#Nomai family tree

[tebbydear-movedblogs]

I DID IT !!

You guys might have seen the original draft where there were a couple mistakes and missing info - here is my updated Nomai ‘family’ tree!! I don’t know what you call it if it’s more than one family. But it’s here !! Now with groupings for their main roles and jobs (of course a lot of people shuffled around - I couldn’t sensibly include, for example, the few that worked on the Attlerock locator etc). I THINK that’s all the main info though!! Pye was really a force, it seems like. There may well also be more out of the older generation who died before the crash.

For Keek: we know Plume lost Keek in the crash, and we know Plume lost a brother in the crash, so it might be logical to assume that these were the same person, but it isn’t 100% confirmed.

This is the intended videogame experience, yes?

EDIT: edited Melorae’s colour because I realised Coleus talks about her in past-tense when discussing the proto-Hearthians.

[poisonhemloc]

taco truck au stuff!

okay I'm gonna cover generic Hearthian thing/Feldspar first

Feldspar (sometimes with Gossan) takes a multi week trip once a year; just, to a lot of different places. Most adult hearthians will do something similar, but Feldspar's are on the longer end- Feldspar plans theirs around the trucks, so they'll usually go early summer, Gabbro has a (usually a week/five days) trip in the late summer/early fall before school starts, Chert and Hornfels both are wildly variable but tend to just take off when the weather is good for observing, Slate and Esker will both go for winter or fall.

Nomai will do similar trips, but, Nomai tend to go in family groups- think family vacation stuff, but, usually the entire extended family will go somewhere at once, for a few weeks. Owlk... usually will do shorter day trips, if they're out traveling. They don't wander too far from home, unless it's the entire extended family/friends have decided together that the vibes are Wrong we're all moving over Here

Of course, there's exceptions- Riebeck I think is going to take trips with the Nomai they're staying with, Kaepora will take longer trips alone when the mood hits them.

...Okay, second bit. Marl.

Marl is between Hal (beginning at the university) and Riebeck (somewhere in a masters program) in age, so firmly in 'crashing on another Hearthian's couch' area. That Hearthian is Gneiss. It is emphatically not Tektite, who lives in the same house, because Marl is Still trying to cut down a specific tree in the local park and Tektite is pushing off retirement again to stay on Marl watch.

But. Marl is in a little band- not a good or well known band, right now its a 'yeah those are all a bunch of kids playing together' type band without a proper name. And Gneiss likes seeing hatchlings playing music and is encouraging it.

Marl has a tambourine (because it was funny). Other band mates are Mab and Orpheus (Owlk) (Theramineque instrument and lyre, respectively) and Orbi (Nomai)(Hand drum type thing)

[saucy-mesothelioma]

Ranking Outer Wilds Planets (And Some Other Stuff)

This was bound to happen one way or another because I absolutely adore Outer Wilds, so might as well do it now. Spoilers (obviously) for both Outer Wilds and the DLC Echoes of the Eye.

Ash Twin Pros: •The Warp Towers have pretty cool designs Cons: •It took me so damn long to figure out the fucking warp pads •The fucking sand •Not really fun to be on because it's just so stressful to try to be at the right place at the right time and then just missing it by the bare minimum Total: 2/10

