Frolicking About with Generation Four

Hello again,

As some of you may have seen I posted a small and pictureless apology for the lack of updates here in the lead-up to the CCSF. I have a long weekend right now though, so I'm going to squish in a couple of posts here and there if I can! :D

With the passing of Riding in generation 3 at the tender age of around six hours and twenty something minutes, generation 4 is going to have a different approach.

This is the largest generation so far even though it's only the fourth. With seven boys and seven girls, I was at a loose end as to how to manage them all. It would have been nice to simply place everyone in the world together and let them share but Albia has an import limit and sturdily reinforced it's small population rule by refusing to allow too many Norns in at once. What a meanie. :T

Now, the plan is to import a few mares and a few stallions and let them live out their lives to the end. I am presuming that some will die of old age, though I could be wrong so the back-up plan is to export those who reach a good long age, (around 12 or 13 hours should be enough). As Norns pass on into Silicon heaven or the export folder, the others waiting on the hard drive will be imported.

This generation could end up being a long one! I hope that's okay. Maybe I won't make it to generation 100 if I take things this slowly but my Norns would get to live longer lives. If it doesn't work out then it's back to plan A (export them after they've lived long enough to grow into adults, explore, have some adventures and breed). Either way, it's for the good of the Norns. Tally ho, and all that!

Floating around Albia to see what everyone was up to, I came upon Stilts, who still hasn't grown into his lovely long legs. He appeared to be trying out a new act called 'I just laid a lemon!'. Actually, there was something perfectly sensible causing this silly picture.

Stilts let out a little "brr-rrr!" along with a shiver and that's when I realised he was cold! So far, in all the time of playing through the generations, none of my Norns had done this. Stilts was the first to show how he felt without words...yet he spoke of his predicament shortly after.  A quick trip up the lift into the sunshine sorted him out once I manged to distract him from the lift buttons with a toy.

 

With Stilts warming himself in the sun, I went to spend time with another Norn named Twinkie. You may remember him as being the Norn whose egg was laid near the Twinkie vendor. :3

 

 

Like many of my C1 Norns, he wasn't the best at sleeping or resting when he needed to - in fact, he was one of the worst. Being tired myself, I decided to spend some one on one time testing whether it is possible to teach Norns good sleep habits. I injected the bed COB, (called a 'mover', oddly enough) and persuaded my sleep deprived horsie to push it a few times.

 

The unsuspecting Twinkie pushed the 'mover' of course, expecting it to take him somewhere (not off to dreamy land). It sort of worked...and sort of didn't. Twinkie would fall asleep in the bed for a few seconds after he pushed it but would then wake up seconds later and hop right back out again. It was almost as though he was waking himself up because he didn't want a sleep.

 

His need for sleep dropped a minimal amount each time. However, I observed Twinkie fall asleep a few times outside of the bed COB after he used it.

 

I told him to 'push mover' again and he pushed the nearest one, which happened to be the actual teleporter in the garden. I played with Twinkie and got his boredom down, got him to eat so he was full, then gave the whole thing another try:

 

Voila! A beautifully sleeping Twinkie! He stayed like this for a long time and woke up refreshed. Since this, his sleeping habits have been a little bit better, though I'm not sure if it's made that much of a difference. It could have been because he had no one to distract him. Has anyone else had these problems with this COB, or is it my Norns who have a problem?

 

Stilt's brother, Clause, surprisingly ended up on the island in the exact same place where his brother had been. He showed that a smile can make friends with anyone as he shared his lemon with his newfound friend. With it's mouth stitched up like that it's a mystery how the cute yet creepy dolly would eat it. I guess it's the thought that counts.

 

The only difference between the two brothers is that Clause has a slighly redder hue to his fur so I originally thought this was Stilts. Luckily, their sister Harper is easier to tell apart.

 

Clause was not alone in his lemony cave. Biscuit and Strider were on the island as well. Biscuit is the lighter one going after the seahorse, while Strider is the dark coloured one. Strider lives up to his name in that he loves to explore all of Albia and never stay in one place for too long. He is, however, one of the worst eaters. Biscuit is a great eater though, so I'm hoping his habits will brush off onto Strider.

 

What a scenic picture! Here we have Goku, whose the much lighter one on the right, and Twinkie, who has finished his nap long ago. They seem to be in some kind of staring competition, or perhaps they're sizing each other up. Hopefully it won't end in a scuffle.

The way the scenery is in the background and with the high rope bridge they are on, it almost reminds me of a scene from games like Street Fighter or Mortal Kombat. This isn't that kind of story, you two!

 Alright, I have to end it here for now. Keep your eyes peeled for more added to this later on!

SpringRain xoxo

I'm finished watching Men in Black III and more episodes of D.N. Angel with my brother and sister for now, so let's see if I can finish this update:

Continue? 3...2...1...Ok! :D

Alright, it shouldn't be too hard to guess which one of these handsome boys is Boots and which one is Stilts. That's right, the one with the pretty red stockings is Mister Stilts! I know I keep saying it but he's slowly growing into his height. Continuing the theme of fighting, there was a bit of a tiff over this lift about who gets to ride it and press the buttons. It seems like riding up and down the lift is just as much fun for Norns as for humans.

