The purpose of these newsletters is to keep our community informed about site updates, upcoming events, official artist commission openings, new user guides, highlight different bits and pieces of our species, and build on community engagement. The content of these newsletters will vary by month.

Thank you to everyone who commented on last month’s newsletter! We are posting this Newsletter earlier than usual to prepare for Corruption later this month.

To sign up for a Faunids account, message a moderator for an invite code. Once you have that, you can register on the sign-up page.

View the Faunids Policy Handbook

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Character Appreciation

We want to appreciate all the hard work that goes into turning designs into full-fledged characters.
As part of the Newsletter, we choose a community member with a well-loved Faunid to tell us a bit more about them!

This month, we wanted to highlight two opposites: A Fenris Child, since this is the month of Corruption, and a Faunid that is a polar opposite! 

We asked Banriion about her Fenris Child, Lorne! 

1. Where does your character's name come from? Who gave it to them?

A lot of Lorne’s in canon lore is up for speculation and based around faunid folklore. It doesn’t have a set beginning (except being handfuls of generations old) and doesn’t have any friends (aside from mal’s mimi, who I’m so excited to see corrupted this year!!) so a lot of his history is theorized on by scholars. He’s the biggest fenris child, and the one most commonly known because of his tendency to wander around atalav. I like to say that “It has been called many things, and none of them are good.” It has a handful of names given to it through these parent-to-child campfire legends, with different regions having different myths about him with different names (the listening tree, the calling man, the kind voice, etc.) but outside of canon I like to just call him Lorne like a shortened version of Forlorn. (:

2. Where did your faunid spend their childhood? What did they want to be when they grew up?

As a Fenris child, he didn’t have a childhood, and technically didn’t grow up. I like to think he started as an idea given life by Fenris. Maybe the legend existed first, and then Fenris made it real? Maybe fenris’s influence was strong in the place the story started and it came to be on its own? But part of the fun is not really knowing where he came from, just that he has always been there, and he’s always been watching and listening.

3. Who is the most important person in their life and why?

Mimic. There isn’t anybody else. Lorne and Mimi’s relationship is complicated. Mimi’s family has a lot of personal trauma regarding corruption and corrupting, and she’s the next to be affected by the curse. Lorne is a faunid-eater, it does not matter what age or species or corruption status. He has an immense, endless memory and perfect recall. Part of his method for luring is his voice replication; he has been watching and listening for so long that he knows the voices of every faunid that has ever been and a vague idea of the relationships they have. He will use the voices of mothers to lure children, lovers to lure lovers, and even the dead to lure the grieving. Mimi found a way to turn this into a game. She piqued his interest on accident. She glows like he does. She doesn’t show any fear of him. With her echolalia, she even echoes the way he does. What he feels for her is a really, admittedly grotesque version of maternal. He isn’t sure why, but she should be more like him. He gives her gifts to try and help her hunt; pinecones packed with teeth, dead shriekers, and the like. It’s like a curse over her house that won’t go away, but she sees her tall friend as someone fun to play with. When she calls a name out to the woods, he talks back to her in their voice. To her family’s dismay, no matter how long he leaves her for, he always comes back.

4. What is their idea of perfect happiness?

Happiness is a concept that Lorne doesn’t particularly understand. It just is. For someone interested in ancient histories, he would be a well of knowledge if they could get him to speak to them. He has seen it all, and lived it all. But he isn’t interested in that, or having a conversation with anyone but Mimi. It’s content shuffling endlessly through atalav, filling himself on fauns and minding himself. Perhaps the secret to him, is through her?

Our next Faunid, owned by Yara_Shep, is quite a different soul altogether! 

1. Where does your character's name come from? Who gave it to them?

Matilda was named after a military tank….an odd choice at first glance, but fitting in its own way. The name was given to her by someone close who thought it suited her mix of inner strength and unexpected charm.

2. Where did your faunid spend their childhood? What did they want to be when they grew up?

She grew up in a quiet, flower filled part of the woods, where she spent most of her time with her best friend, a little rabbit who’s still by her side. As a kid, Matilda dreamed of a lot of things, maybe discovering new constellations, or opening a boutique full of soft, pretty things. She never settled on one goal, and even now, she’s still figuring it out.

3. Who is the most important person in their life and why?

Her rabbit friend means everything to her. They’ve been together through every phase of her life, from childhood to now. They know her better than anyone else, and their quiet support keeps her grounded when things feel uncertain.

4. What is their idea of perfect happiness?

A warm evening under the stars, strawberries to snack on, soft music playing, and not a speck of dirt in sight. Just her favorite outfit, her best friend by her side, and the peace of knowing she’s exactly where she wants to be!

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Corruption Event Reminders

The final day to submit your Corruption Forms is this Sunday, October 12th. 

You can view the full event guide for Corruption [HERE]. 

