The Affairs of Passing Gods: Rain World's Full Story 

Amazing video! I loved your analysis and all your interpretations! And the voice acting was on point. I have a full on crack theory that I've held close to my heart because I believe it's very sweet, that being the idea that there aren't actually 8 slugcats. Gourmie, Survivor, and Monk are their own kitties, but I like to think that the other 5 are the same slugcat reincarnating over and over and finding themselves drawn back to pebbles and moon, due to the lingering affections instilled into a tiny little spearmaster by Suns' care for Pebbles and by Moon's kindness. A compulsion that grew stronger when Pebbles assisted Artificer in the journey, later personified by the hunter, who returned to NSH to be purposed yet again into little Rivulet (because there's no way Riv isn't purposed) before finally culminating in the Saint. The arrant cycle, spinning in on itself forever to ascend all iterations of the iterators

Something is too funny about the random gods giving their monologues about anger or empathy and whatnot and the scugs are just backflipping and throwing spears into the walls and eating pearls

Imagine being some random Iterator on the other side of the world, just vibing and doing quantum hypermath, unaware of the borderline Shakespearean Real Housewives of Rainworld shenanigans going down between Suns, Harassment, Pebbles, and Moon.

I love how these god like robots are always finding themselves needing help from some sewer rats

The emphasis on that “Land fish” sounded like such a slur 😂

i absolutely love the way pebbles delivered the line "i struggle to accept being a bug..." it 110% sounded exactly how i imagine he would actually say that

YES it is dramatic to witness the consequences of random gods. YES it is also viscerally hilarious to be trying to say all of this and staring down at a slugcat doing quadruple backflips effortlessly in the reduced gravity of your chamber. These two opinions coexist.

Upon the ending of the saint campaign, the player gets an achievement called “the cycle”. Maybe the cycle isn’t life and death, as nothing ever dies. Maybe the cycle is ascension and repetition, and everything is eventually fated to meet the void sea. One of the echoes also questions how many civilisations existed before the ancients, how many had ascended. They all ultimately served the void, in their attempts to break the cycle, while not realising that this is the cycle.

I like how Moon's Overseers show an image of Monk carrying 2 neurons! And when Riv gets to her, Moon has 7 nuerons instead of the 5 we've always seen before. So the brave little yellow guy canonically took some time time out of their search for their sibling to help Moon!

The saint reaches the cusp of ascension, staring into the face of eternity, and chooses that eternity too must ascend.

Slugcat then: "No... my family..." Slugcat now: "COME MY SLUGGY BRETHEREN, LET US JOIN THE ENTITIES THAT MOULDED US, JOIN THEM IN THE VOID!"

The first ending for artificer is likely the canon one, due to the fact that the scavenger population seemed to peak around their story… and… become drastically reduced in future tales. It’s safe to assume that the artificer completed their mission set upon them by five pebbles.

To whoever voiced moon in the pearl reading, this is the most calmed I've been in a rain world video

This game is as much about redemption as it is about karma and death. The story of Five Pebbles maturing and owning up to his mistakes is great! The idea of self sacrifice to help another you have wronged is heartwarming in this case, despite the tragedy it caused on both sides.

Arti's ascension ending is almost certainly non canon, because in future timelines there are no Scavs on Pebbles can, seemingly suggesting her slaughter was successful. I guess you could argue she got as far as the Metropolis echo and turned back at its warning

The Saint seems like a gift to a dying world to me. Where they came from doesn't matter as much as their purpose; to free everything from their struggles. Being sent back is, I believe, much simpler than being unable to ascend, or a punishment for misguided beliefs or a truly endless cycle. Being sent back is a message. 'Your job isn't done. Come back when you're finished.'

This was honestly a movie of sorts. Rainworld lore is too beutifull man, had me teraing up for moon and pebles. The voice acting was absolutely top tier

I’d never heard of this game but was utterly captivated by the ideas presented here. This is the most remarkable sci fi game I’ve seen since Soma.

