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UPDATE: I was just too caught up in everything else going on to be able to finish a second prize for this I'm sorry! T^T /cry

BUT! I have chosen a winner: Elephantfreak 's Bao Qu
Their entry wasn't one of the very long ones, but I feel it captures the essence of a what a spiritkin should be~ The way that it appears, the boon that it grants, and especially the strange behavior of not being able to travel vertically, all really appealed to me. It gave me that, "Huh.. that'd be really weird" feeling when trying to picture this creature in the world. Many of the entries were very extreme without giving me enough of that.. certain something.. and just giving the spiritkin some bombastic boons/curses xD Which isn't wrong, necessarily, but they're supposed to be a fey race, a race that defies common sense and logic and just gives you the willies when you interact with them... not just because they can be scary (which many are), but because you don't understand their thoughts and motives. They are alien to our realm, and should should feel alien.

A few other entries really made me happy and will be receiving "as time permits" semi-custom tokens as a high-five and thank you for making me smile.
Elix-e The Spinster entry was probably a super close second place. Honestly I was torn which one to choose. *o* I really loved the aesthetic and general feel for this entry, I definitely got that creepy vibe trying to picture it appearing outside of some random village, oh man! I think the effect of the magic thread was maybe too potent in the end, but I am so tempted to run a story around this spiritkin in the future! Very well done!
giz-art Holy crap that picture made me so giddy xD Pawndigs sound so adorable!! The only reason I didn't feel like this would be a good winner is that the pawndigs seem too traditionally sentient? They seem like they could be a normal race of creatures living in the world, and not something fey and mysterious. Still, the entry was well presented and the race itself gave me the "awwwwwww"s x3
CitrusBun Pretty much for the same reasons I listed for Giz, the Eolas gave me lots of good feels, but ended up sounding more like an actual normal race without the heeby-jeeby vibes of the spiritkin. I loved the art accompaniment and.. ok I admit I might have a huge soft spot for big libraries ><;;

I will note the four winners later on after I've finished a few errands, but that's all folks! Thank you everyone for entering, I really enjoyed reading through your entries!! <3

-------

- ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 9 -

~~Candlelight and Storytime~~

Yesterday, I posted a brief introduction to one of Eyre's important races, the Spiritkin (over here if you missed it! { ADVENT DAY 8 } ). So today I'm going to have a little contest centered around them!

Spiral, one of my NPCs, is collecting stories about the fey Spiritkin. There are so very many different types of spirits on Eyre, it's almost impossible to count. She wants you to tell her about a Spiritkin that you've heard about or encountered! With her is a very bed-headed little elnin that seems to be quite interested in the idea of storytime, and will likely follow you home if you tell them a good one.

CONTEST SPECIFICS:

* The purpose of this contest is to create and describe a type of Spiritkin.
* By submitting your ideas to the contest, you will be giving me permission to use the concept for future events/stories/etc within the Mana universe (even if you don't win). I will credit you for the concept if used.
* Spiritkin are creatures based on fairytale and legends. There are many Spiritkin on Eyre with analogues to our own myths (such as the Dullahan) but are typically different in some way. There are also, of course, types that are completely specific to Eyre (so you're welcome to get at creative as you like, they don't need to be based on any existing creature or myth).
* The Spiritkin are always bound by a set of rules (or jinxes as many people call them) that they cannot break and that determine the way they react to just about everything. These rules can be absolutely anything, from not being about to touch the color blue, or only being able to use their left hand to open doors, etc anything at all!
* The jinxes also apply to what happens when something upsets or pleases a Spiritkin. Like receiving a golden brick on your doorstep for giving an old treefolk a nice back scratch, or conversely getting your garden infested with poisonous frogs because you kicked a fey toadling off a hiking path.
* Spiritkin are generally a neutral race as long as you play by their rules.. but do not be fooled! They are terribly dangerous if you break a jinx or otherwise upset them in any way. A harmless little grey gremlin taking sugar from your kitchen should be ignored unless you want to wake up with needles in your ears.
* It is also important to note that Spiritkin are not bound by conventional physics or common sense. They can appear/disappear as their rules allow (one common jinx is the inability to vanish or teleport if you maintain eye contact with them). And just because you're carrying an easy and friendly conversation with a beautiful fey elf, it doesn't mean that at any moment she won't turn into some horrible vision of decay and drag you into an early grave for letting her see your uncovered wrists.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:

* Create your own type of Spiritkin! Describe their appearance and where they like to live.
* Tell me about their jinxes, how do they act and what kinds of things they're known for.
* Very important: tell me about what kind of interactions make them angry or scared and which ones make them happy!
Examples: The Dullahan is a terrible creature that will always attack you if you see it.. Unless! You have gold on your person, it hates gold and will not go near it
House elves will clean your home at night, but only when you are sleeping. If you thank them for their hard work in any way (like leaving treats out for them), they will vanish and never reappear. It's best to ignore them.
* You can just give me the straight facts about the creature, or for bonus points you can tell me about them in a short story! (Please not too long, I have a short attention span xD)
* More bonus points if you draw/sketch the Spiritkin for me!
* Post your entries at my comment below so that I can keep track please!

