With that said here are the things you’ll be able to access right away. Most information on the site can be accessed through our Directory of Resources, the directory is also linked in the menu for easy access!

Relative to the specific things you can access and use right away:

• Customizing your Elnin’s names and profiles!
  • You can also redeem the free “Bloom” frame if you desire!
  • To walkthrough how to use these features visit the Profiles & Framing section of our Helpful Walkthroughs page.
• Questing / Acts
  • Information on Questing and Act submissions can be found on our Questing Guide page.
  • For a walkthrough example of doing a Resonance Quest for an elnin specifically please check out the Resonance Quest section of our Helpful Walkthroughs page!
• Prompt Submissions
  • The General Prompt Guidelines page now includes details on how to submit prompts!
  • Parts of the Detailed Regional Affinity Guide we have previously had stashed are now included as part of the Regional Affinity Guide and more specific region features and details have been expanded upon on the pages set up for each Region.
  • Our monthly prompts (for now just the current month's prompt) can be found on site moving forward.
• Redeem AP from legacy prompts / participation so that it shows up in your Elnin’s character banks
  • Information on Legacy prompts and submissions can be found on the Prompt Archive page.
  • Examples of how to submit Legacy Prompts, Acts, and Participation are provided as well!
• Check out all the new guides, resources, and new processes for edits, growths, rank ups, prompts, quests, etc!
  • There is a lot… but there will be a highlighted pink tag by any major changes or updates during the site transfer if you just want to look for those!

Keep in mind all walkthroughs found on the Helpful Walkthrough’s page are intended to help visualize some of our processes if you’re seeking guidance or direction on your approach! They are in no way all inclusive or a full substitute for familiarizing yourself with the general rules and processes of each activity you wish to do.

Linking Your Accounts!

• To link your DeviantArt account you must be logged into that deviantart account in another tab in the same browser window you are logged into as the World of Eyre site. You should be prompted to link your account upon joining the site.
  • This will be the account used to pull in your EC bank!
• To link your Patreon account, again you must be logged into that account in another tab while in the same browser window.
  • This is the account reference that will pull in your SC bank!

Please let us know if you have any trouble connecting your accounts in the #questions channel on discord or through a note to the Berry-Bazaar Group.

Bug Reports, Website Questions, & Site Feedback!

We've moved instructions on how to submit website questions and bug reports to their own resource sections.

If you want to help out a fellow member with a link to a resource you’ve found we ask you also supply that in the #elderberry_lounge channel. While we appreciate the willingness to help we would like to keep #website_bugs and #questions channels free of user response for the most part, just to make sure the info getting across is accurate and clear! There's a lot of new things to cover so we don't want to miss anything.

Thank you once again for your continued support and patience with us as we navigate these changes. We're excited to be able to share our efforts with everyone!

Growths, Rank ups, and Edits are open on the site now, as well as general art updates without stat changes/edits!

You can find resources on these processes on the following pages:

• Kittom Edits & Growths
• Adult Elnin Edits & Rank ups
• Art Updates (without stat changes/edits)

If you're looking for example walkthroughs (with linked screenshots) on how to do some of these processes, please visit our Helpful Walkthrough's page.

There are sections on:

• Growths
• Resonance Questing
• Unlocking Ranks

We currently do not have an explicit walkthrough for rank ups. The process is very similar to growths, however, pricing is different between the two processes so please be sure to check out the Adult Elnin Edits & Rank ups page! We also do not have an explicit walkthrough for what an art update without stat changes/edits would look like but this will be on our list of things to add in the future.

Historically, growth slots/edits were purchased separately from submitting art. That is no longer the case. All growths, rank ups, edits must be accompanied by updated art to be submitted. WIPs are completely acceptable and encouraged. Full payment should be attached alongside any WIP. If we do not see payment attached, feedback will be deprioritized.

Prioritized Submissions

For this initial launch, we’ll be prioritizing the first submission any user makes. If you plan to submit many growths, try to submit the one you want us to follow up with the most. If we experience a low volume of submissions, we’ll turn our attention to other submissions in the queue, but we suspect it will be pretty busy!

Patreon growths/rank ups/edits that have already been paid for are currently listed on the masterlist and can be found under the “Notes” tab next to the “Info” tab of a masterlist entry. If you have purchased a growth/rank up/edit through Patreon, just mention it in the comments of your submission so we know to check for it.

• We’ll also be checking those to make sure Patreon submissions (which do not have EC/SC/AP payments attached do not get deprioritized on accident.)
• Patreon submissions will not get more/less priority over first EC/SC submissions.
• Patreon related submissions will get priority over second/third/etc. EC/SC submissions during this initial release.

Deprioritized Submissions

Outside of your first submission, the following will always have low priority. This means these types of submissions may take us a week, if not longer, to respond to. If we have a low volume of submissions, we may get to these quicker. Do not inquire if we’ve seen your submission yet, it will be in our queue and depending on how things go the queue may be quite long!

• WIP submissions for growths/rank ups/edits without full payment attached.
  • It was mentioned above, but these sorts of reviews will make it harder for us to get through the queue, as we have to sift around them to give priority to those who can pay immediately. 
  • Please also note that if you submit a WIP without payment, you cannot delete your submission to add payment later. This means if we don’t get to it quickly and suddenly you can pay, you will not be able to edit your submission to add the payment to flag the growth/rank up/edit as a priority. We highly recommend not submitting growths/rank ups/edits you cannot pay for right away.
  • Please note modberry, or post in the #eyre_website channel, if you need a design update approval sent back to a drafted state or rejected entirely, so you can submit it at a later time.
    

• Minor standalone edits (beyond your first submission to our queue).
  • Again, it may take us a week if not longer to review these, so we encourage grouping your minor edits even if it means they may appear to be a medium or major edit later.
  • Edits are always evaluated primarily relative to the current design, and secondarily relative to the original design. At a base level, we’ll be evaluating edits relative to the current design, and then looking at the original to make sure edits are not straying too far. An elnin should, at most, always look like it could be a sibling to the original design.
  • Original, in this context, is considered to be the first design of an elnin (whether it was a kittom or adult design purchase).
  • The edits system will be monitored for abuse. If we believe a user is trying to bypass the EC cost, then we retain the right to adjust the cost to a higher tier.
    

• Art Updates without stat changes/edits
  • Like the above items, these will have lower priority as they should be for the most part cosmetic and potentially have no bearing on events.

Overall, priorities will be roughly as follows:

1. First requests from users with EC/SC/Patreon payment
2. General requests from patrons (ie. Anything paid with USD that wasn't their first patreon growth/edit/slot)
3. Second, third, etc (growth/rank up/edit) requests from users with EC/SC
4. Minor edits/mutation additions that are standalone (paid with EC/SC/AP and not grouped with a number of other edits+additions)
5. Requests with no payment attached (images just for review/feedback that people want to know but didn't attach payment on)

Growth / Rank up / Edit Questions

You can find a resource on how to submit questions related to design updates and feedback here.

Thank you for your patience on this everyone! Sorry, this got a bit long but all of this information is really important.

How do I submit my legacy prompts so that my AP shows up in my character's banks?

• You can find the instructions for this in our Legacy Prompts, Acts, and Participation Walkthrough
• Please be familiar with the rules you can find in the Prompt Archive

How do I claim my EC?

• Go to your Profile Settings and hit the "Update Logs" button at the bottom.
• If there is an error or it doesn't work, please ask us for help in either in #questions in discord or by noting the group on dA. Also please let us know if you have updated your DeviantArt username in the past few months since that is most likely the issue!

How do I claim my SC?

• Go to your Patreon Account info in your profile settings and verify your Patreon Account
• There should now be a button at the bottom of this page to claim your SC
• If there is an error and it doesn't work, again ask us for help in #questions or by noting the dA group. Again, if you've changed your Patreon name or deleted your Patreon account etc please provide us with any information you think is relevant.

How do I claim my Undine Tail / Patreon specialty items?

• These will be distributed manually and may take up to a week to show up in your banks. No need to contact us or do anything, just check your bank in a week and if you're still not seeing it then you can let us know in #questions or dA group note!

How do I claim my Patreon Lifetime Rewards / Noble Growth?

• You can claim your Noble Growth slot (and any future Patreon Lifetime Rewards) by going to your Patreon Rewards tab in your account settings

Updates on Allowing Outfits in Masterlist Art

We have updated our design submission rules to allow for outfits in the masterlist art, since a lot of people were really wanting to show off their Elnin's swag in their masterlist card. ;)

Cost Breakdown for Masterlist Updates:

• Accessories or Outfit that was part of an Official Guest Art Sale = Free
• Accessories with Visible Markings = Free
• Outfits Submitted with Design Approval = Free
• Consecutive Outfit Submissions = 2EC

Regarding Outfits Submitted with Design Approval: Please be aware that for record purposes we require the first image framed from the design approval to be the naked (or minorly accessorized) version of the elnin where the markings are unobscured. As only one image upload can occur at a time through the design approvals system, we will then allow a free update (limit one) after the approval so that the clothing version can be displayed in the masterlist frame.

Since there have been a lot of design submissions already, we are allowing those who have already gotten their design approved to submit a design update with an outfit for free (as long as it uses the same art as the existing masterlist art!). We're leaving this open for a 1 month window, so if you want to have your outfit art in the masterlist free of charge please submit it via a design update prior to Oct 27 at 11:59pm.

Delays on Certain Design Updates

We've already run into a lot of design updates where we've needed clarifications on mutation and trait details, and have been working with Manaberry on nailing those down. If you're still waiting to hear back to us on a priority submission this is probably why. However, getting these clarifications is taking a while, so we have started sending back design updates that were pending review from Manaberry to let the owners know what the hold up is and give them the option to just change the art rather than waiting. We usually err on the side of not requesting changes unless we're sure it's an issue, which is why we've been checking with Manaberry on some of these things instead of just sending them back, but we understand some people might rather just alter the art rather than wait to get a definite ruling on it. If you get a feedback like this it's totally up to you if you'd rather wait in case Mana gives you the OK. However, waiting does not guarantee you won't be asked to make changes even after Mana does review it.

Here is a brief summary of some rules clarifications and decisions we're currently working on. Just so you know if you submitted a design update with this mutation or trait it's likely the reason it's being held up.

• Luminous Markings
  • Can these appear on the tail?
  • Do these have to use existing markings or can you add new markings? What about Elnin with little to no markings?
  • What counts as "markings" vs "base coat"
• Sectoral Heterochromia
  • Clarification on how much of the eye/horn it should occupy, and also when stacked with other kinds of heterochromia
  • Clarification on allowances for icons / symbols such as hearts and stars
• Hybrid Crowns
  • Just more information in general since they tend to allowed to be "more fancy" than the regular version of crowns and Mana has been the only one approving them until now
• More details on what Mana considers allowable as "natural progression" for growths without having to pay for edits

There are more special cases that require manaberry's input, but these are the main contenders for the hold-ups.

Updates to Mutation / Trait Resources and Guidelines

As part of the process of getting these mutation and trait clarifications from Manaberry we are being sure to update our guides to reflect that information. We're working really hard to make our mutation entries and trait guides cover more ground, and head off any potential issues you may run into in getting your design approved. We're also adding examples from existing Elnin that we feel exemplify the mutation or trait best (click the thumbnail to see the full size image!). Here are some of the mutation and trait guidelines that we've updated so far.

As a general note to find the most up-to-date information for mutations be sure to refer to the Enclycopedia entry. This can be found either by going to Browse -> Encyclopedia or "Mutation List" in the Directory. The end goal is for the Encyclopedia entries to have all the nitty gritty details, and for the guides to be more generalized information / how it works.

• Fauna Crowns
  • Added: “A small fantasy tweak can be added to the creature, but overall it should be a recognizable real-world animal. If you are submitting a fantasy-esque creature design please be aware that, if approved, it would be accepted into the canon of Eyre and considered a part of the World of Eyre. Any fauna crown creature design would be able to be drawn by other community members in prompts and activities.”
  • Added: “Rule of Palm: The creature in a fauna crown should be able to fit in the palm of your hand in its real-world equivalent. So something like a deer would obviously not fit in the palm of your hand, even if it's drawn to be miniature it would still not be allowed.”
• Starlit Anima
  • Added: "The sparkles / stars need to be white or near-neighbor to the anima color."
  • Added: "Exception: If Elnin has starlit suffusion it can match the starlit suffusion color"
• Cloudlet Crowns
  • Added: Should be only one cloud / piece of cloud
  • Added: Hybrid cloudlets can contain multiple clouds / clumps of clouds
• Hybrid Crowns
  • Added: Only faerie orbs can display a sparkle effect on the crown without any extra mutations affecting the crown
• Trinket Crowns
  
  • Added: Must either be 1 material OR 2 colors

This is definitely a constant work in progress for us, but we plan to keep documenting these changes and sharing them with you guys periodically! As well as rule updates we'll be going through each trait and mutation entry and adding good examples for you to reference when working on your designs, like you can see in the entries above. It will take us a long time to get through the whole list but we'll work on it slowly but surely!

Updates on Account Verification Emails

We're currently still struggling to get email verification working through certain providers (yahoo, aol, and hotmail mainly). We've contacted SendGrid customer support but have yet to hear back from them on if there's anything they can do to help us resolve this issue. So our hands are a bit tied on this.

The most we can do for now to try to accomodate is have you note the Berry-Bazaar group with an alternative email to try, if you're unable to verify with the email you used initially. Please also include your site username so we know what account email we need to try to update. We've been finding gmail seems to work the best. We know that may not be an option for some group members but so far it's been the most consistent. If gmail is not an option for you we can try any alternative emails you have to see if one might work, but we still may end up stumped until we hear back from support. We can also verify there aren't typos or anything in your current email if that's a concern, since it has come up a few times already.  ovob

If you are struggling to verify your first account do not create a second account to try to verify again. Please contact us through a group note! Let us help you, we would be happy to! Thank you.

Update on October's monthly prompt

October's prompt is now live! This month's prompt is a gift art prompt, since we heard the community might be itching to treat others to something sweet. ^^ Due to this being a gift art prompt AP will be run a bit differently this month. We're still setting up the activity a bit so we'll post an announcement about it in the next few days here. Feel free to read the prompt's details for more info on October's prompt here.

Updates For the August/September prompt

We've extended the deadline for submissions to the "Light Storms" monthly prompt by an additional week (7 days). This means the prompt will now end on October 7th at 11:59pm PST. We were hoping for news back from SendGrid much sooner but with no word back yet we're giving a little additional time to allow for submissions and get people up to speed on how we'll be addressing account verification problems during this time.

If you are currently a verified user you can skip the rest of this news post, as the information will not apply to you!

Updates on MonthLy Prompts for Accounts Unable to Verify

We understand that the account verification problems are quite frustrating, given gmail or creating an alternate email may not be an option for all users. We do want to provide a way to let users currently stuck in the middle of account verification problems submit their prompts on time with intent to redeem them later on site for currency. With currency tracking and prompts now living entirely on the World of Eyre site we will not be using old systems of currency granting/tracking via google sheets and comments.

How this will work:

• We set up a folder called "M-000 Holding" (here) on dA for prompts from users that have been unable to verify their account.
  
  • This folder is considered a holding folder, meaning it will just be a place for us to cross check the requirements listed below were met when a user is able to finally participate on site.
  • Submissions to this folder will not have any AP/EC tracked/granted for them. At most we may record down that requirements for a certain region's AP are met, however no currencies will be granted until the submission comes through the world of Eyre site itself.
• In order to submit to this folder on DeviantArt you must meet the following requirements:
  1. You must have a link to your World of Eyre site account in the description of your prompt entry. (This is so we can verify you have signed up for the site, agreed to the Site Terms of Service, and are currently unverified. You do not need to wait to be verified to submit to this folder, though we request users only submit to this folder if they are unverified and are unable to verify their account.)
  2. Any monthly prompt submitted must meet our General Prompt Entry Rules and Guidelines as well as the quick rules listed for the corresponding monthly prompt, and Regional Affinity Guidelines if you're trying to earn AP!
  3. Any monthly prompt submitted must be submitted during the corresponding time window for that prompt. This means you'll need to submit it to this holding folder before the deadline for the prompt you're submitting it for.
     • Moderators will be approving submissions into this folder, so if your submission does not appear right away in the folder don't be alarmed. You may ask a moderator to check your submission is pending review/approval into the holding folder. This can be done by noting the group or asking in the discord #questions channel.
     • If your submission was submitted last minute moderators may not be present at the time of prompt close, so please plan to submit it in advance to give moderators at least 24-48 hours if you're wanting to request this sort of double check.
• Once your submission is in the folder you have until the end of the following month to contact us in some way to try to seek help for verifying your account.
  • Please do not wait until the last minute to contact us if you're having trouble verifying your account. We want to help and we're leaving an entire month of leeway just to try to determine what your verification problem might be, and attempt to fix it.
  • If we find the problem to be something we cannot fix, specifically you are unable to use an alternate email for any reason or do not wish to try alternate emails, then we'll leave your prompt submission in the holding folder on dA until you are able to verify your account. This will mean waiting for the third party customer support to get back to us, which we have no ETA on and likely won't be able to give an ETA on.
  • We will not be creating workaround systems/solutions for accounts unable to verify beyond this holding folder. This means you will not be able to track or spend currencies, or use any of our existing systems on site, until your account is verified. If this concerns you, then you may want to refrain from submitting prompts until you are able to work with us to try to verify your account.
• If you were able to verify your account and currently have a submission accepted into the holding folder, please note the group! We will work with you to make sure your prompt gets into the correct submission folder on the World of Eyre site.

We hope this clarifies our plans relative to future prompts and unverified accounts. Thank you for working with us as we muddle through getting these email problems resolved! We hope this won't have to be a long term solution to this problem, as not having a definite solution is not ideal for anyone involved. >^<b

You may want to head on over to her shop here to purchase a few before she foretells something else...

TOS Update

A message from Manaberry: "Hey all! I'm back into worklist things and first up this week was making some adjustments to the ToS wording in areas where there was some concern. Specifically a section regarding the revoking of designs. I just want to clarify a little bit that the original purpose of this rule was always a last ditch failsafe in case another member was doing things excessively and deliberately harmful to myself or the community (primarily speaking to a member trying to explicitly swindle people or profit from designs at the expense of others). In other words, it'd be pretty dang unlikely that anyone would ever trip over this punishment without doing some pretty obviously heinous things. That being said, it is never ever my intent to cause unnecessary worries so I've removed the revocation note."

The updated section now reads:
Violations to any of the terms listed on this page will first result in warnings from staff and clarification of rules if there are areas of misunderstanding. Repeated blatant violations can thereafter result in greylisting or blacklisting depending on severity.

​Greylist: Currently the greylist is managed privately. If you are on this list, it means that you are on a temporary ban from one or more of the following: purchasing or trading for new World of Eyre designs, joining community events, posting on the discord, and/or making use of payment plans on adoptable design sales. Penalties for each individual may be different depending on the type of activity that landed them on the greylist.

Blacklist: Blacklist will be made public in the event we actually have to add anyone to it. If you are notified that you've been put on the blacklist it means that you are henceforth permanently banned from participating in any World of Eyre community activities, including purchasing or trading to obtain new World of Eyre designs. Any existing elnins owned by a blacklisted member will still be transferable/sellable according to their individual transfer rules, but they will be considered "frozen" and unable to obtain new edits, growths, rank ups, etc until they have been transferred to a member in good standing.

Support Tickets

Next up... Support Tickets!

We now have a way to communicate with group members on site! The ticket system is intended for immediately actionable / resolvable issues like questions or requests for wording clarifications! The ticketing system is not for suggestions. Any tickets that have a suggestion in them we will redirect to the appropriate place to submit those suggestions. We will be touching upon where suggestions will live in this update below so please bear with us here. We will not respond to suggestions like we do questions, as they are not immediately actionable / resolvable and often include broader group considerations and follow up! We consider suggestions in aggregate to understand how the community is feeling, and don't necessarily respond or take action on each suggestion.

Support Tickets are broken down into the following categories:

• Community
  
  • Anything relating to our Discord
  • Questions regarding species, ARPG, direction of community, etc
  • Report issues / concerns with other community members
• Design Updates
  
  • Submissions / Process
  • Mutation or Trait Questions / Clarifications
  • Status of Submission (please wait 2 weeks before asking)
• Patreon
  
  • Issues with receiving Patreon rewards via the website
  • Questions
• Prompts & Quests
  • Submissions / Process
  • Regions / AP
• Masterlist & Ownership
  
  • Report issue or error
  • Rules regarding trading / reselling
• Website
  
  • Bugs, typos, usability issues
  • Wording improvements on specific pages (only existing content/wording, not
    suggestions for new resources / pages / features)

Please select the best ticket category that seems to fit what you're asking about when submitting a support ticket.

Suggestions

And on to...Suggestions!

We've been discussing how to bring back spaces for suggestions in the group. For now we're going to try a hybrid model. Our discord will have a public #suggestions channel, while our site will have a private suggestions form. This form can also be found on our Group Staff & Resources page. We're hoping that between these two spaces the community will have some way they feel comfortable submitting suggestions and feedback.

We will definitely read the suggestions submitted via public suggestions channel and private suggestions form but we will not respond to suggestions unless there's a need for clarification or we are pursuing a specific suggestion. This is not to be assumed that we won't consider suggestions, but replying to hypotheticals can take up a lot of resources we could better spend implementing features for the group. We do want everyone to feel like their voice is heard so please feel free to use the channel and form freely.

As the nature of both channel and form are for suggestions you'd like to see, please keep the conversations and feedback constructive. Different ideas and views are welcome, please just be respectful of everyone. If we observe conversations slipping into feedback that is not constructive or aggressive towards other users or staff we will be forced to re-evaluate how we handle suggestions for the group.

While the private form is up now, we will be adding the discord channel in the next day or two just to make sure we get everything set up right. Thank you for your patience on this!

October Prompt AP!

The October "Ghoulish Gifting" prompt has been updated with information on how to earn AP for this month! If you do 2 gift art pieces and 2 region themed word searches you will be able to earn a maximum total of 2AP this month. Please read the prompt details closely to make all requirements to qualify for this month's AP are met. Word search solutions must be submitted through claims separate from their approved prompt submissions, but must link back to their corresponding gift art submissions. (Examples of what this should look like are linked in the prompt description.)

See this month's prompt here — Show details for more info.

Update on November's Monthly Prompt

November's monthly prompt is now live (you can find it here). This month prompt has returned to the format most of us are familiar with. As our attention shifts more to focus on event planning and our thoughts on next month's prompt we'll not be doing anything too out of the ordinary for November's prompt.

Upcoming Events / Event Planning

This year we'll be having a Wintery themed event in December. It will be a combination of Guest sales and possibly some other activity depending on what we can manage. Guest artists have already been picked for this event, all of which are familiar faces we hope you'll look forward to seeing back. We spent a chunk of last month planning this event, this month will be a lot of following through with design approvals for the event and current group approvals.

A few moderators will also end up pretty heads down in planning next year’s Kittsunami as there's more than a few months worth of work to be done. Timelines need to be put together and the event itself this year needs to be rediscussed, as we do every year, to try to ensure we're responding to changes within the group. There's also potential website development / features we're hoping to get running with enough time to test to ensure by Kittsunami 2021 we can rely on them to help us out. While the coding will be done by Cy (who continues to be amazing to work with) there's a lot of headspace that needs to be poured into making sure we're aware of how decisions will impact the community.

Approvals will be open during this Winter event. We're really trying to keep things open as much as possible with the knowledge that during Kittsunami 2021 approvals will be closed. We will be opening back up approvals promptly after Kittsunami, even if there may be a bit of slowness in our responses initially with event wrap up and recoup.

Limited Time Card Frames

Sometimes we wish it were October 31st every day of the year. You might notice the card frames weren't removed two days ago as promptly as expected. That said we had planned to give a bit of forewarning about their removal. With that in mind Limited Time Card Frames will be available for another 48 hours from this post. They will be leaving the Card Frame Merchant's shop on November 4th, at 6:00pm PDT.

EDIT: Due to the site being down for most of today (the 4th) and yesterday (the 3rd) we'll be leaving the limited time card frames up an additional 24 hours. So they will be removed November 5th at 6:00pm PDT. ^^b

Mindfulness

I just wanted to add in here a (possibly not so) quick thank you to community members for sticking with us as the group continues to grow and develop, even just by stopping in and chatting from time to time! There's a lot going on in the world right now and we recognize everyone has a lot on their plate. It can be difficult to read between the lines at times and fully grasp what each and every individual might be going through. Some are transparent about it, and others are not. Please be mindful of one another in our public spaces. As always supportiveness and positivity are encouraged.

And lastly be sure to take breaks when needed. Not everyone is good at this (I know I'm not most of the time) but it's important. If you're ever feeling stressed out within our group please take a break and take some time to be kind to yourself. There's enough pressure out there right now, so please don't let the things you feel you should enjoy add to that.

The main reason we have been so strict on masterlist art, is because the masterlist is the place most people go to see what traits and mutations look like. This puts us in an awkward position of knowing if we let things slide it’s likely to slowly push mutations, tail lengths, etc, further and further away from the standard Mana has set forth. We’ve been grappling with how to make approvals less of a pain without pushing Elnin traits and mutations in a direction Mana may not want.

Here is our plan moving forward:

• We’ll do our best to be more flexible on design approvals
• Guides and encyclopedia entries will continue to be fleshed out to give more details on traits as well as the best examples of the trait we can find (example: Starlit Anima)
• We’re still in the process of updating our resources, but as they are updated they will be the main point of reference for traits and mutations.

What you can help us with:

• Send in sketches for approvals before final art. We continue to get complaints when we request changes on final art, even though we received nothing leading up to it. Please save yourself and ourselves some pain and send in a sketch first.
  • This is not a requirement. It's up to you how you want to work, as long as you are able to make any adjustments needed. Just a strong recommendation - especially if you are newer to Elnin or are commissioning someone not super familiar with the species.
• If we let you know a trait or mutation is out of line and needs changes please do not go “yeah but this elnin has this! [link]”. We do our best to be consistent but we are human and inevitably there are going to be inconsistencies. Designs approved in the past don’t guarantee future approvals. It is fine to point out inconsistencies with the resources that may need to be fixed, but please do so in a separate support ticket.
• Please encourage your fellow community members to use the correct resources for reference (Guides linked in the Directory of Resources, and the Trait and Mutation encyclopedia). If people are pointing to outliers in the masterlist warn them that it should not be considered a proper reference and to follow the official resources.

We know getting things off the ground has had its share of bumps, and we appreciate everyone for working with us and letting us know how they are feeling. We hope this clears up the reasoning behind our approach to Design Approvals. We will do our best to make getting your designs approved more fun and less of a headache (it hasn’t exactly been a barrel of laughs for us either). We ask that you keep working with us and do what you can to make the process smoother such as sending in WIPs and pointing new members in the right direction.

Thanks again for the patience of everyone who has sent in design approvals so far, and to those who have provided polite and thoughtful feedback. We ask that you continue to have patience with your approvals since the mod team are volunteers, our schedules vary, and we juggle a lot of things. Thank you!

Join us in greeting some wonderfully wintery elnin! Look forward to the event schedule going live on Deviant Art on November 28th. (We will be cross posting a link to the journal here via news post on that day as well.)

The first sale will be a flaffle on November 29th. The flaffle window will be open for 24 hours so there will be plenty of time to review the sale information and ask questions!

If you're just looking to get into the spirit of the season though keep your eyes peeled for the gift art prompt that will go up around the beginning of December!

(See the Eyre Script Key to decode the flyer)

Flyer by Starbask

View the Event Schedule here!

The monthly prompt is now live! There's a lot of stuff going on this month and so I wanted to cover a few things. The event schedule on dA will be updated to reflect deadlines for the prompt shortly. This update will be cross posted on discord and dA too. ovob

Notables you'll probably notice this month as you look over the prompt:
1. The gift art prompt will only run until December 28th at 11:59 PST this month. That's 3 days earlier than the month's end so we can wrap up raffles between the holidays.

2. There is a MYO slot raffle component to this month's gift art prompt. That raffle will be rolled on December 30th. You will need to submit 1-2 google forms (depending on if you do one or both of the submissions this month)! Read the prompt as there's a lot more info there than I'll cover here!

3. You are able to earn up to 2AP for this month. AP submissions will be backgrounds/writing about a given region, and they will be submitted separately from the gift art itself. (There are benefits to this, like giving us the ability to wrap up the MYO slot raffle and remain flexible on edits for AP backgrounds/writing)
Please read the Regional Affinity section for this month's prompt to learn more!

We will be keeping an eye on submissions and keep the community updated if we have concerns or anything changes!

The guest artists have worked very hard to contribute some lovely elnin to the event! We don't want to undermine the effort and the time they've put into helping us make this event really pop with some truly beautiful designs. Therefore, please consider any moderator-run raffles held during this event to be a little something extra we wanted to add to the event. They will not be grandiose in terms of traits.

This event has definitely grown in scale as its progressed, so we greatly appreciate the continued support and willingness to work with us. Thank you for sticking with us as we've navigated this difficult year!

The "Festive Gifting Spirit" Prompt can be found here!

The December prompt this month ends on the 28th for anyone trying to get the potential 2AP from that. ovob

In terms of Kittsunami we're tentatively aiming for some time around mid February to host the start of the event.

What this means for prompts in January/February. We're going to aim to have January's prompt span 2 months long, running through February as well. There will be 2 submissions total for that prompt. So if you're prioritizing getting growths done and don't need the AP you could in theory put your growths first and not worry about the prompt until February. Or inversely if you're relying on February AP for a growth you could start on doing both submissions early January to get those in before we close new approvals.

So what does this mean timeline wise?

A few things...

1. January 15th is the latest we recommend getting in questing/prompts for AP.
2. January 23rd will be the last day we'll be accepting any NEW design update submissions to our queue. We will be closing design updates at this point meaning it will not be possible to submit any new edits/growths/etc.
3. January 24th - February 7th. In this 2 week window of time we'll only be addressing any feedback for things already in the queue.
   - The first week will be focused on trying to get the bulk of feedback to people.
   - The second week will be focused on final edits. Specifically if you've submitted something and it has just minor tweaks needed and is resubmitted ASAP we'll try to get to it but no promises.

Things we want to emphasize:

1. We're going to do our best to address everyone’s approvals and quests in a timely fashion but given the team is entirely composed of volunteers our work is most commonly done during our free time, usually on the weekends, so don’t worry if some time has passed and you haven’t heard back yet.
   
2. We're trying to talk with team members now to get a sense for how busy they will be around deadlines. We know midterms for some of our staff are around then so we will be down 2 staff early February. At least 1 other staff member is considered an essential worker, meaning if the pandemic gets worse they may be busy as well. If anyone else on the team has circumstances pop up we'll be working around those too.
   
3. The pandemic is in full swing still, and unfortunately it's currently directly impacting Mana and her family. To be supportive we are expecting her focus to be on her family at the moment. So what does this mean for stuff currently waiting on her? We'll be doing our best to try to address what we can to get back to users with what we know for sure will work approval wise. This means we may recommend edits that we know for sure we can approve based on the current guidelines we have. Otherwise stuff currently waiting on her will likely be impacted.
   
4. We can't stress getting in things early enough at the moment. If you're confident you will have currency by Kittsunami please get in any WIPs you have ASAP. Those without payment attached will still be considered lower priority but the more time we have to review the better.
   
5. We expect a lot of approvals to hit us on all fronts (design, prompt, and questing wise) in January. We've had approvals open since September and will do our best to try to do what we can in January but please understand we will not be making last minute exceptions or rushing last minute to approve things that need a lot of edits.
6. We know there has been concern about the number of mods and that hiring more mods may resolve the issue. However the same concerns still apply in that at the end of the day, being a mod means volunteering your free time and we will always ask mods to prioritize their RL life/health first and foremost.
   
   We may consider the option post-Kittsunami when there is less of a time crunch for planning, but as bringing more mods requires input from Mana as well as training which is not feasible during events or Covid, this is not a solution we can consider until the distant future.

Hopefully this gets everyone on the same page! Some of our staff between now and then will be focusing more heavily on the planning side of Kittsunami. We will do our best but we're definitely not superhuman without limits. It's a lot of pressure and we don't want staff burning out before the event even starts. Thank you for your patience!

Kittsunami 2021

As many of you might have guessed there are some changes to Kittsunami this year. We’ve thought a lot about these changes as well as the scale and scope of this event as a whole.

Notable changes this year are:

1. We’ll have two “Pools” this year, a Primary (Limited) Pool and a Secondary (Unlimited) Pool.
   Rules for posting a pairing…
   1. To the Primary (Limited) Pool will be:
      • A user may enter a maximum of 4 times in this pool.
      • The 4 entries do not have to be separate elnin! A user can enter the same elnin, at the same time, more than once, but only up to a maximum of 4 times for the entire duration of the event.
      • Once a user has 4 entries submitted to this limited (primary) pool they cannot submit any more entries to this pool for the duration of the event, even if one of their other entries in this pool is picked. They may submit additional entries to the Secondary Pool as long as the elnin are not currently in any pairing in the Primary pool.
      • Single elnin can be submitted to this pool as long as the above guidelines are followed.
      • Examples:
        • 2 pairings where you own all 4 elnin
        • 1 pairing where you own 2 of the elnin in the pairing, and 2 other pairings where you only own 1 elnin in the pairing.
        • 4 pairings with other users where you only own 1 elnin in each pairing.
        • 4 pairings with other users where you own the same 1 elnin in each pairing.
        • 4 singles with no partner listed.
      • We'll be monitoring pairs posted to make sure they don't exceed the limit. If you're found violating the pair limit, we'll contact you to determine which pairs will be removed. This may delay your ability to be selected for a breeding.
        
        
   2. To the Secondary (Unlimited) Pool will be:
      • An elnin can only be submitted in one pairing at any time for the Secondary Pool.
      • That elnin must not be in any active/unpicked pairings in the Primary Pool as well.
      • There is no limit on the amount of times an owner can enter this pool if they have multiple elnin and those elnin are not currently in an unpicked pairing in the Primary pool - the restriction is only tied to individual elnin.
      • After an elnin gets a finished breeding, if that elnin is in no other active pairings in either pool they may re-enter that elnin to the Secondary pool if time permits.
      • Single elnin can be submitted to this pool as long as the above guidelines are followed.
        
        
2. GAs will be allowed to do up to 2 litters per week for 7 weeks from the start of the event.
   1. Last Kittsunami this was not initially the case, we upped it with support from both the GA side and the moderator side, however the last Kittsunami did push the team. Not everything we thought would be easier was. While there were great improvements that enabled us to still follow through with the second kittsunami’s scale it definitely was not something we foresaw as sustainable.
   2. Things came up in personal lives and we were at times short staffed, which can happen. That has definitely impacted both above and below decisions in some way! We have a slightly bigger team this year but learning from last Kittsunami’s strain points we have not scaled the event to triple the size this year, our projection for the event’s maximum potential size is about the same as it was in 2019.
      
      
3. This year’s GAs will be picked from a pool of users who have guested for us before. (Please read our “Future Guesting Plans” section further down below for more info on why we made this decision please! We’ve made conscious choices about how much we can handle and we hope you’ll respect our choice.)
   1. Due to the potential large scale of this Kittsunami being in play we have decided not to have any completely new guest artists for this Kittsunami event. Some may be new to Kittsunami, while others will not be.
   2. We factor in a lot when deciding on GAs, and with newer artists there are a lot of pressures and unknowns for both the mod team and those artists. Especially with an event as big and as fast-paced as Kittsunami is! We do want to explore new guest artists but with that in mind we’re saving involving uninitiated GAs for later smaller scale events to alleviate potential pressure.
   3. We have already compiled a list of GAs to invite, however we will not be announcing who they are in a larger public way until the event officially kicks off!
      
      
4. Litter sizes will be smaller overall, 3-4 kittoms depending on which pool you enter in.
   1. The Primary Pool will have 4 kittoms per litter, the Secondary pool will have 3. Regardless of if you’re entering as a single elnin or not. 
   2. GAs will be required to pick their first breeding every week from the primary pool, after which they can choose a second breeding from either Primary or Secondary Pools.
   3. The Secondary Pool will also have slightly higher prices than the Primary Pool.
      
      
5. ‘Free for Use’ single elnin will have their own journal this year. This journal will be specifically for users who want to lend their elnin up for pairings for no charge but will get no kittom in return.
   1. This won’t count against a user’s limit to the Primary pool.
   2. This pool is purely goodwill for anyone wanting to lend an elnin to pair up with singles in either journal that couldn’t find a pair and if a GA does not like the options within those pools.
   3. GAs will not be allowed to pair singles cross pools. You won’t see a GA pair a Primary pool elnin with one from the Secondary pool. Pairings will need to be made within their respective pools, unless a ‘Free for Use’ single elnin is being used for that breeding.
      
      
6. Users will be expected to have an account on the WoE site to participate in this Kittsunami if they want to submit a pairing.
   
   
7. Pairing forms will be required to use WoE masterlist entries to be eligible for claim by GAs seeking to draw pairings this year.
   
   
8. Strange Coin Merchant Potions
   
   1. These potions will be undergoing a little repricing, rebalancing, and renaming. We’ll also be adding an additional potion to the shop that allows you to permanently adjust your elnin’s sex if they are below noble rank, tentatively called “Everlasting Effervescent Potion” until we decide on renaming things.
   2. Potions will be renamed in hopes of separating them out a bit more! Just so they’re less easy to confuse / don’t all end in the word “Potion”
   3. Potion roster this year:
      • Scintillating Potion - 10SC
        • This potion will not be able to be bought with EC
      • Unstable Potion - 14SC
        • This potion will not be able to be bought with EC
      • Effervescent Potion - 10SC or 10EC
      • Everlasting Effervescent Potion - 14SC or 14EC
   4. Potions will still functionally either boost or add mutations, or adjust an elnin’s sex (temporarily or permanently) depending on which potion you’re using.
      
      
9. This year we will be requiring links to your WoE elnin masterlist entries on pool forms.
   If we require links to dA masterlist entries we’ll notify individuals when the forms for event pools go live but until then just the WoE ones should suffice. ovob
   

Things that will stay the same or very similar compared to previous years:

1. Event Journals will be on dA for this Kittsunami. We had some ideas about shifting the event off of dA more, however given timelines, cost, and long term goals for breedings at this time we’re not in a position to be implementing the number of features required to host something like this event fully on site.
   
