Feldspar (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
getfeldsparred) wrote2025-04-01 09:59 am
getfeldsparred) wrote2025-04-01 09:59 am
TLV Application
User Name: Gels
Contact Information: funkygelise @ discord, gelise @ Plurk
Other Characters In-Game: None
Character Name: Feldspar
Series: Outer Wilds
Character Age: Middle-aged*
*Feldspar is a Hearthian, who due to ~video game mechanics (?) ~ measure age in stages. Feldspar is no longer a hatchling or a youth in their society, having participated in the coming-of-age sapwine ceremony, nor are they considered an elder. There’s typical characteristics of aging in Hearthians: wrinkles, sagging skin, etc., but also the drooping of their large ears. Judging by the aging seen on Feldspar’s peers they’ve probably hit middle age, whatever that is for their species.
From When: Feldspar’s canon death comes at the end of the game: the sun explodes and the universe dies.
Inmate Justification: Feldspar is reckless and self-indulgent in the pursuit of their passion for exploration, and their friends and loved ones ultimately paid the price for their carelessness. They’re selfish, having chosen to roam the solar system untethered over the worried friends they left behind, and cowardly despite their reputation for fearlessness, as they were ultimately being too frightened to return home once they were finally found. They constantly pushed themselves to the limit despite the toll it took on the close-knit community they left behind, blissfully unaware of the impact their disappearance had on the entire village that loved them so well. Working with a warden will help put their actions into perspective, see that the consequences of barreling forward without caution, and process their own repressed feelings of the trauma they experienced.
Arrival: Feldspar is going to be picked up and dropped onto the Barge without given a chance to make a choice. Between the sun exploding and the events that take place in the ancient glade, where they both do and do not exist because of quantum mechanics, it won’t be too surprising to them that they ended up in a whole different universe with a bunch of weirdo aliens.
They’ll also be excited. Like. Stupidly excited. BIG ALIEN SHIP!!!!
Abilities/Powers: Feldspar possesses no magic or super-abilities - their talents lie in piloting things that fly: jetpacks, ships, chairs with rockets strapped onto them, and being exceptionally lucky to have not died operating said things that fly.
Inmate Information: Feldspar is a founding member of Outer Wilds Ventures, the first and only space program on Timber Hearth! A plucky little outfit, Outer Wilds Ventures started with five friends who had a dream of hurling themselves into the solar system to explore the various planets and celestial bodies of their solar system. Feldspar was the test pilot of the group, the first Hearthian to be intentionally launched into space (which means there were Hearthians who were accidentally thrown into space????? It’s a good game, okay), as well as the first to land on the moon, and judging by the notes they left scattered around the solar system, the first to explore Brittle Hollow, Giants Deep, and the Dark Bramble.
As a pilot and then later an astronaut, Feldspar is flippant about their safety to the point of seemingly being casually suicidal, one of the other founders even wondering out loud how they’d survived to even make it into space in the first place. Feldspar is covered in scars to prove said recklessness, having test driven everything Outer Wilds Ventures’ engineer, Slate, ever created. Slate is also notoriously reckless and disregards most forms of safety, even going as far as to argue with the others about the installation of seat belts. Tellingly, Feldspar still hopped into the pilot’s seat, safety restraints or no safety restraints.
In canon they disappear without a trace well before the start of the actual story, but through clues left by Feldspar themself the player character eventually finds them stranded in a desolate place called the Dark Bramble. They tell their story with excitement to the player character - they wanted a challenge, so they decided after riding cyclones on Giant’s Deep that they’d try their hand at the Dark Bramble, a place that no one had ever explored thoroughly before because of its giant, thorny vines and weird, foggy interior. After cruising around through the maze-like interior of the Dark Bramble for a while they ran into a massive anglerfish, which chased them until they ultimately crashed their ship and wound up stranded in a hostile planet.
