I said I'd try to post from my slave-boy account if I could during my trip - and here I am. XD; My friend is at a dance class right now, and since I can't watch (due to studio rules), there's really no point in me going. @[email protected]; So here I am! She has another class next Monday and that'll probably be the next time I login to Menewsha. XD

@CrepsleyKabob - Yeah... I have a hard time not spending gold too. >_> I had something like 3.5k before I went on my trip and as you can see, I spent about 3k of it on half-priced commons during the event. XD I didn't even buy everything that I wanted. >_> But I can always add it to this Quest thread at a later time. XD

I visit Gaia at least once a day, but all my gold comes from lurking gold and Daily Chance. XD; I never found it as fun as I find Menewsha (and that was before I was invited to Staff!)

Aw... I'm sorry you didn't get to do your England trip while your parents and other brother went to Turkey! But maybe you can do something like that this summer! Something to look into, at least!

Yikes! Your friend made 10k from selling February items? That's nuts! But also very awesome. :D Have they sold more now? Or did they have a limit on what they were willing to purchase? :D

I do understand your dad's concern with using his card online, though. It's not like he knows the quality of character of the company and with internet/identity fraud so common, it's wise to be cautious. XD; Someday, though, I'm sure you'll find a way to donate if you can/want to. ;3

XD It's okay that you can't explain why you like the items. :3 Sometimes it is what it is. I don't know why I love my mule's look as much as I do... I just do!

Yes! It's terrible knowing exactly what an item is and then having to wait for it to come out. ;_; And when you have any role at all in an item's creation process, it's even worse - wanting to know what people think of it as soon as possible. XD

Speaking of... >_> Bwhaaa. :V Actually, I remember you posted your feedback on the Valentine's items in the feedback thread, so I don't need to bother you. :3 But anyone else reading this who hasn't posted their feedback, please do!

I will say that the heartface foxes exist because of me. XD; I mistook the original Valentine's boa for a fox-fur stole and had drawn artwork where it looked like a fox with a heart for a face. The staff liked it and we sort of ran with it. They're not really explained properly right now - as in, what they are and why they are, but more information on them is coming. XD They're not just random items or Vicktoria's minions. >:3 Anyway - Yumehayla did a beautiful job rendering them into pixels and Omi did a fabulous job drawing them in the manga. :3 I am happy-happy.

(I also contributed some elements to the hairpin and Vicktoria got a fan due to my suggestion, but it was Yumehayla who brought them to life and Omi who made them spectacular in artwork. :3 )

*rambles*

@whitebeast - I think on Menewsha, people walking into a conversation is welcome. :3 A lot of people have threads where they're just dying for someone else to join - not because they're not having fun talking to the person or persons they're talking to, but so they can get another view on a situation or idea or whatever. :3 Besides, lurking earns you nothing. Guts and glory! And all that. XD

Yes! Atlantis items. :3 I don't know if I mentioned in my last post (too lazy to scroll back and read my last long post, sorry >_> ) but I sketched some up... :' Hmm, I probably did, thinking on it. XD;

Did you find a set of February items yet? :o I didn't remember to check your avatar before I started writing this. XD;;;

I hope you enjoyed the Valentine's event. :3

@nocturnal miyu - XD Yay, you saved it! Thanks. :3

I'm having a lot of fun. XD My poor hostess (Vieko) has been sick, but that's not her fault. :c Too much interaction with traveling people. XD; Her mother had just returned from Malaysia, IIRC and then I arrived from the USA and I think that many airport germs just overwhelmed her immune system. XD; (Then her sister went to Thailand @[email protected] )

And I always try to be understanding, LOL. It'd be pretty poor of me not to. XD I'm an artist as well, so I know how things come up and kill the muse. ;3 <3

*posts and returns to poking Mene until friend returns from dance class*

@CrepsleyKabob - Woo - my friend will be back from her dance class very soon, so I don't have much time left for typing. XD; So if I ramble incoherently, it's because I'm typing on an unfamiliar keyboard, while trying to be fast while also not feeling 100% (we woke up at 5am this morning after 6 hours of sleep to go see dolphins and seals and I got a little sea-sick. XD;; Even though it's almost 12 hours later and I took a nap, I still feel bleh because it was so cold! And we didn't even swim with them like most of the people on the tour!!! Anyway...)

Did you manage to get your lovelipop? :o Or is the bargaining still going on? @[email protected] (Actually, I just pressed the back button to look at your avatar and - yay for you! - you have it. XD Congrats!)