   
2. The Secondary pool is primarily directed towards users that want to submit more breedings than they would otherwise be able to in the Primary pool and functions more similarly to our pairing pool for Kittsunamis in past years. Given the numbers crunched to try to balance goals for this event though the Secondary pool is not intended to be the focus for this event.

Future Kittsunamis and Guesting

2022 & Future Kittom Breeding Plans

After much deliberation and assessing the group’s growth over time as a team, we have decided this will be the last large scale Kittsunami we host. This doesn’t mean there will never be another Kittsunami but this will be the last year we are able to make a good faith attempt to try to reach as many group members as possible with pairings. While not a guarantee, we will try to encourage this! Future Kittsunamis after this upcoming one will be limited and downscaled significantly to leave room to work on other plans in tandem.

There are about 340 users on our website. We understand not all of our group members may have adult elnin, however, if we paired up each of those 340 group members (assuming they have at least 1 adult elnin) with unique owner pairs we would have about 170 pairings. If all of those pairings were 4 kittoms each (the largest litter size for this Kittsunami) we would have about 680 kittoms. We have factored in as well that many users own multiple elnin, and at times have queued them up with secondary (or more) pairings. When you start to do the math and double that number for group members hoping to get 2-3 breedings either per elnin or across even 2-3 of their elnin the numbers scale to anywhere from 1360-2040 kittoms.

Needless to say, as the group grows the goal of trying to “spread the love” across elnin in the group owned by our users becomes significantly harder. It will not be sustainable next year. We also recognize that creating 800 kittoms every year is also not sustainable for the group.

Future Regular Guesting Opportunities

With the above in mind, we will be planning smaller scale guest breeding opportunities, as well as more regular guesting opportunities in the group as the year goes on. We have a 2 month long Kittsunami ahead of us, a modcation following for any mods that need it, and then plans for summer/around June or so already, though they are not finalized. Starfall Faire is predicted to return as normal this year as well. So it will likely be significantly later in 2021 that we do more guest breedings, if not 2022.

We enjoy the large Kittsunamis and the excitement they foster, but we want to try to pursue other endeavors too. The moderator team has a tendency to be ambitious and our year is already quickly booking up with ideas of what else we would like to do volunteer time permitting. Events regularly take at least a month or two to plan and implement, so aside from modcation you can imagine we’ll be out of one event and quickly back into another given the timeline. That is a lot of how our behind the scenes works, keeping as much going as we can sustain while still doing more by adding events on top. It’s a lot. We’ll continue to see improvements but it will take time.

This past year we’ve tested what keeping approvals open for “smaller” large events looks like with this past Winter Wonders event’s planning, implementation, and execution phases. Assuming the events we do in the future aren’t as large as Kittsunami typically is, we're hoping we can do more in other areas. Exactly what yet we aren’t entirely committed to. We have some ideas of things we know the group (and the mod team/Mana) have wanted to see come to fruition for a long time so likely we’ll focus there first.

Until then we hope you’ll be patient with us for this last larger scale Kittsunami. Improving guides and implementing new opportunities and features in the group will likely be a larger more arduous goal. It will not be quickly accomplished but we’re looking forward to it, and hope the community is too!

(And a small note Resonance Questing will be open during the event but we will be considering approving claims for Resonant status as a low priority item for the duration of the event. If we find ourselves short on time and resources it's possible we may not approve any resonance quests during this time so please be patient with us on those!

Transfers for eligible elnin will also still be open but again please do not rush staff on these. We have intent to check regularly, but much like we ask community members to wait minimally a week before asking us if a design approval has gotten feedback, we ask you not follow up the day of on a transfer. It does not typically take us multiple days to follow up, but we'll be pretty busy! Thank you. ;v;b )

We’ve been hard at work slowly updating a bunch of trait guidelines and resources. This has been an ongoing project, but here is a changelog of every resource we’ve updated since our last changelog post:

Inner Fire

• Added: Because the trail of light matches the anima color, this also means it will reflect any mutations that affect the anima. Forexample:
  • An elnin with dual-toned anima would show both colors in a gradient.
  • If an elnin has heterochromia, odd-eyed, chimeric anima, or kaleidoscopic anima, the trail should match the color of the eye it is emitting from.
  • An elnin with starlit anima would have the starlit effect in the trail as well. The same goes for other similar effects.
• Added: The trail of light should be thin and tapered, quickly dissipating as it gets further away from the eye. Please avoid making swirly, billowing, cloud-like effects.

Trinket Crowns

• Added: The item should only be one distinct object. Not one object on top of or attached to another object.
• Added: If it’s a food item make it clearly food and not just raw meat / animal parts
  • Exception: A bone or skull is OK

Horn Coverings have been overhauled, and renamed to Gilded Anima

• Description
  • Gilded anima overlays a covering on the anima's surface, and can be applied anywhere anima exists apart for the eyes. Typically this just applies to the horns, but if your elnin has a fractal crown or a mutation like crystallization, gilded anima can be applied to those areas as well!
  • The gilded overlay typically appears as a metallic surface with metal hues. However, it can also be a matte surface with non-metallic hues.
• Details
  • Gilding can appear on the top or bottom of the horns (or both). Consider it like a "cap" to the anima. Apply this logic to any other place the gilding can appear.
    • The gilding needs to be flush with either the top or bottom edge of the horn (or piece of anima) since the gilding originates from these points. There should not be a gap where the anima shows between the gilding and the edge it originates from. The gilding does not have to wrap all the way around the horn, it just needs to have a clear origin point.
  • Gilding can include engraving and detailing consistent with metalwork or jewelry. If your gilding has this sort of decoration on it please keep the theme consistent throughout the gilding. 
    • Overly segmented designs with many overlapping pieces are not allowed unless the elnin has the Scale mutation. Standard gilding should appear as one cohesive piece.
    • You may design the gilding so that it has gaps or areas where the anima shows through. Please do this in moderation and make sure the gilding overall feels like one cohesive piece.
    • There may be a couple of "floating" pieces that are separated from the main body of the gilding, but keep this to a minimum and keep it consistent with the theme.

• • Gilding should only partially cover the anima. Please leave at least half of the anima visible.
  • The color of gilded anima should be monochromatic. There can be slight color variance for aesthetic purposes but overall it should appear as one color.
  • The gilding should appear to be flush with the anima for the most part, but it can still show a tiny height difference or lip on its edges.
  • No embedded gems are allowed in the gilding, these can only be shown in horn glamours.

5MP Hybrid Crowns

• Rule Update: 5MP hybrid crowns may now include 2 or more crown types, but lower MP hybrid crowns are restricted to only 2 crown types.

Fae Doe Eyes & Doe Eyes

• Added: Keep in mind that since the large area in the center of the eye is actually the pupil, it always needs to be black or very close to black. You can have a tint of color to match your elnin's eyes better but it should appear black at a glance.
• Added visual guide

Fauna Crowns

• Added: The designs of the animals should be simplified, rather than true-to-life versions. For example if your creature is a snake, you should not be drawing every scale on it and nictitating eyelids.

Luminous Markings

• Added: Luminous markings on the body can fade into the fluff at the base of the tail, but it should be a clear fade and extension of existing markings on the body (see blue section of mini-guide). Markings should not be present near the tips of long furred sections.
• Added: The markings on shoal and grove tails may extend a bit further down the tail where the fur is extremely short (see the purple section of mini-guide).
• Added mini guide

Anatomy Guide

• Added: Elnin teeth are small with pointed canines. 
  • Note: Prominent Canines are a mutation, so please avoid fangs / long canines if you do not have it!

Prominent Canines

• Added Description: While all elnin naturally have pointed canines (just like a cat would!) they are rather small. Prominent canines are much larger than standard elnin teeth and can be seen even while the mouth is closed.
• Added: The top canines can be elongated, the bottom canines can be elongated, or both!
• Added: If you do not have prominent canines, but wish to draw your elnin's canines for the sake of expression or attitude, be sure that the rest of the teeth can also be seen. Standard elnin canines are not much longer than the rest of their teeth, and so they could not be seen without seeing the rest of the teeth.
• Added: Single fangs showing out of an open mouth or closed mouth are reserved for prominent canines.
• Added: You may feel free to stylize your prominent canines like an anime fang expression. 
• Added mini guide

Upright/Forward Facing Ears

• Added: Upright ears are naturally sleek, but fluffy upright ears are also an option
• Added: Keep in mind that upright ears should mostly be facing forward. They can rotate slightly, but not to an extreme degree.
• Added mini guide image

Extra Fluffy Cheeks

• Added quick size guide image
• Added: As a rule of thumb, if the cheek fluff is larger than the elnin's eyes it would be Extra Fluffy Cheeks

Capricious Shadow

• Added: You may depict the shadow having a face / expression
• Added: You may depict the shadow having altered versions of existing traits, but no traits it does not possess
  • Example: if your elnin has neat and tidy hair, the shadow could have messy hair. 

Moved gijinka notes from Prompt Guidelines to Anatomy page

• Moved guidelines and created a new section of Anatomy Guide
• Pulled in size reference chart

Grove Tails

• Added: Grove tails can have a little bit of fluff on the top of the tail base, but it should be kept short

Light Reactive Coat

• Added descriptions and examples for the individual sub-classes
• Added details on how to achieve the different effects / what we’re looking for, and also how to avoid conflicting with these effects

Updated Outfit and Accessories Guidelines

• Added:  Accessories that arevery near, attach, or wrap around an elnin's horns should be avoided as they can be confused as part of the horn or its glamours.
  • In general, please avoid accessories that are meant to look like horns / antlers. You can have accessories that use horns / antlers but they should not be arranged in a way that they appear to be actual horns / antlers on the head.
  • Avoid living materials appearing to grow around or attach to the horns in any way, as living horns are exclusive to Royal elnin.
• Added: Feathers, fins, or other accessories that might be perceived as part of the elnin's body must have their attachment clearly shown.For example, a feather stuck in the hair by itself would not be allowed, but if it is shown wrapped to the hair with a string or has a metal clip then it would pass. Just please make it clear it is an accessory and not growing out of the body!
• Added link to this area from prompt guidelines

Crown Guide

• Moved Common Crown Pitfalls from Anatomy Guide to Crown Guide

Anima Patterning

• Added Details:
  • Can only be a darker or lighter shade of the anima color.
  • Can be transparent or slightly more opaque.
  • Must be uniform across the entire surface of the eye. The only exception being a "frosted"/"iced" texture which is holdover from legacy stuff but must at least be present uniformly across all eyes even if it's only across a portion of the eye.

Elnin breedings were originally only done by Mana, and completely up to her discretion or what she felt like doing at the time. Breedings were very highly sought after and in very low supply, and very few people got the joy of being able to have a breeding done. A breeding event was proposed by the mod team, one that could be run with little to no input from Mana, and that is how the first Kittsunami began. Mods spent months of their free time building the system, creating the breeding mechanics so that guest artists could join the event, and balancing odds of numerous traits and mutations to be in line with Mana’s wishes. Comments we have seen implying that mods don’t care about the community’s needs are pretty hurtful, to say the least.

The original intent of breedings was, and still is, the excitement of being surprised by your new batch of baby elnins, and the joy (and agony) of choosing one to take home. It is meant to be a fun event focused on building relationships between your characters and other community members. We have stated many times that the group is centered around building your characters at a casual pace and having fun exploring your elnin and their stories. While we understand some members would like to crunch numbers and min-max their breedings, we have never wanted that to be the focus of breedings, and thus the underlying stats will remain hidden for this reason. In the spirit of keeping things a surprise we even included a hidden “lucky” roll with a small chance of a mutation appearing in a breeding that can either be from the parents or a completely new mutation. This is just one of the ways we have tried to make the breeding experience fun and surprising.

We have also gone to great lengths to make the costs of breeding fair and accessible:

1. $40 for a kittom is undoubtedly the cheapest way to get a new elnin, and you get to choose between multiple designs that are likely to appeal to you since you chose the parents. I think it would be hard to argue getting a breeding isn’t an amazing deal. We have always kept the price capped to make this event accessible to everyone.
2. Crystal feathers are priced at 14 SC, and you are guaranteed to get at least an uncommon mutation (worth 16 EC), with a chance to get a rare or even exotic mutation which is worth up to 42EC + 1AP. 
   1. This item was rebalanced this year to make the odds scale more evenly with the rarity of the trait, but also to remove the potential of getting a common mutation so that you always get a mutation that is worth more than you paid for.
3. Bottled luck costs 10 SC. While it is not a guarantee, if you get even one mutation from it you will have gotten something that is at least 16 EC in value, and with the ability to pick up to 5 mutations to boost it is more likely you will get more than you paid for.
   1. This item was also tweaked for this year to make the odds scale more evenly with the mutation rarity, and to scale with different litter sizes (since that was new this year), but overall it's odds are very similar to last year. Please be aware that, like everything in breeding, mutation rarity is factored in. The boost in chances is relative to the base odds, so exotic traits are still quite hard to get, and uncommon traits are much easier to get. We have updated Bottled Luck’s description to be crystal clear on this, since there seems to be the most confusion and concern around this item.
4. Lastly, but most importantly, you get a 50% discount to purchase almost any hereditary mutation that is present on either of the parents. Even if you are unlucky, there are systems built into the group to make it easy to pick up mutations that you are sad you missed out on.

For patrons, Patreon has always been intended to provide an alternate route to earning currency through group activities. It is an option for those who have the money but not the time to participate. However, regardless of whether you chose to purchase mutations with money, or earn mutations through questing and EC, the result is the same. Hereditary mutations are not a guarantee. The odds of passing a hereditary mutation is reflected in its rarity, so naturally it is much less likely to get an exotic mutation passed than an uncommon mutation. It is not unusual or abnormal for rare mutations to not appear in the kittoms, and is part of Mana’s wishes to keep rare mutations rare. As has been said, if you were really keen on a specific mutation, there is an easy solution to get it with a 50% discount through the EC edit system. You can still get this discount in future Patreon purchases even if you never participate in group activities. The only exception to this is faenin traits, and while we know everybody loves them, they are intended to be the rarest traits at the moment and that is by design. Still, getting a breeding is always a good deal and gives you a lot of tools to work with to get a design you are happy with.

Lastly, we simply are not going to adjust an on-going event. For one thing, all of our time and resources are going into keeping up with the event, and we are at max capacity. When we went into this event we spent months and months discussing and hashing out our thoughts and approaches. Some of the concerns raised have already been discussed long before they passed through suggestions, and decisions for this Kittsunami have already been made. The other reason that we have never made adjustments mid-Kittsunami is that we feel it would be unfair to anyone whose breeding got done before (or after) the change had been made. If any changes will be made, it will be reviewed and discussed after the event is over. We're sorry if this seems harsh or if we seem unresponsive but please understand we are genuinely that busy.

We also need to address how concerns are being hashed out in Discord. There have been some heated discussions this past week that are burning out staff and causing distress among the community. While we understand the need to discuss concerns, we ask this be done in the suggestions channel rather than the lounge. We’ve received a lot of feedback from members that they are feeling the Discord is increasingly toxic and not a place that they want to be. We need to keep the lounge a place to have fun and hang out, not air your grievances with the group. If someone begins to start in the direction of negative criticism towards how the group is being run, consider directing them to #suggestions. We can pin an exact sentence if it empowers our group members to keep this out of the lounge and other channels if that's what it takes.

It is not up to community members to make a final call on how facets of the group are approached, everyone is entitled to their opinion and nothing more or less. Do not attack other members' opinions. We cannot express how important it is that these conversations remain constructive and respectful. Try to re-read what you type before you post it and be considerate that there are those who will agree and disagree.

We're sorry for the tension in the lounge the other day, and that it wasn’t promptly put to a stop. Our moderator staff is not 24/7, but more significantly we are not all thick-skinned nor are we robots. For those moderators who deal at times with anxiety or emotions that would cripple them from approaching such a large and seemingly hostile conversation, we would never expect them to take on that task at risk to their own well-being. We are volunteers with lives that we absolutely cannot ignore. Not all moderators are fit for Discord moderation. Sometimes the overall tone of the group is too much for some of us to handle. Sometimes the weight of the sheer amount of group members and expectations are a lot for us.

In general, this first week has caused some of our moderators who have had free time to not even want to be in the space of the group and some guest artists as well. This means less motivation directed towards Kittsunami. If you've ever faced apparent hostility before, intentional or unintentional, please know that it is crippling. This is clearly becoming a concern of toxicity towards the group as a whole and damaging the success and enjoyment of Kittsunami and the group. This cannot continue. If it does it will only serve to make things worse for all group members. Thank you for your understanding.

We'll still be wrapping up updating ownership for this last flaffle and some correspondence with GAs this first week to close out the event.

There will be a prompt in May. More details and specifics will be posted when that goes live.

We will not be responding in #questions on discord. If something is time sensitive, submit a ticket via WoE. Trait/Lore questions are not time sensitive, any of these types of questions currently submitted in #questions will be responded to after modcation. If you need to alert us that you’ve submitted a time sensitive query via ticket you can do that in #questions.

The design approval queue will reopen next week for submissions. But we will not be looking at these submissions until after modcation. This includes asking us to cancel any design submissions.

If you want to edit your submission or are thinking of trading an elnin based on the response to a design edit question then please do not submit to the queue! You will not get an answer before modcation ends and having your elnin submitted to the queue will hamper your ability to transfer that design.

Things that will continue to be updated but will be pretty minimal:

• Masterlist transfers will be checked once a week (probably weekends).
• Monthly prompt submissions will be followed up on around the end of the month (the week prior or the week after).
  
  • If you have a concern about your prompt being in our queue please check here (while logged in) before inquiring via WoE ticket: https://worldofeyre.com/submissions
  • If you encounter a bug or error when submitting your prompt, please raise it in the #website_bugs channel on discord or via WoE ticket (https://worldofeyre.com/tickets).

In summary (tldr) :

• If you have something that is an emergency or time sensitive please submit a ticket to WoE. This is the only place we will actively be checking (aside from #website_bugs).
• If your question is related to general lore or traits/mutations please hold off asking.
• If your question is related to patreon SC not coming through correctly (or at all) please submit a ticket, this is definitely time sensitive.
• All other questions deemed non-time sensitive we likely won’t respond to.

Modcation Duration: 4 weeks (April 19th - May 16th)
Ease Back In period: 2 weeks (May 17th-30th)

During the Ease Back In period moderators will be focused on 2 areas:

1. Revisiting anything submitted before or during Kittsunami
2. Prepping for a moderator run event we’d like to hold in June! We won’t say much about it since it’s still a bit early but it’s been something on our minds since last Fall that we never got around to while focusing on approvals and Kittsunami.

We want this modcation to be a genuine break for the team. While it’s not the best for all group staff to be away at the same time (and some aspects of the group will still need ongoing support) we want any upkeep to be kept minimal. I’m sure you know we were flat-out during this big event so we hope you’ll be patient while we take this much needed rest. As always thank you for the continued support and patience. We'll look forward to getting back on track mid May and hopefully into some fun things in June!

Moderator Changes

Today Mowen is stepping down from her role as a moderator in the group. The team has had a bit of a heads up so this is not quite as sudden news to us as it may be to the community. We've been working to find closure relative to tasks she has been doing on our team during our break a bit, but there will likely need to be some work done in the future to cover tasks she has been following up on.

As moderators our time within the group often gets split between our volunteer work behind the scenes and our participation in the ARPG side of the group. As bittersweet as it is to see her step down, Mowen's mentioned hoping to reconnect with the group a bit more on the casual membership side as she pursues art and other areas of interest a bit more in life. Mowen's been modding within the group since late 2017 and contributed a lot since then, usually helping with mechanics, systems, guides, and some of the higher level admin things or technical sides of the group. Needless to say her support in those areas have been greatly appreciated but not left much time for as much art in general and she really wants to get back to those roots.

We hope to see her artwork around in the future, be it in prompts or guesting. On that note we're looking ahead at...

June Plans

The team has wanted to do a moderator sale event for a while, pretty much since last Fall if not earlier. There really hasn't been much time for one though, and usually modding in conjunction with real life obligations has also kept us from comfortably setting up such an event. With that in mind we discussed last fall trying to do an event in June. Moderators have been working (just a bit) during their modcations to whip up some really amazing designs. Not gonna lie here everyone they're looking pretty dang good so far.

While Mowen is stepping down as a mod we just wanted to mention ahead of time she will be a part of the moderator sale. If we had been able to run an event last Fall Mowen would have definitely been a part of it and the moderator team discussed ahead of time that we want her to be a part of this even if she will no longer be a moderator by the time those sales are live. We're all very excited to be able to make some awesome designs for the community and hope everyone is too!

For those who have been asking how you can support the mod team, this is your chance! We hope to see you at the sales and auctions. We’ll post a schedule ahead of time as well. ovob

Our Ease Back In period starts next week.

See our last news post below for what areas we'll be focusing on specifically during that time so expect just a little more movement on some things. As always thank you for your patience!

We'll likely be adapting to some changes on the moderator end in Mowen's absence. Please do not ask if we'll be taking on more moderators at this time. Due to the nature of the role Mowen filled and her years of experience, we'll likely need to take a hard look at the team as it is currently and who will be taking on some of those tasks before we consider increasing the current team size. Thank you. ovob

June's Event & Prompt

The Spring Summer Splash Event is coming tomorrow! We'll be aiming to get the schedule/info posted some time today. The mod team has been working hard behind the scenes on some pretty spiffy designs. Keep your eyes peeled! The first sale will be on Tuesday! ^^

The prompt should go live Tuesday as well. We'll be doing something a little extra for this June's prompt. We're looking forward to it and hope you will too!

Trait changes

Light Reactive Coat has been split into three separate mutations (Shimmering Suffusion, Metallic Markings, and Iridescent Suffusion).

• Hereditary discounts will only apply to the variant/type the parent has.
• Users can get multiples of this mutation now without tripping up some of the behind the scenes breeding mechanics since previously handling this stacking of a single mutation type on one parent didn't fit well into the structure of how we do rolls.
• So how does this impact breedings? Elnin will still have some opportunity to get a different type in their breedings similar to how trine/tetra/twin tail mutations have overlap and variability but the hereditary discount will not apply to variations the parent does not have (as stated above).

The Undine tail type has been renamed to Overwild but will have (Aquatic) extra text to denote they should remain tail styles with a fishy flare! You'll notice this change over on existing undine tailed elnin. The "Undine's Blessing Token" has been renamed to be "Overwild (Aquatic) Token".

Relative to Design Reverts and old art

This has been a bit of a hot topic lately. At this time we require some sort of an art update if you're wanting to shift markings/traits back in the direction of a previous version and costs will align with those changes. The site doesn't have a button to "undo" all the changes someone made to a design, and even if it did we're still left with looking at both the simplest cases and the most elaborate and complicated ones.

Going back to an old marking scheme where something minor was changed is probably the simplest case. Edits are always compared to the very first original design. So it is inherently cheaper to try to shift markings back towards the original design than stray from it. That said, we still require an art update of some kind to make this sort of change, even if it's just redrawing the art in a different pose with the original markings.

The problem is there is no one size fits all solution once you start getting into designs where mutations have been added or ranks changed. You cannot use old art if you're trying to keep some of the mutations but not others since it would be inaccurate to the current design stats and therefore not allowed on the masterlist. Also if you go from a new piece of art where an owner dropped mutations there is no easy solution to having mutations readded without someone re-earning the AP for them. Due to how much mutations vary in cost we can't put a single price to account for every possible situation so much like the rest of the system this is unfortunately pretty variable. This is something we've discussed multiple times now and honestly haven't found a good approach to yet without the costs being too high or too low one way or another.

We know it's really unfortunate for users who loved previous designs that maybe had mutations that were dropped, but for now if you like an elnin's old design the best we can recommend is making sure you have the currency to return the design to the stats you liked and have the art redone or edited in some way. We do not allow rank drops so for elnin with hair length/ear fluff length/tail size stats exceeding their originals there are a few things group members can do.

We would recommend keeping existing trait lengths or adjusting the elnin to have a crown to compensate for shortening them. For prompts, crowns can be hidden and hair length/ear fluff length/tail size can all be drawn smaller if you're wanting to go back to an original look for those.

Hopefully this helps bring some insight. We can't say it's the most ideal but for now it's where we're at and will probably be for a while. This is something we will continue to think about as time permits, along with a few other things that have been in ongoing discussions for a while.

Pending Things

We're coming to the end of our ease back in period. We've been doing our best but there's still a lot of things that need to be discussed with Mana including some trait clarifications and lore questions and aligning schedules has been challenging for us. The ongoing patience is greatly appreciated. We are not able to move quickly on a lot of things at times but things have not been forgotten. We're keeping an eye on queues and trying to find consensus where we can.

You'll at times notice some things that seem really out of the blue (like the trait changes today) that have been discussed on and off for a while now and only recently landed on a final decision after conferring with Mana. These changes usually play a role in answering some current questions as well as help try to future proof some things moving forward.

View the Event Schedule here!

As an aside, we've also added additional info to the Overwild (Aquatic) tail entry in our encyclopedia for those of you still trying to figure out tail ideas.

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing June's monthly prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle, you will need to submit a response to a google form so please keep this in mind!

June Raffle Details

June's Spring Summer Splash Event

The moderator event has come to a close but as the last news post stated, we'll be wrapping up the Overwild (Aquatic) tail raffle this upcoming Saturday, July 3rd. Please be sure to double check your form was submitted. We'll be rolling the raffle in our group discord.

We'd like to extend a big thanks to everyone for your participation this past month in showing your support for our mods, wether it was through kind words shared or directly supporting our sales.

Prompt & Questing Changes & Group Activities!

For those of you who've been following Manaberry's patreon updates you might already know she's been working with the mod team to get some more autonomy in areas, including some quality of life suggestions we had for our written monthly prompts and questing acts.

Starting in July...

You'll see the bonus wordcount for our usual monthly prompt will drop down to be 900 words (opposed to the old 1200 words). Questing acts will mirror this change, dropping down to be 900 words per written act as well (opposed to the old 1000 words). Our mini-requirements when standalone are roughly 300 words, and when we break things down into smaller pieces 300 words is typically the number we're using. So for consistency and to make things a bit easier for future opportunities, for prompts, and questing alike this is a change we're hoping will help in the long run.

Two new prompts available called "Monthly Regular" prompts. (Maybe not the best naming choice but it's the content that matters right?) These prompts will be open long term, unlike our standard "Monthly" prompt, and will allow for 1 submission per month for a little extra currency. Please be sure to read the details for these prompts when they come out as they vary a bit in terms of what currency you're able to earn, requirements, and so on. That said they should sound familiar! The prompts are...

1. [MR-001] Regional Scenery
   and
2. [MR-002] Gift Giver

You can find them under our "Monthly Prompt" category alongside our standard monthly prompt entry.

Please keep in mind this is just a first small step. We will continue to take it slow as we get a feel for how our changes are impacting the group and workload on the moderator end.

On the group activity front...

We're also wanting to take a crack at doing activities for small amounts of currency on the side more regularly, however some of this is dependent on some areas of the site being adjusted. So while it's something we want to do we'll have to tread a bit carefully about what we do and how much until those site adjustments are in place. We have intent to do something this month but it may take a little bit longer to roll out compared to the monthly prompt.

Event Planning & The Website

Things have been pretty busy behind the scenes. As mentioned above Manaberry has been working with the mod team (mainly with communications through Starbask/Nai) to see what we can do to get some forward movement in areas of the group. Event planning is one of these areas. The mod team has had quite a bit of autonomy in this space already, but some aspects that were previously needing approval from Mana are now ok'd for Nai to coordinate with the team on. This just means you may see some subtle changes to guest sale trait allowances or activities/puzzles mixed into some events.

We also have some other relatively important news on the website front and we want to keep everyone in the loop. As we evaluate things we want to do down the road we're taking steps in that direction on the website as well. The last week or two has involved some questions put out to the wonderful Cy, who developed our site.  Currently we're aiming to have some work and updates done on the website some time early August, sooner if time and availability permits.

"Ok so what's that mean Nai?" Well, that just means a few things...

July may be a bit slow on some fronts. We've made small steps in what we think is a good direction to prompts and a few other areas. These changes are intentionally small. This is in part so we can see what the impact is on our workload, but also to try not to complicate the site or add more deadlines than necessary during a period of time when website development work might happen.

Typically we would already have started planning some late summer/fall events by now, having them planned a month or more in advance is ideal but we're running a little behind. We wanted to get a handle on what sort of updates were feasible and which ones we wanted to move forward with. So we've been trying to get an idea of the timeline for our website work before diving too deep into event planning and setting deadlines months out.

With the website updates falling around the same time we would typically be having Starfall Faire, we'll be treading a bit carefully and Starfall Faire may be a little smaller this year due to it! The sort of changes we're looking to make to the website aren't negligible. There are some really neat features we'd like to see on site as a result of these updates, however our site is heavily customized already for how this species runs and we've already done a lot of small quality of life changes in the past that make updates potentially more tricky.

It's incredibly helpful to have the same very capable developer that built and modified our lorekeeper site present for future updates. When you do custom work on a site inherently it means you run some risk of other parts of the site that are currently functional, possibly breaking or ending up buggy as a result of changes or updates. With that in mind...it's daunting to say the least. You may experience some down time or maintenance periods in August to make sure the site is set up to work the way we want it to. As August gets closer we'll try to get an idea of when some of these periods may be if they're necessary.

It has taken us a while to dive into these site questions. Figuring out how changes will impact workflows or what they will mean for the group site as a whole is a job in itself too. Our hope though is that once these updates are done we'll be able to do some pretty neat stuff in the group. We're really looking forward to it and we hope you are too but as always we hope you'll be patient with us as we navigate this. The site work may mean having to be flexible or shuffle around some of our usual processes and adapting takes time.

Guest Artist Applications

Since we're getting back into some event planning if you haven't submitted a guest artist application in a while, or want to update your existing application, this is a gentle reminder our application form is always open and we revisit it over time! Simply visit our Guest Artists Applications page on site and you'll find a link to the form and guesting info there. You'll need to be logged into your google account to edit an existing form if you've submitted an application to us once already.

If your application is over a few years old and predates the google form's creation we highly recommend submitting an updated application to the form. A lot can change in a few years and we want to be sure our info is up to date. Some of the older forms (back before we used a google form) were missing some fields that indicated user preferences. So they're not very helpful at highlighting what types of events or sales some previous applicants may be interested in.

Thank you again everyone for the continued patience. We'll provide further updates as we work through updates to the group! ^^b

1. Night-Class (dA) / night-class (WoE)
2. FruitCrepe (dA) / FruitCrepe (WoE)
3. Trashiebags (dA) / ThePiedPiper (WoE)
4. umbral-wind (dA) / umbral-wind (WoE)
5. nyamomask (dA) / nyamomask (WoE)
6. mild-arts (dA) / mild-arts (WoE)
7. LeechiPeachy (dA) / LeechiPeachy (WoE)
8. lumephobia (dA) / Lume (WoE)
9. gIassmoth (dA) / glassmoth (WoE)
10. CrystalBerri (dA) / CrystalBerri (WoE)

Congratulations winners and thank you everyone for participating in this past month's prompt. Tokens will be sent out to winners shortly!

Rolling took place in our discord #games_and_raffles channel today. This was a fun raffle to host! ^^

July Wrap Up

It's mid August and July is well in the past. On the moderator front, the month of July has been going pretty well! We got a good system going for the prompt changes that were made in place. The team has been absolutely wonderful tackling these things.
On a side front, the mod that usually heads up event planning (Starbask/Nai) had a very rough July (and unfortunately first week of August). Event planning and some things on the site side were delayed due to that. So while the moderator team itself has been fantastic this month Nai has been working on getting things back on track on the event planning side and some other areas she coordinates/focuses on. (More will be included in sections below on this.)

Please thank the mod team for their hard work every so often if you get a chance! They've been working very hard and been incredibly supportive to one another during tough times that might not always be apparent to the broader group. This isn't new and as a team we may not wear our hearts on our sleeves and openly talk about when things are difficult for us, but we've worked very hard over the years to maintain a pretty supportive space so that for the most part it doesn't show when we're struggling. I (Nai) dropped the ball here a bit and it is showing in the delay on Starfall Faire's timeline but behind the scenes it's been pretty positive despite this. So thank you everyone for your patience. It means a lot!

Website News

A bit of good news and bad news here. Please bear with us!

The good news is our site developer is currently hard at work on site updates. We were in the process of working with our website developer to get updates to our codebase in place (as our last larger update mentioned). Those plans have been finalized and we're now no longer just planning out what all changes we're expecting to see or requesting, Mana has OK'd that work to be done on the site. We were aiming for this to take place in early August, and as you can see it's mid August now and the website hasn't really changed. Patreon's patrons are wondering too about changes on that end. So what's up?

Well here comes the bad news. It's taking longer than expected because of previous changes we made to get the site into the state it needed to be in to function for our group. Our site developer is working on this but there's a lot more file conflicts than expected. I've been informed 1-2 is usually...bad and we have, well a lot more than that. More than 10x that amount. With that in mind we're a little unsure of the timeline on this. We'll keep checking in with development but with that said this will likely be a pretty big expense Mana will be paying on top of what she currently pays for routine site upkeep and support from our site developer. If you see Cy around as well please extend support their way, as they're dealing with the headache that is our codebase right now to get it upgraded. Thank you Cy, you're amazing!

(Skip down to "Events & Activities" if you don't want more background on site update delays.)

So why is it taking longer, Nai?

The above paragraphs are probably for the most part what everyone cares about but others may appreciate the context. First, I'll give a bit of background about our site specifically. Then I'll give some background about Lorekeeper and general codebase stuff for those who may be less code development savvy.

Our site is pretty customized. This means we've asked for a lot of things, some small and others bigger, that are outside of the base lorekeeper code that our site is built on top of. Development was done earlier on to handle how complex elnin can be and customizations made to how our staff workflows are (things like being able to soft reject prompts with a message if I'm remembering right). We have also requested some quality of life things that the community mentioned they wanted to see early on (toggles for breeding or to hide profile images, changes in filters, bug fixes, etc). This all happened mostly towards the start of our site's founding Summer of 2020, though we do ask the occasional site bug to be squashed since then.

Other groups and open source contributors have been working on some neat stuff for Lorekeeper since it's creation, doing their own unique customizations they have paid folks to code for them just like we have! Not all features developed for Lorekeeper are automatically shared and contributed towards the Lorekeeper project though. So you may see other Lorekeeper sites with some pretty different features their developers were paid to make that you will not see on our site because we did not pay for them.

That said, some really neat features have been contributed towards Lorekeeper's project by some generous folks out there who were willing to contribute their work for vetting with the intent to become a part of Lorekeeper. Once they’re vetted they get added to the main core codebase. Lorekeeper from a year ago has undergone some really awesome improvements. Some of those features are new and we would love to have them on our site. The problem is...some of the changes at times are similar to things we've already asked for since then. They may have been created by another developer for a different site with sometimes fewer or more advanced features than our site currently has. This...ultimately leads to conflicts between files. It's like two people trying to solve the same problem at the same time but using different methods. Our developer is going to need to be paid to resolve those conflicting files and make sure that when stuff is added in our site doesn't break.

This is pretty normal in coding, rather if you have two people that have never met before not communicating on things, you're likely to see overlapping ideas. This is going to take time and some patience. We really hoped that there wouldn't be a lot of conflicts but it wasn't the case, and to be honest a bit expected to a degree. Our site was an early supporter of Lorekeeper and we got access to the foundation pretty early. It's to be expected it's grown a lot as more sites have picked it up.

This delay will mean there are delays in other places people are probably expecting movement. We've been cautiously trying to plan our events and other site updates to avoid compiling a ton of changes on top of work that will come in once the code is sorted out and updates are able to be added. We'll post news as it comes but until then I'll give updates on the other fronts our team is working on and how those are impacted.

Events & Activities

After the slump that was July for our event planning mod, we're getting back on track here. Plans for Starfall Faire are underway. Expect to see announcements about that event going up in September! We'll also be working out prompts and activities for the coming fall months.

A few notables:

This Starfall Faire we'll be seeing some fresh faces guesting. The event is a bit smaller than it has been in past years to accommodate timelines and planning delays. That said, we're pretty excited and the elnin are looking spiffy so far. We hope folks enjoy seeing them in September! These will be adult elnin designs.

We're also slowly starting to plan out what the rest of fall will look like, as well as winter. We had a very large Kittsunami last spring, with hopes of maybe doing some smaller breedings this fall but with site development and July's delays we'll not be doing any more breedings this year. Looking at timelines we'll need to be really on top of things to not rush an event we plan to host late October and throughout November. With Starfall Faire in September and likely more designs in November in general we just don't want to add more work on top of these events. We want the events themselves to be enjoyable and that's difficult to accomplish if mods get burnt out.

With the above in mind there will be some side activities popping up in October/November. We’re aiming to keep December relatively calm after 3 months of higher activity behind the scenes.

Patreon-Related News

Typically we don't address Patreon things but due to the website update impact and our own event planning, some of the things we want to implement Patreon-wise will take more time. Some of it's a matter of coding, some configuration that I (Nai) am hesitant to do not knowing when other site configurations will fall. Events will also largely be absorbing the moderator time so implementing anything larger all at once will definitely be challenging.

Please do not be critical of Mana for website delays/rewards on site relating to that. She has spoken with me (Nai) in the past on this. Some of it I was interested in possibly doing sooner but July was pretty terrible on the mental health front for me. I also wanted to get a better handle on where everything else was sitting before diving into changes that would consume a lot of time I needed to commit to keeping other aspects of the group moving.

Our developer Cy is working hard on the site. It's a big job and it will not be done for free. It’s fair to say a good chunk of Patreon funds will be sustaining this work. If Mana needs additional funds to pay for these site updates (due to them taking longer and being larger than we initially thought they might be), I fully expect she'll communicate with the moderator team to let us know where that sits. She has not been in close communication with us but the ball has not been dropped relative to getting back on track on the moderator side.