When finally discovered by the player character, the Hatchling, and asked if ground control should be alerted for a rescue, Feldspar expresses reluctance to return to Timber Hearth, citing that they enjoy the peace of the Dark Bramble and not having to worry about being ‘the best there ever was’. This moment, and when they’re told that a seed from the Dark Bramble has been discovered on Timber Hearth, are the only times their demeanor seems to change from the upbeat and cocky pilot to showing actual concern. There’s a deep reluctance to be serious or openly bothered about anything - they’re found in the mouth of a skeletal anglerfish where they’ve been living for years, and all they can do is brag about ‘what a great find’ the skeleton is for their campsite.
In fact, Feldspar is seemingly unbothered by just about everything. When finally found they realize they’ve been gone for a while but don’t seem to have a firm grasp of just how long it’s been, just sort of existing by themselves in a place where time is a little…wonky. They’re surprised to see another Hearthian, even congratulating them for being the second to ever make it to the Dark Bramble, but there aren’t any follow up questions about….anything. Not about their fellow founders or the other Hearthians back home, not about how everyone was holding up or if they’d assumed they’d died - the only thing they’re really curious about is the Hatchling’s adventures.
Feldspar seems to exist without a thought to anyone else or any other perspective other than their own, certainly not the Hearthians they left behind who would obviously be worried about them. Of course the one line about ‘taking a break from being the best there ever was’ is the only clue that Feldspar was actually running from home and having trouble potentially facing polite society again.
Path to Redemption:
Their disappearance also raises some major red flags - the fact that ground control didn’t know where they’d headed off to means they didn’t bother to check in with anyone before heading to the most dangerous place in the solar system. While their reputation was that of the fearless explorer who pushed limits, they didn’t have the good sense to radio down to their team to let them know where they’d were headed. It’s an incredibly selfish move, all in the name of chasing a little bit of excitement. The founders of Outer Wilds Ventures were incredibly close, friends and family rather than just coworkers, and purposely cutting contact from them is something that needs to be addressed by their warden and explored a little deeper. Feldspar wasn’t just chasing excitement, but running from everything they knew.
Feldspar’s reasons for going to the Dark Bramble was clearly the need to continuously push themselves, but beyond the callousness of doing something incredibly stupid is the fact that they cut themselves off on purpose, and continued to do so even when there was the hope of being rescued.. They were afraid of returning home, overburdened by their own popularity and the mythology surrounding their exploits, and it’s implied that deep down they weren’t really sure who they were outside of this legend they’d inadvertently created. If not the daring pilot and incredible story teller, then who? It was more appealing to them to continue living in the mouth of a giant anglerfish than return home to the people who mourned them. Feldspar will need some seriously help from a warden to acknowledge these facts about themselves, and actually admit the guilt they feel for the hurt they caused.
Some additional notes for any potential wardens:
Though Feldspar is very charming and easy-going and will be quick to fit in, their life experiences are likely very different from the majority of the Barge populace. Feldspar is a Hearthian, a blue-skinned, four-eyed, genderless species found on the forested planet of Timber Hearth. There’s only one Hearthian settlement on Timber Hearth, comprising of roughly 20 or so inhabitants ranging in age from child to elder adult. The Hearthians are close-knit community that really dig that whole ‘bonfire and marshmallows’ scene, and as a species they value curiosity, exploration and self-expression. They’re clever and resourceful, resilient, and aesthetically just sort of rugged and folksy (see their wooden space ships and Feldspar’s duct-taped space suit), but generally have a very different lifestyle than the humans they’ll ultimately interact with.
Though the Hearthians value knowledge and are a technologically advanced society, there aren’t any governing or schooling systems, aside from a long-suffering mayor who mostly exists to stop Feldspar and the others from burning down the village and a hodgepodge of a museum. Hearthians don’t have traditional family units, and are instead hatched, raised, and taught communally by all the members of the village. In the same spirit Hearthians don’t have ‘jobs’, but rather roles they take on in the village, such as instrument maker, sapwine brewer, fire watch, and tree keeper, and of course, astronaut.