 

(Did you ever try that thing where you push all the buttons for every floor as a child? :D What about pushing them all just before someone else stepped on? Maybe I was a naughty child but these are some of my favourite memories involving lifts. Lol.)

 

Poor Twinkie, he's being chased by the totally enamoured Strawberry! She's really in love, or so it would seem. Twinkie went to find some peace and carrots yet instead he met this little lady and she hasn't given up on following him around, or, as you can see, chasing her darling. "My loooove~!"

 

The ugly baby critter from Mama Mushu seems to be chasing him too. Oh Twinkie, I'm so happy for you. (*edited due to a mix-up with Norns)

 

With everything going so well, I suppose it was time for something to go a little bit awry. Strawberry came down with an illness. She may have overexerted herself chasing after Twinkie because it was quite a nasty one. Not only did she have Antigen 3, she also had an unknown toxin in her system. I'm not too sure why her body was producing antibody two as well as antibody 3 but that may have had something to do with it.

 

Needless to say, Miss Strawberry's romantic endeavours were placed on hold while she was quarantined so she could rest while being encouraged to eat a steady diet of carrots, jelly and pink lemonade.

 

Smiling even though she's sick, Strawberry's sweet personality certainly shines through. She really amazed me with her postive attitude. Most of the time when my Norns fall ill, there's nothing but woe and misery. It could have been the sugar hit from the pink lemonade she'd just drained, though I like to believe otherwise.

 

Strawberry pauses to tell me a secret! Isn't that the most adorable pose ever?

 

"Guess what? Did you know...that this is a magical button that lets you play with Grendels? Don't tell anyone, okay, or it won't be a secret."

 

Shortly after flashing those big smiles, Strawberry curled up on the ground and promptly passed into a deep slumber. It's okay, she's just fast asleep, recovering  and resting; the little Z 'popped' right when I took the picture. Or maybe she learned this trick from Fluffbum.

 

Twinkie, now free from the attention of his number one fan, chose not to leave the garden area. He chose instead to amuse himself with the spinning top while he waited for her, much to my delight. That is the mark of a true friend and a gentleman. Most gentlemen probably don't play with spinny toys while they wait but hey, whatever works, works. =^.^=

 

Twinkie was finally rewarded for his patience by being reunited with the fully recovered Strawberry, who was overjoyed to see him. They greeted each other with nuzzles, tickles and little kisses in the springtime breeze.

 

The two Norns soon strayed into the house to share a meal together and snuggle by the fireplace. Yet, it wasn't too long after that Twinkie ran off with a cheeky smile on his face that perhaps held just a hint of satisfaction.

 

Strawberry blinked, staring at her love who had suddenly got up and ran for the hills right when they were sharing a happy kisspop. That's right - there was the signal for a male Norn to bolt. He'd just left Strawberry with the gift of an egg, which meant (apparently) that it was time to flee.

 

All the other stallions were playing and enjoying a sort of bachelor's paradise on the island. We were expecting a new member to the herd. Albia was peaceful. What could go wrong? Lucky for me, the Observation kit was opened, or I may not have noticed that three of my Norns had fallen sick. Drat, these antigens come at the worst of times. With three Norns having their life force drop below the 50% mark, one of them being pregnant, I was kept on the tips of my fingers.

 

Unfortunately, this didn't leave much time for taking pictures. Everyone was gradually being nursed back to health. When Strawberry's egg finally appeared, I nabbed it and put it out of the way for a while, not wishing to hatch a vulnerable foal into possible danger, even if I was going to export them shortly after the birth.

 

Strawberry and Twinkie were not the only couple to be blessed with a gift. After the illness had finally subsided and peace returned to the land, Pan and Boots welcomed their tiny blue gem with white speckles. It was a tense and delicate moment, and both Norns stared at the egg with a hint of seriousness despite the joyous event.

 

Pan had not been able to lay her egg naturally. Her due time had come and gone, with no egg making an appearance and the father (unlike Twinkie), staying by her side, waiting along with her. I could have left the egg in her belly but it felt too sad letting them get their hopes up and then nothing happening, plus it would have been a shame to lose a small life. So, I used the C-Section COB on Pan, hoping it would work. Thank goodness, for it was indeed a success and well worth seeing them looking at the reward.

 

Now this next pregnancy was completely unexpected! I had tried to coax both Strider and Cola to mate with one of the females or males around them throughout their time in Albia, yet neither ever seemed interested, were in the wrong place at the wrong time, or got distracted by hunger, crowds or other things.

 

So the way this happened was really amazing. In fact, it was so amazing that Honey (the Norn up the top near the lift), dropped her carrot in surprise! Two of the least likely Norns for the event came together by chance on the island. It must have been fate because Cola was fast asleep when Strider decided to give her a heartfelt kissss....pop! Cola and Strider were soon expecting their very first egg. I actually did a small happy dance and cheered for them. Then again, er...being given the gift of an egg while one is unaware of it because one is sleeping...does sound a little strange. I'm not sure if it was a glitch. Does anyone else have Norns that have had this happen? I thought that both parties would have to be awake to um...participate in the act of egg-making, but Strider shows me this is maybe not so.