While this work was planned in advance, things cropping up is always an uncertainty and we're all working around things to keep the group active every month. Apologies in advance that we don't have a solid timeline on this but the things we do have down more concretely we'll keep folks up to speed on. Thank you for sticking it out with us. We hope the things we can do in the coming months remain largely positive, although we know it can be hard to prevent things from overshadowing the things that are good. >^<b

Overarching Rules

• Activity answers/responses will be submitted via claim(s) using the appropriate activity form provided alongside each activity below.
• Claims can be submitted from now until September 30th, 11:59pm PST.
• Activity claims submitted after 11:59pm PST on September 30th will be rejected.
• There will be no edit period past the activity end time, so please do not submit or resubmit anything late!
• That said, if you submit an activity claim and it gets rejected for whatever reason (not enough syllables, missing words, etc.) you’re still free to resubmit a new claim with revisions as long as it’s before the activity end time stated above.

Activity #1 : Haiku Hijinx

Create some regional or Eyre related haiku!

Guidelines

• You can earn a maximum of 2EC from doing this activity (6 haiku max).
• Every 3 haiku submitted is equal to 1 EC earned.
• Each haiku must have the correct number of syllables! (5 on the first line, 7 on the second line, and 5 on the third)
  
  • We will be using these syllable counters here so feel free to use either one to make sure your haiku’s fit! If you use a specific one please let us know which!
  • https://www.haikusyllablecounter.com/
  • http://writeahaiku.com/#
• Every haiku must be written in English.
  
  • It doesn’t need to be perfect English as long as the theme you’re trying to get across is clear! (Example: Don’t write a Palu’au Islands beach themed haiku and then put the theme down as mountains!)
• Please do not use region names or location/character names in general in these haiku. You can list your region in the theme section of the form, but just not the haiku itself!
  
  • We were having difficulties with the number of syllables in regional names not coming across right in counters so we’re requesting names be avoided!

Activity Form

• Theme:
• Haiku

Please submit your themed haiku as a claim under the “Current Activity Participation” category here (https://worldofeyre.com/claims/new). You can use this link for the “URL” field: https://worldofeyre.com/news/35.september-activities . Remember to attach the correct amount of EC for the number of haiku you have submitted.

Activity #1 Claim Example

Hello! I’d like to submit these 3 haiku! I am claiming 1 EC for the Haiku Hijinx activity! I used http://writeahaiku.com/# to count syllables for these.

Theme: Faerindell Ambiance
Flower fields in bloom
Blossoms smell so fragrant now
Time to relax here

Theme: Eyre Harvest Kittom Strife
Small paws running off.
Help! They stole my crops so fast!
Which way did they go?

Theme: Zevija Signage
What is the sign for?
Dangerous water it reads...
Not a good hot spring.

Click here to view a screenshot of a Claim for the Haiku Activity.

Activity #2 : Amusing Tales

Let’s try to write a short story, you supply the words to fill in some blanks and we’ll supply the story in a response!

Guidelines

You can earn a maximum of 2EC from doing this activity (6 word lists max).
Every 3 word lists submitted is equal to 1 EC earned.
Word lists must follow the instructions beside each number on the list provided below.
Word lists must be in English (aside from your elnin’s name!).

Word List Form and Instructions:
Word List #

1. The name of an elnin you own (For Manaberry it could be Sunleth!)
2. The ID of the elnin in #1 (ex. ELN### / MYO-ELN###, for Manaberry it could be ELN001!)
3. A verb ending in -ing (ex. Running, Swimming, Fishing, etc.)
4. The name of a region in Eyre that is not Vahl D’Sari. (ex. Palu’au, Silveil, etc.)
5. An item you would find in Eyre (ex. A manaberry, a flower, a bag)
6. An elnin rank (Nestling, Villager, Adventurer, etc.)
7. A location you could find in a town in the region listed for #4. (House, bar, casino, dock, garden, etc.)
8. A second item you would find in Eyre.
9. An emotion your elnin feels often.
10. A third item you would find in Eyre.
11. Another emotion your elnin feels often.
12. Another location you could find in a town in the region listed for #4.
13. An adjective. (Handsome, annoying, friendly, pink, etc.)
14. Another elnin rank.
15. The name of a different region than the one listed in #4.
16. A word to describe a relation to your elnin. (Friend, Mother, Father, Parent, Guardian, Neighbor, Rival, etc.)
17. An occupation in Eyre.

Please submit your word lists as a claim under the “Current Activity Participation” category here (https://worldofeyre.com/claims/new). You can use this link for the “URL” field: https://worldofeyre.com/news/35.september-activities . Remember to attach the correct amount of EC for the number of word lists you have submitted.

A mod will reply back with a short story filled in based on one of your submitted responses upon approval if everything has been done correctly!

Activity #2 Claim Example

Hello! I’d like to submit these 3 word lists for the Amusing Tales activity! I am claiming 1 EC!

Word List 1
1. Caelan
2. ELN125
3. sleeping
4. Enmir
5. bag
6. Villager
7. shack
8. bed
9. sleepy
10. stick
11. irritated
12. swamp
13. wise
14. Noble
15. Strynhalde
16. friend
17. messenger

Word List 2
1. Hermes
2. ELN681
3. standing
4. Bellmoril
5. mail
6. Villager
7. school
8. dress
9. grumpy
10. wagon
11. tired
12. inn
13. tolerant
14. Noble
15. Enmir
16. father
17. baker

Word List 3
1. Rynne
2. ELN046
3. writing
4. Kyendi
5. pen
6. Nestling
7. shrine
8. coin
9. excited
10. paper
11. calm
12. waterfall
13. perceptive
14. Adventurer
15. Ealei
16. daughter
17. storyteller

Click here to view a screenshot of a Claim for the Word List Activity.

Final notables

Both activities should be submitted via claim(s). If you want to submit all your haiku and word lists in one claim then you may, or you can submit them in sets of 3 haiku or word lists per claim. This isn’t meant to be a high pressure activity, just something small and fun to earn a little extra EC.

We're reaching out after some stress arose in discord from the flatsale last weekend.

Moving forward for flatsales:

1. If we allow GAs to choose to do flatsales in the future we will require users to type out or copy+paste the whole design name/no partials or typos. It's honestly the only way we can have a hard and fast rule about this where it's crystal clear to everyone without entirely banning GAs from a fcfs flatsale option.

People have a 1 hour preview period for flatsales currently and should read the entire post so outside of this formal announcement. Hopefully having better wording on the dA posts themselves will help us avoid concerns as well.

We will be revising the top of flatsale posts to state:

"When comments open, please include the full design name (listed in the description below) for the design you wish to claim in your comment. Typos, partial names, etc. will not count as a claim. We highly recommend copying and pasting design names when possible for claims."

Examples of acceptable claims if the design's name is "Bright Stars":

• "Bright Stars"
• "Claiming Bright Stars!"
• "Bright Stars please!"

Examples of claims that are not acceptable if the design's name is "Bright Stars":

• "Briht Stars"
• "Claiming Stars!"
• "Bright please!"
• "Stars!"

2. In the future if a user has any concerns about their own flatsale claim or other official sale comment, we ask that they send in a ticket on site and use the "Community" ticket type. Then in the #questions discord channel we ask they ping @Modberry and inform us that they have a time sensitive question/concern relative to the current flaffle and to let us know right away they've sent a ticket. This will bring a concern to our attention and we will correspond with the parties directly involved from there.

We understand that our community members can be very protective of one another and care a lot about their fellow group members. At times, though, actions like these while supporting some members can unintentionally harm others. Rapid fire commentary on things that may be undergoing further evaluation and communication applies a lot of stress and pressure on both the group members involved and the moderators working to resolve an issue. It creates sense of urgency to respond quickly that is not always the best, and we recognize that in this case, having everything happen so quickly did more harm than good. For this reason we're asking communications be left to directly involved parties.

It's important that we all recognize that these mistakes and incidents are isolated and take time to work through. We understand there are strong opinions that people want to share but posting those in the lounge and group discord are not the right places. If you want to support a fellow community member please let them know privately. If you're worried they have been wronged in some way privately suggest they submit a ticket and let them choose how they want to proceed.

If you have a concern about how moderator staff handle a situation you may DM Manaberry, as she is in charge of the staff and can express concerns to us anonymously if needed. We acknowledge yesterday our lounge became an uninviting place to other community members in the process of community members voicing their concerns. The lounge became a grounds for hostility, dispute, and inappropriate language. This is not acceptable. We believe there are better ways of addressing concerns than making it a public affair.

Moderators have made mistakes in the past. When approached about possible mistakes by those directly impacted or when we notice internally mistakes have been made, we make an effort to try to evaluate the concern, hold ourselves (and one another) accountable when appropriate, and find resolution. Perhaps it's because we usually handle accountability and group concerns privately but there seems to be some misunderstanding that moderators will just let mistakes happen without concern for users involved. This is absolutely not the case. Please give us some good faith when mistakes happen. We are not unfeeling, lacking empathy, or unsympathetic when these types of ordeals happen.

Thank you for your patience with us on this but we really do not want this to become a common occurrence. We never intend to have mistakes and misunderstandings crop up but when they do we try to do our best in a bad situation and reach out to individuals privately to address concerns.

Sincerely,

The Modberry Team

Adoptable TOS & Community Etiquette Updates

Starting with some important things!

The following two pages will have slight updates: Adoptables Terms of Service and Community Guidelines

Specifically on "Adoptables Terms of Service", a small section is being added that addresses expectations the group has relative to distancing group adopts from characters from franchises and original works that are not your own. We understand there may be a lot of love for fan characters, however we want to make sure that a respectful distance is kept towards material/characters that in no way belong to our group and could have repercussions on the group.

Under the General section we will be adding:
"Do not directly copy characters from existing franchises or original works that are not your own. While you may use character names or hairstyles for inspiration, please make sure they are not a 1:1 copy, and should not be treated as that specific character itself. Any outfits or props used should be distanced from the specific character themselves and exact replicas may not be used (ex. Do not use the tri-force as a crown, pokemon cards as a prop, etc.)"

On the "Community Guidelines" page, we'll be amending how we reach out to users when we need to give warnings. While we don't have to give out warnings frequently, we realize that some emails used for our site run the risk of being throwaway emails. With that in mind we'll be updating our methods of contact to include that when a warning needs to be given, we will be sending that warning via email and via modberry note if a dA account is available.

This isn't a guarantee folks will get the warning if they do not check their email or dA account but we felt going through both would possibly help at least double the chances someone will get an important message if needed. (Note: We will be looking into a way of giving warnings on site, but right now we're focusing just on site updates we've already put forward towards our website developer.)

Website Updates

At the moment website updates are still being worked on. Nothing has been implemented on the website yet. Things are still in progress. We will not be requesting any additional/new features outside of what we've already put forward towards our website developer until the current planned updates are complete.

When updates are ready to be implemented on the site, we'll let the community know in advance and announce a time window when we will need to restrict access to the site. During that time the site will be largely inaccessible to the general user base but it will give us the opportunity to configure things that have been updated and do any necessary correspondence with our website developer if we find something that needs fixing.

Palu'au Party Pandemonium Event

This fall's event is now live! You can find the event journal here: Palu'au Party Pandemonium Masterpost

If approvals have been lagging a bit behind or the mod team has seemed a bit slow lately just know the event was the likely culprit for delays. We've been pretty busy setting up for this event. With that in mind, expect approvals and other areas of the group to still likely be a little on the slower side throughout November as the event runs! We're very excited to host this one. ^^b

Notables:

• This event will include some interesting adult elnin sales
• A larger flatsale raffle of kittoms will occur towards the event's end
• There will be a free kittom raffle later on after all event sales are done
• Similar to our Masquerade Mystery 2019 plot, this event will have a side plot activity with puzzles and prizes

We hope you enjoy this event and hope that there's a little something for everyone. We try to mix it up activity-wise in the group knowing that not everyone will like every single aspect of a given event and that's ok! If one aspect of an event or group activity does not appeal to you, then maybe the next one will. With that in mind though, please keep any commentary or feedback on the event positive and constructive. Feel free to participate in those that you're interested in!

If you have feedback that is not constructive ("I can't afford any of the designs." or "I'm not good at doing puzzles.", etc.) those sentiments are best shared privately outside of group channels. A lot of time goes into planning and hosting events and we want to try to focus on the positives.

Username Changes

We've been pondering this for a bit. At this time we're going to just start slow with this type of allowance. Similar to other processes in the group, please give us time to make this change. If it doesn't occur within a week, you can poke in the discord #questions channel with a link to your ticket.

We know this has been highly requested. We're making a note now though that this is a manual process that a moderator will have to do. We know it may be tempting to ask why this is not more automated. The answer is that not all of our organizational workflows are contained within the WoE site.

This being done manually ensures we're aware of when these changes are happening so our records elsewhere and communication chains with group members remain clear. If we have an internal note pinned or stuck somewhere that says to follow up with someone (or that someone is vouching for another member) but then their name changes before we follow up, it can be a real confusion point. So for now this is what we're going with!

Currently we will be allowing users to change their username 1 time in a 12 month period. This means if you request a username change in October 2021, then we would not see another request for a username change until October 2022. We may update the frequency of this allowance later on but for now this is where we're starting.

To ask for a username change, please submit a ticket under the "Website" ticket type with the following form:

• Current WoE username:
• New WoE username:

If you would like your dA alias cleared, we'll use a similar scheme of 1 time in a 12 month period.

To ask for your dA alias to be cleared so you can connect a new dA account, please submit a ticket under the "Website" ticket type with the following form:

• Link to current dA account:
• Link to new dA account:

Hiring Additional Mods

We'll be looking to hire new mods soon. Expect to see a separate news post for this specifically as it's a lot to cover in this news post. Mostly though we just wanted to pre-emptively say we're heading in this direction. Compared to the last time we hired, this next opening we'll be hiring for more specific positions to build upon our existing internal teams. While most mods currently are capable of wearing multiple hats, we currently have mods that specialize/focus on certain areas more than others.

New mods ideally will fall respectively under those existing specialized areas with less bleed across roles as time goes on. Communication between teams and mods will still be required, as our tasks often impact other mods in some way. The group is very interconnected. ^^b

Lore, Trait, and Guide Updates

It would be putting it lightly to say there's probably more than half a dozen trait guidelines being discussed back and forth. Some are taking a lot longer than others. We've been slowly tackling backlogged questions.

In that vein, some of the lore questions we've gotten, we grouped into an overarching lore page. This page has some older lore that we've transferred over after checking nothing had changed as well as some newer tidbits. We're likely to add to this page and probably break some things out into separate pages as we get more information but for now the bulk of it will be on one page.

See the new lore page: About Elnins and Eyre

Trait wise we've updated guidelines for:

• Phantom Step
• Colored Sclera
• Whiskers (specifically clarifying these are just thin cat whiskers/not anything fish-like or dragon-like).
• Descriptions for some of our types of elnin ears (specifically trying to clarify stacking a bit more).
• Added in the visual for horn glamours to the anima section for elnin anatomy (and confirmed this visual is accurate with current guidelines).

Questing-wise we've added a few more notable clarifying tidbits to our Questing FAQ section:

My act was soft-rejected! Do I have to have the changes completed within a specified time frame?

• No, you do not need to complete the changes within the specified time frame for acts! The edit period is a carry-over from prompts, which adhere to a stricter timeline, and the timer is unfortunately hard-coded for both prompts and acts. If you're unable to get the changes in before the edit period expires, simply re-submit the resonance claim with the updated links and you should be good to go!

If I submit art, do I need to include a written portion as well?

• While a written portion is not required, it can help provide context on what is happening, especially if the art doesn't clearly portray this in the act. If we're unsure of what's happening within the act, we may request that some context be provided via text (generally no more than 2-3 sentences), though you are also free to edit the art instead if preferred!

We'd like to specify that if a bidder/winner should ever back out of a sale, we will never ask you for your PayPal email or send a reply through DA's chat function through modberry. We would first confirm your interest through DA notes, and then mention that the respective artist will contact you for payment info.

That said, please always make sure to DOUBLE-TRIPLE CHECK THAT THE CORRECT ACCOUNT IS MESSAGING YOU. Check the profile itself to ensure that it is the right account. If it is not the right account, we would recommend blocking and reporting them so that you don't get any further messages from them.

We are looking for a few new moderators to join our team. If you have interest in volunteering your time and contributing a bit more to the Berry-Bazaar community please continue reading! If you are not interested at all in this sort of thing, then carry on and just expect to see a few new faces on our moderator team in the future.

Who we're looking for:

1. Active community members or members who want to play a more active role in the group's normal processes/activities. Events do happen from time to time but they generally sit second seat to the stuff we would like to have open or happening regularly.
   
   
2. Team players who would be comfortable working with our current moderator team. Communication is important for a lot of what we do, due to the team effort nature of how we problem-solve.
   
   
3. Patience. Those familiar with the group should be aware we are not a super fast-paced group. We try not to overwhelm our community members or moderators. At times on the moderator side it calls for it, but generally we spend a lot of time considering feedback when implementing or modifying existing group systems/activities. It is not a quick process and so we definitely need moderators who can patiently bear with us as we work on setting things in motion.
   
   
4. Individuals that can keep moderator-only/behind-the-scenes information private. Moderators have the perk of knowing inklings of things we are planning or that will happen in the long-term future. We ask this information not be disclosed publicly until it is posted to the group, not even to close friends. A lot of what we work on is liable to change and even if something seems not liable to change we expect it to not become public knowledge. This is to avoid any unfair advantages to parties that we would account for if they were a moderator or foster false hopes/information if it changes. Moderators should not be pressured to give any behind-the-scenes information to non-moderators. We expect them to not disclose details so it is fair that they are not pressured to do so. We encourage fairness in how we approach moderators being involved in group activities given they have this knowledge (You may have noticed we like random number generators/RNG as it's often the fairest way we can let moderators participate without concerns of favoritism or unfair advantage). This is a courtesy to our fellow group members.
   
   
5. Individuals that have good communication skills and a generally positive attitude. We know everything is not always pomus and kittoms levels of positivity in the group but there isn't a single moderator role in our group that is not involved in communicating with community members! When possible, we want the group to be a positive space that others can enjoy in their off time, so we try to keep our communications with community members in line with that.

Position Details

This position/work is purely volunteer. Moderator rewards are occasionally granted, usually in the form of group items/mutations/slots for volunteer work done, but they are not promised or guaranteed. Please keep this in mind when applying that being a Berry-Bazaar moderator is not a paid position, and as such, moderator compensation is not what the team works for or expects on a regular basis.

We acknowledge there are perks to being a mod. However, the community and group's welfare should always be the highest priority when acting as a mod, above self interests. It's a lot of fun getting to meet new people and contributing ideas to how the group runs. Generally, this also means moderators will know about group plans in advance and other details that should not be community knowledge until solidified.

While the community is a high priority, please know we also work hard to make sure the moderator team is a safe space. The mental health of our moderators is a priority when we organize and plan how the group runs events among other things. We are 100% respectful if a mod wishes to or needs to step down to take care of themselves. This is volunteer work so it should be enjoyable. If there are things that come up that would put a potential strain on moderators owing to a long term absence, please notify us in advance. We understand some things aren’t planned and happen suddenly, but communication is key and working together to make sure we all have the necessary support is essential.

At the end of the day moderators are group members too, and while we contribute a service for the group that goes beyond the average community member, the decisions we make impact everyone, including ourselves. Moderators are also expected to understand that community interactions are relative to the group and often we're speaking on behalf of the group in ways that are transparent across the whole team. This means a lot of the feedback we're receiving and giving is in no way personal, so we're really working through things as a community and internal team.

As stated in a prior news post, compared to the last time we hired, this opening we'll be hiring for more specific positions to build upon our existing internal teams. While most mods currently are capable of wearing multiple hats, we have mods that specialize/focus on certain areas more than others.

We'll be focusing on the following three roles:

• Design Approvals
  
  • This role will focus primarily on any and all design approvals that run through our group. This includes art updates, design edits, MYOs, elnin rank ups, kittom growths, and guest artist design approvals (including adult and kittom designs). \o/
  • We are especially seeking some folks that feel confident with their math skills and the group's pricing resources for EC/SC group currencies! While you're not required to know the ins and outs of design updates within the group, it will help you if you do.
• Prompt/Quest Approvals
  • This role will focus primarily on art and text-based submissions for prompts and questing claims through our group. If you're passionate about seeing and hearing more about other group members' elnins, and cross-checking guidelines for drawn and written content through the group, then this may be the role for you! ^^
  • While not largely math-based, this role will still require knowledge of prompt and quest requirements, and making sure proper currency grants are awarded! So knowledge of how prompts and questing works is appreciated.
• Discord
  • This role will focus only on discord moderation! Tasks will include redirecting users to proper channels, redirecting or halting inappropriate conversations, and making sure discord rules are being followed in general. Users in this role will forward any recurring concerns to the overall larger moderator team. (ie. If users are frequently having problems finding certain channels, rules, or resources that discord mods are helping redirect them to and so on, the larger team will implement changes accordingly. If discord rules are repeatedly being broken with soft warnings in discord, it will be the larger moderator team that assesses and sends out applicable warnings and takes further action when needed.)
  • Unlike other roles that may have more discussion about group workflows and processes as they relate to one another, discord mods will largely not be a part of those aspects of moderation and any roles granted will mostly be aesthetic if outside of discord.

New mods ideally will fall respectively under those existing specialized areas with less bleed across roles as time goes on. Communication between teams and mods will still be required, as our tasks often impact other mods in some way. The group is very interconnected. ^^b

Additional info to keep in mind

• Application Window: [11/12/21 at 12:00am PST] - [12/01/21 at 11:59pm PST]
  
  
• Follow up: We will be following up either in December or early January, after the application window closes or during if we have more questions. If we do not reach out to you this time, please don't be discouraged. We tend to like to grow our team slowly so we have time to work with the moderators we bring on board.
  
  
• Application Edits: You will be able to edit your application at any time during the submission window by clicking on the link above/returning to the form page. Once the window closes, application edits will also be closed, so please be sure you include all information you feel is important before the deadline!
  
  
• Probationary Period: [3-6 months] Getting situated working with a team is a process. There are slow periods and faster periods. Should there be any major problems we see causing strain between current moderators and new moderators, we will let you know if something is not working out. We do not want a toxic volunteer workspace for anyone. Working out any confusion or miscommunications will always be done first, but as a last resort we're making this probationary period known so it's clear we are paying attention to the comfort of new and old mods alike.

Application Forms

If you are interested in applying for a specific role, please fill out the respective application form below. You may apply for different roles by filling out all or some of the forms, but you will be hired for one position/role within our team. We are using a google forms approach to give us a little more organization and wiggle room with how we handle applications. Thank you. ^^b

• Apply to be a Design Approvals Moderator here
  
  
• Apply to be a Prompt/Quest Approvals Moderator here
  
  
• Apply to be a Discord Moderator here

If you have any questions about this process feel free to ask them in the #questions channel in our discord, or submit a ticket to the "Community" ticket type on the WoE site. Thank you for your interest and time! We look forward to another fun year working with and for the Berry-Bazaar community. <3

We've been communicating with our website developer and we are planning on having website updates implemented early December, specifically some time on December 4th (PST time). The website code updates in theory should not take long. However, since there will be quite a few updates coming, we'll need some time to configure any new features on the site and make sure our documentation follows alongside the update.

Assuming that everything goes smoothly, we're hoping that the configuration and guideline updates will be completed quickly. We don't want to promise an exact number of days that the site will be in sort of a maintenance-mode state at this point in time, but we'll be planning accordingly. We're aiming for a pretty quiet month in December in general. We hope the most exciting thing in December ends up being the website updates. Hopefully, that will also give the team some time to rest and time to look over new moderator applications afterwards.

With these updates to the site, we want to take some extra measures to ensure that there isn't anything submitted too close to when the code changes are implemented. We'll be closing a lot of the site's features a few days before the 4th. Please see the timeline below for what systems will be closing, so that you can plan any submissions in advance! We have full intent to re-open everything once we're sure updates are complete, configured, and guides are updated as needed. We'll also be addressing what will happen relative to December's prompt lower down in this new post!

December Website Update Timeline

• December 1st (at 11:59pm PST): New design approval submissions, new claim submissions, and new prompt/act submissions will close.
  • We ask that any existing design approvals not be edited/re-submitted after this date until we publicly confirm that site updates are done!
  • The moderator team will still be doing design approvals and prompt/act/claim reviews up until 11:59pm PST on December 3rd. If you receive feedback on an existing design approval, please do not resubmit that design to the queue or update anything.
  • We cannot guarantee feedback by this date, as this is mostly just to let people know if you have not heard from us on the 3rd or earlier, your feedback will be sent after site updates are complete!
• December 2nd (at 11:59pm PST): Design transfers/trades soft-close on the website.
  
  • We cannot hard-close design transfers/trades. However, we're going to request that no one submits any design transfers/trades after this time until site updates are done!
  • Any design transfers/trades submitted before this time will be reviewed and approved on December 3rd PST time.
• December 3rd: As stated above, December 3rd is going to be sort of a buffer day to give Moderators time to push anything through that they can before we halt to give some breathing room for updates coming on the 4th.
• December 4th: The site code updates will be moved to the live site and the site will go into maintenance-mode. We're reserving this day entirely so that code can be moved up at any time. There will be no precise set time when the site is put into maintenance mode.
  • While the site is in maintenance-mode, it will largely be inaccessible to the general public. Moderators will be able to login and configure aspects of the site as needed.
  • This time will also be spent resolving any bugs that might have cropped up during testing but might appear in the live site environment.
• December 5th-12th: We're going to loosely say this is sort of a tentative maintenance period. We're not sure how long configuration will take on the moderator side. We may re-open well before the 12th. We'll look into doing some sort of update on how things are going during this week.
  • If we come across a bug or concern, we'll seek help from our website developer. For the most part, we expect this time will have less to do with code and more to do with making sure if something has changed, documentation and settings are right.

We're predicting that site updates will go smoothly. On the odd chance updates don't go smoothly, we want as little movement as possible on the site and few to no changes. That way if we have to rollback any data, any impact will be minimal and well past when anything new was submitted. That's what the buffer day is for!

December's Prompt

December's prompt will go live when the website updates are done and the website is once again accessible to the general public. We will end December's prompt a month later from the date it opens.

The same will go for Monthly Regular prompts for December. If you want to get started on Monthly Regular prompts while the site is undergoing maintenance, go for it! You just won't be able to submit those prompts until the site is accessible again.

Monthly Regular prompts will end at the same time the regular prompt for December does, but you will see some overlap with January. This means we'll probably have at least a week where if we see a MR-001 or MR-002 prompt come in two times, the first MR-001 prompt will be assumed to be for December and the other M-001 prompt will be assumed to be for January. We'll be very transparent about prompt deadlines once December's prompt is able to go live!

The Event Raffles

We'll be rolling raffles on the 5th as planned, and we'll be following up with event prize winners around then too. Any masterlist grants or updates for the prizes will need to wait until after site updates are done! We hope everyone understands. While this update should not impede prizes being drawn, the website update will likely impact those prizes being granted to accounts and elnin on site. Everything else for the event aside from the raffles should, for the most part, be wrapped up by the 1st of December if not earlier.

Popping in with a small update relative to the site! While things might seem quiet on the front-facing side of the group, on the moderator side we've been making progress behind the scenes in a few areas.

Website Updates

Website Maintenance is being extended to December 18th. This means Prompts, Acts, Claims, Design Updates, and Transfers will remain closed. If we can reopen the site sooner we will make an announcement. Until then though, thank you for your continued patience on this!

Code-Wise
Website code was updated last weekend. A few bugs arose that needed fixing, so some bug fixes have been made this weekend. There are still a few outlying bugs and things we're checking on, but once those bugs are fixed, questions resolved, and the moderators finish any non-code things we're aiming to get done, we'll reopen.

Moderator-Wise
Some testing has been done on the site this past week. There is still a bit more we need to do, and some areas of the site we need to think through. It's been a pretty busy past week, so we're extending the maintenance period to give ourselves a bit more time for any remaining things to be fixed, site staff to become familiarized with what's changed, and to make sure we're prepared for things to reopen.

While bugs are being fixed, we have been wrapping up some mod tasks in the background.

Event Prizes

Raffle prizes from the event were rolled mid last week. The second half of this week has been following up on those and pondering the Risky raffles. Follow up will continue into next week as we work on finalizing things.

Assuming we feel website updates are mostly done, ideally prizes will be granted on site sometime this upcoming week, or early the following week. We'll continue to keep people updated if we think there will be further delays.

Moderator Changes

Recently Night-Class has stepped down from her role as a moderator in the group to refocus on other things happening in her life. We've been lucky to have her volunteering on our team since 2018! She's helped the group in many areas during this time, but probably most noticeably in the prompt space. While we'll miss her in our moderator spaces, she's mentioned she won't be too far. We will still see her participating in the group as a member. Hopefully she'll continue to share what mischief her cats are up to and tasty treats she's cooking in life with us. ^^ Thank you again Night for your years of volunteering!

We are still in the process of reviewing moderator applications. The process has started and will likely be ongoing throughout this month, possibly into the new year depending on how things go.

On the Horizon

December has likely been pretty quiet on the community-facing side. On the moderator side though, what some of us were aiming to be a quieter month has still been relatively busy. When the website reopens up we'll likely be very busy sending out feedback we've drafted while the site has been down for maintenance. With that said, when the holidays roll around there will be a lull and response times may be a bit slower if they occur at all.

Since we do not intend to have any deadlines fall during the last week of December or early next year, the group moderator staff will have a 2 week break period from December 24th, 2021 to January 8th, 2022. Similar to last Spring's modcation, this just means staff will be following up at their own pace or not at all during that time frame. Character transfers and trades will likely be the only thing guaranteed to be checked once a week during that time. We'll figure out a day when the site is back up to let people know, but expect other areas to be pretty quiet. You may see moderators in group discord channels during this time just casually chatting, but we'll kindly ask for group members to not ask how long things will take to get done in that time window.

We realize it has already been about 2 weeks since the site slowed down for maintenance reasons, but given it hasn't really slowed down at all on the moderator side, the team needs a break. Our work seldom stops unless we explicitly enforce a break, or life happenings force us to take one. So hopefully setting aside a two-week period will give us that breathing room.

Thank you for your patience, understanding, and support this month. There's always more things we want to do than we can possibly cram in the time we have so it means a lot! January may still be on the quieter side once we come back as well, as we sift through what we want to accomplish in the new year.

Design Approvals, Claims, and Character Trades/Transfers Reopening

Please give us some time this week to send out feedback and go over things. It will probably take a few days to catch up on things

Prize grants will also be happening this week. They haven't been forgotten, it's just going to be a bit of a slow start. Your patience is appreciated! Thank you!

Prompts Reopening

Monthly and Monthly Regular Prompts for December will be submittable from December 19th, 2021 to January 31st, 2022 at 11:59pm PST time.

• December's Monthly Prompt "Memorable Messages" will allow for a max of 2 submissions between now and the end of January.
• December and January's Monthly Regular Regional and Gift art prompts can be submitted any time in December or January, PST time. The rule still stands 1 per month though, so we should not see more than 2 Regional Scenery pieces and 2 Gift art pieces come in per user between now and the end of January.

In January we'll be introducing a new prompt category Seasonal Prompts. These will be prompts that run within a 3 month time period, so the first Seasonal prompt will run from January 1st, 2022 to March 31st, 2022 ending at 11:59pm PST time.

General Content Updates

• On our General Prompt Entry Rules, we have added guidelines for pixel art.
• Metallic Markings has been renamed to Metallic Suffusion with its guidelines updated!
• We have made changes to our navigation menu!
  Changes include:
  • World - Now includes Lore, Regions, Shops, Encyclopedia, and Submission Gallery
  • Guides - Includes some notable guides for easier access
  • Activities (Public facing) - Includes Prompts, Sales, and Raffles. Essentially hubs for things that may be currently happening.
  • Home (Only available to logged in users) - Encompasses what the private facing old "Activity" menu item had and previous Home menu features. Consider this like a dashboard for anything you might need to do while logged in!
  • Masterlists (Previously called Browse) - Now just includes Site Masterlists for Users, Characters, and MYOs.

Website Updates

The website is now on Lorekeeper v2. This update includes improvements by corowne and a number of extensions that were integrated into Lorekeeper core. Extensions integrated were thanks to contributions from the open source community. Credits for extensions can be viewed on the credits page.

There's a few things of note. I'll be going over what major things we have added to the site feature-wise and a few things that are pending implementation or evaluation still.

New Requirements on site

• Users now must have a dA account connected to access site features. This was included as a part of the lorekeeper v2 update, but since we still largely cross check ownership across platforms, having it is required.
• The website now requires that users input a birth date to confirm our users are old enough to use this site. You must be 13 years or older to sign up for the WoE website. Your birthdate information will not be shared publicly on your profile in any way.

New Features Usable Now

These are some of the features we believe will see the most use now. There may be a few other features on site not explicitly mentioned on this list that add to the general QoL of the site that you'll notice around, like avatars on site, as well.

1. Stacked Inventories - Inventory stacking is now a thing. This isn't something all too major given our current inventory numbers are quite low.
   1. When accessing items via your inventory, use the checkbox to select which item you're interacting with.
   2. For example, when applying a frame, remember to not only select your elnin from the dropdown, but also make sure that you choose which frame item you're applying if you have multiples of a frame.
2. Comments - These will be available on news posts and sales posts, not user profiles or anywhere else. Please keep comments appropriate and follow community guidelines.
   1. Comments are new for us, so at this time we are still figuring out our approach to moderating them. We will not be responding to comments that are questions. If you would like to ask a question on something specific, please use our #questions channel in discord or support tickets on the WoE website.
3. Reports - This is a reporting system feature for content that is either a bug or not appropriate (comments/profiles/etc. that break TOS can be reported now.)
   1. This was added specifically for these two tasks/purposes, our Ticketing system is wholly separate and broader to cover general questions.
4. User Transfer Reasons - When transferring characters, you are now required to provide a reason for transferring the character. This only applies to one-sided transfers done through the Transfer option on a character's masterlist entry.
   1. We recommend using the on-site Trades feature whenever possible with details relative to what you are trading.
5. Character Toyhouse Profile Link - Users can now add a profile link to their elnin's on-site profile. When added, it will create a small button on the top right of an elnin's masterlist entry next to their name. This can be a link to a character's Toyhouse profile via their profile page (https://worldofeyre.com/character/ELN###/profile) if you prefer to use THToyhouse rather than adding character bios on your elnin's WoE profiles.
   
   1. Example: See ELN046
6. Captcha (v3) - Will appear on the registration page for new users registering.
7. Separate Prompts - This mostly changed the sidebar of our prompts page here.

New Features Possible in the Future

These are features we have had added, but currently do not have in use. We will be exploring options.

1. Submission Add-ons - This allows users to attach items/currencies to claims or prompts.
   1. Currently we don't have a specific use for this, but it's something we'll likely explore down the road. Feel free to ignore this feature until we provide instructions on how/where it may be used.
2. Character Items - Currently we have no items in our database that can be attached to characters, but we may eventually. This is another feature we will explore.

Features Still Being Considered or Worked on

1. Galleries - We have a currently existing Submission Gallery for prompts (under the "World" menu item).
   1. We're still exploring use cases for a secondary gallery that was part of the v2 update.
   2. The secondary gallery inherently functions differently than our existing Submission Gallery, which is prompt focused.
   3. The two galleries (old and new) will not be merged. We will be keeping the old gallery for prompt submissions. The new one is still under review as it may not be needed, but we're still assessing.
   4. You may see areas on site that are part of the new gallery feature that is still being considered. For now please ignore these sections.
2. Watermarking - This is not implemented on site yet, but something we're looking into. This will likely not be like Toyhouse's watermarking in terms of flexibility, but we're still looking at what this feature provides and how to fit it into our site.

There are a few features that came with the Lorekeeper v2 update that are disabled or that we will not be using on our site for various reasons. Some reasons include already having similar features on site that were coded custom for our site needs or certain features not fitting how our group is structured.

That wraps up our news update for now. We'll continue to provide updates as needed as the week goes on! Thank you everyone for your patience with us during this time period!

Achievements and Titles

Some features we've been excited to have on site are the ability to create and grant both achievements and titles! We'll be starting off slow with these but we wanted to let everyone know our first two achievements relate to the seasonal prompt currently going on!

1. By completing the seasonal prompt this year you can earn a single elnin the "Lantern Crafter" achievement which will allow your elnin to acquire the title "Lightbringer". If you wish to earn this achievement for a different elnin you'll have to complete the prompt again next year!
2. Completing multiple eligible prompts based on this seasonal tradition  will allow users to earn the "Returning Light" achievement and its associated title "Luminous"! This achievement has some past eligible prompts that count towards the unlocking requirements so if you've done some lantern crafting in years past, be sure those legacy prompts have been submitted to the WoE site!

For full details see their respective encyclopedia entries! The seasonal prompt will be returning every year during the months of January through March. If you cannot complete a prompt this year you'll have a chance to participate and earn these achievements in future years.

You'll notice that currently neither achievement has art. Since these features are relatively new and things have been busy we're aiming to have achievement art completed by April! If you're wondering how to claim an achievement we'll be following up with how that process will work after the seasonal prompt is over.

Please do not attempt to claim any achievements until we have been able to release guidelines on how this will work in early April! We appreciate the patience as we explore this aspect of our website!

Group Staffing Changes

In the past month or two you may have noticed some changes to our staff on the website! A few things have happened. We've officially hired 4 new Prompt Moderators, 3 new Design Approval Moderators, and 2 new Discord Moderators.

Please welcome these individuals to our staff!

• Angelos, LeechiPeachy, Picnyx, and woodlanduni have joined our Prompt team!
• LizzyJun, StarryDoe, and wintry-chan are the new members of our Design Approvals team!
• Last but not least BlackSapphire and kaethus will be our new Discord team staff!

We're very excited to have them on board and we hope the community will be, too. There were a lot of good applicants to review and it took us quite a great deal of time reviewing everything and getting our new staff settled in!

