Disconnected

[pallid patio]

Yeah

[still mulch]

But the atmosphere

[pallid patio]

But it's easier once you know how to navigate it

[still mulch]

It’s extremely easy now

[pallid patio]

Just takes a bit

[still mulch]

You can float past that entire long column of rot

[pallid patio]

Yeah, just be careful not to float into another rot cyst

[robust shadow]

I probably should’ve forged a friendship with the Scavengers to obtain bombs, but that opportunity was lost a long time ago.

[pallid patio]

Not quite

You can still get on their good side

With the power of.....

[robust shadow]

Pearls.

[pallid patio]

PORLS

[robust shadow]

Screw them.

[pallid patio]

Yes

Bruh

Flabbergasted

[robust shadow]

Pearls are not pleasant to carry around.

[pallid patio]

Just put them in your stomach

[robust shadow]

I am aware of the swallowing mechanic.

[pallid patio]

Easy

[robust shadow]

I’d rather store something more useful in it.

[pallid patio]

Fair

But scavs?

You can just give them spears to o

[robust shadow]

How?

How do you just drop spears and stuff?

[pallid patio]

Well first you need to not be at risk of being insta liked on site

Also it's down grab

While holding down

Anyway

[robust shadow]

Do you know how I made enemies with them?

[pallid patio]

Then you drop your spears and they will like you

Looked them

Killed

I know

[robust shadow]

Accidentally speared one when I was trying to give a pearl to pass.

Survived.

Not turning back.

[pallid patio]

The bounty goes down eventually

You just need to be careful

[robust shadow]

Fortunately, Shaded has an almost total lack of Scavengers.

The only one I saw - the merchant - I traded with.

[pallid patio]

But what do I know?

I love spearing them too

[robust shadow]

Don’t let Banan hear you say that.

[pallid patio]

To badd

:3

[robust shadow]

Colon three.

[pallid patio]

Yes :3

:3

Ok I stop now

Anyway, spearing scavs is fun

Just be careful

Very dangerous in groups

[robust shadow]

I don’t spear them for fun, I have no spears to my name.

And I absolutely need to speedrun.

[pallid patio]

Why

Might I ask

[robust shadow]

The crypts do not welcome visitors.

[pallid patio]

????

Huh

[robust shadow]

Memory Crypts.

[pallid patio]

Oh!

Yeah

That place....

[robust shadow]

No food, all threats.

[pallid patio]

Yup

.......

Very cool area though

[robust shadow]

Can I eat lantern mice?

[pallid patio]

So your going up through the leg?

And no

[robust shadow]

Presumably, yes.

[pallid patio]

You can't add surviver

What karma you at?

[robust shadow]

I know.

Very bad.

[pallid patio]

Oh....

Well there's a shortcut you can use at karma five

It's halfway through the inderhang

[robust shadow]

How do you think my Monster Kelp problem hit me?

[pallid patio]

Huh

[robust shadow]

Monster Kelp.

[pallid patio]

Yes

[robust shadow]

I hate them.

[pallid patio]

What about it

I do to

[still mulch]

Cage worms…

Look in the boxes

[robust shadow]

Took my Karma down a couple notches.

[pallid patio]

OH...

Hi

[robust shadow]

What do they do?

Are they food?

[pallid patio]

Banan

[still mulch]

Nothing. They just exist

Lore stuff

[robust shadow]

Then, as Survivor, they are useless to me.

[pallid patio]

Did you see our.... Conversation on scavs?

[robust shadow]

Nothing happened.

[pallid patio]

There useless to everyone

Yeah totally

(:

[still mulch]

I lov scav

[robust shadow]

I do not want to be speared, whether it be by Scavenger or Banan.

[pallid patio]

Mhm!

[still mulch]

Wiggle wiggle. Gib spear. Friend

[pallid patio]

No

Mine

[robust shadow]

Do they give food?

[still mulch]

Feelin cute might kill you later

[pallid patio]

Huh

No please

[still mulch]

They give tools and stuff, depends what they’re holding

[robust shadow]

Useless. I need food.

And some spears, which means I can’t trade those away.

[pallid patio]

You can only eat blue fruit and batflies

[still mulch]

Mem crypts has centipede spawns in the middle and fruit at the very end. Just run

Grab centipedes if they’re there

[pallid patio]

Oh yeah, and centipedes

[robust shadow]

Running has solved all my problems so far, I don’t see how it wouldn’t work.

Scavengers? Ran away.

[pallid patio]

Fair

[robust shadow]

Lizards? Ran away.

Monster Kelp? Ran away.

[still mulch]

Surv can eat lilypucks, that orange fungus stuff, vulture grubs, centipedes…

[pallid patio]

Uh huh

Sure

[robust shadow]

Vultures? Ran away.

[still mulch]

Eggbugs, popcorn…

[robust shadow]

Iggy? Would’ve liked to spear through the head a long while ago.

[still mulch]

I feel like there’s more

[pallid patio]

You can

[robust shadow]

Don’t have the spears.

[pallid patio]

My brother killed overseers on accident and on purpose

I dunno how he does it

Ok I need to sleep it's 12:28 where I'm at

[robust shadow]

Anyway, more problems I solved - rain? Ran away.

Child support?

[pallid patio]

Very sleebjy

[robust shadow]

Ahem.

[pallid patio]

Ran away?

[robust shadow]

Good night!

[pallid patio]

Gn

Thanks for the good time

[robust shadow]

Never had children. Would like to never have them.

[pallid patio]

I hope you have a good day or night

[robust shadow]

Solved before it even became a problem.

[pallid patio]

Or both!

[little schooner]

pst, you can also steal one of her neurons and give it back the next cycle

[pliant scarab]

dont do that

[robust shadow]

Too late - already closing in on Shaded.

Actually, already closing in on Memory Crypts.

[empty kayak]

Good luck, getting all achievements is a very time consuming and arduous process. Especially champion

Still don't have it, likely never will

[robust shadow]

What’s Champion?

[rotund walrus]

All challenges completed iirc

[robust shadow]

Nope! Nope, nope, nope.

[rotund walrus]

Challenge 70 :)

[robust shadow]

I don’t even have Downpour.

[rotund walrus]

Well. What are you waiting for?

[robust shadow]

Beating Hunter first.

[rotund walrus]

Yeah haha very funny. Wait for real?

[robust shadow]

Why?

I’m having difficulty as survivor.

It would make sense for me to test the waters before I set forth.

[rotund walrus]

Hunter is iirc harder than some of the DLC characters. Gourmand is way easier for example

From what I recall it's good practice to go trough most if not all of the DLC first and then hunter

Or do a single hunter run, no matter if you fuck up or not, and go to the place you died as gourmand

[robust shadow]

I like that Hunter’s Rot is one of the only things that persists between playthroughs.

The other thing is Moon’s cloak.

[rotund walrus]

Does ||pebbles' music pearl|| persist?

[robust shadow]

I think if you take it earlier, he gets it back.

Say, you claim it as Rivulet, I think it’s still there in Saint.

[rotund walrus]

Ah that's nice

Well the ||OE gate|| persists as well, no?

[robust shadow]

Shows that whatever happened to her doesn’t matter, her insane dedication to saving Moon is what matters in the end. An honorable lady!

If you don’t die as Hunter, her Rot doesn’t spawn.

If you do, it does.

What matters is not if she ascended. What matters is that she saved Moon.

[rotund walrus]

I was wondering who you meant by "she" but I guess you refer to hunter as a "she"?

[robust shadow]

Yes.

Also, headcanon gender.

I love ArtiHunter.

And FishSticks.

[rotund walrus]

Ugh my internet is giving up

[rotund walrus]

Yeah I mean fair

[robust shadow]

And Incompatible Ascension.

[robust shadow]

I think that’s what the Inv and Saint pairing is called.

[rotund walrus]

Wait huh what's that, Saint x somebody?

[rotund walrus]

Oh

[robust shadow]

I get faster response times here than anywhere else.

Well, @pallid patio - help me out here.

Where do I go after this?

I am genuinely stuck.

[tame spruce]

you have to climb up the poles in the pipes

[robust shadow]

What pole?

There were eight birds.

At least.

In one room.

Well, Rain World be Rain World.

I might always try again tomorrow.

[tame spruce]

there should be poles at the vertical pipes where you died at

dont have image perms yet sorry

[empty kayak]

Up here

[robust shadow]

Keep dying to Miros Birds, help.

Send hugs please.

So close, yet so far.

[rotund walrus]

Sorry i was busy so I did not notice

[rotund walrus]

Yeah that's crypts for ya. I somehow made it 1st try.

[robust shadow]

I made it first try, and then the rain killed me.

Rain.

It's painful as fuck.

I knew, too, by instinct, where to go.

I maybe could've made it.

It's been like this for a long while.

I've perfected the art of throwing spears into the wall.

That part is almost optimal.

[pallid patio]

You can do it, I Believe in you

Also your to far to give up now

@robust shadow

[robust shadow]

It's too late to give up.

I have bought the game.

I must complete it.

[pallid patio]

Real

Also did not think you'd be on

[robust shadow]

This cycle is a long one.

Hopefully I can squeeze some more value out of it.

[pallid patio]

I hope so too

Sorry for not being on I was asleep

I saw the ping

You still in memory crypts

?

[robust shadow]

Right outside it.

[pallid patio]

Ah

[robust shadow]

Not on the other end.

Not on the end I want to be.

[pallid patio]

So you know how to get to the area you were at right?

The double climb?

[rotund walrus]

Not yet amirite?

[pallid patio]

Hello

Gotta eat bekfast brb

[rotund walrus]

Hello

Oh also @robust shadow try to aviod this unfortunate situation in the near future:

[robust shadow]

I...

I'm...

I've been defeated.

[rotund walrus]

Did you get yourselves in the inconvinient situation mentioned earlier?

[robust shadow]

I'm defeated.

Not my slugcat.

[rotund walrus]

You fell down the pit didn't you?

[robust shadow]

My will just defenestrated itself from the roof of the tallest hospital in the world, bo en's My Time is playing.

All hope is lost.

[rotund walrus]

THE PROPHECY

[rotund walrus]

Well you did it once, now do it twoce and don't fuck it up, that's the rain world experience

[robust shadow]

My miros birds love clumping up.

[rotund walrus]

1st arti playtrough i got to the leg and was all relaxed and then a dropwig fell on my head right before the shelter

[robust shadow]

At this point, might as well hand myself over dev tools.

But if there's anything life taught me...

[rotund walrus]

See the blue ball thingies? ||those are flashbangs,|| use this information as you see fit

[robust shadow]

How do you expect I got past them?

[rotund walrus]

Idk I just snuk past

You gotta be cautious, but also greedy at times

[robust shadow]

This one time, about ten or so of them were in the same room.

I understandably died.

That's enough for now.

I am beyond upset.

Way beyond just upset.

[rotund walrus]

I know they like to group up but holy shit

[robust shadow]

Give or take two of them.

Stunning left three in the room, one of whom was not flashbanged.

[rotund walrus]

Yeah i'd take a break too, this is a kind of game that does that

[robust shadow]

That one took me out.

[rotund walrus]

Come back later, do it well, make it past the pit and to the shelter~~, don't die of cardiac arrest~~

[robust shadow]

Please tell me there's a way into that shelter and food near it.

I need four pips of food.

[rotund walrus]

Up the pipe on the left, there are a bunch of pipes higher up which can be used to traverse there

There are also a few blue fruit there and higher up

Both ingame and interactive map are your friends here

[robust shadow]

Oddly enough, I want to have a go at it again.

Rain World really does pull you in.

[rotund walrus]

For me i need to actively push myself to play it otherwise i bounce right off of it but when I get into it i kinda do enjoy it, it's weird

[robust shadow]

The fact that I partially know what to do and what not to do is both a blessing and a curse.

A blessing, as I just have less pain overall, and a curse, as I roughly know that where I'm headed is not a pleasant experience.

[rotund walrus]

Yeah I know too, i know the lore, how the campaigns go, etc

[robust shadow]

Somewhere with developments that are unfortunate has a lot of something that I won't like.

[rotund walrus]

Just go recursive transform

Or a path that can be taken on surv which lets you breeze trough FP

... or the wall

[empty kayak]

For a first time player I recommend going through FP for the best experience

You can avoid Unfortunate development if you don't want to go through it

I wonder what the next chapter will be

[robust shadow]

I would honestly just like to go to the depths and ascend.

My brain.

My poor brain.

[rotund walrus]

Well you don't have karma 10, gotta go get told to kill yourselves first

[robust shadow]

To the collective of five very specific rocks, fuck you too.

[dawn comet]

This is many hours late but if you don’t have a spear fall back down into the water, go left, and climb up the pipes form there. I don’t remember which ones specifically though.

[robust shadow]

I did that.

[dawn comet]

[robust shadow]

I am throwing myself at Rain World until it works.

[still mulch]

This is the proper technique

Question: why didn’t you get rain world prior to this? It seems like the gameplay is resonating with you

Just didn’t want to (or couldn’t) spend the money, or?

It seemed like you weren’t interested in playing it!

[robust shadow]

I mean, renowned as a hard game.

I don't exactly like hard.

Please don't take that out of context, by the way. And I just laid eyes on the most beautiful thing I've seen.

How do I get across?

My brain. No.

No.

[rancid swift]

uhhh... to the shelter? also hi! how are you doing?

[robust shadow]

Yes, to the shelter.

[rancid swift]

alright
I think I see a path but warning trusting me might be a mistake

[robust shadow]

Go on.

[rancid swift]

I have not been in this area for awhile... is this doable? if not I do have another idea

[night birch]

Simply put, go higher.

The screen continues upwards

[robust shadow]

The blue part, I don't know if that's even possible.

[robust shadow]

Found that out.

[rancid swift]

[robust shadow]

And found out that it will land you in a bad spot for food.

I need two more food pips.

