#I also love auraboas

[dhm-rising]

Firebird Serpent

Female Auraboa - Fire Unusual

Auburn/Coal/Carrot

Mochlus/Riopa/Stinger

[reefknotslair]

I love them I love them I love them I love them I love them I love th

[chicoryblue]

Some of my dragons scried up.... since my free hatchies have absolutely shit tier colors

[shivasdarknight]

holds up this dragon the same way a kid does a snake

i have a shiva dragon now .w.

[oopsiespooks]

someone needs to stop me from making g1 pairs

look at them

[avalonianrising]

Oh. Oh, that is Good(TM).

(If anyone would like to pick up this sassy little ball of static, please let me know--he's PWYW as always!)

[felidthing-fr]

i am so tired of seeing an immediate wave of complaints every time an ancient comes out can you guys chill for two seconds

[amplexadversary]

*addressing my reflection, open bottle of booze in hand*

I am not going to impulse buy multiple dragons.

FR has self-serve pinglists now. I am going to add myself to the breeder's pinglists, and see if I still want the dragons several nests from now.

[aquilegiaformosa]

okay, i’m gonna say it:

i’m pretty sure staff dropped Dusties with a smaller gene pool to minimize errors, whether that be through “less genes = less mistakes = shorter cleanup” or they had less genes and therefor could pay more attention to the ones they dropped and so they dropped with less errors in general. pretty sure more will be coming soon (probably after the Aether expansion). but y’all forgot you wanted to complain about eight hundred gene errors, and decided to complain that they scaled back

a modern could not have that tail. or those claws. please stop with the “this could have been a modern—” well it’s not a modern, and it’s totally fine for staff to choose to make it an ancient. and also you’re annoying

i’m putting the term “brachycephalic” on the high shelf until y’all learn how to use it correctly

wasn’t everybody JUST crying about how too many dragons were fluffy? yeah? i’m fucking tired

“everything sucks lately” make your own website then. you’ll soon learn how expensive and time-consuming and exhausting and thankless it is. and how impossible it is to please everyone

some of you are so mean actually. “i’d rather wait five years for a modern than be given this slop” GO MAKE UR OWN DAMN SITE THEN SO THE NORMAL PEOPLE CAN CONTINUE HAVING FUN IN PEACE. “SLOP”???? DO YOU EVEN READ YOUR OWN WORDS

no you don’t have to love everything. but you could stop being an entitled ass at any time!

“no lore??” well. you shat all over the last couple lore drops and nitpicked a bunch of stuff (with only the Auraboa fiasco deserving of any of it, and y’all were still pissed as hell after it was fixed). and you also went and nitpicked the breed page for Dusties and kept hounding on it, again, even after it was fixed. so yeah. no fuckin lore for you

after today i literally would not be surprised if staff gave up on the site within the next year. the loud portions of the userbase are the rudest, most ungrateful, childish, and entitled humans i’ve seen outside of working at a fucking Starbucks, and guess what? i loved myself and quit working at Starbucks

thanks for dragging the day down, you bratty assholes

[ink-of-a-thousand-currents]

Greenskeeper Skin Stats, pre 2024 fest

A bit different from my previous Skin Census posts, I think this one will be more helpful

The goal of this is to help people decide on what breeds/poses they could try making skins for, if you're unsure, based on what kind of coverage we already have for Greenskeeper skins

Below, we have 3 categories of priority (priority being an indicator of how much representation a pose has for this fest): Highest, High, and Lowest. Anything not listed here is considered mid to low priority

Highest priority

Poses with absolutely zero representation for Greenskeeper

Banescales

Auraboas

Dusthides

Ridgeback M

Sandsurges

Undertide F

High priority

Poses with only 1 or 2 skins/accents for this fest, making a note of if they have no Accents, no Skins, or one of each

Aberrations (2 each, no Skins)

Aethers (1 each, no Skins)

Bogsneak M (2, no Accents)

Gaolers (2 each, no Skins)

Guardian M (2, one of each)

Nocturne M (1, no Accents)

Obelisks (2F/1M, no Skins)

