🤔｜theories

[shut plank]

Yeah, I imagined the developers kept adding things later and had to make it fit in the timeline somehow

[rancid slate]

But there's, in fact, a theory and evidences for the Mill having "time powers"

[honest brook]

I think there's a bit of a timeskip there, like Mr. Crow was just doing something else during that time and we're only seeing the important parts

Some people have also said that time might work differently inside The Mill, since it says that "the time stopped" near the mill during the typewriter puzzle

[shut plank]

And what about Theatre? It happens somewhere between Case 23 ch1 and ch2, as also seen in TWD. If the old man was really Mr. Crow then he had already met Dale between ch1 and ch2. Or was the old man being Mr. Crow an altered memory from the cube?

[shut plank]

Well that would certainly explain it

[azure bay]

it's not only because of that. It's a whole tale that was pretty accurate in every aspect. The old man, the mill and somehow even the numbers above the lake

although I do agree that a simple time skip is possible too and even more preferable for many

the only problem I have with that version of events is that it took them 10 month to finally extract memories from a corpse that would normally rot in a few days

[azure bay]

I think he was real. Or mostly real

it's Mr. Owl's theatre after all

[honest brook]

Maybe they used the clock to preserve the body

[azure bay]

very possible. But still, why the wait? Any storm would do the trick

[rancid slate]

I ate all the storms

[azure bay]

them too, huh?

[rancid slate]

Yes, Im the one behind all the plot incoveniences

Sorry

[azure bay]

we need to do something about that glutton sooner than later

[rancid slate]

One of my theories is that we play The Mill as corrupted Mr. Crow from the future

[azure bay]

🤨

[shut plank]

Oh that would explain why he extracted bad memories

[azure bay]

how?

[shut plank]

Corrupted souls seem to be more violent and less critical

Unless well, he has a whole different plan than whatever Mr. Owl is doing but that’s just another theory

[azure bay]

Owl's plan WAS to extract corrupted soul. Mr. Crow simply wasn't careful/lucky enough

I tend to think that miserable mental state goes too well with corruption

and Laura was totally depressed

There's really nothing to indicate Mr. Crow going rogue or even being corrupted (except for the voice but that's not enough)

I'd be wary of Thief's theories because he loves to joke about them a lot

[rancid slate]

🖐😔

Face your dark soul

Would there be any reason to why Laura is "alive" in Case 23-Mill?

[azure bay]

I'm so unfun it's scared of me

[rancid slate]

(Black eyes)

[azure bay]

I think she was totally dead and the eyes were a spooky imagery

[shut plank]

Also, a little unrelated, who built the machine in CE:S Winter? I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone talk about that

[azure bay]

Laura, I think

[honest brook]

Probably Laura

[azure bay]

Rose might have helped

[shut plank]

Corrupted?

[rancid slate]

Either Laura or probably not Rose

[shut plank]

That’s what I was thinking

[rancid slate]

Considering the notes and "Find me in the Past"

Mostly likely Laura

[azure bay]

Corrupted souls have 2 modes. A force of destruction and a genius schemer

William and Caroline were the latter

these 2 did some complicated stuff

Laura theoretically is still William to some extent

Rose became available as an option only recently

and she has minimal evidence

[shut plank]

Force of destruction fits the mentally ill people (like Laura), but again, she’s William reincarnated

[rancid slate]

Maybe Seasons is like Samsara Room
While UB is like Roots

[azure bay]

The guests seemed pretty stable mentally-wise. At least some of them. And yet they are aggressive as hell. Laura, on the other hand, could chill out over a decade

and she actually did

compare her Fall vs. Winter

[rancid slate]

If you ignore the cubes, it makes sense

[honest brook]

I think that could be since the first time she was corrupted her mental health wasn't that good, but the second time it was most likely after she had dealt with her mental health for the Day of the Lake

[azure bay]

I'm convinced that the petal tornado stands for whatever Laura, Rose and Harvey did to save her. Including finding Laura's cubes and meddling with them

[azure bay]

never thought about that actually. Making a mental note for the future

[rancid slate]

If at the end of UB there were 4 or 5 cubes circling Laura too, it wouldve been peak

[azure bay]

technically, the last we saw them they were all tightly packed into 2 cubes

[rancid slate]

Offscreen split of the 2 cubes into 4-5

[azure bay]

make it 6

or even 7

4 seasons, potentially The Lake and whatever's left in 2 cubes of different colors

actually

[honest brook]

I do think the level of aggression in the corrupted souls is related to the mental health. Since Caroline and William didn't really have any major mental health problems and were still able to think clearly and carry out their plans, while Laura and Bob basically became killing machines after turning corrupted

[azure bay]

what about the guests? They seemed stable for the most part

What about Albert whose aggression is targeted at strangers

exclusively

[rancid slate]

Its based on how old are the games /j

[honest brook]

I mean, Mr. Boar apparently had "addictions and anxieties"

[rancid slate]

We never had in-game references to "level of corruption" so, for me, there arent

[azure bay]

that's 1, mostly 3 out of 5

[shut plank]

Yeah, except Mrs. Pheasant. And the rest were practically murdered, so I’d guess they’re angry and restless until they can get their revenge?

[azure bay]

I find that more likely. Or even corrupted souls being relentless if they have no goal

[rancid slate]

Closest thing is TWD patientsl status

[shut plank]

Still, Hotel imo is the weirdest game of RL, the guests seemed partially aware of what was going on there? But still not completely?

[azure bay]

I see them as completely clueless

maybe even to who they were in their past lives

[rancid slate]

Average Rusty Lake character behaviour

[honest brook]

I feel like there still must be, considering the difference between Caroline and William's souls' clear-headedness and Laura's corrupted soul just killing everything in The Mill

[azure bay]

according to the devs (or as it seems) the more soul is corrupted, the more shapeless it is. Caroline is more shapeless than William

[honest brook]

Where did they say that?

[azure bay]

gamescom 2023

I had a friend going there

[rancid slate]

Me when the "dress" corrupted soul design never appeared again (in updated sprites)

[azure bay]

the exact wording "pure"

I take it as "pure corruption"

[rancid slate]

Normal: Mr. Rabbit (Bday), Bob, Laura, Dale, Albert, etc
Cloak: Guests
?: Mr. Rabbit (Window achievement), Lake CS
Pure: Laura (Mill), Emma, Caroline

[honest brook]

Emma?

[shut plank]

Wait where is Emma’s corrupted soul shown? I don’t remember

[rancid slate]

Roots painting

[honest brook]

In the painting?

[rancid slate]

Yes

The devs said that the cs there was Emma's

[azure bay]

the same year

the same event

[rancid slate]

Roots CS is a pure one too, right?

[azure bay]

also *disclaimer by the devs*

Things they say at conventions may be a subject to change

[azure bay]

by that logic, yes

[honest brook]

But it still makes sense if Caroline is "more corrupted" than William, since she did have some bad times in her life

[rancid slate]

Somtimes it just seems like the CSs dont have legs because they dont minded drawing/since it is far away, the design is simple

[azure bay]

agree and yet it's not reflected in her behavior though

[honest brook]

It sort of does, since even though she had bad experiences, she didn't become depressed from it, and continued her plan with the Elixir. Her corrupted state could be a reflection of that

[azure bay]

I mean you seemingly said that agressive souls were depressed, didn't you?

[honest brook]

Yes, that's my point, even though Caroline might've had more bad memories than William and therefore appears more "shapeless", she didn't become mentally ill unlike Laura, which is why Laura's soul was more violent than Caroline's

[rancid slate]

Maybe her agressive traits become the plagues somehow

Like, instead of becoming a killing machine, you are so corrupted that you bring plagues to where you are

[azure bay]

so you say that traumatized souls are aggressive and just sad are pure?

[rancid slate]

Tho, Day of the Lake things implies the plagues (etc)

[honest brook]

Anyway, I'm not completely sure the skirt thing is even an indicator of anything, it seems pretty inconsistent; it might just be an art style thing. I feel like the stronger evidence is how they actually act

[rancid slate]

Then the hostile behaviour is not related to the level of corruption

[azure bay]

they said it not so long ago. I think globbiness of Laura in UB fits into that too. That may probably be a recent addition but I choose to trust it

by recent I mean 2016

damn I feel old now

[rancid slate]

Find an old man to be your successor

One thing: Asuras do not seem to "lose shape" of their heads

Roots CS and also the guests keep the head shape

[azure bay]

I think souls lose their rough shape only when they are very bad

[rancid slate]

If the Blob Laura is like

Something more pure than the dress

Cave CS Laura seems to be the "least pure"

That is, without the half corruption of Dale

[charred kettle]

I have been following Rusty Lake games for 5 years. I have played all the games too much. I thought and wrote the general story of the game according to my own conclusions, but I think there are parts that I misunderstood and missing. Since English is not my native language, I cannot understand the videos about the story, unfortunately there is no subtitle support. If someone could write it from beginning to end, I would be very happy.