Ember Twin Pros: •Had the most fun quantum puzzle in my opinion •Chert's Existential Crisis™️ Cons: •Sunless City was a pain in the ass to explore because of the goddamn sand •Just overall pretty boring Total: 4/10 Timber Hearth Pros: •One of the most beautiful planets by far; my family and I go to the Smoky Mountains a lot, and I was reminded of that place the minute I explored the village •The caves with the rocks that look like stars when you turn out your lights I could literally spend an entire loop there with Timber Hearth's theme playing in the background •Geysers are fun to play with Cons: •Took me way too long to realize there was actually stuff there to explore Total: 8/10 The Attlerock Pros: •My boi Ekser who can do no wrong ever • Like most people, I went there first and it was a wonderful opener to everything the game has to offer Cons: •Not a lot to do there, but it is just a moon Total: 6/10 Brittle Hollow Pros: •So damn beautiful that it's my second favorite planet design •Coolest Nomai ruins; I spent a loop or two just admiring how damn cool everything looked, especially the Hanging City •Gravity crystals were loads of fun even though they gave me a headache •By far the most fun planet to explore Cons: •Didn't understand how to get to the Southern Observatory and spent like 5 loops trying to figure it out via attempting to wedge my ship between the ice •Jumped off of the Black Hole Forge around 3 times because I didn't realize that I was upside down •Had no clue how to get to the Tower of Quantum Knowledge until I got stuck at the white hole with almost no oxygen and found it at the last minute •I hate that black hole with a passion it's caused me so much pain I hate it I hate it I hate it Total: 9/10 (I love it but I'm just an idiot) Giant's Deep Pros: •Hands down my favorite planet design I love it so much •I could listen to the Giant's Deep theme for hours on end •Not gonna lie, I love watching the islands getting catapulted into space •Jellyfish be vibin •Watching the supernova through the cloudy atmosphere is honestly so cool to me Cons: •Too little to explore there in my opinion, but understandable since it's a water planet •The gravity is such a huge pain in the ass Total: 10/10 Dark Bramble Pros: •I actually like the theme for it a lot •Feldspar's camp is the coolest •That Nomai grave got to me dude •Scary but still more fun than the Hourglass Twins to me, that being said- Cons: •I DON'T FUCK WITH THOSE ANGLERFISH FUCK THAT SHIT SO HARD I HATE THEM MORE THAN THE BLACK HOLE AND THAT'S SAYING A LOT

Total: 5/10 The Interloper Pros: •The reveal that the Interloper was where the ghost matter came from and was the reason all of the Nomai died really hit me in the feels; I had to take a moment Cons: •I know it's basically a comet, but it was pretty boring Total: 3/10 Quantum Moon Pros: •Best girl Solanum •I love all of the various designs for the moon •The theme is nice Cons: •Still not a lot to explore there, but it's understandable Total: 3/10

The Stranger (Based purely on looks to be fair since it's half of the DLC) Pros: •Holy shit I love the atmosphere of it so much those cypress-looking trees, everything •The architecture is fucking GORGEOUS •The reels. Beautiful. Enough said. •I could spend the rest of my life on the Stranger I love it so much •Dare I say it, I kinda like the DLC ost more than the original; still love them both to death, though Cons: •Honestly expected there to be more shit under the water? Not sure why but I did Total: 10/10

The Stranger's Dream World Pros: •Again, everything the DLC gave us is visually stunning I'm in love with the design •Owlks are pure baby those little hoots are so cute Cons: •Owlks are also fuckin scary Jesus Christ •The alarm bells give me so much stress even when I know how they work •Took me the longest time out to bypass the "death glitch" to open the Vault, but as stated before, I'm also very stupid Total: 10/10

[maplegh0st]

Coquina wakes up to the familiar sight of the orbital probe cannon firing, then exploding and breaking apart. They idly wonder if it's found the Eye of the Universe yet. They've been through countless time loops now and have seen it fire in a different direction each time. Does it matter, though?

The last few loops Coquina hasn't even stepped foot on their ship, instead spending the time with the villagers of Timber Hearth. They've talked to everyone, played with the hatchlings, and just sat with them around campfires. Their friends, their family, their home. It was all going to be destroyed and there was nothing Coquina could do about it. 

The last loop they left the planet was to visit the sun station. All of the nomai writings had pointed to the sun station being the answer to saving everything. It was supposed to trigger the sun exploding to power the orbital probe cannon, so Coquina thought there should have been a way to stop it from doing so. Instead of finding the controls to the sun station, some kind of off switch to save the solar system, they find a nomai computer saying that the sun was dying on its own. The nomai weren't even able to make the sun station work in the first place. 

Coquina had torn through the whole station inside and out looking for something, anything, that might undo this or tell them the computer was malfunctioning until the sun expanded and swallowed them. There was nothing to be done. So Coquina has spent the last few loops committing everything about their home to memory. At the end of the loops, memory is all they have. But is it enough?

They sigh and rub their face. "I have to talk to Gabbro..."

