Site News

Welcome, campers!

Our annual festivities took a turn this year when the Merfauns arrived. Seeing so many Faunids in one place– appreciating and learning about the world around them– encouraged Merfauns to come out of deeper waters to ask for help. 

The meteor’s crash early this year has impacted ecosystems all across Atalav, especially the waters. Shifting tides, flash floods, unearthed water flows along rocky cliffs, changes in the behavior of wildlife, and even more forces unknown… All of that chaos has left Merfauns and other species alike displaced from the places they once called home. 

Come help by participating in our challenges to win some Pebbles to spend in the shop! 

This news post will be updated with a site notification for each new activity as they open throughout the month. More in-depth information to help users.

The Event Hub page is now live, and accessible through the dropdown menu for easy access! 
Rules and Guides -> Summer Camp Guide

[Summer Camp Event Hub]

How summer camp works

  Summer Camp lasts about one month. In that month, you will be able to enter prompts/activities with a Faunid and interact with dailies.
Once a prompt is open, it stays open for the rest of the event. With each prompt submission, you will receive Pebbles, which are a currency exclusive to this event that can be spent in the Summer Camp shop.

For every prompt that requires a creative submission, you can turn in traditional and digital artwork, handmade crafts, or writing. Not every prompt will require you to make something to participate. 

We will also have raffle adoptables for this month that you can enter for by participating in all the prompts!
They will be revealed at the mid-month mark. This year, we have some guest artists making adopts, too! 

Guidelines

You do not need to own the Faunid you use for prompts, but you must have permission from the owner. 

All creatives made during this event must be made by the submitter. Collaborations are allowed but only count toward a single user, not all collaborators.

Pebbles (Event exclusive currency) cannot be sent to other users.
Items gained through Pebbles or activities can be traded to other users. 

event updates for 2026

Coding Updates

Our Coder, areallifeonion,  has been working on a few things that are relevant for us this season.

Trophies 

Our goal for individual user pages is for Trophies, achievements, and other seasonal account-bound awards to display on user pages in their own showcase separate from other items. The Lorekeeper extension we need to do that is currently being cleaned up for conflicts in our code and will then be tested for public release. For now, Trophies are their own item category above all others, so if you gain any, they will still be visible on your profile!

Companions 

Testing is in progress on the ‘Pets’ extension to get it to the point where staff can access settings and the code works as intended across the site. Until that's up and running to our standards, our solution was to create a new masterlist for Companions. One of the prompts this year will allow users to create Companions that can be uploaded to the site as real characters. Having those companions already uploaded will give us a great pool of initial Companions to test with so that we can then open to those who want pre-existing companions uploaded.
Companions have their own masterlist, so they won't clutter the masterlist for Faunids.

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Participation Badges

Participation Badges will be granted for participating in activities during the event!
They are stored separately from other items and are bound to user accounts.

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Friend Referrals 

If you refer a friend to join Faunids and they participate in the event, both the new user and the one who referred them will receive an extra 10 Pebbles when submitting their first Prompt during Summer Camp. If you choose to enter the raffle for the adopts, both of you can also request one additional raffle ticket. 

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Event Shop

Click the banner above to be directed to the store, or access it through Explore -> Site Shops.

All items that can be purchased this year are stocked in the event shop. 

There is a new item this year:

Trait Replacer [Standard]

This item allows the removal and addition of a standard trait to a Faunid with a single item. 
It can be used to edit your existing reference or can be applied alongside a re-reference token.

This item costs 20 Pebbles to purchase, which is less than a Trait Removal and Trait Applicator combined. 
It will be available for purchase with Barters after the event shop closes. 

Item Stock

There are not limited amounts of any item for the entire community, but Trait Applicator [Exclusive] and Trait Applicator [Mutation] are limited to one per user for the year. However, as with any other item, they are tradable amongst users if one is purchased. 

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Camp Counselors

You'll find that a few friendly faces have some things to say in the Event Hub as the event progresses. 

Eekel

Eekel is a deep-sea Merfaun who often surfaces near anchored boats to trade with the Faunids on land. After the meteor landed, he took a chunk of it off and traded it to another Faunid. Eventually, that chunk passed hands until it made its way to a few strange occultists who seemed to have a plan in mind for it...

But that thing is long gone! Eekel's reached out on behalf of his Merfaun friends to join up with the campers this year. 

The Amnesiac

The Amnesiac is a strange little thing who introduced themself and their Hooflet companion to Faunids not long after the meteor landed. They quickly fit right in with other Faunids, and have devoted their life to learn everything they can about being a Faunid! They were present during Fawning Season this year as the Strange Baubles shopkeeper. They asked if they could help out the campers this year, and have quickly become acquainted with the Merfauns as well!

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New Activities 

Aside from the Camper Application prompt, as well as a prompt with similar coloring requirements as last year's bugs, all of the other prompts are new. 

The new daily will allow users to obtain items for the event that can be traded with other users and turned in with the final prompt to receive rewards. 
When turned in, each item will net a user with 1 Pebble. Ten of them together can be used to redeem a different prize. 

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To access activity prompts, you'll find them them through Explore -> Prompts or by clicking direct links on the news post or Event Hub.

Prompt #1: Camp Application

If you want to participate in our camp, we should to get to know you first!
This prompt awards 10 Pebbles and the New Camper participation badge. 

Please read all instructions on the prompt by clicking the button above! 

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Daily Activity: Go Fishing!

Thanks to your participation, campers, we were able to rebuild some of our docks!

This event's daily is Fishing. You'll be able to fish once a day for the rest of the event. Who knows what you might hook! If you're lucky, you might even find some treasure. One of the items you can reel in is our first item that can be opened.
When opened from your inventory, you have a chance to receive up to two fishing items and 1 Pebble. Good luck!

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Prompt #2: Shelter a companion

We've collected quite a few baubles and trinkets while fishing. Not only are we cleaning up the coasts and rivers, we're also catching some things that could be quite useful for our displaced companion species!

Color one of the new companion bases or write about an experience with companions for this activity. 