Having dedicated discord moderators will be a pretty new endeavor for us. Their job will not overlap with any sort of website moderation, so they will not be expected to help with tasks that are not directly related to our discord. We'll be requesting everyone to adhere to the rules and guidelines provided in our discord #rules_and_info channel, as always. If you've not looked at them in a while you're welcome to! In the coming weeks we'll be slowly clarifying  with the community what our discord moderators role will be and our expectations on what interacting with them should look like! Their role will likely differ in some ways from the rest of our moderator staff simply due to the space they're assisting in.

In addition to acquiring some wonderful new staff, we're also announcing that our website developer (and maintainer) has stepped down to pursue personal projects and we sincerely wish Cy the best! We would not be where we are as a community today without Cy's hard work these past few years and the contributions of many other dedicated developers expanding on what Lorekeeper can do, so a big thank you to these wonderful developers!

Regional Guide Updates

Headed up by our resident Sharky, regional pages have been updated!

With some of the updates to our website's features and code we thought it would be good to make sure some of our pages were keeping up too. There have been a ton of art prompts submitted since the site's launch and the moderator team worked to pull together some great examples for our regional pages. We'll revisit these pages periodically to improve on them, but they're looking better already!

Adoptable TOS Update

On the "Adoptables Terms of Service" page we've adjusted some wording to try to clarify our stance on design similarities and expectations relative to referencing other original designs. We understand accidental similarities may occur between designs, as there are many designs out there, but in this group we're expecting such occurrences to be wholly accidental.

If we encounter situations where our moderator team has to ask for designs to be distanced during approvals it helps to be clear with everyone that intentionally referencing someone else's design is not condoned. Not everyone is comfortable with their characters being referenced and we want to respect that within our community. We recognize breedings events are a bit of an outlier from this stance but during those events permission to reference parent designs is explicitly granted.

Under the General section wording has been revised to read:

Do not directly copy or heavily reference characters from existing franchises or original works/designs that are not your own. While you may use character names or hairstyles for inspiration, please make sure they are not a 1:1 copy, and should not be treated as that specific character itself. For non-humanoid designs, this includes distancing colour palettes, markings and/or traits from the original design. Any outfits or props used should not be based on the specific character themselves and exact replicas may not be used (ex. Do not use the tri-force as a crown, pokemon cards as a prop, etc.). If we feel a design is too similar to a specific character/another design, we reserve the right to ask for changes to distance them further. *

*UPDATE: If you have a concern about a design similarity seen in any group space please submit a support ticket on site so the moderator team can be made aware, do not approach other group members directly about this concern.

Editing Elnin Art

This has come up a few times so we just wanted to throw out a general reminder!

If you have art done by another artist that you want to edit, always check with the original artist that they allow their art to be edited. This goes for mocking up edits as well even if you intend to have another artist redraw the mocked up image as final art!

We recommend checking their TOS first, if one is available, to see if it specifies they allow edits to their works. If a TOS is not available to cross check, we recommend directly contacting them to ask. We require users to provide some form of proof in the comments tab of their design update submission that they had permission to edit art that is not their own, or that they hired the original artist or another artist to edit the art knowingly and with permission from the original artist!

If we ask you to provide proof of the original artist’s permission please do not be offended. We ask this of everyone who submits edited artwork! It is simply our aim to help protect all artists’ work.

Past and Future Sheninigans

It's been a busy start to our year but we're ambitious as ever!

These past few months have involved a lot of time sunk primarily into a lot of the wonderful things we've mentioned above.

We've been:

• Testing the website extensively for bugs
• Sorting out aforementioned new features
• Updating guides (Mostly regional though this is often a constant task)
• Reviewing potential moderator applications
• Preparing for staff additions and departures (site role setup, reorganizing and updating a lot of internal tools and documentation we use, etc.)
• Training new staff
• Keeping up with day to day tasks  as much as possible (Prompts, Design Approvals/Updates, Claims, Tickets, Questions, etc.)

Needless to say all of these items have had quite a bit of depth to them. As we wrap up some tasks we're looking forward to having some bandwidth to get back to other facets of the group.

Looking forward we're hoping to get back into:

• Events / Activities! Currently there is nothing we're planning for specifically, but we're hoping to get back into this space.
• Discussion about longer term projects the team wants to pursue
• A little bit of mischief (maybe even some elnin jokes)
• Pestering any sleep deprived mods to take a vacation

And with that we've covered just about everything for now! Thank you again everyone for the continued support!

A small update on the event. Prizes for this fishy raffle will be rolled 6/5/22, at 10:00am PST time!

After some discussion internally and approval from Mana, we've upped the prizes for this raffle from 10 winners and we will now be raffling off 30 Overwild (Aquatic) Tail tokens to our entrants!

For the month of May we're hosting a raffle for 10 Overwild (Aquatic) Tail Tokens. We're reposting the information here since once the prompt closes people may still need form access and access to the rules/guidelines for these tokens, so we've moved the information over to a news post as well!

As an aside, additional info can be found on the Overwild (Aquatic) tail entry in our encyclopedia for those of you trying to ponder out tail ideas. We know there's still some that have come up that we're still woking through but we'll expand upon the trait entry as we work through questions.

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing June's monthly prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle, you will need to submit a response to a google form so please keep this in mind!

May Raffle Details

1. MewWolf
2. blankshi
3. Zezima
4. StarryDoe
5. Jahpan
6. TragicKiwi
7. Cynder
8. Trashiebag
9. LocketShoru
10. Wander
11. Silver-the-wyrm
12. CandyChameleon
13. tara-elani
14. XXxbunnyloverxX
15. woodlanduni
16. FruitCrepe
17. Whimsicalblue
18. Koiwitwil
19. ShinPurple
20. Sharky
21. Chickolates
22. Giz
23. Angelos
24. Afrielzi
25. wintry-chan
26. osteoh
27. Vontier
28. glassmoth
29. wriven
30. Picnyx

Congratulations winners and thank you everyone for participating in this past month's prompt. Tokens have been sent out to the raffle winners!

Rolling took place in our discord #games_and_raffles channel today. It was a fun raffle to host this year! ^^

Achievements and Titles

There were some delays on this front but we're now ready to have people start claiming achievements (and the titles related to those respective achievements. This is how claiming will go!

When filling out a claim it will go under the "Achievements & Titles" claim type:

1. For the URL please enter the achievement's url to let us know which achievement you are claiming! (You can get this link by clicking on the name of the achievement and copying the url of that page. For example: https://worldofeyre.com/world/achievements?name=Lantern%20Crafter )
2. In the comments link the info needed for the unlock requirements to claim your achievement.
   • For example, if you're claiming the Lantern Crafter achievement, you would link to your prompt submission for the elnin that was the main subject in a prompt. This would be the elnin earning the AP (or if no AP was earned, the elnin that was the focus of the prompt/primary subject).
3. If your achievement is character-based, be sure to attach the character to your claim under the "Characters" section. You do not need to attach any currencies to the claim or character. If your achievement is user-based, you do not need to link any character.

Important things to note:

• If there is a title associated with a specific achievement, you do not need to claim the title separately! It will automatically be granted alongside the achievement you are claiming.
  • Associated titles can be found under each achievement's encyclopedia entry.
• You must be the artist of a prompt to have it pass as a requirement met!
• Prompts must be submitted on the WoE site to pass as a requirement met! (This includes legacy prompts. Read this page for more info on legacy prompts and this walkthrough for how to submit a legacy prompt.)
• If you are claiming an achievement for a character, you must both own that character and be the artist of any prompt(s) needed for the unlock requirement!
• Achievements and Titles claims will be handled at their own pace. (We suspect this will be weekly or every 2 weeks like most of our processes, but will be semi-dependent on other tasks in the group!)

Examples of filled out Achievement claims:

• User Achievement: Claim for "Returning Light"
• Character Achievement: Claim for "Lantern Crafter"

This info will be cross posted on our Helpful Walkthrough's page under "Achievements & Titles".

More Guide Updates!

We've been continuing to work on guide updates. Sharky has been going through traits next. We're aiming to flesh out the encyclopedia and shift relevant info there under categories.

We've updated info for Faenin traits

Updated info can be found on traits linked from the main encyclopedia entry for the Faenin subtype!

Tail Encyclopedia entries have been updated!

You'll notice many of these have been expanded upon so please follow encyclopedia pages for current TAIL SIZE and TAIL STYLE guidelines!!!

Once we get through all sections of a given trait category, you will probably see changes to any overarching pages like our tail guide, crown guide, and elnin anatomy pages. There's some duplicate info in spots, but currently tail info on two of these pages will likely have dated info, so we highly recommend following the encyclopedia for any clarification on tails.

• Info on tail sizes can be found here.
• Info on tail styles can be found here.
• Other Tail Notes:
  • We've moved any elnin that had the Multi-Tail (Legacy) tail style to the Trine (Legacy) tail style.
    • These two traits are the same exact tail style, Multi-tail being just another way of saying an elnin that had 3 bramble style tails, now called Trine (Legacy). The MP values should be the same/nothing is really being impacted, but we wanted to bring trait names into alignment as a bit of clean up.
    • We will not be removing the Multi-Tail (Legacy) trait until Nai, or a later developer can make sure that trait's removal won't have any impact on other areas of the site. We're doubtful that there would be, but erring on the side of caution.

Guide Updates are ongoing!

We'll be cleaning up areas that include tail style and sizing info outside the encyclopedia next. Then we intend to move on to crown styles and other mutation updates intermittently. This is slow work since there's always a lot going on, but we recognize the need to keep on top of improving our trait guidelines.

In the long term, we'll be aiming to remove duplicate info in other areas of the site so we don't end up with dated info in some spots and not others. Some pages like the old overarching guide pages may be simplified or removed once our encyclopedia entries are up to date. Some decisions are still being made on this, but we'll continue to post updates as we work through things.

Thank you for your patience with us as we work through things! Sharky has been handling the guide changes, with checks from the team. While she (and Nai) predominantly are busy in that work, the rest of the moderator team continues to support regular processes like prompt and design approvals, and then chip in where they can towards any additional discussions/work.

Design Name Updates and Info

We're adjusting how we handle Design Names within the group. A while back there was some contention about when design names could be added. This prompted some internal discussion. Please understand that restrictions surrounding design names were never intended to hamper creative freedom relative to a user's characters.

You can still:

• Update your character’s Profile
• Interpret your character thematically any way you wish

Design names hold no bearing on how you wish to interpret your character. You're still welcome to make edits to their visuals, outfits, backstory, etc. Design names are optional text for flavor that usually convey the intent of the original artist of a design, but have always been more or less a formality and a bit of fun for Guest Artists.

Here's a Little Background.

Originally, Design Names were primarily for Guest Artist sale purposes to identify designs before they had any sort of elnin identifier (ELN ID). Usually they matched the theme an artist was going for. Some design names were more on the nose while others were more vague.

Eventually, users inquired if design names could be added to MYO elnin. At that time, we touched base with Mana to see if she had any thoughts, and she tossed a few guidelines our way and off we went. But things did not have a clear process and were more or less being handled as they came up.

Kittsunami kittoms historically did not have design names. Some have been added in recent years by artists (optionally), but due to the sheer number of kittoms we historically processed in events, reviewing design names alongside that many submissions was additional overhead in the process and could potentially slow it down. Not all guest artists wanted to give all of the kittoms design names as well. We left the choice up to them when we did start allowing design names to be added for the last Kittsunami.

Now we're where we are currently in the group. We understand group members are very passionate about their characters and design names have increased in significance and meaning for some of our community members. That said, the original intent of design names was not to have them hold a lot of significance. They're a wonderful starting point for character inspiration and a hat tip to the original artist's idea, but community members do not have to adhere to them in any way.

A lot of stress came out of discussing this topic. Design names opening up to being added by community members started as an initially simple process that we thought would be nice, but added additional work so we agreed we would give it a try. This aspect of the group was never highlighted as something that group staff had to do as part of moderator duties outside of guest sales. It was a task picked up because we saw some community interest in it and were trying to manage it in a way that would not impact other more important tasks in the group. We see now though that this process needed to have better guidelines as it was causing stress to both community members and moderators.

After discussion, this is what we've settled on for the following guidelines. These guidelines will not be up for dispute, as our goal is to try to clarify where design names sit in the group.

Guideline for Design Name Requests:

• Once a month a user can submit a ticket to add a design name to any of elnin they own without one currently present. If submitting names for multiple nin please do it in one ticket. If user decides to add more after a ticket has been sent, they'll have to wait until next month.
  • Otherwise, users are also free to request a design name be added during design approvals.
• Design names can be added to any MYO that previously had a placeholder name like MYO-###.
• Any design that already has a design name designated cannot have their name changed.
• You can only add a design name to an elnin or kittom owned by you that does not already have one.

Guideline for Design Names:

• Design names can be 6 words or less (with a max of 50 characters)
• Design names must be appropriate (PG-13, no swear words/derogatory terms, etc.)
• Design names cannot contain any copyright material/phrases (ex. Pokemon Master, Cardcaptor Sakura, etc).
• Fantasy names are ok as long as they do not tread copyright material. If something seems ambiguous/we’re unsure on the meaning, we may ask for clarification or ask for it to be changed to something else.
• Design names can only contain alphabetical letters a-z. No emojis, special characters or non english characters/letters are allowed. (This is to prevent the site from breaking in case the database cannot read the character).
• Design names cannot allude to Royal elnin titles (ex. King/Queen). Aristocratic names like "Prince, Princess, Scion, Baroness, etc." are ok.
• Design name overlap can occur, this is not something we moderate given design name themes and word combinations can be quite vague. You’re welcome to avoid similar design names as a courtesy, but it is not required.
• You cannot expand upon existing design names. (ie. Something like "Moon Gazer" cannot be extended to something like "Elegant Moon Gazer". )
• We reserve the right to reject a design name if we have a concern. We do not have to explain our reasoning, though we won't be doing this arbitrarily and ask that people respect our decision.

Additional Notes:

• Please allow up to 1 week for design names to be processed (possibly more this first month as we expect an influx).
• Elnin designs do not need to strictly follow their design name.
• Given this task has always been something on the side the staff were willing to volunteer the extra time to try to do, if we continue to see contention surrounding it we will halt design name additions outside of guest artist sales. This is something Manaberry suggested as a potential option, but we wanted to try to find a middle ground before going back to how the group originally handled design names.

This info will be cross posted on our Helpful Walkthrough's page under "Profiles & Framing".

Masterlist Art Flipped Views

If you have asymmetrical designs for elnin art we are alright reviewing flipped views to show an elnin's other side. Here are some guidelines though to clarify things better.

Masterlist Flipped Art View Guidelines:

• Flipped art views showing asymmetrical markings must be included in the design approval throughout the whole process. Not doing so may lead to us requiring edits to your flipped view for it to be included.
• Max width and height for images including flipped views should not exceed 2000 pixels and 3MB.
• Flipped art views should not be wholly different line sets and poses. Lines present should almost entirely match the lines of the other view, if not be identical.
  
  • No different poses please!
• Flipped art views should not contain the elnin's outfit. Outfit approvals are entirely separate. If an outfit version is included in a flipped view, we will ask for it to be removed from the image during final approval/only the unclothed view should be submitted. Approved outfits may be submitted as a separate design approval afterwards with no additional cost.
  
  • Some older elnin may present this (clothed and unclothed views as part of the same image) just due to what images we were given by Manaberry to upload, but all designs moving forward should not show this approach.
• Only one of the views will be in frame. The flipped view of an elnin's markings will only be visible through looking at the entire watermarked image. Please specify which image you want framed during design approval. Otherwise if it isn't clear, the version picked will be up to the moderator approving the design and changes will not be allowed afterwards.

Character Trades and Transfers

Lastly, we'd like to post a small reminder, when transferring or trading characters you must include some note about what sort of exchange is taking place (Resell, Trade, 3-Way Trade, Gift, etc.) We've seen a few submissions with just a space come through with no info listed. Moving forward, these types of transfers without a note attached will be rejected. We don't require explanations or reasoning to be lengthy, but context is appreciated to clarify if something is intended to be a gift, trade, resell, or otherwise.

Transfers listed as "gifts" will always have the resale value removed unless otherwise specified. If you would like a gift to retain its resale value, please make sure to state this in the note (Ex. Gift - Please keep resale value!)

Ongoing Prompt Bug

This has been posted at the top of our prompts for a while now, but we just wanted to reiterate in case anyone hasn't been in the prompt space for a bit and is not aware of the bug on site.

For any prompt with a deadline (Monthly and Seasonal prompts currently) those timed prompts will adhere to the time stated for the "Entry Window" under the "Show details" area of a given prompt. Do not use the "Ends" time shown on the prompt itself as a guideline. There is currently a bug that closes the prompt 3 minutes early so the "Ends" time will be incorrect, since we've extended that time so the listed "Entry Window" time can be adhered to.

We're still working on finding a solution to this, so we wanted to bring attention to it in at least one news update here.

Patreon Subscriptions

Due to how our site gets the list of Patreon subscribers we ask users do not subscribe in the last 72 hours (3 days) at the end of a given month. Our site does not get any credit card info from Patreon, but it does get info from Patreon on who is subscribed and what tier they are subscribed at. If payment takes time to process and does not fully process before the last day of the month the website will not know someone has subscribed. If a user has not received their SC currency by the end of a given month please submit a ticket.

This hasn't been addressed for a while now because initially we didn't notice it happening, but there have been a few users who subscribed one of the last few days in a month. When the list of subscribed users gets pulled into our site from Patreon, if a payment hasn't fully processed our site won't register the user's subscription for that month. (For example: I subscribe to Manaberry's Patreon the last day in May, but my payment takes a day so it's already June when Patreon knows I subbed for May. The website won't retroactively know to award currencies for past months subscribed since it only awards SC for the current month.)

We're make this recommendation to try to avoid this from happening, but on a few occasions it has. We wanted to put out there what our process is for handling this when it rarely has happened in the past and on the odd chance it does occur in the future. We are also fairly conscientious of this sort of thing occurring relative to timing of Patreon sales, so we'll be looking to avoid any future Patreon sales occurring during those last few days of a month. (We already have been to a degree.) This doesn't mean there won't necessarily be Patreon content during those last 3 days, it just means it won't be time sensitive content that is not still accessible the following month.

Starfall Faire is kicking off starting today!

Read more about everything happening in our group journal here!

You may have been wondering why things have been a bit slower on the moderation front this past month. As usual, we were working on event things in the background.

This year, we're trying something different for Starfall Faire. Rather than our usual 20-40ish adult elnin designs, we wanted to bring back more artists, so we leaned towards doing a kittom-based Starfall Faire this year. All designs will be kittoms and there are over 85 kittoms that will be finding homes this August/September across several sales as well as a free raffle!

A monthly prompt raffle comes with an oddly familiar prompt...

Check out this month's prompt! If you've been around the group for a while, some may recall storms brewing a few years back. This year though, things are a bit different! We've got a raffle that ties into the related happenings...so come September, just a few pomu might be experiencing some side effects of the storms!

Starfall Faire Card Frames are back in the Card Frame Shop!

So pick them up while you can! They only come around once a year. ^^b

Wrapping up...

We've been very excited preparing this event for everyone, but it's definitely slowed us down on other fronts that we didn't want to completely close, like our regular approvals and resonance quests. Which leads us to our next topic, this month and next month!

August and September Pacing

Throughout August, we'll be having a kittom flaffle every Saturday from August 6th to August 27th, followed by a free raffle on September 3rd! It's been a very busy July preparing and we expect August to still be a bit slow in areas. We'll work on catching up with approvals and questing, but given we just approved almost 90 kittoms in a month and were still carrying through with regular duties, we'll be taking a slower-paced approach to August and September.

We typically plan events/activities/sales several months in advance, so even when things are quiet on the surface, the moderator team is generally hustling. There's also been a few personal things that have cropped up here and there that haven't helped. To try to give the team a bit of a break, we're expecting the next two months to be a little slower.

The first and last weeks of September (9/5/22-9/11/22 and 9/26/22-10/2/22) will be considered weeks "off" for staff.

We're putting it out there publicly now because everyone could use a well-defined break. Those dates are still roughly a month away and there's quite a bit to be done in between! Some mods will occasionally work during designated break periods, but we do not ask them to during these times. Once the raffle is done in September, please be patient during the weeks we've marked as staff having off and not to ask for status updates on things. Some of us are workaholics and find it difficult not to want to respond. ^^;; We really want to continue to help the community, but it takes a lot of energy too!

Written Prompts and Questing Acts

Moving forward, we'll be implementing a cap of 2000 words max per prompt/questing act unless specified otherwise. This is due to staffing constraints and a goal to respect everyone's time. This will also keep approval queues moving smoothly.

Community members are still welcome to write longer stories on their own time and share them in non-official contexts, but even with the moderator additions to prompts and questing, we're still working with limited free time to volunteer. We encourage sticking close to around the required minimum word counts or a bit over if you're inspired. The group originally didn't allow any written prompts. This was something moderators advocated for given we had individuals on staff that were willing to read prompts and enjoy writing! That said, written prompts still take significantly longer to approve compared to their visual counterparts. We do enjoy learning more about everyone's characters. It can be quite fun, but there are limits to our time and energy, which is why we're implementing a word count limit now.

Turnaround Times

It's been a bit since we've said anything about turnaround times, so we just wanted to clarify specifics a little more. There have also been some areas where turnaround times are fairly vague, like where unpaid or partially paid design approvals submissions sit.

General Clarifications

• Turnaround times are internal goals we aim for, not hard deadlines.
  • We ask that users not ask about a submission during these turnaround time periods. Once the turnaround time period passes, users may check-in on a submission.
  • Try not to think of these turnaround times as hard deadlines, where the second they pass we'll have feedback to send. We set turnaround times to try to manage expectations a bit. They're meant to add breathing room for the team and still give users the space to request an update if something's taking a while.
  • We aim to try to keep communication open, but still recognize internally that most moderation work is occurring during limited hours outside of our day jobs and other real life obligations.
• Submission wait times start from when something was last submitted.
  • For example, you submit a design approval the first week in a month. It could take 2 weeks for a response to come, but instead you get a response after only 1 week. At that point, the turnaround time would reset to potentially 2 weeks of waiting for feedback again.
• We count 1 week as 7 calendar days.
  • Our team's work schedules vary, some of us do work weekends in real life, and for others on the team, weekends are free time that gets split between moderation work for this group and other tasks in life that need to happen.
  • Since it's come up as a confusion point in the past, we just wanted to clarify this so that everyone is aware; we do not consider a week 5 days, like you would think of typical "business days".
• We generally respond to things as fast as we can. If something is taking a bit longer, it might be that we need Manaberry's input, or that some team members are busier on a given week.
  • Most approvals are a team effort. We have multiple moderators review each submission for better accuracy in our review processes. Sometimes multiple people look over an approval and we still miss things, but for the most part we run under the premise that a few eyes looking over things are better than one!

Currently these are the turnaround times our team aims for...

• Design Approvals (paid submissions): 2 weeks + 1 week if we’re in a busy period (21 days)
• Design Approvals (unpaid/partially paid submissions): 1 month (30+ days)
• Resonance Quests: 1 month (30+ days)
• Masterlist Transfers: 1-2 weeks (14 days)
• Prompts: 1-2 weeks (14 days)

Design Feedback via Discord

The #design_feedback channel was never intended to be used for questions for a specific elnin with no design update submitted. Priority for design update submissions is still dictated largely by whether or not something is paid for or able to be paid for immediately (whether it's EC/SC/USD doesn't make a difference as much as if the currency is fully there). So coming into the #design_feedback channel without any related submission on site gives us zero context on how to prioritize feedback for these requests.

For example, if we were to get 20 questions in #design_feedback for various approvals but only 5 were fully paid for, those 5 individuals that are 100% ready would potentially be waiting for us to answer the other 15 questions, that may not be anywhere near ready to be paid for. It's also possible those 15 questions could be theoretical/tentative edits that might never come to fruition. So for us to be able to prioritize a growth/edit/etc. that is more certain vs. potentially uncertain is important.

We are still willing to review things that are unpaid. We know the ability to have those checks is valuable to the community for pacing reasons and to help guide how our group members choose to potentially use their time/prompt submissions. That said, we still want to try to respect moderators' volunteer time and the time other group members have already put in to save up currency fully. This is the reason why we require design updates to be submitted alongside elnin, so we can keep track of payment in a clear way.

Since there's been some confusion on what the #design_feedback channel is for a few times, we've updated our first pin in the #design_feedback channel of discord to clarify this a bit.

We've updated that pin to include the following:

"We will no longer review inquiries that don't use the following forms below. Design inquiries for a specific elnin/MYO slot MUST have a design approval submitted on-site first for review. If you are trying to ask a question to get a specific elnin's design art updated/checking if something is ok for a myo/art update/growth then please submit a design approval first! We check there initially, and anything submitted here that is specific to a certain elnin should be follow up on an existing submission."

There are 2 types of questions we handle in the design feedback channel:

1. Design approvals questions for a specific elnin or MYO slot (where a design update submission on site is required.)
   
   • Example: Is the tail size on this growth good enough for 1MP now? (With use of the "Design Feedback Form for A Specific Elnin/MYO")
2. General overarching questions that are in no way related to any sort of approval, but clarify some specifics relative to a trait in a broader sense.
   • Example: Can grove tail tips be styled at all? (With use of the "General Trait / Mutation Question Form")

Hopefully this clears up our process a bit. We're sorry if there's been frustration on this, just remember if you're going into the #design_feedback channel with a specific elnin in mind that you're asking the question about or for, we will expect there to be a related design update submission on site. Any questions that are broader should be asked generally about a specific trait, with the intent to clarify existing trait guidelines further.

We heavily advise users to re-submit any changes requested for design approvals on site and discuss feedback there first, as this process is generally quicker and easier to track for both parties. Discord can be helpful for design approvals where there's not many aspects of a design to check, usually follow up on art where less changes are happening.

We don't bar anyone from submitting follow-up checks via discord, however the more things there are to check the higher the chance the post will get buried while it is all being discussed. In cases where there are a lot of checks being made, we may still ask for a submission on site if we're concerned it will take longer to compile feedback. We have multiple moderators look over the art to ensure stats and mutations are represented, and multiple mods review the draft feedback before it is sent out to try to ensure it doesn't miss anything. This means that one mod can't look at a discord post and reply immediately.

Modcation Reminder

We'll be taking a slower-paced approach to September. This was mentioned in a prior news update but we wanted to toss it out there with this one as well.

The first and last weeks of September (9/5/22-9/11/22 and 9/26/22-10/2/22) will be considered weeks "off" for staff.

We're putting it out there publicly because moderators could use a well-defined break. Some mods will occasionally work during designated break periods, but we do not ask them to during these times. Please be patient during the weeks we've marked as off for staff and not to ask for status updates on things. Some of us are workaholics and find it difficult not to want to respond. /v\;; Again, we really want to continue to help the community, but it takes a lot of energy too.

Guidelines Updates and Inclusions

There have been a few trait and lore updates we've gotten feedback and finally moved onto the site.

Trait Updates

• Overwild (Aquatic) tail style clarifications
  • Included info addressing leafy sea dragon and lobster/crayfish tails.
  • Added in examples and clarified wording for when hydra is needed in conjunction with tentacle styled Overwild (Aquatic) tails.
• Lore additions made to Hallowed and Infernal Gaze traits.
• Starlit Suffusion star shapes and star trail clarifications.
• Luminous Markings and Luminous Suffusion glow coverage clarifications.
• Inner Fire minor wording updates and clarifications
• Crystallization mutation updates and clarifications to flesh out the description more and add examples.
  • Gilded Anima interactions with Crystallization
• Capricious Shadow updates and clarifications for this mutation's details.
• The Heart of the Void mana flaw now has a description and examples.
• The Extra Fluffy Cheeks mutation is being renamed to Facial Fluff with updates to allow for adult elnin to show beards, and mustaches.

Lore Updates

• Regional Zevija and Bellmoril elder tree clarifications.
  • Both of these trees feature white trunks and autumnal colors to their leaves
  • Bellmoril has been clarified as being closer to a yellow maple with predominantly yellow leaves, other minimal autumnal leaf color inclusions, and a pure white trunk.
  • Zevija has more recently been clarified as resembling a large birch tree with violently red ember leaves and a trunk that is mostly white and black.
• Regional Silveil boundary clarifications relative to surrounding regions, mentioned under "Notables:"
  
  • There's a ring of twilight that exists as you pass over the water surrounding Silveil into surrounding regions!
• Updates to the general lore page in the "Technology & Magic" section FAQ to cover airship transportation

Prompts, Acts, and Regional Affinity Updates

• Clarifications about species permission usage and copywritten characters
  
  • On the General Prompt Guidelines page (This note has also been included under a few other areas like the Questing and Acts pages, and "Elseworlder Orientation" and "A Peculiar Self" acts specifically.)
• Regional Affinity lore clarifications under " Do elnin know about regional affinity?"

As always, this is an ongoing process so we'll be updating stuff as we go! Thanks everyone for the patience with us as we get through this!

Starfall Faire Wrap Up

The Annual Starfall Faire has come to a close! Raffles wrapped up smoothly this past weekend. Thanks again everyone for all the fun and participating in our event this year! ^^

We'll be keeping the Starfall Faire frame in the Card Frame Merchant's shop for one more week, until 9/12/22 at 11:59pm PST time! So get your frames while you can. >v<b

Prizes have been expanded so we raffled off a total of 40 Oddly-Colored Pomu Tokens (15 Oddform/Multi-colored pomu and 25 Single color pomu) . Also those who did not win any token but entered the raffle have been granted a 16 EC for participation. Winners will be posted shortly!

Event Update - 9/1/22

A small update on the event. Prizes for this oddly-colored pomu raffle will be rolled 9/3/22, at 11:00am PST time!

For the month of August we're hosting a raffle for 25 Oddly-Colored Pomu Tokens (10 Oddform/Multi-colored pomu and 15 Single color pomu)! We're reposting the information here since once the prompt closes people may still need form access and access to the rules/guidelines for these tokens, so we've moved the information over to a news post as well now that the prompt has closed!

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing August's monthly prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle, you will need to submit a response to a google form so please keep this in mind!

August Raffle Details

Oddly-Colored Pomu (Oddform / Multi-colored) Token Winners
1. Nalico
2. AliLV
3. FruitCrepe
4. Giz-Art
5. Mewwwsic
6. TragicKiwi
7. Chaemera
8. Jahpan
9. StarryDoe
10. Synicals
11. LlewsArt
12. Starbask
13. DaffuPanda
14. Kaethus
15. Whimsical-Blue

Oddly-Colored Pomu (Single-color) Token Winners:
1. Meww0lf
2. ShinPurple
3. Glassmoth
4. SuperLebunee
5. NineEye
6. MalisVitterfolk
7. LolitaCynder
8. Tara-Elani
9. CandyChameleon
10. Twistyropes
11. Forged-Artifacts
12. Blankshi
13. Kloana-chan
14. Avaliette
15. Chickolates
16. Mocha-Miel
17. LizzyJun
18. Osteoh
19. Manataneshiro
20. Wintry-chan
21. Trashiebags
22. Strabii
23. LocketShoru
24. DearRyufur
25. Engare

Congratulations winners and thank you everyone for participating in this past month's prompt!

Tokens have been sent out to the raffle winners and a 16EC grant went go out to the remaining participants that did not win a prize/are not listed above. ovob!

Rolling took place in our discord #games_and_raffles channel today. It was a fun raffle to host this year! ^^

A small update on the event. Prizes for the Feyhallow raffles will be rolled 12/4/22, at 10:00am PST time!

For any exclusive mutation pools that end up empty before we roll them we will add an additional Hereditary Exotic Mutation roll pool later in this raffle to substitute the exclusive mutation roll that did not take place.

Any exclusive mutation pools that end up empty may appear in a later raffle as well. We will not be re-opening any forms afterward for empty pools but more or less we'll reassess how things went and you can likely expect to see the mutation pop up for a raffle later on. ovob

For the month of November, we're hosting a raffle for a variety of MYO/Growth/Upgrade and Mutation prizes. We're re-posting the information here since once the prompt closes, people may still need form access and access to the rules/guidelines for these prizes, so we've moved the information over to a news post as well!

As an aside, some of the encyclopedia entries for mutations being raffled off are more fleshed out while others are not just due to how seldom they are released. If you have any questions about traits you're considering entering for, we can't promise to have all the answers, but we'll try to answer what we can this month. Feel free to submit questions via discord or ticket on site!

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing October or November's monthly prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle, you will need to submit a response to the appropriate google form so please keep this in mind!

November Feyhallow Raffle Details

Overarching Rules

• Activity answers/responses will be submitted via claim using the appropriate activity form provided alongside the activity below.
• Claims can be submitted from now until November 30th, 11:59pm PST.
• Activity claims submitted after 11:59pm PST on November 30th will be rejected.
• There will be no edit period past the activity end time, so please do not submit or resubmit anything late!
• That said, if you submit an activity claim and it gets rejected for whatever reason, you’re still free to resubmit a new claim with revisions as long as it’s before the activity end time stated above.

Activity: A Strange Dream

• If you own an elnin:
  • Your elnin is experiencing a strange dream where they imagine they have a trait they didn't have before! Are they surprised by it? What single new feature do they discover isn't quite what it was before falling into their deep slumber. This can be anything from an existing mutation like luminous suffusion, something more odd like finding antennae atop their head, or something wholly new (like gooey slimy paw pads). It must be just a single trait though, nothing that entirely changes the whole appearance of the elnin to the point they cannot be recognized anymore!
    
    
• If you do not own any elnin:
  • Years ago masked elnin wandered through portals into the mysterious Aegis Veil. The masks at times did strange things to those who entered with them, but what if the masks were thrown through the portals themselves? Design a mask and the creature it might transform into upon crossing through the veil.

Guidelines

• You can earn a maximum of 2EC from doing this activity.
• You can either write or draw submissions for this activity.
• We reserve the right to potentially make traits or creatures depicted in entries canon if desired (though this is not guaranteed).
  • Do not use another CS or copywritten character or item as part of your submission. We're looking for ideas that are as original as possible. It doesn't have to be entirely unique but we shouldn't be seeing strong/near identical references to other works/games/CS/etc.
• For Drawn submissions:
  • (If you own an elnin) The elnin art must be a fullbody image and have only one trait adjustment overall. The elnin should almost entirely resemble its usual appearance.
  • (If you do not own an elnin) The creature must be a fullbody drawing of a critter and a mask that shares similar motifs that the creature is based off of.
• For written submissions:
  • Submissions must be 300-500 words total.
  • (If you own an elnin) Be sure to clearly describe what the new trait or feature they're seeing is and how it's different compared to other features/markings/traits they normally have. You can describe what the elnin normally looks like as a part of this if you wish!
  • (If you do not own an elnin) Be sure to describe what the mask looks like and what materials it is made out of. How are certain motifs the mask shows reflected in the creature that seems to come from it?
  • Stories must be written in English.
    
    • It doesn’t need to be perfect English as long as the theme you’re trying to get across is clear!
• Nothing in these submissions is canonical or real. This is just for fun. We may consider some of these ideas for the group in the future but we want to be clear that by doing this activity your elnin will not acquire real traits and no one actually knows what all the Aegis Veil holds so this is all dream or speculation!

Activity Form

Please use the following forms in the "Comment" box when submitting your activity claim.

• If you own an elnin
  • Trait Name:
  • ELN ID #
  • (If written) Word count:
  • URL Link to your art/writing: (Please use a discord image link or a sta.sh link. We want to be sure links don't expire before we get to reviewing them and other sources have at times failed on us. Written pieces can just be entered into the "comment)
• (If you do not own an elnin)
  • Mask name:
  • (If written) Word count:
  • URL Link to your art/writing: (Please use a discord image link or a sta.sh link. We want to be sure links don't expire before we get to reviewing them and other sources have at times failed on us. Written pieces can just be entered into the "comment)

Please submit your submission as a claim under the “Current Activity Participation” category here (https://worldofeyre.com/claims/new). You can use this link for the “URL” field: https://worldofeyre.com/news/59.november-2022-activity. Remember to attach 2EC to your claim for doing the activity.

Final notables

If you:

1. Own elnin
2. Have done the monthly prompt ( [M-059] Feyhallow Frights)
3. Participate in this activity

Then don't forget you can submit an entry to the 2022 Feyhallow Mutation Raffle Form. For more info read the news post here [November Feyhallow Raffle]!

This activity should be submitted via claim. This isn’t meant to be a high pressure activity, just something small and fun to earn a little extra EC.

A Quieter Fall

Most have probably noticed we had a pretty quiet October this year in terms of events, but we haven't forgotten Feyhallow. We decided that we won't be doing a guest artist event this Feyhallow. The team was quite ambitious with our goals for Starfall Faire this year.

Currently, we want to try to focus on some other quality of life goals for the last chunk of the year here (November through December). With that in mind, we'll just be doing prompt and activity based raffles this Feyhallow. Nothing quite as grand as past years elaborate puzzles, but we hope community members will still enjoy what we have planned! More info can be found below relative to that, but we want to start by talking a bit about prompts in the group.

Prompt Updates

The moderator team has been mulling over some ideas of what we can add prompt-wise while still keeping prompt approval overhead mangable for the team. This is what we've decided on!

One new bonus has been added to the monthly prompt (M-###)!

• Group members can now earn an additional 1EC for including their elnin's pomu alongside their elnin in that prompt. This bonus will be present moving forward unless there's a very compelling reason for the team to remove it.

Changes and additions to monthly regular prompts:

1. "[MR-002] Gift Giver" now allows up to 2 submissions a month, where group members can earn up to 2EC per submission, for a total of 4EC per month for this prompt.
2. We've added "[MR-003] Regional Flora" where group members can earn an additional 1AP overall for designing a new regional plant and including it among other iconic regional features in a background. (No elnin required for this one!)
3. We've added "[MR-004] Upright Eyresian" where group members can earn up to 2EC for drawing or designing a clothed gijinka or bipedal form for an elnin. This can be for your own elnin or a gift for someone else, but be sure to get permission if you plan to do gift art. Make sure to also read other guidelines for this new prompt since we've addressed a few concerns that might arise with gijinka forms.

We're excited to broaden our monthly prompts a bit more. There's other ideas we have yet that we would like to add prompt-wise but we want to add things slowly just to make sure we're still keeping up with everything alright. If workloads are too steep for existing staff we'll reassess staffing needs but currently this is where we're at and plan to be for a while.