The relaxed hearthian on Giant's Deep has been a constant through all the time loops. Of course Coquina spends time with the other travelers, sharing their discoveries and playing music around the campfire, but it was nice to talk to someone aware of the time loops. Sure Gabbro didn't exactly help to find a way to stop this, but their calm demeanor always helped Coquina whenever they got worked up. And they always listened to Coquina when they come back with new discoveries about the nomai and the loop, and helped spitball ideas for what to do next. Really, Gabbro was probably the best of the travelers to be aware of the time loop. Riebeck loves studying the nomai and would have been very helpful, but is terrified of space and probably would barely leave Brittle Hollow if at all. Poor Chert would would go into a panic worse than any of Coquina's at learning about the death of the sun as well as the universe. And Feldspar would most likely just use the loops to do increasingly crazy stunts. Yes, it was probably for the best that Gabbro was the one aware of the loops.

Perhaps Gabbro can help now too, if nothing than to just share the loss of everything they know and care for.

----

The flight to Giant's Deep is easy, and they've gotten pretty good at dodging cyclones and falling islands. Landing is still a little tricky, they almost always get caught in the trees on Gabbro's island, but they manage.

"Heeey time buddy!" Gabbro drawls as they see Coquina approach their hammock. "How's my favorite time exolorer? Find anything new?"

"Yeah..." Coquina sits against one of the trees Gabbro's hammock is attached to. "I found the way to the sun station."

"Oh really? That's what the nomai were using to blow up the sun right? Find out how to turn it off?"

Coquina takes off their helmet with a sigh. It's a dangerous thing to do on Giant's Deep, with the cyclones tossing the islands into orbit with little warning, but they're past caring. "It was never on. They were never even able to get it to work. The sun isn't being destroyed…. it's dying."

Gabbro pauses their playing and lowers their flute. "Oh... dang."

Coquina sniffs and rubs at one eye, trying to hold back tears. "And it's not just that. Did I tell you I found the Vessel a few loops back? Its incoming communications still work, and it's still receiving messages from nomai out in the universe now. It turns out the whole universe is dying! It's not just our sun, it's everything! But... But I had thought that there was no way our sun was that old yet. And even if it was, the red giant stage should last a lot longer than just twenty minutes right?" The tears are freely flowing now and they can't fight the sobs that start to wrack their body. "A-and I had thought the answers would be at the sun station. I... I thought we could have more t-time! But we don't! E-everything is dying and I can't do anything-!"

"Hey. Heeeeey." Gabbro sits on the ground next to Coquina. Their helmet is off too and they give Coquina a sad smile. "C'mere." They wrap an arm around Coquina's shoulder and pull them to their chest. "Just let it aaaall out now. I've gotcha."

Coquina doesn't fight the tears anymore, they hug Gabbro tightly and cry into their chest. They let out all of their anger and frustration about their situation and their sadness for the loss of everything. They cry for the nomai, taken so suddenly by a simple act of nature like the one that will take all of the hearthians. They think of Solanum, stuck on the quantum moon alive but not alive for thousands of years without ever knowing the fate of her people, and they cry for her too.

"That's it buddy," Gabbro says as they hold Coquina to them. They rub a soothing hand across Coquina's back as their sobs start to slow. "Now, breathe with me." They take a slow, deep breath that Coquina does their best to mimic through the sobs. After holding their breath for a few moments Gabbro slowly exhales, which Coquina is able to copy easier. 

Both hearthians do this several more times until Coquina sits upright, wiping the last few tears away from their eyes. "Thanks, Gabbro."

Gabbro's hand stays on their shoulder, which they give a reassuring squeeze. "Any time."

The two travelers sit in silence for a few minutes, leaning against each other as they watch the cyclones rage across the water. Coquina doesn't know how much time is left in this loop, but they suppose it doesn't really matter. They can just come back in the next one. It won't be like with the others, where they have more they want to say before the end comes. Gabbro will remember.

"Did you ever make it to the core of Giant's Deep?" Gabbro suddenly asks, pulling Coquina from their thoughts.

"I found the cyclone that pushes me under the current, but I haven't gone through the core. I figured out how last time I visited Feldspar, but I haven't gotten around to actually doing it yet." They look at their friend, who is still watching the cyclones, a contemplative look on their face. "Why?"