In game these differences will translate into obvious inexperience and confusion about how large societies work, and broader concepts like rule and law, crime and punishment, war, religion, sexuality, and smaller things like family lineage or marriage, siblings, money, etc. will all be things they’ll need to learn. Feldspar learning these things aren’t necessary key to their redemption, however it will help other characters understand their perspective and why they might not be so bothered by things like the whole ‘prison ship’ concept as a whole. Potential misunderstandings and confusion won’t impact their ability to interact with others on the Barge, as Hearthians are fairly well-rounded beings that understand and employ things like sarcasm, gallows humor, figurative language, etc.
At one point a note can be found from Feldspar that has the word ‘schlep’ in it. So. You know. We’re playing fast and loose with with language here.
History:
https://outerwilds.fandom.com/wiki/Feldspar
When the main narrative of Outer Wilds begins Feldspar is nothing more than a legend, having been lost for years somewhere in the great unknown. Their compatriots who founded the space program with them continued on in Feldspar’s absence, building a museum and observatory from the various artifacts gathered across the solar system, and recruiting and training new explorers to follow in their footsteps. Feldspar is very much a presence though - their portrait hangs in the entrance of the observatory, the pilot’s chair that carried them into space is on display underneath the launchpad, their notes are found all over the solar system, and the villagers still talk about their feats and fearlessness. Feldspar is a ghost in the narrative, the myth of the greatest pilot in history who one day just didn’t come home.
The solar system that Feldspar used to call home was a dangerous place that only occasionally followed the typical laws of physics. Aside from the yellow dwarf star at the center of the solar system, there were six celestial bodies that could be found in Feldspar’s home world, plus a cornucopia of satellites, moons, probes, comets, space stations, and black and white holes. It’s an important frame of reference for anyone trying to pick at Feldspar’s brain, as is the big mystery of the Nomai, the advanced alien race that one day seemingly just disappeared, that seemed to be embedded in the very fabric of the solar system. It was the Nomai’s leftover technology that gave a jump-start to Outer Wilds Ventures’ exploration of space, and their skeletons and artifacts and ruins (and giant cannon) were found everywhere.
Sadly the Hearthians as a species came into maturity at the end of the universe, when most of the star systems were blinking out of existence. The Hearthians, their village, their solar system were all destroyed when their sun went supernova, though due to the Nomai and their enigmatic Ash Twin Project the last 22 minutes of the Hearthians’ existence were looped over and over again, trigged by the natural death of the sun. The Hearthians, caught in a time loop for roughly 9 million cycles, were never aware that they were living and reliving their destruction for years. Feldspar was alone in the Dark Bramble for all of it, always the last Hearthian to die when the sun collapses in on itself and explodes.
It’s also worth looking at the Dark Bramble’s wikia entry, because it’s a bonkers place, and it makes sense that it’s where Feldspar called home. https://outerwilds.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Bramble
Sample Network Entry:
[The audio - and just the audio - clicks on. The voice that comes through is a little muffled, as though there’s something over their face. Like a mask, or perhaps some sort of helmet. Like a space helmet.]
Feldspar to ground control, Feldspar to ground control -
[They laugh loudly, and there’s a weird little echo that can be caught by the sharpest of ears. After a few seconds they let out a little satisfied sigh.]
Aaah. Just kidding, just kidding. I just saw the radio and couldn’t help myself, old habits and all that. It’s been a while since I’ve lived in polite society - polite being relative, I’ve heard some of the things you aliens say to each other. And now that I think about it isn’t weird that I can understand you and you can understand me? Or maybe it isn’t, maybe I’ve just been sitting in the dark for too long and missed a bunch of stuff, like the new rules of the universe.
But I digress. Let me tell you all a story. It’s been a real long time since I’ve been able to tell a good story. It goes like this:
I’d just finished exploring a planet called Giant’s Deep. The name kind of says it all, but it’s a big ol’ ocean world with massive cyclones that suck up the small islands dotting the water and throws them into the atmosphere. There’s something at the core of the planet but there’s some kind of force field blocking the way making it impossible to pass, or so the other travelers used to believe. I’m real proud of myself for that one, y’know? Figured out how to get myself down there.