View our monthly prompts here!

Feyhallow Raffles And An Activity

For the month of November we'll have an activity running and a few raffles.

Some Prompt Raffles

There are two raffles being hosted this month!

1. The Feyhallow MYO/Growth/Upgrade Slot Raffle
2. The Feyhallow Mutation Raffle

Both raffles require group members to complete the monthly prompt to participate. The second raffle (the Feyhallow Mutation Raffle) additionally requires users to own a elnin/kittom and have also completed the November 2022 Activity mentioned further below in this news post.

Doing the monthly prompt ( [M-059] Feyhallow Frights) will allow you to enter the raffle for some MYO slots though if that interests any community members looking to get their first elnin!

More details about the prompt raffles can be found here: [November 2022 Feyhallow Raffle] further info (and the raffle details reiterated) can be found on the prompt itself ( [M-059] Feyhallow Frights).

November 2022 Activity

The activity this November is a bit of a hat tip to some past lore and events we've done around this time of the year. You can earn up to 2EC by participating in the activity! If you own an elnin and do the monthly prompt and this activity you can also enter a second mutation-based raffle.

It's worth noting if you do not own an elnin you can still participate in the activity, there is a mini-prompt for owners and a separate one for those still working on getting their first elnin.

More details about the activity available this month can be found here: [November 2022 Activity]

Feyhallow Masterlist Card Frames

Is your elnin feeling spooky? Well then they just might be looking to pick up a the masterlist card frame this month!

The Feyhallow card frame in the Card Frame Merchant's shop for the rest of November, until 11/30/22 at 11:59pm PST time! So get your frames while you can.  ^^b

Group Negativity and General Etiquette Reminder

These past few months we’ve been noticing in the Berry Bazaar discord that the general chat, and especially the patreon channel, has at times become grounds for airing negativity and grievances about the group. While we don’t expect users to always agree with how things are handled in the group, we do ask that discussions be kept constructive rather than complaining over how something has been handled.

If you have concerns over something pertaining to you, whether this is feedback given for a design approval that you don’t quite agree with, or that you feel the way that certain systems are being handled could be improved and wish for clarification, please submit these as support tickets on the WoE site, and the moderator team will work with you on this. Please note that this will take time, and does not guarantee we’ll have a solution right away or that the offered solution will be what you want, but it will be much more productive than complaining about it in public spaces, as not only does this not resolve the issue, but also makes those spaces uninviting and stressful to others who may or may not be involved.

If you wish to offer suggestions on things you would want to see in the group, whether this be more prompt options, types of events, currency distribution, etc, please use the suggestions channel for this. Please note that the suggestions channel is only for offering suggestions, and not a channel meant for lengthy discussion. If you agree or disagree with a suggestion, please indicate this using the up and down arrow emotes. Do not ping others for their opinion if the user doesn’t explicitly state that they wish to discuss their decision, as no one is required to defend their decision, whether this be positive or negative. Please be respectful to others.

Moving forward, we would like to see less public complaints and negativity, and ask that these be directed to the appropriate channels, whether this be through tickets or constructive feedback in the suggestion channel. Users are free to discuss ideas in the general chat, but please keep these discussions constructive. If we continue to see these conversations taking a negative direction, we will begin issuing warnings. Please be kind to your fellow members and moderators, and treat others how you would want to be treated.

We are regularly looking at what areas of the group can be improved, and understand that the time it takes the team to make improvements can be frustrating. We just want to be clear that the less constructive and more negative feedback is the harder it is for the team to focus on what we can do better for the group. Everyone, whether they’re a group member or moderator, has difficulties they face on a regular basis in life. As a group we want to provide a welcoming and positive space for everyone but that’s hard to accomplish if negativity is regularly being vented in these positive-oriented safe spaces. No one wants to be in, or work around, that type of environment.

MYO Slot Restrictions and Trade Cooldown Reminder

Earlier in October we were seeing more of this coming up in trade journals and our discord trading channels specifically, for context! So we just want to remind users that MYO slots themselves cannot be offered for trade until a design has been submitted and their cooldown is completed, and thus should not be advertised within group spaces.

We also want to give a reminder that elnins should not be advertised for trade or resale until their respective cooldown has been completed as well. Any MYO slots or elnins on cooldowns being offered for trades/resales will be asked to be removed until their respective cooldown has been completed. We wanted to post a general reminder about this a few weeks back but it got delayed, so we're just grouping it with this news post. This doesn't pertain to anything that's come up very recently.

MYO/Growth/Upgrade Winners:

1. Noble : eelheadman
2. Adventurer: night-class
3. Adventurer: fayeskies
4. Adventurer: Snugglymoon
5. Kittom: Daffupanda
6. Kittom: jahpan
7. Kittom: Strabii
8. Kittom: Iemonesque
9. Kittom: avaliette

--------------

Mutation Winners:

1. Miniature Wings (Bat): wriven
2. Miniature Wings (Bat): Trashiebag
3. Miniature Wings (Feathered): jahpan
4. Miniature Wings (Feathered): yumehaeya
5. Miniature Wings (Fae): Pumpkhen
6. Miniature Wings (Fae): BlackMajixCat
7. Dire: Mewwwsic
8. Dire: TragicKiwi
9. Elfin: SuperLebunee
10. Elfin: TheSmolPeep
11. Demon's Brand: Afrielzi
12. Demon's Brand: NineEye
13. Antennae: KeilinAlyr
14. Antennae: engare
15. Pixie Horns: fayeskies
16. Pixie Horns: blankshi
17. Winglets (Fae): Eeviebun
18. Winglets (Fae): Najishio
19. Cloud Breath: ShinPurple
20. Cloud Breath: Alterial
21. Fire Breath: adriananimations
22. Fire Breath: Strabi
23. Crystallization: mirrorly
24. Crystallization: night-class
25. Splintered Anima: Chickolates
26. Splintered Anima: Alibastar
27. Gloom Kissed: Forged-Artifacts
28. Gloom Kissed: CandyChameleon
29: Capricious Shadow: MewW01f
30. Capricious Shadow: ForonGur
31. Phantom Step: whimsicalblue
32: Phantom Step: number11train
33. Hydra Tail: Wila-Chan
34. Hydra Tail: osteoh
35. Oddly-Colored Pomu: NijiMarii
36. Exotic Mutation: giz-art
37. Exotic Muation: missDevichi
38. Exotic Muation: Iemonesque
39. Exotic Muation: Heelies
40. Exotic Muation: Snugglymoon
41: Exotic Muation: Exclaimed
42: Rare Mutation: Triggwolf
43. Rare Mutation: Daffupanda
44. Rare Mutation: wintry-chan
45. Rare Mutation: Nalico
46. Rare Mutation: AkaneTsukino1
47. Uncommon Mutation: MalisVitterfolk
48. Uncommon Mutation: LolitaCynder
49. Uncommon Mutation: Tara-Elani
50. Uncommon Mutation: LlewsArt
51. Uncommon Mutation: Vontier
52. Uncommon Mutation: Starbask
53. Uncommon Mutation: avaliette
54. Uncommon Mutation: LeechiPeachy
55. Uncommon Mutation: kaethus
56. Uncommon Mutation: eelheadman

--------------

Congratulations winners and thank you everyone for participating in this past month's prompt!

DA notes have been sent out to the raffle winners for the MYO/Growth/Upgrade slots! The mutation winners will slowly see those mutations added under each specified elnin's note tab in the next 24 hours or so!

Rolling took place in our discord #games_and_raffles channel today. As always it was a great time. ^^b

Year's End Modcation

Moderator staff will be taking off the last week of December and the first week of January. This was mentioned in a prior news update but we wanted to toss it out there with this one as well.

The last week of December and first week of January (12/24/22-1/7/22) will be considered weeks "off" for staff.

This is so group members can expect to see limited to no responses during those weeks. Some mods will occasionally work during designated break periods, but we do not ask them to during these times. Please be patient during the weeks we've marked as off for staff and not to ask for status updates on things. Some of us are workaholics and find it difficult not to want to respond. Thank you for working with us to have a chill holiday season! Prompts will for sure be posted up January 1st, but if you're eager to try to get things approved sooner please submit them prior to the weeks of modcation.

Guidelines Updates and Inclusions

There have been a few trait and lore updates we've gotten feedback and finally moved onto the site.

Trait Updates

• The Grafted Anima mutation has been created and has a description, examples, and a little bit of lore.
• The Sectoral Heterochromia mutation is being renamed to Decora Anima with updates to allow for more variation in how this mutation can be displayed and now includes some examples of how it interacts with some other mutations.
  • Note: Please be patient with us as we get used to the adjustments made with this mutation. There's a lot more room for creativity with this mutation now but we still have to make sure all anima mutations an elnin might have are visible.

As always, this is an ongoing process so we'll be updating stuff as we go! Thanks everyone for the patience with us as we get through this!

Community Poll

In the past year or so we've noticed some advertisements in our group bundling elnin designs with non-elnin designs. We're curious to get WoE community members' thoughts on this topic. Is this something the community wants to continue to allow and have advertised in official group spaces? Should this be altogether not allowed within the group ToS and this type of advertising not appear in official group spaces? Maybe a mix of still an allowed practice but not allowed to be advertised in official group spaces?

We would like to know! The results of this poll will remain anonymous and do not guarantee that changes will be made. The results may inform decisions we make in the future.

Please do not discuss this topic anywhere publicly in our group discord. Any posts found publicly discussing this topic will be removed, no questions asked. You may inquire publicly if anyone would like to discuss the topic in private with you, and then take the discussion to your DMs. Harassment of users to disclose their thoughts/poll submission will not be tolerated.

We don't want to create an environment where group members may feel pressured to respond to the poll any certain way. We understand there may be varying thoughts and feelings on this topic. Ultimately the WoE staff want to know if this is something that is fine left as is or if there's a broader desire to see change in this specific area.

Community Poll Link: [RESPOND TO THE POLL HERE]

• This poll requires you to sign into google to submit a response.
• You can edit your response to this poll by returning to the link above while logged into the same account you submitted the form as.
• No email or personal info will be collected/responses are anonymous, requiring you sign in just ensures you can edit your poll response.

This poll will be open until the end of January, 1/21/23 at 11:59pm PST time! So if you have thoughts or feelings about this topic please share them!

On the Horizon

The World of Eyre staff have a few major goals we want to accomplish this new year. Our aim is to have the following two things begin some time towards the beginning of next year (ideally January some time, but if any bumps in the road are hit it may take a bit longer).

1. Our first goal for January is to create an opportunity for group members to earn a MYO using group currency.
2. Our second goal for January is to reopen the Sanctuary.
   • We may discuss what happens to existing sanctuary designs but at this time the priority is just to get the sanctuary system reopened.

We do not have any further details at this time that are ready to be shared but look out for news posts early next year if either of these projects sound like they interest you!

---

Happy New Year all! Can you believe it's already February?

Modcation has long since ended so let's dive into what's being released this month and what future things we are working on.

Bonded Kittom MYOs

For a long time now, we've wanted to have some group currency based MYO available to the group, but many things have caused this goal to repeatedly get pushed back. So we decided to step back a bit and dedicate time specifically towards the goal of having this opportunity available to group members.

Finally, we're excited to introduce bonded kittom MYOs! These will be special account-bound MYOs that can be purchased by anyone for group currency. Due to the nature of these MYOs, they will be completely non-transferrable and heavily group participation-focused. USD purchases will not be allowed for these special MYOs ever, since that would allow them to acquire a resale value, which in turn would make them transferrable. The decision to keep these MYOs non-transferrable was made with a lot of consideration and will not change now or in the future.

With that in mind, there will be some opportunities specific only to these bonded elnin. Since these account-bound elnin will only ever belong to the same user, the amount of edits that these elnin can undergo will be greater than other designs in the group. We will not be expanding the amount of edits that other elnin can undergo, as this is an opportunity specifically for bonded elnin. We understand there are some traits and mutations that cannot be acquired through normal means outside of patreon. Please be patient with us on this front. Once we know the new systems we're introducing are running smoothly and settled in a bit, we'll be looking to host raffle opportunities for bonded elnin to acquire traits normally only accessible through patreon sales.

Raffles will not be the only way to acquire traits that have previously been patreon-only, but for now this is where we're starting out for these types of MYOs.

See our "Bonded MYOs" page to learn more about bonded kittom MYOs.

The Silvergrace Sanctuary Re-opens

It's been a long time coming on this front as well, but the Silvergrace Sanctuary has officially re-opened with some adjustments.

It's worth noting, the Sanctuary in general has always been intended as a last resort for users who have tried just about everything else and still have not been able to connect with an elnin. We understand that compared to how it was historically run, the Sanctuary's guidelines may seem quite steep, but after much discussion, both Mana and the moderator team are in agreement the Sanctuary has never been intended to be the primary means of acquiring MYO slots in the group. We hope the introduction of the Bonded MYO slot system helps provide a more intentional way for users to acquire MYOs and without needing to have an elnin to relinquish to the Sanctuary in the first place.

Notable changes to the sanctuary include requirements to turn in elnin to the Sanctuary. Users must have accounts that are at least a year old and have completed at least one prompt to relinquish an elnin to the Sanctuary. Other changes include limitations on how many mutations carry over as well as limits on which kinds of mutations carry over. There is also a little more flexibility on which mutations the resulting MYO can pick up. (For example, if you turned in an elnin with featherlight hair in the past system, your new MYO would have access to only the featherlight hair mutation. With the new system, turning in an uncommon mutation like featherlight hair would result in the ability to pick any uncommon mutation that is both hereditary and has an associated region.) This news post will not encompass all the changes made and new guidelines.

If you would like to read more about the Silvergrace Sanctuary you can find more info about it on its respective page.

For those wondering what happens to elnin turned into the sanctuary, we’ve answered that in the FAQ section of the Sanctuary! Once elnin are traded in, the group reserves the right to redesign or disperse the elnin as the group sees fit. Generally, we will prioritize reintroducing elnin back into the community via group participation-based raffles. Some elnin may be redesigned prior to their reintroduction into the group to give them some fresh art or bring traits into alignment with current guidelines.

Next Steps and Goals

We have a few new items we're looking at in the month of February.

1. Our first goal for February is to dive a little more into questing.
   
   • Quests we would like to create will not be focused on knights/mages/guilds/etc. That's a larger project that will take a lot longer.
   • We would like to look into making some, not all, historically less accessible mutations available through means beyond just Patreon. Specifics are yet to come.
2. Our second goal for February is to try to get some of the sub-type trait guides filled out a bit more.
   • This goal is a little less concrete than the first since we're not sure how quickly or completely guides will come together but this is something we want to work on.

We do not have any further details at this time that are ready to be shared, but look out for news posts early next month if either of these projects sound like they interest you! There are several other ideas rolling around in the background as well, but for the sake of making some concrete ground. the two above will be what we're aiming at. Any additional work in terms of broader updates we do this month will just be a bonus on the side.

As always, thank you everyone for your continued patience. The group would not be what it is without your creativity and interest!

Silvergrace Sanctuary Guideline Update

After some thought, we've decided to adjust the 1 AP (Any Region) earned on elnins that have been traded in with an exotic trait.

Elnin relinquished to the Sanctuary that have one or more exotic mutations will now be granted up to 1 hereditary exotic mutation instead of the 1 AP (Any Region) per exotic mutation they would have originally gotten. Please note that this means even if an elnin traded in has more than 1 exotic mutation, they will only earn 1 hereditary exotic mutation overall. The hereditary exotic mutation applied using this allowance must also have an associated region.

We realized a while back that since MYOs have no place to bank that AP, we could add it to the notes tab on a MYO, but it would be harder to keep track of. So instead, we'll just be setting it up this way to try to lessen moderator overhead and hopefully avoid any mistakes where AP goes missing in the future due to atypical logging methods for that currency. This change will also apply to any elnin that have been traded into the sanctuary prior to this update, meaning if they were initially granted 1 AP (Any Region) in exchange for every exotic mutation they had, this will be swapped to a single hereditary exotic mutation instead.

Questing Updates

New quests are on the horizon! This upcoming week, April 3rd-9th, we'll be moving to slowly roll out adjustments to our questing page, with new quests being added as the week goes on. This may take several days so please be patient with us as we get things added.

We would like to request that everyone save their questions about the new quests for the week following this update/release (starting April 10th) so that we can get all the changes live before turning our attention to questions. This should also give group members time to read and review the new information during that week, with reassurance that by the time the week is over, everything should be fully updated. We know there's a lot that needs to be added in this space, so we just don't want anyone to think updates are fully complete on day 1 if we couldn't add everything that fast. ^^b

I'll highlight some of the biggest changes we plan to make with this effort:

1. The Questing Guide will be undergoing some wording revisions. Previously, this page was highly resonance-specific because that was the only quest we've had for a long time. Now we'll be aiming to make it a bit less Resonance Quest-specific. All of the same info for the Resonance Quest info will still be there, but wording will be adjusted to be more inclusive of other quests.
2. We will be creating a Quest Directory page. Previously, our list of available quests was found at the bottom of our Questing Guide page. With the addition of more quests, this section will now have its own page.
3. The Acts Directory page will no longer be a resource page on our site. We've been thinking about this for a while now, and although it's a good resource for an overview of all the resonance quest acts, we've historically had problems making sure wording revisions for those acts has been maintained both on this page and the specific act prompt listed on site. The information is duplicative, so moving forward, we'll be doing fewer detailed directory pages and keeping those pages more overview focused. Details for each act will be left under the details section where the act is submitted. Our Quest Directory will instead make an effort to link to specific groups of acts and categories where possible.
4. We will be adding in a category for Special Quests. Special Quests will involve traits, mutations, or features in the group that typically are only acquirable through special means (e.g. Patreon Sales or Event Raffles) Not all traits/mutations/etc. will have a related Special Quest, but we may be adding more over time. At the moment, this quest category will not contain quests related to elnin subtypes or subtype-specific traits.

We want to highlight a few other very important things our group members will need to know about these quests, particularly the quests intended to allow the acquisition of mutations or traits that are not typically available through regular means (e.g. EC/SC or AP):

• These quests are designed specifically to err more similar to how our mutation system works with a few differences, meaning they should not be compared to resonance quests in terms of workload.
• These quests will be available year round, and they will not require you to spend AP.
• The number of acts required to do these quests will be comparable to the number of prompts you would typically do to acquire a mutation of the same rarity, with an additional piece required beyond the standard amount.
• These trait quests will generally include an additional 1 AP (Any Region) that users can put towards other goals they have for a character.
• The number of times users can do a certain Special Quest will be limited on an annual basis. This may be adjusted later, but we're considering this first year (2023) a trial period to get a sense of the workload before deciding if we want to change our approach.
  
  • Please keep in mind, if this were limited by AP, you might only be able to complete less than a handful of quests in a year. This approach allows users to do potentially 6+ different quests annually at a variable pace if they wish, rather than it being dependent on all submissions being complete in a month.
  • We will be counting this based on when quest claims are submitted. So if you submit a quest claim in 2024, it would count towards that year's annual limits, even if your acts were completed or submitted in 2023. There will be no exceptions on this, so please be mindful of when you submit your claims!
• Quests will exist for the following mutations/mana flaw traits: Cloud Breath, Fire Breath, Hydra Tail, Phantom Step, Oddly-Colored Pomu, Crystallization, Splintered Anima, Veins of Corruption, Gloom Kissed, and Capricious Shadow.
  
  • More mutations/mana flaw traits may be added at a later time. This is just a solid starting point for us.

Once all the new quests have been added, users will be able to start working on them. Please give moderators at least a month to review quests submitted to the Special Quest category. This is a fairly large release of quests, and with the quest length, we expect that approvals for these quests may take a bit. While we won't be aiming for these approvals to take a whole month, we don't want these approvals to compete too much with our regular monthly prompt approvals in terms of time commitments. We will be seeking additional mods in this area to support this effort as time goes on, but that process will follow this release and take some time to work through.

Subtype Trait And Mutation Updates

In preparation for the release of the djinn elnin subtype in the near future, for the first half of April, we are aiming to update trait guidelines for some subtype traits and mutations. We'll be starting with updating some of our current trait and mutation guidelines, and then getting into more specific or new mutations.

So what does this mean? What changes will community members start to see?

• We'll be adding a "Variable" subtype. This will just be more or less a category rather than an actual subtype. We need a way to group traits that are subtype-related, but can vary depending on their subtype association (things like subtype-specific tails, miniature wings, winglets, etc). This is to lessen some of the redundancy of having different less uniquely-named mutations in existence.
  
  
• With the addition of the variable categorization, searching for some broader subtype-specific mutations on the site will change. If someone needs to search for a mutation that can be variable, they will be able to search by the broader mutation name (like winglets) and see its specific type within the masterlist entry. If someone wants a more precise search result for a type of winglets, they'll need to do it by searching for something like the winglet mutation and with a certain type of subtype elnin selected (ex. If you want to look at winget (fae), you will need to look at the faenin subspecies. These will only be searchable through 1st-generation subtype elnin).
  
  
• Subtype-related tails will be undergoing a name change, and will fall under the variable trait category. There will be some differences between how the tail types show on each subtype, much like their mutation counterparts. These tail types will be relatively consistent, specific, and generally on the simpler side. The most flexible tails in terms of depiction will not be subtype-specific, similar to how Hybrid tails and Overwild (Aquatic) are not considered subtype tails at all, but allow for a broad range of furred and aquatic style tails respectively.
  
  
• Text guideline updates to subtype specific traits. We will announce when the subtype is fully released and all traits are fleshed out and fairly complete. Until that announcement is made, please refrain from asking about subtype-specific mutations without a related subtype MYO or character with a specific trait. We may add text and still be touching up visual guidelines, so we want to give Mana and the team some time to put out what we have as it comes. There's still quite a few examples we want to refine a bit more before sharing those art examples on site, so patience is appreciated!
  
  
• Art guideline updates to subtype specific traits. We expect visuals will take some time, but we're aiming to have some available by the time the subspecies goes live, hopefully to help cover questions users may have about these traits after the announcement has been made.

Once again, thank you everyone for your patience with us as we make these updates. We know there might be some growing pains that come along with these additions, but we'll be keeping an eye on how things go and adjust where possible to try to keep things moving on all possible fronts.

Trading Reminders, Clarifications, and Changes

Relative to Soliciting Elnin

This was mentioned a while back in our group discord, but we wanted to make sure the message was reiterated on the site as well. It has come to our attention that users have been approaching people about buying/swapping their elnin when they've made no inclination that they have any desire to part with them.

This is a reminder that users should not be harassing people about buying/swapping their elnin, or guilt tripping anyone at all. Users found in excess of this harassment may have their incoming trading privileges temporarily suspended.

If someone has been harassing you about trading/swapping your elnin, please send the moderators a ticket with the details so that we can look into it. In the situation where a user has an older elnin and doesn't have a WoE account, you can send us a note to our Berry-Bazaar group on DeviantArt instead.

Transfer Reasons

This is a reminder to please include clear transfer reasons when you transfer an elnin to another user, whether it's a resale, trade, or gift. For gifts, this is also where you would mention if you would like a gifted elnin to keep their resale value, otherwise it will be assumed the gift is not intended to be resold and the resale value will be removed.To clarify, we do not require lengthy explanations, but if it’s not clearly stated whether a transfer is a resale, trade, or gift, then the involved group members become liable for any potential issues that might arise from not documenting the type of transfer.

Transfer Cool-downs

We've seen this come up a few times recently, so we wanted to clarify that if an elnin has an active transfer cool-down, group members should not be offering those characters in trades/swaps or for resale. We cannot help if trades progress faster than cool-downs pass. This is particularly concerning if half of a swap comes through sooner and then the other party backs out or does not follow through with their part of the trade. Be sure to use the trades feature on site whenever possible for swaps and make sure elnin are not being offered while they have cooldowns. Thank you!

Trading MYO slots

This has come up a few times as well, so we wanted to emphasize that we do not condone users offering MYO slots for trade within public group spaces. The reason for this is that should a trade fall through, such as a user deciding not to honor their side of the trade once an MYO slot has been designed and cooldown has ended, there is very little that the moderator team can do. While we cannot stop users who still wish to do this despite the risks, we ask that these offers are not posted within group spaces, and that they understand that if anything should go wrong, the moderator team will not be held liable.

Bundling Designs for Trade

We did a poll back in January relative to elnin being included in bundles with designs. The results of that poll were split just about 50/50 opinion-wise. After some discussion with Mana where we went over a lot of user comments and a few suggestions from some of the moderators, we've decided that the public advertising of bundles will still be allowed within the group. For discord specifically though, we will be asking bundles be advertised in the #ad_board channel as opposed to the #trading_post channel, which is for elnin-only trades or swaps.

In addition to clarifying the location for future bundled designs, we're also requesting more thorough transparency about designs bundled together. Specifically, we are asking users to list the price of any designs bundled together, who the artist of the design is, as well as what platform they are on, and linking a way for group members to verify that pricing is accurate for bundled designs. The linked info can be either a masterlist entry that states a price (if applicable), an original design's sale post where the price was listed, or a receipt of purchase with any personal info obscured. If artists allow pricing to vary beyond a set resale value, please link their TOS and clarify where that is stated.

These are things we honestly would recommend any user include in their resale posts. At this time though, we are requesting it specifically for any bundles because bundling can obscure the prices of each design independent of one another (elnin or otherwise). We just want to be sure the value of any elnin or kittom being bundled is not conflated with the values of other designs that cannot be verified clearly by potential buyers.

Moderator Applications

We'll be opening up application forms again in the near future. This will be done in a separate news post in the coming weeks, but we wanted to give group members some notice in advance. With a lot of the changes mentioned towards the beginning of this news post, we expect there will be a need for additional moderator staff to help keep approvals and group processes moving. Stay tuned for more info on this front!

As an aside, additional info can be found on the Overwild (Aquatic) tail entry in our encyclopedia for those of you trying to ponder out tail ideas. We know there's still some that have come up that we're still woking through but we'll expand upon the trait entry as we work through questions.

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing May's monthly prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle, you will need to submit a response to a google form so please keep this in mind!

1. Malis
2. Voiaethe
3. SmolPeep
4. Strabi
5. personya
6. Katsuki
7. Kloana
8. quicktal0n
9. yumehaeya
10. Nekoyang
11. LizzyJun
12. BlackMajixCat
13. Staarbytes
14. Wila
15. ForonGur
16. missDevichi
17. Milim
18. Mewwsic
19. Jahpan
20. ghostaris
21. CrystalBerri
22. bisflorescentia
23. Najishio
24. Sharky
25. Chickolates
26. Trashiebag
27. Picnyx
28. LeechiPeachy
29. Staarbits
30. Nalico
31. Vontier
32. daffupanda
33. AliLV
34. DearRyufur
35. mirrorly

Congratulations winners and thank you everyone for participating in this past month's prompt. Tokens have been sent out to the raffle winners!

Rolling took place in our discord #games_and_raffles channel today. It was a fun raffle to host this year! ^^

Additionally we've granted the 2 EC consolation prizes to any entrants who did not win a token prize! Thank you everyone for your participation in this years Overwild (Aquatic) tail raffle!

Site Owner Rebrand

This is mostly just for clarity for group members! Manaberry has rebranded as Manaberri across several platforms!

You can now find her as Manaberri on the following sites and platforms:

• World of Eyre as manaberri (and the alternate account manaberry is also hers)
• DeviantArt as manaberri (redirected from manaberry)
• Toyhou.se as manaberri (but she also has the account Manaberry)
• Discord as manaberri (she does not have the manaberry username on discord)

Questing Updates

New quests have been released for a while now. We rolled these quests out a while back but announcing their complete release was a bit delayed.

I'll reiterate in this post some of the biggest changes we made with this effort:

1. The Questing Guide has undergone wording revisions. Previously, this page was highly resonance-specific because that was the only quest we've had for a long time. Now it should be a bit less Resonance Quest-specific. All of the same info for the Resonance Quest info is still there, but wording will be adjusted to be more inclusive of other quests.
2. We now have a Quest Directory page. Previously, our list of available quests was found at the bottom of our Questing Guide page. With the addition of more quests, this section now has its own page.
3. The Acts Directory page is no longer a resource page on our site. Moving forward, we'll be doing fewer detailed directory pages and keeping those pages more overview-focused to avoid duplicate language between the act entries and other pages. Details for each act are under the details section where the act is submitted. Our Quest Directory will instead make an effort to link to specific groups of acts and categories where possible.
4. A category for Special Quests has been added. Special Quests involve traits, mutations, or features in the group that typically are only acquirable through special means (e.g. Patreon Sales or Event Raffles) Not all traits/mutations/etc. will have a related Special Quest, but we may be adding more over time. At the moment, this quest category will not contain quests related to elnin subtypes or subtype-specific traits.

Other helpful details to know about quests:

• These quests are designed specifically to err more similar to how our mutation system works with a few differences, meaning they should not be compared to resonance quests in terms of workload.
• These quests will be available year round, and they will not require you to spend AP.
• The number of acts required to do these quests will be comparable to the number of prompts you would typically do to acquire a mutation of the same rarity, with an additional piece required beyond the standard amount.
• These trait quests will generally reward an additional 1 AP (Any Region) that users can put towards other goals they have for a character.
• The number of times users can do a certain Special Quest will be limited on an annual basis. This may be adjusted later, but we're considering this first year (2023) a trial period to get a sense of the workload before deciding if we want to change our approach.
  
  • Please keep in mind, if this were limited by AP, you might only be able to complete less than a handful of quests in a year. This approach allows users to do potentially 6+ different quests annually at a variable pace if they wish, rather than it being dependent on all submissions being complete in a month.
  • We will be counting this based on when quest claims are submitted. So if you submit a quest claim in 2024, it would count towards that year's annual limits, even if your acts were completed or submitted in 2023. There will be no exceptions on this, so please be mindful of when you submit your claims!
• Quests now exist for the following mutations/mana flaw traits: Cloud Breath, Fire Breath, Hydra Tail, Phantom Step, Oddly-Colored Pomu, Crystallization, Splintered Anima, Veins of Corruption, Gloom Kissed, and Capricious Shadow.
  
  • More mutations/mana flaw traits may be added at a later time. This is just a solid starting point for us.

All the new quests have been added for now, so users will be able to start working on them. Please give moderators at least a month to review quests submitted to the Special Quest category. This is a fairly large release of quests, and with the quest length, we expect that approvals for these quests may take a bit. While we won't be aiming for these approvals to take a whole month, we don't want these approvals to compete too much with our regular monthly prompt approvals in terms of time commitments. We will be seeking additional mods in this area to support this effort as time goes on, but that process will follow this release and take some time to work through.

Djinnin Subtype Release and Subtype Trait And Mutation Updates

The Djinnin subtype has officially been released. You can read more about this subtype and some of it's associated traits on its guide page!

We know this has been a long awaited release and we're happy to announce that progress has been made towards clarifying it and trying to get some djinnin out to the community!

Djinnin Kittoms Flatsale Raffle and Auctions

With the djinnin subtype release, sales will be live over the course of the next few days starting today!

Important Details:

• Sales will take place on the modberry deviantart account with Manaberri crossposting from her profile to the sales on the modberry DeviantArt.
• Sale Dates
  • June 8th at 4pm PDT Time - June 9th: (24 hour Flaffle on dA on the Modberry account. 2 Designs. Price $375) [World clock link]
  • June 9th at 4pm PDT Time - June 11th: (48 hour Auctions on dA. 2 Designs. SB: $375. No AB.) [World clock link]
• There will be no preview periods for either of these sales since both will be open for a minimum of 24 hours.

General Reminders for Prompts and Trait Questions

The Seasonal Prompt Ends June 30th at 11:59pm PDT time!

If you haven't gotten to participating in the seasonal prompt for this quarter of the year, it wraps up at the end of this month. Be sure to take a look and get submissions in if you're inclined!

Trait and Mutation Questions in Discord

This is a reminder if you have any general trait questions to use the form and post them in the #design_feedback channel, as that's the place they would go. Group members are also able to submit a ticket on site if that method is preferred for asking questions. Thanks so much for your help on this!

Moderator Applications

Hopefully next week we'll be opening up application forms again. This will be done in a separate news post in the coming week and will be open for a while. With a lot of the changes mentioned towards the beginning of this news post, we expect there will be a need for additional moderator staff to help keep approvals and group processes moving. We'll likely close the form in July and follow up at that time.

We are looking for a few new moderators to join our team. If you have interest in volunteering your time and contributing a bit more to the Berry Bazaar community, please continue reading! If you are not interested at all in this sort of thing, then carry on and just expect to see a few new faces on our moderator team in the future.

Who we're looking for:

1. Active community members or members who want to play a more active role in the group's normal processes/activities. Events do happen from time to time, but they generally sit second seat to the stuff we would like to have open or happening regularly.
   
   
2. Team players who would be comfortable working with our current moderator team. Communication is important for a lot of what we do, due to the team effort nature of how we problem-solve.
   
   
3. Patience. Those familiar with the group should be aware we are not a super fast-paced group. We try not to overwhelm our community members or moderators. At times on the moderator side it calls for it, but generally we spend a lot of time considering feedback when implementing or modifying existing group systems/activities. It is not a quick process and so we definitely need moderators who can patiently bear with us as we work on setting things in motion.
   
   
4. Individuals that can keep moderator-only/behind-the-scenes information private. Moderators have the perk of knowing inklings of things we are planning or that will happen in the long-term future. We ask this information not be disclosed publicly until it is posted to the group, not even to close friends. A lot of what we work on is liable to change and even if something seems not liable to change, we expect it to not become public knowledge. This is to avoid any unfair advantages to parties that we would account for if they were a moderator or foster false hopes/information if it changes. Moderators should not be pressured to give any behind-the-scenes information to non-moderators. We expect them to not disclose details so it is fair that they are not pressured to do so. We encourage fairness in how we approach moderators being involved in group activities given they have this knowledge (you may have noticed we like random number generators/RNG as it's often the fairest way we can let moderators participate without concerns of favoritism or unfair advantage). This is a courtesy to our fellow group members.
   
   
5. Individuals that have good communication skills and a generally positive attitude. We know everything is not always pomus and kittoms levels of positivity in the group, but there isn't a single moderator role in our group that is not involved in communicating with community members in some way! When possible, we want the group to be a positive space that others can enjoy in their off time, so we try to keep our communications with community members in line with that.
   
   
6. Individuals that can regularly commit to helping with group work monthly and communicate weekly with other mod staff. Moderators must be able to regularly communicate with other moderator staff without prompting to ensure moderator tasks are being completed and areas of the group they are helping in are effectively covered.

Position Details

This position/work is purely volunteer. Moderator rewards are occasionally granted, usually in the form of group items/mutations/slots for volunteer work done, but they are not promised or guaranteed. Please keep this in mind when applying that being a Berry Bazaar moderator is not a paid position, and while some rewards may have monetary value added to them, moderator compensation is not what the team works for or expects on a regular basis.

We acknowledge there are perks to being a mod. However, the community and group's welfare should always be the highest priority when acting as a mod, above self interests. It's a lot of fun getting to meet new people and contributing ideas to how the group runs. Generally, this also means moderators will know about group plans in advance and other details that should not be community knowledge until solidified.

While the community is a high priority, please know we also work hard to make sure the moderator team is a safe space. The mental health of our moderators is a priority when we organize and plan how the group runs events among other things. We are 100% respectful if a mod wishes to or needs to step down to take care of themselves. This is volunteer work, so it should be enjoyable. If there are things that come up that would put a potential strain on moderators owing to a long term absence, please notify us in advance. We understand some things aren’t planned and happen suddenly, but communication is key and working together to make sure we all have the necessary support is essential.

At the end of the day, moderators are group members too, and while we contribute a service for the group that goes beyond the average community member, the decisions we make impact everyone, including ourselves. Moderators are also expected to understand that community interactions are relative to the group and often we're speaking on behalf of the group in ways that are transparent across the whole team. This means a lot of the feedback we're receiving and giving is in no way personal, so we're really working through things as a community and internal team.

As stated in a prior news post, compared to the last time we hired, this opening we'll be hiring for more specific positions to build upon our existing internal teams. While most mods currently are capable of wearing multiple hats, we have mods that specialize/focus on certain areas more than others.

We'll be focusing on the following three roles:

• Design Approvals
  
  • This role will focus primarily on any and all design approvals that run through our group. This includes art updates, design edits, MYOs, elnin rank-ups, kittom growths, and guest artist design approvals (including adult and kittom designs). \o/
  • We are especially seeking some folks that feel confident with their math skills and the group's pricing resources for EC/SC group currencies! While you're not required to know the ins and outs of design updates within the group, it will help you if you do.
    
    
• Prompt/Quest Approvals
  • This role will focus primarily on art and text-based submissions for prompts and questing claims through our group. If you're passionate about seeing and hearing more about other group members' elnins, and cross-checking guidelines for drawn and written content through the group, then this may be the role for you! ^^
  • While not largely math-based, this role will still require knowledge of prompt and quest requirements, and making sure proper currency grants are awarded! So knowledge of how prompts and questing works is appreciated.

New mods ideally will fall respectively under those existing specialized areas with less bleed across roles as time goes on. Communication between teams and mods will still be required, as our tasks often impact other mods in some way. The group is very interconnected. ^^b

Additional info to keep in mind

• Application Window: [06/27/23 at 12:00am PST] - [07/31/23 at 11:59pm PST]
  
  
• Follow up: We will be following up early to mid August, after the application window closes or during if we have more questions. If we do not reach out to you this time, please don't be discouraged. We tend to like to grow our team slowly so we have time to work with the moderators we bring on board.
  
  
• Application Edits: You will be able to edit your application at any time during the submission window by clicking on the link above/returning to the form page. Once the window closes, application edits will also be closed, so please be sure you include all information you feel is important before the deadline!
  
  
• Probationary Period: [3-6 months] Getting situated working with a team is a process. There are slow periods and faster periods. Should there be any major problems we see causing strain between current moderators and new moderators, we will let you know if something is not working out. We do not want a toxic volunteer workspace for anyone. Working out any confusion or miscommunications will always be done first, but as a last resort, we're making this probationary period known so it's clear we are paying attention to the comfort of new and old mods alike.