XD I can understand how difficult it could be to have all that gold and have all those half-priced commons to choose from and not being able to spend it. LOL. Though I've never had 9,000 gold all at once. XD Maybe I should make that my goal instead. ;3

I enjoy obtaining/questing for items on Gaia... It's a very non-taxing way to play. But Menewsha's more fun, even without the games. I don't have to worry about being accused of hacking or accepting hacked items like I do with Gaia. u_u;

Cool! I always enjoy having the house to myself for a few days/longer. :3 At least until I get bored of eating my own cooking or taking care of the pets or having to do my own laundry. LOL. *is lazy/spoiled* :V I hope you guys have fun with that. :3

Yeah - very rarely is there any item released that the majority of the Staff aren't all over themselves to get for themselves. XD Only once can I think of the Staff just saying, "Yeah, I think the users will like it, even though I'm not particularly fond of it. :' " Well, maybe that wasn't so much an item as what to do with it/what layer to put it on. Hmm. :'

O! Well, maybe you posted your thoughts on Event Items in a Community Discussions thread or a thread in the Valentine's Day forums and since I was busy/distracted, I remembered it wrong. XD But you went off and replied in the thread for reals - I saw! - so that was awesome-sauce. ;3

XD I think we just liked the idea of a black fox to match the Bleeding Hearts theme of the event... The story behind the foxes was developed around that, really. XD I'm not sure, but the black boa concept may have come out after the decision for a black fox. XD But it does make sense!

Yes! The manga art for the storyline is gorgeous! Omi and YanYan did a wonderful job together. :3 I can't wait for when they post more of the pages. :3 I was a little sad to come back after almost a week after not being able to get on to find no new pages. :c

Yumehayla did do all the Event Items! The pin, fan, boa, foxes and belt were all her pixels. :3

I will check CK's trades when I get home! XD I'll be home on the 29th of March, so it's not long from now! (I'll probably be back from the airport at American central time zone arouuund... 8pm, maybe.... Well before bedtime... But depending on jet-lag/possible plane-cruddiness, I may have to wait until sometime the next day. And it's probable that I'll have to work that day too. XD; But it shouldn't be any later than the first!)

Thankyou so much!!! <3

Ah, I got over it (being sick). XD I'm a little stuffy, still, but that'll clear up quickly. :3

The dolphins and seals were pretty awesome, though. :) I'm not sure how 'playful' the seals were with the divers, because that's when Vieko and I got off the top deck and had ourselves muffins and hot chocolate from the snack bar below, but the dolphins swam alongside and looked up at us and swam under the snorklers. XD (Mostly they were smart enough to swim away from the flailing gawkers.)

Wow - that's quite an offer. XD I admit that what your offer was is worth more to me, personally, than the lolli. But I can easily see how you'd prefer the lolli. XD It's cute. XD And it's a great accessory! (I need to buy more handhelds. :' )

Dude - 5k now is still a huge amount. XD Not as huge as 10k, but still pretty huge. XD

What's your next big-ticket-item goal? :D

Yeah - don't complain about not being hacked. XD I think that's bad luck. XDD

Boo laundry. :V I prefer leaving that (and cooking and cleaning) to other people. XD I'll do it if asked (and not really even grudgingly) or if I need to, but I'm not someone who's going to do it of their own accord unless the planets align in a harmonious way or something. LOL.

It sucks that you'll have to do all the cooking and cleaning, seeing as asking your brother for assistance is more trouble than it's worth. :/ But, still - you have more personal freedom, which is nice as an exchange. :' And you like cooking, so it's not all bad. XD

I'm sad Chibi left too. :c But every day, someone else on the team gets better at it. XD (And I'm not exactly talking about the established pixelists here, though I'm sure they get better too - I'm talking about others on the team. XD) So while we can't duplicate Chibi's work, we can get some really fabulous items from other people. :3

As for how long the item making process is... That depends on the pixelist and their IRL schedule plus the reaction to the item from the rest of the staff. If a pixelist creates it and posts it for feedback and the reaction is overwhelmingly positive, not long at all. (Maybe a week if the pixelist was really inspired and had the time to do it.) It's just waiting for the next item-release. If the reaction from the staff requires changes, it could be weeks or even months. XD; Then there's the coding required to put it on the site (only a few people can add an item), deciding on a "price" (generally not something the pixelist decides at all - and I've sometimes seen a several-post-long discussion about the price - though that's rarely for shop items. XD; ), and then putting it in the shops or wherever else you collect the item.