Saint carries a greater burden than even the iteraters, able to save everyone but himself. And there is no cure, no redemption, no way to take away his curse. He will live to see civilizations rise, and fall until the planet crumbles to dust, and blows away. everyone, and everything he knows will be gone, but he will remain. Having this curse, and choosing to help everyone around him is the most powerful form of selflessness. saint had literally nothing to gain, nothing to get in return, and yet he gives them the gift he can never have, and the peace he can only dream of. Thus is the fate not of a slugcat, but of a benevolent broken god

1:19:45 considering they don’t attack you, I’ve always interpreted that the Guardians actually wanted you to ascend them, perhaps since they no longer have the purpose of guarding the void sea and perhaps also cannot ascend through natural means

I like how srs seemed more concerned over the fate of the Spearmaster than Five Pebbles.

I finished Saint's campaign some days ago. Almost entirely spoiler free. Not gonna lie, seeing five pebbles in his dilapidated form, barely clinging to consciousness and replaying an off tune pearl because it's all he has left. Man, that shit broke my heart. Thankfully up until that point I hadn't seen anything about the campaign.

During moon's stage with Spearmaster, I feel as though it would have been prudent to leave in her "Scream" from in game. It is so powerful, especially after you've played the base game. They don't make sounds like that.

Some (lengthy and rambling, sorry) thoughts: 1. Artificer is maybe more relevant to the story - or at least, the slugcats' story, if not that of the iterators- than this video implies. We don't get to see interactions between scavengers and slugpups at points earlier in the timeline than their campaign since they don't appear naturally without hacking the game, but at the points where we're meant to be able to encounter pups, the scavs are /universally terrified/ of them. Artificer's reign of terror leaving a lasting impression on scavenger society, perhaps? (It might also inform why Hunter starts with negative scav rep, being closest to Artificer in both timeline and appearance.) 2. Another possible interpretation for Saint and their ending? - Saint is possibly, for whatever reasons of nature or nurture, a bodhisattva (often glossed/summarized as 'a Buddhist saint'). The actual concept is a bit more complex in practice, but in simplified, Religion 101 terms, it's someone who has achieved the enlightenment needed to escape the cycle of death and rebirth, but voluntarily rejects transcendence and remains within the karmic world in order to help guide others to transcendence. Under this interpretation, the Saint becoming an Echo/ failing to ascend and waking back up in the cycle would be not by arrogance or attachment but by choice, crossing back over the metaphorical and literal rubicon so that they can continue to ascend others. 3. Relating to your closing thoughts... I'm still kind of sloshing this around in my brain after watching this, so it's not as coherent or well articulated as my earlier points, but I was really struck by the juxtaposition of Pebbles dismissing slugcats with 'I can't even help myself' (I'd never noticed that particular repetition before without having all the iterator dialogue laid out like this without all the gameplay in between), with his effort, in Rivulet's scenario, to help Moon even at great cost to himself, and their reconciliation as he finally accepts 'I don't have to go through this alone' and finally lets himself /BE/ helped rather than pushing everyone away. Even though the help and support she can offer him is so much less at this point than when they were both in their prime, it still feels like such a major high point in the game's storyline. Regardless of what one makes of the karma/cycles/void/echoes/rubicon/metaphysics stuff, I think you're dead on with your summary of Rain World's themes re: forgiveness, connection/openness, and hope. Thank you for taking the time to put together this vid, it was not only skillfully done but also great food for thought.

I cried so many times as i listened to this during work. My coworkers must think im nuts. Its tragic... But so happy too.

i would interpret saint's ability to "perform an ascension" as being the same thing as having your karma level increased, and that saint's campaign simply offers a glimpse into the life of an echo.

Honestly, I'm not sure that there's a definitive canon ending for Hunter. Permanently dying only affects the world if that's the ending you get on that save file. If you ascend, there's no HLL or karma flower left behind, whereas for Artificer we *know* that she killed the scavenger chieftain because there are significantly fewer scavengers left in the world after that point, and no more elite scavengers or their unique weaponry. Plus, the scavengers are still wary of slugcats by the time Hunter comes along. Then there's also the fact that dying is more of a fail-state than anything. It's the only ending without an associated cutscene. Also, Rivulet was absolutely purposed. They have a pearl containing a map straight to Pebbles' rarefaction cell! I think they were sent to take that cell and give it to Moon and it was just a happy coincidence that Pebbles wanted that anyways.

