Blot

BLOT, also known as BLOT.xml or simply Blot, has been mentioned multiple times throughout the series. Its exact nature is currently unknown; however, there is evidence suggesting that it may be a brain implant, a virus, or a computer program. In Louse, the Blot is a character that aids the protagonist..

Overview
The current understanding of Blot is that it acts as some sort of a brain implant, given that both SHawkins and Andrew Raymond said that something was "crawling through [their] brain". If a person has Blot placed into their brain, or becomes blotted, they become a source. If one becomes a source, a spot begins to slowly spread over their body; it appears as static on camera, and what it looks like to the human eye is currently unknown. It is also implied to be what is responsible for ARKlistener's ability to use a source's eyes as cameras, as the word BLOT appears over the first instance of eye camera footage in the series, in ECKVA15. It also may be what allows ARKlistener to control sources. Preaxin appears to be related to it in some way, as SHawkins was force-fed it before being blotted. It is unknown if this is a universal trait among sources, but Andrew asked Shelby Hawkins for help to find the brightest light after revealing that he felt something in his brain; it is possible that this is something that all Blot victims which to find. It is unknown what the end goal of blotting an individual is, what it was constructed by, or how it functions outside of likely being a brain implant. It is unknown what BLOT.xml is in relation to this. According to the source menu in ECKVA17, there are currently five sources, with one of these sources being SHawkins.

Louse presents potentially conflicting information, as it may imply that whatever Rot represents is responsible for the static skin, rather than Blot; it may also imply that Preaxin is used to suppress it. However, this has not been confirmed.

If the static skin is meant to be indicative of sources, then multiple sources have been seen before. These include Bright Eyes and Walker from Clear Lakes 44, along with the Interference in ECKVA.

History
Blot was seemingly developed by either ECKVA Network or Clear Lakes Communications. In the ARKlistener book, it's revealed that Andrew found BLOT.xml while investigating ARKlistener; he informed Danielle Scott of it, and she requested that he send it to her, which he did. Some time after this, he was seemingly blotted, and reached out to Shelby afterwards.

In the present day, the Broadcaster kidnapped SHawkins at the abandoned house, and blotted them while they were kidnapped. ECKVA13 may imply that the process had something to do with the brightest light. Afterwards, they were dumped back at their house, where they quickly left; they noticed that the spot on their arm was spreading, and it covered a significant portion of them by ECKVA18, at which point they stated that they were unlocked. It is unknown what this means, or what the Broadcaster's motivation was for doing this to SHawkins.

In Louse
Blot is one of the secondary protagonists of Louse. It is a sentient parasite that lives inside the left eye of the person that it joins. It has the capability of growing several branch-like appendages, and is able to read the thoughts and memories of the person it is currently inside. It has an adversarial relationship with Rot.

History in Louse
The Blot was found on the mountain by the Old Friend at some point. It is unknown whether the Old Friend specifically sought it out, or whether it presented itself to him. While the Old Friend was there, he called Null, the protagonist of Louse, to help end Rot.

Null arrived the day before Rot broke through the surface. When they arrived, the Old Friend explained that he was unable to nullify Rot on his own, and said that the affliction of the Blot wished to join them. Null accepted, and the Blot left the Old Friend to join Null in their left eye. The Old Friend then warned Null not to let the Blot's hatred drain their soul. Later, once they awoke and began to travel towards the opening of Rot, the Blot spoke to them. It asked them why they sought Rot. Null replied by saying that they wished to end it. The Blot called them naïve and oblivious as they began to experience pain, saying that they would only have suffering. It then retreated back into their eye.

It remained dormant until Null accepted the gift of Rot and began to be dragged downwards while offering no resistance. The Blot commented that Null failed quickly, and offered to intervene; they accepted, so it branched out of their eye as they looked down, seeing the rotting remains of the Old Friend below. It decapitated his head, and Null slid through the walls of Rot into a cavern in its main structure. They then chose to listen to the the whispering head of the Old Friend; after it spoke and liquefied, the gift of Rot finished traveling through Null to congeal into a singular mass, and conversed with them. The Blot interrupted the conversation to demand Null remove Rot; Rot countered by demanding they remove the Blot. They chose to follow the Blot, and allowed it to take control of their hand to rip out the Eye of Rot. It attached itself to Null's right hand as the Blot retreated back into their eye.

