Children of Nezumi || Announcement pg 634

[Nezumi the Prophet]

Welcome to Rocco's Pet Emporium -- or, at least, what's left of it. A natural disaster has torn through the town, and the store now stands abandoned. Many perished in the flood, but a group of rats survived. Now, abandoned by the humans they once worshipped as gods, the rats need to learn to live on their own.

They're not the only rats in the neighborhood, though. There's also a local population of wild rats who are none too keen on these slick, fancy intruders into their territory.

The rest of the story is up to you. Create colonies, develop friendships and enemies, protect your territory, and learn how to survive...or, just breed pretty babies. Anything is possible when you're a child of Nezumi.

-Drop Offs-

.:Guild Links:.
The Guild!
- Certing Thread -
- Parents' List -
- Genetics Information -
- Ratspeak Glossary -

Nezumi's Children is a bit different from other B/C shops you may have seen. It incorporates both a fully-fleshed-out roleplaying world with on-going plots, as well as a real-world-based genetics system for breedings. It's also got one of the best sets of regs in the world. We're all super friendly and there's usually some interesting conversation happening -- so come peek in and say hello!

Announcement:
Fenshae is currently looking to hire one or more dye artists to help out with the RP perks shop. The artist should be comfortable with adding dyes to existing rats. Ability to do edits (scars, items, etc.) a definite plus. If interested, please inquire by PMing the mule!

05.11.14 - How about that, Fenshae's back from the grave hiatus. Maybe this shop could be alive again.
07.02.12 - Breeding/RP Event
06.11.12 - Free newbie raffle in the guild!
05.02.12 - Grand opening ends! Grats everyone!
04.01.12 - Grand opening begins!
03.30.12 - Shop moves to the B/C Forum!
02.06.12 - Art is finished and hiring has begun!
12.10.11 - I/T opens! It's quiet around here until the art shows up, but at least we can chat!

[Nezumi the Prophet]

General Rules
- Do not steal anything from the shop - coding, images, text, etc.
- You may use your pet's image in order to make journal banners, group pics, or sig art
- Please read the whole front page and any linked material before asking a question, as it is probably addressed somewhere. If not, feel free to ask!
- In the interests of keeping the shop atmosphere fun and friendly, please try to keep your drama out of the thread. If you have a disagreement, take it to PMs; a little grumbling about RL is fine, but extensive negativity/attention-seeking/moping is not welcome here.
- Please respect that shop staff and patrons have real lives outside of Gaia. We'll do our best to keep things running smoothly and on-time, but delays are sometimes inevitable. If you're ever waiting for a very long time for something, you may politely inquire as to its status...but don't continue to badger the staff afterwards
- Serious conversation is welcome here about a whole number of topics, but try to be sensitive about how others feel and if something is making somebody else uncomfortable, drop it or take it to PMs.

Roleplay Rules
-- No god-moding or powerplaying; your rat is not all-powerful, and you cannot control other people's characters.
-- If there is in-thread RP going on, please be respectful and speak in ((ooc)) brackets so as not to disrupt it
-- Please try to respect the setting. We've put a lot of work into making this world, so if you're not sure if something you want to do really fits, ASK first and we'll find a way to do it!

Event Rules
-- Flatsale pets are 5k
-- Raffle tickets are 100g each unless otherwise stated
-- Auctions begin at 5k with a minimum 1k bid; there is also a 30-minute anti-snipe guard
-- Do not try to discourage/guilt-trip others from participating in events by planning your bids in-thread, cheerlead for a bidder, or bemoan your lack of gold
-- Unless otherwise stated, you may only win one pet in any auction, raffle, contest or flat-sale

Q: Can I have a pet?
A: Well, yes, that's the general idea. But you might have to wait a little while for one to become available through events, breedings, freebies, etc. Begging will not make you any friends, and certainly won't improve your chances of getting a pet.

Q: Can I have a same-sex couple?
A: Yes and no. Because this is a shop based on genetics and realism, rats of the same gender cannot reproduce. However, rats often create very strong homo-social bonds; it is not uncommon at all for a romantic relationship to form between two same-sex rats.

Q: What about incest and polygamy?
A: Funny you should ask that. Rats have a very different view of fidelity and reproduction than humans do. They're a very "live in the moment", emotional and impulsive species and aren't particularly bashful about their bodies. It's extremely common for rats to mate with multiple rats in their lifetime, although they may be particularly fond of just one or two. Any given colony's alpha would establish specific rules about breeding, and thier word would be final...but you're always free to strike out on your own and make your own colony with its own rules. But, in short -- yes. In-breeding and polygamy are allowed.