Finished Corrupts are posted in the Discord and uploaded to the website every Saturday. Here is what our artists have released so far:

 

Corrupt Gachas

Additionally, we have a set of Corrupt Gachas being released weekly throughout the month of October.
You may enter for them [HERE]. 

Note of Thanks

Last year, there were 36 Corrupted Faunids made by our artist team. As of posting this Newsletter, we have received 41 Corrupt forms this season - still with a few days to go! Thank you all so, so much for supporting our artist team and for all of your incredible ideas. We are so happy to be able to host this event and our newest additions to the artist team are learning so much that will prepare us to have an awesome Fawning season next year. 

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Upcoming Adopts

Keep your eyes peeled for the third set of Corrupt Gachas next week, as well as two Auction Faunids which will be posted on October 31st!

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Site Updates

As you may have noticed, we have a fully functional site theme now! Banriion did such an incredible job seeing my vision for a natural, vivid combination of brown and green to capture Faunids and ensure the site can be as accessible to everyone as possible. I love it I love it I love it I love it I love it.
I love it.
We have plans for alternate themes based on different areas on the continent of Atalav, as well as light and dark mode options for users to choose from. 

Additionally, the following pages have been converted from Atalav over to Faunids:

Faunid Subspecies
History
Corruption Guide
Self Age-Ups + Re-References

Our plan is to reformat all existing pages on Atalav over to Faunids, so that we can host everything exclusively on one website.
We will be working hard to continue collecting all of the important lore and event information over, as well as making edits to our dropdown menus to reflect this!

Site Error Reporting

If you encounter any errors or bugs while using the site, please report them in the #website-chatter channel of the Discord, or report them directly to MUTT. 

Thank you so much to our incredible coders. bluiestarss has been working incredibly hard on the back end of Faunids to fix errors, increase stability on the site, and so much more that I don't know how to do myself and is immensely valuable to our community. 

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Trait Feature (With a twist!) 

Instead of posting a trait highlight with this month's newsletter, we have some minor trait updates  as well as an entire section this month dedicated to Mutations.

New Traits

• Pheasant Tail is a new Standard trait, featured first on a Corrupt Faunid. 
• Insect Wings are a new Corrupt trait.
• Predator Mouth (Avian) and Predator Mouth (Reptile) are new Corrupt sub-traits attached to the Predator Mouth trait. 

Trait Description Updates

• Permanent Velvet cannot stack with other antler-altering traits.
• Throat Feathers can stack with Neck Fluff.
• Feather Mane cannot stack with Neck Fluff, Neck Feathers, or Throat Feathers.
• Folded Ears can affect one or both ears.
• Tail Scale Feathers can stack on any tails where bone lies underneath the fur, but not with tails that are made of feathers.

Mutations

As a staff team, we have discussed individual Mutations and the Mutation category as a whole from multiple angles: art, lore, and community.
These changes and updates are up-to-date as of posting this Newsletter.

Brachycephaly/Cleft Lip

These Mutations are being retired.
With Mutations, we want to focus on the fantasy elements of Faunids and what may be advantageous in certain environments and unique visual profiles, as well as create opportunities for members in our community with disabilities to have the chance to create Faunids that reflect their own experiences if they wish. Similar to mobility aids, prosthetic limbs, and other alterations allowed without tokens, you are free to have your Faunids display a Cleft Lip with a note on the reference similar to body modification. 

If you have a Faunid with either of these mutations that was granted as your mutation through Fawning, please message MUTT to discuss options. We would be happy to discuss re-referrencing or rolling new Mutations for these Faunids if requested by the owner.

Gigantism

This trait is being renamed to "Behemoth".
Like the previous two Mutations, we want to lean away from existing conditions that have specific context as it relates to real life humans. Gigantism is a condition that looks very different from the fantasy concept presented by this mutation in Faunids. Behemoth reflects the application of this mutation in Faunids much more directly, as it results in a Faunid being much larger and stronger than other members of that Faunid's Subspecies. 

The following Mutations have had some lore flavor text added to their descriptions.

This lore is optional and may not necessarily be true of all Faunids with these Mutations. Just something fun to think about as you build your characters! 

Third Eye
Faunids with a Third Eye tend to be more commonly predisposed to clairvoyance.

Boney Growth
Faunids with Boney Growth tend to have stiffer joints in the areas affected by Boney Growth, which can be detrimental to movement but advantageous to Faunids who may benefit from having extra armor on their bodies.

Gem Growths
Faunids with Gem Growths might find themselves drawn to chemical and alchemical career paths due to the availability of resources grown directly from their bodies.

Draconic Horns
Faunids with Draconic Horns tend to run hotter, allowing them to persist longer in harsh cold environments. 

Double Ears 
Faunids with Double Ears tend to have keen hearing, and have a wider auditory range.

Paws
Faunids with Paws tend to have less fine motor skills, at the benefit of having stronger grip strength. 

Split/Double Tail
Faunids with these tails tend to have better balance. 