Anyway, with one planet feldsparred I figured I might as well give myself a challenge and check out the Dark Bramble. No one’d ever been before; too confusing and intimidating, but hey, why not give it a go? I’d been flying around and dodging these big ol’ vines, when I run straight into this huge anglerfish. Thing was enormous, big gnarly teeth and all.
I tried to shake it off with my usual moves, and the thing clips my ship! Sends me completely off-course and into a vine. My ship smashes into it and starts sparking, and I think…that ain’t good, so I got myself outta there and found a place to camp out. Lived there ever since, at least until I came here.
And that’s my story! Pretty good, ‘eh? I got a hundred, but truth be told I like just sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and listening to some music. Anyone here play an instrument?
Sample RP:
It’s a beautiful day in the solar system! Which solar system? Who knows! Feldspar definitely couldn’t say, because they were never the brains of the operation, and the Outer Wilds were definitely destroyed by that really painful flash of light they felt before it all kind of went hazy. Maybe Hornfels might know where they are, if their fellow founder of the space program were here with them now on this alien ship. Maybe Hornfels might understand what that flash of light and extreme heat that ate them and their campsite right up had been, or at least help them figure it out with that big brain of theirs.
Maybe, just maybe, Hornfels is still alive somewhere, and isn’t that a nice thought? Definitely better than the thoughts they could be thinking, like everything and everyone is gone forever. There’s the vague memory of a dark campsite and a melancholy little fire, one last song before it all became so, so light but so, so heavy, as though all the atoms in the universe suddenly collided and then exploded into the vacuum around them -
Nope! Too depressing, too confusing, and Feldspar has the allure of somewhere brand new laid out ahead of them.
Setting foot outside of their room is a little strange. At first they thought that the inter-dimensional vines in the Dark Bramble had somehow connected to this ship - and to be honest, they’re not entirely convinced that isn’t still the case - but a careful exploration of the place makes them think something else is going on. They’re not used to the natural-feeling gravity, but the alien life aboard doesn’t seem too hostile and there seem to be amenities available for a poor traveler.
Like a shower! Oh, a shower. They’re almost afraid of what their body looks like without the spacesuit, hence the getup as they wander the Barge, but being in the water necessitates the removal of their raggedy suit so they press on. Off goes the clothes, the battered helmet and tattered boots, the tanks with limited oxygen and jet fuel, and into the water they go. And oh, stars, it feels so nice. They could just live here a while, but the sight of their scars and their weirdly-healed wounds depresses them. They towel off and pull their suit back on, careful to avoid looking at themself directly in the mirror, and head out to do more exploration.
Special Notes:
After the time loops are fixed but before the rebirth of a new universe, Feldspar is called by the hatchling/player character (or the Eye of the Universe, or maybe both, the universe is very mysterious) to a place called the ancient glade, where they and the other travelers sit around a campfire and play their final song to create the new universe. Though this is the canon ending for Feldspar, due to the whole quantum nature of the ancient glade they both were and weren’t present. In-game this means they’ll remember being there and know vaguely about the end of the universe, but it’ll be hella foggy, sort of like a dream.
Almost all the travelers/astronauts in-game play some sort of instrument (or in Esker’s case, can whistle a mean tune), and Feldspar plays the harmonica! It’s kinda soothing to listen to when you’re floating through the Dark Bramble trying not to be eaten by anglerfish. https://youtu.be/KlkxUybpp9Q?feature=shared
Contact Information: funkygelise @ discord, gelise @ Plurk
Other Characters In-Game: None
Character Name: Feldspar
Series: Outer Wilds
Character Age: Middle-aged*
*Feldspar is a Hearthian, who due to ~video game mechanics (?) ~ measure age in stages. Feldspar is no longer a hatchling or a youth in their society, having participated in the coming-of-age sapwine ceremony, nor are they considered an elder. There’s typical characteristics of aging in Hearthians: wrinkles, sagging skin, etc., but also the drooping of their large ears. Judging by the aging seen on Feldspar’s peers they’ve probably hit middle age, whatever that is for their species.
