News
Search Options ►Welcome to November!
Site Update
November is upon us!
Let's bring in the 11th month of the year by first taking a look at the new monthly pets!
Ripe for season turnover, nature takes a sentient form in the GP Shop pets!
The cold, crisp air of autumn has descended upon the BP Shop, which has filled its pet corridors with pets toting everything from leaves to ice to jewels!
If you colored one of these stunning pets, please contact Visark (#185) for your payment!
Make sure to send the PSDs for these pets in to [email protected] right away! Or I will roast your crayons over an open flame. Slowly.
Embrace the shinier side of things with the Essence of November 2012. Like all our monthly potions, it will change your pet into one of the colorations above!
It seems our monthly Lunaris still thinks it's October and will be flying in as soon as it can!
(Read: I'll update you when the Lunaris is added. If you have an early November birthday, feel free to collect your birthday goodies; you can exchange the Lunaris when the new one is released. No worries!)
The premium monthly item for November is a Magic Journal.
Before I come out and tell you exactly what it does, here's a little hint:
Notice anything different? :3
Based on a user suggestion, the Magic Journal will enable you to choose a CUSTOM forum title and has 3 charges.
The item doesn't have a "use" option. Instead, to activate it, simply have the item in your inventory and go to Account - Settings - My Achievements. Under "Change Forum Title & Badge," hit the dropdown and scroll all the way to the bottom and choose Custom Title.
Once you enter in your title of choice and hit save, you will be redirected to a confirmation screen (in case you make any typos). After you finalize your title, it will display on the forums and one of your charges will be used.
One thing that differentiates custom titles from normal achievements is that they appear in black text instead of our default color, just as an FYI. I also want to remind you to NOT put any [M] content in this field because there's no way to designate your individual posts as Mature, only threads. Of course, the text in this field must also abide by the rest of the ToS.
We will be adding similar items that have more or less charges, etc., and distribute them in different ways. If you're premium, this should be a fun little perk, but if you're not, you will have the opportunity to enjoy this forum feature in the future. :3
In honor of the season, the Annoying Item Bazaar is featuring two new pets that you can create by amassing Autumn and Dead Leaves!
The Fireplace Shisa and Stormy Willow Orimi are permanent additions to the shop. Enjoy!
We also have our usual assortment of monthly contests!
December Monthly Pets - BP Shop
December Monthly Pets - GP Shop
December Monthly Customs
Theme: Bells
As many of you know, November is National Novel Writing Month--a project that challenges you to write a 50,000-word novel within the 30 days of the month!
Aywas has always sort of sponsored this creative event because it's great to see people writing, doing something creative, and committing themselves to a task. However, this event is pretty difficult to vet because it exists outside of the site and as evidenced by the weekly story game and the new short story contests, we're trying to move writing-focused contests within our own perimeter.
With that in mind, we are still offering incentives this year, because we think it's important to encourage creativity and hard work in a variety of mediums.
NaNoWriMo 2012 Prize Tiers:
1,000 - participation token.
5,000 - mysterious pet potion.
10,000 - HA writer wardrobe.
25,000 - Quil Sword + Pen Blade.
50,000 - Literature Shield + special forum title.
Here's some important links you'll want to have if you are a NaNo participant this year:
NaNoWriMo 2012
The board for your novel threads!
NaNo Instructions
2012 rules and format requirements.
NaNo FAQs
A place for you to see frequently asked questions and post questions of your own.
We made a few adjustments to the rules from last year. For one, you do NOT have to post an update on your thread every day, just as you complete blocks of writing. However, you DO have to post the full-text version of your story. No linking or screenshotting. If you don't want to share your story with Aywas, you forfeit Aywas prizes.
Give everything a read and if you have any questions, please post them on the FAQ thread. My inbox is atrocious and it's MUCH easier for me to answer NaNo questions on a public thread. Thanks!
And good luck, you crazy people!
Coding Corner
We have a TON of things going on in the background. Not only do we have to start prepping for Christmas on the heels of a huge month, but we're also trying to make headway on fixes and user suggestions. So if there's something you want to see, make sure your voice is heard.
As a teaser, Yasu is about halfway done with Quick Stock! :3
I think we've been doing really well, so we're just gonna keep on truckin'!
We will also be putting out the call for new mods soon, so keep an eye out for that if you're interested.
Don't forget that we have Kat's (#80) Devil Day coming up this month!
Get your submissions in soon.
Phew, I think that's all for now. :3 Let's have a great November!
- Eri
Posted by Eri & --
(#17) on Sat Nov 3, 2012 1:29pm
- Captain- -
(#13852)
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Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:12pm
zomg new mods?? I can't wait to try my luck at becoming on! i've been waiting and reading up on lots of stuff to further my knowledge of ayways 8D
- Wolfy
(#35112)
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Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:12pm
OMG! New Kodama! Must. Get. GP. <3
- A.J. +D
(#2397)
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Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:19pm
So... there's no other option?
That's... actually unfair. Why can't we do both? The chances of anything being published are, actually, rather small. It's insanely hard to have something accepted by a publishing house, after all.
I think that the staff needs to think this through better for next year. that way people who wish to publish their works can also take part. It's not fair that we have to pick and choose. Choose a low chance, or choose a possible prize. It's just not fair, at least, not in my eyes.
So please, next year, think this through a bit better. See if you can come up with an option for those of us who do not want to have the entire interwebs able to read it, for whatever reason.
That's my suggestion.
- LA's DarkFireWolf
(#34528)
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Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:28pm
Woah, as always another busy month here @_@!
- Error
(#17862)
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Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:30pm
I have to agree with Amber (#2397) I'm using NaNo to write out the draft of a novel that I wish to publish. It isn't fair that I have to put up the whole novel to be read by everyone. :| That just seems to ruin the purpose of writing my draft. Either way I'm going to be doing NaNo. But I probably won't take part in the Aywas version for the reason of wishing to publish.
- Dove *BP Questing*
(#513)
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Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:31pm
OMG YAY!! FORUM TITLES!!! PETS!!! STUFFF!!!!!~~~~
- Eri & --
(#17)
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Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:41pm
NaNo is its own reward, and if you're looking to publish, that's another great layer of accomplishment. Aywas does not have to offer ANY incentive whatsoever, but we are willing to do so for those who share their stories with us. As I said in the news, this sort of thing is difficult for us to authenticate, and screenshots of wordcounts with no content isn't enough. - Eri
- 👻 Sesh 👻
(#21919)
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Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:42pm
Yeah, this really isn't a great way to go about doing NaNo. The official website doesn't require long-term hosting of your work, potential lost sales/publishing opportunities, or (for us shy and socially anxious folks) requiring people to get over the fear of posting private, unfinished works in a public forum. It has a word counter and a validation tool. I don't see how linking to your NaNo profile and putting your Aywas ID# on it wouldn't be a valid option.
But, whatever, it's your site. Hopefully next year will be more fair to everyone!
- Aprilis
(#24424)
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Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:42pm
1000 autumn leaves should take me, hmmmm, about 4 more years, give or take.....
Posted on: Sat Nov 3, 2012 2:08pm
If your goal is publishing, I'd say that's a far greater reward than Aywas prizes. That's a choice that you have to make. For our purposes, we are still requiring posting full-text. - Eri