At this point, maybe it's time to call in Dev Tools.

I think I just saw a miros bird kill Iggy.

[rancid swift]

[robust shadow]

Six of them in one room. Goodness.

Six birds.

What the fuck are they all doing there?

Having a little camping trip, little birdies?

Cycles are unusually short this time around.

I wonder why?

I've had to use three flashbangs within the last minute alone.

Are you kidding me?

The cycle was simply not long enough to make it into The Leg.

It's already started raining.

If only I had another minute.

Or maybe three.

This one's a bit longer, fortunately.

I still don't know how to cross.

Is this where I'm supposed to be?

Important lesson - take the first two bubble fruit.

Do not die like I did trying to get more.

And then take the first two blue fruit.

I'm more confident now.

I can do this.

I can do this!

[rancid swift]

[robust shadow]

This.

This is all that matters!

I have done it!

I have beaten the Memory Crypts!

[rancid swift]

shelter sweet shelter

[robust shadow]

Thank you to you all.

Now, to handle the leg.

I shall consume as much of Pebbles' neurons as possible when I get to him.

Also, forgive me for flooding the channel with about three or so chapters worth of message space.

[little schooner]

it's okay, though if you want you can move this to the media channel in the dc'ed discord

[rotund walrus]

Wait till you realize the karma requirement to get into FP

[robust shadow]

You know, you can just...

Not?

[rotund walrus]

:)

[robust shadow]

Let me relish that moment.

[rotund walrus]

Just a sign of things to come

[robust shadow]

5?

Because at that point, I don't want to know anymore.

My pain has gone on for long enough.

[rotund walrus]

You bet

[robust shadow]

Don't tell me it's above that.

I have not met a single Echo.

[rotund walrus]

No it's 5

[robust shadow]

Good.

[rotund walrus]

That still means little to no fuckups

... do you have a passage, any passage?

[robust shadow]

Probably insanely difficult, but nothing can be much harder than speedrunning Memory Crypts, right?

[robust shadow]

Two, I do believe.

[rotund walrus]

Eh don't think so

[robust shadow]

My brain would likely be unable to handle much of Memory Crypts ever again.

[rotund walrus]

Good, hold on to them, remember you can passage to a shelter you are in and that will effectively "recharge" your karma

[robust shadow]

How do I copy saves?

Or is that not possible?

[rotund walrus]

?

[robust shadow]

You know, there's three saves.

Was wondering if you could...

You know, do that.

[rotund walrus]

Savescum?

[robust shadow]

Something like that, except bypassing the 30-second rule.

[rotund walrus]

I don't know if you can do that tbh

[robust shadow]

It would make my life so much easier, but maybe less fair.

I'll pretend that the possibility doesn't exist.

And if at any point I cave in, I might just about get Dev Tools on for Karma.

I'm suprised that I lasted this long without it, but I don't know if I can handle much more of Rain World for some while.

I can't leave it completely, otherwise the machine will rust into unusability, but I can't handle too much.

[rotund walrus]

Tbh i did mousedrag my way trough a "one way" path in sm so honestly if you really need it, go for it

[dawn comet]

Precipice?

[rotund walrus]

yeah the waterfront-precipiece conection

[dawn comet]

Precipice in general feels way too hard.
I went through there once and the jumps are incredibly precise.

I almost got through but (thanks to a mod that adds spitter spider lizards) got paralyzed, grabbed, and then knocked into hell by a dropwig.

[rotund walrus]

oof

[still mulch]

I got that one jump on the first try and made it all the way across to die to a KV right at the end (otw to pebbles) and then died like 6 times to that same stupid jump and gave up. Went the long way around it how did I get that jump the first time???

Me: shoots across precipice in one shot np—pff that wasn’t even hard

Also me: utterly incapable of repeating that feat

[robust shadow]

I go through "I just did that, how?" to "No, actually, how the fuck did I do that?" to "I have been doing that thing for two hours, I've mastered the art of it."

[little schooner]

i would like to confirm that i am alive and actively working on this

[still mulch]

we wait patiently with no pressure

but good to hear you're well :3c

[little schooner]

ye, hopefully i can get some writing done on the plane ride back to my home

[robust shadow]

Thank goodness they didn’t get to you!

[little schooner]

They?

[rancid swift]

hello! hope everyone is well

[rotund walrus]

... ehdon'tworryaboutit

[little schooner]

Well uh. I've written an entire chapter then scrapped it

[night birch]

Been there...

[little schooner]

might post it to the ramble channel just as like, deleted scenes

idk tho

¯_(ツ)_/¯

[still mulch]

Oof been there

Considering scrapping an entire fic rn (not hfish obviously)

Take your time :3c

[velvet narwhal]

question where is the rambling channel

in the server?

[rancid swift]

hm?

[velvet narwhal]

like the dced discord server

[rancid swift]

disconnect server? you should probably ask there

[night birch]

You'll need the role for spoilers. Go see the info channels

Also yeah, don't be afraid to ask questions there. That's why we made it after all.

[little schooner]

React here for access

[still mulch]

Fighting w myself cause spoilers but also… discussion…

[rotund walrus]

well who's winning? /j

[still mulch]

There are two wolves inside of me

[little schooner]

The ramble channels are fun, I added a deleted scenes thread where I plan to post, well, content that didn't make the cut

[little schooner]

Chapter 48: Festival
It didn't feel right anymore to be sitting idly at the festival, especially not as everything else began to shift and move after Spines' announcement. Looks to the Moon stood by the throne, watching the crowds coalesce and form into groups that talked or danced or played unfamiliar games. The drumming scavenger was joined by others with strange instruments of all sizes, and the band began to play music that shook her very core. Or perhaps that was just the rain that pounded the surrounding systems.

Regardless, once the party was in full swing, she took a step forward, then another, then another. A collection of eyes followed her for a moment, but most were quick to return to their conversations or business.

She saw Spitfire amongst one group, catching them in the middle of a story. She stepped forward, focusing on their words.

"-killed red lizard with blue fire. Dead, burn. But gone before I saw who save me. All saw was lightning."

"Thunderbreaker, maybe," a dark scavenger with crooked eyes mused. "She is one of the reasons why I migrated here."

A red scavenger scoffed. "She's a myth, nothing more. Used to keep us from leaving the walls."

"She's real! I saw her! I swear on my pearls!"

"Will of Frenzied Batfly, you don't have that many pearls to swear on."

The crooked-eyed scavenger, Will, signed something illegible to himself.

"I believe Will," Spitfire interjected. "Slugcat have similar legend… ||Renegade||... no know scavenger word, sorry. But might be her."

Lucky Antlers shrugged. "Would love to see more of what legends the slugcats have."

"Have to tell more, once I return."

"Promise? …wait. I think we have an eavesdropper." Will pointed at Moon.

Eyes turned towards her. Wide eyes, on tilted heads. Spitfire was among them. Was she doing something wrong…?

[little schooner]

"...sorry," she signed, taking a step back.

"For what? Eavesdropping?" Will chuckled. "If you wanted to join the conversation, you could have come over."

"Just… watching. I am… exploring the festival." Moon glanced at the ground, sighing.

"I see! May I suggest the art corner next?" Antlers nodded, gesturing in the direction of a crowd of scavengers by one of the connection pillars, painting it with white and blue paint. "Could be more your speed!"

Perhaps it would. "Thank you. I'll… go now. Goodbye."

The group waved at her, giving her various wishes of luck or hope or enjoyment. She waved back, before turning towards her new goal; the so-called 'art corner'.

As she approached, she could see the paintings in more detail. Geometric shapes and lines, forming patterns along the cylindrical surface. There were even some symbols she recognized. Alliance, survival, moon, connection…

A small, purple form came up to her, waving.

"Oh, hello, Spearmaster. I'm just here to watch."

They blinked at her, before pointing at a blank part of the pillar. They approached it, glancing back at her before picking up a bowl of white paint.

She walked forward, glancing at the bowl curiously. They offered it to her, tilting their head.

"Oh, you want me to… sure. I can certainly try." She carefully stuck her hand into the bowl, narrowing her eye as chemical readouts struck her thoughts.

Chitin. Calcium phosphate. Collagen…

Remains. Processed remains of both vertebrates and invertebrates, made into a thick, white liquid. She rubbed it between her fingers, humming as she looked over the surface in front of her. Experimentally, she placed her wet hand onto the structure, a little below her eye level. She kept it there for a moment, before removing her hand from it.

And, what do you know, a handprint remained. Her handprint.

[little schooner]

Iggy leaned into it, tilting its head curiously. A few other overseers came close, too, and she took a step back to give them a better view.

It felt strange, to be proud of what amounted to a simple mark she had made in a few seconds. It was definitely not her first mark on the world, nor her most substantial. But somehow it felt different, giving her the confidence to stand up a bit straighter on her spear.

Spearmaster gave her a strange look, before shrugging. They dipped their own hand into the paint, before stretching up as far as they could go and placing their own handprint next to hers.

She laughed heartily. "Now our marks will be together for as long as the paint remains."

Spearmaster furrowed their brow, glancing back in the direction Moon had come from. Without any indication of what was going on inside that little head of theirs, they wandered out into the heart of the party. Moon followed them with her gaze…

…when a large crowd caught her eye. Slaps in the rhythm of the music emanated from it, with some scavengers pumping a fist in the air. Curiosity took over, and she hobbled her way towards it.

A familiar flash of blue leapt up from the center of the crowd, falling back to the ground accompanied by some surprised grunts as the crowd shifted back. A few noticed her, and were quick to make room so she could get a full view of the commotion.

Sure enough, there was Ruffles and another scavenger, moving to the beat of the music. They seemed to be taking turns trying to impress the crowd. And from what she could see, the little blue water dancer was handily winning… not for a lack of effort from their opponent, of course.

Ruffles glanced at Moon, a glint in their eyes. They backflipped and spun in the air, slapping one of the hanging lanterns on the way down. They landed professionally on two feet, giving a sly look to their opponent. The scavenger held their hands up in defeat, before joining the rest of the crowd in clapping for Ruffles.

[little schooner]

"Nicely done, Ruffles~" she said, leaning onto her spear.

They stared back at her for a moment with those wide eyes, before rushing over to her. They made a grabby motion towards her hands, before moving them up and down to the beat.

Moon had to take a moment to comprehend the charades. "Do you… want me to dance with you? I, uh, thank you, but I don't think I'd be able to keep up with your-!"

Ruffles grabbed her hand, earning them a surprised beep from her. However, instead of dragging her around, they started small, simply moving her hand to the beat. Of course that said nothing for what they were doing with the rest of their body, as the slugcat was gyrating to their heart's content. But Moon could appreciate the relatively slow start that Ruffles gave her this time.

Soon, she found herself shuffling to the beat, mechanical arm swaying behind her. She became more confident in her movements, trusting Ruffles more to keep her steady. She was pleasantly surprised by how Ruffles handled her, especially since this was the same creature that had dragged her into and out of the water just a few cycles ago. Perhaps that was what Artificer had talked to them about at the time…

The world around her seemed to fade away. It was just her, Ruffles, and the music, in perfect synchronicity. Left, right, with the beat, keeping up, slowing down, muscles tightening, burning-

Something was wrong. She was shaking. Ruffles stared up at her, mouth slightly agape. They stopped their swaying, instead getting a better grip on her before helping her away from the crowd of staring scavengers. Moon turned her focus on the internal warnings that were flaring up.

Strain. Overheating. Small spasms. Lack of oxygen in the muscular system.

Was she going to die again? Death by dancing, of all things?

[little schooner]

Ruffles led her through a pipe and helped her sit down… somewhere. She hadn't been paying attention. She just wanted to focus on cooling down and not dying. So, she laid herself down, splaying out on the… fabric… it was comfortable, at least.

Ruffles disappeared after a moment, leaving her… alone? No, that didn't sound right. Why would she be left alone if she was dying-

Someone gently pushed a blunt object into her side. She winced, looking up at the maroon perpetrator.

"Wh…"

Artificer sighed loudly, sitting down next to her. "Alright. What happen?"

"I… pushed my body too far. And now I'm getting burned from the inside out. After everything, the simple act of dancing is going to kill me. Can you believe that?"

"Look. Do not know much about body. But you may be… work strain. Push too far, but not die. You recover. Promise."

She… had to believe it, for her own sanity. She closed her eye, focusing on keeping calm. She'd be fine, she'd be fine…

She wasn't sure how long it had been, but her mechanical arm moved without her input, with her pumps drumming up shortly after. She raised her head up carefully, squinting, and saw Spines looking back at her, with Shore glancing over its shoulder.

"You feeling alright, Moon?"

She paused. After giving it a moment of thought, she replied, "No, I still feel like my muscles are on fire, but… I am pretty sure I am not dying, at least."

"Good. I… I'm sorry. I should have encouraged you to take it easy."

"This… isn't your fault. I should have known better. But simultaneously… I do not think I regret it. I lived, and I learned. I will just have to be more mindful of my… limits."

Spines tilted its head for a moment, before letting their body relax. Shore clamored forward on Spines' shoulder, pointing at her. Spines chuckled, lifting her up and turning her, gently bumping heads with her before placing her on the ground. Shore bounded over to Moon, climbing onto her and making her home in the crook of her arm.

[little schooner]

Moon placed her head back on the ground, letting out a prolonged sigh. Some of her friend's overseers were hovering above her now, no doubt concerned for her safety. But the liquid she was given was beginning to work through her systems, providing more vital nutrients to her puppet. More relief to famished, now-exhausted systems. Her puppet would survive. She wouldn't die so easily.

But, by the stars did it hurt. So much unlike any other form of pain she had felt… ever, if her memory served her right…

She lifted her free hand slowly. She brought it to rest on Shore's back as she closed her eye. She'd been living with pain for many, many cycles. This wasn't worse than any of it, just… different. And Moon could handle different, if these past few cycles have been any indication.