Vestigial Wings
While Faunids with this mutation cannot fly with them, it does tend to make them more aerodynamic - which can be especially useful for Faunids high up on mountain ranges or in precarious lines of work. Unfortunately, they are also very inconvenient to have attached to your body. 

Chimerism
Faunids with this mutation are rumored to have wells of Lifesource within their bodies.

Plant Growth
Heavily dependent on the plant. 
Some Faunids may find that this mutation heightens their medicinal practices, whether this be for good or bad. 
Some Faunids with this mutation can produce fruiting bodies under the right conditions. 

Melanism
Can be advantageous in colder climates, due to the thermoregulation benefits that this mutation can provide.
Useful for camouflage. 
Strong immune systems.

Dragon Feet
Faunids with this mutation tend to be far more sturdy and agile compared to the average Faunid.

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 The Faunids Fund 

Thanks to our community, we have managed to completely cover the annual cost of Atalav.com, as well as nearly fully cover the annual fees of Faunids.com! 
I cannot thank all of you enough. We have learned so much and so quickly how feasible it might be to continue running our websites, and with these costs continuing to shrink as we port over information from Atalav to Faunids, we have put these two things into place: 

We have reduced Self Age-Ups/Re-References from $30 -> $20 for the remainder of 2025.
We have also added vouchers to waive this fee as rewards for our monthly Art Challenges for the remainder of 2025.

At the new year, we will look at the monthly site fees gathered through each month and discuss on staff whether we should reduce these costs further. 

Finding out that Corruption alone was able to cover the bulk of our website hosting expenses, we have discussed extensively on staff what any further income gained through tokens and user submission fees could be used for. We were all in agreement that anything gained through the community should be tracked and organized to best serve our community. 

Our concept for the Faunids Fund will be added in its own tab onto the Policy Handbook. For those who want to read it now, here it is: 

Purpose of the Faunids Fund

To manage monetary resources gained through official Faunids purchases to improve the species in a multitude of ways, prioritizing safety nets for our artist team and projects related to quality of life for staff as well as the community. 

Purchases that go directly into the Faunids Fund

- Fawning item purchases
- Corruption token purchases
- Age-Up Fees
- Re-Reference Fees
- Donations (if specified for this purpose)

Purchases that do not go into the Faunids Fund

- Payment directly to artists, including event designs (Corrupts, Fawns, Springtides), Gachas, Auctions, Customs, and Tips.
- Payment granted to guest artists by the winners of gachas, auctions, raffles, etc.

No money is to be transferred out of the Faunids Fund without full input from all members of the artist team and the species owner (Gory, Necro, Pebb, and Jack). The moderation team will be notified of any purchases made with the Faunids fund and, depending on the circumstance, be asked to provide input as well. 

What the Faunids Fund may be used for, on a case-by-case basis

1. Coverage in the event of an emergency for a member of the artist team (examples: if an artist is injured during Fawning, money might be used to pay another artist to support that artist's workload without jeopardizing the financial situation of a recovering artist /// If an artist becomes ill or injured and needs immediate medical support, funds might be used to support them within reason).
2. Payments made directly to our hired coder for Faunids.com for larger site functions such as fixing crashes, bugs, errors, and implementing new interactive structures for site functionality. 
3. Sponsorship of additional prizes/rewards for events, such as Art Challenges, to cover the cost associated with official artist vouchers (allowing us to potentially offer larger rewards that would normally only be possible through commissions). 
4. Payment to supplemental artists for working on official projects (such as Lore Development pages).
5. Payment to official artists for larger projects such as updating all remaining trait images, creating visual guides (such as Minodae, Freeze Branding, trait guides), and new event-related assets.

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Art Challenge

 Thank you all for your submissions in the month of September! Some of these really freaked me out. YAY! 

Our winners were: 

20 Barters - Zorkia
20 Barters - FatalChimera
30 Barters - darthdadddy
Corruption Voucher - HatoKnight
Re-Reference/Age-Up Submission Fee Waiver - Elk_Montauk

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The October prompt is now live! 

Our prompt this month ties into our next upcoming lore development (Clothing): 

It's Costume Time! 

Dress up for the fall season. Maybe your Faunid has a harvest gathering to attend.
Maybe they're ready to go out trick-or-treating. Maybe they just want to look their best! 
If you have a Faunid that's based on a character, feel free to have fun and dress them up!
Art Challenge submissions don't have to exist in the canon universe.

The RNG winners of the raffle may receive one of these prizes:

20 Barters
20 Barters
30 Barters
One Trait Applicator [Exclusive]
One waiver for an age-up/re-reference fee on approval

(If you wish to contribute to this raffle prize please DM Jaquiri on Discord!)

Remember that in order to enter for this prompt, you must submit your entry into the art challenge gallery and submit a prompt.

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Monthly Question

Who is your favorite Faunid and why? 

Post your answer in the comments to get currency! 

The currency reward window closes 7 days after the news is posted.