[rancid slate]

Quick drawing

[azure bay]

it's quite a task. I think it's easier to start a discussion to compare the notes.

[rancid slate]

Tell us what you think you are missing!

[azure bay]

for a start that might work, yeah

[rancid slate]

Random thing too: the UB achievement for The Lake seems to have the pure dress thing

Very wider

Probably just represents water

[azure bay]

itn't it just Laura in a dress?

[rancid slate]

Her dress isnt that looong 😭

[azure bay]

still

as a CS she had normal legs

then she's a human

besides, according to your own diagram, a soul gets a defined silhouette when it's least corrupted

[rancid slate]

Yup

[azure bay]

I think we scared Rosa away

[charred kettle]

Thanks for the help!
Then let me ask the parts I'm not sure about the answers.

Is the person sacrificed to the lake or drinking the potion has a 50/50 chance of enlightenment or corruption or does the lake decide this?
Does the lake choose its own heir? Or does the current heir choose the next heir?
Dale's family was killed by Mr. Rabbit, this led to him becoming a detective, and years later, while investigating Laura's death, he was kidnapped and connected to the machine by Mr. Crow. Why did Mr. Owl send Mr. Rabbit to Dale's house before killing him?

Did the Eilander Family already know the mystery of the lake or did they learn it as a result of Caroline's work?

The Heir of the Lake is responsible for feeding the lake with memories, we only saw Laura extract memories with the machine in the series. Do they constantly kill people to feed the lake or do they feed the lake with the people the lake wants? Mr. Owl said that Dale is the only person who can keep the stray corrupted souls under control. Are the corrupted souls they speak of the thousands of people sacrificed to the lake?

[charred kettle]

yeah 😂

[azure bay]

Is the person sacrificed to the lake or drinking the potion has a 50/50 chance of enlightenment or corruption or does the lake decide this?
In Paradise Jakob was sacrificed to enlighten his family. He was supposed to stay dead except Caroline outsmarted everyone and performed a separate ritual with his soul. She used a unique form of the elixir of life and death but I'm not sure if its effects were much different.

So the answer is: no for The Day of The Lake sacrifice, probably yes for the elixir

Does the lake choose its own heir? Or does the current heir choose the next heir?
Not sure, so far it looks like Mr. Owl have chosen Dale. But it could be because The Lake have chosen Dale before that

Why did Mr. Owl send Mr. Rabbit to Dale's house before killing him?
He likely didn't. According to Mr. Owl's letters, he truly found Dale only in the 60s-70s. Mr. Rabbit came for the pistol that was somehow connected to his past life.

Did the Eilander Family already know the mystery of the lake or did they learn it as a result of Caroline's work?
The Eilanders seem to continue an old tradition and Caroline kept her greatest discoveries in secret from them

[rancid slate]

Mr. Owl said Dale is the only person who can keep the stray corrupted souls under control. Are the corrupted souls they speak of the thousands of people sacrificed to the lake?

Mr. Owl is referring to the Hotel guests

Rusty Lake Hotel was released after Cube Escape The Mill to show us who these corrupted souls were, I believe

And also to hint Dale's importance and next games

[azure bay]

Do they constantly kill people to feed the lake or do they feed the lake with the people the lake wants?

Mr. Owl has several memory-related institutions. Mental Health & Fishing chain for mentally ill, Best Kept Memory for mentally stable. I think it's a big part of the memory income

And they weren't involved in Laura's death

[rancid slate]

(And they also dont need to be dead to have their memories extracted)

[azure bay]

for all I see they tried to save her

[azure bay]

(but I think stealing already dead people for memories is a viable strategy)

[honest brook]

Speaking of which, Laura doesn’t even have the skirt there.
Maybe there are indicators of a “pure” corruption, but I don’t think it’s the skirt. With how inconsistent it is, I don’t think it’s anything more than an aesthetics choice.

[azure bay]

I think she skipped that stage after getting the butterbee. She had a skirt in The Mill

And the devs were UPFRONT about the skirt.

do you think they lied?

[charred kettle]

I hadn't thought about that. I thought the reason Mr. Owl helped Dale in the alternate timeline was because he felt guilty.

[rancid slate]

Another minor detail is Albert's corruption in TPW (doesnt loses hair in the animation, then appears without hair) vs Laura corruption in UB (Loses hair during animation)

https://tenor.com/view/albert-vanderboom-corrupted-soul-corrupted-albert-vanderboom-corrupted-albert-the-past-within-gif-16775420005746634715

https://tenor.com/view/laura-vanderboom-corrupts-laura-vanderboom-corrupted-soul-underground-blossom-rusty-lake-gif-11742667026096367906

+the little spikey things of corrupted souls

[azure bay]

It was to prepare him for his role of the successor. Maybe his childhood trauma he was to overcome WAS the ruler of the lake criterion

[rancid slate]

Corrupted souls never have consistent details 😭

[charred kettle]

Was it because they were angry about this that they wanted to sacrifice Caroline?

[rancid slate]

No

[shut plank]

but Laura has long hair while Albert has little hair to lose... I mean, Albert's CS looks kinda bald anyway? idk

[rancid slate]

They had to sacrifice Jakob, but Caroline didnt wanted to lose Jakob and offered herself instead

[azure bay]

Caroline would likely die regardless, she wanted to enlighten Jakob

and then Owl needed the white prophecy cube about Dale, that was the primary reason why he killed the guestsm vangence or not

[rancid slate]

All normal CSs have the same bald design, so Albert's corruption being wrong is just an oversight

[azure bay]

that depends. Bob and Dale up-close have their hairstyle silhouettes too

[rancid slate]

Which Bob?

[azure bay]

TWD

[charred kettle]

Can we say that white cubes are mostly obtained in hospitals because the corrupt spirit can attack?

[azure bay]

white cubes can be extracted safely regardless

[rancid slate]

Mirror?

[azure bay]

Police Station, for instance

a club walk

[rancid slate]

Just discovered that CS Bob in the mirror is way smaller

Probably because of the hands

[rancid slate]

Just like Albert

[azure bay]

the safest source of black cubes is BKM, the clients want their bad memories removed and they are thorowly filtered to minimize risk of corruption

[charred kettle]

Was there a reason for the necessity?

[rancid slate]

Not that we know of

[azure bay]

what necessity?

[rancid slate]

Jakob is said as "The chosen one" in the book, I think. But who chose him? Thats what we dont know for sure

Considering that Caroline's sacrifice didnt enlightened them, it can used as evidence for "The Lake chose Jakob"

Or the Plague

[azure bay]

or nobody actually chose him, he was just a suitable person

I pondered on why Nikolas agreed to take Caroline instead

"maybe because he thought he loved her as strongly"

oh by the way, it's not even confirmed that she was sacrificed pre se

[rancid slate]

Cuz hes stoopid

Just like Mr. Owl!

Like father like son

[azure bay]

she died sure but when exactly? And if it was really 15 years after Jakob's escape why did they wait for so long?

[rancid slate]

True

[rancid slate]

They needed a storm /j

[charred kettle]

true 😅

[rancid slate]

Dear mr. Eilander,

The plagues are still wandering the lake. I might have found the one that can stop them. If he cab find the ten cubes, I will give you storm. You can bring him to the well.

Your Sincerely,
Mr. Mammoth

😱😱😱

[charred kettle]

Thank you both so much for your answers 🐿️

[pine oak]

I remember that in one game (I think Underground Blossom or TPW) Laura says: "The Lake belongs to me". What did she mean? After all, Dale was supposed to be the successor of the Lake.

[rancid slate]

We dont know yet but it probably has to do with her being a Lady of the Lake just like Caroline (according to what the devs said)

[pine oak]

But she is dead isn’t she?

[rancid slate]

Not at the end of UB

She lives again (again)

[pine oak]

Yes indeed, but how is it logically possible?

[rancid slate]

Considering the "Another life without sorrow", Laura is probably referring to the same ending as in Seasons

After meeting Rose in the forest, Laura basically cures her depression (the whole game was about Rose's abscence being the main cause of it)

We believe that the scene where Laura is being surrounded by blossom is when Seasons takes place

She changes the past and avoids her own death, therefore, being alive

And now, free from Mr. Owl since the year is 1981

Hopefully

[pine oak]

That’s really interesting thank you

[pine oak]

Yes, Mr. Owl and the lake were not particularly kind to her 💀

And another thing that interests me is why in the Cave Mr. Owl and Mr. Crow was looking for memories about the recipe of the elixir (I understand that the memories of Laura and actually William) since Mr. Owl knew the recipe for the elixir because he get to know it in Paradise. I still understand that Mr. Crow didn't pay attention when his brother found the elixir and couldn't recreate it, but Jakob had to deal with it several times in the Paradise.

