Remembering Larynx the Scavenger

Holy wow, what an emotional day.

What an emotional GAME.



So, I'm about 11 hours into Rain World, stocking up supplies in the Industrial Complex for my first serious venture into the Garbage Wastes. I've got enough food, but I'm lacking pearls and now that I'm back in the complex there's a ton of lizards blocking the route back, and they come back every day.



I figure the easiest solution to this problem, since I'm a terrible shot, would be to get some backup. Since I'm not brave enough yet to approach a lizard and there aren't any squidcada in my area, I decided on killing two bats with one brick and getting the Chieftan achievement.



I was not at all aware of how emotionally demanding the world of Scavengers could be.



At first, even finding them was a struggle. I'd seen them before, so I knew they were *around*, but they were nomadic and didn't always pop up in the same locations. Even after finding their hidden cashe and raiding for pearls to give to them, any progress I made was negated by the sheer amount of time between encounters.



Until today, of course. I'd finally found the scavengers again, and was dropping off a pearl. The scavenger in question was an unusually bright tan, and stuck out among its peers who were mostly black, white, or dark brown. I'm not sure why, but in the perhaps ten second between the scavenger picking up the pearl and the events that followed, I named it Larynx.



Larynx grabbed the pearl, took maybe five steps away from me towards a hidden cashe, and a blue lizard erupted from the same pipe, snatched him and ran away while the rest of his tribe could only sit and watch.



I, fed up with the lack of progress and insulted with the game's new attempt at crushing my dreams, took action where usually I'd side with the scavengers and hide. On impulse, I grabbed one of the bombs Larynx had dropped while grabbing the pearl, wall jumped my way to the roof and chased the lizard through the pipe into the next screen. Just as it would have escaped into the open, where it could have easily climbed from my reach, I chucked the bomb, the explosion pierced the room, and everyone was knocked back; me, the lizard, Larynx, and his crew, which had followed behind me.



I managed to scramble back to my feet, amazed the blast hadn't killed me, just in time to watch Larynx pull himself from beneath the corpse.



Needless to say, we were immedate friends. That night, my acheivement progress skyrocketed from maybe ten percent to maybe ninety. Larynx began waiting for me each morning to emerge from my hibernation chamber, which was across a pool and out of his reach. He followed me through the tunnels, dragging his tribe along for the ride. If I ever jumped a gap he couldn't follow me past, he'd become adorably sad, reaching out for me. The rest of his tribe became tolerant as well, not minding if I snagged a spear from their back or accidentally knocked a few to the ground while blasting out of a pipe towards an unsuspecting bat.



Larynx died two cycles later.



I made the mistake of going topside for a few seconds chasing a bat, Larynx following close behind. When I saw the vulture's shadow, I scrambled back down the pipe, managing to make it just before I surely would have been snatched away.



...I waited half a cycle, but Larynx did not come back through the pipe.



I knew he didn't make it.



The rest of the tribe has taken me in since, and I now have a new roster of friends; Mauve, Cocoa, and Whiteface, as well as a new few who have joined since. I finally earned the achievement last cycle, and am one of the tribe, as I'm sure Larynx would have wanted.



I never could have imagined getting so attached to an NPC that I never shared a line of diolouge with, but when I take the dive into the void water, I know now that I'll be doing it for Larynx. RIP, buddy. RIP.





(What was your guys' experience befriending the Scavengers like? Did any of you have such a crazy time with it? Are any of you mourning the loss of a scavenger/lizard friend? I'd love to hear about it!)