From When: Feldspar’s canon death comes at the end of the game: the sun explodes and the universe dies.
Inmate Justification: Feldspar is reckless and self-indulgent in the pursuit of their passion for exploration, and their friends and loved ones ultimately paid the price for their carelessness. They’re selfish, having chosen to roam the solar system untethered over the worried friends they left behind, and cowardly despite their reputation for fearlessness, as they were ultimately being too frightened to return home once they were finally found. They constantly pushed themselves to the limit despite the toll it took on the close-knit community they left behind, blissfully unaware of the impact their disappearance had on the entire village that loved them so well. Working with a warden will help put their actions into perspective, see that the consequences of barreling forward without caution, and process their own repressed feelings of the trauma they experienced.
Arrival: Feldspar is going to be picked up and dropped onto the Barge without given a chance to make a choice. Between the sun exploding and the events that take place in the ancient glade, where they both do and do not exist because of quantum mechanics, it won’t be too surprising to them that they ended up in a whole different universe with a bunch of weirdo aliens.
They’ll also be excited. Like. Stupidly excited. BIG ALIEN SHIP!!!!
Abilities/Powers: Feldspar possesses no magic or super-abilities - their talents lie in piloting things that fly: jetpacks, ships, chairs with rockets strapped onto them, and being exceptionally lucky to have not died operating said things that fly.
Inmate Information: Feldspar is a founding member of Outer Wilds Ventures, the first and only space program on Timber Hearth! A plucky little outfit, Outer Wilds Ventures started with five friends who had a dream of hurling themselves into the solar system to explore the various planets and celestial bodies of their solar system. Feldspar was the test pilot of the group, the first Hearthian to be intentionally launched into space (which means there were Hearthians who were accidentally thrown into space????? It’s a good game, okay), as well as the first to land on the moon, and judging by the notes they left scattered around the solar system, the first to explore Brittle Hollow, Giants Deep, and the Dark Bramble.
As a pilot and then later an astronaut, Feldspar is flippant about their safety to the point of seemingly being casually suicidal, one of the other founders even wondering out loud how they’d survived to even make it into space in the first place. Feldspar is covered in scars to prove said recklessness, having test driven everything Outer Wilds Ventures’ engineer, Slate, ever created. Slate is also notoriously reckless and disregards most forms of safety, even going as far as to argue with the others about the installation of seat belts. Tellingly, Feldspar still hopped into the pilot’s seat, safety restraints or no safety restraints.
In canon they disappear without a trace well before the start of the actual story, but through clues left by Feldspar themself the player character eventually finds them stranded in a desolate place called the Dark Bramble. They tell their story with excitement to the player character - they wanted a challenge, so they decided after riding cyclones on Giant’s Deep that they’d try their hand at the Dark Bramble, a place that no one had ever explored thoroughly before because of its giant, thorny vines and weird, foggy interior. After cruising around through the maze-like interior of the Dark Bramble for a while they ran into a massive anglerfish, which chased them until they ultimately crashed their ship and wound up stranded in a hostile planet.
When finally discovered by the player character, the Hatchling, and asked if ground control should be alerted for a rescue, Feldspar expresses reluctance to return to Timber Hearth, citing that they enjoy the peace of the Dark Bramble and not having to worry about being ‘the best there ever was’. This moment, and when they’re told that a seed from the Dark Bramble has been discovered on Timber Hearth, are the only times their demeanor seems to change from the upbeat and cocky pilot to showing actual concern. There’s a deep reluctance to be serious or openly bothered about anything - they’re found in the mouth of a skeletal anglerfish where they’ve been living for years, and all they can do is brag about ‘what a great find’ the skeleton is for their campsite.