And James discovered the recipe for the elixir in his house very simply, so Mr. Owl could just go to the Vanderbooms' House and do the same

[rancid slate]

Caroline knew the recipe, not Jakob
But yeah Mr. Crow doesnt make too much sense
For James, its possible that the Book he used is now gone

Its also possible that they do know how to create the Elixir

But they dont have the ingredients

And maybe the ingredients are now gone

Only now stored in Willaura's memories

[rancid slate]

Considering the crow egg as just gameplay

[pine oak]

Yeah but But Jakob saw a drawing on the wall with the recipe and his mother's book in which it was also

[rancid slate]

He forgor 💀

[pine oak]

Good job Mr. Owl

[pine oak]

And I don't think physical objects can be "extorted" from memories

[rancid slate]

I think the Golden Cube itself will be used as the Elixir

And also, they do use the cubes in Paradise

One element from each cube

[pine oak]

Yeah that might be a point

We just don't know what a golden cube really is. Because I don't think it works so that you can pull out a random black, white and blue cube and we get golden

And I think we don’t know how to get blue cube. They were either given to us or obtained from the lake. We don't know what kind of memories they represent.

[rancid slate]

In Seasons, they allow us to revisit and change the past

In Bday kinda too

And in Cave, it has the clock symbol on it

So thats probably its gimmick

And it also shows the clock inside it

Maybe the Blue Cube represents the power of The Lake?

[pine oak]

Maybe but the cubes symbolize different memories of individuals. Black - bad, White - good and we don't know blue. Perhaps they symbolize the power of the lake, but it would be a deviation from the norm.

Note that we never get them directly from people’s heads. Either we catch them from the lake or they are given to us.

So indeed they are really special

[rancid slate]

But what if..

Cubes dont have owners?

[pine oak]

What do you mean? In Paradox, Dale's cube concerned only his himself

[rancid slate]

What if it is also the Lake giving us the cubes?

We also have to consider that the cubes are realities

[honest brook]

They probably do, since they're divided into "good" and "bad" based from the perspective of the person who the memory is extracted from

[rancid slate]

Not totally

We have seen that one moment can give cubes to more than one person

Lake-Harvey's Box for example

And the cubes also contain other people

Or beings

[pine oak]

But the cubes we get from Laura's head in The Mill have nothing to do with the lake. They are only the product of Laura's brain.

[rancid slate]

These were extracted

Or

Forced

[honest brook]

Doesn't that prove that the cubes have an owner then, if they can contain the same scene but seen from someone else's perspective?

[rancid slate]

[pine oak]

But we still don't know what memories the blue cubes represent. Even if the cubes are the property of a lake, the lake must take memories from somewhere. So blue cubes must symbolize some human feelings.

[honest brook]

I think the blue cube represents time

[rancid slate]

(Yeah, Im just trying to think how could "cubes dont have owners" be true)

[rancid slate]

Maybe they symbolize regret (?)

[pine oak]

It may already be an idea because I think that cubes must symbolize human memories, and not general concepts

[honest brook]

Like how the black and white cubes can be used to relive memories, the blue cubes can be used to access different points of time

Maybe specifically the past

[pine oak]

But cubes always symbolize memories. They can be used differently, but they always come down to memories of their types. I think so.

[rancid slate]

Thats what make the Blue Cube weird

[pine oak]

Yeah every aspect of blue cubes is original

[rancid slate]

Only once its shown what could possibly be inside one and its just the clock from Laura

And according to the book, the cube isnt from Laura

[pine oak]

Yes, in a submarine. Could this be proof that the blue cubes do not symbolize any memories?

[honest brook]

I think it's interesting that the book in The Cave labels the white cube as letting you relive your past life, even though it is still the past, while it says for the blue cube that "the past is never dead, it is not even past"

[rancid slate]

The Lake can have its own memories? Blue cubes that only store time?

[pine oak]

So, it would mean that blue cubes do not symbolize memories and the only way to obtain them is to fish them out of the Lake. Because according to this theory, this lake produces them spontaneously.

[pine oak]

Maybe a white cube gives you insight into memories and a blue one allows you to change them?

[honest brook]

But with the blue one, we're not even entering a memory or a different timeline. It lets you go backwards in the same timeline you're already in

[rancid slate]

I think its written that way because you wouldnt like to change something good (white) but something bad (black)

[pine oak]

It could be so. But back to the golden one, even if a blue cube was cough out of the lake, any two (one black, one white) cubes would be enough?

[honest brook]

But the book makes it seem like it's specifically the memories with the elixir

[rancid slate]

Yeah, probably the ones from The Mill

Which, if you look at the gameplay literally, they are a combination of many Laura's memories

Maybe even all of them

[pine oak]

But dumb crow put them in the lake instead of using them

[rancid slate]

He gets it back anyway

[pine oak]

When and how?

A

[rancid slate]

Cave, submarine

[honest brook]

With the submarine

[pine oak]

Yeah

And wouldn't it be better if instead of giving a golden cube to Dale, that Mr. Crow first made an elixir to save himself and Mr. Owl, and then handed it over to Dale? And I wonder where the golden cube is when Dale is in the room from Paradox

[honest brook]

But Dale was more important, he needed to succeed Mr. Owl

[pine oak]

So Mr. Owl and Mr. Owl wanted to die? They could have given the control of Lake to Dale to but live with the elixir.

Maybe Mr. Crow wanted to see his wife at last and Mr. Owl wanted to see his mother 💀

[honest brook]

They needed the elixir for Dale so he could become Deva, they couldn't use it on themselves

[pine oak]

Wouldn't be enough for them three?

I think that such a golden cube would be enough immortality for more than one person.

[honest brook]

I doubt it, it was meant for the Day of the Lake ritual with Dale and Laura alone
And besides, Mr. Crow and Mr. Owl had already lived for a really long time

[pine oak]

Yeah probably

[rancid slate]

They have no heart

Both have been living for more than a century

Probably dont care about loss

[pine oak]

There's no denying it, they're a bit cruel...

[rancid slate]

But I do wonder what will happen to Aldous since hes younger than Jakob

I like the betrayal theory because it gives more things to Aldous and William

[honest brook]

It looks like the Elixir wore off for him as well

[rancid slate]

[pine oak]

What is this theory?

I've never heard of it

[rancid slate]

I think there are different versions of it

But basically Mr. Crow is gonna betray Mr. Owl in favor of bringing William back from Laura somehow

Mostly based on the fact that they are brothers

Oh yeah, and the phone calls in Seasons too

In the theory, William takes control of Laura and kills her

So they could take the corpse and extract the memories

UB pretty much debunked the theory since it confirmed Laura was the one behind the death as well as giving a reason for it

[pine oak]

Interesting but I think it's such a theory without evidence but really interesting. I just think that Mr. Owl wouldn't mind Aldous bringing his brother back. Maybe Aldous would like to be the new Ruler of The Lake and not just a receptionist 😆

[rancid slate]

Meanwhile Harvey:

[delicate atlas]

Just a random thought that popped into my mind while I was replaying Seasons for the millionth time: who told the police about Laura's death?
We see from The White Door that Bob wasn't there and didn't know until he saw the news. She lives alone in an entire house all for her. Harvy is dead until further notice. No one was there to see it or know it. So how did they know? We don't know if she had a job though to be able to live alone and own a house, plus affording her medication. But I think someone as depressed as her would've probably quit work a while before killing herself (if she did kill herself, if not, then the murderer maybe took advantage of the circumstances around her to make it seem like a suicide).
The best idea I have is the neighbors hearing something or suspecting something and calling the police but idk. Just an interesting thought.

On a separate note, I just realized the shrimp in the oven vision shows her in the lake like in Paradox. And thanks to UB we || know she belongs to the lake.||

I forgot how to do discord spoilers 😭

[visual vapor]

|| before and after the spoiler (￣▽￣)

[delicate atlas]

Thanks!

[shut plank]

Probably a neighbor or maybe a friend? We don’t know much about her (or any other character’s) daily life. Wish they showed it more though

[shut plank]

And I think it resembles her birth in Roots too! Rose holding her in the lake

[delicate atlas]

Woah good point

[rancid slate]

There is no evidence for Harvey being dead tho
Even when clicking him, he will repeat the scream of Laura, which basically "confirms" that he was alive when she died

Someone probably heard the scream and called the police

But I doubt Harvey would call them

Asura or Parrot, he just goes away in UB too

[shut plank]

Speaking of Seasons, why did the door to that room disappear during Case 23 ch1?