Yeah - I read your event forum item feedback thread. XD Which may be where I was when I got confused. XD

We'll probably have a thread like that for every major event, yeah. XD I'm not sure about minor events.... I suppose it would depend on how 'major' or unusual the minor event was. XD

The next manga pages are put on hold until the site moves to the next forum software. :x So it'll be a bit. (And not even an especially long bit, I've seen AA's post publicly. XD ) I'm really looking forward to the manga too! I can't remember if the manga really explains a lot about the heartface foxes, but I can say that by the time the manga comes out, you'll know more about the heartface foxes... And probably much sooner than that. XD

Hmm... Yumehayla's items... She did the bustiers with the red ribbons and the heart on them for Valentines... She'll be doing my steampunk set... The Christmas ballgowns, the Christmas carolers set (with the skirt and cowl and hat and lantern on a stick)... I can't remember what else. XD; She's done a lot of recolors... All pixeling staff is put on creating recolors - so she was responsible for some of the last update. XD

The next event will be in March. :3 So, soon! :3 (Don't expect anything huge, though!)

Update!

There was a mini-quest in my "Event Rare Quests" section that I have completed! Rivayne and CrepsleyKabob were incredibly kind and reserved a set of Valentines Event '08 items for me, each. <3

I am formally noting I owe them art whenever I have time again from Event duties and work to draw again. :3 (Hopefully by the end of this month...?)

Archiving this bit of the Quest below:
Valentine's Event 2008
I will NOT be here for Valentine's Day Event. D:
I want to obtain two sets of items.
If anyone is willing to help me out, please post!

In other news, I'm considering my current main quest (all of the Atlantis items) and trying to decide whether or not to really go for it just yet when there are a few Event Rares and even the Oriental Fan to consider purchasing while they're still within my grasp.

Until I decide, I will hoard my gold! Though I may go look into the Exchange to see if perhaps there is something on my desired list that is avaliable for me to purchase... :'

Yeah. :3 I really love seeing a large number under my avatar... I always feel so poor when I have less than 400 gold on my main. XD I'm so backwards from the regular user! Most people seem to prefer shunting it to their mule to hold. XD

That avatar's fine. :3 It's not cluttered! It's accessorized! And it gives me an excuse to draw the Black Heartface Fox! :3 (Who, as you can see, is my favorite. XD ) I just saved it to my desktop. :3 Though that's one of the sorts of things I am prone to forget. XD; So I may PM you anyway and ask what you want to have drawn. LOL. So either link me again, remind me I saved it to my desktop or you can change your mind. ;3

You're naked now though! :O Any reason? XD

Actually - your magical stuffiness removal seems to have worked. XD I haven't felt stuffy all day. XD Yay! Thanks!

Yeah - kind of like Sea World, I suppose. XD Though on a boat rather than in a park. XD

Ooooh - those items were all extras! That's a great deal, then! You got full value without having 'lost' anything. XD Good call. ;3

XD Rando is a "trainee" pixelist. He's begun working already and he's getting quite good. :3 I can't wait to see some of his stuff released!

There are several Staff members learning to pixel or refining their skills, yeah. :3 I know of a few, but I figure it's probably 'safer' for me not to hint which ones. XD

As for "other prices" - how many candies/snowflakes/chocolates an item "costs" goes up for discussion. XD;

And, yes! Feedback on events, NPCs, items; etc makes things better the next time. :3 Hopefully, anyway. XD; That's our goal, in any case. XD; That's why I try to get people's opinions unofficially too. XD Even if they're not what I'd like to hear, it's good to hear it. XD;

I think Jelly posted somewhere publicly that by the end of this month, things should be switched over. :3 I'm really excited. :o

I hadn't tried that combination of items yet. XD I probably should. :' But you have a really good eye to notice those things. :3 Kudos!

I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say how soon. XD But I think I can safely say that it might be sooner than you expect. :D I'd expect an Announcement soon. *nods*

Thanks so much, Snowflower! :3 I'm doing my best. 8D

LOL. Yeah. XD I enjoy long conversations, though. ;3 I think one of the things I got noticed for on Menewsha right away was my tendency to talk a lot about whatever subject I was posting in. (Well, in general.)

And talking about Menewsha is honestly fun for me. XD (And since I also like to know people who take the time to get to know me, I don't mind that personal stuff is interspersed either. ;3 )

I have looked around mene and I find few males and even fewer manly items to wear.

@SugarDaddy - That's true! There aren't many openly male users on Menewsha. At least, not that I see.