Pearlcatcher M (2, one of each)

Skydancer M (2, one of each)

Undertide M (1, no Accents)

Veilspuns (2 each, no Skins)

Lowest priority

Poses with at least 5 skins/accents for this fest, with the actual count listed

Coatl M (8)

Pearlcatcher F (6)

Snappers (6F, 5M)

Spiral M (5)

Wildclaws (12F, 10M)

In conclusion

Aside from the obvious 3 Ancient Breeds that came out after last Greenskeeper, we have a few poses with no representation. Ridgeback M I think is the most egregious outlier, so I'd love to see some skin options for our pointy boys! The lack of Banescale options is also making me sad.

Finally, if you only have one takeaway from this, let it be this: Please, for the love of god, don't do another Nature fest Wildclaw skin, we have progressed past the need for Greenskeeper Wilclaw skins, why are there OVER 20—

[clan-of-reaching-stars]

I appreciate how open FR Staff is being about this mess but as a writer I have so many questions as to how it got to this point.

I understand not wanting to rapidly expand the team but when you hit an event like BotE and you don't have everything written at launch you gotta look around at some point and go "are we biting off more than we can chew"

The 3 to 5 page limit on stories I'm sorry what are we, in Intro to Creative Writing? I understand an upper limit so a whole novel isn't written but like, that's a limit of ~2500 words single spaced, or, since we're apparently turning in essays 1250 words double spaced (so says google and I'm just to flabbergasted to check).

The lore not being something we can engage with until Adventure Mode. I say this affectionately but this is beginning to look like that meme (staff: "Adventure mode. Save me Adventure Mode. Adventure Mode save me.")

They were all just... doing it? I understand it is a small team and the multiple hats but see point 1. Also like, hello?!? Writing is no less of an art than well, art and like... I own Undel's how to draw dragons books. I could follow them step by step and my dragons would not be identical to hers. Similar but not the same, why would writing be different what are youndoing no wonder there's little tonal consistency.

Really my conclusion is they should've hired a dedicated lore writer years ago. (Full disclosure, when I was in college I was desperately hoping they would open the position, I would've loved to have applied but they never did... see point 4 again.)

Like much much too late now but a dedicated lore writer could've done a lot and helped with the energy high following BotE because people liked the stories, and I think more lore consistently, even if it was just short stories once a month, might've been appreciated. Especially as Adventure Mode continues to not come out and Tidelord is still missing and we had such curiosity but nowhere to direct that energy.

Like, people who know nore than I have spoken about the issues with the Auraboa article. I'm just weighing in as a writer and player, that the way they go about releasing and writing the lore also leaves a lot to be desired

[brilliant-psywurm]

Something I think about with the constant stream of Big New Things (gene sets, breeds and lore, etc.) is that it makes it really hard for the average player to keep up with the slew of content thrown at them? Not to mention the onslaught of bugged genes that get fixed months down the line.

Like. Auraboas just came out recently. Also, sandsurges came out recently. Also, undertides came out a little less recent, but still recently. I still don’t have an undertide despite them coming out however long ago, because I had spent a lot of money trying to gene whatever breed came out before then (and I hate that I can’t remember btw).

There’s so many new breeds coming out that I can’t even remember what and when??

And let’s say I finally decide to get an undertide. Let’s say I liiiiike… Cinder on them. I finally buy the undertide with cinder on it, and I love my little guy! But what if cinder was bugged on undertides, the colours were wrong, and they had to redraw the patterns and gradients? I’ve now just spent all my hard earned treasure on something that’s not what I wanted- and if I hated it? I just wasted my money.

BUT WAIT, WHILE IM SCRAMBLING TO REGAIN TREASURE TO GET A NEW GENE, THEY RELEASE THE LIGHT ANCIENT-

I decide to not get the new ancient when I finally get money, because I’m scared to even gene it because what if every gene is wrong?? Why should I spend my dragon cash if it’s gonna be changed later?

And maybe, by the time I decide to finally get the light ancient, a new breed will come out……

[saltminerising]

Out of curiosity I searched the "favourite ancient" thread to find which ancients were getting the most mentions, and which ones were getting the least.

