Welcome to Gaia! ::

It's strange to look back and think that this shop opened just over a year ago. At the time we were completely new to the world of breedables, and while we've learned a lot in our time here we still have a lot ahead of us. This little event that we're putting on now is the culmination of what we've learned in this past year. We'll be introducing some new concepts to Noctua, and taking this opportunity to change a few things that we should have done differently at the outset.

This event will span an entire month - from November 6th to December 6th - so that we may celebrate two important dates. First, the birth of Noctua. Second, the anniversary of Jaeger's birth.

So please, kick back and enjoy what Noctua has to offer!

Timeline
Weeks 1-4 are DONE!

Most of the event has finished, and things are wrapping up now. We still have to draw for the freebies and other things, and entries are still open for the owl ticket and free raffles. The advertising raffle is close (naturally) and y'all can feel free to reset your sigs now.

Hang out over the next few days to chat - we have a few leftovers from the event that we never got around to giving out, and being active in the thread is a good way to win a chance at'em!

Traits (and the genetics thereof)

For lack of a better word, some Sentinels possess 'traits' that are a little out of the ordinary. These traits aren't strange enough to warrant labeling the bearer as an aberrant, and as such aren't subject to any social stigma. In fact, some traits are seen as being a sign of beauty (such as long tufts on a female) or masculinity (such as short tufts on a male). Since Sentinels are covered in feathers, most traits manifest as a visible difference in plumage. The most common (and noticeable) traits affect two main areas - the ear tufts, and the tail.

Tuft-related traits are relatively common, and are 'popular' enough to spur some vain Sentinels to visit their local featherstyler. A male who feels that he needs a little boost to catch the eye of a particular female might go to have his tufts trimmed, for example. It is possible to have a featherstyler mimic other tuft-related traits (curly, frayed, etc.) but these copies are not quite good enough to pass a detailed inspection, and they are (obviously) not inheritable.

Some traits are particularly common among certain types, while other traits are equally distributed throughout the population. All traits follow simple Mendelian genetics for inheritance, and it is possible for some traits to combine for greater effect.

Tuft traits
Long (recessive, sex-linked) - only manifests in the homozygous form and is therefore much more common among females, although male carriers of the long tuft trait sometimes show signs.

Short (incomplete dominant, sex-linked) - manifests in both homozygous (SS) and heterozygous (Ss) states, with Ss being far more common as short-tufted females are generally seen as 'less' attractive (and are therefore less likely to mate with a short-tufted male). Homozygous form results in tufts that are so short as to almost appear to be absent.

Curly (incomplete dominant) - manifests in both homozygous (CC) and heterozygous (Cc) states, although CC is the only type that can truly be called 'curly.' The Cc state tends to appear rather unpredictable, and may range from curled to wavy to almost normal.

Frayed (simple dominant) - Homozygous (FF) and heterozygous (Ff) forms appear identical, although individuals with the homozygous form sometimes show signs of other feather deformities.

Tail traits
Notched tail (simple dominant) - Notched tails are a relatively common trait that is most easily compared to a cleft chin or dimples in humans. Some find it attractive, some don't care, and some think it's weird.

Forked tail (multi-factored dominant) - Forked tails are inherited in an unpredictable manner, and are likely controlled by many different genes. Some tails are so forked that the Sentinel has some difficulty in flight, while other Sentinels simply carry the trait and pass it on to their offspring.

Grand Finale Auction - Peacock





A picture is worth a thousand words, they say, so we will let this handsome fellow speak for himself. The winner has the option of completing a short roleplay prompt to earn the right to give this Sentinel the task of Skydancer or Featherstyler, if desired.

This auction is OVER! Congrats, DFA!


Auction Rules
1 - Don't bid what you don't have.
2 - Co-owning is NOT permitted. Co-bidding is permitted in group auctions, but there may not be more bidders than there are Sentinels to be won.
3 - No trash-talking, blatant discussion of funds (or lack thereof) or other such poor sportsmanship will be tolerated.
4 - Up to 12 monthly collectible items may be used to bid. Values are taken at average daily tektek. No evolving/event items, please.
5 - Payment is due within 24 hours of the end of the auction, or the pet goes back up for bidding!
6 - A snipe guard of 15 minutes will be in effect.

What is an Owl Ticket?
You may have seen these mysterious tickets floating around here and there. They first cropped up during Jaeger's gryphon lineart auction, when they were used as a bump incentive. After that point we adopted the use of these cute little things as a reward for various things - participation in RP events, runner-up prixes for other things, and so on. In a recent mini-event the owl tickets could be redeemed for a chance at a growing type aberrant. This time... well, we haven't announced the prize yet, but it's probably pretty awesome. That's our completely unbiased opinion!