 

Not content with having one child, Strider kindly shared his genetics with Honey a while later, adding further to her bewilderment. Don't worry, Honey, I'm sure you'll be a wonderful Mama. <3 Strider sure looks very pleased with himself.

 

Oh dear, whenever things are going too smoothly I should know to expect trouble. But that's too pessimistic for me! Lol. I'll keep looking on the bright side.

 

The reason I say this is Cola just gave me a huge scare. Don't let her happy smile fool you. She's pregnant with Strider's egg and what does she do? Take a trip across the sea and try to munch on the ugly tomatoes! She didn't try it only once, either. I told her to 'push food' to try and distract her from the plant but she gleefully announced her intentions to 'push weed' over and over, trying to take a bite.

 

 

I rushed to find her some other food but even pointing her to 'push food' didn't work. I practically had to shove the honeypot under her nose and command her to eat it, where she finally took a couple of licks. Phew!~  Who knows what effect ugly tomatoes would have on my Cola. I was afraid that they'd cause her problems so she couldn't lay her egg. Giving her Hand a scare must have been worth it.

Apologies for the Lack of Activity

Hello to all my readers, if I still have any. If I don't, then I'm happy to talk to myself. :D

Sorry that things have slowed down so much here lately. Things got busy as they tend to. Stuff pops up, illnesses, events, birthdays and work.

So I've been a bit slack on the posting front here.

I might also be sparse in the lead-up to the CCSF (the Creatures Community Spirit Festival), working on submissions before it starts in November. Egads! I don't think I'll be able to finish my set of agents at this rate. My original plans are having some spanners thrown in them.

I am still able to finish art related things though so that's going nicely.

Just wanted to write something here to let you know I'm still around and plan to update this when I can. I haven't suddenly got lazy or dropped this little project. I do plan to continue.

Thank you for reading.

Love,

SpringRain.

These are a Few of my Favourite Things

As the title says, this post is about some of my favourite things.

"Let's name our Grendels after anime voice actors!" That sort of thing. =^.^=

Most anime voice actors are brilliant and needless to say, I have a few that I've taken a liking to for their superb talents in portraying different characters so flawlessly.

Needless to say, naming one's Grendels after them ensures some interesting results.

I shall now introduce you to Greg and Todd:

 

Todd was the Grendel that first hatched in the jungle terrarium. There's a little story to how he got his name. Unable to stop the eggs from the Ettin and Grendel Mothers being laid and then hatching while I am busy setting up a new world, I often quickly name the new Grendels things like 'Grah', 'Beh' or 'Grndl', as I don't like to leave them standing on some beach without a name nameless. Deciding I wanted something different this time, I came up with the idea to name my Creatures after some of my favourite things. And well, I suppose the rest is easy to guess from there.

 

Greg was hatched later on to be a friend for Todd, who I thought would do well to have some company. Ever since he hatched, he's never been quite right. I think there's something wrong with him, actually. The thought reader above his head is nothing to be alarmed about as this is what he spends most of his time doing since day one.   

Yes, Todd tries to eat himself whenever he gets bored. If you don't manage it Todd, I'm sure the piranahs in the pond below will help you out.

Aside from this, his list of other favourite activities includes: 'approach self' (where he continues in one direction until he falls off a ledge or runs into a wall), 'retreat self' (pretty much the same thing, only backwards), and the classic game of 'hit self', which kept him wonderfully entertained when he wasn't playing with his Grendel toys (the furry looking Creature Egg things that come in different colours and make the most adorable squeaky sounds when pushed, hit or pulled!).

 

***

 

Around the time Todd became a Youth, I took the other Grendel egg from where it had been safely stored in my inventory, thinking that perhaps all this odd behaviour was due to Todd having too much of his own company. Out popped Greg, and I was almost certain the problems would be solved.

 

Unfortunately, this was not the case.

 

Instead of having only himself to hit, Todd now had a real punching bag! He followed poor Greg around, gleefully stating 'hit grendel' while he did just that with a big smile on his face.

 

I need not explain that Greg didn't exactly enjoy this. In fact, despite Todd being there for company, he often complained of being lonely: 

 

Todd's response each time to this need was very confusing and probably not too helpful:

 

 

 

As well as being lonely, Greg often states his true feelings towards Todd. Can't really say I blame him... :<

 

Especially when your companion's idea of fun is this:

 

 

Todd's response to Greg's complaining is quite hilarious. I don't think he realises HE'S the one being disliked:

 

 

 I'm not sure how much they really dislike each other though, since I managed to catch this sweet moment:

 

 

 Although, it could just be that Todd is stalking Greg, waiting until he wakes up so he can either eat him or hit him. XD Poor Greg, he puts up with a lot. You can't help but love Todd though; he never fails to bring some much needed entertainment into this dank, dark jungle.