[delicate atlas]

Magic

Room so cursed it can't be allowed to exist

I think it was just a symbolism thing

But if we speak lore, maybe Mr. Owl and Mr. Crow hid it so Dale wouldn't catch up with them, at least not too early than they anticipated.

[rancid slate]

Mr. Owl probably altered the room to get Dale into his first test

[royal notch]

Or maybe the room was unnecessary space, having been already examinated.

[honest brook]

I’ve always assumed the developers put that there to indicate this is the same house, but it doesn’t actually let us go there because there isn’t anything to do there

Although I think adding text that’s like “no need to go there, I’ve already investigated that room” could have done that as well

[pine oak]

I think I found some inaccuracy in the plot. Why is William in the book from The Cave described as: "The last creator of the elixir of life and death" if the last person we know who created it is James? Is it an inaccuracy in the plot?

[floral veldt]

Tonight, and mark my words!, I will write a theses on rusty lake!

[honest brook]

Maybe it’s as in he was the last person to create the recipe
Since James was also just following the instructions from William’s journal

[pine oak]

This may be true, but then it should be: "The last inventor of the elixir of life and death” or something like that.

Or the last discoverer

[shut plank]

The only ones to figure out the recipe were Caroline and William, right? Jakob, Aldous and James just replicated it

Caroline and William also seem to have the most intelligent corrupted souls

I guess they were just way too smart?

[rancid slate]

Smort

[pine oak]

Why do you think Mr. Owl is to become a fish in the future? As shown in Paradox.

[rancid slate]

Probably just the circle of life

We havent seen what happens when the Elixir of an Aura ends

Maybe instead of just dying, they turn into regular animals

[rancid slate]

Like, Jakob dies and returns as a fish

[pine oak]

Maybe, but it looked like it was an enlightened form and not an ordinary fish. As if he were to become Mr. Fish 😆

[rancid slate]

He was changing the head

[honest brook]

That might just be because it was only his head that was changing in that scene?
I thought he was going to use his powers to turn himself into a regular fish, like he did with Harvey

[rancid slate]

Tho, his entire body vanishes after that

So it probably didnt existed too

[honest brook]

It's only his head there too

[rancid slate]

Is it?

May be a mandela effect of his clothes being on the ground

[honest brook]

Maybe becoming a fish would also somehow make his life last a bit longer

[pine oak]

The only thing that could change the enlightened into ordinary animals was a beam of light, which turned probably the dead Harvey into an ordinary parrot. Anyway, we see in Paradise that Harvey was also an ordinary parrot before enlightenment. So we don't know if it's an ordinary parrot or an enlightened human a long time ago.

[rancid slate]

I think he already "achieved his objective" and no longer has a reason to live longer

[pine oak]

It looks like an enlightened form of fish to me

But I’m not sure

[honest brook]

I think his body stayed the same because it was only showing us the appearance of his head during the past, the present, and the future

His body didn’t change when he became Jakob either

[pine oak]

It could be

[floral veldt]

its based on budhism, if I'm not mistaken

[shut plank]

I think just the fish makes more sense. Dale holding the fish in UB could be foreshadowing it

[rancid slate]

Could be but also the fact that he has phobia of fish

Ictiophobia I think

[wheat ore]

regularlifephobia as well apparently

[latent wharf]

..... had another thought about this
that dog was probably peeing all over that backyard for a looong time
no wonder some weird plant stuff happened
the way frank started existing might've happened bc immortal dog pee side effects on the plants

[cunning birch]

So what does the golden cube even do anyway?

White cube holds bright memories, black cube holds dark memories, blue cube somehow controls time

Golden cube is somehow a culmination of white, black and blue cubes (as seen in the cave)

So what can it do really?

[floral veldt]

Have you played TPW yet? It's revealed in there!

At least, one of the things it can do

[honest brook]

In The Cave, it's described as "the key to the future", referring to how it will be needed in the future for Dale and Laura (as it contains the Elixir). In The Past Within, this is taken more literally, as it contains the timeline of the Future

[rancid slate]

Probably not all of them, just that one in specific

[azure bay]

I think it's superficial. Yes, it was created using them but what really mattered were their contents.

William's memories of elixir formula.

Not all cubes would have the same effect

[floral veldt]

William's memories?

[floral veldt]

how would they be inside those cubes?

[azure bay]

I'm describing what we see in the games.

In The Cave we have a mural of William making elixir and then the ingredients being stored in Laura's cube.

In the book her cubes are marked with the elixir insignia too.

Apparently memories of past lives are a thing. Even The White Door offers services to recall them.

Also in Paradise Caroline used memories of the elements to create the elixir too

[floral veldt]

so the cubes we capture in the submarine/boxthing are not only of what was shown in the processing tv?

they also include material of the subconscious? burried down within laura's memories?

[azure bay]

Why would they? These are the very memories we extracted in The Mill. They already stored her entire life. Adding one more isn't that much of a stretch

[rancid slate]

I wonder if the devs already had something in mind about Laura's cubes in The Mill

[azure bay]

Doesn't seem so. Flushing down cubes just to catch them out later on seems questionable.

Besides, I belive they admitted the whole Vanderboom story line being figured out only for Roots

[royal notch]

We could speculate that it was necessary for Aldous to survive. Laura' s corrupted soul may not have had such mercy if she' d seen her memories.

[azure bay]

Her memories were always meant to go into the lake, she was never meant to corrupt

[vivid bridge]

does the VK post finally confirm that David in Birthday is wearing a mask

[honest brook]

Isn't that more about theatre

[azure bay]

he's kidding

[vivid bridge]

I'm not

i'm deadly serious

[vivid bridge]

Why would it be about theatre? Unless we're getting some theatre related teaser soon, I'm taking the VK post as an early easter post and its referencing what the devs just posted in #📯｜rl-announcements

Idk why they would tease a simple easter greeting but idk I've long given up on understanding the people behind this franchise

[rancid slate]

🎭 probably just means Theatre

But I could see an actual Mr. Rabbit mask being wear by someone like Mr. Owl does with Dale

[royal notch]

Why is it "early"? How old is that post?

[rancid slate]

It was posted hours before

Yesterday, I think

[rancid slate]

His gender is Harvey

The H is for Harv and the E is for Ey (True)

That's harvis pronoun

Harvey/Harvis

(His as short for Harvis)

Harvim aswell

[sacred portal]

Harvey is Harvey, and Harvey is a cool dude

[rancid slate]

If anyone wants to theorize about the new game, feel free to use the #945320126608179231

[jovial merlin]

Am I the only one that has the suspicion that the servant of the lake will show us more about Harvey’s backstory?

Cause when i saw the name I immediately thought about the fact that Harvey is the waiter in rusty lake hotel

[azure bay]

Maybe, maybe not. Heard guesses that it's gonna be Mr. Bat instead

[jovial merlin]

Hmm maybe

Im so exited holy shit lol

Foaming at the mouth

[rancid slate]

Would be weird considering his appearence in Paradise

[jovial merlin]

Paradise?

When does he show up??

[rancid slate]

Achievement

[jovial merlin]

Oh yeah

[azure bay]

we know nothing about Harvey in Paradise. Might be just a reference, might be time travel (it's Harvey after all)

[jovial merlin]

Yeah lol

Idk I’m guessing Harvey

Especially with the white glove in the title

[rancid slate]

The Servant will become the dog 🤞

[jovial merlin]

Oooooo

Idk about the dog tho

Cause the elixir doesn’t really affect him

[azure bay]

it's a joke

the dog wasn't even born

[jovial merlin]

Oh lol sorry

[rancid slate]

Half joking

[jovial merlin]

Didn’t think about that

[azure bay]

🤨

[jovial merlin]

But the dog is ageless

So ehhhhhhh

Im still betting on my parrot man

[azure bay]

after the house changes its owner. Twice

[jovial merlin]

Okay u have a point

[rancid slate]

And his mother is the seed

[azure bay]

ok, calm down Nowhere, you can't be rude to a mod ||/jk||

[sacred portal]

… what species of parrot is Harvey, anyway?

[azure bay]

Psittacus

[sacred portal]

Never thought much about that. More so the fact that I like the silly bird man

[azure bay]

Someone hasn't been watching my recent videos

[sacred portal]

I think that’s the genus. All parrots fall under it, I believe

[azure bay]

not all

[sacred portal]

Oh, yeah, wait, I’m thinking wrong. My bad, lol

[azure bay]

several species. 2 I believe

[sacred portal]

But if the two species under psittacus don’t have green plumage, then… I guess Harvey’s just built different, lmao

[azure bay]

neither did the parrot that played Harvey in Paradox film

they took some artistic liberties and then tried to give him an official species

[sacred portal]

Fair enough. If you were a bird, what one would you think you’d be?

[azure bay]

lol

isn't it obvious?