How do I get one?
Owl tickets are given out for a variety of reasons, at the sole discretion of the staff. Stick around and be awesome, and you may get one. Make the staff laugh, you may get another. Participate in a particularly awesome RP... hell, who knows? Almost anything can get you a ticket, so there's no harm in chatting it up and hanging out in-thread for a chance to get one!

Here's a free hint - we'll be giving out the owl tickets a bit more freely during this event. <3

Prize
The prize for this owl ticket raffle is truly wild. As in, you pick the adult lineart and the species, and we use that to create a wildlife-inspired Sentinel! If you'd like to provide additional information like character personality, task, or even a full-out character form then we will also take that into account when designing your Sentinel.

Here's how it works:
1 - Give up one of your owl tickets (you can find them all here, organized by event)
2 - Be entered in a draw to win an adult 'wildlife' Sentinel*

Here are the specific rules:
1 - Always abide by the rules of Noctua and Gaia
2 - No whining about your luck (or lack thereof), excessive whining will see you banned from this event
3 - All PMs go to Ranger of Noctua
4 - You MUST provide the link to the owl ticket hosted on our server (here)
5 - Each owl ticket can only be used ONCE, EVER**
6 - Chosen wildlife critter must be.. uh. Wild? And not already in existence!
7 - We reserve the right to reject a given critter if necessary, you will have to choose another one in that case

* In the event that the winning ticket was one given out for a colouring contest, you may choose to have that custom brought to life instead of getting the wildlife Sentinel.
** You may continue to display your owl ticket in your sig, etc., it just can't be used for any further raffles.

Owl Ticket List
1 - Excited Apathy (OWL)
2 - Infinite Improbability (OWL)
3 - Moriko Omori (OWL)
4 - Zee Oddwyn (OWL)
5 - Capricorn Sunchai (OWL)
6 - Kitkaze (OWL) <- winner!
7 - Scaramouche Fandango (OWL)
8 - Excited Apathy (OWL)
9 - THE kage (OWL)
10 - ShinosBee (OWL)
11 - Chibi Sheepcat (OWL)
12 - Werewolf of London (OWL)
13 - Annchen (OWL)

RAFFLE DONE! Congrats winners! Please send your preferences in choice-order to this mule, and we'll announce who gets what once everything is in.

1 - Meepfur
2 - EvilSilverDragon
3 - Ameh
4 - CuterThanYou
5 - Tsunake
6 - THE kage
7 - Dark Fire Angel
8 - Infinite Improbability

What's an event without a good old-fashioned raffle? Here's a chance to get your hands on something fancy - be it a Sentinel with a trait, or someone who's sporting a truly wild dye job, or possibly even something else entirely. More Sentinels will be added as time progresses, until the raffle ends!

Raffle Rules
1 - Tickets cost 100g each. So 10 tickets would be 1000g, and 1000 tickets would be 100 000g.
2 - All trades go to the 'Peddler of Noctua' - trades to any other mule WILL be canceled.
3 - Payment must be tendered in PURE gold. No items will be accepted.
4 - Please title the trade with the name/number of tickets/page that you posted.
5 - Avoid editing trades to add more tickets - it is best to complete trades and then start a new one.

Prizes




Raffle List
1-100 Kitt Koneko
101-130 EvilSilverDragon
131-10130 Meepfur
10131-11130 Daimyn
11131-11230 EvilSilverDragon
11231-11233 Excited Apathy
11234-12233 Infinite Improbability
12234-13233 astral vanity
13234-14233 CuterThanYou
14234-14733 Nothing Yet
14734-15233 Tsunake
15234-15733 Justin`
15734-16233 Nessariah
16234-16733 [Eskimo]
16734-16800 Alinedra
16801-16900 Nerpin
16901-19000 THE kage
19001-20000 Huni Pi
20001-20100 Miroke
20101-20200 Gaelach_buachaill
20201-24200 Dark Fire Angel
24201-24500 - F A V U L O U S -
24501-25000 Excited Apathy
25001-25020 Baniru
25021-25070 Ryugen
25071-25170 Doodle p***s
25171-25270 Moonlit Monkey
25271-25370 Jiraiyah
25371-25390 Xiao Ling
25391-26390 Dark_Musashi
26391-26405 - F A V U L O U S -
26406-28405 Ameh
28406-28905 Patmos of Endtimes
28906-28950 Excited Apathy
28951-28997 Scaramouche Fandango
28998-29097 Aurrie Beaues
29098-29297 EvilSilverDragon
29298-30297 THE kage
30298-35297 Infinite Improbability
35298-35397 Moriko Omori
35398-35407 - F A V U L O U S -
35408-35507 Zee Oddwyn

Finished!