Q: What's all this about a colony?
A: Rats are social animals. They don't survive very long on their own, and are prone to awful fits of depression if forced into isolation. Any given colony will have an alpha (usually male, but sometimes female) who gets to make the rules. Traditionally colonies consist of a single male with a harem of females, but in recent times this model has been challenged, and nearly anything is permissible

Q: How fast do these things grow?
A: They age almost in real-time for actual rats; rats reach sexual maturity shortly after weaning, around 2 months old. They are not considered adults until six months however, when they reach social maturity. Rats Will tend to be very childish during their adolescence, and then may often become extremely moody, territorial, or anxiety-ridden as they pass into adulthood.

Q: Can adolescents breed?
A: Physically, yes. Their colony may forbid it, however, and their body may not handle it very well. Adolescent litters will be half the size of regular litters.

Q: How does breeding work?
A: Well, when a mommy rat and a daddy rat love each other...oh, wait, that's not what you meant. Basically, any male rat and any female rat can get together and try for a breeding slot in the monthly raffle. The offspring will be determined by the genetics of the parents, as is explained in more detail below. Rats are able to breed again once their pups hit adolescence.

[Nezumi the Prophet]

Pinkies - This stage is only available from breedings. As pinkies, the rats are blind, deaf, and totally dependent upon their mother. They have a hint of their final markings, but color is usually not clear until the fur grows in. Pinkies stay in the nest with their mother until their eyes open and they begin to eat solid food. The pinkie stage lasts from 1-2 weeks.

Babies - Once their fur grows in and their eyes open, baby rats become extremely inquisitive. This is the age when they they begin to explore away from the nest, and their individual personalities begin to show through. At this age, the babies are capable of eating solid food and can survive on their own to some extent, but they're at great risk of death if forced away from their mother. The baby stage lasts approximately 1-2 months.

Adolescents - Rats at this age are sexually mature, but they're far from being adults socially. They can breed, but their babies have twice the mortality rate of adult rats: adolescent bodies are not as fully-developed, and these rats may not be the most attentive parents. At this age, rats are developing their personalities further and finding their rank. They also begin forming some of their most long-lasting relationships. The adolescent stage lasts approximately 2-3 months.

Adults - Once they reach adulthood, rats are usually pretty comfortable with who and what they are. Ranks do change, but they're not as fluid as they once were. Females are primarily interested in maintaining their territories, scouting for resources, and tending to pups; males are more combative and will seek out fights to secure more territory. Gender roles shift and blur tremendously depending on the culture of the colony, however, and any rat can serve any rank.

Alpha- Colonies will all have their own word for alpha, depending on the culture of the colony, and the specific roles of the alpha will vary. Generally, though, the alpha is responsible for maintaining the well-being of his or her colony by making rules and giving orders. Alphas fight to hold their dominance, and an alpha can be overthrown at any time. Alphas are an RP-required stage.

Usoothe - Meaning "one who sees far," the Usoothe are the prophets and spiritual leaders of the rat world. They are quite uncommon, and highly revered by other rats. The exact mental powers of the usoothe vary from one individual to another; some are gifted with the ability to understand other animals, while others can see glimpses of the future. Usoothe are said to communicate directly with the spirits of the dead, and have access to all the knowledge in the world because of it. Usoothe are an RP-required stage.

The rats of Nezumi's Children are all-natural, based upon the coloration of rats in the real world. Because the shop implements a real-life genetics system, only some colors and patterns are allowable. Here is a link to some rat photos that will give you an idea of what is available for customs and such.

In order to make the genetics system fun without being horrifically over-complicated, genes here have been simplified to a pure dominant/recessive scale, and the behaviors of some genes are a bit different than they are in the real world...but they are still pretty similar. The genetics system is explained in detail here.

We keep records of a pet's genotype (that is, their specific genetic code) for use in breedings. If you'd like a copy of your rat's genotype, you may be able to earn it through RP or bribe a staff member for it wink Alternatively, you can breed your pet experimentally and determine its genes that way!

A clever wild rat once discovered how to use materials gathered from the pet store to make fur dyes and war paint. Pleased with the results, the colony's alpha began to mandate fur dye for all rats as a way to designate rank, family lines, and individual history.

Over time, the requirements for dyes have changed slightly, and patterns have become more and more complex. Nearly any dye job is possible, from simple splashes of color to complex tribal or Celtic-type designs. Specific colonies may have their own rules about dyes, so it's best to check with your alpha first. Otherwise, you may find yourself punished by the alpha.

Dyes can be purchased with gold or roleplay credits, but can only be purchased when dyes are open. To check the dye status or place an order, check this thread.

