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| “ | The world as we know it... came to an end eons ago. Humanity, twisted, bent, and misshapen by hubris... have entered a golden age of never-ending life. The Rotlings, blissful in their lives of decadent indulgence, are haunted by a myth. | „ |
| ~ The Narrator describing the Rotlings and their prophecy. |
| “ | Welcome to the Gaslight District! Abandoned by God! The denizens of this land are left to rot! Fester! Scab! And peel for all eternity... | „ |
| ~ The Narrator describing the Rotlings' damnation. |
The Rotlings are the main characters in the 2025 post apocalyptic-noir animated series, The Gaslight District.
They the wickest and evilest dredges of humanity left behind on Earth, the Rotlings managed to achieve immortality by forming a pact with an entity called the Black Hand. While they have lived eons of blissful indulgence, the prophecy of a human birthing from an angel's egg threatens to end the undeath that the Rotlings hold dear, hence their desire to root them out and kill them.
Appearance[]
For the most part, the Rotlings share the same generic appearance, being drab, skeletal humanoids, having a bone or stone-like texture in the harder areas of their bodies. They have box-like heads with exposed teeth and round orange eyes. Notably, all Rotlings have a mark of the Black Hand on their bodies, often on the back of their heads, which glows green when they revive. While most Rotlings are nude and bald, some, like Jack and the doomcriers wear wigs, clothes or possess facial hair. The doomcriers also have a uniform: they wear green hoods bearing the Black Hand's eye on their heads and green robes, while their leader wears a signboard saying "FEAR THE HUMAN".
Interestingly, despite being Rotlings, the members of the Smiling Dead do not resemble them. Why this is the case is unknown, though this could just be a stylistic choice. It's also possible that there are other Rotlings that do not share this generic appearance, and that they will make an appearance in the future.
History and Culture[]
When exactly the Rotlings were created and why is unknown, but it seems that in the wake of an apocalypse, of which the cause is currently unknown, many sinful and wicked humans were left on Earth, where they eventually found out about an entity known as the Black Hand. These humans would form a pact with the being, gaining eternal life in exchange for decaying for the rest of their lives. To rectify this, the Rotlings would practice organ and limb grafting, regularly replacing parts with fresher ones. However, seeing as most Rotlings today seem to resemble skeletons, it's safe to say that fresh flesh reserves are running low.
In the current era, Rotling culture is characterised by widespread hedonism and chaos. While not all Rotlings are criminals, many of them indulge freely in addictive substances and merriment, acting however they please. Criminal activity seems to be highly normalised in Rotling society, as seen from the two Rotlings stabbing each other in broad daylight within Ken's butchery. Criminal gangs also appear rather common, which many civilians appear to be part of. It also appears that the Rotlings have created a race of servile, bread-like golems such as Breadhead to serve them, complete with various products to boost physical performance, such as quick-rise yeast. The Rotlings also feed on Litterbugs: fly-like humanoids that inhabit the Gaslight District, despite the apparent sentience of these beings, seeing as one is a paying customer of Ken's butchery.
As Rotlings can't be killed, criminal gangs will silence enemies via cementing: binding the unlucky Rotling in chains and solidifying their feet in concrete, the victim is pushed into the waters surrounding the Gaslight District, sentencing them to a torturous eternity of drowning and reviving. This practice seems rather commonplace, as when Jack suffers this fate, dozens of other drowned Rotlings witness his sinking to the bottom. This torture can, of course, be ended if someone comes by and fishes up the Rotling, which seems to be the case with Jack at the end of the first episode.
Thanks to their hedonistic tendencies, the Rotlings fear only one thing: a living human. This is because a prophecy was created eons ago, heralding the hatching of a human from an angel's egg every 10,000 years. Said human has the capability to bring about the end of the Rotling's eternal lives, allowing them to be cleansed from the Earth by the Angel Mother and her spawn. As such, Rotlings fear and hate humans with incredible prejudice, with it being government orders to eliminate any humans that are sighted. As such, the Doomcriers seem to possess relatively great amounts of political power in the city, seeing as they were allowed to have a spike installed to destroy the human egg and are allowed to play instruments to herald its destruction/
Despite this, not all Rotlings are chaotic and criminal, seeing as the Gaslight District does have a police force and government which monitor the criminal activity within the city. Some Rotlings even work in close association with the Heavenly forces, acting as foot soldiers for the auxiliary services offered by Virtue Corp. In fact, the Virtues themselves seem to be ex-Rotlings, as evidenced by marks of the Black Hand located on their brains, allowing them to revive. The process of becoming a Virtue is unclear, though tapestries and documents in Temperance's lab seem to depict a Rotling consuming an angel's meat before transferring their brain into a Virtue's robotic shell. As a result of their high ranking jobs and higher-quality bodies, Virtues seem to look down upon Rotlings, treating their underlings as disposable minions. Common Rotlings share this disdain, viewing the Virtues with suspicion and distrust.
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 Villains
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Rotlings Virtue Corp. Others | ||