 

***

 

Needless to say I am rather attached to both of these Grendels! :D They never fail to make me laugh. Both receive lots of tickles and attention from the Hand! I even tried to train them so I could put them in with my Norns but it failed because I only managed to train one of them properly.

Both would happily perform the command 'push norn' on the training dummy which I moved from the warp room with Amaikokonut's Magic Words Movable command. That is, until the lesson was over and one of them went right back to 'hit norn' over and over, with a giant grin.

 

Guess which one didn't complete the training? Lol.

The C3 DS Challenge Continues

Wow, that's a really boring title. Hopefully I can come up with something more creative in future. Ahaha! XD

Oh well, you get the idea, ne? It's the second part of my C3 DS world story. I played for a couple of hours and discovered I'd forgotten things, made the test too easy for the Norns and so on, but these things will be ironed out along the way. 

My apologies in advance for stretching this out so much. It is probably going to cover a couple of shorter entries because I took a lot of pictures in my first few hours of playing. After that it should go faster because I'll try to be better with my timing and use less photos.

Ice wriggled his claw tipped toes in the sand, staring beyond the tiny edible teacup he had in his snowy paw to the expanse of beach surrounding him, almost in disbelief. Salty breezes tantalised his senses and rippled his fur, while the sounds of seawater lapped in his ears.

 

He had been grabbed by the pink floating hand without warning, to be dropped in a long, empty hallway with large round doors. Following the scents of food and other Norns, Ice had ended up here. Now he couldn't remember how to get out.

Clueless that he was the first male to pass the relatively simple survival test, Ice joined the only other creature in the room; a Norn named White. Unfortunately, they were seperated by one of those strange pop-up plants he had seen elsewhere in this world, but at least they could talk to each other.

***

 

EveryNorn fared differently in their new habitats and Pure was a perfect example. She was finding settling into her new home confusing. Her tummy told her she was hungry but food here was...well, it wasn't so easy to obtain as the lush place of abundance where she started out. You had to DO things to get it and KNOW where different foods could be found. Pure was too peckish to care about all that. She wanted food now.

 

Unsure what to do with herself when she couldn't find the exact thing she craved, she stomped her little foot and started searching for this elusive flavour. 

 

Her eyes drifted over the trees before they settled on the lift which had brought her to the top platform. It was brown, wasn't it? And the seeds she crunched on a few moments before were brown...maybe she could try eating the elevator to satisfy her growling belly. Licking her chops, Pure advanced on the unsuspecting vehicle, her tail lifted in anticipation of a tasty snack. She declared her intentions loudly. That elevator wasn't getting away from her!

 

Blizzard, the second male to pass the test, had something else to announce. He rode one of the brown contraptions to the top of the grassy hill, thinking it would be fun to travel in after his journey through the plain metal hallway. Not so. This thing was boring. It was worse than that...it was very boring. There had to be something more interesting to do than ride lifts in this new home. He complained for all the room to hear, hoping it would make him feel better.  He was happy. He was just so gosh darn...bored. Blizard felt like rolling around on the ground yelling "Blizzard extremely bored, Blizzard very bored!" That's how bad it was.

 

Snow held a seed tightly in her palm, closing her eyes as the creeping, crawling, sweating jungle spun slowly around her, making her wobble on her feet. She had grown since she first arrived here and even started to enjoy it, especially the whippy grasses that were perfect for hiding and stalking and the bouncing critters that were fun to chase. However, she felt strange lately; Feverish and dizzy ever since she awoke from her nap by the pirahna pond that morning. The pink hand had appeared in the room and hovered nearby but she failed to notice it, or it's worried flailing, suddenly caught up in a violent coughing fit.

 

The world began to turn dark as Snow crumpled to the mulchy ground with a soft whine. Her pretty white eyes closed for the last time, though the smile never left her face. Dreams of a happier place had filled her mind; a place with a glittering white forest and sparkling stars. She drifted off into them with a feeling of great peace and joy.

 

The pink hand though, was left more with a feeling of sadness and shock. Bacteria were the culprits, yet they had been merciless. They had acted so quickly SpringRain hadn't even got a chance to grab Miss Snow and rush her to the medical bay. Rest in peace, little one. Now we will have to find a new Bengal des Neiges.

Powder's experience in her new home was going far better! A mischievous giggle escaped her while she hid among the flowering cacti patch growing in the hot sands. She closed her eyes, seeking out a rock she had tossed into them, trying to find it without looking. Her sense of smell was working wonderfully; her spongy nose twitched at the scents of fresh water, animals, minerals, foods, plants...

 

 

 The flapping wings of the Uglee flying overhead made her laugh, though she didn't let it distract her. She had already bumped into those spiky cactus spines more than once and learned her lesson. It was an extra factor to add a dash of danger to the game. Brushing curly strands away from her face, Powder continued her rock-hunt.