You didn't mention it, but canonically monk brings Moon about 4 neurons, as well as finding her cloak in the wreck of her body and giving it to her. Additionally Riv has a pearl that points to the location of the Rarefraction Cell, and given she has the mark of communication, it is not impossible that she was told to get it by her iterator.

VA acting across the whole video is 10/10. And your wife's voice just IS Moon in my headcanon now. She's perfect. Easily one of my favourite lore / story videos on YT

1:16:29 This her dialogue while an echo is active in her superstructure in the Saint’s presence. If you return after meeting the echo (she of course has no recollection of already seeing you), her dialogue is a lot more mundane, and she doesn’t seem to recognise anything special about you. Just relieved that some of your race still survive.

Wow, you're the only one who connected all the dialogues chronologically. I now see the story in a new light. Thank you so much. The universe of Rain World and the cycles of life remind me of the Land of Lustrous plot, where they also sought escape and ascension, and someone had the power to ascend others.

It wasn't that clearly stated in the video, and its not a big deal, but the Artificer becomes an echo after it tries to ascend, due to it's constant wrath holding it back.

Incredible video! It's an honor to be featured at the end, you did an amazing job encapsulating the story of the iterators. I love this

i think the idea of the slugcats having a "canon" ending doesn't vibe with the game, at least not with non-dp slugcats. ascension seems to grant the ascendee whatever they desired in life, so presumably hunter doesn't actually wake up with nsh again, but instead gives them a vision which sets them at peace? otherwise tho this is a really cool video! I'm glad to see more lore stuff out here

Swear to god the only Rain World video that doesn't shitpost abridge the story and includes the actual texts and dialogues as it's presented in respect towards our own interpretations being able to take place

Spoilers below the break (if it’s even needed for this video) I actually legitimately found the Cell before I made it to Five Pebbles. Simply (“””simply”””) exploring his superstructure and surviving (“””surviving”””) the Uber-cancer that had spread throughout. Came across the Cell a little ways before I found Pebbles, and took it like a true curious slugcat would. Also I figured it was what was causing the shortened cycles and broken shelters, so… yoink.

The part where you showed what happened to hunter tore my heart apart, amazing video!

Some toughts: The voice acting is incredible Does this universe have space like ours does? Like can they go other planets or do other planets not even exist? If they do is the void fluid dust thing also happening with them? I find it quite ironic how the iterators tried to find the solution to the great problem which was a very low chance and they couldnt but lttm had the very low chance of interrupting 5p in a very crucial moment and was able to, rw is just a ton of things going wrong a lot of the time Also i dont think we need canon endings for some slugcats, ill post on the discord an image that represents it

It'd be super cool if you, your wife and some other people all Voice Acted Rain World and turned it into a mod, you guys' voices fit so well with the characters!

Watching this video is like reading an incredible dystopian philosophical science fiction novel where in the end it leaves a permanent mark. Thanks for making this! Amazing work.

This game never fails to get me so emotional over the iterators' struggles, not just the slugcat's own adventures. But I think what hurts the most is knowing that Five Pebbles experienced the same pain that the ancients who became echos did, and in his torment he refused to reflect on his own faults and blamed everyone and everything else. Additionally, in regards to the Saint's ending, I believe that the attempt to ascend the void worm and becoming an echo as a result was essentially karma itself punishing the saint for abusing the gift it had been given. Not necessarily that the Saint was consciously attempting to circumvent the cycle out of pride, but for the transgression of denying others the journey to enlightenment themselves. At it's core the solution the ancients and the iterators saw was the antithesis of ascension yet even by chance and the machinations of infinity it can occur.

When voice acting 5 pebbles you have an amazing way of portraying the bitterness and hatred in him, even when he's not angry or lashing out I can still hear a deep sense of malice and defeat in the iterators voice, you voice pebbles how harlan Ellison voices A.M, it's amazing

I believe the Saint is essentially Rain World’s Buddha. He achieves enlightenment, but instead of being content in his nirvana, and leave the world behind, he chooses to upset the process and tumble back down into the world so that he can lead others to transcendence. He will now give ascension to any creature who has desire of it

Rivulet actually contains a pearl in it's belly that outlines the schematics for an iterator structure, and also highlights the location of the rarefaction cell. So it's entirely possible that rivulet could find the rarefaction cell before meeting pebbles.