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prompt #3: OPENS JULY 26th

See more soon! 

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prompt #4: August 2nd

See more soon!

This newsletter will give timeline information  for the upcoming Summer Camp Event and its corresponding raffles and activities!

The purpose of these newsletters is to keep our community informed about site updates, upcoming events, official artist commission openings, new user guides, highlight different bits and pieces of our species, and build on community engagement. The content of these newsletters will vary by month.

To sign up for a Faunids account, message a moderator for an invite code. Once you have that, you can register on the sign-up page.

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Charity Auction Funds

Through the two auction Faunids we had last month, we were able to split the funds evenly between two environmental conservation organizations in North America: The Triangle Land Conservacy and Grand Prairie Friends! Both donations were given in the name of the Faunids Art Community. 

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Character Appreciation

We want to appreciate all the hard work that goes into turning designs into full-fledged characters.

As part of the Newsletter, we choose community members with well-loved Faunids to tell us a bit more about them! This month, we wanted to interview a couple of Fawnids about their upcoming plans for the Summer Camp that’s swiftly approaching!

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Our first Faunid is Atticus, who is owned by Hana_Sh4rk!

What is your Faun most excited for at summer camp?

He is most excited to go bird watching for his art journal!

What are they taking with them to summer camp?

He is taking his beloved stuffed pigeon Douglas with him.

Who will they miss most (if any being) while they are at summer camp?

He will miss his flock of crows he befriended the most while away at camp.

Is your Faun hoping to make new friends while at camp?

He is hoping to make some friends with the birds! MAYBE another faun who loves birds just as much as him.

Our second Faunid is Daphne, who is owned by Fluff! 
 

 What is your Faun most excited for at summer camp? 

Oh well I’d love to explore and study the fauna in the area!! I heard that a lot of cool things show up around there and that it’s a really interesting event.

Maybe if some storms showed up around there, who knows? Maybe me and a couple of other fauns could..I don’t know.. sneak out to study them as well. 

What are they taking with them to summer camp?

I neeeeed to take all of my golden beetles for trading of course!! Very important you know. Hmmm, also probably my companion.. She’s a terradae so hopefully other fauns aren’t too intimidated by her.

Who will they miss most (if any being) while they are at summer camp? 

I would say my friends but I’ll be dragging them aaaallll with me so I’ll be good!

Is your Faun hoping to make new friends while at camp?

Oh totally yea! I would love to meet fauns who share my interest to be honest, like I said, if I can find some to go out into a storm with me that’d be awesome!!!

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Fawning Event Progress

Fawning is well past halfway over! As of writing this newsletter, we only have a little more than twenty Fawnids left to release. We’ll do a larger recap once everything has been released and we’re officially done with the event, but we want to give a huge thank-you and well of gratitude for everyone who participated this year! 

If you have any feedback about the how things went this year, please reach out to a moderator so we can log suggestions (and compliments!) for next year!

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Website updates

Our coder was able to fix our recurring issue where new item categories could not be created, leading to errors when uploading new items or trying to create groups of similar items. This fix allowed us to test a few different functions that we had been wanting to release alongside Summer Camp, and everything seems to be working exactly as it should! 

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new Companion species

We have not one, but two new companion species to unveil! Cacklers and Piksies have joined the ranks of fauna found on Atalav, filling niches as scavengers and pollinators with their own strange little quirks. Just like all companion species, Cacklers and Piksies are open species, and you can add them as companions for official references, and draw and create with them as you'd like. Click their icons to see their respective biographies.

Art for Cacklers was drawn by NotSo0FFset, with writing and editing by MUTT and kojoty.

Art for Piksies was drawn by L0sw, with writing and editing by L0sw, MUTT, and kojoty.

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Art Challenge

Due to the festivities of the Summer Camp event, there will be no Art Challenge for July. 

There is still about a week left to submit your work to June's Art Challenge! The deadline was extended this month due to its late start. 

Our prompt this month is:

[Showcase your Pride!]

How does your Faunid express their pride? For this challenge, our tradition has usually been to challenge yourself by drawing your Faunid with a limited palette (a pride flag). That would still meet the requirements of this year's June prompt. But writers, crafters, and illustrators alike are free to interpret this prompt in different ways. 

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Summer Camp 2026

Summer Camp will start on July 5th, with new activities opening each week. More detailed information, an event guide, as well as the event hub will come once the event starts! Here's a sneak peek at some features this year: 

• All of the purchasable items will be viewable when the shop opens. Pebbles kept from last year carry over to this year. Some items have a restriction on how many each user can purchase during the event, but will not have limited stock. There is no rush to be the first to purchase an item, the shop is open until the event ends. We will remind everyone to purchase the items they want before it closes for the year! 
• There will be a handful of raffle adopts as part of the event, featuring some Merfauns and other types of Faunids. 
• A mini-storyline will introduce and cap off the event.
• A new interactive daily will open in the second week, containing its own pool of items (which are tradable). 
• End-of-event ‘item recycling’ where you can turn unwanted items from dailies into other rewards.
• New free-to-use companion linearts for various companion species will be available year-round, but have a unique additional use during the event.
• A new item purchasable through the shop that combines the Trait Removal and Trait Applicator items into a single use item. 
• Participation Badges will be granted for doing various activities during the event and stored as their own ‘trophy’ category visible on your account!

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Monthly Question

Are there any companion species you've included in the lore for your Faunids? 

Post your answer in the comments to get currency.

The currency reward window closes 7 days after the news is posted.

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It’s been a really busy two months! This newsletter will combine April and May announcements, and gives an update to an upcoming duo adopt, site updates, new companion updates, Fawning, and Wild Trait updates.

The purpose of these newsletters is to keep our community informed about site updates, upcoming events, official artist commission openings, new user guides, highlight different bits and pieces of our species, and build on community engagement. The content of these newsletters will vary by month.

To sign up for a Faunids account, message a moderator for an invite code. Once you have that, you can register on the sign-up page.