Generally speaking, there are three ways to obtain a pet from Nezumi's Children:

- Events can be roleplaying contests, flatsales, auctions, raffles, games, or other events. The price of the pets will vary depending on the rules of the event, but you can generally expect any flatsale pet to cost 5k.

- Customs are only obtainable from colorists whenever slots are open; check with the specific colorist to see. Please note that you cannot custom an alpha or usoothe unless you have met the RP requirements for those pets! Generally, an unedited adult will cost 50k; a baby will be 100k to custom. Edits will raise the price and will vary depending on the extent of the edits. You can discuss specific prices with the colorist.

- Breedings open once every other month. An adult male and female rat can produce from 2-8 babies; the maximum litter size of an adolescent will be half that. Once you obtain your babies, you can keep them, give them away, or give them back to the shop for us to find homes; you cannot sell the pups. The breeding costs 30k. To read more about breeding and see when the next slot will open, check here.

[Nezumi the Prophet]

Your life begins and ends in this pet store. For the domestic rats, you were bred and born in the back room, placed on sale at a young age. For the wild rats, you were raised among the complex system of tunnels beneath the floor and in the walls.

Now that the humans are gone, you have inherited the store. You may steal food from anywhere you can find it -- the shelves, the store room, the shelves of human snacks, even the break room. You can make your nest wherever you please. If you're feeling nostalgic, maybe you seek life among one of the cages; they're secure, at any rate. Maybe you burrow underground through one of the holes in the wall, like the Wild ones.

Sunlight streams in from the skylights overhead, but the electric lights are all shut off. You have access to water from the aquarium area, but much of it has grown tepid now that the power is gone. There is one dripping water line, however, that offers water, and some of the fish struggle on surviving; you might be able to catch and eat them. There's also fresh water in the storage room, bathroom, and a small water fountain next to the main office.

You don't dare venture outside, though. After The Big Water, all you can smell outside are death smells. Predators prowl outside. And, for right now, everything you need is in the store.

For a long time, the rats of Rocco's Pet Emporium knew nothing of the world beyond their cage. They were bred there and lived under the care of "the Great Ones" -- those massive beings whose hands controlled the fates. The Great Ones provided food for the rats, and sometimes would choose the most blessed among their kind to leave forever into the Beyond.

One rat among them was revered above all others: the Usoothe, Nezumi. Nezumi had once lived among the Great Ones, having been adopted to live in the Beyond for a short time before returning to spread her knowledge among the . She was gifted with visions, and could understand the speech of other beasts.

One day, a terrible vision came over her. She had no words for the destruction that she saw, but it chilled her very heart: Disaster was coming, and they needed to leave as soon as possible. She died in the night, but her words chilled the rats, who puzzled about their meaning.

The reality came soon enough. A terrible flood tore through the pet store, destroying anything that stood in its path.

The rats who survived discovered that there were no more Great Ones to tend to their needs. If they wished to survive, they would need to do so without the help of their gods.

----

Watching from the shadow of their world were the Wild Ones. These heathens had never worshiped the Great Ones, or any other gods. They lived their lives in the dark places, nesting in the foundation of the building and stealing food from humans when the opportunity arose. They were a dark breed, with violent tendencies and a culture of blood and war. Seeing the threat of the new rats in their turf, they sought to destroy or assimilate them as soon as possible.

One rat among them refused to subscribe to the philosophy, however. Known only as Usoothe, the young prophet sought to make contact with the tame rats and learn their ways. He was interested in their religion and wished to spread the lessons of peace and reverence to his own kind.

Unfortunately, his high ideals came to nothing, and he was killed as a traitor by the warrior-alpha of the Wild Ones.

-------

Usoothe's guidance did not go wholly unheeded, however. There are still some wild rats who are intrigued by the foreign culture of the domestic animals, and some domestic rats who wish to learn more from their wild kin. The road to assimilation will be long, but one day perhaps both will live in peace...

Rats speak their own language, generally known as Ratspeak. Most of the communication travels at a higher frequency than humans can hear, although some squeaks, hisses, and clicks are accessible to humans. Rat language is built from unique syllables, each with a discrete meaning; syllables are strung together to give more specific meanings and create new words.

Some of the more common rat words are available in The Ratspeak Lexicon.

Ratspeak varies from one colony to the next, and members of a specific colony may have different words for the same thing than members of another. The basic gist of the language is the same from one group to another.

Names
Traditionally, wild rats named themselves according to the rank they held in the colony; many rats would have one name, and individuality was not something they cared about. Domestic rats would pick up names from humans. Sometimes these were "real" names, but more often were bits of words that they picked up from hearing humans speak to them. For example, a rat may have grown accustomed to being called "the White One" and so take that on as its name.