In fact, Feldspar is seemingly unbothered by just about everything. When finally found they realize they’ve been gone for a while but don’t seem to have a firm grasp of just how long it’s been, just sort of existing by themselves in a place where time is a little…wonky. They’re surprised to see another Hearthian, even congratulating them for being the second to ever make it to the Dark Bramble, but there aren’t any follow up questions about….anything. Not about their fellow founders or the other Hearthians back home, not about how everyone was holding up or if they’d assumed they’d died - the only thing they’re really curious about is the Hatchling’s adventures.
Feldspar seems to exist without a thought to anyone else or any other perspective other than their own, certainly not the Hearthians they left behind who would obviously be worried about them. Of course the one line about ‘taking a break from being the best there ever was’ is the only clue that Feldspar was actually running from home and having trouble potentially facing polite society again.
Path to Redemption:
The first piece of Feldspar’s redemption arc will be to address those basic needs: they’re used to living in isolation and surviving all on their own. They’ve been eating tinned marshmallows and centipedes for an unspecified number of years, and they’re in severe denial that anything is wrong with that. They’ll need a warden to knock them down a peg or two and force them to release that their little camp out in an anglerfish skeleton fucked them up real good, and they need to take better care of themselves.
Feldspar needs someone to push them to grieve the loss of the universe, their home planet, the Hearthians, and themselves, and to force Feldspar to just acknowledge that they can feel things and don’t have to constantly play up a facade. Though they feel things like loss and pressure of being an idol, their first instinct is to bury it all down and let it roll right off their backs. They dismiss concerns and any worry about themselves, choosing to focus on the adventure and unknown at the expense of their own mental and physical health. They’re the unstoppable legend, Feldspar! Timber Hearth’s greatest pilot! They don’t need things like self-care.
Their disappearance also raises some major red flags - the fact that ground control didn’t know where they’d headed off to means they didn’t bother to check in with anyone before heading to the most dangerous place in the solar system. While their reputation was that of the fearless explorer who pushed limits, they didn’t have the good sense to radio down to their team to let them know where they’d were headed. It’s an incredibly selfish move, all in the name of chasing a little bit of excitement. The founders of Outer Wilds Ventures were incredibly close, friends and family rather than just coworkers, and purposely cutting contact from them is something that needs to be addressed by their warden and explored a little deeper. Feldspar wasn’t just chasing excitement, but running from everything they knew.
Feldspar’s reasons for going to the Dark Bramble was clearly the need to continuously push themselves, but beyond the callousness of doing something incredibly stupid is the fact that they cut themselves off on purpose, and continued to do so even when there was the hope of being rescued.. They were afraid of returning home, overburdened by their own popularity and the mythology surrounding their exploits, and it’s implied that deep down they weren’t really sure who they were outside of this legend they’d inadvertently created. If not the daring pilot and incredible story teller, then who? It was more appealing to them to continue living in the mouth of a giant anglerfish than return home to the people who mourned them. Feldspar will need some seriously help from a warden to acknowledge these facts about themselves, and actually admit the guilt they feel for the hurt they caused.
Some additional notes for any potential wardens:
Though Feldspar is very charming and easy-going and will be quick to fit in, their life experiences are likely very different from the majority of the Barge populace. Feldspar is a Hearthian, a blue-skinned, four-eyed, genderless species found on the forested planet of Timber Hearth. There’s only one Hearthian settlement on Timber Hearth, comprising of roughly 20 or so inhabitants ranging in age from child to elder adult. The Hearthians are close-knit community that really dig that whole ‘bonfire and marshmallows’ scene, and as a species they value curiosity, exploration and self-expression. They’re clever and resourceful, resilient, and aesthetically just sort of rugged and folksy (see their wooden space ships and Feldspar’s duct-taped space suit), but generally have a very different lifestyle than the humans they’ll ultimately interact with.
Though the Hearthians value knowledge and are a technologically advanced society, there aren’t any governing or schooling systems, aside from a long-suffering mayor who mostly exists to stop Feldspar and the others from burning down the village and a hodgepodge of a museum. Hearthians don’t have traditional family units, and are instead hatched, raised, and taught communally by all the members of the village. In the same spirit Hearthians don’t have ‘jobs’, but rather roles they take on in the village, such as instrument maker, sapwine brewer, fire watch, and tree keeper, and of course, astronaut.