My perspective is that Saint is a Bodhisattva, the beings that put off their ascension to help others ascend. He needs to achieve max karma to gift others with max karma, an instantaneous release from the Cycles, as an Echo does, living out the dream of rejecting its own ascension that we start Saint run by seeing. Unlike Echoes, which indefinitely adhere to a location, unable to move on for any number of reasons, they all have one thing in common. They were, in some small way, decisions to hold onto something. Saint holds onto the dream, the goal of all things ascending. This held desire is the goal of the Bodhisattva. Also, when Saint interacts with the Void Worms at the top of Rubicon, he isn't approaching Ascension and being rejected. He's approaching reality from the other side, in a dream like the dreams we see at the end of every other slugcat's campaign. Saint falls into the Void Sea, falling and falling, not swimming, but the screen eventually goes blank and then suddenly we see Saint in the threshold between. The threshold has many barriers trying to keep entities from traversing, and I theorize these are like the guardians to the Garden of Eden. If the goal of the Cycle is to keep mortals mortal, then the goal of the guardians is to keep the immortals immortal. Or it would be if guardians and the beings in Rubicon couldn't be ascended with Saint's powers. While the mechanical Guardians, not merely the other denizens of Rubicon, are resilient and take multiple hits to ascend, they can be ascended, indicating they have some sort of purposeful resilience to ascension, presumably as a part of their function. They trap Saint in the room they are in, but allow other creatures to appear or leave freely. However, once Saint gets past them all, Saint ends up... swimming through Void Fluid, which they didn't do when they ended up in Rubicon originally. One thing I always felt needed to be pointed out is that the Void Worms have the same shapes and numbers of appendages as the Echoes. Slender, long protrusions leading to antennae-like tendrils, a pair of more generic tendrils. Saint acquires them after hitting the Void Worm with an Ascension, as if the Void Worm initiated them. The Void Worms also decide whether or not to drag the slugcats down to the depths of the Void Sea. Can it not be true that they also send the Echoes back, as they fail to pass the Rubicon test? That sending them back, sending Saint back, somehow makes them a little more like the Void Worms? And the fact that we don't see any Void Worms in Saint's run until Saint is on the Other Side seems to imply they can either switch sides... or the Void Sea dissolved them over the extreme timeframes between the others' and Saint's campaigns. Perhaps if it is the former, they sent Saint back. But, rather than becoming a true echo, Saint rejected the ascension in their post-ascension dream, having succeeded in their own natural ascension, leaving their dream self to suddenly be rewound in time and injected back into their physical body, further back in their cycle. We see this as a green slugcat glow just prior to the very end, with a flash, as their mind turns into an Echo, but their real body is not. This is their Cycle. TL;DR Saint ascended, but rejected ascension to ascend others. This made Saint have to return from the Other Side, back in an older part of their own Cycle.

This is a phenomenal summary of the affairs of passing gods. The usage of only Rain World tracks for background music was a great idea! They were implemented in well and it shows even more of Rain World. I noticed lore being left out, still leaving things for players to discover. Although it is over an hour long, if you're someone reading this comment before watching the video, I highly recommend you watch the entire video. It *will* be worth your time.

Heads up that Rain world is on sale for 55% off, and Downpour 15% off, until the 23rd for the Steam Spring Sale!

Not sure if anyone else still comes back to this video, but I use this as background noise to study to. Its soothing in a weird way considering the story that takes place but the music and dialogue help me focus.

I always thought 5 Pebbles would sound less... scratchy, gravelly, deep? Listening to him speed ancient gives the impression he has a higher voice, like Moon, but a bit deeper. But, that is merely my opinion, and it works well enough

I love how 5P just insults gourmand when you encounter him 💀

I love the phrase "passing gods" as used by 5P (I'm pretty sure it was 5P). They are passing, yet stationary-- passing, as in, dying-- and they are

I absolutely adore this video, it is a beautiful love letter to rain world. This game inspires such powerful emotions, and I think you were able to perfectly capture the game's tone here. The voice actors were incredible as well, especially moon and four needles under plentiful leaves.

