The Meaning of Home (Playthrough)

[Paracosmic]

I'm logging my current playthrough with stories! The extra rules I'm playing under are being updated as I go -- some things I didn't even think of until a little later, so please bear with me and if anything gets confusing, let me know.

Most Recent Update: Posted rules

Contents:

1. Rules

 

Here are the rules I'm following, in case anyone's interested:

1. Alphas - There is one alpha pair at all times. The children of the alpha pair are betas. They tend to stick pretty close to the nest during their  rule. After three nests, the alpha pair appoints a successor pair and steps down to the omega rank.
2. Betas - Betas aren't mated, and may have no children. This rank is made up of the children of alphas, as well as any wanderers the clan finds. Alphas are randomly picked from betas with compatible immunity, regardless of family status.
3. Omegas - The omegas are a mixed group. They are made up retired alphas, children of rogues, and the children of other omegas. Retired alphas are allowed one nest for every two alpha nests. Omegas don't pair up unless they're picked as alphas.
4. Names - All children have the default names until their are adults, when they go through a ceremony and receive their true names.

Priorities when Appointing Alphas:

1. Compatible betas.
2. Compatible beta-omega pairs.
3. Incompatible betas.
4. Incompatible beta-omega pairs.
5. Retired alphas.
6. Compatible omegas.
7. Incompatible omegas.

The goal in the inheritance rules is to see how long I can preserve a given alpha lineage.

 

I may have to modify these rules based on in-game populations and whatnot. Right now it's working well, but I'm only just on the second island in story mode, before the Tiny Green.

Next Up: The first chapter. I'll also edit this post with rules regarding deaths.

[Paracosmic]

1 - Finding Family

The Dark is cold and kind of lonely.

Here’s Adam, our lovely tiger kit. For some reason I think “kit” is the word for a baby Nicheling.

Adam grows up on the island, searching for the mythical port stone. He’s never seen one, but he’s sure he’ll know what it looks like.

Finally, on a dark and rainy day, he finds it.

The earth rumbles, and a bridge of stepping stones leads the way across the sea.

It leads to....

...an island that is definitely not Home.

Adam is still so lonely, though this island is much brighter and warmer than the Dark. Pretty much everything the Dark isn’t, to be honest.

Where is Eve? Why isn’t she spawning?

There she is. And none of the senses worked until I was right on top of her. Strange. Did she seriously just spawn?

Anyway, back to the story. Adam and Eve fall in love and mate. Eve builds a nest, because for some strange reason there are no permanests on the Bright.

Their first child is Issi.

She’s a strangely pink child. Reminds me of a less wrinkly hairless sphinx. Are kits a little wrinkly at first, I wonder?

Baby Issi is a bright-eyed little rabbil hunter, that’s for sure.

———

That’s all I got right now! I’m a little ahead of this, but I didn’t have time to sort through more screenshots before work. The end of this part marks the beginning of Adam’s era, though.

TBC...

[Goggles-kun]

YOUR EVE LOOKS JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL STARTER EVE FROM VERSION 0.1.5. AHHHH

[awesomepastabunnies]

I look forward to seeing more of this ^ ^

[Jojo]

14 hours ago, Goggles-kun said:

YOUR EVE LOOKS JUST LIKE THE ORIGINAL STARTER EVE FROM VERSION 0.1.5. AHHHH

My first thought as well

The devs said once that there is still a chance to get the original Eve :3

[Paracosmic]

@Goggles-kun @Jojo - Wow, I didn't notice that! I wasn't around for that version, but that's really cool!

@awesomepastabunnies - Thanks for reading!

---

2 - Adam's Era (A.K.A. Still Not Home)

One day, an ever-curious Issi suggested leaving the Bright in search of Home. There was a port stone here and everything -- surely this one would lead there.

So the family prepares to leave the Bright. A very pregnant Eve isn't so sure she'll be able to make it across the bridge, but her mate looks so hopeful at the prospect that she decides to try anyway.

Finally, on the first really rainy night in a long time, the preparations are finalized (*cough* destroying the berry bushes *cough* and they make their way to the port stone.

The ground rumbles beneath their feet. They race across the bridge...

...to an island that is still definitely not home.

But Eve is relieved: finally, a suitable place to have another kit!

Eve soon gives birth to her second kit, Isra.

 

Adam and Eve go on a search for a more permanent nesting location, leaving her older sister to watch over her.

On another note, Issi has received her truename, Arya.

Little Isra's first memories are of rain. This is a land of plenty. Also, it's far bigger than the Bright.

