#Here come the tags

[affectionatecorpse]

Okay so I see some people are debating what the monster from Still Wakes the Deep is. I'm inspired by the support from my Death Angel post, so I'm gonna try giving an analysis. Now science is not my strong suit, I'm much better at zoology, but here we go.

Of course, spoilers ahead!

So, the entity comes to light in act one. While Caz is being yelled at by his power drunk boss, Rennick, a worker going by the name Gibbo calls up to say there's an issue with the drill, something highlighted earlier by another worker. Rennick orders the drilling anyway, and thus begins the nightmare, as the drill seems to unearth and awaken a destructive parasite out for revenge. But I don't think that's as deep as it goes, pun intended.

Let's say, the creature is a parasite. A form of near sentient bacteria, though take that description with a grain of salt, I'm no scientist. Parasites simply cannot live on their own. That's an objective fact. They need a host. They exist within another for survival and breeding purposes, and multiply and spread through the body of another.

Parasites, bacteria and even fungi can live underground for years, and have been discovered to do so. Ancient lifeforms have been discovered just under the surface of earth, let alone deep underneath the ground and in the bottom of our oceans, one of the most complex and diverse biomes that our current science has barely scratched the surface of. It's highly likely this creature is a self replicating bacteria or parasite that was unearthed by the drill, and took up new hosts to survive in this change of environment.

But not every host worked. You can see half transformed, mutilated bodies everywhere, and some that haven't even changed at all. These bodies could not support the parasite and shortly died.

However, a few select hosts DID end up surviving; Gibbo, Muir, Rennick, Addair and Trots. It's unclear what sets these people apart from the others, and I don't know enough about this topic to claim an answer. But I certainly do think these folks died soon into the transformation, and are not fully conscious in the body. They frequently repeat terms and phrases, and never say anything you might expect from an entity possessing them, implying it's borrowing words and sentences that have been said by the host before, in other circumstances.

The entity plays with Caz's memories and definitely the others' too, though not all of them good. It wouldn't be a surprise to realise that's where it's getting information about it's host, as it reads the memories inside the brain to learn faces, names, and even the host's personality. Which makes me wonder, does it even realise what it looks like? Does the creature itself actually realise it's a parasite? Or does it completely and fully believe it is the person it's connected itself to? It almost downloads their personality and tries to pretend like everything is completely normal.

Let's talk about arguably the best monster (in my opinion), Muir. Muir moves about the area he frequently worked as what I assume was an engineer. He roams the familiar ground, almost unsure of why he's by himself. He often calls out to his coworkers, wondering out loud why they're treating him like he's different. Sure, this could be the real Muir's consciousness slipping in and out of the seams, but it's highly unlikely he would still be alive. Much like the zombie fungus, as it's often called, the host is not alive when the fungus is controlling it, and is merely a puppet. If the spiders it was corrupting could talk, I daresay, they'd be acting like them. Taking their place in the world, even if they don't realise it.

But every animal needs to eat. And eventually, that body is going to run out of tasty, tasty neurons. Like I said earlier, a parasite needs to spread. It'll breed, then spread to another to keep it's species alive. By infiltrating a 'pack' of animals, it will take anything to spread to the others. Which is exactly what the parasite does whenever it sees another human. Either that, or it will consume them, theoretically to feed the host so it stays alive, while keeping those tasty, tasty neurons for itself. You can almost see this process with Innes, as the elevator ascends without him, and you just faintly see Muir doing something in the distance. Likely consuming him for nutrients, as he was not connected to the parasite yet.

Next, there's Addair.

Addair, much like Muir, patrols familiar ground. Even though Addair himself wasn't even in that area when the drill struck. Now Muir was actively in that familiar space in the beginning, and it's safe to assume that's his place of transformation. But Addair was eating in the cafeteria when the incident happened, not deep down in the engine. Did he go down when the impact happened, while Caz was unconscious? Maybe. But the lights were fine then, and the engine wasn't the problem, so he didn't need a reason to. Plus, he doesn't seem like the type to be work dedicated, more inconvenience dedicated. Considering what I said about the parasite (badly) taking their place in society, did it go to his place of work after detecting that as his 'natural environment', per se?

Plus, unlike Muir, who greets the situation with quotes of confusion, fear and anxiety, Addair is instantly aggressive. Even an asshole like Addair is likely to panic if conscious in this situation, so the nervousness was Gibbo and Muir exclusive. But Addair and Rennick become immediately angry upon seeing Caz, as they actively disliked him in life, and so the parasite processes him as a foe to it's host. I thought that was neat.

Now another take I have admittedly heard from several other people, but I thought was worth mentioning. The monsters are incredibly similar to sea creatures. Which means this underwater bacteria was possibly leaking out already, and transforming our animals, not enough to completely corrupt them, but enough to twist their bodies. Think of the appearances of deep, deep sea creatures, such as the anglerfish. Isn't it possible this parasite was responsible for their uncanny appearance, in this universe? Muir especially looks like a spider crab, or perhaps even a bigfin squid.