"I was just thinking." They point up to the green storm clouds that always cover the sky. "You said the orbital probe canon is missing a room right? That it broke off when it fired? Well, maybe it fell to the core."

Coquina hums thoughtfully, "Maybe. The gravity here is really strong, it even pulls me off the surface of the interloper when it flies by Giant's Deep. So it's more likely it's at the core than floating around space..."

"You should go there, then." Gabbro looks back at Coquina. "From what you told me that should be the room that tracks the probe, so you might learn something good there. Even if not," they shrug, "it'll be an interesting way to spend a loop."

Coquina thinks for a moment then nods. "Sure. That's the last place I haven't completely explored yet." They stand and stretch before reaching down a hand to help Gabbro stand too. "Maybe, since it's been sent out in every direction, it can find somewhere safe we can all go. If it hasn't, I can let it keep going and check on it every few loops. There has to be somewhere that isn't about to explode."

"That's the spirit!" Gabbro wraps Coquina in another tight hug. "I'll be here if you need me."

Coquina hugs back, "Thank you again, Gabbro." They stand and grab their helmet. "Keep a marshmallow stick warm for me, I'll be back."

----

It takes a little trial and error to find the right cyclone, but they manage without tearing their ship apart. And now that they know about the jellyfish, it's fairly easy to swim underneath one and get inside its body without being electrocuted.

Gabbro was right, the probe tracker rests at the center of the core. Coquina thanks the stars that everything is still functional inside, and that it hasn't been flooded with water.What Coquina learns however, isn't the location of some distant star that will escape certain death. It's something they honestly never expected to find. "Great stars above.... It actually worked..."

----

"Gabbro! Gabbro?" Coquina returns to Gabbro's island to find their hammock empty. They rush up the small path to the relaxed hearthian's campfire to see them sitting in front of it roasting a marshmallow.

Gabbro looks up from the fire, "Oh hey, time traveler! That was faster than I thought it would be. Find anything good?"

Coquina rushes to Gabbro's side and waves away the offered marshmallow. "Gabbro! The probe, it found it! The Eye of the Universe! I have coordinates for it!"

"Well I'll be..." Gabbro chews on a toasted marshmallow. "I bet the nomai would be pleased as punch to know their tracker worked. So, now what?"

"Well..." Coquina sits down next to their friend. "The broken warp core on the Vessel looks like the one in the Ash Twin Project, so I can swap them out to get the Vessel working. And I'm sure I can figure out their navigation system. I can take it to the Eye, the one thing the nomai were never able to get to..." They pause. "But... it will end the time loop, and mean the permanent death of everything here... How can I abandon everyone like that?" They take the next marshmallow Gabbro offers them, at their insistence, and lowers it over the fire.

"Well, the way I see it, it's not really abandonment." Gabbro inspects their marshmallow before lowering it over the fire again. "If that computer on the sun station is true, then the sun was gonna blow up with or without the time loop and take all of us out with it. The time loop has just been kinda preventing the inevitable. Or, rather, repeating it over and over." They remove their marshmallow from the fire again and, after deeming it acceptable, pops it in their mouth. "I've had a lot of time to think about all this through all these loops. I don't think there was ever a way for you to save everyone."

Coquina sighs as they rotate their marshmallow. "I know. I just.... hate this feeling of helplessness. Our system doesn't deserve to die. It's not fair."

"But it's not about being fair, is it? It just... is." Gabbro replaces their marshmallow. "But this time loop thing has done some real good, I think. It let you do everything we hearthians in the outer wilds ventures could have hoped for. You've learned more about the nomai then anyone ever has, answered questions we weren't sure we were ever gonna get answers to. Heck, you talked to a real live nomai!" They nudge Coquina's shoulder with theirs. "Well, sotra live."

Coquina lets their marshmallow catch fire and pulls it out, watching the flames for a moment before blowing them out. "I guess..."

"And on top of that", Gabbro gestures with their stick at the water. "you just discovered the very thing the nomai had dedicated generations to searching for. I think everyone back home, and all the nomai in this system would be mighty proud of ya, Coquina." They put their hand on Coquina's and lock eyes with them. "I know I am." 