[sacred portal]

I guess but maybe you changed your mind and didn’t feel like changing your profile?

[azure bay]

I actually did change my profile recently c:

[sacred portal]

Nice. You know, I’m not sure what bird I’d be… I see red-tailed hawks all the time so maybe that means something, lol

[azure bay]

I think it's fine not being sure

it never bothered me until I realized my love for corvids

[sacred portal]

I love all birds so, lots to go off of!

Shoebill storks particularly fascinate me, though…

[jovial merlin]

I think I’d be a high-flying bird of prey, like a hawk or a vulture

If I were to drink the elixir I think I’d gain either a possum, a goat, or a horse head

[rancid slate]

Kind of updated it

[floral mauve]

did you draw this

[rancid slate]

Yeah

[floral mauve]

how cute

[azure bay]

NO JORDAN!!!!

How dare you?!

[rancid slate]

Thank you

[sacred portal]

I love the way you drew Bob, he looks so over it, lol!

[floral mauve]

nah nah this is fan creation

[pine oak]

It's sad that the devs in the new spinoff so brutally destroyed the theory that David is not Mr. Rabbit from the hotel...

[azure bay]

dunno, I feel rather good about it

[floral mauve]

I think its a confirmation of paradox

it was already clear back then and I had no idea why some people still try to uncannon it

[azure bay]

they confirmed it earlier at Gamescom 2023

[pine oak]

Yeah i know but never bluntly in any game

[azure bay]

I also think that since Paradox it was only logical

If Evil Rabbit is an Eilander, there should be other Eilanders out there

and the only suitable characters are the guests

and they are usually together

including Good Rabbit

[rancid slate]

I played Paradox before Paradise

But I didnt know and also didnt paid attention to D. Eilander

When I played Paradise for me it was very clear tbey were the guests

I only noticed months later that Paradox also confirmed it

[azure bay]

they admittedly look kinda similar but I until Paradox I was doubting both them and the 2 Rabbits

[pine oak]

Me too

Because the rabbit from Birthday didn't look like a typical Corrupted soul

[rancid slate]

💬 Im built different

Did anyone also noticed that during the puzzle with David the order of the lights is quite odd?

Mr Rabbit, Bday cs, David, Hotel cs

Probably doesnt matter

[azure bay]

sadly?

[rancid slate]

Happily

It does makes it look like

That David is the reencarnation of Bday Mr Rabbit lol

[grave heart]

I love the lore and I feel like I’ve definitely got certain plot bits within my grasp but I’ve never fully laid things out because I really want to do a big corkboard and red string analysis of the games and I don’t have those

[rancid slate]

Feel free to share your thoughts

[grave heart]

It’s hard to explain, but mainly it’s about the timeline of important events and identifying characters across games/as their animal forms

If I can map out all the characters and their animal forms across all the games I think things will slide into place better, I’m a very visual person so I gotta graph that sorta thing

[rancid slate]

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/357142057359245314/969233936091861033/d2UDNTbA.jpeg?ex=68157631&is=681424b1&hm=c5b679a87d24a3d136ad6d3a3e280741799326e84407dbccd87beefb7d817e2e&

Sooo, we got everything already?

The Mammoth atleast as a teaser maybe

[lunar axle]

The elevator hasn't reached its destination yet

[royal notch]

And no fine dining by Mr Toad‼️

[carmine field]

no rusty lake escape yet

[visual coral]

cause there's no escape from rusty lake

[rancid slate]

Rusty Lake is a big maze and if you escape it there will be a second one

[rancid slate]

3 doors, 3 siblings
3rd Vanderboom sister

William and Aldous look so miserable in the teasers

They look sick

I wonder if the game will already start with them knowing about the Elixir

We dont really know why they were seeking for it

Like yeah it's "immortality" but there could be another reason with actual meaning

Maybe one day they find leftovers of Caroline's notes

Or they investigate the big island in the middle of The Lake

[rancid slate]

These are just stairs, I know, lol

The doors seem slightly wider now

And also the different doorframe

Seems like one of the tasks is be gonna lighting the candles very hard

[rancid slate]

Just tried comparing both images and seems like they changed many proportions of different parts of each object

The keyholes, doorhandles, room names, candles, almost everything has a different proportion

They have been working 🛠

[royal notch]

I hope they will add wallpaper like they used to. When i saw ||William' s part, i thought at first he was lying on grass.||

[rancid slate]

Lol

The walls do have a texture but it's not that apparent

Maybe as the game progresses the wallpapers change to the ones in Roots

That would be prak

[rancid slate]

Or something similar to Seasons

[floral mauve]

I do wish it has more textures like make it less simplified

[rancid slate]

Yeah, different wallpapers make the rooms more iconic

Considering that it seems we are gonna be able to walk through the "entire" house

Just some random colors wouldnt help much when trying to locate yourself

[floral mauve]

not just that, I feel like an old house should consist more classical sorta style, its not a mental asylum like twd

[rancid slate]

Real

[floral mauve]

like paradox wall is a nice blend

in between

it simplified a bit while maintain the same classical elements

[rancid slate]

Now going back on topic

Do you really think Dale is just gonna accept becoming a Deva?

The whole series is about changing things

Would he change the thing that is supposed to be unavoidable? (Fate)

[floral mauve]

what is deva though

we assumed previously able to play with golden cube is deva but apparently not

in twd, Dale seems to be in asura

[rancid slate]

And in what way would Dale "stop" the Hotel guests? Just killing Mr. Rabbit doesnt seem like a good way.. unless becoming some leaves is a good thing

[rancid slate]

I think Paradox Vanderdeer is just asura too, like a Dale that failed to reach the realm of Deva

And TWD Vanderdeer just being a little reference and not an actual asura

CE Theatre states that Dale is supposed to be Deva

Become one, atleast

Maybe after he becomes an asura?

[floral mauve]

its not fail if its the intended path

[rancid slate]

Maybe David's leaves will let the family Blossom like Rose "did" to Laura (?)

[floral mauve]

path of ascension can be referred to both asura and deva

compare to human

[rancid slate]

The goal was Deva ✊️

[floral mauve]

we never understand what deva is like

[rancid slate]

They said that weve never seen a Deva [form] so it might not be a role like holding a cube

And the GoldenC just had the Elixir as far as we know

Or

Atleast the Elixir

[floral mauve]

it is a form of elixir

yes

[floral mauve]

I guess

[rancid slate]

I feel like they could use that same symbol

In Servantotl

[floral mauve]

so maybe Dale gotta infuse the cube in him and then do some freaky thing to be deva

[floral mauve]

Axolotl

[rancid slate]

So it gets a higher context and maybe recontextualize CE The Cave's GoldenC

[rancid slate]

He's gonna absorb the cube and destroy himself so noone uses it ||Transformers reference 😔||

[floral mauve]

I think in Cave, the main objective was to somehow prepare Dale to continue what Owl was doing plus master of the lake

or servant of the lake

[rancid slate]

Ruler

[floral mauve]

I dont know how ruler Owl was, he cant even breath in the lake xd

[rancid slate]

Was he ever referred to as a ruler? I dont remember

[floral mauve]

well, if Dale takes over his place, he is expected to be the ruler

[rancid slate]

Maybe not

Hes just an asura that has a hotel

[floral mauve]

remember, in paradise he was the one

at least that how his mom referred to him

[rancid slate]

Searched it

[floral mauve]

maybe every mom does that

idk

[rancid slate]

Paradox

"Dale Im freaking die, I need a sucessor, the ruler of the Lake.. a ahh ahh * diedies*"

[floral mauve]

coool

[rancid slate]

Now remembering that he also alters the memories

Maybe the Day of The Lake allows you to become the next ruler?

[floral mauve]

https://tenor.com/view/movies-titanic-quotes-its-been-years-84years-gif-14851580

the day has yet to arrive

[rancid slate]

We are experiencing it from the hotel guests pov

Time doesnt exist in the Lake

Anyone could just stay down there forever and wouldnt die

I found immortality

The elixir is now obsolete.

[fathom cove]

does this timeline of events look accurate?

[rancid slate]

Most parts

Hotel takes place in 1893

The Lake in 1969 along with Harvey's Box

And most theorists (I believe) agree that Paradox takes place during Cave 1972 and the next games are Birthday and Theatre

[fathom cove]

ohh ohh that's very good to know thank you

does that mean that the ||secret ending in chapter 2 with the elevator|| is the canon way dale got in the elevator

[rancid slate]

Not exactly

Paradox is a simulation inside Dale's head

And possibly Laura's too

[fathom cove]

i'm stuck here again, is she here?