In game these differences will translate into obvious inexperience and confusion about how large societies work, and broader concepts like rule and law, crime and punishment, war, religion, sexuality, and smaller things like family lineage or marriage, siblings, money, etc. will all be things they’ll need to learn. Feldspar learning these things aren’t necessary key to their redemption, however it will help other characters understand their perspective and why they might not be so bothered by things like the whole ‘prison ship’ concept as a whole. Potential misunderstandings and confusion won’t impact their ability to interact with others on the Barge, as Hearthians are fairly well-rounded beings that understand and employ things like sarcasm, gallows humor, figurative language, etc.
At one point a note can be found from Feldspar that has the word ‘schlep’ in it. So. You know. We’re playing fast and loose with with language here.
History:
https://outerwilds.fandom.com/wiki/Feldspar
When the main narrative of Outer Wilds begins Feldspar is nothing more than a legend, having been lost for years somewhere in the great unknown. Their compatriots who founded the space program with them continued on in Feldspar’s absence, building a museum and observatory from the various artifacts gathered across the solar system, and recruiting and training new explorers to follow in their footsteps. Feldspar is very much a presence though - their portrait hangs in the entrance of the observatory, the pilot’s chair that carried them into space is on display underneath the launchpad, their notes are found all over the solar system, and the villagers still talk about their feats and fearlessness. Feldspar is a ghost in the narrative, the myth of the greatest pilot in history who one day just didn’t come home.
The solar system that Feldspar used to call home was a dangerous place that only occasionally followed the typical laws of physics. Aside from the yellow dwarf star at the center of the solar system, there were six celestial bodies that could be found in Feldspar’s home world, plus a cornucopia of satellites, moons, probes, comets, space stations, and black and white holes. It’s an important frame of reference for anyone trying to pick at Feldspar’s brain, as is the big mystery of the Nomai, the advanced alien race that one day seemingly just disappeared, that seemed to be embedded in the very fabric of the solar system. It was the Nomai’s leftover technology that gave a jump-start to Outer Wilds Ventures’ exploration of space, and their skeletons and artifacts and ruins (and giant cannon) were found everywhere.
Sadly the Hearthians as a species came into maturity at the end of the universe, when most of the star systems were blinking out of existence. The Hearthians, their village, their solar system were all destroyed when their sun went supernova, though due to the Nomai and their enigmatic Ash Twin Project the last 22 minutes of the Hearthians’ existence were looped over and over again, trigged by the natural death of the sun. The Hearthians, caught in a time loop for roughly 9 million cycles, were never aware that they were living and reliving their destruction for years. Feldspar was alone in the Dark Bramble for all of it, always the last Hearthian to die when the sun collapses in on itself and explodes.
It’s also worth looking at the Dark Bramble’s wikia entry, because it’s a bonkers place, and it makes sense that it’s where Feldspar called home. https://outerwilds.fandom.com/wiki/Dark_Bramble
Sample Network Entry:
[The audio - and just the audio - clicks on. The voice that comes through is a little muffled, as though there’s something over their face. Like a mask, or perhaps some sort of helmet. Like a space helmet.]
Feldspar to ground control, Feldspar to ground control -
[They laugh loudly, and there’s a weird little echo that can be caught by the sharpest of ears. After a few seconds they let out a little satisfied sigh.]
Aaah. Just kidding, just kidding. I just saw the radio and couldn’t help myself, old habits and all that. It’s been a while since I’ve lived in polite society - polite being relative, I’ve heard some of the things you aliens say to each other. And now that I think about it isn’t weird that I can understand you and you can understand me? Or maybe it isn’t, maybe I’ve just been sitting in the dark for too long and missed a bunch of stuff, like the new rules of the universe.