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

Q & A! Will add any answers to questions and stuff here if they come up:

Q: Do Spiritkin have a specific appearance? Or do they just look like anything your mind can imagine?
A: Pretty much anything at all! I would encourage making them at least a little.. odd.. in some way. Like if your Spiritkin takes the shape of an animal, have some part of the body be unusually shaped/colored/etc to mark it as an unnatural creature.

Q: Can Spiritkin die? Do they kill each other?
A: Technically, it's possible. But it would have to be by some very special/dramatic methods. In most cases when a Spiritkin is rendered unconscious or otherwise defeated it is usually banished back to its home realm instead of being outright killed. And sure, Spiritkin could kill each other under the right circumstances/motivation. ^^

Q: Can we enter more than once?
A: I would prefer one entry per person (to keep things as tidy as possible), but I will accept up to two.

Q: Do Spiritkin only come out in the winter?
A: They can show up at any time during the year, however it's much easier/more common for them to appear during winter.

Q: Can I still use the design after I submit it?
A: Of course!~ You're just giving me permission to use your ideas as a resource to populate my setting with unique creatures. If you want to use your idea in your own work, I have no issues with it. After all, Spiritkin come from a whole different dimension, so it's entirely possible for them to visit other places as well (which is why there are a lot of Spiritkin that are similar to myths from Earth!).

Q: What will you do with my entry exactly?
A: Like I mentioned above, I'm going to use these entries to inspire actual Spiritkin that will appear in the world. I will also compile the entries for other people to browse whenever they'd like to create or choose Spiritkin for their Manaverse pets to interact with (in roleplays etc). I may use part or all of your entry, or mash two entries together, who knows. I will likely make changes to things and mish mash ideas to create new creatures, so bear in mind that your original concept may not appear (canonically) as you originally wrote them.

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

CONTEST RULES:

End date: Entry must be received by Sunday, Dec 13@ 7PM PST
-- May extend if there's enough interest? --
The winner receives the candle elnin!
(There is a second elnin I might add before the contest ends, in which case there will be two winners)

No co-ownership!

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

[Traits]

[Candes]

Mane (Hair): Short [-]
Fringe (Ear Tufts): vv.Long []
Tail Size: Large []

Tail Style: Glade []

Crown: n/a

MP: [8]
Rank: Adventurer

Notables: Potential fire hazard. The candles are made of a special floating wax, so should be tethered if possible to keep them from wandering away.

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

Elnins are a close species by myself manaberry <3 Please do not make your own!

Description

UPDATE: I was just too caught up in everything else going on to be able to finish a second prize for this I'm sorry! T^T /cry

BUT! I have chosen a winner: Elephantfreak 's Bao Qu
Their entry wasn't one of the very long ones, but I feel it captures the essence of a what a spiritkin should be~ The way that it appears, the boon that it grants, and especially the strange behavior of not being able to travel vertically, all really appealed to me. It gave me that, "Huh.. that'd be really weird" feeling when trying to picture this creature in the world. Many of the entries were very extreme without giving me enough of that.. certain something.. and just giving the spiritkin some bombastic boons/curses xD Which isn't wrong, necessarily, but they're supposed to be a fey race, a race that defies common sense and logic and just gives you the willies when you interact with them... not just because they can be scary (which many are), but because you don't understand their thoughts and motives. They are alien to our realm, and should should feel alien.

A few other entries really made me happy and will be receiving "as time permits" semi-custom tokens as a high-five and thank you for making me smile.
Elix-e The Spinster entry was probably a super close second place. Honestly I was torn which one to choose. *o* I really loved the aesthetic and general feel for this entry, I definitely got that creepy vibe trying to picture it appearing outside of some random village, oh man! I think the effect of the magic thread was maybe too potent in the end, but I am so tempted to run a story around this spiritkin in the future! Very well done!
giz-art Holy crap that picture made me so giddy xD Pawndigs sound so adorable!! The only reason I didn't feel like this would be a good winner is that the pawndigs seem too traditionally sentient? They seem like they could be a normal race of creatures living in the world, and not something fey and mysterious. Still, the entry was well presented and the race itself gave me the "awwwwwww"s x3
CitrusBun Pretty much for the same reasons I listed for Giz, the Eolas gave me lots of good feels, but ended up sounding more like an actual normal race without the heeby-jeeby vibes of the spiritkin. I loved the art accompaniment and.. ok I admit I might have a huge soft spot for big libraries ><;;

I will note the four winners later on after I've finished a few errands, but that's all folks! Thank you everyone for entering, I really enjoyed reading through your entries!! <3

-------

- ADVENT CALENDAR DAY 9 -

~~Candlelight and Storytime~~

Yesterday, I posted a brief introduction to one of Eyre's important races, the Spiritkin (over here if you missed it! { ADVENT DAY 8 } ). So today I'm going to have a little contest centered around them!

Spiral, one of my NPCs, is collecting stories about the fey Spiritkin. There are so very many different types of spirits on Eyre, it's almost impossible to count. She wants you to tell her about a Spiritkin that you've heard about or encountered! With her is a very bed-headed little elnin that seems to be quite interested in the idea of storytime, and will likely follow you home if you tell them a good one.