[rancid slate]

In reality, both are inside the big white cube at the bottom of the Laks

[fathom cove]

ohh so for all the memory scenes after case 23 all that is during the cave ending

[rancid slate]

For Paradox, yes

[fathom cove]

good to know i'll keep theorising

[rancid slate]

Going back to ServantotL

The Paradise island and Cave paintings in Samsara Room imply, as I said before, that William saw or know them

William going to the Paradise island 🙏

If they ever ask us to get some food

I hope it's fish

Because we gotta go check how Jakowl is doing

Unless we use Roots's way of fishing 😭😭

[fathom cove]

im like processing so hard on this

IM SO EXCITED FOR SERVENT OF THE LAKE

i need to return to the lake.

[fathom cove]

what about the roots way of getting water 😭

[azure bay]

And Paradox corrupted soul implies that these are all just references

[latent wharf]

not even really a theory just
do we have an explanation for this or no

like
why is he tposing
why is dale seemingly dead

what is happening

[rancid slate]

Aura farming

[latent wharf]

also WHY CAN MR OWL CONTROL THE WEATHER

[rancid slate]

Dale fainted after turning on the fan beam in Case 23

[latent wharf]

like
i feel like the mill is like
up there with the weirdest game in the series
bc of stuff like mr owl t posing and mr crow seemingly becoming illiterate and doing the exact opposite of what mr owl told him to do

[rancid slate]

Exact opposite?

[royal notch]

My headcanon is that the powerful force behind all the biggest shenanigans is the Lake itself, with Mr Owl just being able to "pray" it for bringing what he needs, because it' s also what the Lake needs.

[latent wharf]

and then mr crow just

does it anyway

[rancid slate]

Because he has to

[latent wharf]

ah

[rancid slate]

Thats what Mr. Owl asked to

I presume corruption may have also been part of the plan

[latent wharf]

there's also just mr crows wife who like
iirc is never mentioned again before or after this point

[rancid slate]

Possibly not the first one too

[latent wharf]

also when i first played the mill my brain didn't register her as being his wife
i thought that was his mom 😭

[azure bay]

@covert wyvern sorry to bother you but can you tell us the story behind the black RL Untold cube in the office?

[covert wyvern]

Sure: it's Fanart, someone brought it by and gave it to us

[azure bay]

thx 👍

[covert wyvern]

https://www.instagram.com/p/DEGDNCmsK4_/?img_index=1&igsh=amd4aXRyaWpnOHdr

rustylakecom

Just before the new year we had two special visitors at our office ✨

Thank you Laura for showing us your amazing cosplay and @owllehs for giving us your beautiful memory Cube from Rusty Lake Untold 🔲

This is our final #fanartfriday of the year and we cannot wait to share all your amazing art next year 🖤

Likes

9706

Instagram

[azure bay]

Do you really have the Paradise painting like in the anniv game? The one with the island, not the plagues

[azure bay]

Damy?

[untold swallow]

So any theories as to why the ten plagues hit Rusty lake paradise, and why did the families have to sacrifice their own 😭

And second, any theories about Rusty lake hotel, and how did the family become animals, and why?

[azure bay]

these questions are linked

basically they wanted to sacrifice their 1stborn exactly to become demigods

to be "enlightened", as it's called

there are different theories why the plagues happened. The most popular one is "the lake punished them for sacrificing the wrong person"

but I find it nonsensical

the ritual requires the 1stborn to be sacrificed on the day of the lake

there's a prophecy that this day will take place after plague 9

and plague 9 comes after other 8 of them

and they tried to sacrifice Jakob 15-16 years before

and it had to be another day of the lake

with another set of plagues

but with no "wrong" sacrifices

@untold swallow so my best guess, the plagues either take place on their own or in response to the lack of cubes (since they remove plagues)

[untold swallow]

Ohhh okay then

That was such an in depth explanation thanks!

@azure bay so how does hotel tie into this?

[azure bay]

Hotel was built on the Paradise island. Mr. Owl is Jakob who was saved by his mother despite his sacrifice. The guests are obviously the Eilanders.

Many see Hotel as an act of vengeance. I'm not entirely sure. Either way the end goal was the white cube with the future. It revealed Owl's potential successor for the 1st time

[untold swallow]

Ohh which was dale right?

[rancid slate]

Yes

[azure bay]

yep

[untold swallow]

Well why was everyone animals tho?

[azure bay]

they are all asuras, some kind of demons or demigods from Indian mythology

[untold swallow]

Oh really? So they actually did become the demigod demons

[rancid slate]

And becoming an asura is one of the enlightenments

[untold swallow]

Ohh okay I see now

Wow y'all are pretty knowledgeable in this stuff

[azure bay]

Replaying the games several times with eyes open for details is the trick

[rancid slate]

We devoted our lives to The Lake

[untold swallow]

Haha I wish to do the same in the future

I've been playing the games for years now but I unfortunately don't have a keen eye for things like this

Oh right @azure bay @rancid slate why is Samara or Samantha, I forgot her name, connected to the lake, like is she related to someone or something? And I'm assuming her boyfriend became connected because he becomes depressed or something?

I'm not sure

[rancid slate]

Samsara isnt a person name

[azure bay]

I assume they mean Laura

[azure bay]

the cube dress woman?

[rancid slate]

Oh, anyway, "Samsara" refers to the Samsara Wheel which contains 6 realms including the Asuras

[rancid slate]

Have you played Roots?

[untold swallow]

Ohhh

[untold swallow]

Yep

[untold swallow]

Yea that's who I'm talking about!

Sorry I always get name mixed up

[rancid slate]

Laura is the reencarnation of William Vanderboom, the old man that made one of the last Elixir

Mr. Owl and others want this Elixir

And Laura's memories have the Elixir in some way (Since she has William's memories)

In CE: The Cave, it is shown that her memories and a blue cube are combined to create a Golden Cube

[untold swallow]

Ohh okayy

[rancid slate]

Which might be used so her and Dale consume the Elixir

[untold swallow]

Okay then

Why would Laura become a shadow tho?

Sorry I forgot the right terminology

[azure bay]

they weren't careful enough while extracting bad memories

it was made clear in Owl's letters

[untold swallow]

Where are owls letters?

[azure bay]

The Mill

[untold swallow]

Ohhh okay then, I never knew that was related

[rancid slate]

On the walls

[azure bay]

they literally say "I'll send you the body of the woman, extract memories but be careful"

"or else"

[untold swallow]

Ohhhh I see now

...gulp

Well I have one last question (ha maybe) how in the world did the Harvey, a bird become a like human like being

[azure bay]

no idea

I can tell how he became a bird after Hotel

unless it was retconned

[untold swallow]

Sure!

[azure bay]

there was a secret scene in Birthday you don't wanna miss

[rancid slate]

https://tenor.com/view/harvey-asura-harvey-rusty-lake-hotel-rusty-lake-cube-escape-birthday-gif-1116672366937238610

[azure bay]

the original way to get it is to 100% Hotel, get a code and find a use for it in Birthday

in CEC there's an alternative but it's sneaky

[untold swallow]

Is this the secret?

[untold swallow]

Ohhh I see

[azure bay]

a small part of it

[untold swallow]

Oh wait I think I've did that before!

But I def don't remember it

[azure bay]

then just replaying the games with all the achievements may help you a lot already

[untold swallow]

Okay then well I do that!

Well guys thanks so much for y'all's help

I've had these questions for a long time now, glad to have clarity on it

[azure bay]

find Nowherenest on youtube
||very subtle||

[rancid slate]

Yooo no self-advertising /j

[untold swallow]

Haha okay then!

[light oriole]

is Jacob in RL Paradise the reincarnation (or the son of ) William from RL Roots

[azure bay]

no, William wasn't even born

Jakob reincarnated as Mr. Owl

William reincarnated as Laura

[light oriole]

oh

ohhhhh

im realy behind on the lore

[azure bay]

I think just another attentive playthrough is enough

with dates and so on

[light oriole]

okie

[azure bay]

Does anyone know who these mysterious Tall Ones are?

[rancid slate]

Albert and Rose

They are the tall ones

(Idk

@azure bay I found this tho

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/49LDq8

[azure bay]

Thx, apparently it's a semi-official name for Luuk and Marijn who've been helping with the Unity side of TPW

not sure if it was legally registered

only a text mention on LinkedIn

not in the "experience" section

[inland bridge]

Which game is this from?

[gray condor]

this is from mrms!

is a new game for the 10th anniversary of rusty lake!

[inland bridge]

Omggg when is it out?

[gray condor]

april 30th

[inland bridge]

Next year or already out?

[gray condor]

its already outt

[inland bridge]

AAAA WHAT??

Can I grab the link?

[gray condor]

yeahhh

its for free as well

[inland bridge]

HELP I CANT BELIEVE I MISSED IT WHAT???

[gray condor]

you can find it on steam, play store or apple play

[inland bridge]

Thank you!!