After encountering the Love of Rot, Null chose to voluntarily give in to it; the Blot intervened by forcing Null to experience a flashback. In it, they relived the day they arrived at the mountain. When they remembered the Old Friend explaining that he would likely be taken by Rot, they successfully convinced him to leave. However, the Blot then directly appeared, overtaking the false memory to inform Null that despite what they wish they had done, they could never go back. It then forced Null to relive what actually happened when the Old Friend shared his concern, which was to say nothing. The Blot reappeared as the flashback drew to a close, telling them that their regret over what happened is no excuse for giving up. In response, Null chose to get up, and nullify the Love.

When they lifted themself out of the mass of Rot they were sinking into, the Love expressed confusion. Null took this opportunity to take out a nullification vial. The Blot encouraged them to throw it, while the Eye attempted to dissuade them; Null sided with the Blot, and threw it at the Love, nullifying it. After it finished dissolving, they picked up a shard of its mitestone mask, and realized they could use it to remove the Eye. The Blot once again encouraged them, saying it did not know what they were thinking, but the Eye warned them that it could see Null's intention on their face. Null sided with the Blot again and stabbed down; however, the Eye detached itself from their hand, leaving them to stab themself in the hand.

After successfully nullifying the Eye of Rot, Null prepared themself to step on the remaining eye; however, as they did so, Turmoil emerged from the darkness, asking if they could have it. Upon seeing it, the Blot spoke to Null, telling them that all of Rot must be ended. Null chose to converse with them instead, informing them that they wished to end Rot. Turmoil offered to help them end it if they gave them the eye. Despite the Blot intervening to warn Null not to do so, they gave it to Turmoil. As the two decided to journey up to the Face of Rot and the Brain of Rot, the Blot spoke with Null, informing them that it knew they wished to use Turmoil for their own benefit, while warning them to end it as soon as they were of no use, as all their pain would be for nothing if they did not.

As they continued, Turmoil asked Null what their name was; attempting to answer broke the game, resulting in multiple alternate paths being shown. Before the game fully broke, the Blot emerged to say something, but was cut off by the game glitching. One of the alternate paths showed a game over, in which Null was unable to leave the Old Friend's home on the day Rot began. In this timeline, Null died as the Blot ran away. Another one showed Null choosing to immediately nullify Turmoil, resulting in the Blot stating that it finally understood that Null was the one to end Rot. After the game repaired itself, the Blot was calmer than before, and warned Null against sharing more information, as Rot would use everything it could against them.

Null and Turmoil continued until they reached a large room. In the room, they were ambushed by the Sound of Rot, who wrapped itself around Turmoil, while the Face descended from the darkness above. It spoke to Null, claiming that Turmoil was an agent of it that brought them to it. Turmoil, in defiance, shouted for them to do what they came to do; however, in doing so, they used Null's name, informing all of Rot what it was. The Blot then spoke with Null, claiming it to be a betrayal, while demanding they end all around them. Rather than give in to its demand, Null decided to focus on the Face, throwing a nullification vial into its mouth. This resulted in it growing furious and trapping Null, forcing them to watch as Turmoil was absorbed by the Sound. The Blot then chose to intervene, saying that the vial needed more time to end the Face; Null allowed it to do so, and the Blot said that they could save Turmoil. It then burst out of Null's eye and restrained the Face, breaking Null free. As Null watched, they saw Turmoil almost entirely absorbed by the Sound; however, the Blot was beginning to be nullified as well, the vial spreading onto it as it restrained the Face. Faced with a choice between the two, Null chose to save Turmoil. After saving Turmoil and damaging the Sound, they heard the Face's remains crash behind them. Turning around, they saw that it had been nullified, but that the Blot was almost dead, too. Approaching the remains of the Face, Null saw that the Blot was still barely alive, and let it back into their eye. It crawled in, telling them to end Rot, before falling silent as it began to recover. Null and Turmoil continued up to the Brain, and conversed with it, before Null decided to throw a vial at it and kill it. Before it died, it spoke to Turmoil in a way that Null could not understand. The Blot's senses were to damaged to know what was said, but it was able to hear that something was said. Following Turmoil climbing into the shell and taking control of the spread of Rot, it spoke to Null about this, explaining that they could not fully hear what was said. Null asked Turmoil what the Brain told them, and they calmly explained that it told them their true name: the Seed of Rot. However, they rejected this name, saying that they were Turmoil. The Blot told Null that the Brain told Turmoil more, and that they were hiding something; however, when Null turned around, they saw that the way back was closed.

Null traveled back down Rot to reach the Bones of Rot and the Heart of Rot; along the way, they grew exhausted. The Blot noticed and told them to take a moment to rest, which they did.

As of right now, the Blot is currently alive.