Holy shit I just found the perfect video ever regarding Rain World and it's lore- This is so wonderfully made, every single part of it, so obviously made by someone who cares deeply for this game and it's world. Thank you for this video, it's a work of art that I'll likely end up rewatching many times over.

God I would want to see a dubbing mod made by so much. I think i watched this video like 15 times yet it never stops to amaze me how well your voices fit all of the characters.

I was brought here because of dazgames, another rain world creator. The presentation was great, especially the voices you gave.

30:28 i'm dying at how Spearmaster is just standing there with the pearl in its hand looking at Moon like "uh lady you ok?"

Great video, man! I've never seen a Rain World lore video with this level of detail and care put into it. There's so much stuff that I now get thanks to you. I'll be on the watch for your future projects.

" L A N D F I S H "

Land fish Wet mouse Gill rabbit Water weasel Damp rat

Calling Saint's loop a curse is repeating the mistake of the ancients of thinking the cycle is something needed to be escaped from in the first place

I find watching Pebbles downfall just so depressing

i don't normally comment on videos, but this is seriously a great video. I know more than the average person about rain world and it's a game thats near and dear to my heart, but man, this is high quality stuff. Definitely going to share with friends to try and get them into rainworld.

Custom theory of mine is that Saint is that "triple afirmative". Being able to "Ascend" everything. Its winter by the time we play as it, cause he was "made" in a far away land, reaching late to the game map. but idk

I want you to know that I watched this video from start to finish without pause and was sad when it ended. This is incredible storytelling, congratulations

after explaining the lore to a friend of mine i came to an realization, correct me in anything if i'm wrong, but i believe that the iterators might have found the solution. during rivulet's campaign we can see that the other iterators in the background above the clouds are fine, but suddenly in the next campaign, they have all collapsed as we can't see any of them anymore, i used to think that this was because a lot of time had passed between saint's and riv's campaign but if so much time had passed i think that there would be much more signs of structural degradation all over the map, so i came up with the theory that the other iterators found the triple affirmative, ascended and collapsed all roughly at the same time, explaining how all of them are gone in saint's campaign, but since communication is impossible to pebbles and moon due to structural damage, they were never been sent the signal or made aware that the solution had been found, then i started thinking about suns and nsh, would they simply abandon pebbles and moon? if not how could they help? the only way for them to communicate with pebbles and moon is through a slugcat and even so how would moon or pebbles set the solution in action with how much little they can do in their state? then i realized, the saint, maybe suns and nsh did send a slugcat to help moon and pebbles, one that would not give them the information on how to do it but simply ascend them directly, that would explain why and how the saint exists and why and how he ended up there, he was sent by suns and nsh specifically to ascend moon and pebbles, this theory might have somethings wrong but it sounds very plausible as the devs confirmed that challenge 70 is not cannon

That was an awesome video! I was waiting for an exploration of the lore of Rain World in a style like this. I greatly enjoyed it

The amount of work and effort you`ve put into this is astounding. The voice acting for the iterators and sound distortions are great, and I love that you`ve structured the story chronologically, it makes it much easier to follow, and it`s very satisfying to see their inner turmoils progressing with time. Thank you very much for doing this, absolutely my favourite RW lore video.

I got this video in my recommendations a couple of months ago having no idea what Rain World is, and now I'm a new fan. Thanks so much for introducing me to such a gem of a game!

i have my own theory/head cannon on saint, perhaps Sliver Of Straw created the Saint, and gave Saint 3 objectives. 1: Accend Sliver of Straw. 2: if it was succesfull, sent out the triple affermative broadcast and 3: Accend all Itterators.

Anyone who enjoys the iterators may also enjoy the "The Culture" novels by Ian M. Banks.

Amazing video! I really needed this!

I hope someday we’ll receive some answers about Saint. The entire campaign is virtually mysteries and assumptions

Listened to this whole in one sitting, great video and voice acting!

The voice acting in the video is the best... (and now we need Rain World Vocalized mod)

Fantastic video! Deserves way more views for the quality it is and the amount of work that must've been put into it

This was absolutely wonderful! I can tell how much work you put into it. I really hope this gets more attention, it absolutely deserves it.