[gray condor]

it's mr rabbit magic show!

[inland bridge]

Thank youuuu omggg

[gray condor]

you're welcomee

[delicate atlas]

I had an epiphany, maybe I'm too late and it was obvious so sorry about that, but what if in Rusty Lake: Paradis || Jacob feeding Caroline's memory cubes to the lake is why he survives the ritual at the end and gets resurrected as an Asura and enlightened and becomes I guess the Lord of the Lake? Like Caroline appeared to him and guided him and made him take her memory cubes because she knew what would happen and how to save him this way.||

[rancid slate]

Yeah, mostly

We believe that Caroline used the cubes to create an elixir

She and Jakob consumed it, she found death (again) and he found enlightenment

[delicate atlas]

Oooh interesting

[untold swallow]

So, this is probably because I haven't been paying attention, but who exactly is Mr. Crow?

And why is he shown as ||dales grandpa||

[azure bay]

Aldous Vanderboom, the successful one among VanderBros

[untold swallow]

The one from roots?

[azure bay]

depends, there were several brothers

[untold swallow]

Oh the other one ||died right?||

[azure bay]

By VanderBros we imply the alchemists

[untold swallow]

Ohhh okay then

How did he meet up with Mr. Owl and why?

[azure bay]

no Idea, probably he contracted them to find the elixir

hopefully we'll know more in Servant of The Lake

[untold swallow]

Yeaaa I hope so too!! I can't wait to play it

[azure bay]

3 options:

• Asset reuse
• He started a family with a mortal (again)
• He pretended to be the grandpa to oversee Dale's memory journey

[untold swallow]

Ohhhhh I see

Well he's a W grandpa either way

Thanks for the clarification tho!

[delicate atlas]

I saw a post on reddit that inspired me to write this theory.
Could there possibly be an incomplete or flawed reincarnation that causes depression/soul corruption?

Case in point, Ms. Pheasant suicidal behavior. Which comes off as Elizabeth being guilty about what she's done to Jacob. And if The Lady of The Lake songstress is another reincarnation, she also seems depressed and is portrayed as slitting her throat in Theatre, which could possibly hint at another suicide where no matter what, her reincarnated soul always ends up killing its vessel because it's corrupted, and she carries guilt and I guess the sins of her previous lives?

Side note: interesting how she always resurrects as a woman 🤔

Unless that one fetus in Theatre was her, too at a previous life.

If it's her own fetus than maybe she miscarried and that caused her depression or something.

Also, said fetus appeared in Case 23 in the chapel. I wonder what it means?

[rancid slate]

The suicide in CE: Theatre doesnt happen in TWhiteD, so we believe it didnt actually happened

[delicate atlas]

Another side note: could Elizabeth be potentially another lady of the lake like her mom has she not turned to the wrong side and did the right steps to become one instead of Jacob or Laura?

[delicate atlas]

Good point

It could also be just a part of the play

But it's interesting how she always plays and wears the same stuff and goes by the same title

[rancid slate]

Probably not, "The Lady of The Lake" is what the theatre lady is portraiting, not her actual role

She is supposed to represent Laura

[delicate atlas]

Oh. That explains the throat slitting.

[rancid slate]

Yeah

[delicate atlas]

I took it at face value and never considered this

Thanks

[rancid slate]

I think in Hotel it is written "Lady in Blue"

[delicate atlas]

I see. It's the same dress as the Theatre songstress if I'm not mistaken though.

The hat is there, too iirc

[rich spire]

So i have a question wich might sounds (and be)dumb: How does mister rabbit turns into a different form (the white one) after getting killed at the hotel ?

[rancid slate]

White Mr. Rabbit is just Corrupted Mr. Rabbit

Possibly using some kind of mask

[rich spire]

Thanks !

[rich spire]

Just redid birthday after a long time, is it me or at the end Mr rabbit blooms ?

[rancid slate]

Blossom? Maybe

[rich spire]

Yeah sorry

[royal notch]

Does anyone know?

[grand locust]

What is now Albert’s Plans?
He wanted to come back to life
He did
He brought his daughter into Nirvana like realm/plain of existence
Now what?

[royal notch]

Who knows? I assume the enlighteneds wanted him.

[grand locust]

I wonder if we will have game with him living in 21st century

My boy will give us answer on how Victorian child will react to sprite

[rancid slate]

Maybe the BKM station was a bit meta too and Albert wont actually be in our time

I think the args are supposed to be sepparate from the games

But we might get more about Albert in the future

The Past Within was just the start

[grand locust]

Now that only person he cared about is in Safe plane of Nirvana(Blossoming in bottom of lake)
I wonder what he plans to do to reality and world,if he understand how little the world he lives in is

[azure bay]

bit late but I have to add that the guests may not remember what they've done in past life

[azure bay]

I think not, rather became a tree food

[wheat ore]

couldn't find an exact match but I found a really close one
https://www.whatfontis.com/FF_Shelter-Me.font?text=specialseed
the s isn't quite that but yeah should be relatively similar

noting that it could also be a handmade font

[royal notch]

I didn' t think of that. Thanks still!

[azure bay]

It's KG Eyes Wide Open.

Oh and mind the copyright

[royal notch]

Thanks! I' m just trying it out.

[vague imp]

where are these photos from?

[rancid slate]

Early teasers for Paradise

They are on the website blog, I guess

Or other sites that talked about the game

[vague imp]

wonder what other content didn't make it into the final version of the game

[rancid slate]

Shovel use

[royal notch]

Blind girl do be hiding with useless item.

[rancid slate]

Also an early version of the well painting

[grand locust]

The first one has some weird ahh mask,what it supposed to be?

[azure bay]

something pagan but also currently uncanon

[rancid slate]

I assume it was either early corrupted Caroline (maybe disguised?) or Nicholas in his cult clothes

[azure bay]

doesn't look corrupted to me

[rancid slate]

The vibe matches how Caroline appears, so thats why

[rancid slate]

This first pic may be the creepiest thing I ever saw in Rusty Lakw

[vague imp]

wonder how the cut content affected the plot, I hope the beta versions are not lost media

[azure bay]

definitely are

unless the devs suddenly decide to go back to older games and write some devlog-style articles

[honest rain]

Want to talk about Laura Vanderboom's fate after enlightenment after Underground Blossom? Might she come back as a woman (again) in the next games?

Also, why does Dale look so much like Mr Deer in his avatar forms? Maybe Dale was Mr Deer, or was it Nicolas Vandermeer?

[grand locust]

Mr deer in hotel is Nicolas reincarnated
Deer headed guy with same outfit as Dale is Dale(maybe in his future reincarnation)

[rancid slate]

Devas probably will have a different look from Asuras, so I dont think Vanderdeer is the goal

[rancid slate]

At the main ending of UB, Laura finally finds peace so I dont think she will be part of big adventures like Dale's

She will probably just get old as we've seen in Paradox

(And also UB)

[honest rain]

Maybe Mr Owl's plan for Dale is for Dale to become 'Ruler of the Lake' on the exact Day of the Lake (whatever that means), just before Mr Owl dies, and becomes Mr Fish in response?

[rancid slate]

Theatre teases that Dale will become a Deva, a higher realm that we've never seen before

[rancid slate]

Maybe not Mr Fish but rather a regular fish in the future, as the cycle repeats

[honest rain]

Even funnier if Mr Owl becomes a shrimp, since we have so many shrimp in main game series

[rancid slate]

Some also believe he could become the mermaid

[rancid slate]

What was the Hotel crew doing after Hotel?

I assume Mr. Crow was observing the family and William

But the rest

Nothing

Also, considering the Hotel renovation, I think the corrupted guests destroyed the building too

Or like, did some damage

And probably killed Mr. Toad, tbh

[rancid slate]

Besides Harvey, but his task wasnt that big to consider

[lunar axle]

The hotel is just a facade. It is actually a laboratory where the scientists are working on harnessing the power of the lake.

The five guests were research subjects

[rancid slate]

Thats the plot for the Rusty Lake movie

(Jack Black as Mr. Owl)

[lunar axle]

Can't wait for him to sing Dale-uh, Dale-uh, Dale-uh

[grand locust]

NOOOO,NOT THE CHEF!

[royal notch]

Imagine him going:-The elixirrr!-!

[worn birch]

NOOOOO

[brazen saffron]

Guys I have a theory

What if mr.crow is James dad

Bec if you think about it his uncle died on mysterious circumstances

And Mr crow is William vanderboom's brother

[grand locust]

Aldous being James dad fits

[floral mauve]

This possibility certainly exists

[azure bay]

I see an inconsistency. How can he be such a horrible father whose disappearance didn't even bother his own son but at the same time such a loyal brother?