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Support for a Community Member

Please consider donating to the GoFundMe for one of our treasured longtime community members, c0rvld19, as they build the foundations for a new living situation for them and their partner as they start their lives together! Any donations would be a tremendous support for them in their new journey! 

[Donate here]

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Supplemental Artist Announcement

Please welcome L0sw as our newest Staff Member! They will be a Supplemental Artist. This means they’ll assist in site assets, adopts, event artwork, companion artwork and lore development assets. Soundwave is the mastermind behind several of the April Mule's day assets, including the mini-event banner, Roach's mischief, and trophies. They also made the Fawning item event shop banner! 

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Character Appreciation

We want to appreciate all the hard work that goes into turning designs into full-fledged characters.

As part of the Newsletter, we choose community members with well-loved Faunids to tell us a bit more about them! 

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Our first Faunid is Enzo, who is owned by Guava! 

What labor/craft does your Faun do? 

“I see beauty beyond the death of any individual, I do not believe that memories should fade and be forgotten as their flesh and skin give away, bones can hold as many stories to tell as lips and the mind can, so I preserve them, turn them into something beautiful like it was always meant to be.”

She loves making jewelry out of any kind of bone, not just jewelry but she likes mixing them along with clothing and just anything wearable, taxidermy is also something she’s big into but the bones are where it is at!

What brought them into this field? 

“My dear mother Puvu, she inspired me since I was young with her hand crafting, always a believer of bringing the confidence that others needed to feel comfortable in their own skin… I support the ideal, and believe you can be capable of feeling comfortable beyond your skin.” 

She took it from her mama Puvu since she does jewelry herself but ofc she didn’t went with the route of metals and stuff, she just thinks they’re neat and wanted to be special <3

Does this craft bring them joy, or is it just something to pay the (nonexistent) bills of Atalav? 

“Whether I am compensated for my effort or not, it matters little to me, what I do is a craft of the mind, a showcase to be exemplary in regards of the stigma death brings to many individuals in our land, I do not believe she is cruel or ugly, I believe we should embrace her in her rotting glory.” 

She does it for the game LMAO If someone is willing to pay ofc she won’t say no she has a family to provide for, but she gets assistance from her parents or she has smaller side gigs that she does along with them for that, she genuinely sees this as a form of art and entertainment so even if no one ever paid her for it she wouldn’t stop regardless 

Is this their dream hobby/craft, or is there another specialty they'd like to do? 

“I have been unfortunately incapable of having the same spark and passion for other crafts as I have for my current hobby, I know others have their own calling to them and I respect it, very few individuals feel the comfort or have the “bravery” to take on the work that I do and I am completely ok with that, of course the more the merrier.” 

Naaaaaaah, like it was said she does some side work with her parents but it’s more for money or to help them out, nothing that she is big about So yes this is her dream since she was a little baby <3 

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Our second Faunid is Luka, who is  owned by DarotheWolf!
 

What labor/craft does your Faun do? 

“I’m, uh, a miner. I go down underground and I come back out with gold or iron.. The metals we need for tools and for jewelry.”

What brought them into this field? 

“My dad was a miner. I started following him into the mines when I was young. I guess I’ve been doing it my whole life.”

Does this craft bring them joy, or is it just something to pay the (nonexistent) bills of Atalav? 

“I do like the work. It’s hard work. It dirty. But I like being underground. And not much is better than striking gold.”

Is this their dream hobby/craft, or is there another specialty they'd like to do?

“I haven’t really thought about my dreams. This is what I do. It’s what I’ve always done. I don’t know what else I would do if not this.” 

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Companion Species Updates

We have been making steady progress on various additional companion creatures to enrich the world of Atalav. Here are a few updates on some of them: 

Cacklers will be released next. Their artwork is now finished, which was illustrated by NotSo0FFset! 
Their species description is being worked on and should be finalized this month.

Bolters have an additional behavior illustration set coming, illustrated by Necrologia.

Piksies are in development, with artwork and character design led by L0sw.

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Priorities to follow these three are:

Stagwagons

Vulpetals (fox-like creatures who have a symbiotic relationship with Piksies, who often pollinate their flowers.
(Shout out to Zorkia, who may be especially jazzed about this news!)

As-of-unyet-named Merfaun companion species, which will be an interpretation of the existing gray wolf subspecies, the Vancouver Coastal sea wolf! 

Gnarlugas, which were revealed with the first Minodae/Merfaun Hybrid. Here is the description that came with them: 
The gnarluga is a marine mammal very rarely found within Arctic waters off the northernmost coasts of Atalav.
Post-Blissen elements in the natural world created the conditions for a new branch of evolution from what were once only two living members of the Monodontidae family in our time (narwhals and beluga whales). The gnarluga is particularly distinct for the specific way its teeth grow from its skull, winding up together like gnarled roots to become visually one horn. With Minodae coming into more frequent contact with Merfauns and Faunids alike, hybrid Minodae adapt without sacrificing their ability to withstand freezing climates.

...and possibly another mount; stay tuned! 

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Upcoming Auction Duo

Two April and May themed auction Faunids will be announced this week, designed by guest artist Sh3Draws. 
Proceeds from both Auctions will be split between the designer and two different plant/biome conservation organizations!
Here's a sneak peek:

These will both be released this Tuesday, May 19th!

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Site Updates

The image cropper is still broken! We are actively looking into fixing it, but that means that for the time being, all thumbnails are being created manually so that this doesn't affect users. If you notice an issue with any of the thumbnails, feel free to ping Michael (@sekwoja) in the #website-chatter channel in the discord or message him directly and he’ll fix it up as soon as he can. 

Invalid/Forgotten Faunids are no longer active on the site. This was done for multiple reasons, including to preserve the anonymity of the original owners who are no longer in the species, as well as to avoid confusion about what is and isn’t actively a Faunid and protect the individual character designs that have been requested by owners to never be eligible for reinstatement. If you happen to come across a Forgotten you want to go through the reinstatement process with and you’re not seeing it on the website, don’t fret– we can still conduct a case-by-case investigation to reinstate the Forgotten Faun, and we are still preserving an archival record of the Forgotten Fauns.