The island's size makes Adam anxious. He would rather be closer to the sea, so he can keep looking for a hint of his Home in the distance. However, he agrees with Eve that it would be better to raise their children in permanests, rather than temporary ones.

 

The little mustard child is growing up. Where Arya is endlessly curious, always looking for something new, Isra is stolid and practical, always trying to make herself useful. When her younger sister, Meisre, is born in the grasses, Isra dedicates herself to collecting food for the family.

 

So she isn't around when Chess appears from out of nowhere (literally -- he must secretly be a relative of Eve's, he appeared that suddenly).

 

 

Arya is preparing to watch over her new little sister when she runs into Chess. And I really could not get a good angle, so you guys get this awkward picture.

 

 

Eve would like Arya to babysit Meisra again, but Arya explains to her mother that she has fallen in love with the newcomer, and would like to spend more time with him.

 

 

"Ask your father," Eve says. So Arya approaches her father. Adam takes pity on his daughter and agrees to watch the nest while she romances Chess.

 

 

They date for a bit, as young adult Nichelings will do. And finally, Chess and Arya approach the family with happy news.

 

 

Arya is pregnant.

 

TBC....

 

---

 

That's all for now! Up next is Arya's Era, as she and her mate Chess take over the tribe leadership.

[awesomepastabunnies]

Arya and Chess are cute ^ ^

[bostonlobstah]

I love Arya sm!!! Poison fangs + pink = ppperfection

[Paracosmic]

Happy Thanksgiving to those who celebrate it! This is later than normal because of the holiday and work and Breath of the Wild and Stardew Valley and stuff.

---

3 - Arya's Era (A.K.A. - Chess Complains About the Kids)

Arya and Chess's first child is a little Blueberry boy named Roro. Meisra isn't really sure what to think of her new nephew.

 

Isra decides she'll watch over the new kit. It's not really fair to make her little sister do it.

 

So she makes her way back to the family. The tribe is finally reunited.

And so the little mustard child grows up. She finally earns her truename, Marigold.

Arya quickly becomes pregnant with her second child. The whole family celebrates the birth of the little striped Kirkuta. Roro, as curious as her mother was as a kit and twice as energetic, wants to know when the new kit can play with him.

Even the stagmoles forget their fear to see the new child. Adam sees this as an omen -- surely this means his new grandson will sire great hunters.

Later, Eve tells Adam that she's pregnant again, and the whole tribe celebrates. Adam finds a permanent nesting spot for his eldest daughter.

At the same time, Arya tells Chess she's pregnant with their third kit. Chess, already feeling a bit overwhelmed by their hyperactive kids, doesn't really know what to say.

Meanwhile, Roro and Kirkuta adore their little uncle. They spend all their time with Eve and the kit.

They grow up together, more like brothers and best friends than uncle and nephews. Together they get into all sorts of trouble, chasing rabbils and keeping crabbits as secret pets.

The stagmoles still visit Kirkuta occasionally. He's now old enough to notice how unusual it is.

"I think it's time we retire after this one," Arya tells her mother. Little Dukduk isn't nearly as much of a handful as his brothers were. The strange silver-striped kit is as calm and serious as his brothers are mischievous.

"Besides, Chess is a little overwhelmed right now. It would do him good to have a break."

"A break from what?" Kirkuta asks.

"From trying to rein you in all the time," Chess answers, and pounces on the kit, tickling him.

Kirkuta runs off, laughing. Suddenly, he notices something strange at the edge of camp. A strange nicheling is talking to the stagmoles. She's even attracted a rabbil. Kirkuta had thought he was the only one the stagmoles spoke to.

Her name is Memeis. She's a shy little orphan. When Kirkuta takes her to the tribe's main camp, she looks around her with wonder.

The boys insist that she'll fit right in. She joins their group in their adventures, though she remains a little overwhelmed by the adults. Also, Meisra receives her truename, Draia. She's grown up into a quiet, hardworking beta female who always puts the interest of the clan in front of herself. She takes little Memeis under her wing, raising her as if she were her own.

And so another era ends.

There is only one problem -- none of Arya's boys are old enough to lead.

TBC...

[Lurkily]

for some reason, I saw 'the meaning of home' and thought 'Ohana means family'.  Then my demented mind took a side detour through the wrong part of town, and I was suddenly stuck with an image of a marine with akimbo machine guns firing into the night screaming "OHANA MEANS NOBODY GETS LEFT BEHIND!"

I'm done.  That will be all.

[Paracosmic]

@Lurkily - I have no words. 😛

---

4 - Arya's Era Continues (A.K.A. - Where's the Rain?!)