 

Blanc, the third male Bengal to find himself a habitat, huddled beside the biscuit bush, nibbling the comfort foods for, well, what little comfort they offered. Though healthy in every other way, he felt a strong tug at his core, a longing for the comfy, cosy home he'd been forced to leave. Folding his paws to himself, he whinged of his plight, letting his cries of homesickness sound over and over. This place was NOT his home. Couldn't anyone help? His eyes peeked up at the hand floating a little way in the air and an idea made him smile. Maybe it would take him back. "Blance really homesick" he called loudly several more times, making his worries clear.

***



Blizzard had given up on all such help from that pink thing.

He had indulged his earlier desire and rolled around the top of the hill shouting before taking the BORING lift back down to the ground where the yellow grazers roamed, wandering amongst the oinking piggies to the thing which had caught his attention.

...The Stoperplant.

Blizzard knew this green growing oddity was something that hand put there to stop him crossing to the other part of the room where the female Norn was. That made it perfect to try and get past! Driving the hand nuts would be a great way to pass the time.

With a devilish grin and a glint in his eye, Blizzard ran into it over and over. The plant bloomed quickly to push him back, only making him all the more determined. It started to shove him more forcefully, yet he laughed and persisted. Now this was fun!

 

Yes, Blizzard did drive me nuts with this! I fell prey to his bait and zoomed right in to move the plant back a bit, only for him to run straight to it and continue his efforts. Moving him back up to the top of the green hill didn't help either. He took the lift right down and kept going, only stopping to eat or collapse from exhaustion.

 

Thankfully, he hadn't suffered any injuries from all this and seems to be having a blast.

Seven Little Mares

Seven little horses all in a row. Set them free in Albia and see how far they go! =^_^=

It's about time for another post concerning my C1 world. Without wanting to waffle on like I usually do, let's jump right in.

Rosie greets everyone with a great big smile. She's overjoyed to see you! She's delighted. She's positively thrilled to bits! She's...been sipping down a bit too much hootch! It's a wonder she hasn't fallen over while leaning over so far when she's had so many drinks.

 

The hootch cans were all stashed in the pond under the waterfall for a while where noone could have any. But the hootch shelf looked lonely and bare, so I decided to leave one green can lying out for any interested Norns. Rosie has proved herself over and over so far to be the kind of Norn who can take care of herself very well. She does this not only by travelling all over the world but by eating everything that's edible, (And some things that aren't). She munches the grubs, the Twinkies, honey, carrots, lemons, herbs...you name it. So, I guess it was a mistake on my part then to reincorporate all of the hootch cans back onto the shelf, seeing how much she was enjoying just one. She grabbed drink after drink and became very merry and tipsy.

 

Rosie giggle drunkenly and stumbled on her dark soft paws, swaying along the planks of the underground walkway...until she walked into a post with a solid 'clonk!' of her noggin. Ow. That had to hurt, Rosie, luv. :D

 

There was a moment of worry yet much to my relief, she seemed not to feel anything despite the noise that impact had made! Sweet Rosie blinked a bit before continuing on in her blissful stupor to pester the parakeet, sallying forth wearing a big wobbly grin. Oh the joys of too much manky~! ;) 

 

(Yes, I do realise that I may sometimes overdramatise things and here is a fine example. XD It's all in the name of fun so I apologise if this does happen to bother anyone. It's easier not to think too much about it and just go with the flow like a Bondi Norn...okay?).

 

Drifting away from my silly girl with a bit of a chuckle, I went to see how my other lovely females are doing and how much they've been growing. Three were found on the balmy tropical island, once home to my Fluffbum Grendel, who is currently elsewhere (and by that I don't mean he's dead! Never fear).

 

Harper is the fine filly playing with the button on the top level. Her different Norn legs thankfully means that this is one of the easier girls to tell apart from the others. Harper can usually be picked out from the crowd easily enough if she isn't around many other red Norns. I'm not entirely certain which breed of Norn legs those are. :/ I can say they aren't Purple Mountain legs with 100 percent surety though!

 

On the next level down by the lemons is Pan, having some fun with the boombox. It only seems to work once in a while yet my Norns still seem to like it a lot. Maybe they are pushing it wrong or trying to eat it or pull it.

 

The third Norn, the one being whisked away by the submarine, is the delightful Cola, named after the fizzy popular drink. Now that she's older I think I can detect a slight green tinge to her fur, though this could just be because someone suggested it earlier. It might or might not be there. All I know is she is the darkest out of all my beauties and another easy to identify. She doesn't have the best eating or sleeping habits and loves to wander a lot so she's a bit of a handful. I suppose the word that could suit her is 'spirited'.

 

Knowing Cola and I were bound to meet again, I left the island ponies to seek out the rest of my tiny herd. This time it is Strawberry and Rosie, who must have rode the cart with wheels across the swampy water to the cave. Something quite funny had happened here.

 

Strawberry kind of freaked out upon taking the lift down only to meeting Rosie already there. She must have been seeking peace and quiet away from her many sisters in the jungle area from whence she came and cried "Run Norn" as soon as she saw Rosie. Rosie, thinking it a fun game, also cried out "Run" and proceeded to speed towards the left with a huge smile still plastered on her dial. Poor Strawberry was simply trying to get away. Sometimes this world feels very teeny tiny. I like my world big and full of fantastical things, adventures, hidden nooks and crannies as well as peaceful, secret places. Maybe Strawberry feels the same.