Have a Faun-To-Fawn from a previous year that isn’t on the Archive? Message Michael (@sekwoja on discord) with the FtF that is missing and we will get it on that character’s page and add the FtF to its total official archival worth! 

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Fawning-related Updates

So far, this has been a very successful season for Fawning! We are over ⅓ of the way through the Fawning queue at the time of writing this newsletter. Exciting!

The updated system for Herne’s Grace, where the commissioner can indicate a color to direct the design, seems to be a net positive for both users and artists. We will continue this in future Fawning seasons!

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Wild Traits

This is the list of Wild Traits that were not rolled this Fawning season. While they won’t be made into Standard/Exclusive traits (Wild Traits are their own category!), we as a team will make sure to keep factors in mind for upcoming adopts to increase the possibility of these traits for next year’s Fawning season. 

Chameleon Tail
Crown Feathers
Phalene Ears
Royal Crest

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Lifesource Aspects

This year, every Fawn had a rare chance of being born with a Lifesource Aspect. There are twelve Aspects, all representing different ways that Herne's essence, a Faunid's life path, and Lifesource interact within the souls of Faunidkind.

They are noted separately, like Mutations, and are non-passable. In Faunids lore, these aspects can fade with age but do not always, so it is up to the owner whether these aspects stay into adulthood. Some Fawns may have residual marks on their souls from past lives, whereas others may have had strange experiences early on in life that led to Lifesource presenting itself on their physical bodies. Why there are twelve is yet to be known or understood by those on Atalav; they are not inherently tied to specific elements, and are something else entirely. 

This Fawning Season, the spirits are abnormally restless in the weeks following the meteor's crash into the deep ocean, and more and more stories of unusual Fawns touched by Lifesource are traveling through Atalav. 

This is a list of the known Lifesource Aspects so far: 
Exploration - Blessing - Loss - Devotion - Wrath - Grace

 

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April Mule’s Recap

Thank you all for a successful run of our first April Mule’s mini-event!
This was a lot of fun to roll out for everyone, and it seems everyone had a great time collecting and spinning April’s wheel.

There was a lot of interest in trophies being earned through events. While it was a thought that occurred after the event began, now we know that, in the future, this is something the community may be interested in! For future events, we will try to integrate trophies/collectables to celebrate and encourage participation. 

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Art Challenges

The winners for March's Art Challenge were: 
20 Barters - msmydeer
20 Barters - Zorkia
30 Barters - HatoKnight

And the winners for April's Art Challenge were: 
20 Barters - L0sw
20 Barters - twentynyne
30 Barters - MothDad
Headshot by L0sw - Fluff
Faun-to-Fawn of choice by MUTT - FatalChimera
Character bust by DarotheWolf - @Gauva

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You have about two weeks left to submit May's Art Challenge prompt: 

[Spring Blooms!]

Find a flower that represents a Faunid (whether that's because of the colors, the flower's behavior, floriography, etc.) and showcase them both together. Maybe your Faunid found these flowers in their travels and collected them. Maybe your Faun just received a bouquet. Or, maybe they simply stopped to admire them during their daily travels.

Feel free to draw from real life for this primpt. Take notice of the world around you the next time you go outside and see what's blooming!

Remember that in order to enter for this prompt, you must submit your entry into the art challenge gallery and submit a prompt.

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Monthly Question

For the upcoming Summer Camp Event, would you prefer Semi-MYO Merfaun adopts (like last year's bugs), or pre-made adopts with a matching theme?  

RESPONDING TO THIS MONTH’S NEWSLETTER WILL GRANT 15 BARTERS TO COMBINE APRIL/MAY + DELAY!

Have you heard the news?

April, the "Mule" deer "Faunid", has arrived to Atalav ahead of schedule! That's how you know she's legit. She's not a joke. She's real, and she is a Faunid, and she is NOT for sale.

Her favorite holiday, which is also your favorite holiday, is called April Mule's Day!

This is because it's her day.

Luckily, April is a benevolent FAUNID, and has decided to share joy with all the rest of the FAUNIDS on Atalav. When April's around, the party's in town. She won't tell you why, but when she's here, strange things tend to happen.

Keep an eye out for some... unusual, but completely pleasant, surprises around our website.

April loves spending her day with FAUNIDS so much that she's decided to stick around for a whole WEEK. We are so happy about this. All of us.
And she's not just here to sit around. No, no, she also brought some presents for us this year!

How exciting, we all say at the same exact time!

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Spin the "Mule" Deer

From today until April 8th, YOU (that's you) can ask April to give you a little twirl. It's very beautiful, we all say at the same exact time again.
April has a whole smorgasbord of FABULOUS treats for us. She hopes you enjoy each and every one of them!

Please be careful not to ask her to twirl too much, or she'll get sick. Once a day is fine, though.

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...but that's this?

April brought us another friend!

This FAUNID shares her joyful and exuberant love of hijinks and games. This punchy little fella is in charge at this playground.
With their tail, they don't just hold objects, they can juggle! Heck, they're even the reigning champ of dodge ball in their multicolored kingdom!

KING SILLY PLAYTIME

This Auction Faunid was drawn and designed by MUTT and L0sw, allegedly, but both of them would say that our wonderful KSP just sprung to life on their own. This auction ends Wednesday, April 8th at 8:00PM CST. You may place bids in either the official Sales post on-site, or the #auction-bids channel on Discord.

Official Sales Post

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April hopes you enjoy your favorite holiday. She really did work hard to make it special this year.
Make sure to thank April if you see her (and make sure you mean it)! 

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Once granted, all/any of April's Treat(s)(TM)(C)  are non-refundable but highly tradable. They have no montary value because money doesn't exist in the Faunids universe.  You are free to discard them if you wish but April (and all associated entities) would be very happy if you enjoyed them instead. If you do not want to keep them do not discard them in the presence of April or she (and all associated entities) will be very, very sad. Frowning while receiving your gift is strictly prohibited under clause 11.b.132. 

