in: Characters, Named cast, Neurons, Anchored residents
Nell
Approved Character · facts checked 2 November 2026
Nell is one of the three rooted neurons of Hearth Grove. Nell is linked to one part of the Evening Pair, the paired evening pulse. Nell wants to stay part of the neighbourhood's routine without becoming the object of every anxious visit.
Appearance#
Nell uses the approved rooted neuron body, not a new species. The lead's later design pass describes Nell as a scalloped, rooted, golden, ghost-like cell. That design is approved but not yet animated or installed.
Personality#
Nell dislikes being treated as a permanent emergency because of one irregular afternoon. Nell's blind spot is assuming that a familiar rhythm tells everyone what is happening. The dossier notes that a talking rooted neuron is a social convention of the fiction, not a medical claim.
Role in the story#
In The Part Between, the pair arrives late once. Mote writes "failed". Nell objects. The player compares real observations and chooses a fair label. The story teaches that an irregular pulse is not a lost connection.
Recruitment#
Never. Nell is rooted and never mobile.
Development#
- Approval: the user approved Nell as a new name, with a seventh Imprint, on 31 October.
- Placement: Hearth's approved home plan (layout A) names the home neurons N (Nell's), W and E. Nell uses an existing slot, so there is no fourth neuron.
- Art: on 2 November the user approved Nell design B. A style-matched candidate exists, but the lead records it as a separate, unapproved style pass. Production animation and installation remain.
- In the alpha The Placeholder alpha has Hearth's three neurons but no named Nell sprite. Its north-line observations feed the first steps of Nell's story.
See also#
Sources#
- .GAME_PLAN/ARBORWAKE_COMPANIONS_NARRATIVE_AND_SYSTEMS_DOSSIER_v0.5.md (working copy, not in Git)
- docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-10-31-claude-side-plot-implementation.md (working copy, not in Git)
- docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-11-02-lead-later-named-cast-design.md (working copy, not in Git)
- docs/ops/agent-messages/2026-11-02-lead-full-project-reconciliation-audit.md (working copy, not in Git)