Which again, is a deep sea creature. Rennick also reminds me of a blobfish once removed from the pressure of the deep sea. Addair seems very jellyfish-like, but may be something else very... tick-like. And even Trots gives me major merfolk vibes, with how untouched his torso is in comparison to his lower half.

This parasite could have been feeding off the neurons and breeding through our very ecosystem as the ground slowly gave away above it. The drill unearthing the source likely gave it a burst of control as so much energy was released at once, hence why it was so fast to literally spiral out of control.

But Scotland, by all means, is not the only place in the world connected to the ocean. Sure, they destroyed this batch, but other forms of this parasite live on elsewhere on earth. And the explosion may not have even destroyed it. It definitely would've destroyed the host bodies, yes, but certain bacterias can survive impressive damage, even heat hot enough to burn off human flesh. We'd best hope this is not one of those bacterias.

I didn't really get as far with this observation as I did with other horror studies, but I had fun nonetheless! Like I said, I'm really better with zoology (hence the sudden enthusiasm when I started on sea creatures), but I loved Still Wakes the Deep SO much that I just wanted to write down my thoughts. If you have any other theories, feel free to add them!

Also if I used your pictures/gifs and you would like me to add credit, I am so so sorry, I will absolutely add that as soon as you say so, I just got most of these off Google and couldn't find most the original sources. So yeah if you'd like me to add your name and mention, or you want me to remove it in general, feel free to just say and I'll add it, I don't bite I promise. Well... I won't bite YOU.

Sorry sorry, had to make a zombie reference--

[creekumz]

Angst time

[ollywhoag]

Slugcat designs!!!!! round 2

simpler style this time around, this is mostly for me so feel free to stylize them if you ever draw them. also not height accurate lol

close(er) ups + notes below:

Survivor

albino, prefers the shade

bite scar on neck + scar on tail

Monk

runt of the litter, has bits of fur scattered everywhere

scar on ear

Hunter

bits of fur/torn skin runs down back/tail, helps with mobility

has red lizard DNA (through patch on chest). impulsive and goal driven

x pupils are optional, can be a shine instead

usually seen with a vulture mask

Nightcat

resides in territory above the clouds

hair is all natural

feel free to play around with red markings (he is emo)

one bent ear

selectively mute. prefers solitude

opt ponytail

Enot/Inv

red highlights depend on lighting

uses emoticon facial expressions (can also have pupils sometimes)

tail prehensile

silly

Gourmand

pretty average scug. ambassador of her species. distantly related to survivor, monk & nightcat

has bits of fur, mainly for slugpups to grab onto

Artificer

gnarly sideburn (it feels like charcoal to the touch), left eye is completely gone

partly blind & deaf as a result

go crazy with the scars hes pretty miserable

tuft of fur sticks up behind neck

overbite

Rivulet

evolved to resemble an aquepede for defense purposes

toothy grin and thousand yard stare

build like an eel for optimum mobility in water

Large

eyeliner opt

Spearmaster

ominous. inquisitive creature

7 spots only on face

spots on tail are random

worm

Saint

pattern on tail can be on the ears sometimes

patterns + eyes glow when at max karma

usually wet

[arceal-doodles]

[magick-musings]

[mimmixerenard]

I had to... eventually.

[unnecessarilysalty]

Eyes On Me

[wolfasketch]

Ohmigosh, actually OW Shapeshifter AU lore and not OC related stuff?? Okay, now to be serious.

Echo Rank: Omega(Ω) Animal: Hummingbird Status: Ex. Waterhole Flock, Morrison Clan Info: Traveled with Jesse for a bit(after he left Gabe) Joined the Flock after the first visit Ends up rejoining Jesse the same time Winston joins Morrison Clan

Illari Rank: Alpha(α) Animal: Black Jaguar Status: Wanderer/Traveler Info: Last of her Clan Can be found near the Tropical Dessert

Junker Queen Rank: Alpha(α) Animal: African Wild Dog Status: Ex. Traveler, Junker Pack 2.0 Info: Exiled from the first pack Rebuilt the pack near Roadhog and Junkrat

Kiriko Rank: Beta(β) Animal: Fox Status: Ex. Shimada Clan, Wanderer/Traveler Info: Healer & Fighter Left Shimada Clan after Genji's 'death' and Hanzo went 'missing' Lived with Blizzard Clan for a bit Ends up living near the Waterhole Flock

Ramattra Rank: Alpha(α) Animal: African Buffalo Status: Big Ass Meadow Info: Protector of the Big Ass Meadow Zenyatta's brother Helped chase Doomfist away

Sigma Rank: Omega(Ω) Animal: Bald Eagle Status: Talon Clan Info: Out-thinker Joins after Gabe leaves