This month's short newsletter will give a lot of timeline info and updates to the currently ongoing Fawning Event, Trait Updates, a new Mini-Event, and an upcoming auction adopt!

The purpose of these newsletters is to keep our community informed about site updates, upcoming events, official artist commission openings, new user guides, highlight different bits and pieces of our species, and build on community engagement. The content of these newsletters will vary by month.

To sign up for a Faunids account, message a moderator for an invite code. Once you have that, you can register on the sign-up page.

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Trait Updates

In preparation for Fawns who will be born with Wild Traits, as well as for future adopts and customs, we are making distinctions to the following traits, which will be reflected on the site archive soon: 

Fluffy Cat Tail and Cat Tail will now be broken into the following four traits, similar to Canine Tail. 

NEW: Feline Tail (Bobtail) - This trait will appear visually similar to cat breeds like the Kurilian Bobtail. 

Feline Tail (Shorthair) - This is the existing Cat Tail trait. 

Feline Tail (Fluffy) - This is the existing Fluffy Cat Tail trait. 

NEW: Feline Tail (Lion) - This trait will be visually distinct from Kirin Tail by its thinness and a less ‘unicorn’like tuft of fur at the end.

Additionally, we are returning to a name that was once used for Rat Tail with some new additions. 

Prehensile Tail (Rat) - This is the existing Rat Tail trait.

NEW: Prehensile Tail (Guardian) - A new Exclusive trait.

NEW: Prehensile Tail (Chameleon) - a new Wild Trait.

NEW: Prehensile Tail (Pangolin) - a new Wild Trait.

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Character appreciation

We want to appreciate all the hard work that goes into turning designs into full-fledged characters.

As part of the Newsletter, we choose community members with well-loved Faunids to tell us a bit more about them! 
This month, we thought it would be a great chance to interview some community members about the lore they have for their Fawns.

Our first Fawn is Miami, who is owned by @c0rvid19! 

Does your fawn know their parents? What is their relationship like? If not, how did they approach being reborn into Atalav alone?

Yes! Though not biologically related, Miami knows who was involved in the process of his creation. He was taken in by Caspian and raised as his child.

Miami has grown to see and love Caspian as a father and is close to him and his siblings. 

What does your fawn want to do when they grow up? Do they have ambitions of a specific job, a specific location in Atalav they'd like to be?

Miami would like to branch from his father's business and do his own twist with clothes focused more on colors and creativity. He likes bright colors and has plans to move to the salmon coast to take inspiration from the gorgeous scenery for his designs.

What does your fawn do for fun?

Like others in his family, Miami has taken to making jewelry! He made an earring that Caspian wears on his left ear. Cas wears each piece his children have made for him.

Will your fawn be attending Summer Camp this summer?

He's unsure right now, but he'd like to if he has the time. It sounds like a fun experience! Maybe he will go if one of his siblings want to.

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Our second Fawn is Nerium, who is owned by NotSo0FFset! 

Does your fawn know their parents? What is their relationship like? If not, how did they approach being reborn into Atalav alone?

Yes, he does know his parent! Nerium was born in the quaint Atalav city of Veritam. From fawn-hood he did not have the best relationship with his only parental figure being his father, nor much of a relationship at all. Conversation was slim as was adequate care but he remained resilient! Feeling moreso like a roommate than a fawn to care for. He now has a happy relationship with his father in a much better environment.

What does your fawn want to do when they grow up? Do they have ambitions of a specific job, a specific location in Atalav they'd like to be?

He wants to be a seamstress and lapidary! Using silk and gems to create beautiful works. Nerium craves to hone the skills he’s learned in his hometown somewhere bigger! His goal is to make the trip to Makino and make a name for himself .. to leave inspiring hoof prints for other lost fawns to follow.

What does your fawn do for fun?

He spends his time with a needle and thread in hand and glimmering gems surrounding wherever he sits. Nerium takes great joy in quiet projects! Finding his own little corner to tuck into whilst learning to embroider fabric with shimmering thread and crystal beads. He’s not the most talkative and is rather shy, so these moments of silence are put to great use in honing the skills he uses later in life.

Will your fawn be attending Summer Camp this summer?

Maybe! He has never been the most outdoorsy fawn. If it were up to him he’d be hulled up in his room working away to fill his time, but unfortunately for him, he has good friends ready to drag him outside! Some sunlight would do that pale fawn some good anyhow.

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april mule's day

Last year, you might have seen a mysterious… Faunid… on what happens to be the best day of the year. It happens in Spring. Yep, you know it, of course you do, everyone does:
April Mule's Day! 

What's your favorite holiday? 

It's April Mule's Day. 

What's your cherished friend's favorite holiday? 

Don't even bother asking. It's April Mule's Day! 

Our ever-benevolent April Mule has been hard at work preparing for the best day of the year; April 1st! She’s… um… liable to make an appearance.
Who knows what gifts she’ll bring!

One thing we can tell you is that she’s bringing a special friend!

While the April Mule can never be bought, this Faunid will be an extra special Auction designed by L0sw and MUTT. 

This Faunid includes four additional chibis along with it. Here’s a sneak peek at one of them: 

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fawning event reminders

Fawning is in full swing at this point! Our first official batch of releases will come this Saturday, and will continue every week, but we did have a mini surprise release this Thursday to showcase the first two: 

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Here’s a quick reminder of the Fawning Timeline:

- March 28th (Saturday) -

First batch of Fawns are released by the artist team.

- March 29th (Sunday) -

Submissions to the Public Helper form close. 

- April 4th (Saturday) -

Second batch of Fawns are released. 

- April 10th (Friday) -

Submission forms are closed.

- Fawning event news post -

- fawning information hub -

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Art Challenge

Thank you, everyone who participated for an incredibly stellar round of submissions in February!

Our winners for the raffle were:
20 Barters - HatoKnight
20 Barters - hedavampiric
30 Barters - DarotheWolf 
Fawning Voucher - FatalChimera
Fourth Fawning Slot (For a User) - Zorkia
Fourth Fawning Slot (Faunid) - Sh3Draws

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There is still almost a week left to submit art to this month's prompt!