 

Leaving these two to sort out their troubles for a minute, I went to visit Honey. She looked very uncomfortable standing in the garden and I could imagine her fanning a tiny paw at her sweaty face and neck while complaining. Either it's summer in Albia or I believe all this excess heat is caused by my oven COB in the kitchen. My Norns like to push the part that makes the toasty fire roar to life as well as pushing the crackling fireplace and burning themselves...multiple times in a row. Afterwards they whine of being too hot for several minutes so I try to entice them back out to the garden for fresh air and drinks. I have installed a fan COB for them to push to cool down as well but am seriously considering removing the oven COB because even though the food it dispenses is wonderful (especially for sick Norns and baby Norns), it probably has been causing more trouble than good lately. Honey prodded at my conscience with her whinging and I wavered yet again. Maybe I'll only use the oven room in cold temperatures, like if I use the winter snow storm or the rain storm.

 

Smart Honey went and got herself a drink from the vendor. Not only did she push the pink lemonade vendor, she grabbed the drink straight after and started gulping it down! Good girl Honey. Maybe we should keep the oven a little bit longer.

 

(The two Norns beneath her are Strawberry and Rosie. They took the wheeled water cart back across the tunnel together. Strawberry was mostly dragged against her will.)

 

Checking back on the island I found Cola and Harper having a chat by the deep blue waters. They did some nice work staying out of the sun under the peachy shade umbrella, playing with the radio and protecting themselves from skin cancer. Cola wouldn't eat much when left to herself but Harper showed her what to do by straying occasionally to eat stuff before coming back. Here's hoping that behaviour continues.

 

Travelling down in the lift some time later, the two females found themselves in a newly decorated cave tunnel. A wending vine bearing icy blue flowers was growing up the walls, lending a burst of colour to the otherwise dim, dank area. Straight away, the curious creatures inspected the vine, it being something new to them.

 

Feeling adventurous when the cart came squeaking in for a visit, Cola declared her intentions to give it a try. Harper instead wondered if the flowers were edible. I broke a few off for her to try. Cola picked one up but after she dropped it, Harper happily crunched down all three of them. :) I have to wonder how they must taste. Minty flavours come to mind.

 

Honey had finally cooled off out in the spring sunshine and soft breezes of the garden. She amused herself playing with several toys, now that she wasn't too hot to move around, while a bright butterfly flitted overhead.

 

In case anyone is wondering, The Happy Pink Flowers are a COB from the website and owner of Jessi's COBs as is the Bilumea vine (above). Thank you so much to Jessica at Discover Albia for recommending these works of art and thanks again to Jessi. xoxo My Norns and I are very grateful.

 

The world seemed to be full of sweetness and peace. Strawberry and Rosie had continued their travels up to the place where the projector with slideshow lives. Worn out from her constant adventuring and her earlier escapades, Rosie collapsed in the lift and fell into a dreamless slumber. With the soothing sound of the waterfall gently lilting nearby, the soft drone of the honeybees and the trilling of the birds, it would have been hard not to be lulled into a deep sleep.

 

 

Perhaps because she suddenly had her wish of serenity granted or perhaps because the mischievous Rosie had grown on her, Strawberry stood over her small friend and silently watched with a smile. It looked like the two had become friends. I was worried Strawberry would waken Rosie so they could play together so I tried to distract her attention with the slideshow (without talking to her since I discovered the Hand talking when there are Norns asleep nearly always wakes them up). Thankfully, Strawberry had no such intentions. Apart from the occasional pat, she let Rosie sleep and the other awoke refreshed and alert. It's enough to make one say "Awww!"

 

In the garden Honey had also been joined by a friend. Noticing the cloud of butterflies hovering above their heads, I drew their attention to it with a giggle. They diligently tried to get the 'pretties' but never could, much to their confusion. Still many Norns never give up trying. "I'll get you, my pretties!" 

 

This is a picture of some nice juicy tomatoes. They are good eating this time of year, salty yet sweet, with a dash of Grendel snores drifing upwards from below to stimulate proper plant cell growth due to the right amount of vibrations in the air.

 

Fluffbum, completely oblivious, sleeps his way around most of Albia these days. His favourite trick is to wake up unexpectedly as soon as he has company, which whether you're a Grendel or not is bound to give someone a scare. It doesn't take him long to end up like this again though.

 

The game has been going for a few hours now. Floating to the island in search of adults, I was overjoyed to find Harper, Cola and Honey were all of breedable age! Soon it would be time to try my new strategy for breeding. But not before we grow up all the males. At this point, all of those exported are children or babies.