CONTEST SPECIFICS:

* The purpose of this contest is to create and describe a type of Spiritkin.
* By submitting your ideas to the contest, you will be giving me permission to use the concept for future events/stories/etc within the Mana universe (even if you don't win). I will credit you for the concept if used.
* Spiritkin are creatures based on fairytale and legends. There are many Spiritkin on Eyre with analogues to our own myths (such as the Dullahan) but are typically different in some way. There are also, of course, types that are completely specific to Eyre (so you're welcome to get at creative as you like, they don't need to be based on any existing creature or myth).
* The Spiritkin are always bound by a set of rules (or jinxes as many people call them) that they cannot break and that determine the way they react to just about everything. These rules can be absolutely anything, from not being about to touch the color blue, or only being able to use their left hand to open doors, etc anything at all!
* The jinxes also apply to what happens when something upsets or pleases a Spiritkin. Like receiving a golden brick on your doorstep for giving an old treefolk a nice back scratch, or conversely getting your garden infested with poisonous frogs because you kicked a fey toadling off a hiking path.
* Spiritkin are generally a neutral race as long as you play by their rules.. but do not be fooled! They are terribly dangerous if you break a jinx or otherwise upset them in any way. A harmless little grey gremlin taking sugar from your kitchen should be ignored unless you want to wake up with needles in your ears.
* It is also important to note that Spiritkin are not bound by conventional physics or common sense. They can appear/disappear as their rules allow (one common jinx is the inability to vanish or teleport if you maintain eye contact with them). And just because you're carrying an easy and friendly conversation with a beautiful fey elf, it doesn't mean that at any moment she won't turn into some horrible vision of decay and drag you into an early grave for letting her see your uncovered wrists.

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS:

* Create your own type of Spiritkin! Describe their appearance and where they like to live.
* Tell me about their jinxes, how do they act and what kinds of things they're known for.
* Very important: tell me about what kind of interactions make them angry or scared and which ones make them happy!
Examples: The Dullahan is a terrible creature that will always attack you if you see it.. Unless! You have gold on your person, it hates gold and will not go near it
House elves will clean your home at night, but only when you are sleeping. If you thank them for their hard work in any way (like leaving treats out for them), they will vanish and never reappear. It's best to ignore them.
* You can just give me the straight facts about the creature, or for bonus points you can tell me about them in a short story! (Please not too long, I have a short attention span xD)
* More bonus points if you draw/sketch the Spiritkin for me!
* Post your entries at my comment below so that I can keep track please!

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

Q & A! Will add any answers to questions and stuff here if they come up:

Q: Do Spiritkin have a specific appearance? Or do they just look like anything your mind can imagine?
A: Pretty much anything at all! I would encourage making them at least a little.. odd.. in some way. Like if your Spiritkin takes the shape of an animal, have some part of the body be unusually shaped/colored/etc to mark it as an unnatural creature.

Q: Can Spiritkin die? Do they kill each other?
A: Technically, it's possible. But it would have to be by some very special/dramatic methods. In most cases when a Spiritkin is rendered unconscious or otherwise defeated it is usually banished back to its home realm instead of being outright killed. And sure, Spiritkin could kill each other under the right circumstances/motivation. ^^

Q: Can we enter more than once?
A: I would prefer one entry per person (to keep things as tidy as possible), but I will accept up to two.

Q: Do Spiritkin only come out in the winter?
A: They can show up at any time during the year, however it's much easier/more common for them to appear during winter.

Q: Can I still use the design after I submit it?
A: Of course!~ You're just giving me permission to use your ideas as a resource to populate my setting with unique creatures. If you want to use your idea in your own work, I have no issues with it. After all, Spiritkin come from a whole different dimension, so it's entirely possible for them to visit other places as well (which is why there are a lot of Spiritkin that are similar to myths from Earth!).

Q: What will you do with my entry exactly?
A: Like I mentioned above, I'm going to use these entries to inspire actual Spiritkin that will appear in the world. I will also compile the entries for other people to browse whenever they'd like to create or choose Spiritkin for their Manaverse pets to interact with (in roleplays etc). I may use part or all of your entry, or mash two entries together, who knows. I will likely make changes to things and mish mash ideas to create new creatures, so bear in mind that your original concept may not appear (canonically) as you originally wrote them.

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

CONTEST RULES:

End date: Entry must be received by Sunday, Dec 13@ 7PM PST
-- May extend if there's enough interest? --
The winner receives the candle elnin!
(There is a second elnin I might add before the contest ends, in which case there will be two winners)

No co-ownership!

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

[Traits]

[Candes]

Mane (Hair): Short [-]
Fringe (Ear Tufts): vv.Long []
Tail Size: Large []

Tail Style: Glade []

Crown: n/a

MP: [8]
Rank: Adventurer

Notables: Potential fire hazard. The candles are made of a special floating wax, so should be tethered if possible to keep them from wandering away.

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

Elnins are a close species by myself manaberry <3 Please do not make your own!