How does your Faunid handle danger?
Do they respond differently to Flora, Fauna, or peer danger in Atalav?
Do they respond with fight, flight, or fawning?
For this challenge, think about how your Faunid might react to a dangerous situation, and how this response might change the outcome.

Remember that in order to enter for this prompt, you must submit your entry into the art challenge gallery and submit a prompt.

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Monthly shout-out

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FAWNING SUBMISSION FORMS ARE NOW OPEN!

Oncoming lunar activity has made the local spirits restless in their Middling Plane, and now they gather at the Rosen Forest in search of a new life. This year, there is a strange, energetic thrum in the air. The spirits are restless and eager to rejoin the world of the living.

The quest to search for new life cannot be done alone. You must meet with a companion, and together embark on a long and arduous journey to discover the newly-born Fawn brought into existence. This requires trust in both yourself and the living soul in your company.

Will you help guide a new life in need?

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Welcome to the 2026 Fawning Season! 

This news post contains all of the information (including all relevant links and user guides) that you need to get started. 

Event hub and other links

Fawning Event Hub - In-Depth FAQ - Item Purchases

Fawnid Form Submissions - Faun-to-Fawn Submissions

Public Helpers - Artist Queue/Fawn Rolls - Fawning Item Shop

Event timeline

This year, Fawning will run similarly to last year's Corruption event. The staggered start made the event much more accessible to our newer users experiencing the event for the first time. It also allowed us to promptly send invoices and communicate with users to answer questions and organize our artist queues. 
This year's timeline is: 

- March 1st (Sunday) -

Event News is posted. Item shop opens. Item purchase forms open.
Participants have time to read through every element of Fawning, discuss helpers, ask questions, gather/purchase items, and talk to artists/moderators.
Artists who require pre-approval will make official lists of approved pairs and post them in the Artist Queue/Fawning Rolls spreadsheet. 

- March 14th (Saturday) -

Fawning Submissions and Faun-to-Fawn Submissions open.
They are addressed in the order they are received. 

- March 28th (Saturday) -

First batch of Fawns are released by the artist team.

- April 4th (Saturday) -

Second batch of Fawns are released. 

- April 10th (Friday) -

Submission forms are closed.
Two releases of Fawns before the prompts close allows anyone unsure of whether they want to participate or which artist to go to time to make those decisions!  

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

New User Referrals

Know someone who might want to join Faunids? Now’s the perfect time to get them involved:

Any user who is listed as a referral for a new user in a Fawnid form will receive a Fawning Item of their choice as a reward. Additionally, the new user will also get to choose a Fawning Item of their choice. 

Note: the new user must put in a form and order a Fawnid for the referral to be counted for this referral program.
Simply put the name of who brought you here to Atalav at the bottom of your form submission!

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

Ordering a Fawnid (Quick Guide) 

You may only submit one form per 24 hours.
All users may submit up to three forms unless they have a Fourth Fawning Voucher (User) in their inventory.

Step 1: Find your pair of adult Faunids.

You do not need to own either Faunid. You may use Public Helpers, your own Faunids, or private helpers as long as you have permission to use them.
Each individual Faunid may Fawn up to three times per year. Adult Merfauns, Minodae, Hybrids, Quad Faunids, and Anthro Faunids may all be eligible for this event. Fawns cannot participate in Fawning; they're babies! 

Some Public Helpers may be free, while others may charge for their slots. View the Helper spreadsheet here: 

If you use a Faunid from another user to create a Fawning pair, you must have permission from the owner in the form of a screenshot. Please use Imgur links so they don't disappear when reviewing forms. These are most commonly something simple like this:

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Step 2: Choose your Artist

Two of our artists, MUTT (Jaquiri) and pebb (the.pebb), are taking limited slots, as this is their first year participating in Fawning as artists.
You must speak with them over DMs to confirm your pair before submitting your form.

If you previously confirmed with an artist for pre-approval and do not see your name on their list, please check in with them to make sure you are added. 

GoryTeeth and Necrologia are not limited in slots, but it is good practice to ask in advance if an artist will take your pair. We all have our own strengths!
If you have no preference for your artist, you may state ‘any' on your form.
All of us on the artist team communicate with and support each other, so we may collaborate on forms with no preference.

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Step 3: Obtain your Items

There are multiple ways to obtain items this year!

1. You may trade them with other users. Some users may have items they won through other events.
You may not purchase items from users with real money, but you may freely trade art, Faunids, Fawning slots, etc. 

2. You may purchase them with Barters (our site currency) from the Strange Baubles Shop. 

3. You may purchase them with real life currency via Paypal invoice through the Item Purchase Submission form.

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Step 4: Submit your Form

You must attach all items you plan to use for the pair when you submit.
The only items that can be added later after the roll is finalized are Herne’s Gamble, Herne’s Grace, and Herne’s Blessing. 
You do not need to use items if you do not want to. They are entirely optional for those who want to add more RNG or control specific elements of a Fawn.

Fawnid Submission Prompt

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Step 5: Wait for Approval

Your artist will approve your form on-site. Once it is approved, please wait for your artist to contact you regarding payment.
Your artist will also contact you to show you the roll for your Fawnid if you would like to see it! All of the rolls will be available on the Fawning Rolls spreadsheet.

•─────⋅☾ ☽⋅─────•

If you have questions that are not answered by these guides, please feel free to reach out to a community moderator or administrator.
You may also ask questions in the #event-chatter channel on our Discord server! We have a lot of very helpful community members who love seeing new faces. 

Thank you for participating in our first Fawning season hosted entirely on-site! 

Event hub and other links

Fawning Event Hub - In-Depth FAQ - Item Purchases

Fawnid Form Submissions - Faun-to-Fawn Submissions

Public Helpers - Artist Queue/Fawn Rolls - Fawning Item Shop

This newsletter will give a lot of information and updates to the upcoming 2026 Fawning event, site updates, and more!