Application Forms

If you are interested in applying for a specific role, please fill out the respective application form below. You may apply for different roles by filling out all or some of the forms, but you will only be hired for one position/role within our team. We are using a google forms approach to give us a little more organization and wiggle room with how we handle applications. Thank you. ^^b

• Apply to be a Design Approvals Moderator here
  
  
• Apply to be a Prompt/Quest Approvals Moderator here

If you have any questions about this process, feel free to ask them in the #questions channel in our discord, or submit a ticket to the "Community" ticket type on the WoE site. Thank you for your interest and time! We look forward to another fun year working with and for the Berry-Bazaar community. <3

Moderator News

Staffing will be a bit lighter this week. Starbask is on vacation, so some of her usual tasks will not be covered until her return late next week. Design approvals may experience some delays just due to the new nature of the subspecies, and not all staff being present to tackle some harder questions should they arise.

As mentioned in the last news post, Moderator Applications are open now! Go check it out if you have interest in possibly being a mod! Sorry for the delays on this front. Things have been a bit busy!

General Reminders for Prompts

The Seasonal Prompt Ends June 30th at 11:59pm PDT time, as does June's monthly prompt!

If you haven't gotten to participating in the seasonal prompt for this quarter of the year, it wraps up at the end of this month. Be sure to take a look and get submissions in if you're inclined!

July's prompt will go live on the 1st of the month as expected, so no delays there!

Patreon Helpdesk

We've redone the patreon helpdesk and shifted it over to the WoE site to hopefully cover some general patreon-related info and FAQs, as well as give a new home to the updated Lifetime Noble Reward Slot form. You can check out the updated page here if you are a patron and curious!

Moderator Applications Reminder

As July comes to a close at the end of this week, the moderator application form window will also be closing on July 31st at 11:59pm! If you're interested in applying to be a moderator for the group, please read the news post about it here! The forms can also be found on that post.

DeviantArt Group Galleries

Historically, certain group galleries were open for anyone to submit to, but due to some abuse of this in the past, we've decided to adjust how we handle submissions to the group's dA gallery moving forward. Very soon, we'll require every submission to the group's dA galleries to be approved by staff before it is shared in the group.

Users are still welcome to submit their art or journals to the respective group galleries on dA. Once submitted, moderators will check regularly to make sure submissions go through if they do not break any group rules. We hope this will help keep things more vetted for community members that are still active in our dA's group spaces!

DeviantArt Masterlist

Soon we'll be putting masterlist entry deviations into storage to finalize our masterlist being fully on the World of Eyre site. We've been wanting to solidly retire all aspects of the dA masterlist for a while now, and we've stopped updating a number of things there as the years have gone on to keep our focus on the masterlist here. The manaseed account will still remain a group moderation account on dA but it will not be checked as regularly as things on site moving forward. The masterlist transfer journal on manaseed will still be active for users who want to transfer a nin but not make a WoE account, we just ask that you link the WoE masterlist entry instead of the one that used to be on dA! Thank you.

Starfall Faire 2023

This Starfall Faire will be a bit quieter than last year, but we're aiming to have it start some time mid to late August and run through September this year. We will not be doing any sales for this event. As fun as it is to have guest artists, we felt timelines this summer would be a bit tight. Rather than rush anything and end up with overwhelmed artists and staff, we're going to aim to do some smaller activities and possibly a raffle to keep things a bit lighter.

In recent years, we've been trying to rotate which events get a little more time and thought sunk into them. This year, Feyhallow will probably be a little later than usual in light of Starfall Faire running a bit later. We hope to give Feyhallow a little extra attention compared to Starfall Faire depending on how planning goes. We're excited to see what fun we can cook up for group members to enjoy!

Overarching Rules

• Activity answers/responses will be submitted via claim using the appropriate activity form provided below.
  • One claim submitted per user! Do not claim activities separately. We will only be approving 1 claim per person, so if you're doing more activities, wait until you are done with them all to submit your claim.
• Claims can be submitted from now until September 30th, 11:59pm PST.
• Activity claims submitted after 11:59pm PST on September 30th will be rejected.
• There will be no edit period past the activity end time, so please do not submit or resubmit anything late!
• That said, if you submit an activity claim and it gets rejected for whatever reason, you’re still free to resubmit a new claim with revisions as long as it's before the activity end time stated above
• You can earn a maximum of 8EC if 4 (or more) activities are completed.
  • Each completed activity can earn up to 2 EC.
  • Certain activities (Activity 2 and 3) will award partial credit if a certain number of answers are correct.
    • Activity 2: Rewards 1EC for finding 6 (or more) words, while finding all 12 rewards 2EC.
    • Activity 3: Rewards 1EC for finding 5 (or more) differences, while finding all 10 rewards 2EC.
• You cannot do more than 2 of the same kind of activity.
  • There are 4 kinds of activities:
    • Activity 1: Color a Mask/Lantern Template
    • Activity 2: Word Search
    • Activity 3: Find-the-Difference
    • Activity 4: Create a Starfall Faire Food or Drink
  • For example: You could color 2 mask/lantern templates and do 2 word searches, but you could not color 3 mask/lantern templates and do 1 find the difference.

Activity 1: Color a mask/lantern template!

• While wandering the various stalls at Starfall Faire, you come across one lined with various masks and paper lanterns. An elnin beckons towards you, gesturing to their various wares. There's also several blank ones, which catch your eye. Are you interested in designing your own?
  • Using one of the following templates below, feel free to color your own mask/lantern! Please only use the following templates, with color edits only!
• Mask Templates:
  • Fox Mask (Blank) | Fox Mask (White)
  • Pomu Mask (Blank) | Pomu Mask (White)
  • Dragon Mask (Blank) | Dragon Mask (White)
• Lantern Templates:
  • Template 1 (Blank) | Template 1 (White)
  • Template 2 (Blank) | Template 2 (White)
  • Template 3 (Blank) | Template 3 (White)
  • Template 4 (Blank) | Template 4 (White)

Additional Guidelines

• Please avoid referencing any copyright/franchise designs.

Activity 2: Word Search

• For those who enjoy word puzzles and deciphering codes, they'll find themselves at a stall with a stack of word searches. Seeing you eye the puzzles, the elnin in charge grins and hands you one. Why not try taking a crack at solving it?
  
  • Using one of the following templates below, feel free to try and decipher this word search! [Alphabet Key]
• Word Searches:
  • Word Search 1 (Colorful) | Word Search 1 (Plain)
  • Word Search 2 (Colorful) | Word Search 2 (Plain)

Additional Guidelines

• Word Searches must be completed individually. Answers should not be shared/posted publicly.

Activity 3: Find-The-Difference

• Another booth you stumble upon seems to have an assortment of pictures. For some reason, you wonder why there seems to be duplicates of everything, though upon closer inspection, it seems there are trace differences. The booth attendant has a mischievous look in their eyes, and states that each picture has 10 differences to find. Are you able to spot them all?
  
  • Try to find the 10 differences in the templates below!
• Templates:
  • Template 1 (Circle the differences on the right image.)
  • Template 2 (Circle the differences on the right image.)
  • Template 3 (Circle the differences on the bottom image.)
  • Template 4 (Circle the differences on the right image.)

Additional Guidelines

• Circle the 10 differences you see on the template using a color that stands out, then link that picture in your form.
• Templates must be completed individually. Answers should not be shared/posted publicly.

Activity 4: Create a Starfall Faire Food or Drink

• While you sample the various tasty dishes at the festival, you're struck with inspiration, and want to try your hand on creating something truly faire-worthy. What do you decide to make?
  
  • Create a Starfall Faire-themed food or drink!

Additional Guidelines

• We reserve the right to potentially make food or drink items depicted in entries canon if desired (though this is not guaranteed).
  • We're looking for ideas that are as original as possible. It doesn't have to be entirely unique but we shouldn't be seeing strong/near identical references to other works/games/CS/etc.
• For Drawn submissions:
  • Draw a Starfall Faire-themed dish, and provide a small blurb on the name of the dish/ingredients used.
  • Drawings must be colored and show the entire dish.
• For written submissions:
  • Provide a name for the dish, ingredient list, as well as instructions on how to make it.
  • Submissions must be written in English.
    • It doesn't need to be perfect English as long as the idea you're trying to get across is clear!
  • Submissions must be 300-500 words total.
• Nothing in these submissions is canonical at this point. This is just for fun. We may consider some of these food ideas for the group in the future, so you must be willing to let these ideas be used by the group down the road.

Activity Form

Please use the following forms in the "Comment" box when submitting your activity claims. Please use a new form per activity in the comments.

• Activity completed:
• URL Link to your art/writing: (Please use a discord image link or a sta.sh link. We want to be sure links don't expire before we get to reviewing them and other sources have at times failed on us. Written pieces can just be entered into the "comment" section.)

Please submit your submission as a claim under the "Current Activity Participation" category here (https://worldofeyre.com/claims/new). You can use this link for the "URL" field: https://worldofeyre.com/news/72.starfall-faire-activities-2023 . Remember to adjust the EC amount to the number of activities completed! (Max 8 EC).

Click here to see an example of what a completed claim looks like.

Final Notables

These activities should be submitted via claim. These aren’t meant to be high pressure. Just something small and fun to earn a little extra EC.

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing this year’s Annual Starfall Faire Seasonal prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle. You will need to submit a response to the appropriate google form, so please keep this in mind!

NEW! There will be additional bonded pools for some mutations.

Starfall Faire 2023 Raffle Details

Starfall Faire Activities

The activities for Starfall Faire this year are still ongoing. You can read more about them in the news post here, but we wanted to mention word search 1 has a typo. The search itself says "festivites" but the key reads the correct spelling "festivities" so there's a missing letter "i" in the search itself. If you circle "festivites" it should be fine.

Masterlist Art Accessory Clarifications

Recently there's been a bit of confusion internally about costs associated with accessories being added later on to approved base art. This is an area we've clarified once in the past, but recently have realized there was still a bit of ambiguity in the language surrounding accessories and outfits. Unfortunately, this has led to a few users being charged for accessories being added to base art that should have been part of a one time "free" allowance.

We've granted a few users back EC that they were incorrectly charged for the single time free allowance recently, but we recognize we may have missed others. If you believe you've been wrongly charged for an accessory addition in the past and not seen any sort of a refund, please submit a ticket with a link to the relevant elnin and design approval where you were charged for the accessory, along with any info you can provide, and we'll double check if EC needs to be granted back to you. Please note this is only applicable if you submitted the design approval yourself, and the elnin is currently in your ownership!

The recent confusion surrounding these costs has also led our team to discuss some different scenarios, like if the one-time allowance applies to an elnin for the rest of its time. For example, if an elnin's gone through other revisions over the years that were paid, is the allowance still considered limited to the first time it was done years ago, or is there ever a case we'd allow other accessories be added for free? With that in mind, we've adjusted the language slightly to add a bit more flexibility for small accessories between paid edits. Consecutive accessory edits will still have a cost to value review time and avoid abuse (we're opting for this approach over a time gate), but there should be a little more opportunity if someone's revisiting an old design to add an accessory on after the fact for no cost if they forgot to initially.

Regional Affinity Reminder for Prompts

We've been bumping into more prompts missing enough regional features or language lately, or cases where elnin are covering up more than half of the background so features are difficult to see. If anyone has had a prompt kicked back in recent months for missing enough regional specific features or elnin obscuring too much of the background, please be sure to revisit our Regional AP guide page. That page goes into detail about art and written guidelines for earning AP. Thanks for your patience and willingness to work with us in this space!

Prompt Rule Clarifications and Problems with Artificial Intelligence

This month we've been looking to clarify the group's stance on artificial intelligence (AI), as it relates to work submitted to the group. We'll also be covering some general expectations within the group that have been around a while.

The topic of AI hasn't been talked about much in an official context, so we're doing that now. As of this news update, we’ve added language to the group's TOS and a few other prompt-related areas on the site to be more explicit that AI should not be directly used in the creation of prompts submitted on site. These additions reinforce existing language that work must be your own. (Additions to several areas in this news post will be in bold.)

The World of Eyre Terms of Service states:

• Your Content must be your own and must not be infringing on any third party's rights. World of Eyre reserves the right to remove any of Your Content from this Website at any time, and for any reason, without notice. Work of any kind directly produced through the use of Artificial Intelligence is not accepted in this group. This includes slight modifications to work produced by AI.

The Community Guidelines state:

• Do not trace, copy, reupload, or otherwise steal another artist's work
• Do not plagiarize, copy, or repurpose another writer's written material
• Do not use direct output from generative AI for works submitted to this group (excluding translation tools)
• Do not heavily reference another person's art in order to create your piece. Even if it's not strictly traced, lifting the whole composition, color scheme, poses, or the like would still be against the rules

General Prompt Guidelines will now include the following note:

• Prompt submissions must be your own work, and cannot be commissioned, collaborated, or completed with the assistance of artificial intelligence. The only exception to the use of AI is for the use of translations (ex. Translating a written prompt initially written in French into English).

And Prompt Specific Guidelines state:

• Please only submit newly created art. Please do not submit commissioned works or previously-created art or art done on reused bases.
• Collab pieces are not allowed for prompt submissions.
• All submissions must be your own work. Works produced through the use of artificial intelligence are not accepted in this group.

Based on those guidelines and our recent additions, AI should not be used in the group to replace the efforts taken to create art and/or writing within this group. Please treat AI as a tool if used and use it responsibly. We just want to be extra clear on what expectations are for this group. Prompts must be drawn or written by you. They should not be created through collaboration with other group members or through the use of AI or via commission. All prompt art should be newly created and not traced or recycled. Commissions are not gifts, and art trades where users are obligated to finish "their half" are not gifts. We understand it's different if you want to reciprocate by giving gift art to others who have kindly done gift art for you in the past, but gift art should never be discussed as a trade of any kind. Please keep the good will in gifting!

We also want to be clear that we understand there are times when AI is a tool and being used as one to help people out. We know some users in our group use translation tools (that are likely AI) to take something they've written with their own hands and get it translated to English so it can be reviewed by our team. This use case is fine, since individuals are still writing the prompts and translation is not the type of AI we're worried about. We also know some people like referencing images, and as a group we recommend using sites where users can verify they are allowed to reference those images without infringing on any copyrights. This goes for AI too.

If you're using AI to help ideate compositions, absolutely do not trace any reference (AI or otherwise), but in good faith try to verify where certain sites or tools are sourcing their image data from. Make sure it is ethically sound. We do not condone infringing upon other people's copyrights or seeing other artists hurt by this movement. We also want to reiterate that while you can use AI to help you with ideating something (as long as it is done in good faith), any image or writing containing any amount of direct output from generative AI should be treated as personal and would not be allowed to be submitted to the WoE site as submissions.

Please note: these rule clarifications do not apply to prompts that have already been submitted to the WoE site at the time of this posting, including those that are still awaiting feedback or approval. If submissions created directly through generative AI have been approved in the past, this does not condone the use of AI-generated content moving forward.

Feyhallow 2023

Planning for Feyhallow is underway! This year, we plan to have the event run throughout November and there will be some guest artist sales as a part of this event. We also would like to do a myo/trait/mutation raffle for the broader community outside of sales during the Feyhallow event. (Entry requirements are still being determined for the raffle part of this event.)

A few notable details about this year's Feyhallow sales:

• This Feyhallow's sales will be kittom-focused.
• There will be two standard kittom sales and a subtype kittom sale (which will include faenin and djinnin subtype kittoms).
• All sales will be flatsale raffles (flaffles).
• The subtype kittom flaffle will be the first flaffle (earlier in November/within the first half of the month).
• Standard kittom pricing will not exceed $100, and subtype kittom pricing will not exceed $375.
• Artists are allowed to do payment plans, but not required to. (Some artists may do them, while others may not.)
• The event overview post will go live early November with design name and pricing details, as well as payment plan info (if applicable).
• Some of the standard kittoms may sport more limited mutations typically only available during special quests or patreon sales.
• Standard kittoms will not sport any subtype traits or mutations.
• There will be a cap of 1 kittom per user, so for example, if you end up winning a subtype kittom, you would not be eligible for the other kittom flaffles.

While we can't post all details currently since event work is in progress, we did want to give some advanced notice for anyone that's interested in subtype kittoms or standard kittoms and might want to save up!

Moderator News

Due to event planning, hiring of new moderators will be a bit delayed. The team needs to focus on wrapping up Starfall Faire 2023 as well as preparing for and running Feyhallow 2023. Onboarding new moderators while juggling the event planning and event itself in the next two months would be a lot, so we'll be circling back to hiring after the events have ended. Applications have been reviewed and we're confident we'll have time to properly onboard and train new moderators closer to the Winter months, hopefully around December or early next year.

In other news, the team will also be slowing down during the winter months for a well deserved break. Some staff are likely to have family obligations around that time and after back to back events (or planning) this fall, the team will need the rest time. We recognize if we onboard new staff around that time, it will be a bit slow for the new staff. That is intentional, aswe would rather be able to take the time to train new staff when the turnaround times are a little more relaxed.

As we get closer to December and the winter months, we'll include some more specific info on how long the break or slow period will be for, and give the community a stronger idea of when the team is back fully. While prompts will continue to run each month, we may still do small things, and quality of life work is still ongoing in the background, even with the events occurring. Patience in these upcoming months will be appreciated, since some mods will be encountering some of their real life job workloads increasing as the year starts to wrap up.

MYO/Growth/Upgrade Winners:

1. Noble : Nalico
2. Adventurer: missdevichi
3. Adventurer: Ayxoi
4. Adventurer: synicals
5. Kittom: Knife
6. Kittom: Alterial
7. Kittom: Keilin
8. Kittom: Strabi
9. Kittom: northfarer

--------------

Mutation Winners:

1. High Tier Limited (Bonded): Mewwsic
2. High Tier Limited (Bonded): Shadonut
3. High Tier Limited (Bonded): SmolPeep
4. High Tier Limited (Bonded): MewWolf
5. High Tier Limited (Bonded): Alibastar
6. High Tier Limited: CandyChameleon
7. High Tier Limited: Najishio
8. High Tier Limited: Milim
9. High Tier Limited: Casteds
10. High Tier Limited: Becci
11. Lower Tier Limited (Bonded): wander
12. Lower Tier Limited (Bonded): goomy-king
13. Lower Tier Limited (Bonded): ShinPurple
14. Lower Tier Limited (Bonded): ceruleansblue
15. Lower Tier Limited (Bonded): binghu
16. Lower Tier Limited: tara-elani
17. Lower Tier Limited: Katsuki
18. Lower Tier Limited: emacodo
19. Lower Tier Limited: Nekoyang
20. Lower Tier Limited: bisflorescentia
21. Exotic: Erilidae
22. Exotic: adgerelli
23. Exotic: Wila
24. Exotic: ghostaris
25. Exotic: KelpiePie
26. Rare: osteoh
27. Rare: SYLSYL12
28. Rare: umbral-wind
29. Rare: 404msg
30. Rare: Llew
31. Rare: blankshi
32. Rare: wolvesstrife
33. Rare: ForonGur
34. Rare: Yumehaeya
35. Rare: Giz
36. Uncommon: Kloana
37. Uncommon: Chickolates
38. Uncommon: DearRyufur
39. Uncommon: Malis
40. Uncommon: jahpan
41. Uncommon: BlackMajixCat
42. Uncommon: Vontier

DA notes have been sent out to the raffle winners for the MYO/Growth/Upgrade slots! The mutation winners will see those mutations added under each specified elnin's note tab in the next 24 hours or so!

Rolling took place in our discord #games_and_raffles channel today.

Anyone who didn't win a prize has received the 8 EC participation prize! Thank you everyone for your participation in this year's Starfall Faire Seasonal raffle!

Bellmoril's Bounty

The main event post can be found here!

The post contains info about what sales will be happening and there's additional info about other things happening right now too.

Such as a spooky puzzle where you can follow the adventure of a few kittoms~

Come join us for some chilling fun in Bellmoril this year. ^^

The 2023 Feyhallow Raffle

We are still getting information for winners of certain prizes and distributing participation prizes. We are hoping to have everything distributed or detailed out in the next few days here. We want to thank everyone for their patience until then!

A Winter Raffle

For users who participate in either [M-072] Endearing Exchanges or [MR-002] Gift Giver prompts this month, you'll have the opportunity to enter for some free raffle kittoms this miasma season. Maybe a bit of good will will rub off on you!

More details about this raffle will come sometime this upcoming week on how you can enter and what kittoms will be available. Doing at least 1 of the prompts mentioned above will be needed, but doing more than one prompt will not grant additional entries. It will be 1 entry per person!

Winter Modcation

As mentioned in a previous news post, the moderator team will be taking a break this winter season as the holidays get nearer. Below we'll outline the rough plan for the upcoming weeks!

• December 18th-31st: This will be a slow period for moderator staff.  Please don't ask about turnaround times during this window as this is included within the expected "break" time the mod team is receiving. (The same goes for the first week of January noted below.)
• January 1st-7th: The Moderator staff will be focusing on getting feedback out for December prompts and Special Quests. Ideally if any edits are needed to prompts or acts, they will be made at this time and we'll address things that are resubmitted after Modcation is over.
• January 8th-31st: Moderators will not be expected to work during this time frame. Users can still submit prompts and design approvals, etc. but please do not ask about turnaround times during this window as well. Staff may choose to work if they desire but it won't be a required thing. We want to make sure the whole team has a well deserved break.
• February 1st-4th: Moderators will be slowly coming back. Responses may be slow during this time period but we'll be looking to get back to things at a more regular pace the following week.

The Winter Raffle is planned to be rolled early January after all of the December prompts have been reviewed and approved. (Quests/Acts are not included in this.)

PG-13 Content and Some Lore Clarifications

It seems like this has come up a bit more topically this month on several fronts, but we wanted to put out a reminder that this is a PG-13 group. This goes for content that surfaces on-site and in our discord. Due to elnin being adorable fluffy little residents of Eyre, they may have a draw towards younger audiences, and so we're aware that our content needs to be appropriate for younger ages. This is what Manaberri expects as well! We know there are many group members that are adults and interested in more mature content, but we want to be clear that this should not be depicted in prompts and official group spaces.

Mature Content Off-Site

While we do not moderate content off-site, we also ask group members to be considerate of how they're publicly depicting characters from this group in other spaces when it comes to more mature content. If you can tag your content as explicit if it might go beyond PG-13 in other non-official spaces, that would be appreciated. We just want to try to avoid anyone stumbling into anything explicit that they didn't expect to view/read when this group comes to mind, because we're just not that kind of group. There are plenty of private communities and spaces to explore content above PG-13, but we strongly request group members to be mindful of what goes out on the internet.

A Bit About Kittoms

It was brought to our attention recently that we may need to refresh the group's understanding of kittoms and lore surrounding them. Kittoms are considered to always be children in terms of physical and mental age. Size-wise, in gijinka form, kittoms sit about hip height at their tallest when compared to even the smallest of adult elnin, and they are even shorter if an adult elnin standing next to them is on the taller end. (View the elnin size-guide here.) Kittoms do not have a teenage phase or around early adulthood romantic exploration sort of phase like you might see among humans. There should be no romantic relationships for kittoms or any implied physical/sexual relationship depictions for kittoms in this group. That does not fit the PG-13 standard the group has, as it would be viewed as depicting a romantic relationship between children, or an adult and child in alternate cases. It's worth mentioning kittoms can still be very close friends, but the meaning behind "I like you" between kittoms as something like a childhood crush would be considered as the friendly sort of like, not a romance that starts to dive into more adult themes/dating.

We're bringing this up because we had some questions asked privately about kittoms on this front. Some people were curious about where they sit in terms of things like physical and mental age, and trying to figure out what's appropriate to portray. When growth occurs in kittoms, they experience a steep growth in both physical aspects, like mana, as well as mental maturity. It's not as gradual as some people may have been thinking it was, and to be clear, even if a kittom has lived many many years, they are not a several hundred year old adult stuck in a kittom's body. Their mental maturity would still remain child-like until they experience growth. Actual age has very little to do with it!

We want to be clear that no one is barred from depicting friendship between kittoms, or adult elnin looking out for kittoms to make sure they are safe, but we expect those types of relationships to not be romantic or sexual in nature. Group members are not restricted from ideating about what two grown elnin might be doing with their lives in the future, but as long as a kittom is a kittom on WoE and being used in these spaces, they need to be treated as children.

We suspect some time in the shift of resources to the WoE website years ago, some of these details about kittom lore may have been left behind in some old side posts. We'll be looking to add these bits of information on kittoms to our lore page, but for now it felt relevant to clear up in light of these recent questions and observations in the group. If you want romance between elnin, please keep it PG in group prompts and only between adult elnin.

Relative to Depictions of Gore and Death

Currently, this is a space that could use a bit more fleshing out lore-wise. At this time, we'd like to request content (art or written, etc.) depicting gore or death of elnin be kept private. There's a lot that Mana needs to get down on paper relative to how these types of things work as far as elnin go. They're essentially mana constructs, so how blood and death may be experienced could differ from our experiences on earth. At this time, since we don't know what's canon and what's not in these areas, these works should not be publicly posted in official spaces at this time. Also, we are not certain about what may go beyond PG-13 at times, so until some clarification and lore can be noted down officially, these are areas that will just have to be avoided or explored in an unofficial sense off-site and in private.

Relative to the Darker and Sketchier Parts of Eyre

Theft/swindling is about the only sketchy more casual activity confirmed in Eyre that staff might expect to see in prompts at this time. Miasma poisoning/mana flaw stuff does exist, and it is hard on elnin in terms of health, but even that hasn't been expanded upon or encouraged outside of specific mutations and questlines. We've still tried to keep things fairly light when we can.

We know there's been light discussions of things like contraband but depictions of severing body parts of elnin (even hair) illegally, or slavery or trafficking of elnin/kittoms/other races in Eyre is not something that the group is okay with having depicted in prompts. We understand maybe there are gruesome stories group members want to tell out there, but this is not the place to do so. As a group, we're not policing negative personality traits that might aid in some character growth, but darker subject matter that reflects heavier more, earthly topics like death, abuse, etc. shouldn't be a common thing we see coming through prompts.

The team does not want to be forced to review this subject matter and things that may breach the expected PG-13 rating of content submitted to this site. Consider not just other group members that might stumble upon this content on our site, but also our staff that have to read through this or see it day in and day out. No one knows what anyone has been through in their lifetime. Being interested in darker themes to the point of potentially harming peers or wanting to discuss heavy and dark topics through art is not appropriate here. This group is intended to be a creative and predominantly positive space. Eyre does have its dark alleys and aspects, but Mana has been pretty careful historically not to be on the nose on most darker topics. Yes, it's a bit fun to hear about how elnin are different, but even in that there's a recognition that it's just not a common thing.

Sorry if this section has come across as a bit heavy in itself, but as a group, we really hope to not have to discuss boundary pushing in these areas like we have had to here. Being a sensitive subject, we wouldn't want any potential trauma to surface for anyone, even if no one is intending to. It forces us to be more serious than we like to be in the group.

Looking Forward to 2024

On a lighter note, there are a lot of things we're hoping to dive into in the new year. Things we're hoping to work on and release in 2024.

• Some new faces on staff
• A few more trait quests
• Tackling some of the remaining subtypes that have yet to be released
• Working through hybrid elnin and how they work in the group
• If the above things can be accomplished, we're hoping to get back to elnin breedings in some form, though this will not likely happen in the spring since it is heavily contingent on working through some of the things listed above.
• More fun raffles and activities in the next year

We're excited about a lot of the things on this list, but it will take time. The above list reflects our goals, but it is not a promise that everything on the list will happen for sure if things come up. As usual too, there's always a few quality of life tasks mixed in, so timelines are a bit uncertain, but above is our initial roadmap! As always, we appreciate the support and patience as we work through adding on and improving aspects of the group.

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing a required prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle. You will need to submit a response to the appropriate google form, so please keep this in mind!

December 2023 Raffle Details

#1 - Latte Hearts - Starbask
#2 - Snow pine tree - Kaethus
#3 - Yule Cat - CantaloupeTrash
#4 - Winter Lights - LadyPipen
#5 - Snow Owl - Nekoyang
#6 - Vanilla White Chai - Lizzara (This kittom as an outfit! Check dA notes please!)
#7 - Sweets by the fireplace - Shanyume
#8 - Sunlight in the Snow - Vontier
#9 - Diamond Dust - Keilin
#10 - Arctic Rabbit - Nyxilei
#11 - Paw De Deux - Orangeish
#12 - Wintertide - wintry-chan
#13 - Frosted Cranberries - katsuki
#14 - Frosty Mornings - Giz
#15 - Frostbitten Blooms - LizzyJun
#16 - The Spire - Casteds

FTO MYO Kittom winners:

Kittom MYO #1 - Carame_Candy
Kittom MYO #2 - jennie
Kittom MYO #3 - starimaga
Kittom MYO #4 - seiso_gremlin

Rolling took place in our discord #games_and_raffles channel today!

Winter Modcation

Modcation is upon us. We've wrapped up the first week of January and moderators have begun their modcation. Expect to see group functions halt on all fronts. If moderators wish to work during modcation there may be some movement but nothing is being required of the team during this time, so expect most things to not start happening again until early February!

• January 8th-31st: Moderators will not be expected to work during this time frame. Users can still submit prompts and design approvals, etc. but please do not ask about turnaround times during this window as well. Staff may choose to work if they desire but it won't be a required thing. We want to make sure the whole team has a well deserved break.
• February 1st-4th: Moderators will be slowly coming back. Responses may be slow during this time period but we'll be looking to get back to things at a more regular pace the following week.

Moderator Changes 2024

A few may have already noticed but early this January we've had changes to our moderator staff. We have one very bittersweet sendoff as a more senior moderator has stepped down, and a few new exciting additions to our staff team that resulted from applications reviewed this past year!

AliLV is Off to Other Pursuits

It's with a heavy heart the team is announcing AV is stepping down as a moderator with the group after working with us for five and a half years. We've had other very wonderful mods step down in the past to focus on their lives and other endeavors so this isn't entirely new to the team. As moderators, our time is often split between our day jobs, moderation work, and other hobbies and creative pursuits and sometimes we get spread thin. During these times, we need to consider if moderation work is the right thing to continue as it is still work, and while enjoyable can also be taxing at times.

AV for a number of years has made enormous contributions to the group in terms of keeping our masterlist processes and finalizing steps running. On top of those duties, her experiences as a more senior mod have meant sometimes on top of masterlist work she has contributed to design approval feedback, prompt feedback, questing feedback, and honestly there isn't much AV did not have some contribution to in the group during her time with us. When we transitioned to the World of Eyre site it's safe to say AV was what made it possible for us to have such thorough records of ownership histories, and she helped with most of the double checking of elnin data and entries imported to the site prior to its launching. It's safe to say the site would not be where it is today without her. So we're extending a big thanks to her. She has been an incredible mod and we can only be understanding and supportive as she gets some more free time to pursue things she may have put on hold for the group's sake in past years.

Shifting Roles

Prior to AV's departure from the team, we shifted some roles around a little. Alongside Sharky who has helped with masterlist task and guide updates in the past, our moderators FruitCrepe and wintry-chan have stepped up in recent months to help try to fill some of the big shoes AV is leaving behind. They have been doing a fantastic job. Fruit and Wintry are still helping the design approvals team, their jobs now extend to cover some finalizing steps both on that front and a few others.

New Moderator Staff Incoming!

As of this month, we've officially hired 3 new Prompt Moderators and 3 new Design Approval Moderators. We're hoping this will enable our teams to tackle the new quests and many design updates we're expecting to see in this coming year!

Please welcome these individuals to our staff!

• Mild-arts, Nalico, and Strabi have joined our Prompt team!
• Afrielzi, Becci, and Cynder are the new members of our Design Approvals team!

We're very excited to have them on board and we hope the community will be too. While we have onboarded them now, training and getting them up to speed on our internal workflows will be a task left for February. Their joining us in January should give them some time to get to know the existing moderator team during this quiet period and shadow any very limited work moderators may opt to do during break if they wish.

Reminders and Warnings about Soliciting and Trading Designs

We've posted some of these reminders in the past, but it has come to our attention that some users have been approaching people about buying/swapping their elnin when these owners have made no inclination that they have any desire to part with their elnin designs. We have also received multiple reports about users being approached with trades that break the group's TOS and Adopts TOS.

This is a reminder that users should not be harassing people about buying/swapping their elnin, or guilt tripping anyone at all. Users found in excess of this harassment may have their incoming trading privileges temporarily suspended, and if reports persist there will be heavier consequences. We put out public reminders and warnings like this as a first step to let people know that we're noticing these types of activities occurring, and if they are the ones taking these actions that they need to stop immediately. It is not ok. In general, if we see a single report of unwelcome behavior in the group or rule breaking, we may assume a reminder is needed to bring awareness to areas of the group in case some individuals may have forgotten our rules.

If we see multiple reports of actions persisting, even after public reminders, we will have to take further action. By that point we would've given users ample opportunities to refresh their knowledge of the rules, and will begin to enforce them. The group is not responsible for its members being made aware of the rules. Links to these rules and terms are accessible on the website, and are almost always linked alongside our events and sales. A lack of familiarity and awareness of the rules is not an excuse and warnings will be given accordingly if needed.

This is our second public reminder relative to these topics. We heavily recommend group members re-familiarizing themselves with the group's rules, etiquette, and policies.

These can be found at the following pages:

1. Group Terms of Service
2. Community Rules & Etiquette Guidelines
3. Adopts Terms of Service

If someone has been harassing you about trading/swapping your elnin, please send the moderators a ticket with the details so that we can look into it. In the situation where a user has an older elnin and doesn't have a WoE account, you can send us a note to our Modberry account on DeviantArt instead.

We also want to mention that retaliation towards community members for not wanting to trade their elnin, or at those who've felt uncomfortable enough they had to report someone else's behaviors in the first place, is not ok. Please respect the decisions of others. Harassment in a retaliatory way is not tolerated here and there will be consequences for those types of actions as well. We are sorry this has to be said but we have unfortunately received enough reports that it is necessary.

An Update to Bonded MYOs

We wanted to include a mention here that when bonded MYOs were released, we stated that group members could not redeem a second bonded MYO (of the same type, either EC or SC) for 12 months after the last was claimed. We're now adjusting this to align more with how Special Quests can be done, where we will no longer be keeping track of the time between claim submissions, and just stating that you can purchase one bonded MYO of each type (One for EC and one for SC) each annual year.

So the ability to claim bonded MYOs will now reset with the end of the year wrapping up. This means as of January 1st, 2024 at 12:00am PST time you can submit a claim for bonded MYOs within the year of 2024. We hope this update makes it smoother for users as well as staff with a little less time tracking involved!

Some Trait Updates

In preparation for some future changes to the group, primarily looking more at subtypes and eventually hybrid elnin, some traits are being renamed to keep things clearer as new traits and terminology are introduced.

Traits and Mutations being renamed, some with more adjustments than others:

• Hybrid Tails will be placed under the "Overwild" tail style umbrella under a "Furred" variant.
  • For now, this is just an adjustment and a rename, but we are still getting clarification if users will be able to edit their Overwild (Furred) tails into Overwild (Aquatic) ones and vice versa.
  • This change is to avoid this tail style from being confused with hybrid mentions in the future that relate more to the hybridization of elnin with subtype traits.
• Hybrid Crowns (2MP, 4MP, and 5MP crown styles) will have their crown style renamed to "Compound".
  • This change is to avoid certain crowns from being confused as having a subtype restriction when we start to clarify info on hybrid elnin in the future where hybrid refers to subtype related traits.
• Sleek ears will now be called Pointed ears, to have a name that reads solidly opposite to the Rounded ear mutation.

General Trait Guide Changes:

(The following pages either needed updates to align with the above changes or they were grossly out of date compared to the trait entries themselves. So we've opted to ensure information has shifted to our trait entries. It is worth noting given Modcation is happening some examples are linked and the "Trait Examples" are all placeholders. This is not a bug. It's just very time consuming to crop and add examples so that will be a future QoL endeavor.)

• Tail Guidelines and Crown Guidelines are now on their trait entries.
• The Tail Guide Overview page has been removed.
• The Crown Guide Overview page has been removed.
• Our Elnin Anatomy Guide now links to entries more directly in these areas, and the crown size graphic has been added to this page.

There are still a handful of guide updates we need to make based on conversations surfacing in discord, such as:

• Updates to include more elnin aging info and details about kittoms on our lore page.
• Refining language and visual guides for decora anima and how it interacts with other mutations.
• Clarifying some additional lore on the elnin lore page about corrupted anima shards and the role elnin play in being the caretakers of Eyre's mana systems almost everywhere. (These bits we intend to link to on related quest acts for added background.)
• And more...

Unfortunately, we just haven't had time to really refine language and what needs to go where. December was a busier month than expected along with some staff traveling or having some real life things take priority. We apologize for the delay but at this time it may just take us a bit longer to get everything into place. We're still trying to stick to release timelines for other aspects that have been long planned, but quality of life updates are never ending so we try to slip them in where we can.

Questing Updates

Special Quest submissions from 2023!

Due to modcation, Special Quests submitted towards the end of 2023 that required edits may experience a delay in feedback since the moderator team will be out for the remainder of January. Edits to Special quests from 2023 must still be submitted in January on the submitter's side.

Usually we would aim to have all special quests wrapped up entirely by the end of January, meaning any back and forth feedback from the moderator and users' sides would entirely be sent within the month of January. Since staff will not return until February this means users already have more time this January than they normally would to make the edits. In a normal year we would expect no edits be made last minute, since if back and forth was needed in a normal year, mods would be doing those steps during that month. Last minute submissions would give the team no time to give feedback and work through things during that 1 month of forgiveness time for corrections, resulting in the special quest rolling over to the following year because fixes may be still needed in February.

In general, we're still encouraging users to try to submit their act fixes sooner this January, even if more time is being given due to the staff being out. This year we'll be aiming to wrap up all special quest submissions that need edits by the end of February, so be sure to make any requested edits to 2023 Special Quest acts within January and resubmit your claim before 11:59pm on January 31st. If any claims are resubmitted in February, we will consider the special quest submission to roll over and be considered a part of 2024. This is done with the intent to avoid a long drawn out several months long process for approving any special quests that were intended to be a part of the prior year.

Two new Special Quests have been added to the site!