This video is amazing! thank you so much for putting in the work to do something like this. I've just finished my first campaign a few days ago (which btw I did while watching your old videos, this game can be very confusing at times xD) , and tbh I didn't understand a single thing story wise, so this just saved my life

Amazing in-depth video! Really appreciate all the effort that went into it and it paid off :)

This video is so well made and really helped me understand the story of this gem of a game better. Thanks so much for your efforts and great job!

The algorithm started recommending me Rain World stuff about a week ago, and I've poured through everything since. This video was perfectly timed, and very well done. I hope it blows up

I’ve been wondering where my mental voice for moon came from for a while now, and randomly decided to rewatch this video today. I was… not expecting to get my answer immediately upon doing so lmao Also the zoom in on “land fish” absolutely ended me, and the high detail render when Pebbles basically describes Rivulet as “no thoughts head empty” had me borderline crying it was so funny. The wet mouse truly is a being

I have watched this like ten times and it's now my comfort Video when I'm anxious. Thank you very much

I love this video. I keep coming back from time to time just to listen to the story. This video perfectly reaches the goal of clarifying the story of the game and its world. And on top of that, it is incredibly well documented, written, narrated and edited. 10/10, congratulations.

I recall someone said that the Saint dream at the start was a dream of something it wanted or remembered, like other echos being bound to the spot they remember, but the fact Saint remembered/dreamt of max karma didn't allow it to become an Echo

Love to see such a high quality rain world video coming out! I just adore the game and seeing something like this makes me happy there are other folks who might love it even more than I do. I remember watching someone play through the base game (because the games too hard for me to get through any of it lol) and thinking that story/lore was more about the ancients and their society and the cycles and how to break free. In a way it is about those things but obviously I see now that it was about the iterators. It really makes me sad to think about their story, how the Ancients built them and effectively abandoned them, made them with such little thought or little care for them. Idk it's just really tragic. I hope Moon and Pebbles and everyone else are happy in the Rubicon or wherever else. I can't help but be a little relieved that they are together there, at the end of it all.

This was a great video that allowed me to understand a beautiful story in a game I’ve had for years but never quite clicked with. You guys did a great job making it all make sense and the voice acting was great from all performers!

Thank you; it was a struggle to follow the story through th let's play videos here on youtube, you did an amazing recap

gosh i love watching videos of people explaining the lore of my favourite games this is awesome

Hunter canon ending definitely isn't HLL... Since we don't ever hear from NSH again we can assume Hunter's secondary mission, ascending, was a success. Where 5P put purposed organisms in himself to circumvent the taboo, NSH put a part of himself in a purpose organism. I think the implication of Hunter's ascension is that NSH also ascended through this method.

Absolutely stunning work on this video, love the sound design. Thank you for this

This has to be one of my favorite videos I've seen in a while. I loved the voice acting you did for all the iterators; I'll hear them in my head from now on out.

I've listened to this video multiple times at work and it's only today that I realize that the voice acting is not in the game, and is entirely this video. Absolutely beautiful work to whoever did the voices, genuinely disappointed I can't hear more lines from the characters in this way when I finally play through rainworld.

i know nothing about rainworld but their cool ai engine, i watched the whole thing in one sitting and then sat there for some time just existing. what a great game. what a great story. i love pebbles and i love moon and i love all the slugcats and i love you for making this video, it was very easy to follow and extremely fun to watch

This is an incredible video!! Thanks for putting out into the world ❤

This is excatly the perfect kind of lore video i wanted for this game, and you made it happen. Thank you.

Absolutely lovely video. The voice acting, the editing, the storytelling is all on point. There are some points I don't exactly agree with, but that doesn't matter. Your effort to both bring new people to this game, and stir the passion of those already here. I admire you.

Your conclusion even though as you said there may be no ovearching theme still managed to make me cry. When you started listing the smaller thenes that can be observed, it finally dawned on me that I can relate to a lot of them and the feels got me

A beautiful video - even for those who aren't familiar with Rainworld

The amount of detail and effort put into this video was crazy. Great job man.

I believe both artificer endings are cannon as her ascension cutscene shows that she didnt fully forgive the scavengers, and she becomes an echo