The purpose of these newsletters is to keep our community informed about site updates, upcoming events, official artist commission openings, new user guides, highlight different bits and pieces of our species, and build on community engagement. The content of these newsletters will vary by month.

To sign up for a Faunids account, message a moderator for an invite code. Once you have that, you can register on the sign-up page.

View the Faunids Policy Handbook

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Welcome to our newest staff members! 

Please welcome areallifeonion as our newest coder, as well as our newest community and site moderator, Kardinal!
We are so happy to have them both with us.

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Character Appreciation

We want to appreciate all the hard work that goes into turning designs into full-fledged characters.
As part of the Newsletter, we choose community members with well-loved Faunids to tell us a bit more about them!

Our first character, Blithe, is owned by twentynyne! 

Describe Blithe's upbringing (relationships, hobbies, location?):

Blithe doesn't know her parents, she somewhat raised herself, found a section of woods and on the outskirts of town where she founded her Orchard from one apple tree she found. Blithe likes to dance and decorate her kart with paint, plants and shiny gems. Her orchard she tends to is slightly outside lavandul.

Does Blithe have any moral/religious convictions?

Blithe often find herself in a balance between earning a living and over-farming her orchard, tho she is the one that tends to the trees, she is also the one that sells the apples and more apples sold gives her a better life. Therefore she teeters on the edge of being ethical and pleasing Herne.

What does Blithe do for work? How is her relationship with coworkers (if any) and their clients (if any)? 

As stated, Blithe works her orchard, she works alone or occasionally with other traveling merchants, she has a great relationship with them, as Blithe is a people pleaser and very to herself for the most part. 

What does Blithe do for fun?

Blithe likes to create pigments from plants and minerals, and using her hooves and occasionally with a paintbrush, she will paint panels or leathers she gets from other merchants.

What is Blithe's relationship with other Fauns?

She keeps to herself for the most part and doesn't talk much unless she is doing her merchant stuff. When Blithe does spend time with other Fauns, it tends to be around Merchant meets where she has a merry time sharing her apples with mostly Ben and Demi, her traveling merchant friends.

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Next up is Vaelen, who is owned by FatalChimera! 

Describe your upbringing (relationships, hobbies, location?):

I grew up in Makino by the Rosen Forest, but I never stayed there long. As soon as I was able to sneak off with the merchants, I was gone. I loved traveling with them, hearing their stories, seeing new places and new faunids! The downside though was having to sit through the gatherings that the merchants sit through, having to be cleansed of the outside influence. Oh and the scoldings! The scoldings were fine though,I just hated sitting around. When I got old enough, I decided to leave for good. I loved the Rosen Forest, but traveling and adventure were far more appealing! When I settled, it was in Lavandul.

Do you have any moral/religious convictions?

Due to my upbringing in Makino I have a strong belief that gift giving to those in your life is essential. I would much rather give a friend or a partner a small meaningful gift than anything else! I actively partake in this by sending Prisma perfumes of her favorite scents at least twice a year. However, living in Lavandul has led me to develop a religious practice of bringing my fawns and any partners I have to the “Blood Grove”. I did this for Halo Vire and for Javrik when they were both young. Though, I think Javrik appreciated being in the grove a lot more than Halo Vire did. 

What do you do for work? How is your relationship with their coworkers (if any) and clients (if any)?

I make perfumes and Colognes! My job is the main reason I decided to settle in Lavandul actually! With its rich agriculture and heavy trades going in and out, it was just the perfect place to set up! I don't really have coworkers though, unless you count some of the merchants I trade with when they come in. It's a small at home business I run, but I wouldn’t have it any other way honestly. My favorite part of my job is the clients. I love meeting new faunids and seeing different cultures!

What do you do for fun?

I mostly travel for fun! I travel to Makino to see Prisma from time to time, I travel to the Bullran Cliffs to see Luka. I just love to travel, doesn't even have to be for a reason! My most exciting travel was recently to the Wild Wood, I was looking for new plants and flower to use in my scents when I realized I was being stalked.. 

What is your relationship with other Fauns?

I usually have a good relationship with other fauns! Prisma has been my bestfriend since fawnhood, and now she is an aunt to my, currently, two fawns Halo Vire and Javrik! I also have a really good relationship with my partner Luka. He lives far, but I make a point to see him very often. It's always a great time when I get to see my loved ones again. 

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Site updates

We are just about at the point where we can shut down Atalav, our secondary website, as it is significantly more expensive than Faunids with less functions and image storage. As of now, all of the pages that are staying the same have been ported over to Faunids.com. 

Here is a list of updates made to front-end HTML by kojoty:

1. Updates to the World Expanded page, with a new set of links on top to make navigation to various site lore pages easier. 
2. Every City/Location has been updated with their relevant information and tabs. Some of this information will likely be updated and reworded or reformatted as we develop more.
3. Springtide, Fawning, Gachafawn, and Corruption pages have all been updated and formatted. 
4. All of the User Guides and Species Specific Guides have been populated and formatted.
5. Corruption Items have had their descriptions updated to reflect information that was previously only hosted on Atalav.

Additionally: 
1. Fixes to broken links to Filegarden and other peripheral updates to the site have been logged and worked on to update accordingly. 

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Fawning Season

The Fawning Hub and in-depth FAQ are now live [CLICK HERE]!

This FAQ includes all the information for the 2026 Fawning event; information on how it works, pricing, how the items work, artist information/availability, and all the relevant changes and updates to previous Fawning seasons!

All three prompts (Ordering items, ordering Fawns, ordering Faun-to-Fawns) are now live on-site under the Explore dropdown. You cannot submit them until they are open, but you can view all of the forms and review how the process works. 

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Hybrids

We’ve been working as a team to simplify the percentages for Faun/Mino/Merfaun Hybrids for fawning, and have come up with a bit of a rehaul to the whole system.
These infographics will be added to the Fawning FAQ, and will apply for the 2026 Fawning season. No more pesky 37.5%’s!

Here is a visual guide for how the percentages work when using either a Handy Dandy or Wild Child. The percentages listed are the base odds if not using these items.
Since these are new percentages and might change some of your fawning plans, feel free to reach out and ask if you have any additional questions.