Undertides and banescales were the least mentioned, which is a surprise because those two very much fall under the category of "what people claim they want from ancients".

Aberrations and aethers were the most mentioned. Evidently people like two headed mutant dragons and fluffy moths the most!

Sandsurge was also up there with mentions, even as a gem breed people still seem happy with them.

Gaoler, auraboa, veilspun and dusthide were sorta in-between, not fan favourites but not the least popular either.

I do wonder why a legless deep sea dragon and a classic wyvern, both of which seem like something people would love, are the least popular. Meanwhile a two headed dragon is the most popular, along with the 6-legged one. Not saying that the thread is accurate representation but it still sorta gives you a perspective. Moral of the story: staff needs to duplicate dragon details, not take them away

[dramarising-replacement]

Admins don't care.

I don't know who reported me for multi-accounting, but you were right.  I did have multiple accounts.  I abandoned my original account a few years ago for personal reasons.  I no longer felt safe on that account - and as a sidenote, I no longer liked my progens.  I was originally wind flight.  That was ten years ago, and I'm so removed from wind flight now it's my least favorite flight.  I wanted new progens.

So I made a new account, with an entirely new aesthetic.  I abandoned my original account entirely.  I never funneled any resources or used my accounts to cheat, and I don't participate in dom, so there was no reason for me to "spy" in flight specific forums.  I couldn't care less about dom. 

In fact, I gave away or sold for very cheap pretty much all of my high dollar items and dragons.  I was glad to do it - I only kept dragons with sentimental value.

But then I fell in love with having accounts with different aesthetics.  I don't care what anyone says - tabs are not the same.  I had a water flight account and a nature flight account, both of which I eventually became bored with, neither of which I used to "cheat."  It was time to switch aesthetics.  But the thing is, I spend real money on this game.  It's what I do with my disposable income - make pretty dragons.  I didn't want to sell the dragons I had spent real money on for pennies.  I liked them.  I wanted to keep them - I just didn't want to play with them anymore.  And I wasn't going to throw them into my hibden, because hibden is part of the aesthetic too, at least in my pea brain.

So, I made a new account.  I spent real money setting it up and giving genes to my dragons, as I had done in the past.  Call me a whale, I suppose - I've been called worse.  I guess I was too obvious about it, because it certainly didn't look like a regular newbie account, and someone reported me.  And like I said, they were right.  But they were also wrong, because I was not "cheating" as in funneling resources to benefit a primary account.  I was simply using multiple accounts to contain different aesthetics, and every time I switched to a new aesthetic I abandoned the previous account.  I am a relatively moral person - I don't believe in cheating.

The only time I can think I did anything that might have been considered ethically "wrong" was when auraboas were released; I gave into temptation and hatched eggs on my abandoned original account, but of the four I hatched I exalted two, so I called it "fair" in my mind.

Anyway, banhammer.  I messaged the admins and told them yes, I had multiple accounts, but I had bought everything fair and square.  I was going to show them the email receipts, but they didn't give me a chance to.  "Our records show that these accounts exist to benefit a primary account..." blah, blah, blah.

The thing is my family plays this game.  Three other members of my family play this game.  They all were banned too.

So, I told the admins the names of my accounts and the names of my family members' accounts.  I told them to ban my accounts if they needed to, but to please unlock my family members' accounts.  I was as transparent and honest as I knew how to be.  They did not care in the least.  I don't think they even read my messages, to be frank.

The lesson to be learned here is don't use multiple accounts, even if you use them in the "right" way.  And if you're going to, don't be too damn good at it, because someone will stick their nose where it doesn't belong and fuck you (and your family and friends) all up.

I really don't mind my accounts being banned.  They're still mine; I still made them, and my pretty dragons are still there for me to look at.  But it pisses me off that my family lost their accounts.  It pisses me off that I've supported this game monetarily for over ten years and no one would even take the time to listen. 

