2022-12-25 - Happy Holidays!

[Shadowdrake]

Arguing "Christmas is not Christian actually" is very weird given the roots of the word Christmas, or Christ Mass. Other religions don't have popular secular equivalents because Christianity's holiday dominates the others in US culture, but I'm sure if you asked you'd get answers on what colors/symbols are strongly associated with other cultures' holidays without being religious, strictly speaking.

Edited December 30, 2022 by Shadowdrake

[Fuzzbucket]

41 minutes ago, Shadowdrake said:

Arguing "Christmas is not Christian actually" is very weird given the roots of the word Christmas, or Christ Mass. Other religions don't have popular secular equivalents because Christianity's holiday dominates the others in US culture, but I'm sure if you asked you'd get answers on what colors/symbols are strongly associated with other cultures' holidays without being religious, strictly speaking.

 

This, actually. I don't give a toss personally, being totally irreligious myself, but even I was relieved when all the December holiday dragons stopped being called Christmas here. I tried to get a totally secular one up there once - but it never saw the light of day.

[miaou]

this may be a small thing, but i LOVE the lineage tile for the light weavers! i had resigned myself to losing some of the magnificent menorah antlers, but they're fully present in lineage view. 💙 😊

 

 

 

[Kelkelen]

36 minutes ago, miaou said:

this may be a small thing, but i LOVE the lineage tile for the light weavers! i had resigned myself to losing some of the magnificent menorah antlers, but they're fully present in lineage view. 💙 😊

 

 

 

YES!  I went to look at the lineage tile right away, to think about breeding plans, and IT IS SO PRETTY!!!  I love it!  Full nine flames on display! 

 

Also, I think it's really great that we now have a Solstice dragon AND a Hanukkah dragon, and several that are snow/ice focused, plus shiny Tinsels, as well as all the red & green more "Christmas-y" ones.  

[futurevampire]

Thank you to the artists who made the dragon this year. In my real life, we lost our daughter I was pregnant with to late miscarriage on 12-21. It's comforting to feel like this dragon was exactly meant for her. I know this might sound weird but I just want to say thank you. 

[Sheriziya]

The Light Weavers are beautiful! Congratulation Pixxelation and PiedPipecleaner on this release! It's awesome to see another faith included

I love how the hatchling is curled up so cozy 😍 This is certainly one I'll be collecting over the years

[Pixxelation]

2 hours ago, futurevampire said:

Thank you to the artists who made the dragon this year. In my real life, we lost our daughter I was pregnant with to late miscarriage on 12-21. It's comforting to feel like this dragon was exactly meant for her. I know this might sound weird but I just want to say thank you. 

 

I'm so sorry you're experiencing this pain and grief, but I'm glad our holiday dragon was able to give you a little comfort while you heal. Much love ❤️

[Moondragon007]

9 hours ago, Spiteful_Crow said:

 

From my experience, this is common with many RPGs. For one thing, it would probably take a lot of extra space in the game to create maps/interactions for every single house you see. In one of my favorites, EarthBound, you could at least knock on the doors of some of the houses you couldn't go into and get some interesting responses from some of the occupants. Maybe the people in the buildings you can't enter are just playing Championship Level Social Distancing. 

 

Think of it like real life too: You can't go into every single house you see, only the ones where people you know live, or those open to visitors.

 

Putting signs, on each building you're not supposed to go into, that say "Private" would help with the immersion. Instead of being blocked from a building just because the game is coded that way, it's because someone lives there and they don't want you in their house.

 

[Fuzzbucket]

I don't always let people in my house but I have no sign up. I see no problem here., Maybe the people went to Florida for the holidays.. And then you DON'T put signs up to advertise to burglars !

[kiramaru7]

On 12/28/2022 at 2:51 PM, Pixxelation said:

 

I've been emotional since I read your post yesterday, and I'm so glad I can finally reply! I'm so happy this means as much to you as it does to us. Even one person responding so positively to seeing themselves represented makes what I do worth it.  Chanukah sameach, from my home to yours ❤️

Awe... You have definitely made my day with these BEAUTIFUL dragons!! ❤️ I will be HOARDING these every year now!  Thank you again for them! ❤️ Hanukkah Sameach to you and yours! ❤️

Edited December 30, 2022 by kiramaru7

[Strekoza]

What a perfect breed! 💙💛

[alyelle]

They're so beeautiful, I cannot. Chanukah sameach, spriters!! Can't wait til next so I can freeze a couple of these cuties. ♥

[Kaini]

Beautiful dragons! I've been so busy this year, glad I could grab them

[SoraBbb]

On 12/28/2022 at 11:47 AM, Pixxelation said:

Chanukah sameach, Dragon Cave!

 

I hope you all enjoy the Light Weavers, Dragon Cave's first Hanukkah dragon! It's been really lovely seeing everyone responding positively to this little bit of representation, and I'm so glad it's made other folks smile the way Pied and I smiled making them.