 

Rosie and Strawberry went their seperate ways eventually. While her pal went to go and poke Fluffbum awake, (much to his delight. He loves company), Strawberry tried her paw at some friendly bee whispering, never minding the harmless and indeed, beneficial stings they gave her in reply. In this sort of Albia-paradise, things were mostly safe and pleasant. All Norns had to worry about was a COB obsessed hand who stalked them for pictures throughout their lives and could possibly crash their world with her overly excessive COBs.

 

Seeing as all the females around this time were about the two hour mark, I exported all of them to import the males. First to come back in off the hard drive was Boots, where he happily wandered about playing with toys, munching carrots, licking honey and trying to figure out how to eat the Happy Pink Flower heads, which were not as easy to get off their stalks as he thought.

 

Second to come in was Strider, named after one Aragorn son of Arathorn from J.R.R. Tolkien's Lord of the Rings books. Much to his horror, I am sure. XD Still I like to name my creatures after things I hold dear and Strider is one of them.

 

This little dark horse however, was not doing so well. After brushing up on some vocab with the Encyclopaedia Nornica (That's too long, I'm shortening it to Enc. Nornc.) he fairly cantered through the garden, across the bridge, into the jungle where, I am sorry to say, he had a run-in with antigen 2, an unknown toxin (not shown here) and some sneezing and coughing. Thsi halted him in his tracks.

 

Er...not entirely. He did do the spinning dance with lemons and carrots whenever he was about to take a bite, yet sneezed or coughed before he could chomp on them.  Persuasion from Hand got a couple of carrots down, plus a lemon, after which he succumbed and passed out on the floor.

 

Battling the illness still, yet seeming somewhat better after his nap, Strider strode back to the lemon trellis, hoping to gain some helpful vitamins. He passed a Norn along the way. Boots first impresion of the sick Norn was rather hilarious. How rude! You might think that Boots but you don't say it out loud to him! I'm sure Strider will grow up to be a wonderfully interesting creature once he gets over his illness and can play with you.

 

Hurray! To celebrate his recovery, and maybe to speed it along so he could play with Boots, Strider pushed the vendor like Honey before him, and gulped down the cold fizzy beverage from within.

 

Fully recovered and no longer contagious, the two Norns could now socialise and go on adventures together. Strider had been a baby just a second before this screenshot. He shot up fast! One moment Boots was looking down at him and the next he was looking down at Boots. It will be fun to see who grows next. 

 

With those two safe and happy and the illness sent packing, another Norn was blipped into existence in the land. Stilts, much like the Norn before him, went straight for the cold dungeon area beneath the temple. What is it about this place? Maybe it really is summer and the Norns are trying to escape the hot weather?

 

At least it was good for one thing. Lessons on how to use the Flibberty Gibbet.

 

Until next post...

 

May all your flibberties keep gibbering.

 

SpringRain.

Creatures 3/DS Challenge Number 1

...Natural Selection.

I chose to go with my favourite Creature Challenge/Scenario idea without making a poll, since a) I'm not sure how many people read this to be able to contribute to a poll and b) it seemed easier to start off with the most detailed plan. I know there are going to be some holes in it that I missed.

The world was all set up thanks to some pretty decorations from the Garden Box agent. Thank you to all of those who created it!

I love the grass patch deco a lot, apparently, because there are different coloured patches of it all over the Ark, along with some round starry windows here and there. Another agent I made heavy use of was the NornGarden Stopper Plants, to prevent Norns walking off cliff edges and keep them in seperate areas.

I did start off using elevators and trying to hide buttons and lifts with Hausemouse's Button and Lift Hider agent. Unfortunately, this didn't work out as well as I planned. Norns could still use some of the lifts I didn't hide to get to some levels and nearly all of them seemed to have problems. We had lift obsession, glitchy lifts that didn't do anything when pressed or trapped those inside them, button obsession and eat elevator syndrome. Sometimes the lifts would carry Norns to a level I didn't want them to go to as well.

I went with my second idea to kill hots them all and replace them with an agent that I had never tried before; the Elevines! These are truly marvellous. I put them everywhere that the lifts used to be but customised things a bit so Norns can only go to levels of my choosing. In this way, terrariums can be neatly divided in half (more or less) between two  genders, which I am keeping apart until I make them go through a test that selects the new breeding pair.

I soon discovered the original test wasn't hard enough but as we're only just starting out it's okay, I guess... :/ Things will get tougher for the next generation as I slowly take items away and place distractions around.

Also, I'm trying a new way of telling the stories of my Norns. Let me know what you think?

Well, enough of my boring blabber, time to show a few pictures!

 

Carried by a strange hand from the warm circle of the hatching pad, White, Powder and Snow took a minute or two to recover after being swooped through the air. They wandered on tiny paws in the lush grass as soon as their paws touched the ground. Pure, being more curious than her sisters, licked her lips after a snack of seeds and crawled further away with wide eyes, eager to explore. This place was new and interesting!

 

***

 

So we welcome the Bengals des Neiges! Are they not the prettiest little things?