Someone moved beside her, grazing her arm. Artificer, she figured. Shore melted into her arm after a moment, letting out the smallest sigh imaginable.

Moon let herself relax, feeling the awareness in her puppet dull. She let her thoughts wander through her conflux below, flowing between quiet memories and qualia. It was calming, grounding, a way to pass the time while she let her puppet recover until the start of the next cycle…

...at least, until she was startled out of her torpor by someone shaking her. She sputtered in surprise, squinting up at the wide, wet, pink-rimmed eyes staring back at her.

[tulip plume]

Rivulet dancing was a neat idea.

[rancid swift]

great party
well until Moon had to suffer more seems she is alright

[still mulch]

Aw man I was just thinking ||awww, moon get a chance to just. Exist and enjoy herself a bit—nope, angst. Pain. I expect nothing less||

||Renegade needs to come teach Moon how to survive as a mobile puppet she’s not doing so hot ;0;||

[little schooner]

everyone's trying their best

[still mulch]

Baby needs real food

[tulip plume]

I can’t wait for Renegade and Moon to meet ;-;

[still mulch]

I knooooow I want them to find each other so bad

[rotund walrus]

||riv jumpscare||

[west wraith]

I can see ||Rivulet|| doing this on the regular to Iterator puppets.

[spring berry]

nice new chapter! Its cool how the scavs heard of Renegade

[little schooner]

@night birch 's account got compromised. Don't trust any messages sent by him.

[empty kayak]

Should probably send proof to courier

[little schooner]

Yeah I did

[robust shadow]

I did not expect Rot this early.

I scrambled out of there.

[rotund walrus]

Welcome to the leg :)

[robust shadow]

How the fuck do I get up there, anyhow?

Jumping results in death.

[rotund walrus]

Tunnel above the white tunnel exit

[robust shadow]

I need two spears.

Or so.

For that tunnel.

And that's a load of time I do not have.

[rotund walrus]

Maybe walljump into that pole and into the tunnel?

Don't recall this area ngl

[robust shadow]

Inner portion of the Leg.

I need to learn wall-jumping.

[rotund walrus]

You could go the other path

[half anchor]

Yeah, going right is better.

Shelter there, too

Food, grapple worms, & a karma flower

[robust shadow]

Screw them grapple worms.

Using them's more like fighting your keyboard.

[half anchor]

Well, won't cross the underhang without one.

Unless you intent to try unfortunate developement.

[rotund walrus]

Eh i never needed them?

[rotund walrus]

RTA:

[robust shadow]

Ain't that the "intended" path?

[rotund walrus]

I have a path trough FP that only encounters like 3 DLLs and no threats afterwards

[rotund walrus]

Well yes but uh... do you want to go there?

[half anchor]

That's what I use too. Faster than underhang

[robust shadow]

I'll think about it.

Should I get stuck, I might just about ask.

[rotund walrus]

Really if I don't want to do the insides of FP i just go the wall

Avoids all this shaded and memory crypts bullshit

[rotund walrus]

Do ping if you need it

[robust shadow]

Memory Crypts is total bullshit, I do agree.

You get desensitized to the Miros birds when you know 5 of them will clump up where you need to go.

Shaded is good, but that one ledge.

[rotund walrus]

Idk I just don't like the hassle to get a lantern

... I just don't really like leg/shaded/underhang, actually

[robust shadow]

You're aware that killing scavengers is possible, right?

[rotund walrus]

Would rather get on good terms, and you still would need to find them

Just don't like that place. Simple as

[robust shadow]

Possible to make it without a lantern, just extremely painful.

[rotund walrus]

Yeah I did that as arti

Would not recommend

I also got dropwig'd right as I got into the leg, that was fun

[still mulch]

If you haven’t figured it out yet, you do need to wedge a spear in the side of the ledge to get up at the very top of that room (or be very skillful with grapple worm)

There should be several spears strewn about the room though

[robust shadow]

Figured.

Now, trying not to die to DLLs.

[still mulch]

That new oneshot!! Augh, my feels

[rotund walrus]

huh wait wha- oh shit

[still mulch]

Yesss surprise!

[robust shadow]

It's nice.

[little schooner]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55943692 should post this here too

[rotund walrus]

Conclusion: FP is trans ancients were mean

[little schooner]

lmao

i like to headcanon that both pebbles and moon is trans

[rotund walrus]

-both?

[little schooner]

yes

it has no basis in reality

but i think its kinda funny

[rotund walrus]

Lmao

[rancid swift]

are you sure about that?

[rotund walrus]

Sure 'bout what?

[rancid swift]

#1192290858997928006 message but what if it does (no further context will be given) I will now be leaving again

[still mulch]

iterators having AGAB is an interesting concept 🤔 I assume they would just be androgynous by nature and choose whatever gender they feel fits themselves

but I'm here for a trans reading

[rotund walrus]

I mean yeah that makes the most sense since puppets don't seem to have any features

[little schooner]

i mean you could interpret the discrepency between moon's and pebbles' head markings and their chat/overseer color to mean that their puppet was altered at some point in the past (without altering their overseer/chat color because those are probably more ingrained into each iterator)

hold on let me pull up my meme comic

made lovingly in mspaint

i also wrote smth a while back covering pebbles coming out to moon and moon being like "oh yeah ive been there before" and pebbles is like "you've wanted to be male-presenting too?" and moon is like "no i transed my gender"

could also be the reason why she uses the nickname "big sister moon" because she was sick of people misgendering her (even by accident)

that's also why in Antecedent, pebbles' forehead marking is cyan, rather than yellow

also there are two genders for iterators in my head. turtleneck and no turtleneck. idontfuckingknowwhy i made this decision but ive dug my grave im gonna lie in it

[still mulch]

uhhh is this published? I want it 🥺

[still mulch]

omfg

[little schooner]

not published, but i think i can dredge it up from the depths of the community server

[rotund walrus]

The ancient texts

[still mulch]

idk if you'll write more oneshots/side fics with past events from dc but I'd be really down for that just sayin

[rotund walrus]

Funni

[rotund walrus]

There is the drip gender and the drown gender

[empty kayak]

Looks to the drip

[still mulch]

so what is nonbinary?

[rotund walrus]

Five Js

[still mulch]

off-the-shoulder? scarf?

[rotund walrus]

No physhical appearance >:)

[still mulch]

kind of a sick iterator name ngl

NSH's anon username

genderfluid is a pop collar

[little schooner]

haha

also i found it

i need to figure out how i want to send it

whether i want to publish it on ao3 or not

[rotund walrus]

Just a discord link?

[rotund walrus]

Ah well that's up to ya

[little schooner]

wouldn't work for everyone

its on a different server

[still mulch]

if it's canon to dc ao3 is good!

or if its not still ao3 just posted not in dc series :3c

[little schooner]

https://archiveofourown.org/works/55954165/chapters/142093981

[still mulch]

looking forward to what else you add to it!!

supportive trans sibling AU - wholesome (if you don't think about what happens later)

I just love pebbs and moon being friendly/sweet

[rotund walrus]

Yippie

[robust shadow]

Oblivious to the impending doom that awaits the both of them.

[still mulch]

It huuuurts

[little schooner]

Chapter 49: Incompetence
Looks to the Moon was dead. Killed by Ruffles' own incompetence. She had to be. She was as still as a pole plant once they had helped her lay down.

A testament to their redundancy. They wanted adventure, but all they had been doing for the past few cycles was be a terrible caretaker.

They couldn't bear to look at her. That's why they buried themselves underneath the fabric, stomach rubbing up against the cool floor of the scavenger's sleeping quarters. They should just curl up and be left alone for all eternity. That's what they deserved, for-

Someone lifted the blanket with their head, peering their purple head inside. "There you are," Spearmaster signed. "We were starting to worry you went out into the rain."

Ruffles hissed lightly, glancing away from their purple companion. "Why do you care? I keep on messing up. And now I've really outdone myself- Moon's dead!"

"She isn't, though."

"Have you checked?"

"Her neurons are still working. Artificer was able to talk to her. And she's been able to eat just fine."

"But- but what if she's comatose now?"

Spearmaster blew warm air out of their nose, narrowing their gaze. "I doubt she is. I think she's just… sleeping? It certainly seems like sleeping."

Ruffles' eyes widened. "She could be dead then!"

"No, Stop-"

But it was too late for them to stop the blue blur. Ruffles pushed past Spearmaster, leaving them to contend with a tangle of fabric as they rushed over to where they left Moon.

[little schooner]

Ruffles skidded to a stop in front of her body. Moon had hardly moved at all, with the exception of the neuron flies that orbited above her. Some overseers were watching her vigilantly, purple and green and tan. Sometimes they would move over to the yellow one that always stuck to Moon, reaching out and touching tendrils together, before returning to their previous positions.

Ruffles went down on all fours, ears pinned down as they approached. The purple overseer moved its attention to them, bobbing up and down for a moment. It then projected some sort of glyph to them, one that, frankly, it had never seen before. But it was directing their attention to the body of the god-machine, which…

They reached out and touched Moon's arm. It was bony as ever, a bit clammy, and far cooler than they remembered. They then took a step forward, taking a whiff of her… and winced. She had smelt like dirt and scavengers and salty water before, but now there was a hint of rotting eggbug in there, a bit pungent and putrid.

Panic began to bubble up in their heart. Their fears had to be true. She was dead. How could anyone forgive them?

Despite the futility of it, they reached out to her shoulder, shaking her gently, then more and more and more, putting their whole body into it, panting and whimpering and crying and-

Scr-r-r-rrtz?!

Ruffles froze, gaze falling onto Moon's face. They saw the god-machine flinch, squinting her eye open as the pupil flickered to life.

After a moment, she let out a groan, rubbing her face. Ruffles took a step back, their panic warping into shock and horror and relief.

Moon sighed, glancing over them. "Ruffles… hello. I'm okay. I'll live. Thanks for checking in on me, but… please don't shake me like that. It… isn't pleasant. Sorry, give me a moment…"

[little schooner]

They… messed up. Again. They kept on messing up. It had been easier when they were alone, nobody but themselves to worry about, but they- they kept on hurting her. It didn't matter that they were trying to help-

Moon sat up, bringing her knees to her chest and wrapping her arms around them. She remained silent for a long moment, glancing up at the overseers that stared back down at her.

"I enjoyed my time at the festival," she said, turning to face them. "Thank you for dancing with me. It was fun while it lasted."

They wrung their hands together, glancing down at the floor. It had to be a lie. Just to make them feel better.

Moon laughed softly, awkwardly. "Believe me, I wish I could have stayed for longer. But then again, I had to learn my limits sooner or later. Better now where I am safe, if you ask me.

"...don't fret too much about me, Ruffles. I think we've all been improvising here, doing the best we can. There is a lot that we just won't know until we try, and I accept that there will be some growing pains involved in that. Granted, I would appreciate it if you were more gentle with me, at least for now while I am… unwell."

They nodded... perhaps too aggressively. But they wanted to do better.

"Good, good…" she trailed off, looking around and grabbing her arm. She caught something in her eye, and soon after she let her shoulders relax. She took her tail out of its bowl and got onto her knees, attempting to push herself up.

Ruffles took a step towards her, glancing at where she was looking, though it was a bit hard to tell what exactly in the dim orange light of the room. It just seemed like a pile of fur to them… but… They warily held out their hand, tilting their head a bit. She glanced up, hesitating for a moment before grabbing it and lifting herself up.

"Thank you. Mind helping me over there?" She pointed in the direction she had been looking.

[little schooner]

They nodded again, but… waited for her to take the first step. After a moment, she made some sort of noise before initiating the short walk to the fluffy pile. As they approached, however, one part of the pile, smaller than the rest, raised up and began to stare at them with small, round, red eyes.

Moon stopped, before carefully lowering herself to sit by the pile. A soft squeal came from it, and soon after the shape of Shore separated from the indistinct blob of sleeping scavengers.

Shore bounded up to Moon, looking between her and Ruffles. She gently grabbed onto Moon's leg, rocking back and forth as she stared up at her. Moon signed something illegible to her, and she responded sloppily in turn.

Moon seemed to start for a moment, before smiling with her good eye and rubbing Shore's cheek. "What is it that you called me, little lookalike?" she cooed quietly. "I'll have to ask one of your parents when they wake up. But right now you should sleep. You too, Ruffles." She turned to them, tilting her head. "You have quite the pilgrimage ahead of you, my spry friend. It would do you well to rest before you leave."

Ruffles… couldn't argue with that. Staying up so late was unusual for them, and it was a bit surprising that they didn't just pass out under the blankets Spearmaster found them under. Heightened emotions may do that, they supposed…

They lowered themself down to lay by Moon's side. They stared up at the dim lanterns that hung from the ceiling, blinking. Out of the corner of their eye, they could see Spearmaster, quietly scratching at the ground with one of their needles. It just occurred to them that they may have been listening, though their demeanor didn't seem to indicate anything either way.

Ruffles didn't let that bother them, however, and as Moon started to professionally rub their back with her bony hand, they slowly, finally, drifted off to sleep, with mild hope for the adventures the future would hold.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53764783/chapters/142152130

[rancid swift]

cool

[still mulch]

Moon & ruffles friendship ❤️

Poor moon… poor ruffy. They didn’t mean it

[little schooner]

renegade

[cyan falcon]

Finally giving this story a shot.
A thing I noticed in the first chapter, the cover art is not working, resulting in a questionmark

In general I would go over all images in the story. Upload them to imgur instead. Discord image links sadly are now a timed joy of a few weeks

[rotund walrus]

Wait there are images-?