Unlike our last round of quest updates where they were more focused on mutations, these two quests do have some specific requirements relative to the base MP of some traits before the quest rewards can be applied.

A few things worth highlighting:

1. The new quests will appear on the Quest Directory page. If you're curious about them you can read more there!
2. While these are Special Quests, these two specifically have a relationship with the MP value of an elnin's tail or crown and have some requirements related to those MP values that must be met before traits can be applied.
   • The Overwild Tail quest will require an elnin have a 4MP tail prior to the upgrade reward from this quest to be applied, but if your tail style is lower than 4MP, you can pay the difference to upgrade it to 4MP prior to applying this quest.
     • This quest only covers Overwild (Aquatic) and Overwild (Furred) tails at this time!
   • The Compound Crown quest requires an elnin to have a crown, it does not add one for free, and this quest will always add +1MP to the base crown currently present. If you want a higher Compound crown style then we recommend when you go to apply this reward that you pay to upgrade the base crown to a higher tier.
     • 1MP crown styles will become 2MP Compound crowns, 3MP crown styles will become 4MP Compound crowns, and 4MP crown styles will become 5MP Compound crowns when this upgrade is applied to the base crown style.

Reiterating some other helpful details to know about these Special Quests since it's been a while since we last added some:

• These quests should not be compared to resonance quests in terms of workload, as they relate to more limited traits not typically accessible through resonance.
• These quests will be available year round, and they will not require you to spend AP, but they might require you to upgrade your elnin's tail or crown in order to apply the quest reward.
• The number of acts required to do these quests will be comparable to the number of prompts you would typically do to acquire other more limited traits or mutations, with an additional piece required beyond the standard amount.
• These trait quests will generally reward an additional 1 AP (Any Region) that users can put towards other goals they have for a character. While these two quests are not mutations, we kept this bonus to a character-tied currency to match their mutation counterparts.
• The number of times users can do a certain Special Quest will be limited on an annual basis. This may be adjusted later, but for now this approach seems to be working.
  • We will be counting this based on when the original quest claim is submitted. So if you submit a quest claim in 2025, it would count towards that year's annual limits, even if your acts were completed or submitted in 2024. There will be no exceptions on this, so please be mindful of when you submit your claims! At the start of the year there is about a month we allow for Special Quests to be entirely wrapped up. January 2024 will be a bit weird due to modcation (see info above).
• Quests now exist for the following traits: Overwild (Aquatic or Furred) Tail styles and Compound crown styles.

All the new quests have been added for now, so users will be able to start working on them. Please give moderators at least a month after modcation to review quests submitted to the Special Quest category. We expect that approvals for these quests may take a bit. While we won't be aiming for these approvals to take a whole month, we don't want these approvals to compete too much with our regular monthly prompt approvals in terms of time commitments.

Addressing concerns about vague acts

With the addition of these new quests, we want to recognize feedback we have recently received that some acts are feeling difficult to respond to due to how vague and generic they are written. Prompts and acts being more generic or open ended at times has been an intentional choice within the group, as these are starting points for creative writing. The group does not expect prompts or acts to write and personalize characters for group members. By leaving them on the more vague side, our hope is that despite a generic prompt users have more room to delve into why their characters are there on their own. The elnin may take the journey, but what they get out of it is up to their owners.

As staff, we will take a hard look at trying to do quality of life updates to quests throughout 2024 to provide additional questions that group members can ruminate on and help with this process without limiting user's characters to the same reasons for doing a quest and ending up where they do in each act. We hope these efforts to existing prompts over time will allow group members to expand upon their writing or the angles in which they think about their characters and the experiences those characters have instead.

If group members feel that there is a lack of balance between written and drawn prompts, please recognize that both drawing and writing are options. Neither option requires anyone to be the best writer or artist to complete the base requirements. We do not require submissions to be purely digital drawings, and drawings on paper that are photographed or scanned are also options! Which option is better or worse, or easier or harder, is a very subjective area. Some individuals in our group will write more or less, and some artists will draw faster or slower. Ultimately it's up to you to choose what works for you and work within what the group has decided the balance to be.

If one option appears easier to a group member, we highly recommend pursuing that option, but subjective statements about how easy it is without actually doing that option could diminish what is a harder task for others who are doing that option with difficulty at times. We have many individuals in our group that have hit our word count cap many times over, and we can tell that, for them, that option may seem easier than drawing. We will not be adjusting word counts on acts to be lower for a number of reasons, which we outline a bit more in the section below. The things covered in this section are just a few of those reasons.

A Not so Brief History About Written Prompts and Acts

We weren't originally planning on going over this for this news update, but it is something we feel is worth clarifying because this history isn't one we've really discussed before. It might shed some light on the group's stance on where writing sits in the group and how we've balanced some things, as well as why we will not be adjusting word counts on prompts but other changes we'll look into.

Way back in the dawn of Eyre, written prompts were not an option that got certain bonuses and for the most part these prompts did not exist in the group aside from very few entries. There were a few side events that delved into flavorful text entries, but they were usually side one-off things that happened in a year, and not intended to come up as regularly. Some early prompts did have a written option but it was always less balanced with variable word counts, and initially very lacking in the ability to earn bonuses.

The fact that written prompts eventually saw a more structured regular option with full bonus opportunities was largely due two things:

1. An uptick in expressed interest from the community in written prompts
2. Some early proposals from staff joining the team years ago who also enjoyed writing and were willing to put in the time to review written prompts.

Our overall outlook was very different back when prompts were only posted every few months, instead of monthly, and things like questing didn't exist. Mana ok'd the staff's proposal to have more regular written prompt bonuses and some attempts were made to include them. Base EC earnings and bonuses as well as requirements fluctuated greatly in the early years. There was little to no consistency and a lot of experimentation both by Mana, and later, the team in the years between early 2016 and mid 2018.

It wasn't until mid 2018 that prompts started to become more consistent in requirements, but the bonuses and balance still felt a bit off. This was later revised in 2021 after Questing specifications had been released and that system had been reworked once. At that point, we could better grasp what Prompts vs. Questing might look like, and the ways in which they could be aligned and the ways in which they wouldn't, because their requirements, needs, and surrounding expectations varied.

A Vague Outline of Prompts and Variables Over the Years

• 2016 July - 2018 February Prompts
  • Base EC Earnable: Varied between 2EC - 6EC
  • Bonus EC Earned varied between 2EC - 4EC
  • At times multiple submissions were allowed for lower value prompts.
  • Drawn submissions required everything from just only the elnin to someone else's elnin with or without a background, other Berry Bazaar CS or Elseworlders or gijinka forms.
  • Written submissions required at their base anywhere from 500 -1200 words at times. Bonus word requirements required prompts to hit anywhere from 1200 - 2000 words total to count, depending on the prompt.
• 2018 March - 2021 June Prompts
  • Base EC Earnable: 6EC
  • Drawn submissions required the elnin and either a second elnin or background generally. Bonuses were: Background +2EC OR Including another Berry Bazaar CS/Elseworlder +2EC.
  • Written submissions required 600 words. A bonus was allowed but it required 1200 words for +2EC.
• 2019 Questing was Introduced
  • Drawn submissions per act required the elnin and a full background. Mini-requirements submissions drawn separately were just the elnin, partial backgrounds accepted if included at all.
  • Written submissions per act required 1000 words. Mini-requirements written separately were 300 words.
• 2021 July - Present
  • Systems were re-evaluated.
  • For drawn prompt submissions, there was no change. An elnin and background were required.
  • For written prompt submissions, the base word count was kept at 600 words, but the bonus was lowered to 900 words.
  • For drawn quest act submissions, there was no change. An elnin and background were required (give or take extra elnin dependent on if you're questing for a kittom or not).
  • For written quest act submissions, the base word count was lowered to 900 words.
  • Mini-requirements drawn separately saw no change. (Historically these requirements were intended to be a part of the 900 words in Acts, and many people still include them. Doing them separately is intentionally 300 words because it's another submission to review.)
  • Monthly Regular Prompts were introduced and don't require drawing elnin but generally "bonus" portions of content (ie. Drawn background or 300 words.)

Currently the balance introduced back in July 2021, is a balance we are content with. Adjusting some of our newer quests' base word count requirements would mean we have to revise questing page wording across the board to make distinctions between types of quests (Resonance and Special) that we feel reintroduce potential confusion. Additionally, while we have introduced many Special Quests, there are likely to be future quests that may be more involved in terms of requirements and bonuses that we might ask to be included. This would potentially come up with quests for subtype elnin or occupational training on combat or magic.

Historically, you can tell there were a lot of iterations in what things got changed between currencies awarded, base requirements, bonus requirements, whether written works received the same treatment as drawn art, etc. We understand that currently things may seem a bit lopsided with one very involved quest that has lots of act options (Resonance) and other quests that are a lot more restricted and have very specific paths and goals (Special Quests). Our aim is to not make changes that result in more changes in the future that require back-tracking and varying things further. Keeping things consistent, so we don't need to update as many guidelines overall across many sections of different pages, is what is enabling us to tackle these projects. So we hope for some understanding on why we're deciding not to change things again now.

Artificial Intelligence Recap and General Warning

In this news post we were also hoping not to have to cover this, but it's apparent that there is still some presence of AI use in written prompts in the group. After about 3 months of looking at prompts and acts, including those before that prompted that initial news mention, a chunk of prompts have stood out as sharing numerous word choice similarities despite being written by several different users. It's frustrating for our team in good faith to clarify that AI should not be used in the group to replace one's own efforts. Yes, it can be assistive at times but it's to the point where it's very clear from the redundancy of phrases AI writing predominantly likes to use, that some group members are using assistive technology to speed up prompt writing in ways we have asked members not to.

We review a lot of prompt submissions, many of which are very clearly well written with diverse language and a lot of character inspiration behind them, and we are sure that to a degree AI is used in these prompts to spell check or help with grammar. Spelling and grammar assistance are considered appropriate uses of AI tools relative to the group. That said, word choice and sentence formation is not considered appropriate use of AI relative to the group. Some of the submissions coming through that we have to review are reading as though autocorrect has suggested every other word. AI is using the same words and phrases over and over again, and it does not sound like a person wrote it.

It's easy to look at our quest acts and prompts and know they are vague. We acknowledge that we might see redundancy from users in an overall way because it's hard to reinvent the wheel without really digging into some additional questions. However, in the cases where AI use is too prominent, we're finding redundant phrases that have little to do with what the prompt's descriptions say the prompt is about, which is what we assume to be the underlying cause of redundancy in the average non-AI prompt submitted by group members.

We understand that there are a lot of group members that don't use AI this way, we still recognize that most of our submissions do not do this, but when we so blatantly see AI use in the group it's frustrating. We wish to be fair to those who have put in the time to refine their craft, be it drawn or written, and fear that users who turn to AI to do it for them diminishes the efforts of their peers.

If you are someone who is using AI in your work as more than just a translator or spell checker, and we continue to see the redundancy of phrases that AI tends to write, or writing in ways that don't feel human, we will approach with revision requests. Ultimately, we want to make it clear it brings us no joy to consider having to do this. In general, we try to be more relaxed on prompts and we will still try to where possible, but we've already seen so many submissions that feel definitively AI influenced that we are ready to start addressing AI submissions more directly. If you continue using AI, despite the group's policy not to, please expect a lot of feedback from us requesting substantial edits to future submissions. If you aren't using AI, please continue submitting written pieces as usual; the team will try our best to avoid false positives for AI.

If you have concerns that your submissions may be reading as AI due to the use of a translation tool, please submit a ticket with a google document to your untranslated content, and a link to the tool you have been using to translate your content as well as the name of that tool. We are mindful this could be an extra ask for those who do not use English as their first language, so we want to be extra clear that submitting a ticket is not a requirement, so don't feel a need to do this right away. You may still hear nothing from us in the future, but if you do and you suspect it's due to AI translation, we can work through it and cross compare tool options to see if there's a pattern. Doing this at that time would help not only you but also the community as a whole.

Discord Changes and Clarifications

We've made a few notable changes to our discord this month and we want to clarify a few things that we've gotten questions about.

Recent Changes

• We've added a #writing_gallery channel to showcase written works to compliment our art_gallery which is primarily focused on visuals.
• Emoji use in the #questions and #design_feedback channels on discord will now be restricted to moderator staff.

A Few Clarifications

• The #art_gallery is a place for primarily visual arts, this includes drawings, crafts, and heavily curated photography.
  • We have gotten questions in the past on whether or not photography has a place in the #art_gallery, and the team feels that it does. If you're sharing photos though as an art piece, we do ask they not just be casually taken photos that may be more appropriate for other channels like #pet_appreciation, #cook_nook, #discovery_channel, etc.
  • No matter what medium you are sharing visual art of, please be conscientious of spam. If you wish to share many pictures of something drawn, photographed, or otherwise, we ask you to choose your best image or two and then link to a more robust gallery if you want to share more.
• Only responses in #questions and #design_feedback from modberries, prompt team moderators and design team moderators are considered official responses to general questions.
  
  • We have many channels where other members casually try to help out, and occasionally moderators may respond in other spaces too with a best guess, but these are not to be considered official responses to questions regardless of who they come from.
  • Generally questions asked in #questions and #design feedback goes through more than just one staff member to try to ensure we're giving accurate responses. When any moderator or group member replies in a one-off fashion in general channels there is a risk that their feedback may contain their personal opinion in a casual way or misinformation, so we ask group members to take these answers with a grain of salt and know they may not always be accurate.
  • Only discord moderators may hop into any channel to address discord specific tasks or conflicts.

Moderator Changes and Current Queues

We've had some adjustments in our staffing in recent months and many of our mods have had some things cropping up in their daily lives.

Tatter and Leechi Are Off to Other Pursuits!

In the past few months here we've had a few of our prompt team staff step down due to work and family commitments taking priority in their lives. Moderating was an aspect they didn't feel they would be able to keep up with. As always the team is supportive of moderators prioritizing the things they need to do in life. While it is unfortunate we have to see the teammates we enjoy working with go, we're hopeful to continue to see them around the group and taking care of themselves. Tatter was among the older staff members on our prompts team and Leechi joined the team a few years after. We're wishing them some easier times in months to come even as some other things in life ramp up for them!

Slower Responses and Queues this Month and Next Month

We just want to call some attention to regular group systems moving a bit slower on all fronts this month and potentially next month. We've had a few team members step down and several others are still helping out but currently experiencing some rougher times. Work has been strenuous on some of our staff while others are out sick or dealing with some difficult family matters. While we won't be going into many details, we did want to ask the community for a little more patience as the team works through things this month and next month. Please expect things to be a bit slower and try to recognize we're a bit of a skeleton crew during this period of time.

It is worth mentioning Starbask will be out of town for the last two weeks this month with little to no computer access. This means some more involved approvals, questions, or tasks may be on hold during that time and take a bit of time thereafter to catch up on. The team can usually handle many tasks and questions but some still fall to Starbask and Mana to confer on and clarify details on as needed.

A Raffle on the Horizon

We did a free kittom raffle back in December and we'll be hosting another small one this month. The raffle will go live soon, time permitting, and be open for a minimum of 48 hours with intent to be rolled some time Sunday March 17th, 2024 PST time. There will not be a prompt requirement to enter this raffle, however the form to enter the raffle will include a question about what your favorite part of spring is! So start brainstorming if there's some things you are particularly fond of during the springtime!

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules.  You will need to submit a response to the appropriate google form, so please keep this in mind!

March 2024 Raffle Details

#1 - Spring Time Bun - flyingwaysofducks
#2 - Spring Tea Party - aquapyrofan
#3 - Butterfly Garden - DarkfireVengeance
#4 - Bleeding Heart Doe - Daffupanda
#5 - Chocolate Lover - ShinPurple
#6 - Auspicious Spring - SuperLebunee
#7 - Spring Lamb - plumendra
#8 - Peony Ballerina - LizzyJun
#9 - Thawing Meadow - number11train

Rolling took place in our Discord in the #games_and_raffles channel today!

Thank you everyone for participating! We hope you bring you more events soon in the future! <3

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing this year’s Spirits Stirring Seasonal Prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle. You will need to submit a response to the appropriate google form, so please keep this in mind!

A 3EC participation bonus will be granted to all users who complete the Spirits Stirring Seasonal Prompt ( [S-2] Spirits Stirring) this month. This bonus will be granted at the end of the month. This will allow community members to purchase the latest card frame from the Card Frame Merchant if they wish or put it forward to something else they're saving up for!

2024 June Spirits Stirring Raffle Details

Oddly-Colored Pomu (Oddform / Multi-colored) Token Winners"
1. strabi
2. bisflorescentia
3. Malis
4. Silver-the-wyrm
5. BlackMajixCat
6. Chickolates
7. Orangeish
8. starimaga
9. Llew
10. DearRyufur
11. Daffupanda

Overwild (Aquatic) Token Winners:
1. ceryskies
2. Knife
3. Becci
4. Starbask
5. Shadonut
6. Mowen
7. FruitCrepe
8. Nekoyang
9. AliLV
10. missdevichi
11. wintry-chan
12. Picnyx
13. Jahpan
14. Giz
15. yumehaeya
16. Katsuki
17. SmolPeep

Oddly-Colored Pomu (Single-color) Token Winners:
1. Twerpette
2. LizzyJun
3. Mewwsic
4. Seaglassmoon
5. Sharky

Rolling took place in our Discord in the #games_and_raffles channel today!

Thank you everyone for participating! We hope you bring you more events soon in the future! <3

Additionally the miasma this season seems unusually thin for the time being. There are more rumors that the eggs have something to do with feyfolk and that feyfolk have been actively working to push miasma back this season. It's unclear how long this odd behavior will linger for or what these strange eggs are but they have to hatch eventually, right?

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing this year’s December Prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle. You will need to submit a response to the appropriate Google form, so please keep this in mind!

A free participation bonus, a Fey-touched Egg, will be granted to all users who complete the December Prompt ( [M-083] Endearing Eggs ) this month. This bonus will be granted when your prompt is approved. (See the "Rewards" section at the bottom of the prompt.)

A Quirky December 2024 Raffle Details

• Herald of Arcana - Endeth
  
  
• Noble Subtype MYO / Upgrade #1 - LeechiPeachy
  
  
• Adventurer Subtype MYO / Upgrade #1- mild-arts
• Adventurer Subtype MYO / Upgrade #2 - missdevichi
• Adventurer Subtype MYO / Upgrade #3 - starimaga
• Adventurer Subtype MYO / Upgrade #4 - renga
  
  
• Kittom Subtype MYO / Upgrade #1 - Sacchim
• Kittom Subtype MYO / Upgrade #2 - jennie
• Kittom Subtype MYO / Upgrade #3 - Snugglymoon
  
  
• Adventurer Standard MYO / Upgrade #1 - ShinPurple
• Adventurer Standard MYO / Upgrade #2 - emacodo
  
  
• Kittom Standard MYO / Upgrade #1 - ghostaris
• Kittom Standard MYO / Upgrade #2 - wander
  
  MYO winners please be sure to send us a ticket before 7 Days are up to detail if you'd like a MYO slot or Upgrade.
  You can send it under Ownership & Masterlist or Community. Feel free to include the stats you'd like.
  
  
• Spooky Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #1 - DearRyufur
• Spooky Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #2 - KelpiePie
• Spooky Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #3 - LadyPipen
• Spooky Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #4 - strabi
• Spooky Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #5 - Nekoyang
• Spooky Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #6 - nyamomask
• Spooky Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #7 - Mowen
  
  
• Spooky Mutation (Any Elnin) #1 - Kloana
• Spooky Mutation (Any Elnin) #2 - Kireina
• Spooky Mutation (Any Elnin) #3 - yumehaeya
• Spooky Mutation (Any Elnin) #4 - Binghu
• Spooky Mutation (Any Elnin) #5 - sudai-shiro
• Spooky Mutation (Any Elnin) #6 - Picnyx
• Spooky Mutation (Any Elnin) #7 - Night-class
  
  
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #1 - Eeviebun
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #2 - Daffupanda
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #3 - Shadonut
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #4 - ForonGur
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #5 - AliLV
  
  
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #1 - Guilyn
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #2 - Keilin
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #3 - Mordecacti
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #4 - Mewwolf
• High Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #5 - Wolllollie
  
  
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #1 - BlackMajixCat
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #2 - SmolPeep
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #3 - FruitCrepe
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #4 - wintry-chan
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #5 - Orangeish
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #6 - Silver-the-wyrm
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only) #7 - Wila
  
  
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #1 - Knife
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #2 - Staarbits
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #3 - Staarbytes
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #4 - Blood
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #5 - SeventhBard
• Lower Tier Limited Mutation (Any Elnin) #6 - Casteds
  
  
• Exotic Mutation #1 - KizzyCosplayer
• Exotic Mutation #2 - Shanyume
• Exotic Mutation #3 - Latusal
• Exotic Mutation #4 - Cynder
• Exotic Mutation #5 - Triggwolf
  
  
• Rare Mutation #1 - Nyxilei
• Rare Mutation #2 - Mewwsic
• Rare Mutation #1 - osteoh
• Rare Mutation #1 - LizzyJun
• Rare Mutation #1 - Jahpan
• Rare Mutation #1 - Malis
• Rare Mutation #1 - Llew
• Rare Mutation #1 - Tatter
• Rare Mutation #1 - CandyChameleon
• Rare Mutation #1 - rayma
  
  
• Uncommon Mutation #1 - blankshi
• Uncommon Mutation #2 - Seaglassmoon
• Uncommon Mutation #3 - Chickolates
• Uncommon Mutation #4 - Giz
• Uncommon Mutation #5 - Milim
• Uncommon Mutation #6 - Belsibeth
• Uncommon Mutation #7 - Angelos
• Uncommon Mutation #8 - ceryskies
• Uncommon Mutation #9 - northfarer
• Uncommon Mutation #10 - SYLSYL12
• Uncommon Mutation #11 - xqtte
• Uncommon Mutation #12 - AkaneTsukino1
• Uncommon Mutation #13 - Katsuki
• Uncommon Mutation #14 - crowlets
• Uncommon Mutation #15 - Sharky
• Uncommon Mutation #16 - Tara-Elani
• Uncommon Mutation #17 - Afrielzi
• Uncommon Mutation #18 - Starbask
  
  Prizes will be delivered as soon as we can. Please be patient with us as we sort though them all. Thanks so much! And congratulations again!

We are looking for a few new moderators to join our team. If you have interest in volunteering your time and contributing a bit more to the Berry Bazaar community, please continue reading! If you are not interested at all in this sort of thing, then carry on and just expect to see a few new faces on our moderator team in the future.

Who we're looking for:

1. Active community members or members who want to play a more active role in the group's normal processes/activities. Events do happen from time to time, but they generally sit second seat to the stuff we would like to have open or happening regularly.
   
   
2. Team players who would be comfortable working with our current moderator team. Communication is important for a lot of what we do, due to the team effort nature of how we problem-solve.
   
   
3. Patience. Those familiar with the group should be aware we are not a super fast-paced group. We try not to overwhelm our community members or moderators. At times on the moderator side it calls for it, but generally we spend a lot of time considering feedback when implementing or modifying existing group systems/activities. It is not a quick process and so we definitely need moderators who can patiently bear with us as we work on setting things in motion.
   
   
4. Individuals that can keep moderator-only/behind-the-scenes information private. Moderators have the perk of knowing inklings of things we are planning or that will happen in the long-term future. We ask this information not be disclosed publicly until it is posted to the group, not even to close friends. A lot of what we work on is liable to change and even if something seems not liable to change, we expect it to not become public knowledge. This is to avoid any unfair advantages to parties that we would account for if they were a moderator or foster false hopes/information if it changes. Moderators should not be pressured to give any behind-the-scenes information to non-moderators. We expect them to not disclose details so it is fair that they are not pressured to do so. We encourage fairness in how we approach moderators being involved in group activities given they have this knowledge (you may have noticed we like random number generators/RNG as it's often the fairest way we can let moderators participate without concerns of favoritism or unfair advantage). This is a courtesy to our fellow group members.
   
   
5. Individuals that have good communication skills and a generally positive attitude. We know everything is not always pomus and kittoms levels of positivity in the group, but there isn't a single moderator role in our group that is not involved in communicating with community members in some way! When possible, we want the group to be a positive space that others can enjoy in their off time, so we try to keep our communications with community members in line with that.
   
   
6. Individuals that can regularly commit to helping with group work monthly and communicate weekly with other mod staff. Moderators must be able to regularly communicate with other moderator staff without prompting to ensure moderator tasks are being completed and areas of the group they are helping in are effectively covered.

Position Details

This position/work is purely volunteer. Moderator rewards are occasionally granted, usually in the form of group items/mutations/slots for volunteer work done, but they are not promised or guaranteed. Please keep this in mind when applying that being a Berry Bazaar moderator is not a paid position, and while some rewards may have monetary value added to them, moderator compensation is not what the team works for or expects on a regular basis.

We acknowledge there are perks to being a mod. However, the community and group's welfare should always be the highest priority when acting as a mod, above self interests. It's a lot of fun getting to meet new people and contributing ideas to how the group runs. Generally, this also means moderators will know about group plans in advance and other details that should not be community knowledge until solidified.

While the community is a high priority, please know we also work hard to make sure the moderator team is a safe space. The mental health of our moderators is a priority when we organize and plan how the group runs events among other things. We are 100% respectful if a mod wishes to or needs to step down to take care of themselves. This is volunteer work, so it should be enjoyable. If there are things that come up that would put a potential strain on moderators owing to a long term absence, please notify us in advance. We understand some things aren’t planned and happen suddenly, but communication is key and working together to make sure we all have the necessary support is essential.

At the end of the day, moderators are group members too, and while we contribute a service for the group that goes beyond the average community member, the decisions we make impact everyone, including ourselves. Moderators are also expected to understand that community interactions are relative to the group and often we're speaking on behalf of the group in ways that are transparent across the whole team. This means a lot of the feedback we're receiving and giving is in no way personal, so we're really working through things as a community and internal team.

While most mods currently are capable of wearing multiple hats, we have mods that specialize/focus on certain areas more than others.

We'll be focusing on the following two roles:

• Design Approvals
  
  • This role will focus primarily on any and all design approvals that run through our group. This includes art updates, design edits, MYOs, elnin rank-ups, kittom growths, and guest artist design approvals (including adult and kittom designs). \o/
  • We are especially seeking some folks that feel confident with their math skills and the group's pricing resources for EC/SC group currencies! While you're not required to know the ins and outs of design updates within the group, it will help you if you do.
    
    
• Prompt/Quest Approvals
  • This role will focus primarily on art and text-based submissions for prompts and questing claims through our group. If you're passionate about seeing and hearing more about other group members' elnins, and cross-checking guidelines for drawn and written content through the group, then this may be the role for you! ^^
  • While not largely math-based, this role will still require knowledge of prompt and quest requirements, and making sure proper currency grants are awarded! So knowledge of how prompts and questing works is appreciated.

Communication between teams and mods will still be required, as our tasks often impact other mods in some way. The group is very interconnected. ^^b

Additional info to keep in mind

• Application Window: [02/10/25 at 12:00am PST] - [04/20/25 at 11:59pm PST]
  
  
• Follow up: We will be following up late May to mid June, after the application window closes or during if we have more questions. If we do not reach out to you this time, please don't be discouraged. We tend to like to grow our team slowly so we have time to work with the moderators we bring on board.
  
  
• Application Edits: You will be able to edit your application at any time during the submission window by clicking on the link above/returning to the form page. Once the window closes, application edits will also be closed, so please be sure you include all information you feel is important before the deadline!
  
  
• Probationary Period: [3-6 months] Getting situated working with a team is a process. There are slow periods and faster periods. Should there be any major problems we see causing strain between current moderators and new moderators, we will let you know if something is not working out. We do not want a toxic volunteer workspace for anyone. Working out any confusion or miscommunications will always be done first, but as a last resort, we're making this probationary period known so it's clear we are paying attention to the comfort of new and old mods alike.

Application Forms

If you are interested in applying for a specific role, please fill out the respective application form below. You may apply for different roles by filling out all or some of the forms, but you will only be hired for one position/role within our team. We are using a google forms approach to give us a little more organization and wiggle room with how we handle applications. Thank you. ^^b

• Apply to be a Design Approvals Moderator here
  
  
• Apply to be a Prompt/Quest Approvals Moderator here

If you have any questions about this process, feel free to ask them in the #questions channel in our discord, or submit a ticket to the "Community" ticket type on the WoE site. Thank you for your interest and time! We look forward to another fun year working with and for the Berry-Bazaar community. <3

Modcation 2025

A much needed modcation is coming for this year. Expect to see group functions halt on all fronts. If moderators wish to work during modcation there may be some movement but nothing is being required of the team during this time, so expect most things to not start happening again until early May!

• March 1st-14th: (Wind down period.) The Moderator staff will be focusing on getting feedback out for February prompts and Quests. Ideally if any edits are needed to prompts or acts, they will be made at this time and we'll address things that are resubmitted after Modcation is over. Starting March 1st, we'll be attempting to get any design approvals feedback out to paid submissions queued before March 1st. This is not a guarantee, but just know things submitted after March 2nd or unpaid submissions will continue to be low priority and may or may not receive a response before the break. We'll make a good faith effort, but if people are submitting a ton of things last minute, and they are fully paid, that will have an impact on the progress the design approvals team makes the first two weeks in March.
• March 15th-May 3rd: (Modcation) Moderators will not be expected to work during this time frame. Users can still submit prompts and design approvals, etc. but please do not ask about turnaround times during this window as well. Staff may choose to work if they desire but it won't be a required thing. We want to make sure the whole team has a well deserved break.
• May 4th-18th: (Wind up period.) Moderators will be slowly coming back. Responses may be slow during this time period but we'll be looking to get back to things at a more regular pace after these initial weeks.

We know the wind down and wind up periods make this time seem longer but those periods are time we will still be working, just expect that the team may be working through a flood of submissions prior to and after modcation. Please be patient with us, thank you!

We've also experienced some changes to moderator staff this past year and are expecting more changes to our staff in 2025. In light of this, you'll notice that moderator applications have once again opened! They will be open from February 10th, 2025 until April 20th, 2025 at 11:59pm PST.

Turnaround Times and Questing Updates

We've made a dedicated page to cover turnaround time info since that hasn't had a proper place within the site structure. We've also included those turnaround times, minus the additional info, at the top of our general prompt rules and design edit pages so it's a bit easier to find. Due to some of the staffing changes we recognize turnaround times may not mirror the ones listed exactly. We're a bit short staffed currently, which is why we'll be seeking to hire new staff some time after modcation.

We also wanted to announce that one of our special quests has been updated! The Breathing Exercises special quest now includes bubble breath as an option! We hope others enjoy this trait as much as we have been in recent months!

An important note about older quest acts without claims:

Over the years we've been noticing an increasingly long list of quest acts submitted without claims. In order to process the acts for a certain quest someone is pursuing we need a claim submitted to indicate when all of the acts are fully done. Unfortunately, this has made our list of prompts and acts in the back end of the site appear much larger than it is. The team would like to start seeing our queue of prompts and acts reflect more closely to where they are currently sitting.

Starting March 1st, 2025 we'll plan to do an annual clean up for submitted quest acts that are older than 12 months old. This means, for quest acts submitted without a claim that are older than 12 months, we will check 2 things and that will determine what we do with the submitted act:

1. If the character featured in a given act no longer belongs to the submitter, we will hard reject the act.
2. If the character featured in a given act belongs to the submitted still, we will soft reject the act with a "cooldown" of 365 days to just bump a reminder that acts need a claim submitted for us to review them. If the act is not resubmitted within that 365 day window it will be hard rejected.

Keep in mind in both of these cases you can still resubmit a hard or soft rejected act that was part of an unfinished quest at any time, a hard reject or soft reject does not mean that you can never submit an unfinished quest again. It just might mean resubmitting the acts closer together than a year and submitting the appropriate claim so we know to review them! There will be a generic message to indicate if your quest act has been in the queue too long without a related quest claim submitted.

This annual cleanup will likely take place in early January in future years, but since we're announcing this cleanup work just now it will happen at the start of March this year. We're recommending if anyone has quest acts submitted without claims that are older than 12 months and you want to see them reviewed, be sure to submit a claim before the end of February. After February anything older than February 29th, 2024 will be either hard or soft rejected depending on the status of the elnin attached to the quest act.

Thank you for your patience with us on this! We just feel some amount of cleanup in this space annually would help us out in getting a clearer view of how much we need to review within a given month. Between now and the start of March we will work on language to add to the questing page(s) to clarify this will happen annually, with the goal of having that language added by March 1st. That way there's a reference point if the rejection of quest acts older than 12 months comes as a surprise to any submitters.

Guest Artist Applications

Since we're getting back into some event planning if you haven't submitted a guest artist application in a while, or want to update your existing application, this is a gentle reminder our application form is always open and we revisit it over time! Simply visit our Guest Artists Applications page on site and you'll find a link to the form and guesting info there. You'll need to be logged into your google account to edit an existing form if you've submitted an application to us once already.

If your application is over a few years old and predates the google form's creation we highly recommend submitting an updated application to the form. A lot can change in a few years and we want to be sure our info is up to date. Some of the older forms (back before we used a google form) were missing some fields that indicated user preferences. So they're not very helpful at highlighting what types of events or sales some previous applicants may be interested in.

We want to highlight that this reminder for guest artist applications will likely apply to events held in the later half of this year. So if you don't hear back from us immediately in the coming months, just know that it's because it takes some time to go through any changes and updates to applications on our end and plan events thereafter. We'll also be catching up a lot around the start of May as we get back from the break.

Artificial Intelligence Reminder and General Warning

It's been roughly a year since our last mention of this topic. We continue to see the presence of AI use within group prompt submissions, mostly written ones. If you're a group member who is doing this, stop. This is a reminder and general warning that use of AI to write or draw prompts in this group is unacceptable. If you're unclear with the group's general stance on this topic you can refer back to this earlier news post (Late September Update) where we go over the group's stance on it and where it fits into the TOS.

We're sorry to have to bring this up again. As we've stated in the past, we understand that there are a lot of group members that don't use AI this way. We still recognize that most of our submissions do not do this, but when we so blatantly see AI use in the group it's very frustrating. We want to be fair to those who have put in the time to refine their craft, be it drawn or written, and fear that users who turn to AI to do it for them diminishes the efforts of their peers.

If you are someone who is using AI in your work as more than just a translator or spell checker, and we continue to see the redundancy of phrases that AI tends to write, or writing in ways that don't feel human, we will approach with revision requests. Ultimately, we want to make it clear it is not fun to moderate AI generated work. In general, we try to be more relaxed on prompts and we will still try to where possible, but we've already seen so many submissions that feel definitively AI influenced that we are ready to start addressing AI submissions more directly. If you continue using AI, despite the group's policy not to, please expect a lot of feedback from us requesting substantial edits to future submissions. If you aren't using AI, please continue submitting written pieces as usual; the team will try our best to avoid false positives for AI.

Staff have to review a lot of prompts and every single time we come across something clearly AI generated it leaves a sour taste in the team's mouth. We recognize the phrases AI tends to like to use. Please be well aware things are not flying under the radar and there will be consequences as a result if we continue to see AI use in the group.

If you have concerns that your submissions may be reading as AI due to the use of a translation tool, please submit a ticket with a google document to your untranslated content, and a link to the tool you have been using to translate your content as well as the name of that tool. We are mindful this could be an extra ask for those who do not use English as their first language, so we want to be extra clear that submitting a ticket is not a requirement, so don't feel a need to do this right away. You may still hear nothing from us in the future, but if you do and you suspect it's due to AI translation, we can work through it and cross compare tool options to see if there's a pattern. Doing this at that time would help not only you but also the community as a whole.

Plans for the future

While we will be seeing some slow and quiet periods around and during modcation, the staff will be working pretty hard prior to modcation to try to set the group up for success in the coming months. There will be a few moderators that will likely still be working on some things behind the scenes during modcation too even if some of the regular queues are on hold.

We won't be giving a definitive timeline at this point but here are some of the things we're thinking about in the coming year:

• There will be prompts that run 2 months long between March and April, as well as May and June.
  • The first prompt will allow a max of 2 submissions and run from the beginning of March until the end of April.
  • The second prompt will also allow a max of 2 submissions and run from the beginning of May until the end of June.
• Our usual Bonds in Bloom seasonal prompt will be skipped this year as we try to catch up to queues in May and June.
• The seasonal Spirits Stirring prompt will be making a comeback this year in place of the usual seasonal prompt!
• We will be looking at what backlogged questions can be answered.
  • Due to unforeseen circumstances in 2024 there's some lingering questions out there that we'll be working to respond to. Thank you to those who have waited.
  • Some questions that relate to elnin lore or specific topics may need to be more directly discussed with manaberri still. Patience will be needed on those!
• Mana and the team will be working through getting traits sorted out for another subtype release.
  • There are still many things that need to happen for the group to get back to breedings, but this subtype and one other thing are blockers for us to get back to doing breedings in the group under any context. These will take some time, so we don't suspect both will be done within the first half of this year.
• We'll be aiming to hire additional moderators to try to get staff numbers back up to what we would like to see.
• The team wants to get back to events with guest artists and possibly do some event activities later in the year.
• We have some exciting things planned to occur starting with a splash around May. Stay tuned.

Please read below for additional info on how to enter and rules. Completing this year’s Spirits Stirring Seasonal Prompt or Light Showers Monthly Prompt will not automatically enter you for this raffle. You will need to submit a response to the appropriate google form, so please keep this in mind!

A 3EC participation bonus will be granted to all users who complete the Spirits Stirring Seasonal Prompt ( [S-2] Spirits Stirring) or the Light Showers Monthly Prompt ( [M-087] A Light Shower). This bonus will be granted at the same time the raffle prizes are.

2025 Summer Showers Raffle Details

Mermay 2025

We're very excited to announce that we're working to get some guest artist sales on the calendar this year. This first one is bringing back some familiar faces and we'll be revisiting guest artist applications ideally for sales later this year.  As the name might imply the sales for this specific event will awfully fishy and feature some beautiful undine elnin designs! We hope everyone enjoys them.

Sales info and important dates for the event can be found on the group post on deviantart!