But I digress. Let me tell you all a story. It’s been a real long time since I’ve been able to tell a good story. It goes like this:
I’d just finished exploring a planet called Giant’s Deep. The name kind of says it all, but it’s a big ol’ ocean world with massive cyclones that suck up the small islands dotting the water and throws them into the atmosphere. There’s something at the core of the planet but there’s some kind of force field blocking the way making it impossible to pass, or so the other travelers used to believe. I’m real proud of myself for that one, y’know? Figured out how to get myself down there.
Anyway, with one planet feldsparred I figured I might as well give myself a challenge and check out the Dark Bramble. No one’d ever been before; too confusing and intimidating, but hey, why not give it a go? I’d been flying around and dodging these big ol’ vines, when I run straight into this huge anglerfish. Thing was enormous, big gnarly teeth and all.
I tried to shake it off with my usual moves, and the thing clips my ship! Sends me completely off-course and into a vine. My ship smashes into it and starts sparking, and I think…that ain’t good, so I got myself outta there and found a place to camp out. Lived there ever since, at least until I came here.
And that’s my story! Pretty good, ‘eh? I got a hundred, but truth be told I like just sitting around the campfire roasting marshmallows and listening to some music. Anyone here play an instrument?
Sample RP:
It’s a beautiful day in the solar system! Which solar system? Who knows! Feldspar definitely couldn’t say, because they were never the brains of the operation, and the Outer Wilds were definitely destroyed by that really painful flash of light they felt before it all kind of went hazy. Maybe Hornfels might know where they are, if their fellow founder of the space program were here with them now on this alien ship. Maybe Hornfels might understand what that flash of light and extreme heat that ate them and their campsite right up had been, or at least help them figure it out with that big brain of theirs.
Maybe, just maybe, Hornfels is still alive somewhere, and isn’t that a nice thought? Definitely better than the thoughts they could be thinking, like everything and everyone is gone forever. There’s the vague memory of a dark campsite and a melancholy little fire, one last song before it all became so, so light but so, so heavy, as though all the atoms in the universe suddenly collided and then exploded into the vacuum around them -
Nope! Too depressing, too confusing, and Feldspar has the allure of somewhere brand new laid out ahead of them.
Setting foot outside of their room is a little strange. At first they thought that the inter-dimensional vines in the Dark Bramble had somehow connected to this ship - and to be honest, they’re not entirely convinced that isn’t still the case - but a careful exploration of the place makes them think something else is going on. They’re not used to the natural-feeling gravity, but the alien life aboard doesn’t seem too hostile and there seem to be amenities available for a poor traveler.
Like a shower! Oh, a shower. They’re almost afraid of what their body looks like without the spacesuit, hence the getup as they wander the Barge, but being in the water necessitates the removal of their raggedy suit so they press on. Off goes the clothes, the battered helmet and tattered boots, the tanks with limited oxygen and jet fuel, and into the water they go. And oh, stars, it feels so nice. They could just live here a while, but the sight of their scars and their weirdly-healed wounds depresses them. They towel off and pull their suit back on, careful to avoid looking at themself directly in the mirror, and head out to do more exploration.
Special Notes:
After the time loops are fixed but before the rebirth of a new universe, Feldspar is called by the hatchling/player character (or the Eye of the Universe, or maybe both, the universe is very mysterious) to a place called the ancient glade, where they and the other travelers sit around a campfire and play their final song to create the new universe. Though this is the canon ending for Feldspar, due to the whole quantum nature of the ancient glade they both were and weren’t present. In-game this means they’ll remember being there and know vaguely about the end of the universe, but it’ll be hella foggy, sort of like a dream.
Almost all the travelers/astronauts in-game play some sort of instrument (or in Esker’s case, can whistle a mean tune), and Feldspar plays the harmonica! It’s kinda soothing to listen to when you’re floating through the Dark Bramble trying not to be eaten by anglerfish. https://youtu.be/KlkxUybpp9Q?feature=shared
Feldspar won’t remember his first time on the Barge. Going with a clean slate! (That’s a very funny Outer Wilds joke btw)