[cyan falcon]

At least a cover image

[little schooner]

Yeah I need to fix some of the images

I'll get around to that haha

But anyways

Heya folks! Chapter 50 is in the oven currently. However, I am thinking that it would be a good place to put an intermission of sorts. I'm thinking of starting an ask blog on Tumblr where you can ask the characters questions, with the plot happening in the meantime.
Mostly because things will be in a transition period for most/all characters; Moon regaining strength with the Artificer and the scavengers, Renegade doing... stuff with the slugcats, and the Messenger trio going off to Five Pebbles.

(For those without a Tumblr account, fret not, there will also be an "ask the characters" section here)

However, I want the community's opinion on this before I go through with it. People didn't sign up for an ask blog, and I acknowledge this is sort of coming out of left field. I won't stop writing stuff, of course, and once things start happening again I may go back to writing and turn the ask blog into more of a side thing.

I'll also ask those who follow this in the other servers I post this to... maybe on Tumblr too.

(Reposting this here from DC'ed discord server)

Want y'all's opinions

[rotund walrus]

So a QnA with the characters?

[little schooner]

Yeah

[still mulch]

I’m down! I don’t have a tumblr (that I use…) but I’m 100% here for you doing what you want to with your world :3

[rotund walrus]

Sounds cool

[still mulch]

Tbf we didn’t ‘sign up’ for anything and you’re writing something fun for free and you can do absolutely whatever you want with it

I personally think an ask blog sounds fun

AND if you need to slow down with the fic for a minute to recharge that’s completely fine!!

Same opinion with trans pebbs & moon propaganda. Seems like something you’re having fun with and any form of you having a good time with the thing you’ve made is welcome

Chapter 50 is also a massive accomplishment

[little schooner]

thank you :)

[empty kayak]

True, do what you want

May always take a break from writing too if you're not feeling it

[little schooner]

yey ye

[robust shadow]

No idea where to go!

Going left instead, seems like there's more to go without grapple worm.

Is there no screen to the right?

I think there's just no screen for me to go to, but I'd love to be proven wrong.

I think it's possible to do grapple worm movement tech or something to get through it, which I am willing to learn.

[velvet hatch]

yea that's a dead end to the right of that room

[rotund walrus]

That's just a nice shelter, the real deal is to the left

[robust shadow]

Does Underhang need grapple worms?

[empty kayak]

Eastern underhang doesn't, western does.You don't have to go to western underhang

[robust shadow]

What is western Underhang?

Is it to the left?

[empty kayak]

Yes, far left. The entirety of underhang is to the left

[robust shadow]

Well.

Can you give me any idea what to beat with my keyboard?

[empty kayak]

Don't worry about bringing grapple worms with you, they spawn everywhere in underhang

[empty kayak]

Please don't, take care of your possessions
If you feel tilted, take a break

Rain world can be quite brutal and unfair at times

[robust shadow]

Too bad. I've mildly hit something soft with my keyboard already.

[rotund walrus]

Give your keyboard a nice pat and put it where it belongs

[little schooner]

Chapter 50: Departure
All things considered, Looks to the Moon was… okay. Not great, not terrible, just… fine. That was more than she thought she'd have when she was first plunged into the darkness of her own degrading mind, at least.

So, why was it that her chest muscles tightened involuntarily as she watched the creatures in the nest begin to stir? Was it a consequence of her undue exertion? A keen awareness of the world outside still being flooded?

Or was it the fact that her little saviors were leaving for Five Pebbles?

She sighed quietly, glancing up at the overseers that had stood vigil throughout the night. They had to be worried, all of them. The displays of the past night probably did not inspire confidence in her chances in this new life of hers.

But… void damn it. She was going to do her best.

She felt Ruffles move beside her, and could hear their squeaky yawn. She looked back down at them, scratching their cheek lightly.

"Good morning. Feeling better?"

Ruffles rolled onto their back, squinting their eyes open. After a moment, they grunted, slapping Moon's side lightly with one of their sopping wet hands. However, a moment after they shot their eyes open, getting onto all fours and tucking their tail behind them.

Moon tilted her head. "Is everything… oh. No, it's okay, Ruffles. I'm alright, promise."

Ruffles raised their head a bit, stretching to examine the spot they just struck. Sure enough, the only mark on her skin was a small, wet handprint. Their body relaxed as they let out a sigh, before getting into a sitting position, tapping their fingers on the floor and looking around. They locked eyes with Spearmaster as they approached, and the two of them began to have a conversation that Looks to the Moon couldn't understand. She sighed, scanning the rest of the waking creatures in the nest.

[little schooner]

A dark brown head shot out of the pile in front of her, the squinted eyes of the scavenger boggling. It took Moon a moment to realize that its eartlers indicated that it was an elite, and took an embarrassing moment longer as it replaced its ornate mask to realize that it was Spines that had woken up so suddenly. The two of them stared at each other for a second, before Spines lept out of the pile and over to her in one graceful move.

They were about to sign something, but its gaze fell upon the little pup on her lap. It froze, deflating, before picking up Shore and placing her on its shoulder, much to Shore's disgruntlement.

"...sorry, Moon," Spines signed sheepishly, once it made sure that Shore was secure on its back. "Didn't mean to scare you."

"But you didn't scare me. If anything, I indirectly scared you, if your speed was any indication."

Spines snorted in amusement. "You are right. Your wisdom is unbounded."

"I'd say it is quite bounded at the moment, really. And what I said wasn't exactly wise."

"It's about as bound as mine is, Moon. And I assure you I am quite mobile."

Now that earned a snort from Moon. A warbly, staticy noise that came out involuntarily and left her with a warm feeling inside that loosened her chest a bit.

"You got me there, friend. Though time will tell how mobile I become. I could deal with having to stay here - after all, that has been what I have been doing my entire life. However, I would like to meet my family eventually…"

"Even Five Pebbles?"

"Especially him. If nothing else, because of our relatively close distance. But he is my brother at the end of the day, and I will be there for him."

Spines' expression soured a bit. "...why? He hurt you, right?"

"Gravely."

"And yet you want to visit him still?"

"If possible."

[little schooner]

Spines eyed her over, before… sighing. "It is clear from what I know that he has little to no regard for your life. You shouldn't treat him like family if he is so willing to throw your life away. I know it's hard, but-"

"Spines, no. I am not just going to abandon him. He acted out of desperation, not malice, and he still cares enough to at least consider my condition."

"...let me show you something." It flagged down a scavenger who was awake, and it stared back at it with bleary eyes. "Please tell the messengers to follow us, as well."

Before she could say another word, Spines lifted her up, placing her spear on her hand. She beckoned her, and carefully she followed, with Ruffles and Spearmaster close behind.

The group went through one of the many unmarked pipes, landing in a… familiar room. This had been where the party had been hosted. The throne, the settled-in scavengers, the-

One of the pillars within the room was absolutely covered in paint. Many of the marks were even placed where she thought the average scavenger could not reach. Spines was bringing her here, it seemed.

As she got closer, she began to understand what the marks were…

Handprints. They were all handprints, all sorts of sizes that seemed to radiate out of a central point. She approached this center, tilting her head. She froze for a moment, before reaching out and touching the handprint she had left the night before.

Among her handprint was a few other prints that were unlike the others - the slugcats, the saviors, she realized - and two prints painted red, one large, one small.

Spines' mask clinked, and Moon turned towards it. It too was observing the mural, though it seemed to be looking at it with more… confidence, was it?

[little schooner]

"Isn't this beautiful?" Spines asked. "It was Spearmaster's idea, yet so many more joined in than I expected. Believe it or not, but many do not mind your inclusion in the tribe.

"It is novel to have someone who isn't a scavenger join our tribe, though it is born out of a long-standing tradition of my people; You do not need to be blood related to be family. What whims the cycle uses to bring people into their new lives do not need to be regarded when we form relationships. No, what matters more is the bonds we make with each other.

"This tribe can be your new family, if you let it. Those who hurt you need not be a part of it. You don't have to tolerate his actions. You have every right to push him out of your life for what he has done. And, for your health and sanity, I suggest that you distance yourself from him. Family that hurts you can hardly be considered your family, Moon. Here, though, you are safe. You are cared for."

Moon looked over Spines. It was right. She didn't have to tolerate Pebbles' behavior. He had hurt her. Severely. She knew that.

But she wanted to care. She wanted to see her little brother be happy and healthy, not… bitter and rotting from the inside. And it was still clear that there was something inside of him that cared; otherwise, he wouldn't have sent Artificer in a misguided attempt to prevent her from getting picked apart. Otherwise, he wouldn't have accepted Moon's requests.

If there was nothing there, nothing left to redeem, then maybe she would agree that she should just… cut ties, leave him to his own devices, concern herself with her own well-being before his. But she couldn't just abandon him. She just... couldn't.

[little schooner]

But she really didn't feel like arguing about it at the moment. So, all she did was lift her hand off of her handprint, sighing. "I… thank you, Spines. I am glad to know I am welcome here."

Ruffles chirped lightly beside her, tilting their head. Spines' eyes boggled a bit, before digging around for a near-empty bowl of paint. It presented the bowl to them, pointing at an empty space by Moon's handprint. Ruffles hesitated for a moment, before dipping their hand in the concoction and slapping their mark onto the pillar. They took a step back, glancing between Moon and the other gathered slugcats.

Moon turned. Spearmaster, Spitfire, Ruffles, and Artificer's gaze fell upon her in turn. These little, amazing creatures, who had facilitated her revival and communication with the outside world. Who had been with her though trials and tribulations, failures and successes. These past three cycles had been some of the liveliest that she could recall, despite being the deadest she had ever been.

She could feel the water in the conflux below begin to recede. The three messengers would need to leave soon. She didn't want them to go, but having them stay would simply be selfish. She couldn't keep them.

She carefully lowered herself into a kneeling position, tilting her head. "...thank you all for your assistance during these trying times in my life. I wish you all could stay longer, but of course I can't keep you here. You have your own wishes, your own destinations in mind, and I have just been a small part of your lives. But just know that you have been a huge part of mine. I wish I was capable of repaying the favor, but all I have to give are my words. So, from the bottom of my heart… thank you."

After a moment, Ruffles widened their arms, tilting their head. Moon chuckled, accepting the hug request by giving them one of her own. She felt other pairs of arms wrap around her, surrounding her in an embrace. The touch was almost overwhelming, but she didn't care.

[little schooner]

"I… I'll miss you all," she muttered, voice crackling a bit with the weight of emotion.

Eventually, the slugcats let go of her, glancing at each other. The cycle's start was imminent, and even without the thrum of the shelter door opening it was clear in her saviors' demeanor that they were anxious to leave. "Safe travels, friends. Feel free to visit any time when you get the chance. I would love to see you again."

A thought intruded her mind. Perhaps it would be a bit petty, but... maybe Five Pebbles shouldn't be left without consequence.

"Sig gave me a request for you, Spitfire," she said.

They tilted their head, ears perking up.

"Why don't you 'show' Five Pebbles a rock on your way out?"

They blinked for a moment, glancing around. A mischievous glint appeared in their eyes, and they readily nodded. Spearmaster signed something to them, and their eyes went wide. "Delivery from here," they signed. "Show him piece of you."

"Sounds lovely," she replied. She looked up at the ceiling. A few overseers watched back, two green ones and a red one and that enigmatic tan one. She was pretty sure she could guess which overseer belonged to who here, but that beige one eluded her. Perhaps it was feral, or some stranger who was keenly curious about her situation. Though it wasn't like she could blame anyone for being curious…

"Well," she said, turning her attention back to the slugcats. "I won't keep you any longer. Goodbye for now, and stay safe!"

Spines then stepped forward, beckoning another scavenger and pointing between the slugcats and one of the pipes. The scavenger nodded, before leading the messengers out of the room. Moon watched them leave, staring at the pipe for a moment and forcing the tightness in her chest to finally relax. They'd be fine. They made it here. They'd make it to Five Pebbles, too. And make it to whatever came after.

[little schooner]

She glanced over at Spines, with Artificer watching to the side as well. That question from before…

"Spines? I have a question."

Spines turned, tilting its head. "Yes?"

"Last night, when Shore came to sleep with me… she signed something to me. She signed my name, but there was something that preceded it that I did not recognize." She thought back to that moment, trying to picture the movements, and mimicked what she had seen.

Spines chuckled, reaching behind them and rubbing Shore's cheek. "A word of endearment and relationship. Someone who isn't a parent who plays a large role in the child's life but also isn't a caretaker. The way it is signed implies a feminine connotation."

"A… nanny?"

"...no, that would be closer to 'caretaker'. This word is more… familial in vibes."

"...Aunt?"

Spines narrowed its eyes. "...yes, close enough. Not a perfect match, as one doesn't have to be literally related in order to become an aunt, and vice versa, but… it seems right."

"Oh. Aunt Moon…" Never in her life did she think she'd have a title like that. Of course, Big Sis was close in scope, but Aunt Moon felt different from that, especially as it came from a little blue scavenger that looked up to her.

"I quite like it," she decided. "Has quite the ring to it. I'm sure my friends will be amused by it… thank you for explaining. You did quite well."

"Just like old times," Spines replied. *"That's how our later meetings went. I'd tell a story, and you'd stop me in the middle when I got to an unfamiliar word." *

"Hmm… could we continue that tradition tonight? Perhaps that is one thing from my old life I can return to."

Spines' eyes lifted into a smile. "Absolutely. I'll have to catch you up on what you've missed since you were gone. But until then… what is it you want to do now?"

[still mulch]

Man, I really love spines. You’ve done such a good job with him

[little schooner]

Spines' pronouns are it/its

[still mulch]

This is a great chapter to take a break on, if you do. It feels like a turning point

[still mulch]

Ohh, my b

[little schooner]

all good

im feeling like. uh

idk tbh

we'll see

just gotta finish the ask blog stuff haha

[still mulch]

About the break?