Sales will be posted to the modberry account over on deviantart! There are a few flaffles (some kittoms and one adult elnin) and an auction this time around!

Modcation 2025

Modcation is wrapping up and we're starting to ease back into regular workflows as the month of May begins!

This is where we're roughly at as a reminder:

• May 4th-18th: (Wind up period.) Moderators will be slowly coming back. Responses may be slow during this time period but we'll be looking to get back to things at a more regular pace after these initial weeks.

We're working through the flood of submissions that came in while everyone was on break so we're thankful for the patience as we get back into everything!

Undine Elnin Update

We wanted to mention that we've made an update to undine elnin! We've added whiskers to the list of their default mutations included in the undine slot. We were noticing whiskers appearing a lot on elnin using the aquatic influence. Some more specific guidelines and visuals need to be updated yet but we've added a few notes to aquatic influence relative to interactions between aquatic influence and the whiskers mutation.

All MYO undine elnin slots have had the whisker's mutation added and if a MYO slot was already used, or you bought a premade elnin that did not already have whiskers we've added whiskers to their notes tab as an option they can pick up as part of the elnin's next edit. Group members are not required to use this mutation on their undine elnin in any way but we wanted to let everyone know about this change!

Moderator Staff Applications

We will be reviewing moderator staff applications this month as we start to come back as well. So expect to see some staff changing up a bit later this month. We'll post an update about staff changes once they're in place!

Oddly-Colored Pomu (Oddform / Multi-colored) Token Winners:
1. LeechiPeachy
2. Picnyx
3. Rainywren
4. Shadonut
5. Kireina
6. Malis
7. Chickolates
8. Mocha-Miel
9. BlackMajixCat
10. Sharky
11. LizzyJun
12. Shanyume
13. Wolllollie
14. Casteds
15. AliLV
16. mild-arts
17. Jahpan

Overwild Tail (Aquatic or Furred) Token Winners:
1. Llew
2. Emacodo
3. Waket
4. yumehaeya
5. DearRyufur
6. Strabi
7. Mewwsic
8. Wander

Oddly-Colored Pomu (Single-color) Token Winners:
1. Starbask
2. plumendra

Rolling took place in our Discord in the #games_and_raffles channel today!

Thank you everyone for participating! We hope you bring you more events soon in the future! <3

Each puzzle must be solved by yourself, alone. Do not share answers with peers or tell them how to solve any of the puzzles. Doing so will cause your entry to be removed from this part of the event. These puzzles are meant to be decipherable using the information given throughout the scenes. You will not need to search beyond this post for an answer, however, if you're unfamiliar with any terminology you can either ask for a definition privately via WoE site ticket or our #questions channel in the group discord, or search for one elsewhere. (Do not note or direct message/DM any group staff!) That said some puzzles may use similar strategies you have encountered elsewhere in life or require some info from previous scenes.

Clues/hints for scenes will be released on the 28th of November. Thank you~ !!!

The Eyrescript Alphabet/Key can be found by clicking here

~~~

Welcome! To World of Eyre's frigid adventure this Feyhallow season!

This puzzle event follows the story of a curious kittom who longs to travel and finds himself following in the footsteps of a long lost explorer! Players (that's you!) will be helping sleuth through the clues to help figure out what this kittom and their hostess, a local detective, must do to shed some light on the missing explorer.

The plot itself will be divided up into scenes, posted a few days apart in this journal, although within the plot of the story events happen within a much shorter time period. This is to give you time to work on the puzzle at the end of each scene. If you are having trouble figuring out the puzzle, read through the scene carefully and possibly reference back to prior scenes that may hold bits of information to solve later puzzles. There is often information within the story that will help you solve it! Complete each puzzle correctly and you will be able to enter for some spectacularly spooky prizes!

Puzzle Schedule

• November 4th: The schedule goes live!
• November 5th: Scene 1 - Uncoding the Journal
• November 10th: Scene 2 - Be Prepared
• November 15th: Scene 3 - Ice Flow, Nowhere To Go!
• November 20th: Scene 4 - Charting Bearings
• November 25th: Scene 5  - The Summit
• November 28th: Discovered Clues
• November 30th: The puzzle ends and answers must be in by 11:59pm PST time.
• December 7th: Puzzle prizes will be rolled.
• December 9th: Puzzle answers are revealed.

Rules for entering and additional info:

• Entry Window: 11/05 - 11/30 11:59pm PST.
• General Event Entry Form: [Submit Answers Here]
  • Note: This form must be submitted to answer puzzles and get any type of credit for this event.
  • For images we request entrants use either sta.sh, google drive, dropbox, or toyhou.se links to their image answers.
    • Image links must be accessible to all moderator staff in case additional eyes are needed to cross check answers at the very end of the event.
    • Be sure to check the account and image permissions set for TH image links in particular, since some account settings might carry over and cause puzzle images to be inaccessible to staff. If any staff member is blocked from viewing images linked for this event from your TH account or any other account we will not be contacting entrants to let them know their links are inaccessible. It is the entrants responsibility to ensure links are accessible to staff.
    • If you have concerns a link may not be accessible you are welcome to submit a ticket by November 28th at 11:59pm PST time to have a staff member check, but answers still will all need to be in by November 30th at 11:59pm PST time. So be sure to actively check your ticket as we won't be handling anything last minute or reopening the form to fix links.
• Participation Rewards:
  • If you tried to answer at least one mystery puzzle part, but got the answer wrong you will get 2EC.
  • If you answer at least one part of the mystery correctly, you will get 4EC.
  • If you answer at least one part of the mystery correctly and tried solving three or more parts of the mystery, you will get 8EC.
• Regarding the above rewards:
  • You will only earn 1 of the above participation prizes depending on what your submitted responses were, they do not stack.
  • You may opt-out of certain raffle pools if you wish!
• This event will have several kinds of Prize Pools.)
  • A Grand Prize pool for participants that submitted correct answers to all parts (1-5) of the mystery.
  • Several Runner Up Prize pools for participants that submitted correct answers to all parts (1-5) of the mystery.
  • A larger number of Extra Prize pools for participants that submitted at least 1 correct answer and attempted at least 3 puzzles.

Prize Pools

Grand Prize:

• x1 Noble, or lower rank, Faenin or Djinnin or Undine MYO (or growth or upgrade to an existing elnin/kittom) with the following guidelines:
  • Subtype traits and mutations depending on which subtype is chosen by the winner.
  • A 3MP crown style, 1MP crown style, or no crown
  • A 4MP subtype tail style (flare, whip, or bulb) that aligns with the specific subtype chosen (Faenin, Djinnin, or Undine) or a standard 4MP tail style or lower
  • One Common mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • One Uncommon mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • One Rare mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • Choice of 1 Spooky Mutation, Limited Mutation, or Mana flaw off the following list:
    
    • Witching Gaze, Spectral Trait (arm or leg), Heart of the Void, Demon's Brand, Dire, Elfin, Crystallization, Hydra tail, Splintered anima, Veins of corruption, Gloom kissed, Capricious shadow, Oddly-colored pomu (single color), Cloud breath, Fire breath, Bubble breath, or Phantom step.
    • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.

Runner Up Prizes:

• Runner up prizes will be drawn after the grand prize pool.
• x2 Adventurer, or lower rank, Faenin, Djinnin, or Undine MYO (or growth or upgrade to an existing elnin/kittom) with the following guidelines:
  • Subtype traits and mutations depending on which subtype is chosen by the winner
  • A 3MP crown style, 1MP crown style, or no crown
  • A 4MP subtype tail style (flare, whip, or bulb) that aligns with the specific subtype chosen (Faenin, Djinnin, or Undine) or a standard 4MP tail style or lower
  • One Common mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • One Uncommon mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • One Rare mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • Choice of 1 Spooky Mutation, Limited Mutation, or Mana flaw off the following list:
    • Witching Gaze, Spectral Trait (arm or leg or tail), Heart of the Void, Demon's Brand, Dire, Elfin, Crystallization, Hydra tail, Splintered anima, Veins of corruption, Gloom kissed, Capricious shadow, Oddly-colored pomu (single color), Cloud breath, Fire breath, Bubble breath, or Phantom step.
    • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.
• x2 Faenin, Djinnin, or Undine Kittom MYO (or upgrade to an existing kittom) with the following guidelines:
  • Subtype traits and mutations depending on which subtype is chosen by the winner
  • A 3MP crown style, 1MP crown style, or no crown
  • A 4MP subtype tail style (flare, whip, or bulb) that aligns with the specific subtype chosen (Faenin, Djinnin, or Undine) or a standard 4MP tail style or lower
  • One Common mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • One Uncommon mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • One Rare mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • Choice of 1 Spooky Mutation, Limited Mutation, or Mana flaw off the following list:
    
    • Witching Gaze, Spectral Trait (arm or leg or tail), Heart of the Void, Demon's Brand, Dire, Elfin, Crystallization, Hydra tail, Splintered anima, Veins of corruption, Gloom kissed, Capricious shadow, Oddly-colored pomu (single color), Cloud breath, Fire breath, Bubble breath, or Phantom step.
    • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.
• x2 Adventurer, or lower rank, MYO (or growth or upgrade to an existing elnin/kittom) with the following guidelines:
  • A 3MP crown style or no crown
  • A 4MP tail style or lower
  • Two Common mutations (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • Three Uncommon mutations (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • One Rare mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • Choice of 1 Spooky Mutation, Limited Mutation, or Mana flaw off the following list:
    
    • Witching Gaze, Spectral Trait (arm or leg or tail), Heart of the Void, Demon's Brand, Dire, Elfin, Crystallization, Hydra tail, Splintered anima, Veins of corruption, Gloom kissed, Capricious shadow, Oddly-colored pomu (single color), Cloud breath, Fire breath, Bubble breath, or Phantom step.
    • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.
  • Note for MYOs: Crown and tail styles must follow standard elnin options. Hybrid traits and sub-type traits are not available options.
• x2 Kittom MYO (or upgrade to an existing kittom) with the following guidelines:
  • A 1MP crown style or no crown
  • A 4MP tail style or lower
  • Two Common mutations (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • Two Uncommon mutations (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • One Rare mutation (must be hereditary mutations with a region listed)
  • Choice of 1 Spooky Mutation, Limited Mutation, or Mana flaw off the following list:
    
    • Witching Gaze, Spectral Trait (arm or leg or tail), Heart of the Void, Demon's Brand, Dire, Elfin, Crystallization, Hydra tail, Splintered anima, Veins of corruption, Gloom kissed, Capricious shadow, Oddly-colored pomu (single color), Cloud breath, Fire breath, Bubble breath, or Phantom step.
    • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.
  • Note for MYOs: Crown and tail styles must follow standard elnin options. Hybrid traits and sub-type traits are not available options.

Extra Prizes:

• x??? Spooky Mutation (Low Luck Only)
  • Witching Gaze, Spectral Trait (arm or leg or tail), Heart of the Void, or Demon's Brand.
  • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.
• x??? Spooky Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only)
  • Witching Gaze, Spectral Trait (arm or leg or tail), Heart of the Void, or Demon's Brand.
  • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.
• x??? Spooky Mutation
  • Witching Gaze, Spectral Trait (arm or leg or tail), Heart of the Void, or Demon's Brand.
  • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.
• x5 Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only)
  • Choice of 1 Mutation or Mana flaw off the following list: Crystallization, Hydra tail, Splintered anima, Veins of corruption, Gloom kissed, Capricious shadow, Oddly-colored pomu (single color), Cloud breath, Fire breath, Bubble breath, Phantom step, Dire, or Elfin.
  • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.
• x5 Limited Mutation (Any Elnin)
  • Choice of 1 Mutation or Mana flaw off the following list: Crystallization, Hydra tail, Splintered anima, Veins of corruption, Gloom kissed, Capricious shadow, Oddly-colored pomu (single color), Cloud breath, Fire breath, Bubble breath, Phantom step, Dire, or Elfin.
  • Alternatively, a single Exotic or lower rarity mutation that is hereditary with a region specified can be chosen instead.
• x3 Exotic Mutation (hereditary with a region specified)
• x3 Rare Mutation (hereditary with a region specified)
• x5 Uncommon Mutation (hereditary with a region specified)

Restrictions, Warnings, and General Guidelines for Prizes:

• Prizes will be raffled off to entrants, but each entrant can only win a max of 1 prize. Prizes will be rolled in the order above. This is generally MYOs first, and then the respective  mutation pools, with bonded pools rolled before standard pools. Spooky mutations will be rolled before MYOs for the Extra Pools.
  • (For example: If you win an MYO, you will not be eligible for the other traits/mutation pools. If you win a bonded pool, you will not be eligible for any other pools.)
• If you win a MYO prize (not a mutation or spooky mutation) you must submit a ticket to the group within 72 hours after the raffle is rolled so we can follow up and confirm how the winner wants to use their prize. If a ticket is not sent within 72 hours or if a response to the sent ticket is not given within 1 week (7 days) of our response to the ticket then we will roll a new winner for that prize.
• Prizes must stay together, so if you have a MYO with a selection of traits/mutations you cannot split those traits up and have them placed across several different elnin.
  • When MYO prizes are applied to an existing elnin, your elnin cannot breach the rank associated with the MYO.
  • (For example: If your prize is for a Noble rank MYO/Upgrade and this is applied to an existing elnin, then your elnin cannot exceed 13MP. If it does you would need to decrease hair or ear fluff lengths or tail sizing down to keep them within noble rank. The same goes for Adventurer rank only with 9MP as the MP limit.)
• These prizes are considered free gifts, so these prizes will have zero added resale value.
• The prizes themselves can't be traded, gifted, swapped, etc. They will be added to the notes of an elnin/kittom or MYO slot and art must be updated for a prize to be applied to that elnin.
• Keep in mind you absolutely may not trade this prize at all whether it's for art, under-the-table, etc. If you do not want the prize any longer, please submit a ticket on site and a masterlist moderator will remove it from your account and remove the related cooldown. (Specifics will be announced should this come up.)
• If you are found attempting to trade a prize from this raffle prior to its application or cooldown being over, you will receive a warning and the prize will be removed from your account. If the prize is discovered to be part of any under-the-table trades after its use, both you and the other party will receive warnings. You can, of course, trade your elnin with the prize applied after art is updated and cooldowns are over, but nothing should be part of a deal made prior to the application of the prize and cooldowns running their course.
• Any group member found soliciting winners for their prizes will also be warned for doing so. If you win a prize and are approached by another group member to trade your prize, you are welcome to submit a ticket to the moderator team on site and we will handle it. We may take more severe actions than just a warning if a user is found to be persisting to solicit the same user or soliciting other winners. Please be kind to fellow group members. No one wants to be harassed for something they won.
• Prizes in this group are free gifts. Any profiting or attempting to profit from them by way of trade is frowned upon and grounds for a warning. As users must enter themselves manually into these raffles, we will be taking this to mean you want the prize for yourself. Trading or attempting to trade implies otherwise and will not be tolerated as it is directly taking opportunities away from other community members that participated. Again, if you do not want the prize at a later time (before art is updated), you can always submit a ticket asking the prize be removed from your elnin. At that time, a masterlist moderator will permanently remove the unused prize and any related trade/gift locks and associated cooldown.
• MYO slot prizes are ineligible to be exchanged into the sanctuary and once used can only be gifted or traded for other Berry-Bazaar CS.
• Winning any of the above prizes will cause the new MYO or existing  elnin/kittom to be temporarily unable to be sold/gifted/traded and once art is updated with the prize, a cooldown will be applied to  that elnin. Cooldown times vary depending on the type of prize.
• Subtype MYO/Growth/Upgrade prizes will have a 6 month cooldown applied.
• Standard MYO/Growth/Upgrade prizes will have a 3 month cooldown applied.
• Spooky happening trait/mutation prizes will have a 3 month cooldown applied.
• All remaining standalone mutation/trait prizes that are not spooky ones will have a 1 month cooldown applied.
• Cooldowns start when the design update art is finished and approved by the moderator team via design updates.

Scene and Info Quick Links

These links will take you to each scene to minimize scrolling as this post could get quite long.

• Scene 1: Uncoding the Journal
• Scene 2: Be Prepared
• Scene 3: Ice Flow, Nowhere To Go!
• Scene 4: Charting Bearings
• Scene 5: The Summit
• Discovered Clues
• Puzzle Answers Revealed - December 9th, 2025

- FAQs -

Q: I don't have an elnin, can I still enter?

A: Yes! While the story is written following a pair of existing nin, this is just to tell the story. If you don't have an elnin you can still complete the form and enter for EC and MYO prize pools. (Mutation/spooky happening pools will not be earnable without an elnin/kittom/myo slot in existence!)

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Q: How many puzzles will there be?

A: There will be 5 parts/puzzles in total.

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Q: Do I have to answer the puzzle for each scene before the next scene is posted up?

A: No. If you need more time to answer a particular puzzle, you can fill in that part of the form later. Just don't forget to fill it in and submit your completed form before the 30th of November at 11:59pm PST.

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Q: Do I need to fill out all scenes to submit the form even though only Scene 1, etc. is posted?

A: No. The form has spots for each step to be submitted from the beginning. This is mostly for our convenience on the moderator side. You do not need to fill all of the fields out to submit the form, just the required ones and the puzzles you are participating in.

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Q: I answered one of the puzzles wrong or only filled out 1 puzzle answer, can I edit my form?

A: Yes. The form will be editable until the end date (November 30th, 11:59pm PST). After this it will be locked and no changes will be allowed. This includes specifying which elnin will get what mutations/traits should you win a pool that is not for a MYO prize.

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Q: I submitted a form but I want to double check my answers or make sure it went through. How do I know what my response was?

A: Currently we have the form set up to email respondents a copy of their response. This is not fool proof. Be sure to check your email (and possibly junk mail) in advance of the form closing to find your response receipt if you need reassurance it was submitted. You can also return to the form link in this post and see if it gives you the option to edit a form, which would let you know that there is one recorded for you. If neither of those options help you see your response and know something was submitted, group members can check with moderator staff at least 24 hours before forms are closed via the #questions channel in discord or via ticket on the WoE site.

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Q: How will the prizes be determined?

A: Prizes will be rolled/drawn in discord via random number generator (RNG) from the pools for the various prizes. Eligibility for certain pools depends on how many answers you got correct and attempted.

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Q: When will prizes be rolled?

A: We're aiming to have prizes rolled on December 7th at a TBA time. If submissions exceed our expectations and there are any delays we will announce any new rolling date here on December 7th. Please be patient. There may be a lot of submissions to check and each has 5 parts!

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Q: Are there multiple solutions to each puzzle/scene?

A: No, there should only be one solution per puzzle/scene.

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(Written scenes, puzzles and graphics were done by Deeed and colored by LizzyJun, Becci, and other moderators.)

With the formalities out of the way, let's begin the story!

(Images for each puzzle part can be clicked on for an enlarged image if needed!)
The Eyrescript Alphabet/Key can be found by clicking here

Scene 1: Uncoding the Journal

"Aaachoo!!" The kittom sneezed as dust blew into his face and tickled his nose. His tiny wings gave a flutter of surprise.

"Oh sorry Tiercel!" Neve apologized, still holding the old book in her paws. She had only meant to blow some of the dust off it. "You said you were curious about famous explorers and I just had to show you this! It's the travel journal of my great uncle!"

Tiercel had been helping Neve clean out her study when their conversation turned to the young kittom's dreams of travel and venturing to far away lands. He took the book with awe, as if he held a priceless artifact.

"He did a lot of exploring around Eyre." Neve goes on. "The deep jungles, the vast deserts, his last journey was to Strynhalde. He planned to climb to the peak of Mt Toppen, it's considered the most stunning but most dangerous mountain in that region."

The older elnin sighed. "I say it was his 'last' journey because he disappeared during the trip. This journal and his compass were found near the base of the mountain and sent home to me. Oh the compass! I have it here somewhere!"

She rummaged through her desk and soon pulled out a compass, which she proudly showed to Tiercel. "I always thought it would be exciting to try following in his footsteps but his journal is written in a secret code."

Tiercel looked at the first page and flapped his wings. "Oh! Maybe we can decode it..."

What does the first page of the coded journal say?

Scene 2: Be Prepared

With Tiercel's help, Neve's excitement grew. Now her daydream of retracing her great uncle's steps had the chance to become reality! But not without her young new assistant, the kittom begged to be allowed to go with her. And so a few days after first cracking the code, the elnin and kittom booked passage on an airship heading to Strynhalde.

As the ship landed in the capital city of Iorumund, Tiercel stepped out and shivered. The city, while busy, was dusted with snow.

"How about a hot chocolate first and then we go find some supplies." Neve suggested, stepping out behind him. "Have you got the list my great uncle wrote?"

Tiercel nodded and after they warmed up in one of the city's cafes, they set out to look for a store selling the essentials they were after. Neve spotted one that looked promising but it was rather cluttered.

"Hm, does this place have everything we need?" She asked Tiercel, glancing at the list.

Find and circle all the items on the list.

Scene 3: Ice Flow, Nowhere To Go!

The store owner was very pleased to sell so much stock to the two newcomers, and Neve and Tiercel felt like proper explorers with all their gear! Luckily they could carry most of it in Neve's shadow.

"Let's find a place to stay for the night and then we can set off first thing in the morning." She said, adjusting her new scarf and snow goggles.

They rented a room in a tavern on the outskirts of the city, close to where they'd be leaving from. Tiercel was itching to get going but he knew this would probably be their last warm bed for a while. Somehow he managed to fall asleep.

In the morning they checked over their supplies once more, ate a hearty breakfast, and then headed off into the snowy wilderness.

The journal had a map they could follow and the weather was good. They made good progress for most of the day until the evening started rolling in and they found themselves looking out over a wide glacier.

"I don't think we can go around..." Tiercel said, sounding concerned. "But surely we can't give up so soon?"

"We're not giving up!" Neve replied with confidence. "I think I can see a way across!"

Trace a path from Neve and Tiercel to the other side of the glacier, while avoiding any dangers and obstacles.

Scene 4: Charting Bearings

With the glacier behind them, the duo felt confident of reaching Mt Toppen. But there were still miles to go and Strynhalde was not so easy to conquer as that! After a couple of days hiking and camping, the weather turned bad. Very bad.

The snow began to fall, heavier and heavier. Soon neither of them could even see their paws in front of their faces, let alone the map!

Neve grabbed Tiercel's paw tightly so they wouldn't be separated and together they hurried as fast as they could to find shelter. It felt like they stumbled on blindly for ages until they practically bumped into a snow-covered mound.

"Quick!" Neve shouted. "I can feel an opening in the snow here, hopefully it's a cavity deep enough to protect us from the wind."

They dived in and although the cave wasn't very deep at all, it was enough to shield them. They huddled together in it and waited for the blizzard to pass…

It took until the next morning for the weather to calm down. But as the pair dug themselves out of the snow and looked around, they realised they had no idea where they were or if they were still on the right path.

"Wait here." Neve told the kittom. "I'll climb to the top of this mound and use the compass to get our bearings!"

Luckily the mound had a gentle smooth shape, not like some of the jagged spires she'd seen, and she was able to get to the top easily enough. Once there she took out her compass and looked at the view all around her.

Use the views in each direction to pinpoint where the pair are on the map.

Scene 5: The Summit

With their location now known, the pair could set off again, assured they were headed in the right direction. After a few hours they were rewarded with the sight of Mt Toppen looming up before them.

The sharp icy peak glinted in the sunlight, as if made of crystal instead of stone and ice. Tiercel gasped in awe. "It's incredible!"

"And the view at the top is reputed to be even more spectacular!" Neve assured him.

The climb wasn't too steep at first, but soon they had to get out their rope and hiking poles to help steady themselves. Pebbles slipped under Tiercel's paws and he gasped as he steadied himself. But it wasn't just falling that had him worried. Had he heard a growl amongst the whistling winds? It made him think back to what he had read in the journal... the abominable snownin...

"Come on Tiercel! We're nearly there!" Neve called, interrupting his thoughts.

They pushed onwards and upwards, clinging to the side of the mountain. It took hours but at last they reached the top.

This time Tiercel couldn't think of what to say as he looked out at the landscape before them.

"It's like being on top of the world, isn't it?" Said Neve, standing beside him. "The journal was never finished so I don't know if my great uncle made it here."

"I think he must have." Tiercel declared. "Up here you can see out forever. I bet he saw his next adventure over the horizon and that's where he went next."

The other elnin smiled at him. "Yes, I think he must have. Maybe you'll see your next adventure too."

Can you find any proof Neve’s great uncle made it to the top?

Clues Revealed

Puzzle 1:
Check all the items for one of the code symbols, then follow the instructions written in Eyre script.

Puzzle 2:
Check the room carefully. Not all the items are in their correct spot on the shelves.

Puzzle 3:
Just use your eyes and watch out for thin ice!

Puzzle 4:
Try matching the landmarks when looking North, South, East and West with the symbols on the map.

Puzzle 5:
Just need a keen eye and good memory for this one.

Puzzle Answers Revealed - December 9th, 2025

Puzzle 1 Answer: Translated text helps provide instructions on how to translate the second page.

Puzzle 2 Answer: Translated text helps to number how many items to circle of each type.

Puzzle 3 Answer: Translated text helps identify hazards to find a safe path through the maze.

Puzzle 4 Answer: Using the compass helps to identify which mound top the elnin are on.

Puzzle 5 Answer: Finding the hidden signature from the first puzzle's coded journal at the mountain peak.

• Please specify if you've like an MYO or an upgrade, and if you'd like an upgrade then please link which elnin you'd like to give the upgrade to be given to.
• If you've won a subtype prize then please specify which subtype you'd like to redeem on your MYO/Upgrade as that will be necessary upon prize delivery.
• Subtype tail types are necessary to create the slot but you can change it later before finalizing the design.
• You may include the which spooky mutation you'd like to redeem as well as the common, uncommon and rare mutation but if you're uncertain then you may wait to decide and the details will be added to the notes page.

The mutation prizes will be delivered automatically to the elnin that was linked in the Google form. You'll be able to find them under the notes section of that elnin when we've finished delivering them all. c:

Reminder: All prizes have a cooldown. For the details of those and any other details of the prizes then please refer back to this post. Thank you so much for taking part in our event.

Now without any more delay! The raffle winners for the Feyhallow 2025 Tundra Tribulations Raffle are...

Noble Subtype MYO / Upgrade
insyndiar

Adventurer Subtype MYO / Upgrade
Daffupanda
renga
Shanyume

Kittom Subtype MYO / Upgrade
Blood
Sacchim
Llew

Adventurer Standard MYO / Upgrade
Knife
G-G-G-Ghost
Snugglymoon

Kittom Standard MYO / Upgrade
Najishio
ceruleansblues
MewWolf

Spooky Mutation (Low Luck Only)
Sharky
DarkfireVengeance
osteoh
Angelos
alilv
BlackMajixCat
Afrielzi
Nerixyu
Rainywren

Spooky Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only)
nyamomask
wintry-chan
Keilin
wolllollie
LeechiPeachy
Kloana
ForonGur

Spooky Mutation (Any Elnin)
Becci
ceryskies
Katsuki
asakari
Dearryufur
Wila

Limited Mutation (Bonded Elnin Only)
LadyPipen
Malis
strabi
jennie
Mewwsic
SYLSYL12

Limited Mutation (Any Elnin)
night-class
whimsicalblue
Alibastar
shadonut
Triggwolf
xqtte
Chickolates
blankshi
quicktal0n
Guilyn

Exotic Mutation
northfarer
Starbask
CandyChameleon
Mocha-Miel
plumendra
LizzyJun
missdevichi
bisflorescentia

Rare Mutation
emacodo
jahpan

The rolling took place in our Discord in the #games_and_raffles channel today!

Thank you everyone for participating! We hope you bring you more events soon in the future! <3

Holiday Modcation

The holidays are upon us. This time of year, hopefully many group members are getting a bit of a break, and that includes the moderators. Expect to see group functions halt on all fronts during this Holiday window. If moderators wish to work during modcation there may be some movement, but nothing is being required of the team during this time, so expect most things to not start happening again until mid January! Late January through February will be reserved for a few priority items.

• December 21st-23rd: (Wind down period.)The Moderator staff will be focusing on getting feedback out for non-quest items submitted to some general queues (normal prompts/fully paid design approvals) dated December 20th or older. Ideally if any edits are needed to prompts, we'll get feedback out for those and we'll address things that are resubmitted after Modcation is over. We'll be attempting to get any design approvals feedback out to paid submissions queued before December 20th. This is not a guarantee, but just know things submitted after December 20th or unpaid submissions will continue to be low priority and may or may not receive a response before the break. We'll make a good faith effort here to get feedback out for all submissions, even the unpaid ones, but it is worth noting that there's a few things in our queue with questions from the team that they need confirmation on from Manaberri, so if your submission does not get feedback before the 23rd it might be one of those.
• December 24th, 2025-January 17th, 2026: (Modcation) Moderators will not be expected to work during this time frame. Users can still submit prompts and design approvals, etc. but please do not ask about turnaround times during this window as well. Staff may choose to work if they desire, but it won't be a required thing. We want to make sure the whole team has the space to take a break during this period.
• January 18th-31st: (Wind up period.) All moderators will be slowly coming back. Responses may be slow during this time period but we'll be looking to get back to things at a more regular pace after these initial weeks.
• January 18th-February 28th: (Special Quest Priority Window) Prompt moderator staff will be asked to put priority specifically on Special Quests with claims submitted for the year 2025.
  • For more info on time sensitivity for Special Quests, see the question "My act or claim was soft-rejected! Do I have to have the changes completed within a specified time frame?" in the questing FAQ section.
  • Due to modcation being announced with short notice, we are extending the follow up time for 2025 Special Quest claims to go until February 28th, 11:59pm PST time.
    • This means Special Quest claims for 2025 must be submitted in 2025, but the team will follow up on these starting January 18th. During this time we will aim to get feedback out to group members in advance of February 28th. Any requested quest act edits must be resubmitted with enough time to be fully reviewed and marked complete by the end of February 2026.

We know the wind down and wind up periods make this time seem longer, but moderators will still be working through this period. Just expect that the team may be working through a flood of submissions prior to and after modcation. Please be patient with us, thank you!

Annual Questing Cleanup

In January and February 2026, we'll be looking at handling a lot of questing submissions specifically from the year 2025. January will be focused on addressing special questing submissions, with claims. February 2026 will be spent addressing older questing acts that did not have any claim submitted in 2025 or wasn't being actively worked through in January of 2026.

An important note about older quest acts without claims:

Last year (2024) we noticed an increasingly long list of quest acts submitted without claims. In order to process the acts for a certain quest someone is pursuing, we need a claim submitted to indicate when all of the acts are fully done. Unfortunately, this makes our list of prompts and acts in the back end of the site appear much larger than it is. This list is thankfully a lot shorter this year (2025), but the team would still like to see our queue of prompts and acts reflect more closely to where they are currently sitting around the start of next year (2026).

Starting January 18th, 2026 we'll plan to do an annual clean up for submitted quest acts that are from 2025 that do not have claims actively being worked through in the last month or so (Nov-Dec of 2025). This means, for quest acts submitted without a claim that are much older (months generally without a claim submitted), we will check 2 things and that will determine what we do with the submitted act:

1. If the character featured in a given act no longer belongs to the submitter, we will hard reject the act.
2. If the character featured in a given act belongs to the submitted still, we will soft reject the act with a "cooldown" of 365 days to just bump a reminder that acts need a claim submitted for us to review them. If the act is not resubmitted within that 365 day window it will be hard rejected.

Keep in mind that in both of these cases, you can still resubmit a hard or soft rejected act that was part of an unfinished quest at any time. A hard reject or soft reject does not mean that you can never submit an unfinished quest again. It just might mean resubmitting the acts closer together and submitting the appropriate claim so we know to review them! There will be a generic message to indicate if your quest act has been in the queue too long without a related quest claim submitted.

As mentioned earlier in 2025, this annual cleanup will likely take place in early January in future years as well. We recommend that if anyone has quest acts submitted without claims that are older than 2 months and you want to see them reviewed, be sure to submit a claim before the end of December. Once January starts to hit, during that month, quest acts in the queue from September or older will be either hard or soft rejected depending on the status of the elnin attached to the quest act.

Thank you for your patience with us on this! We just feel some amount of cleanup in this space annually would help us out in getting a clearer view of how much we need to review within a given month.

Era Shifting 2026

We're officially in 2026 and have been discussing another era shift within the group that we hope to get out some time in 2026 details pending. The last era shift was back in 2019, so it has been quite a while!

Here is a bit of flavor text from the last era shift from Dawn Era to Crystal Era years ago:

Elnins have always been odd creatures, prone to spontaneous bouts of evolution across their entire species every so often. They've come to mark these leaps of change as the beginning of a new era for their kind. The most recent era of elnins was named the Dawn Era, after the appearance of the Harbinger of Dawn several centuries past. Dawn was a period of new beginnings, people reaching toward the heavens with their hopes and dreams held up in their palms to catch the rising light. Or so elnin spiritualists like to say.

Over the last year or so, there have been inklings that a new era was swiftly approaching. Elnins describe it like a tickle at the back of your neck, or a song that you can't quite remember floating around in your head trying to take shape. Just a feeling of something vying quietly for your attention. The ever increasing appearances of new traits and mutations popping up randomly was also very telling.

And as the new year turns over, so too do we see that the next era of elnins is truly upon us. The Crystal Era. A time for ideas and goals to solidify, and for the thorns and bristles of confusion and uncertainty to be scoured away until all that's left is a smooth, clear surface overlaying a million refracted shards of possibility shining in crystal clarity. Or so the spiritualists are saying now. Who knows really, those priests are quite fond of their fermented berries.

Nonetheless, the Harbinger of Crystal has indeed set down its blessed toebeans upon the earth of Eyre, and now begins its journey across the realms to proclaim the advent of the Crystal Era to all its elnin brethren.

So what is an era shift exactly?

The changing of eras generally marks a huge 'update' to elnins that happens every so often. Usually these updates come in the form of changes to certain traits/mutations or shifts in lore.

Lorewise, elnin physiology can be a bit capricious. In fact, the entire race is prone to evolve all at once every couple centuries. Occasionally, this happens in response to some big change on the horizon, such as when elnins obtained the Knight ability to transform their pomus into weapons to be more effective against a rising tide of monsters creeping out of Vahl D'sari, but just as often it happens with no discernible reason. Historically, elnins have had quite a few different eras over the lifespan of Eyre.  This upcoming era shift will just be the next era in the chain!

The two most recent eras were the Dawn Era (ending around the end of 2018) and the Crystal Era (2019-2025 roughly dipping into 2026 a bit). The next era will be revealed in time.

What does this mean for the group?

Not much immediately! We mostly wanted to give a small update that Mana and the team are working through some thoughts on various aspects of the group. Until things are a little more solidified, things in the group will continue as usual and we'll be continuing with the current trait guidelines until the shift happens. This is the plan barring a few things we would like to soft release in good faith that group members will work with us a bit as we try to relax a few aspects of the group a little sooner.

A Few Soft Release Updates

Currently there are exactly 2 updates we were planning for the next era shift but we're going to try to release these adjustments a touch early.

The soft release updates are in the following areas:

1. Kittom tails will be getting a slight allowance to be a bit bigger. Kittom tails can now be up to the same size as a kittom's body or smaller. There may be some wiggle room for specific tail styles that are likely to need more detail to their silhouettes (like shoal, grove, overwild styles) but we shouldn't be seeing anything larger than a body-length and a half even on more elaborate styles.
   • Historically, most kittom tails we've asked be roughly a half a body length or shorter, barring a few styles (shoal, grove, etc.) where capturing silhouette details on tails that small could be challenging and we looked mostly for the tail base (non-fluff portions) to be closer to that half-body size mark where fluff might push things a little larger than half a body size but not much.
   • A lot of the struggle in this space has been with kittoms appearing more like adult elnin proportion-wise. Kittom tails historically have been kept very small to avoid the impression kittoms have any MP in that space to give them more length than they should have as they haven't become adult elnin yet.
   • This is a kittom only change. So 0MP adult elnin tails must still be roughly half of the adult body length. Think of it kind of like how real life feline kittens sometimes have terribly large ears and by the time they're adults they've usually "grown into them" and their ears look more proportionate.
2. Hair, ear fluff, fluff mutations, and tail style fur texture allowances are being opened up a little more to allow some swirls to occur in these spaces even when a welkin tail is not present.
   • Historically swirls appearing on the body has been aligned with the welkin tail trait as sort of a defining feature. People might have noticed in the early years of elnin roughly 2015-2019 before and in the months around the era shift things were a bit more relaxed on this front.
   • Over the years, the team had grown concerned that by allowing swirls (a more welkin-tail style feature) on other tails there would be conflicts with what people interpreted as "hybrid" (now called Overwild Furred) tail styles. There has also been a worry that other tail styles (like 1MP warren) might start to emulate higher MP tails like Welkin tails if surrounding fluff or tail fluff included swirls. To avoid stepping on toes, this space has grown increasingly strict out of concern folks who have sunk time into these more costly tail styles would be upset with the team for not drawing clearer boundaries.
   • Swirls are now allowed in fluff mutation areas, hair, ear fluff. We are also allowing swirls in tail fur as well, as long as the original tail style silhouettes are clear and being adhered to. This does mean we should not see any warren tails reading as cloudy Welkin tails. We also should not see tail silhouettes becoming obscured in obtuse ways. (For example, lagoon tails should not become unidentifiable because the longer strands swirl upward beyond recognition. This is why we're saying "some" swirls. Keep in mind too that fur/fluff needs length to be able to swirl, so it should be very very subdued in any sort of thick/short fur length tail styles if anyone is wanting to throw swirls into those spaces. If we see anything too wild and unrecognizable, we will ask for adjustments still, but swirls will no longer be outright disallowed from appearing in masterlist art without a welkin tail present.
   • In the future, we are exploring a way to make welkin tails stand out a bit more with their primary swirl feature being adopted as more of a hair/fluff texture option to a point. This is not a guarantee, but if any additions to the welkin tail style are made to help it stand out more, those additional features will be optional and not requiring an art change. Any potential changes to Welkin tails will likely turn up alongside the era shift if we find something that makes sense as a part of that tail style.

For now these are the only two things we're soft launching a bit early. More changes will come as a part of the era shift itself.