It pisses me off that I asked for help with my original account, and no one would help me.  It honestly pisses me off that - as insignificant as it may seem - I've suggested allowing progenitor re-rolling when switching flights (with a high fee, of course) as a solution for those who are unsatisfied with their only supposedly "custom" dragon, and it was never considered or implemented in ten years' time.  Some people, especially if you've been playing a long time, just don't jive with the flight they originally chose for their progens, or they don't like their eye color anymore or whatever.

I hate green.  I had no idea when I chose wind flight ten years ago it meant my special dragons would have green eyes.  Yuck.  But that is, of course, all secondary.  The real issue is...

Cheating.  Was it cheating?  I don't know.  I don't think it was.  Like I said, I spent money.  I certainly didn't PROFIT from having multiple accounts.  In fact, I lost money holding my giveaways.  Was it stupid?  Probably.  Definitely.  But I'm allowed to do stupid things with my own stupid money, because I fucking enjoy it.  The other issue is people and minding their own damn business.  I. BUY. GEMS.  Sometimes I buy lots of gems, and I buy pretty things with those gems because IT. MAKES. ME. HAPPY.  It's MY GODDAMN BUSINESS.

I cannot count how many times I stood up for the admins over the years in the forums when the community would lose its' shit at them for this reason or that, and they wouldn't even unlock accounts of users who were completely innocent, just because we share a household.  Ban mine, that's fair, and I possibly deserve it, maybe, perhaps, depending on how you look at it, but at least fucking look into the others I told you belonged to someone else.

[foreverrain-fr]

Kinda torn on scries for this girl, my Greenskeeper Gathering hatch from last year. I love the Wildclaw scry but she also looks really good as an Auraboa. Lots of potential Nature themed scries as an Auraboa despite her actually being Wind. I hope the festival genes eventually come to modern breeds too.

[guardsbian]

actually. you know what.

I think another part of what's so weird about the Auraboa lore story... is that "The Seed and the Sickness" tackled a lot of the qualities of the POV character already in a way that, well, respected the cultural differences of two groups while also deconstructing the differences in their communication and how this can affect their connection.

Like, read it while specifically looking out for how it portrays the cultural divide between Nature/Plague. There is a divide in the way they communicate (Nature is more "traditional" in its expressions of care, but Plague has more reserved dragons who instead emphasize actions and good health), but there is still ultimately an understanding; the dragons from both sides are able to realize they care for each other. Even though the POV character is from Nature, you never feel excluded from Plague's world or the minds of its dragons.

Even then, "The Seed and the Sickness"... doesn't have a happy ending. Nature and Plague as a whole don't get along in the end. There is a standing conflict. One of the main characters may well be dead (with this point also used to remind the reader of this divide). Good intentions don't solve everything in the face of cataclysm, and yet, this is a satisfying ending. At no point do we feel as if we're being told that broaching this gap is futile; only that, in the face of an eternity of conflict, it will never be easy. But their connection is still what saved the day in the end.

"The Seed and the Sickness" is a story full of unfortunate circumstances and cultural barriers. It's about how compassion between individuals can broach long-standing divides, but about how these individuals are still often at the mercy of a cruel, flawed world. I find it odd to return to after the recent lore; it almost makes certain aspects of the Auraboa story seem vapid by comparison, a side-stepping of meaningful cultural exploration for a story tied up in a neat bow instead.

And it's not as if the components of something deeper aren't there. The conflict presented in the Auraboa lore did resonate with a lot of people, but it wasn't handled with a sliver of the gravity or compassion that the narrative ought to have had for it. I mean, honestly, I think the original Auraboa lore only exists as it does because staff wanted to avoid unfortunate implications. There's hardly a line not punctuated by the consent and respect we're told is offered to the Auraboa by the POV character. It really only compounds the issues present to be constantly reminded that the Auraboa need to be so carefully regarded as an "other" by not only the main character, but the writing itself.

"The Seed and the Sickness" reminds me why FR lore can resonate with me, and especially why Nature and Plague have. It reminds me of the kind of complexity I want to see from FR lore. The kind of complexity that people want to be able to read into it without the narrative telling them otherwise.

I do love FR's lore, really. And I think with the right handling it can tell very, very good stories, with very meaningful things to say.