unsure how exactly- i might need more time to think about this one tbh !!!! i hope this answers your questions, and i hope i at least sounded coherent !!!!

[sadkarret]

Log 22: Not Much Happening

Welp, not much is happening, gotta say. Work on previous mentioned cool thing is tough cause I can't work on it right now (too cold outside.) And I haven't been doing much creating creating. That's okay though, I'll get back to it's soon, I'm sure.

Here's a music I started a while ago and finished up real quick for this post:

Hope ya like it. Oh also, the rainworld Watcher DLC comes out soon!! So expect some news then!!

Well I should at least do updates of what I am working on I guess:

Spec Bio - just a little bit, kinda dabbling, I have some work done for that but none past the cell stage for evolution, bahh. Praise be to the mighty Artifexian though for the fantastic Worldforge spreadsheet though, cause now I have most of the astronomic stuff figured out yurr

Flute - I have acquired a flute! I have no clue how to play it but I am learning. It might just be hot cross buns now, but gimme a week and Mozart (famous flutist??) will be killed by my *great* skills (I hope nothing gets to him first, that'd be a real shame)

Starling Thing - (Now placeholder name of the thing with Owl, Oedna, and them) I've done sooome work on the actual chapter layouts but not gonna share that tho cause that's top secret B) but I'll be able to start actually drawing it (not at all) soon probably. Oh also! I've compiled a bunch of the art of the characters in a large book, so I should actually put the pictures here probably!! Here's three of the pages:

The first one has four, Squash (the little cat lookin fella,) Minah, (in the top right corner, there's more art of them somewhere, not in here yet though), Roen (Rowan) in the bottom right corner, and Doshti (on the bottom left of the 2nd page). The second picture is just a picture of Leveret's page, who (if following along) you've seen before.

The paper might be a bit sparse, but there's more art to come, I promise :prayer hands:

K bye,

sadkarret

[dethrite]

alright. fine. what if I gave him the welcome to night vale eldritch horror cat?