 

As silly as this may sound, this is an actual childhood dream come true for me! I've been playing Dragon Cave since I was a 10-year-old in elementary school, and even way back then, I'd dreamed of seeing a Hanukkah dragon get released. Back when holiday dragons were still called "Spirits of Christmas" on-site, I'd even made a Suggestions and Requests thread about secularizing Christmas on-site so that players like myself of non-Christian faiths could feel more included (a change I was so thrilled to see get implented).

 

The timing of this finally coming through is really meaningful to me as well. I worked on my first Hanukkah-inspired concept alongside a couple collaborators in 2013, so this is the 10-year anniversary of my first attempt at a Hanukkah dragon. And as others have mentioned, this release comes at a time when antisemitism has been on the rise in the real-world. Having this piece of positive representation, now, means so much to me. And to other players who are Jewish or of other underrepresented faiths and cultures, I hope this makes you smile as well.

 

@PiedPipecleaner, thank you for making these blue noodles with me (especially since I asked you as late as December 20th)! It was so lovely collaborating with you, and it was really awesome getting to work with another Jewish artist on something based on our culture. I'm thrilled to share this release with you ❤️

@TJ09 Thank you for taking a chance on these! This release means so much to me, Pied, and other Jewish players, and I'm so thankful to get to have them lighting up the skies of Valkemare.

 

Happy holidays, everyone, and may your 2023 be happy, healthy, and full of light~

Reading this made me cry, I feel the same. I was about 13 when I joined the site, and though I loved all the Christmas themed dragons, part of me always wondered if they would ever release a Hanukkah one as well, since I celebrated that too. So you kinda made my childhood dreams come true too! I actually just came back to this site recently after not playing for a few years and got to wondering again, part of me was half wondering if I should try designing my own Hanukkah dragon and finding a spriter to collab with, lol. Thank you so much again for the beautiful new dragons! I honestly think they are one of my new favorite holiday dragons(including halloween and valentines!) It honestly made me so happy to finally get some representation for my Jewish half!

[Pixxelation]

55 minutes ago, SoraBbb said:

Reading this made me cry, I feel the same. I was about 13 when I joined the site, and though I loved all the Christmas themed dragons, part of me always wondered if they would ever release a Hanukkah one as well, since I celebrated that too. So you kinda made my childhood dreams come true too! I actually just came back to this site recently after not playing for a few years and got to wondering again, part of me was half wondering if I should try designing my own Hanukkah dragon and finding a spriter to collab with, lol. Thank you so much again for the beautiful new dragons! I honestly think they are one of my new favorite holiday dragons(including halloween and valentines!) It honestly made me so happy to finally get some representation for my Jewish half!

Well, bud, you just returned the favor because now I’m full-on sobbing 😭 I’m so overcome with joy that this means as much to other people as it does for me 💙

[Naruhina_94]

This dragon is absulutely stunning, lovely colors and lore, beautiful antlers and pose. I can't find a single thing that iI dislike, I think it will look good on a lot of lineages and I already bred mine with my most precious dragon. 

 

Edited December 31, 2022 by Naruhina_94

[Seriva Senkalora]

Pretty dragons!

 

But again all the discussions around their reference and such... It seems as if every time a new dragon is released, people need to put way too many emotions in it, instead of just enjoying the good work of the artists...

 

I don't believe in any religion so I simply don't care about their references and just enjoy them as pretty dragons. 😉 And they are well done and I can't wait to create lineages with them. ❤

 

Cheers

Seriva

 

 

[Fuzzbucket]

How do I get a squirrel on a window ledge ? SOMEONE said they had done it....

[Quinney]

52 minutes ago, Fuzzbucket said:

How do I get a squirrel on a window ledge ? SOMEONE said they had done it....

It's classed as roof. I have one on my windowsill.

[Fuzzbucket]

OH. So I'd lose my ribbons..... Maybe not, then.

[Kelkelen]

1 hour ago, Fuzzbucket said:

OH. So I'd lose my ribbons..... Maybe not, then.

Yeah... I wanted some squirrels, but... not at the expense of my wintry icicles!  Maybe I can sacrifice the silver garland for some railing squirrels.  Still deciding! 

[Fuzzbucket]

I have railing squirrels both sides. And a rabbit on the left. I wish we could have more than one thing on the deck...

[Quinney]

I went for animals all over.  I love the little creatures.

[PiedPipecleaner]

It's incredible seeing how well received our dragon was, I'm so happy our little sprites could have such an immense positive effect on some of y'all! It really makes the effort all the more worth it

 

Ty guys!

[HeatherMarie]

AP is down to 1d11h at this point, wonder how much longer it will last? I don't remember when the wall broke last year. 

 

I'm a little rusty but excited to play the Snowball Shuffle again, if I remember correctly my first experience with that type of game was the Snowball Shuffle, I'd never done anything similar before. So glad we get some of these older games to play around with again.