Since there aren't any eligible pairs to lead the tribe, Arya and Chess remain in power. Chess hopes for calm children. Meanwhile, Roro receives his truename, Silver.

Draia teaches Silver to hunt rabbils...

And crabbits, of course. "They're not friends," she explains to the sheepish Silver. "They're food."

Meanwhile, little Dukduk and his father ponder the new kits. First, the omega twins, Kirku and Dukvanduk. And then the little beta male, Dukvanta.

Chess isn't so sure about the twins. "They look like they'll be trouble," he says.

Memeis, newly dubbed Mouse, volunteers to look after them in their adventures. She's never quite grown out of them the way the other children have.

Then, one day, Eve passes away. The clan mourns.

She's practically been mother to the whole tribe this whole time. RIP Eve. D': (Her mutations were Pattern Shape D and White Fur.)

The tribe mourns. Kirkuta receives his truename, Bane.

The twins are particularly affected. What will they do, now that their mother is gone?

"We're all family here," Arya tells them. "All of us. You'll never be alone, not really."

Dukvanro starts to cry.

And then comes the day when the tribe is out of food. Marigold prays for rain.

Meanwhile, Adam thinks the sea might have the answer to the crisis.

His venture doesn't pay off for long, but the tribe is hopeful. Dukvanro receives his truename, Charlie. Because tell me he doesn't look like a Charlie.

The twins thrive under Arya and Chess' care. Though they're little attention-hogs at times, much to Dukvanta's consternation.

Dukvanta has inherited his father's disposition. He's perfectly content to quietly stay out of whatever trouble the twins see fit to get into next.

It's a little easier when his little sister, Koko, is born.

"We should take her on adventures with us!" Kirku exclaims.

"Not until she's older," Arya admonishes. Chess and Dukvanta shake their heads. Here's hoping the new kit won't get into as much mischief as her eldest brothers...or the twins, for that matter.

Adam, the father of the tribe, dies one rainy day. RIP Adam. D':

(Adam's mutations were Chestnut Brown Fur and Black Eyes.)

The whole clan mourns.

Even the life-giving rain isn't enough to soothe the tribe. Ayra gives her third son his truename, Dorian. It's the first naming ritual that Adam hasn't been present for. It really is the end of Adam and Eve's era.

The clan rejoices at the birth of a new tribe member: Rota. This is Arya and Chess' last kit as the alpha pair. Little Koko, endlessly curious yet not quite adventurous as her uncles, is fascinated by the new kit.

Meanwhile, Dukvanduk has found a friend.

Raven, a one-winged melanistic nicheling. With cracker jaw! Cast out of her nomadic tribe for her inability to fly, she readily joins the tribe. She offers the gift of acorns, which she alone can easily prepare.

A good number of the acorns are just offshore. Foolishly, Silver tries to follow, and bites off more than he can chew. This was my fault, actually. I didn't realize the water was that deep.

Arya and Chess announce the new alpha pair, surprising the rest of the clan. Despite her friendship with Bane and the other older boys, Mouse has fallen in love with Dorian. They petition for mating rights and accept their appointment as alpha pair.

The clan rejoices.

And I was too impatient to wait for Rota to get out of the nest.

TBC....

---

That was a long one! Raven came along at just the right time, though the tribe started to recover pretty well after Adam's rain. (Yes, the tribe named it after him. Clearly, he died to give the rest of the tribe the chance to live. Really fun making this kind of mythos.)

Anyway, stats on Adam and Eve: I don't know if Eve died of starvation, but I don't think so -- she was already on her last day, which I didn't realize at the time. And I just realized I didn't get her birthday, either -- I think it was a couple days before Adam, judging by the gap in their deaths. Neither of them took any damage. Adam and Eve had five children from four nests: Arya, Marigold, Draia, Charlie, and the twins, Dukvanduk and Kirku. They were alphas for three nests, omegas for two. They had six grandchildren from Arya and her mate, Chess: Silver, Bane, Dorian, Dukvanta, Koko, and Rota. They didn't live to see their third grandson, Dorian, take over the tribe after Arya and Chess retired.

As alpha, Adam was always on the lookout for his home. He never gave up on that dream, though Eve did finally convince him to settle down with his family here on the Tiny Green. They were happy there, chasing around their children and spoiling their grandchildren. May their legacy long continue.

---

Next up is Dorian's era. I was really surprised at his match with Mouse, since storywise I might have picked her as Bane's mate instead. I also might start clearing out the island in preparation to leave for the next one. Let's see how this works out!