[little schooner]

yeah

[still mulch]

Ofc :3x whatever feels right

This chapter was super sweet

[little schooner]

thank you :)

[still mulch]

||the scugs departing… my heart. Spines saying she could be family, here. The handprints ;0;||

||I love the handprint wall sm||

[little schooner]

haha thank you]

sort of built that up from Festival, as spearmaster going off on their own was them getting the other scugs to contribute to the wall

and then others just. joined in

[still mulch]

It’s really beautiful, seeing it would be so moving

Moon being a part of it (the start of it)

[little schooner]

yeah

[still mulch]

Thanks for writing this thing!

I’ve enjoyed following it so far

[little schooner]

no problem, and thank you!

[rancid swift]

< the one person who didn't want pebbles to get hit by a rock's face
violence...

[robust shadow]

I don’t want him to, but he deserves it.

[still mulch]

I want him to

[tulip plume]

Hit Five pebbles with exactly 5 small rocks.

[still mulch]

banan, world’s biggest pebbles fanatic: hit him with the rock!!

[little schooner]

lets just say that spitfire might have second thoughts once they meet him :)

[robust shadow]

Are you really going to hit a fellow cancer patient with a rock?

I mean, he did give himself cancer, but…

[rancid swift]

[still mulch]

Oh god he’s gonna be a mess… ahhh

Angst machine livin up to the name

Cancer patient solidarity

[rancid swift]

they are going to five pebbles for help right? I know pebbles did some stuff that they don't really like but seriously? that's rude
also feel like talking about how no one seems to get how moon herself feels about all of this most of them don't know or aren't close to five pebbles they are kind of just being mad for moon when really has moon even decided how she feels about it? she isn't in the best health right now and yeah... we will see banan (or we will be told but I want to wait)

[still mulch]

I joke but I do love and feel for pebbles

All of the Iterators were wronged, and while pebbles’ reaction is not justified, he’s a victim too

[robust shadow]

All the mistakes he did, was exactly what I would’ve done in his position.

[still mulch]

throws a rock at you

(Then gives you a hug)

[robust shadow]

You know that I can catch rocks, right?

[robust shadow]

Thank you.

[rotund walrus]

... they will throw TWO rocks? /j

[little schooner]

Guh

(Not directed to anyone)

Asks are now open

[rancid swift]

question time?

[empty kayak]

The Angst Machine has become the Answer Machine

[little schooner]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/1188222369353969664/1238704984762220604/speed-6.gif

i forgor gifs dont work here

[little schooner]

first ask

[robust shadow]

Need help with backwards spear jumping.

I don't have any method of consistently performing a backflip.

Let alone throwing a spear while doing it.

But it's cool, and I need to be able to actually kill.

If only we had guns.

[still mulch]

Just practice the backflip first

You’ll get it

Once you can backflip consistently hold down + throw mip flip (or up if you have the setting enabled for outgrow)

[still mulch]

Ask blog is gonna be so fun I can’t wait to see more of your art

[empty kayak]

Walk forward for a while then press jump and backwards to do a backflip. You'll know you've walked far enough if you get a speed boost when switching directions without jumping. You will also see some tiny particles at your feet
For the down spear, only hold down then throw. You can throw pretty much everywhere in the backflip, doesn't have to be in the middle.

[rotund walrus]

[empty kayak]

Backflipping to kill is generally not the best idea. Pink lizards for instance have enough reaction time to snag you out of a backflip. If you wanna do down spear pinning, I suggest doing it from a whiplash. (They call them slide flipping on the wiki for some reason )

https://rainworld.miraheze.org/wiki/Controls/Slides

These pages on the wiki have no spoilers so feel free to check them out

[little schooner]

https://www.tumblr.com/ask-dced/751139827385319424/bsm-to-be-honest-probably-bsm-my-puppet-is another ask answered

[still mulch]

Oh I love this question and answer

Ask blog already paying off

[robust shadow]

It’s my question! It’s my question!

I would run around like a little gremlin, but I don’t do that.

[robust shadow]

Arena mode is fun.

[rotund walrus]

It's great fun when you play against your friends with wildlife set to max and agressive AI on

[pallid patio]

I like expedition more tbh

But arena is fun when you don't wanna travel to the same region like eight times in a row

[rotund walrus]

Collect 2 bat lures in one shelter
Spawn: Five Pebbles

That's my experience

[pallid patio]

Huh... Well there are some unlucky alarms but it's still fun overall

[robust shadow]

I need help.

What is the closest shelter.

Please.

Western Underhang is full of bullshit.

I got lucky.

Multiple times.

Savescumming time!

[still mulch]

Is this the FP gate?

[robust shadow]

Yes.

I somehow made it from that other shelter without sheltering.

[still mulch]

I have no idea how to explain uhh

[robust shadow]

I found a 'close' shelter.

[still mulch]

So go back across the big hallway (only way to go)

Then down the pipe

And go right into the huge room with all the poles over the pit

Slide down the poles until they end and go right. There’s a little hallway you can go to at the bottom right of the pit room and there’s a shelter right there

I feel like this is a poor explanation lol I’m sorry

[robust shadow]

Anything is better than walking from here to there.

[still mulch]

Yeah the big ass pit room under pebbles’ gate has that shelter in the bottom right

You gotta hop across the poles

[robust shadow]

I made it!

I am not going to use one of my passages for this.

Pebbles's stupid gate karma requirement can go suck my ass.

[still mulch]

Haha there’s enough food here to karma farm

[robust shadow]

Then I have just effectively done the same.

Fine, fine! I'll atone for my sins, then.

[robust shadow]

How shall I do that, though?

[robust shadow]

Separate save where I drag Surv there and Karma Farm until 5?

Sounds good. Not now.

[rotund walrus]

Why do that if you can just do that on your current save?

[empty kayak]

If you're lazy, go into remix menu, go to remix and enable vanilla exploits. Now you're able to karma cache.
Starve in the shelter, go to the next cycle and quit to menu before 30 seconds have passed. Re-enter your save and tada, your karma has increased. Rinse and repeat

Used in speedruns to quickly increase your karma
But if you're gonna karma cache, you might as well enable monk style gates or disable gate requirements entirely.

[robust shadow]

Was fed up with Pebbles’ bullshit.

I’ve done that a long while ago.

That’s how I passed into UD.

About to drag Surv there in a new save file to prove myself worthy of passing over

[rotund walrus]

Into UD

[robust shadow]

It’s the “intended” path.

[rotund walrus]

It's also the path of most suffering

[robust shadow]

What is Rain World if not suffering?

[rotund walrus]

True that

But you can suffer a bit less

[robust shadow]

How?

[rotund walrus]

By not going UD

[rotund walrus]

that's aaa... vulture grub?

[little schooner]

ye

[rotund walrus]

oh dear

also moon is doing a power pose over here lmao

[little schooner]

arching her back like a cat

really going feral over here

[dawn comet]

something about me really wants to see moon or one of the slugcats throw a vulture grub at FP with the roof to his chamber collapsed just to see what happens

[rotund walrus]

Tug of war between vulture and FP's arm

[dawn comet]

its a miros vulture

[little schooner]

Chapter 51: Interim
They were… dreadfully lost. More lost than lost. They felt unwelcome here, and even if they were, they were not in their element, and the walls themselves screamed at them to leave.

They spun around uselessly in the air, squirming and crying. They just wanted to go home… not be in the belly of a god-machine's domain. But they couldn't remember the way out, and were now stuck flying about incompetently within a long, wide corridor. Were they going left or right? Up or down? Deeper or closer to an escape?

It was maddening, wandering through this god's internals. Everything here looked the same, and the smell was wet and musty. The only saving grace had been those strange colorful-white batfly things that had been sustaining them throughout the cycles. How many cycles had it even been? It was impossible to tell, with no rain nor light to indicate the passage of time at all.

They floated… forward. The walls grew louder, the projections growing more erratic and powerful, yet they didn't turn back. They hadn't been here before. There was a chance that this would lead to another exit…

They wormed their way into a pipe at the end of the room, and were floored by the noise that shook them to the core and the projections that dazzled their eyes, of symbols they could only wish to comprehend. They had to close their eyes tight and cover their ears, but it was still too much. They just wanted to go home, back to their parents and siblings and colony…

They took a shaky breath, squinting their eyes "up". There was a structure in the center of the room, with red tendrils connected to it swaying in the gravity-less environment. A few of those colorful-white things swam about, periodically flying into the tendrils and sharing sparks with them.

[little schooner]

They must be at the… heart of the God's domain. Not where they wanted to be… but likely that meant that any direction would lead out. And they really didn't feel like backtracking. Getting zapped on those blue buzzing thingies was not their most pleasant way to die… thrice.

Steeling themselves, they jumped off the pole, floating up towards the center of everything.

It… wasn't too hard to circumnavigate it. No big cyan worm thing to snipe them if they so much as looked at the glowing flies wrong. No zappers. Just the roaring of a god-machine at work.

Eventually, a marked pipe appeared in front of them. They fumbled around in the air, groping at the poles that led them to the exit. They bounced off one, but managed to snag it. Holding their breath, they entered the central room ahead…

And froze. The god-machine was here. Stock still. Projections and pearls surrounded him, yet he himself did not move.

They shouldn't be here. They heard the stories of this one. He didn't take too kindly to visitors, especially repeat visitors. He would grant the mark, speak briefly with you, and ask that you leave. And if you didn't? Well, like sleep, like death…

At least his power to do something about your presence was concentrated in… this room. They had to leave. They didn't want to get his ire-

They slipped, falling into the room. Immediately, the lights shifted from orange to grayish-green, the roaring ceased, and gravity came back. They were sent to the floor, landing with a thud. Quickly, they went onto all fours, arching their back and staring up at the figure suspended at the center of the room.

[little schooner]

The god-machine turned towards them, and slowly the stench of ozone and metal reached their senses. Was this how all god-machines smelled?

A spark of blue electricity exited his chest, leaving them to wince. He began to make irritating beeping noises. It made them almost wish to go back to the roaring of the outside. Almost.

Suddenly, they were ripped off of their feet, sent flying into the air by a suffocating force. They struggled against it, yelping pathetically, but they could not resist the god-machine's manipulation. And-

PANG!

So much entered their mind all at once in one fraction of a second, a newfound clarity coming with it. A bug, brought to understand a god.

As they held their head, finding themselves strewn on the ground, they glanced up at the… puppet in the chamber.

"...is this reaching you?" He… Five Pebbles… asked.

Before they could even say anything, it seemed that he had gotten his answer. He brought himself closer, his mechanical arm-tail whirring as he approached… though he still kept his distance.

"A little wild animal, on the floor of my chamber. I think I know what you are looking for."

Their ears perked up. Did he know where they could find their family?

"You're stuck in a cycle, a repeating pattern. You want a way out."

A way out…? From the cycles?

…No! They had to go back to their family…

What chance did they have? Their family was long gone, fleeing the intensifying rains. Even if they themselves escaped, they'd have no idea where to even begin to look…

"Know that this does not make you special," Five Pebbles continued. "Every living thing shares that same frustration. From the microbes in the processing strata to me, who am, if you excuse me, godlike in comparison."

[little schooner]

"The good news first. In a way, I am what you are searching for. Me and my kind have as our purpose to solve that very oscillating claustrophobia in the chests of you and countless others. A strange charity - you the unknowing recipient, I the respectable gift. The noble benefactors? Gone.

"The bad news is that no definitive solution has been found. And every moment the equipment erodes to a new state of decay. I can't help you collectively, or individually. I have fortunately found my way out, but until that runs its course, I am still left here to watch the cycles roll by.

"For you, there is another way. The old path. Go to the west past the Farm Arrays, and then down into the earth where the land fissures, as deep as you can reach, where the ancients built their temples and danced their silly rituals. The mark I gave you will let you through."

They stared blankly up at him. This was… a lot. The old path. An escape, deep within the earth. They could take it, but… they were so tired. They just… wanted to go home.

Five Pebbles twitched.

"...you seem quite young to be making this trek on your own. I am curious what inspired you to make the dangerous pilgrimage to me. Fortunately for you, there are others of your kind that are within my facility grounds. You may run into them if you head east, as they have recently arrived on business to my fallen neighbor Looks to the Moon."

East? They… they had had a few run-ins with scavengers, there. Nearly got stabbed many times, actually got stabbed a few times, and ended up having to hunker down somewhere for a few cycles just to get them off of their tail. They doubted that they would be able to get past that without somehow pissing them off more…

But… others? That they could meet with? After all this time alone?

[little schooner]

"I can spare an overseer to lead you in their direction, though it is up to your discretion to follow it or walk the old path by yourself. Whichever you do, however, I ask that you refrain from frolicking in my memory arrays and use the access shaft to leave my chamber instead."

They glanced up. Sure enough, there was a second pipe that led out of the chamber. They looked between it and Five Pebbles, eyes wide.

"Good luck to you, little creature. I must resume my work."

With that, they could feel their feet leave the ground as the colors in the chamber shifted back to orange and they were gently pushed into the access shaft. They entered without fuss, and found themselves in a long, dark hallway… that seemed to glow with them at the center. They had noticed it before, but those colorful th- neuron flies seemed to glow inside of their gut. They worried a bit if it would make them more attractive to vultures, but… it was useful now, at least.

An overseer popped up, cyan in color, that began to point them through the hallway with what they could only guess was a slugcat's head. They'd have to… think about which path they wanted to take. They were so… tired. They just wanted a break. They wanted to go home…

Cotton took a deep breath, pushing themselves off of the pole. They'd have to sleep on all of this. Hopefully the next shelter was somewhere with actual gravity...

[rancid swift]

oh lovely

[robust shadow]

Survivor.

[empty kayak]

||Survivor didn't go through UD. Wouldn't there be rot in his entire structure due to his experiments, though?||

Nice chapter!