My original choice of breed was a feline based type, not surprisingly. They were going to be the Coloured Bengals, which I had downloaded from...well, I can't remember where from but they came in pairs each with a male and female, each pair a different colour of the rainbow. Strangely enough when I imported them, the body parts didn't appear correctly and their tails were missing, so I figured I must not have a breed installed which the require to appear properly. Exporting the bunch, I went and clicked Muco until he gave me something I could work with. He was very generous and kindly spat out eight eggs containing these pretty Bengal Norns. I tried searching info about this breed via Google but have not found anything much about them except that they are made to be white and black instead of the usual orange and black. So perhaps they use the same breed as the original three starter Norns from C3. I have no idea.

***

 

Bumping into a bobbly plant at the start of the corridor that lead to the long hallway with the shiny floor, Pure became very confused. It kept pushing her back, no matter how many times she tried to go past. After a few more fruitless attempts to satisfy her wanderlust, Pure gave up with a frown and a flick of her silky ears. She turned around with a swaying tail and crawled back to munch seeds again with her three sisters, wondering why the plant would not let her pass.

 

In the middle of their seed-eating, something pink floating overhead caught the four sisters' attention and they noticed the hand which had grabbed them before. It swished down and poked the plant guarding the entry to the long hallway, causing the tendrils which had been sticking up to suck back into the green mass in the pot. Pure's ears pricked and she let out a small mewl. Maybe now she could go for a wander!

 

She paused at the first big round thing she could see, sniffing around the bottom and edges. Smells of fruits and foods were wafting through, making her belly rumble with hunger. Blinking at the door, she placed a paw upon it...bzzz-swish...with a pnematic whoosh, the door whirled her through into a brand new place. The little Bengal crept along the green hall, grasses tickling her belly. She yawned sleepily. Retreating back to the familiar and safe spot near the door, Pure curled up in soft grass and closed her eyes, drifting off with a smile. Maybe her sisters would follow her here. Little did she know, Pure had found her 'habitat' for now. 

***

Next it was Pwder's turn to explore. Curious as to where one of her sisters had gone, she set off along the bluish hallway in search. Wait...there was something bright and pretty up ahead. Was that a toy? What did it do? Her tiny tail swished behind her while she crawled faster to her target. Powder pushed at it and pulled at it, licked it and sniffed it, giggling as it did funny things. Whee! This was fun. She completely forgot what she was originally after, too busy playing with the cube to notice.

 

 

***

Powder finally grew tired from her playing and started to blink heavy eyes. She lay down beside it and curled into a ball, resting for a while until her tummy started a protest. Sniffing the air, she began to seek out something edible. Walking by the circular things in the hallway, she could smell some tasty starch coming from behind the third, which had an odd yellow mark upon it. She lifted a paw to touch it to the glowing mark.There was a loud, whirring whoosh...

 

The next second she found herself in a pile of sand, staring at a ...something! Hmm...where were the seeds she was looking for? Did they come out of that tube up there? Powder couldn't see a way out of here at all. Where was that thing she pushed to get in? Oh well, her nose told her seeds were still present. She would hunt around in the sand.

 

 

***

 

With two doors locked now and only two remaining open, I hoped the rest of the Norns would find a room to call their own.  Unfortunately, Snow and White got a bit lost in the hallway and started to starve, so I cheated a bit and told them to "look door". They both entered the Aquatic Terrarium at the same time! Deciding that was good enough for two babies, whom I had probably pampered too much, I moved one of them to the Jungle.

 

***

Snow clasped her paws to her and looked around in surprise. Only moments before she had been in a tropical paradise with gently lapping waters and soft yellow sands. Then the pink hand came and grabbed her by the scruff, whooshed her through the air...and plopped her down in a warm, sticky, smelly place with floating blue seeds. She lifted her paws one after the other, trying to take her feet out of the purple grass. This place smelled funny...where was her sister? She eyed the blue seed curiously. Maybe it was edible.

 

 

***

White closed her eyes and listened to the sounds of the waves, standing in the protective shelter of the elevator. Her sister had just been grabbed by the hand and taken away! She was all alone. Well, there was a seed down by her footpaws, wasn't there? Hmm...White's nose started twitching. Smelled like a pretty tasty seed at that.

 

 

A meal of seeds and juicy lemons filled her up nicely. She began to grow sleepy and curled up in som of the soft warm sand, taking a long nap. White awoke some time later, feeling a little better and oddly, a little older. With her added height, she managed to spy a toy she had not noticed before and even felt a bit playful. Wading through pretty aqua foilage, she batted at in with her paw, watching the funny doll wobble around. Maybe it wasn't so bad here after all.

 

***

 

Thus concludes the placing of the four starter females into their habitats! I'm not sure if anyone would find this stlye of narrative appealing so I'll see what the reactions are before posting any more. If anyone does like it, I am happy to continue. =^_^= This will probably mean smaller posts taking longer to explain, yet it seems to be a little more fun trying to imagine their lives as experienced by the Norns themselves.

 

:D I am probably only going to generation 10 or 20 with these. Hopefully things go according to plan and we get to see some changes in each group by the end of it.

 

If not, it might be an entertaining read.

 

Bye for now,

 

SpringRain.