Bear in mind that rats who take on human-word names do not know what those words mean. They are only repeating sounds.

Rules to Naming Rats in the Shop:

-- You may use adjective-type names; imagine you are a pet store worker and distinguishing among the livestock you sell. You would call them things like "the black one," "little white paws," or "bitey" -- silly, even perjorative, names.
-- You may name your rat after every-day words or things that are in a pet store, especially if your rat has access to an usoothe who can read English.
-- You may use Ratspeak names. You can put together a descriptive name from the syllabry, or make up your own using this generator. (Try to stick to words with heavy S, Ch, K, J sounds).

If you make up a name out of new syllables/words not in the lexicon, let me know what it means so I can add it!

If you name your rat something that's not really appropriate for the setting, I'll contact you and we'll see if we can work something out that fits better. I don't want to be a hard-a** about the naming conventions; I just want to make sure we're consistent.

[Nezumi the Prophet]

Roleplaying isn't necessary at Nezumi's Children, but it is highly encouraged. Roleplayers have access to several perks, such as improved breeding odds and the ability to purchase items from our incentives shop. We try to keep loose meta-plots running all the time, and RP events will happen often.

Here is some information that will help you when roleplaying here. You don't have to follow my suggestions completely; instead, try to get a feel for the world and put your own unique spin on things. Plots are interactive and user-driven, so the more ideas you have, the better! Just try to keep your RP in the spirit of the shop. For further details regarding RP in this world, you can check out our advanced RP guide.

The World
The rats live in an abandoned pet store. The domesticated rats have lived their entire lives in cages, and are just now learning to live on their own, find their own food, etc. The wild rats have built their territory into the walls and foundation of the building, and have dug an extensive tunnel system that runs underneath the whole store.

Rats can make nests anywhere, and claim territories in any part of the store that isn't already occupied by other rats (or that is occupied...but they'll have to run the current occupants out, first!) Maybe your rat decides to live in an underground burrow; maybe their colony is behind the vending machine, under a shelving unit, or inside of a dog kennel.

Your rats have access to all of the things you can find in a pet store. Most of the food comes from the pet food aisles, but they also have access to the storage room, the employee break room (which has vending machines), and the displays of candy and chips at the front of the store. Dye-makers might make their dyes from "color-enhancing" tropical fish flakes or other substances; healers can craft medicines from all the over-the-counter medications found in the aisles. The sky (and the pet store shelves) is the limit.

Religion
Specific beliefs vary from one colony to another. Some colonies subscribe to a very strict religion, while others may be wholly atheist. On the whole, however, most rats are rather superstitious, and nearly all of them believe in the "spirit realm," an alternate reality where the spirits of the dead live. Rats believe that spirits speak to the living through dreams or the visions of usoothe, and share knowledge about all sorts of things. Essentially, any kind of instinctual knowledge is attributed to the spirits, and rats believe that the collective knowledge of all rat-kind can be tapped into if the need is great enough.

Many of the domestic rats revere the spirit of Nezumi the Prophet as a powerful religious figure, and may pray to her specifically in times of need. Domestic rats also traditionally believe that "the Great Ones" (humans) are divine, and would gear their religions toward pleasing those giants. Since the disappearance of the Great Ones, however, many rats have turned away from these beliefs.

Colonies
Rats are social animals. Very rarely, you will find a rat who chooses to live as a loner, but they're few and far between. Lone rats are usually neurotic, wildly aggressive, or otherwise "damaged." It's more common to find nomadic rats in pairs or small groups. Most rats choose to settle down in colonies.

Colonies can vary tremendously in culture and habits. Generally, however, they may include some of the following ranks:
Alpha - The leader. Usually male, but can be female. The alpha sets the rule of the colony, and to defy the alpha's rule is to invite punishment, banishment, or even death. The word for "alpha" varies a bit from one group of rats to another, but the term will always begin with the prefix "U" which denotes respect.

Allaysi - Scouts. These rats search for food, search for territory, or spy on neighboring colonies. Most allaysi are females or young males, due to the amount of energy needed for the job.

Keshu - Warriors. Usually males or larger-bodied females, the keshu are responsible for patrolling the borders of the territory, warding off intruders, and keeping an eye out for predators. Most alphas were once keshu.

Nosobo - Healers. Male or female, nosobo are gentle-hearted and often very sensitive to the suffering of others. They usually stay close to the territory, but may venture out to find medical supplies. They use a variety of homeopathic remedies, and their touch is rumored to have medicinal properties on its own.