Lifeweaver Rank: Beta(β) Animal: Peregrine Falcon Status: Ex. Niran Clan, Waterhole Flock Info: Left his old clan when he was young Baptiste's mate

Sojourn Rank: Beta(β) Animal: Lioness Status: Ex. Black/OverWatch, Wanderer/Traveler Info: Helped Jack chase Gabe off Left the waterhole with Ana and the others Left OverWatch later Hangs around the Big Ass Meadow

OverWatch belongs to Blizzard

OW ShapeShifter AU belongs to @overdrugs-mayhem

OW Shapeshifter AU Info: https://martiverse.wixsite.com/owshapeshifterau

[vampswillhurtyou]

Happy birthday to queen cunt herself foundations of decay

[morgleaf]

heyyy u made it!! so glad u showed up uhhh here’s some stuff that i may or may not be obsessed with ( o˘◡˘o)

♡┊꒰ movies ꒱ — the outsiders (1983), the karate kid (1984), the breakfast club (1985), back to the future (1985), ferris bueller’s day off (1986), my cousin vinny (1992), remember the titans (2000), napoleon dynamite (2004), roll bounce (2005)

♡┊꒰ songs ꒱ — every little thing she does is magic by the police, oh my god by a tribe called quest, gloria (mono version) by them, self by noname, boogie nights by heatwave, when i b on tha mic by rakim, dirty laundry by don henley, roadrunner (once) by the modern lovers & jonathan richman

♡┊꒰ other ꒱ — rotary phones, drive-in theaters, july, sunburns, discos, old burger joints, cool breezes, when the waiter puts a cherry in your shirley temple, laughing so hard your stomach starts to hurt, beat up sneakers, old magazines with crinkly pages, roller skating, derry girls, columbo

♡┊꒰ 80s ꒱ — music, movies, fashion, graphic design, magazines, illustration, television, and pop culture (and literally anything ralph macchio related)

[dr-frankenstims]

@littlelovegod stimboard with things that remind me of her, for… well, take a guess :)

🍒 📚 🫖 / 🌸 🌺 🌸 / 🫖 📚 🍓

[handsome-failure]

art from various fandoms + some ocs just cuz. its also like one in the morning and i cant sleep so yea heres some art

[theshamsandherzahraat]

st andrews

[renfriscreyden]

"This is the way"

[seaside-coffeemilk]

Been reading and enjoying a lot of Lis lives fics lately, and wondering what it would be like if the others alphas also got to live.

(spoilers for Horizon Zero Dawn and Horizon Forbidden West) :

• They can all live in the base together :3

It would be a lively place to be.

Aloy and the gang would have the help they need to fix everything.

• Elisabet could work with Aloy and Beta on Gaia.

• Erend might be curious about how things work. I'm thinking maybe he'd be interested in checking out Hephaestus with Margo, who's amazed at the machines while trying to get to the AI to behave again.

• Okilo could reunite with Minerva :)

• Bet Alva would be curious about old world stuff. Samina could show her all about it.

• Sylens can meet with Travis, the maker of Hades, and maybe he can finally get some answers. Maybe Travis will annoy him. XD

• Demeter's Alpha, Naoto, can work with Zo, and check on the current state of Flora and agriculture.

• Patrick could go with Varl and Aloy to check out Eleuthia (original and 9).

• Charles might feel bittersweet at seeing the state of the wildlife's recovery. Him, Catalina and Anders can go with Kotallo and Aloy to look for Aether, Artemis and Poseidon.

[daisywords]

One of my biggest nitpicks in fiction concerns the feeding of babies. Mothers dying during/shortly after childbirth or the baby being separated form the mother shortly after birth is pretty common in fiction. It is/was also common enough in real life, which is why I think a lot of writers/readers don't think too hard about this. however. Historically, the only reason the vast majority of babies survived being separated from their mother was because there was at least one other woman around to breastfeed them. Before modern formula, yes, people did use other substitutes, but they were rarely, if ever, nutritionally sufficient.

Newborns can't eat adult food. They can't really survive on animal milk. If your story takes place in a world before/without formula, a baby separated from its mother is going to either be nursed by someone else, or starve.

It doesn't have to be a huge plot point, but idk at least don't explicitly describe the situation as excluding the possibility of a wetnurse. "The father or the great grandmother or the neighbor man or the older sibling took and raised the baby completely alone in a cave for a year." Nope. That baby is dead I'm sorry. "The baby was kidnapped shortly after birth by a wizard and hidden away in a secret tower" um quick question was the wizard lactating? "The mother refused to see or touch her child after birth so the baby was left to the care of the ailing grandfather" the grandfather who made the necessary arrangements with women in the neighborhood, right? right? OR THAT GREAT OFFENDER "A newborn baby was left on the doorstep and they brought it in and took care of it no issues" What Are You Going to Feed That Baby. Hello?

Like. It's not impossible, but arrangements are going to have to be made. There are some logistics.