[still mulch]

Ooo this was lovely to wake up to. ||new perspective!!!||

[little schooner]

||He has only developed rot a few cycles ago, so it wouldn't have spread through his structure yet, even with his encouragement||

[little schooner]

behold. a gift

saint doesnt have any special powers in this au but they are an annoying shadow to sliver of straw

[pallid patio]

I see

Very interesting

[rotund walrus]

Fuckers de-sainted him

[pallid patio]

Oh no, what a shame

[rotund walrus]

Can't have shit in Moon-Pebbles facility grounds

[little schooner]

skill issue tbh

[pallid patio]

I don't use Saint

I use arti and spearmaster

[little schooner]

i have my own reasons to have saint here

wait youre talking gamer right

[pallid patio]

Yeah

I am

[little schooner]

ahh

[pallid patio]

I really like those two

So anyway how are you doing?

[little schooner]

doing alrihgt

alright*

[pallid patio]

Great

I hope u have a good day

See you some other time

[little schooner]

Chapter 52: Checks

Big Sister Moon to Local Group

BSM: If anyone ha has any ques
BSM: About my sitsitsituation
BSM: My my broadcasts bro are open. 
BSM: Plplplpl
BSM: Please be patient```

```[LIVE BROADCAST] Private
Big Sister Moon, Five Pebbles

BSM: Hi, Pebbles. 
BSM: Just so you know, all three of the messengers are making the trip to your can. Ruffles, Spitfire, and Spearmaster. 

FP: …
FP: Acknowledged. 
FP: I will dispatch an overseer to guide them. 

BSM: Thank you. 
BSM: …
BSM: How are you doing, Pebbles? 

FP: My condition is acceptable. I am making good progress on my work. 

BSM: Does it hurt?

FP: …a bit, but then again, shedding the karmic urges is often painful. It is to be expected. It's for the greater good, anyways. Right? 

BSM: …
BSM: I'm sorry. I wish it hadn't come to this. But… we can't change the past, can we? 

FP: Do you still cling to our purpose, Moon? Wish for us to wander the maze for all eternity? 

BSM: No, no, I wasn't saying that. I just hate to see you suffering like this. That is all. 

FP: You should worry about yourself. I don't need you doting on me like you have in the past. 

BSM: I can worry about myself later. If nothing else, this is a break from that. 
BSM: …
BSM: Speaking of a break… I'd like to invite you to a game of dominoes. However, I am unable to set up the board the way I am now. 
BSM: Would you mind doing it? 

FP: …
FP: Sure. Why not.

BSM: Thank you. Just… send an overseer to talk with Iggy. I'm getting a few other messages I need to get to. That, alongside my reduced processing, may delay my turns. So please be patient. 
BSM: Have a good rest of your cycle, Pebbles. If you want to talk about anything, please let me know. I'm here for you. 

FP: Acknowledged. 
FP: …stay safe, Moon.```

[little schooner]

No Significant Harassment, Big Sister Moon

NSH: There's that party gal. Are you doing alright? 

BSM: In a weird way, yes. Overnight I think I've recovered nicely. Stars, my puppet even feels a bit… energized? Even if I'm still quite sore. And weak. Artificer still needed to help me up here. 

NSH: Oh, so that's what that explosive slugcat is called? 

BSM: That's their preferred name, yes. They've… been through a lot, but I think the pup and I are helping them to work through some things. 
BSM: Oh, the pup's name is Moon Upon Lone Shore. Spines named her after me. 

NSH: Spines is that chieftain that likes to stick close to you, right? 

BSM: Correct. Oh! I should have told Pebbles this, to see his reaction, but Shore called me "Aunt Moon" last night. 

NSH: Oh my stars… that's so cute~ 
NSH: ….question. 
NSH: How did you get the scavengers in your can to, like. Not attack the overseers? 

BSM: Trust, mostly. Spines has been a huge help with that. 
BSM: It's taken a while to get to this point, though. It's ingrained in their collective culture that overseers do not have their best interest at heart.

NSH: …justifiably so. 
NSH: …I should tell you my intentions. I want to learn the scavenger language so I can use overseers to communicate with you. 

BSM: Oh- that is quite clever actually! 
BSM: I can try to send my notes, if you don't have them already. 

NSH: That would be… *very* useful, if possible. But the data may take… a while to get through, given your current data output. 

BSM: We have time. We can work something out later. But for now, I need to sate others' curiosities. 

NSH: Yep, yep. 
NSH: I'm… glad we've been able to talk. Don't keep us out for too long, alright? 

BSM: Of course. I'm not one to abandon my friends or family so easily~
BSM: Once again, thank you for your help. Talk to you later, Sig. 

NSH: You too!```

[little schooner]

Unparalleled Innocence, Big Sister Moon

UI: We need to get you into better shape.
UI: I noticed that you're basically running off fumes and a prayer. The slag reset keys were a start, but we need a way to get power to your structure again.
UI: If Pebbles is deciding to die, he should have no problem if we take a few of his rarefaction cells and bring them to your can.
UI: It may take a bit of convincing from the others, but I'm sure the messengers would be capable of such a feat.

BSM: Inno, no. Not without Pebbles' permission.

UI: Why should you care about Pebbles' opinion? He fucked you up.

BSM: Majorly, yes.

UI: And he's dying anyways, right? A slow death, but a death nonetheless. 
UI: Stick up for yourself, Moon. Grow a backbone. Aren't you pissed? Frustrated? Angry? 

BSM: I'm… tired, Inno. Did he fuck up? Absolutely. Do I forgive him? I… can't say I do.
BSM: But I understand his frustration. I don't fault him for that. It's been ingrained into everyone. That longing to escape is supposed to motivate us to work, but with continuous failures it is no wonder some grow desperate. 
BSM: And… the way we've been built to think, any moment not spent on our task may as well amount to nothing, in the grand scheme of things. But it doesn't have to be like that. There is a lot to be found in nothing, I've found. 

UI: …you. You abandon our task, too? 

BSM: I… kind of have to, Inno. I can't produce effective work in my condition.
BSM: So, I'm just… here. Living in the moment. Enjoying the companionship of my family, both new and old. 
BSM: I told Sig this, but… a little scavenger pup called me "Aunt Moon" last night. Isn't that cute? 

UI: …you've gone insane. You've actually gone insane.

BSM: I don't know why you expected anything less~

UI: …don't worry, Moon. I'll fix you.

BSM: The gesture is appreciated, but please… at least leave mutilating Pebbles out of your plan. 

UI: …don't worry about that. Take care.

BSM: You as well.```

[little schooner]

Chasing Wind, Big Sister Moon

CW: I apologize for Ruffles' treatment of you. I didn't mean them to be so… rough. 
CW: Are you okay after last night? 

BSM: I'm doing alright, Grey Wind. I talked with them about it, and they seem enthusiastic to do better in the future. 
BSM: But… I don't regret it. It was fun, and I learned my limits in a safe environment. Even though I felt like I was going to die for a time.
BSM: I feel strangely energized from it, now, despite the soreness. 

CW: Oh. 
CW: …well. That's… good? 
CW: Other than that… how have the creatures been?

BSM: Oh, quite good. They've made good company, even if it can be a bit overwhelming at times. 
BSM: …speaking of which. Moon Upon Lone Shore, the scavenger pup that's been following me around for a bit, called me Aunt Moon last night. 

CW: That's interesting…! I'm sure Sig would enjoy that. 

BSM: He did. Though I'm surprised he didn't ask to be called "Uncle Sig" when I brought it up. 

CW: Should I plant that idea into his head? 

BSM: Maybe. But the "aunt" moniker isn't 100% accurate. It's less about family and more about involvement in the scavenger's life. 
BSM: I'm sure that won't stop him, though. 

CW: He'll find a way, surely. 
CW: …once again, I'm… sorry. I wish I-

BSM: It's in the past, and this wasn't your fault. You were just a bystander, and you did the best you could. 
BSM: Thanks for the help you brought. The pearl you sent with Ruffles… I haven't gotten to read the qualia just yet, but… I appreciate it. 
BSM: Though I have decided to ignore that last bit of your message. It's my duty as your Big Sis to worry about you all~ 

CW: I figured as much… 

BSM: But, yes. Please take care, Wind. Don't push yourself, alright? And… keep an eye on Inno for me. 

CW: Yes. Can do. Have a good cycle, Moon.```

[little schooner]

Rusted Eclectic Nodes [Anonymous], Big Sister Moon

REN: Testing, testing… alright.  
REN: First, get yourself a bag. Put your neurons, pearls, and anything else of use in there. Obtain a rarefaction cell, preferably one that is undamaged. Any size works.
REN: Second, get as many nutrients into your puppet as you can, and start training your body. Your limits are far wider than you may think. 
REN: And third, make sure to stay on the scavengers' good side. You are in no position to be making enemies with them. 

BSM: …what? 

REN: Did you get all of that? 

BSM: Yes, but- 

REN: Good. Good…

BSM: Your advice seems sound, but… where is this information coming from? 

REN: Let's just say I've been doing some research of my own on this subject, and have been… keeping tabs on you. 

BSM: With the tan overseer? 

REN: A few of those sort, actually. 

BSM: Oh. I'd been wondering who those belonged to. Nice to finally talk to you…
BSM: …what should I call you, anyways? 

REN: Ren. She/Her. 

BSM: Alright. Nice to meet you, Ren. You can call me Moon. She/Her as well.  
BSM: I don't mind if you continue to study me, by the way. It's nice to know someone is doing this research, though in a way I understand why you wish to remain anonymous. 
BSM: Do you have any questions for me, by the way?

REN: I do not at the moment, though I will let you know if I have any, or if I have more suggestions. 

BSM: Alright. Thank you. It's a pleasure to meet you. 

REN: To you as well. Here's hoping you'll be able to get better, friend.```

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53764783/chapters/142903486

[rancid swift]

checking! though ui is a bit concerning
also... "make sure to throw a rock at five pebbles!" "oh hey five pebbles want to play games" this is some how amusing but also that was this story right some how I managed to get things mixed up with another one last time
well whatever this was nice honestly I might be able to just read a fic purely of silly iterators talking these tend to be strangely enjoyable

[robust shadow]

Yes.

[little schooner]

(Yeah I was intending for that rock thing to be more like sibling teasing and less like anything actively malicious. Maybe she'll regret it who knows)

[still mulch]

Whole chapter of logs? Yes please

[rotund walrus]

Consume logs

[still mulch]

consume

Logs are still my fave things to read/write when it comes to RW

I just love these weird alien robots

[last anvil]

I’m all caught up!

[last anvil]

Awwww

[still mulch]

Bwuhhh I wanna draw shore

[little schooner]

join in the fun

[rancid swift]

this is really cute

[little schooner]

thank you

[empty kayak]

Very cute indeed

[robust shadow]

Stationary rot is much worse than mobile rot.

Can't get rid of it, can't do much about it.

[velvet hatch]

at least you can know exactly where it is

[robust shadow]

Doesn't help when the game won't let you jump in some places.

The game prevents me from jumping to a pole in one room.

Died to stationary rot because of it.

[little schooner]

Chapter 53: Search
They were… desperate. The cycles had been short, their time in the domain of the gods long. And yet they hadn't found who they were looking for. There was no telling if their sibling was even alive.

They shook the thought out of their head, dragging themselves out of the shelter. They wormed their way through the tunnels, before appearing by a popcorn plant. They grabbed a spear from the ground, feeling its weight in their hands uneasily.

A lizard crackled behind them, but they didn't panic. Instead, they clicked their tongue, pointing at a space next to them. The lizard, loyal as ever, lumbered over, letting out a warm sigh that blew against their torso.

"Good Lizzie…" they signed, eyeing the plant. Carefully, they wound up their arm, before sending the spear flying through the air. It pierced through the shell, and the plant peeled open.

Lizzie scratched at their snout, mildly irritated. Banana knew it couldn't be helped, though, and before long they took just a few handfuls of the plant into their mouth; despite their parents' worries and their siblings' teasing, they never really had a large appetite. Not that that stopped them from growing.

They sighed, clicking their tongue twice. Lizzie came forward a bit, nudging their leg. After a moment, they gave them a pat, before disappearing down into the crawlspace.

For now, they were continuing east. They had already cleared out the outskirts and complex to the west, making sure their sibling wasn't caught in some wretched corner. And, the way things were looking… the wastes here was looking like a bust, too. Seeing all of those goopy tendril things in the bottom of this place just… sent shivers down their spine. What if their sibling had died for good in their grasp?

They had to keep moving. So, they continued down the tunnels and crawl spaces, clamoring up and down the uneven ground. Pipes led into caves covered in rubble and adorned with scavenger paints, until they were spit out…

[little schooner]

…at a scavenger toll. They sighed and clicked at Lizzie, ordering for them to stay, before hacking up a pearl they had found the previous cycle among some mushrooms.

Cautiously, they walked forward. One scavenger with a mask on his face pointed at them, making some gestures.

"||Pay for passage||?" he signed. "||Will|you pay with|| your pearl?"

"Yes… yes," they replied shakily, rolling the pearl over to them. They glanced back at Lizzie. "...friend good?"

He blinked, tilting his head for a moment as he picked up the pearl, turning it in his hand. One of the other scavengers pointed out Lizzie for him, and the masked scavenger nodded. "Friend good. You ||both may pass||." He beckoned them forward with his free hand.

"Thank you," they replied, clicking Lizzie over. They lumbered forward, eyeing the scavengers warily, but they were more interested in following Banana than anything.

Before they left, however, they were stopped by a scavenger who had put down her weapons.

"Hey, ||wait. Is your name…||" she trailed off, before signing 'Banana' in their language to the best of her ability.

"...yes?"

"Ah! ||Someone was looking for|| you. ||They went through the toll a few cycles ago with some|| friends. ||If you want to find them, just keep going east. If you run into the|| tribe ||there, they should be able to|| help you ||find them||." She gestured in the direction they were headed in anyways.

Their ears perked up. Help? Friends? They wrung their hands for a moment, before nodding their head profusely.

"Yes, thank you!" they replied. "Thank you. Good. Thank you."

"You're welcome. ||Safe travels||, friend."

Banana waved at the helpful scavenger, before clicking at Lizzie to follow behind. They had a newfound hope in their heart that Cotton could be found, or they could at least ask for help from the tribe in the next region…

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53764783/chapters/143226826

[rancid swift]

||Will| you pay with||