Usoothe - Seers. Not every colony will have an usoothe, but those that do are very lucky. Usoothe are gifted with the ability to speak freely to the spirits (or so the rats believe). Exact powers may vary; some usoothe can read human text, speak with other animals, or use telepathy. Most also have visions of the future.

The rats weren't the only animals to survive the Big Water, although they did fare better than most. The pet store does have a surviving population of ferrets, guinea pigs, hamsters, mice, birds, and reptiles. A few fish still linger on, although they're dying off due to lack of food and stagnant water. The store is also completely overrun with crickets.

The rats generally don't interact much with the other animals. Some animals, like the ferrets and large snakes, are considered ushu (dangerous enemies) and avoided. Others, like the mice and hamsters, can be a food source for bold rats who feel like hunting them. Otherwise the rats generally ignore them. Usoothe can sometimes speak with other animals, though, and even regular rats can communicated to a limited extent through gesture etc.

The other species don't have any official art, but feel free to appropriate a member of those species for any RP purpose you need. If you create an NPC-type "major character" (like a ferret who can be used as a bad-guy in a lot of plots), let me know and I'll make them known.

We love roleplayers. We love roleplayings SO MUCH that we actually reward them for all that they do! Here at Nezumi's Children, you'll never have a pet taken away from you for inactivity. You will, however, get some sweet rewards for RP.

It's pretty simple. Every RP you complete and log are worth 1 point. Points can be traded in at the RP Points Shop for dyes, breeding perks, fertility potions, genetics records, even custom rats.

There's only a few simple rules to obtaining points from the RP point shop:
-- The rat in the RP must be certed and listed on the parent's list for the RP to count
-- RPs can only be redeemed for points once. For subsequent points, you'll need new RPs.
-- A qualifying RP must be at least 1500 words or 15 posts long.
-- RP can be either SRP or with a group. If in a group, you need to have 1500 words on your own or an equal share of posts.
-- RPs must have a clear ending of some kind
-- You are responsible for tracking your own RP points. We'll keep records of when and how you spend your RPs, and if we catch you repeatedly milking the system, you will be banned from using the exchange or even greylisted from the shop.

[Nezumi the Prophet]

Fenshae - Fen has been around Gaia for a long time, though much of that has been in lurker status. She pretty much sucks at art, but she makes up for it in RP, storytelling, idea-generating, and being awesome. Anyway, that's what she says to make herself feel better. Fen is a speculative fiction writer and runs a real-live rat rescue out of her apartment, taking rats from people that can no longer keep them and helping them find homes.

Fen is the shop owner, thread manager, and RP coordinator. She also colors from time to time. Mostly, though, her time is spent writing information for the shop, running shop events, and keeping RP active. And, of course, chatting in thread smile If you've got a pet and nobody to RP with, let her know; she'll be happy to play with you.

Sproutyhead - Our fearless artist, graphics-maker, part-time colorist and all-around badass. In her spare time, she likes to hang out in this grubby motorhome full of salamanders, and doodle up slimy things in jars.

Revel1984 -- Colorist, certist, co-manager and "den mother" of the shop, Revel has been here from the beginning and she usually knows what's going on better than anybody else (including Fen sometimes). Feel free to ask her any questions or come to her with any problems that you have in the shop.

TheAurrie
-- A long-time friend of Fenshae's, rodent-lover, snake enthusiast, RP addict and able to bend Photoshop to his will through a combination of psychic talent and a pact with the devil. Aurrie's a part-time colorist, but when he's here he gives 100%

Wandering Rae -- When Rae isn't coloring here, you can usually catch her coloring some wolves somewhere else. Or, y'know, wandering, which she's been known to do. Not only does she make amazing things happen in Photoshop, she possesses a mind for detail and common sense and is usually the first person to say, "Um, Fen? You realize that's a terrible idea, right?" and saving us all from certain doom.

Roserain -- Years from now, when Rose is world-famous and everybody wants her, you'll all be really sad that I hired her first. Because you're not allowed to have her, neener neener. Rose is a full-time colorist and part-time werewolf.

Vistada -- She's a busy lady, what with running this popular wolf-shop and working full-time and having a life and all. But occasionally, when she does grace us with her ephemeral presence, it's like a choir of angels are singing. She's a part-time colorist and full-time badass.

Shop Credits:
Lines, shading, and thread graphics: Sproutyhead
Textures from CGtextures
Concept & text: Fenshae

[Nezumi the Prophet]

Breeding & RP Event
After much deliberation, The Ukeshu has decided that the only way to swell the ranks of his diminished army is to take on some new blood -- by force.

Stay tuned for random-matched breedings, RP events and a huge number of opportunities to win a baby rat.

[Nezumi the Prophet]

Event Space

[Nezumi the Prophet]

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