[grand locust]

Albert is horrible brother/uncle and son,yet he is loving and Dotting father to Rose.
His dynamic isn’t same with different people in family

Besides,back then,Fathers role in child’s life was almost minimal to being present sometimes.
Aldous was merely present as husband and father.
It’s not unrealistic

[azure bay]

Albert has reasons. Aldous doesn't

Even if you are distant, it's your heir. Even if you are cynical about it, he's at least a token of your status

Such distance better suits being just another uncle

[grand locust]

Hmmmm,true
Tho I still don’t know how to feel about Vander brothers having third sibling

Buuuut,on other hand:
a lot of times we are shown 3 siblings:
eilenders,Vanderbooms

Like three children in family is constant for Lake

[azure bay]

As I ponder, it's not that bad. Even without all this numerology, a 3rd brother is akin to VanderBros' parents. They have to exist somewhere but they aren't relevant and probably aren't interesting

[grand locust]

Funny how each time the sibling dynamic has pattern:
oldest being the normal one (Jacob and Samuel)
Middle is mystic and related to secret(Emma and Alizabeth)
And youngest being weird one,also has some revival stuff going on (David and Albert)

If this pattern is true,We can try to predict who is third sibling can be

[azure bay]

Idk, Albert feels more mystic than Emma.

Elisabeth despite being mystic also feels weirder than David

[grand locust]

I want more in terms of mystic to viewer:
as we don’t know what caused Elizabeth’s blindness,same goes to Emma pregnancy

Tho yeah,weirdness is not factor,it’s Rusty lake

[rancid slate]

But the Vanderboom triplets are exactly the same age-

[grand locust]

Yes,but Samuel was born first triples,Emma second and Albert was Last of triplets

[sacred portal]

Yuh, I just had a little idea regarding David: what if he has CIP (congenital insensitivity to pain), or the inability to feel physical pain?

Just consider it for a moment: unfazed when shot with an arrow, perfectly happy after being frozen in an iceberg, doesn’t even move if he’s being swarmed by multiple blood-sucking flies, doesn’t show any distress in Birthday when lying against the tree up until he starts to become Corrupted.

And while he does show distress with the swords in MRMS, it’s for a brief second, so in my mind, any pain he might feel is very minimal.

Cool idea, right?

[azure bay]

there's 1 uncertainty concerning the guests

they may technically be different persons

at least new bodies

at most new personalities

even if David doesn't feel pain, Mr. Rabbit may be different

BUT

if otherwise, the argument "he's fine when we stab him on stage" doesn't seem valid

[sacred portal]

True, but Mr. Rabbit (while he does die from the swords in Hotel) he doesn’t show distress. And in MRMS he only shows a little bit, so I think my point is still a pretty steady one

[azure bay]

he isn't meant to

it's meant to be a trick

until it isn't

[sacred portal]

Then somehow we royally screwed up in Hotel and ended up murdering him, lmao

[azure bay]

https://tenor.com/s6A8.gif

[sacred portal]

I’m sure Jakob would agree 😭

Anyway, I think I am gonna stick with the “David has CIP” thing as a cool little headcanon. I think it’s a neat idea. Thanks for discussing it with me!

[grand locust]

It explains a lot of stuff and his unhingedness:
brother doesn’t fear something if he can’t feel it,right?

[azure bay]

From rational pov "would explain A & B" isn't strong evidence

[grand locust]

Well yeah,there is no confirming,it’s just like “huh,yeh,it connects dots” type of headcanon

[spiral horizon]

wait.

if mr. rabbit died at that time, then who is on birthday and the 10 year special?

[rancid slate]

Mr. Rabbit

He's dead

Corrupted

So

Pretty physical

Death aint stopping a corrupted soul

[spiral horizon]

q. It is not clear to me - is Mr. Owl aware of the connection between Laura and William? Is it possible that Mr. Crow did not tell hin about it?

[royal notch]

It' s not. She' s the key for the elixir and the "sacrifice" to enlighten Dale, collecting her memories is a fundamental part of their schemes. The book in the cave and the murals (most probably done by them) make it clear.

[ionic plaza]

Did William himself know that?

[royal notch]

I don' t think he was so knowledgeable or powerful to choose exactly who to be (also because he would have choosen to be a male again, probably). I assume the Vanderboom brothers just though about only having the assurance he would be human again, which mustn' t have been an easy task either.

[honest rain]

I have a theory that Nicholas deliberately baited Jacob to go to the Paradise Island, seeing as they ||got rid of Caroline first||; and then the whole family waited for things to get really bad on the island shortly before writing that letter to Jaaacob

I also have a theory that maybe the 'servant of the lake' turns into Mr Bat, and then Mr Owl and/or Crow inducts Mr Bat into the hotel

[grand locust]

Yooooooooo!that makes sense!

[ionic plaza]

Hold up

You might be onto smth

[fiery wing]

Mr Bat lore would go so hard

[spiral horizon]

but, to what end? why is so important that mr. bat becomes the servant of the lake?

[grizzled bluff]

Mr. Bat more like Mr. Rad, because he rocks.

(More seriously: he's one of the few characters in a fairly significant/noticable role with basically no origin, so he is an interesting avenue to explore)

[wheat ore]

if would be the funniest crossover if Mr. Bat was an orphan

[grand locust]

Maybe third Vanderboom sibling is Girl?
Eilenders had one girl,Vanderboom triplets had one girl

[rancid slate]

When Ida marries to Samuel she turns into a Vanderboom

So if a Vanderboom sister had James with a guy she wouldnt be Vanderboom

So James's father most likely is a Vanderboom and not the mother

Unless they change the rules

[grand locust]

There might be a chance
Sometimes,depending on which Last name is more important,child can take Mothers last name(?)
There are some cases when woman’s clan/side of family/last name was above fathers by status and It was the Man who could take wife’s Last name

Not a big,but a chance

[azure bay]

so far it's just a stretch

possible isn't always plausible

[grand locust]

That’s true

[rancid slate]

Something I noticed is that water is capable of holding/containing the corrupted souls

Both in Hotel and TPW

And, in some way, the whole Laks itself

As the corrupted guests wander in the depths

But also near its surface

As in The Lake/HB and C23 (Cabin)

And also in the Roots painting in SR and MRMS

The only exception is Mr Rabbit in Birthday

But I dunno

He's called "Evil" Mr Rabbit and not "Corrupted" so maybe he's not corrupted?

Wouldnt really make sense if he wanted to escape "that state"

Or maybe he was just less corrupted and that allowed him to not be affected by the "water shield"

And still speaking of him

I think his ending in Birthday was not due to the bleeding

But the touch of Dale

Like Dale slowly starting to manifest his Deva powers or something

https://tenor.com/view/mr-rabbit-cube-escape-birthday-flash-beam-cube-escape-rusty-lake-gif-12945360073676825843

(This scene)

Otherwise, Im not really what could be doing it

Usually the player does something to the CSs

[azure bay]

To be fair, the player interaction doesn't always mean the protagonist interaction.

A small example: Dale didn't stand there with a whip making the Lady sing. And he didn't get angry and definitely didn't cut her throat for bad singing.

[rancid slate]

What would be your guess/thought about what happened to Mr. Rabbit there?

[azure bay]

I strongly believe he's corrupted and "dying". Likely tanking back to square 1 of corruption. It looks to me as if he's emanating some energy that is being absorbed by the tree.

On thematical level I believe that tree represents Dale's soul.

No proofs I can provide so do with that what you will

[rancid slate]

Similar to corrupted Caroline but in a different way?

[azure bay]

I'm not sure what happened to Caroline

sure it looked like she dissolved in Jakob but it seems counterintuitive with samsara in picture. Rabbit, on the other hand, could've been teleported to the lake or simply turned invisible William-style

[rancid slate]

Assuming he's double dead, maybe he's now with Caroline /j

[azure bay]

imagine Mr. Rabbit using cubes in The Lake to time travel to Hotel window and Birthday and his death expelled him back. But only the version of him that failed because Birthday ending in that paradigm is a timeline twice altered.

I'm sure overthinking all of that

[rancid slate]

What if CRabbit in Hotel was just the manifestation of his feelings? Like Laura in Seasons seeing herself outside too

And maybe also all the CSs that the player sees on the moon multiple times

[rancid slate]

Would make sense if we played as Mr. Rabbit, but maybe not with Harvey

[azure bay]

1. Not sure it was connected to feelings. Could be flashbacks or CLaura seeing herself due to cube traveling while corrupted.

2. Even if it is "feelings", it's subjective and Harvey has nothing to do with that. He wouldn't be able to see the rabbit

[rancid slate]

We need a Mr Rabbit game

[azure bay]

We need a Mr. Rabbit game

and this time it has to be canon

[rancid slate]

A Mr Rabbit game with no hidden cards magic tricks