Coquina feels their lip tremble and they throw down their marshmallow stick in favor of pulling Gabbro into a hug. "I'm glad you were with me Gabbro, at the end of all things." They stay there for a few moments before pulling back with a sniff, wiping their eyes before another torrent of tears overtakes them again. Coquina takes a steadying breath and nods. "I know what I have to do. I think it's time to finish what the nomai started." They look back up at Gabbro. "Will you come with? We can go together."

They shake their head, a smile playing at their lips. "Nah. This is your journey, buddy. Besides, I don't think I'd be any good flying around those angler fish. I can fly around a few cyclones fine, but those fish got more teeth than I'm comfortable with." They lean against Coquina, an arm around them. "Don't worry, I have a feeling that I'll see you again. Somehow."

The two friends stay there, sitting in front of the fire while cyclones dance around their island. They roast marshmallows and talk about everything and nothing. When they run out of things to say Gabbro takes up their flute and Coquina their fiddle, and they fill the air with song until the sky grows dark then bright again with blue light. Coquina hugs Gabbro close one last time. The next loop will be the last. It's time to end this, and see what comes next.

[theinterloper]

Nomai headcanons #1

collection of Nomai headcanons!

a short idea on language that i will get no deeper into than this because im lazy but have ideas-- their home planet is called Nom, where their name comes from. -ai comes as a possessive, making their name mean “of/belongs to Nom”. Nom is hard to translate exactly but very simply means something along Home/Planet.

home planet ideas for me personally.... they lived on a planet with mountains and plateaus, grass also common. the character design of Nomai were inspired by goats and they seemed to not mind traversing the rocky caves of Ember Twin so, i feel that they likely lived in a rocky/mountainous place!

the nomai often lived in open caverns or between mountain valleys. however as they evolved, they moved outwards to the flat plateaus, which were perfect for building towers/homes. they often built up instead of out, into the sides of mountains, in huge caverns or the plateaus

Nomai were first very artistic before becoming more scientific and philosophical. They are fantastic at design and architecture. They enjoy creating elegant buildings, statues, space ships, etc. While namely involved in architecture they of course also practice art/painting and music. 

Nomai were herbivores. They did not face many natural predators at all, their home planet mostly had other small creatures and not many, if any, large carnivores. Later in evolution they were capable of being omnivores to some extent- eating eggs or bugs, but plants were the most common choice.

While they are separated into large clans, the Festivals they join together at are important for more than just sharing scientific discoveries. It is also a chance for the close knit clans to open up with each other. Due to the length of these Festivals, it is common for Nomai to mingle and for members of one clan join another after getting to know them. This is also good for their diversity, as families form over time in these clans. 

Additionally, mixing up the clans allows Nomai of different backgrounds to help out clans of other backgrounds. 

the Nomai are not spiritual, but they are very philosophical and proud of their developments. They often put their own special significance into the work they do as a clan, like the Journey to the Quantum Moon that the clan in the Hearthian system started. 

all sorts of relationships are common in Nomai. Family structure isn’t super strict- a pair of parents gives birth to a child and those parents care for it directly, but their family is more so their clan than direct relatives. 

Gift giving is an extremely common thing in Nomai society and it means a lot in terms of someone’s relationship. it may be something that someone built themself, or a special gem or plant found on a local planet. the Nomai’s intention means as much, if not more, about the gift than what the gift it.

Appearance of Nomai & their home planet specific

for the fun of sci-fi i just got this idea that their home planet has pale reddish rocks, lavender grass, and yellow-ish skies. q

Nomai fur color ranges from white, to yellow/gold, to red and (rarely) dark brown. their fur is thick and slightly curly. 

their skin is often a soft orange or brown, varying in darkness and lightness.

they have small tails that are too short to move or emote anything.

they are bare with skin around their hands, under arms, face, their feet and the back of their digitigrade legs. 

their horns are a rough material that would remind you of tree bark. the top pair of horns always connect in the middle. they are often are a darker tone similar to their skin color. 

their eye color is usually very pale and is often grey, light yellow, pink, pale red, or brown.