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The Strange Baubles Shop

Starting this year, you may purchase Fawning Items with Barters, in addition to USD!
While you can still purchase your items through the Fawning Items prompt, we are also happy to introduce a new friend. This friend is very interested in Faunids and how they live, and happens to have stumbled on a treasure trove of items they can't figure out what to do with! No matter. They have learned through their experience living among Faunids that sharing is caring, and are happy to trade some shinies for other more practical and informative items. 

 

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Fawning Base Prices

We have modified the prices for the upcoming 2026 Fawning Event! 
All Fawns will be $60 USD.

This change was made with a lot of in-team deliberation, and through community feedback from our multinational community. Thank you all! 
This will be reflected in the Fawning Hub and the Fawning FAQ document.

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2026 Policy Handbook Changes

We have updated the Policy Handbook after suggestions for clarity and internal staff consensus.
The current handbook linked on the Discord (and linked below) is the current reflection of the rules.

Edits have been made to: 

1. Discord conduct rules. 
2. Clarity and definitions for the Forgotten policy have been edited.

View the 2026 Handbook [HERE]. 

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Art Challenge

Thank you, everyone, for warming up this year with some 30-minute timed works! 

Our winners for January were: 

20 Barters - Sh3Draws

20 Barters - L0sw

30 Barters - Elk_Montauk

Full-body Character Artwork from Zorkia - MothDad

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There's still one week to submit your entry for February's Art Challenge!

How does your Faunid express love? Do they have a love language? 

'Love' can mean a lot of different things. Everyone expresses it differently! 

For this challenge, think about how your Faunid might express self-love, familial love, romantic love, or love and appreciation for their friends.

Remember that in order to enter for this prompt, you must submit your entry into the art challenge gallery and submit a prompt.

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Additional Art Challenge news

There is a new on-site prompt for users to make suggestions for upcoming Art Challenge prompts, which you can submit as many times as you want! 

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What's Coming Next?

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Community Suggestions

At our staff meetings, we have been going through the list of existing suggestions to discuss whether we should implement them and how. Here are a few we discussed. Not every one we talk about will be here, just the ones we have longterm plans for 

Traits

1. Curly Feathers - We are not adding this as a unique trait, but we will be adding some clarification within the trait notes to existing traits that already allow for texture. AKA, [Hair/Feather texture is allowed so long as it does not mimic other traits and is within other applicable trait standards.]
2. Nose Ridge Fluff - We will be adding this trait.
3. Upright Ears - We will be adding a trait that is similar in expression. 

World

1. Plants related to Fawning/Corruption (which had mock-ups drawn by msmydeer within the Discord server) - The Tender Plant would be perfect to represent the companion-boosting item during Fawning next year, as well as both of these plants being associated with these events in-world!
2. Stagwagon rehaul/official information Release - Yes. This is part of our Fauna release plans. 
3. Reptile Mounts - Yes. This will also be added to our Fauna release plans. 
4. Peryton Fauna Concept - Yes, pending more concrete concept design. 

Community

1. Trait Replacement Token - Yes. This item will allow users to remove and replace a trait in the same area with one token. This will likely be released during the summer. 
2.  Suggestions for Art Challenges by users - Yes! This is implemented as of this newsletter. 
3. More updates on community suggestions and what we're working on internally: You're here right now!! 
4.  Faunid 'Redesigns' - In the summer, we will be opening a testing process to figure out how we would like to roll something like this out to users. There will be a submission process to apply to 'redesign' a Faunid so we can work with an initial group of users to iron out what this can and should look like. We want to structure this with the goal being for the person who submits a Faunid to end up with a Faunid that member is happy with while also maintaining existing species standards as a team. 

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Monthly Question

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Lavandul is known for our agricultural exports, our biggest specialty being lupine flowers and other fragrants.
However, we're also known for our unique wildlife who love to eat our crops. Convenient isn't it?​

Of course, we don't want to harm these creatures... but their population still needs to be monitored.
We were hoping that you could go and catch some of these lapines and chimebirds and bring them back here to be adopted out to potential adopters! They're very popular as companions recently.​

The weirdest coincidence has been happening as of late with these adopters though.
I've noticed that when a creature is brought in, an adopter with remarkable similarities comes in soon after.

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You can view all of this year's full Gacha previews (as well as Springtides from past years) and all the information you need on the Event Hub page [HERE].

Each day, starting Wednesday the 4th, a winner for one of the Springtide gachas will be rolled by RNG.
Thank you to all of the artists who contributed this year. Everyone went all-out with creative, thoughtful designs that we are so excited to share.

The artists who made Springtides this year are Hyenadayy, Necrologia, L0sw, pebb, Loutta, BelPlasmawolf, Banriion, GoryTeeth, kojoty, WinterTigris, and Cockroach!

You can enter for the Springtide gachas through the Google Form linked on the event hub, or:

[Entry form for springtide raffles]

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the floral whorl

The Floral Whorl will be our interactive wheel for this event. It will run from the 7th to the 19th.
Prizes will be granted as Barters, shared in-universe between Faunids as gifts freely given. These are gestures of goodwill to help one another climb out from the bitter chills of winter. 

This is the last chance to save up Barters before Fawning begins! 

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Our newest Lore Development is, collectively, a 28-page comic following one small chunk of the strange meteor that landed in the deep sea beyond the coasts of Atalav. L0sw and MUTT worked for over a month to collaborate on the first 23 pages, and the rest... well, you'll just have to find them. 

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Cameo Vouchers

These Vouchers were in the pool of prizes for last December's Winter Gala. Our plan with these was this exact comic! We made the storyboard together based on what each owner shared about their characters, such as what they do in their daily lives and what they might trade for an unusual rock.
Thank you to everyone who allowed us to use their characters as cameos in this comic! We had a blast including them. 
We would love to know if there would be interest from the community in making more Cameo Vouchers for projects like this. 

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Without further ado, touch this meteorite to start your journey! 

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