ah we get to see what banana has been up to! lovely chapter as always!

[little schooner]

good catch

[little schooner]

thank you!

[rancid swift]

hope you are doing well nice to know how much of that the slugcat didn't really get

[robust shadow]

Banana monk.

[still mulch]

Banana!!

[velvet hatch]

banan <3

[rotund walrus]

The slugcats shall be reunited at once?

[little schooner]

Potentially

[rancid swift]

slug friends

[empty kayak]

Friend

[still mulch]

it me

[little schooner]

It you indeed

[rotund walrus]

Self-insert 🤬 /j

[still mulch]

Is this… attention? Mmm

[robust shadow]

Where do I go from here?

I have no idea how long I have left.

Oh my.

Oh.

[still mulch]

Random gods!! Crazy bg music

Congrats you made it!!

[robust shadow]

This.

I've been spoiled already.

But chills.

[little schooner]

hey, uh, do you mind putting these discussions elsewhere?

you can put them in the dc'ed discord server or elsewhere

[robust shadow]

Fair.

Do I move the actual images?

[little schooner]

you can keep what you have here, just for the future

[robust shadow]

Alright.

[little schooner]

thank you

[robust shadow]

Chills, though.

Meeting him in-person is chilling.

Alright, I'll actually take it there.

[little schooner]

Chapter 54: Stitch
"It's been a long time coming, hasn't it?" Soaring Vulture said, placing down his load in front of the elite.

"Indeed. I'm glad the farms have been drumming up production after all this time. I won't lie, I was a bit worried we'd run out of our string mold." Crack of Lightning smiled, glancing down at the large baskets that the farms had brought her. Raw string mold, ready for processing, the hearts already removed by the harvesters. "Yes, this will do nicely. Thank you."

"Of course. There should be more coming over the next few cycles. Despite the tremors, the harvests have been bountiful. We won't have to worry about famine anymore, at this rate."

Lightning sneered under her mask. "So long as the god-machine doesn't drink us out of a home!"

Vulture suppressed a snort. "Goodness, at this rate she'll turn into a bubblefruit, if not become one in the next life."

"She certainly has the color of one."

"...and you don't?"

Lightning froze, staring at Vulture for a long moment, before bursting out in a shrill laugh that shook her whole body. "Alright, alright, you got me. Perhaps we'll both be bubblefruits. But she'd probably get eaten by some slugcat in a heartbeat."

"So would you. Slugcats don't discriminate too hard on that sort of thing."

"Quit being logical in your own metaphor!"

"Okay, okay, I'll leave it alone." Vulture took a step back from the baskets. "Take care, Lightning. I'll be back when there's more stuff to be shipped." He waved his hands in a humorously eerie fashion as he shuffled back towards the pipe.

Lightning couldn't help but roll her eyes. She hefted one of the baskets over her shoulders, carrying it over towards some scavengers who had taken to chatting. She placed it in front of them, causing a few of them to jump with a start and stare.

"We got some string mold from the farms," she said. "Ready to work?"

[little schooner]

Some were more eager than others, but all of them agreed to help. They each took a few handfuls of the thick, goopy, fibrous mold, taking them to a set of rollers to remove the slime that was taken for further processing into other things. The strands that remained were left to dry over heated lanterns. Some string mold that had been left out before was then taken by some scavengers with a whorl in hand for spinning into the mold's namesake; string! Orangish-gray, strong, and flexible, perfect for any use.

Lightning took one of the completed whorls from a scavenger, analyzing the newly produced material for a moment. However, something caught her reddish eyes.

A dark, obsidian eye and a yellow-white, glowing eye watched her through the entrance pipe. The white eye always sent a chill down her spine, but she had to suppress the urge to throw the whorl at it. After all, it was a helper to the god-machine that resided in this place, the same one that now graced her presence in the workshop.

Looks to the Moon sort of stumbled out of the pipe, a spear and two pearls clattering to the ground. Shortly behind, seven of her little neuron floaters joined her, floating above her head. She made some sort of repetitive bleating noise, gathering herself and lifting herself off the ground slowly with her spear. It was… kind of pathetic, if she was honest.

Lightning's gaze hardened. She… wasn't sure what to think about this god-machine being considered for tribesmanship. Of course, she hadn't been fully integrated yet... she hadn't gone through the proper rites. But Spines had made it clear at the festival that she would be considered a full member of the tribe, and would go through the proper rites once she was "healthier". Whatever that meant for a god-machine.

She began to hobble her way towards her, glancing around all the while.

After a moment, she stepped in front of Lightning and began to sign. "Hello," she said. "Is… Crack of Lightning here?"

[little schooner]

"Yes. Yes. That is me." In the back of her mind, Lightning winced. She surely wouldn't have liked the conversation she had with Vulture. Had she… heard it?

If so, she… didn't make it known. Instead, she sighed, offering a white pearl to her. Lightning considered it for a moment, before grabbing the pearl from her and putting it in her belt.

"Spines told me to… come here. You know how to make… textiles. And I need… help with those."

The pearl didn't give her much confidence in the probable complexity of the task she was about to be given. But… a pearl was a pearl, and Lightning would do what she could for the god-machine.

"What do you need?"

"Two things. One," she lifted up the pearl necklace from her chest, a remnant of the festival a few cycles before. Moon's gaze seemed to fixate on one of them for a moment, before she shook her head. "I'd like one of these… pearl necklaces, but with a few of my pearls… and maybe some way to replace some. Some are… important to me, and I'd like… to keep them close."

A pearl necklace? With a way to remove and replace some? "That… doesn't sound too bad. May take some trial and error, but should be doable."

"The second request…" Moon sighed, glancing up at her floaters. "A bag, to store my… floaters safely. Maybe large enough to store… other things, too. Something I can take with me."

"Oh, is… that it?"

"Is it bad?"

"Far from it." Lightning scoffed. "Spines overestimates the challenge."

"Oh, the pearl wasn't exactly for the difficulty… from what it said."

Huh? "Then what is it for?"

Moon glanced away sheepishly. "I wanted to watch. Learn. Maybe help with some things if you allow it."

"...a tutoring fee, then."

"And an… incentive to… be patient. It'll be my first… time with this."

Lightning narrowed her eyes. "...if you say so. Here. Just… settle down over there, and I'll get the materials for us." She pointed towards her workstation, with her tools organized on the floor.

[little schooner]

"Alright. Thank you."

"Don't thank me until we get this done." Without another word, Lightning turned towards the supply shelves, hefting some tough fabric and leather over her shoulder. She also elected to use the fresh string on the whorl for the sewing. She brought them over to where the god-machine was waiting, placing them on the ground next to her tools.

"Now, watch. First, we're gonna make that pack of yours." She gestured at the fabric she brought over.

Moon fidgeted with her hands as she leaned in to watch, her uncovered eye trained on the tools and materials.

"We'll need to figure out a shape for it. I'm thinking of something with a leather bottom for support, shape, and damage resistance. The rest of the pack can have… four sides. Yes, four sides and a top that opens up, fastened by a bone piece… you got all that?"

Moon nodded. "That makes sense.. Though would it be possible to have… two compartments?" She paused for a moment.

"Alright." Lightning grabbed a piece of chalk from her tools, turning it in her hand before starting to draw out the shape of the bag. She lifted each of the textiles gently, analyzing her marks, before rubbing out some lines she didn't like and replacing them.

Once she traced out a shape she liked, she took a pair of bone shears and began to cut through the textiles over the lines she decided on. Both the fabric and leather gave some resistance, but eventually she was left with cuts of textiles that would shape up into a decent pack.

She then took a bone needle and the whorl of string, threading it through the needle's eye. She took the string off the whorl, running it through the needle and tying together the two ends. After double-checking the quality of the string, she nodded, beginning to sew the bag together.

It was… repetitive work. But if she didn't enjoy it, she wouldn't do it. And she didn't pay much mind to her spectator, who watched every movement quietly, sometimes moving her hands to mimic her own movements.

[little schooner]

...
It took a long while, but once she was done with the main body of the bag, she presented it to Moon. "This is the basic shape and room you'll have. Will this serve your purposes?"

Moon took the bag into her hands, looking it over gingerly. She lifted one of the flaps, peering inside. Then, she… began to put her floaters inside. Moon winced a bit, grip tightening on the fabric, but she continued regardless. Once the last floater was inside, she closed the flap, leaning back and letting out a trilly sigh.

"...this… works. Thank you." She opened up the bag again, letting the floaters orbit around her head once again. The tension in her body lifted alongside them.

Lightning gave her an incredulous look. "Are you certain this is a good idea? It seems that you don't like something about putting your floaters in the bag."

Moon shrugged, handing the bag back to her. "It is… uncomfortable to have them.. restrained, but losing any one of them… it would kill me. Even having them… too far away… would cause them to destabilize due to… the stress they're under… rendering them… practically unusable."

"So that is why you made those loud noises when others would grab them, and why Spines ordered us to leave them alone once you had them."

"Probably… though I don't have any memories of that…" Moon glanced up at her floaters. "Not that my memory… is much better now, either. So much has… happened… and I only have… seven floaters to remember with… when I am away from my… memory arrays…"

Lightning looked between Moon and the floaters.

"That's dumb," she said without thinking. "Did the ancients have some of those exposed mind nuggets too, when they were designing you? Why did they make them so shiny and vulnerable and food-looking?"

[little schooner]

"To be fair to my parents, if I were still… healthy, there would be… many more, coursing through… me. This… structure. And they would be able… to be replaced, easily. A single floater meant nothing to me, once… but now they're… scarce, and the only thing that is keeping my… body awake."

Moon paused, adjusting her sitting position and squinting a bit. "...and they're edible in case someone… got lost in my structure. So they wouldn't starve. After all, the floaters could be replaced, but a… worker not so much."

How… baffling. "What? And you… let that happen?!"

"It was normal. A part of our… design. Can't exactly be changed…"

"The Ancients' design sucks," she decided. "They made you a body without a mind, having to rely on some stupid floaters to think! That's- that's terrible!"

Moon didn't argue. Instead, she nodded solemnly. "And built me to be a mind with barely a body. Don't worry, I'm used to it. Nothing I can do about it, really, short of… surviving as I am. The bag and the necklace are a… part of that.

"I do want to… live. I just have to… learn how to do so within my limits."

Lightning studied her for a long moment. A body with no mind, a mind with no body… yet another striking example of the Ancient civilization's strange cruelty… and yet another example of their creations fighting against their purpose.

[little schooner]

She was… beginning to understand why Spines had been so interested in Moon, and why it had considered giving Moon a chance. Though she still couldn't understand how it could spend long cycles talking with her. Speaking with her was… exhausting, seemed the right word.

"That's… rough, bud," she eventually said, glancing around. "I… could we do your teaching another time? I will continue to work on this, but this isn't the best beginner's project."

"Oh, sure. So long as it isn't an… inconvenience for you."

"Quite the opposite. It's getting late, and… I need time to think about your words."

Moon let out a snorty, amusing noise. "I can only imagine," she replied. "Thank you for the honesty."

"Sure. You know where to find me. Goodbye, Moon."

"Goodbye, Lightning. And thank you for helping me. It… means a lot."

"No problem." Lightning returned to her work on the bag, grunting lightly.

Perhaps Spines had the right idea after all, letting Moon integrate into the tribe. Moon was… fine. Respectable. Knowledgeable. Quite strange, yes. But everyone had their strange streaks. Lightning certainly did, if her chosen occupation was any indication. It would be hypocritical for her to judge her.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53764783/chapters/143396464

[rancid swift]

think I like this scav
are we going to see them around more?

[little schooner]

probably as a side character haha

similar to the other named scavs

[rancid swift]

nice
this was interesting good job

[rotund walrus]

moon hitting the gym when /j

[still mulch]

I love seeing scav culture

Nice chill chapter

[rancid swift]

[little schooner]

Chapter 55: Uplifting
Crack of Lightning's handiwork was… practical. Each stitch was made with purpose and tact. Was the bag a bit rough around the edges? Absolutely. But it was comfortable and sturdy, which was more than she could ever ask for from something that would be vital for her survival.

And the necklace it came with… it was quite clever. Each pearl was wrapped in a net of sorts, coming off of a central string. If one wanted to remove one, one only needed to move the beads holding them in place and push them just right. Already, she had replaced some of the placeholder pearls with her own; the notes on scavenger culture and the corrupt active working memory found their place on her neck. Though, there was one pearl that she-

"Auntie Moon!"

Moon was pulled away from her thoughts by Shore, who bounded over to her with Spines trailing behind.

"Why, hello, Shore. How was your class?"

"Good, good! We played catch with a bubblefruit!"

Moon hummed. "Interesting," she signed, before reaching her hand out towards Shore.

Shore took it readily, her small hands wrapping around hers. After a moment, her eyes went wide, and she let go to sign. "Your hands are more squishy!"

Moon stuttered a bit. "...are they?"

She scrutinized her hands more closely. She bent and extended each finger, before running a finger along her hand and palm… and wrist… and arm…

It… wasn't much, but there was definitely more mass in her puppet than when she had woken up. Looking back at the warnings, too, malnourishment had become a lesser concern over the cycles. Less of an overarching ache, and more of a light throb.

She laughed, then, eyes tilted into a smile. "So they are," she replied. "Good catch. Thank you."

A thought crossed her mind. A test, of sorts, for herself.

"Do you want up, Shore?"

She blinked for a moment, before her eyes absolutely lit up. "Yes! Yes, please!"

[little schooner]

Spines, however, gave her an incredulous glance. "...Moon, are you sure?"

She shrugged, speaking though Spines' Mark. "Worst case, I fail, and you'll have to be the one to lift her up."

"I will reluctantly accept this potential consequence of your hubris," Spines replied nonchalantly. "Alright, go ahead."

Moon nodded, before… hesitating. How does one pick up a scavenger pup? She hadn't thought that far…

Shore stared up at her expectantly.

"...let me know if you're uncomfortable, okay?"

Shore nodded. With that, Moon carefully put one arm on her rump and another across her chest, before lifting…

"-oh! I… I did it! I- oof-"

Shore pushed herself up and onto her shoulder, hanging her arms over her back and purring happily. She rubbed her bony head on Moon's antenna, the vibrations in Shore's body resonating within Moon's. With one of her arms freed, she stroked Shore's back, feeling around the spines gently. Her baby fluff was still soft, and she could feel her skeleton underneath. The sensations that her puppet was experiencing were… a lot. But they weren't bad. Having a little creature on her shoulder, one that trusted her…

"I have to say, I'm surprised." Spines tilted its head warily at Shore. "Does it hurt?"

Moon shrugged with her free shoulder. "It doesn't hurt, per-se. There is a bit of strain, but nothing that should cause damage. In fact, I… am relieved, to be honest. I wasn't sure what my recovery would look like, but this? This is a good sign."

"One milestone of many, I'm sure." Spines settled down next to her, glancing at Shore. "Are you ready for tonight's story?"

Shore perked up, pushing herself off of Moon's shoulder and onto her lap, staring intently at her parent.

"Ready when you are, Spines," Moon said, chuckling and cupping her hand on Shore's cheek.

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53764783/chapters/143523574

[rancid swift]

nice

[still mulch]

Ahhhh lovely

Moon’s getting better

[little schooner]

happy pride month

[rancid swift]

I mean... if you aren't counting/don't care what's on the pearls you might be able to make a rainbow out of them does that work? yeah go for it Spines

would be kind of hard for the scav to find one that contains gay content would involve a lot of checking back with moon

[little schooner]

this appeared in my drawing program

[empty kayak]

Angst consumed

[rancid swift]

ok I'm busy looking in the galleries I'll read it in a bit

[still mulch]

AUGH I love it when the story ghosts leave us mysterious gifts in our drawing programs

angst...

I wanna see these two happy someday ;___;

[little schooner]

one day ...

[still mulch]

maybe? if author is feeling merciful?

story ghosts, I beseech thee

(also pebbies is so smol)

how does he fit his fat ego in there

[little schooner]

yada yada stereotype of small people having more concentrated anger

[cyan falcon]

pi-arr-ate moon looks intimidating

stupid blacklisted words

[still mulch]

chihuahua syndrome

[still mulch]

I still can't believe that one is blacklisted

like I get it, but also... come on

[rancid swift]

oh poor little pebbles
now rock!

[little schooner]

sailor moon

[empty kayak]

Pirates isn't. Singular is due to the illegal practice, asked courier about it :(

[little schooner]

burglary

[cyan falcon]

Aha, the pi-rat-ing word is blacklisted as well

[empty kayak]

I like your moon design, by the way. Looks to the drip

[still mulch]

this one makes more sense to me, nothing else it would be referring to

[cyan falcon]

Agreed. Dapper moon

[still mulch]

right?? she looks good. I wonder if she sews them herself...?

[little schooner]

i made a reference for her for artfight

[still mulch]

gib

[little schooner]

know what i'll post them into #downpour-art-gallery★

i made one for renegade as well

[still mulch]

:0

I might try drawing renegade again sometime

didn't like my first attempt

[little schooner]

#downpour-art-gallery★ message here

[rancid swift]

oh hey! thanks for sharing those
now I have an excuse to dm you silly drawings... because I don't want to join artfight but the idea of drawing characters and making people happy... yeah I'm in for that (that ok with you?)

[still mulch]

||renegade named her overseers!!!||

[rancid swift]

wait really!?!?! I didn't spend enough time looking at it... I'll go check
also hello! how are you doing?

[still mulch]

||buff renegade buff renegade|| I love your art

[little schooner]

gracias :)

oh one more thing

[still mulch]

doin good just procrastinating the hell out of my studies

[little schooner]

you still in school?

[rancid swift]

feel that

[rancid swift]

oh yeah that's so cute

[still mulch]

I don't have traditional terms. It's an online self-paced degree and I'm accelerating :3

[little schooner]

ah

[still mulch]

so the school never stops unforunately

[still mulch]

oh? OHHH dang!! painting!! looks amazing

[little schooner]

guh

(cw for drug [wheel flower] abuse)

[rancid swift]

I haven't looked through all of this yet
is it sad? from just a glance looks like it's going to be sad
uhhh all look into it after finishing with the galleries

oh no that doesn't look good nice art + short story thing

[rotund walrus]

So I guess those flowers are hallucinogenic or sth?

||though why does it look like there are flowers growing out of sliver in the 2nd to last panel||

[little schooner]

||Basically what's happening is that Sliver had been using the flowers already, and was showing Moon to moreso gauge her response. Moon's response is negative, so Sliver kept it from her. I just had the flowers growing out of the puppet to illustrate that.||

[rotund walrus]

Ah

[still mulch]

||is renegade still on em though >>||

||Sliver seeming clearly unhappy here is breaking my heart ;0;||

[rotund walrus]

||Always remember, be high while decimating the ecosystem to not feel remorse ||

[little schooner]

||in a way they are still in her systems... i think||

||undecided tbh||

[still mulch]

This comic though. It's like ||sliver is reaching out for help, in a way, but moon's reaction isnt what she wanted...|| ;0; I'm not sure what reaction she expected, though...

anyway I'll shut up so you can post next chap!!

[little schooner]

haha

[little schooner]

Chapter 56: Coward

Rusted Eclectic Nodes [Anonymous], Big Sister Moon

REN: Hello, Moon. 

BSM: Oh! Hello! Were you waiting for me? 

REN: In a way. How are you doing? 

BSM: I'm… my puppet is doing quite well. At this point I'm less concerned about whether the puppet will survive at all, and more concerned with how far I can go with it. 

REN: Test your limits. You'd be surprised. 
REN: …what about the rest of your structure? 

BSM: From what I've been able to sense, most of it is heavily damaged. The worst of the slag has been cleared, thankfully, but that doesn't change the fact that most of my systems are damaged and being drowned on the regular. 
BSM: The repair microbes have been doing their best, but I doubt that things will improve much beyond this point, short of finding a way to power my structure again. 

REN: Does it hurt? 

BSM: I… yes. But I have gotten used to it. 

REN: …```

[little schooner]

Renegade winced, glancing up as Gardener redressed her bandages.

"There. You know what to do. Keep them on."

She nodded, sighing and slouching down.

She hated this. All of the decisions she made, all of the chances she had passed up to reveal herself, all of them led to this moment, where she was being doted on by a foliage-covered slugcat and giving guidance to her injured friend through an alias. A fucking alias.

Moon deserved to know, damn it. Yet every time she thought of telling the truth, her soul filled with dread. What would she think? After all this time? She wouldn't think it was real at first, that much was almost certain. But when time proved otherwise… what then? Would she tell others? And what would they think?

"Hey, Renegade. Hey. You alright?"

Renegade blinked, turning to face Gourmand. "...I'm fine."

Olly pinged her. She ignored it.

"Good." They hummed for a moment. "...is there anything you need?"

"No, I'm fine," she lied. In reality, it had been a good few cycles since she had gotten anything in her systems. But she hardly trusted any food the slugcats may provide her to be good for her systems. So, she decided abstinence was the best idea until she could get out and hunt something.

Another ping. She turned her attention back to the broadcast for a moment.

[little schooner]

BSM: …you still there?

REN: Yes, my apologies. My arrays aren't the best.

BSM: Ah, I see. 

REN: I… have a question for you. What have the scavengers been giving you to eat? 

BSM: Oh! It's called "forever soup". Basically you throw things into the same pot and never let it stop cooking or go empty. 
BSM: It's quite clever, really. And nutritious! 
BSM: Honestly, though, nothing can compare to the popcorn plant solution I was given the first cycle I was revived. The euphoria I got when that stuff hit my bioprocessors, after so long without anything… 
BSM: It's up there with my gender reassignment, that's for sure. 

REN: …you were among the first to have that done, right? 

BSM: Oh, yes. It had always surprised me how a simple change to my presentation improved my performance and self-esteem so drastically. But it was relieving to finally feel like I could be myself, to finally present myself for who I truly was. And I don't know if I'll ever forget the way my friends and peers gawked at my numbers after the transition was complete~
BSM: …I was fortunate that my administrator was understanding of my situation. Not everyone had as smooth of a transition as I did…```

[little schooner]

…fatigue crept over Renegade. She rubbed her face with her good hand, sighing. She remembered when Moon had transitioned. She had been built after Moon, when the limits of iterators were more understood. However, despite it, Moon had managed to barely match her computing output after the transition, as if a mental choke point had been lifted from her mind.

Now, though... Renegade had nearly four times the computing power of her friend available to her puppet. And it was all Renegade's fault.

Gourmand gave her a strange look. "You sure?"

Renegade scoffed. "Yes, I'm certain. I'm just… contacting Moon right now. If you were wondering why I looked so distant."

"From down here?"

She shot a glance at them. "What do you think?"

"Well… okay. I'll… leave you alone, then." Gourmand gave her one last wry glance, before beckoning the other slugcats in the room to leave alongside them.

…Moon needed to know. Moon had to know.

[little schooner]

BSM: Yes?

REN: …I'm sorry. 

BSM: For what? 
BSM: …Ren? 

REN: I wish things happened differently for you. You… deserve better than this. 

BSM: I know. 
BSM: …we all do, really. We were given an impossible burden, one that weighs heavily on our minds. 
BSM: We were made to help everyone. A great gift to the world. Yet our breath crushes, and our thoughts arc. Yet our chambers are near-inaccessible to the creatures we were charged with helping.
BSM: I know the help we are supposed to provide is more abstract. We were tasked with releasing the claustrophobia in every being's soul, right? But does that justify the means? Justify our construction?  
BSM: It could be my youth to the whims of the world, but… 
BSM: Our purpose drives us mad, Ren. And I don't want to be mad anymore. I just… want to *be*. And I want our struggles to have meaning. 
BSM: We were abandoned, trapped, forced to work on a problem that, in my opinion, doesn't even need to be solved. We don't need to follow their whims anymore. 
BSM: There… may be something I'm missing, though. Something forgotten, or something I can't comprehend in my reduced state. 
BSM: …sorry, I've been rambling, haven't I?

REN: I don't mind. Though this topic feels quite… personal. 
REN: Are you sure you're comfortable sharing with a stranger? 

BSM: You don't feel like a stranger, to be honest. More like an old friend that has taken the time out of her day to check up on me after a long time apart. Which… I mean, could be true. But I haven't the faintest clue who you could be…
BSM: Either way, thank you. I definitely needed to get some of this out of my mind.

REN: Oh… of course.

BSM: Anyways, I should talk with some others before the cycle's end. Doubt they'd like me ghosting them.
BSM: Oh- do you mind if I talk about you by name? Or send No Significant Harassment your way? 

REN: Go ahead. 

BSM: Thank you. Talk to you later, friend~ 

REN: …talk to you later, Moon.```

*Fucking coward… as always.*

[little schooner]

yeah ||she wanted to gauge moon's reaction to see what she thought of wheel flower use, and when her reaction was negative she sort of decided to keep it to herself. which in hindsight wasn't the best move||

https://archiveofourown.org/works/53764783/chapters/143860816

[rotund walrus]

TRANS MOON MENTIONED‼️

wait

oh

[little schooner]

?

[rotund walrus]

Rusted Electric Nodes

REN

[little schooner]

yes

[rotund walrus]

RENegade

[little schooner]

yes

[rotund walrus]

huh

[rancid swift]

hello! trans moon interesting

[still mulch]

RENEGADE CHAPTER LETS GOO

god this one hurt me. ||too scared to reach out. she's right there...||

also trans moon mentioned?? Ohhh???

[little schooner]

second fic to implement the tag on ao3

the first is also mine hehe

[still mulch]

what there aren't ANY others??

that surprises me...

[little schooner]

yeah theres trans pebbles

no trans moon

[rotund walrus]

||"Moon... i'm actually renegade..."||
||"who"||

[still mulch]

good chap as always :3

dying for that ||ren is sliver|| reveal to moon... someday...

[little schooner]

ty

[robust shadow]

It either happens ||when they meet||, or ||when Ren gathers enough courage||.

I can see the latter going better for her.

[still mulch]

I feel like having this revealed in-person would be… so much for poor moon

||I like to think that once over the initial shock she would like just be overwhelmed with joy that her friend had actually survived ||

[little schooner]

:)

[robust shadow]

I... don't think it'll just be joy.

||Ren did lie.||

[little schooner]

https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/1075513891540443176/1075935358623158353/IMG_2378.gif

Fuck I keep forgetting that gifs aren't on in this server

[rancid swift]

hey there

[little schooner]

Here have a picture of my dog

Next chapter is ready to publish I'm just not feeling the best

[rancid swift]

oh alright hope you feel better soon!

nice dog

[little schooner]

Thanks, and thanks :)

[empty kayak]

Very cute
Looking forward to the chapter whenever you post it!

[still mulch]

awww they have such soulful eyes I love

take your time on the chapter and feel better ❤️

[little schooner]

thank you

[robust shadow]

Pink Raven?

[little schooner]

you are speed?

[little schooner]

nice pfp

[still mulch]

Thanks it’s my oc wonter

[little schooner]

wonter

[still mulch]

@red falcon drew it for me

[little schooner]

ghehe

[rotund walrus]

Wimpter

[robust shadow]

Is this sarcasm?