As for manly items... I know that there is an interest on the Staff's side of creating more masculine items for our users! I know that there are several created and 'on hold' for the 'right' update to release them on. :3 So patience will (hopefully) be rewarded. :3

If you have any particular masculine item suggestions to make, I wholly encourage using the Contribution Items Suggestion Thread and the Regular Items Suggestion Thread. :3 The more support an item or type of item has publicly expressed by the users, the more likely it is to be made. :3

Besides - my mule needs more masculine items, so I want them too. XD

You know I can edit, but since I am right handed and that arm is in a sling my editing has sort of been put on hold. I started this one for meave http://i25.tinypic.com/n3tcwh.jpg and I have to finish it before I make any more edits, unless I can make one or two items in paint like a hat or two, or military dress uniforms, did one of those already before I broke my arm. Also In the hood pants, which I started in paint already.http://i27.tinypic.com/3r2fo.jpgI have to shade the pants some more before I send it in.

Cool SugarDaddy - I like the direction those are going! Particularly the gown!

EDITED TO ADD:
Went on a minor shopping spree to try to put together a new outfit.

Purchased:
- Teenie Yellow Skirt
- Evergreen Festive Pants
- Silk Slippers of Longevity
- Blue Bowtie

If any of those items were previously on my list of items-to-purchase, they will have been removed from my list of things to buy and I will add it to my 'Quests Completed' section. :3

Woo!

Yay! I love wall of text posts. XD \o/

LOL. Same here. XD "I'm so poor! I'm so poor - ooo shiny. *buys*" I haven't quite resorted to loans... but I might if I decide to go for any of the bigger-ticket CIs or Event Items I don't have yet (and want). XD; Mostly I just tell myself, "If you wanted it that much, you'd start buying multiple CIs and selling. Just give it up and hope you can get it as a commission or prize one day. :)" <-- I'm lazy and would rather spend my gold on upcoming items. XDD

I really like your commission you had done. XD That's super cute! I love the rawr expression on his face. XDD

LOL - I understand that. :3 Wanting to change your outfit and deciding against putting anything together right away... But I worked hard for my items, and I guess I don't want to be mistaken for a newbie by someone who doesn't know any better. 8D So I always throw on something, at least. XD

I didn't really get seasick... The sea was pretty calm that day (well, morning) and I was able to see the horizon just fine. I got seasick on a gambling cruise a few years ago, and I think that was because I was below deck in the gambling floor areas and I couldn't see the horizon and it made me ill. XD But I did get slightly nauseated regardless - probably from spending so many hours on board. XD My legs weren't too wobbly, no. XD

Yikes - buying back a lot of CIs when they start inflating! I was probably one of the last few people who were able to buy the slippers set for under 650 for the pair! It wasn't that much longer at all that they started inflating! :o I know by Christmas they were up to the 2,000+ per pair price. :o I'd hate to try to get them all over again. @[email protected];

I'll let you know which are Rando's. :3 (...ifyouremindme. XD) I think by the end of the month we'll see something from him, but my memory is hazy on that. XD;

Sometimes it takes awhile to decide on a price (gold or drops-wise)... People want to make sure it's fair to the users while also remaining fair to the purpose of the item. (Any magical item, for instance, is going to have a larger ticket price on it, even if it's not something huge like wings. XD) We don't want to end up like some of the older items that are 1k that should be 400gold instead. XD; And we don't want to 'pre-inflate' the worth some of the event items higher than they really 'should' be worth. (ie: Imagine if, say, the Valentines '08 belt cost 15 chocolates - we wouldn't want to do that when it makes more sense for it to be worth 8. XD; ) It's not like we bicker back and forth over it, though. Usually within a few posts it's decided. The most I've seen is one page. XD And I think that was when we asked everyone on staff to give their opinion on a price. It can, however, still take a few days to wrangle enough staff! :D

Yeah - talking to people one-on-one is likely to get you not only more feedback, but more in-depth feedback. "I like the foxes." is good, but, "I like the foxes because they are ___." is better. XD At least for me! I'm not very content with off-the-cuff responses, because half the time they don't even reflect someone's true feelings. :/

I'm just looking forward to when the staff gets to try out the new forums! I think only the AA's have full access now. XD (I'm not sure about that, though.) The inventory is what excites me the most. X3 A Friends list would be nice as well. :3

Nah! The Fox Hunt isn't complicated, really. XD It just seems that way because people get confused. Just choose a number between 1 and 36. (Or up to 10 different numbers.) Send 25 gold for each number you choose. If you're lucky, one or more of the numbers you chose will win either the pot of gold or a fox-square. All the fox-square winners earn a ticket in an item lottery. So if 439034 people win a fox-square ticket, their names are put into a hat and 10 names drawn. If only 10 people win a fox-square, all ten names will be put into the hat...

The only confusing thing is people keep forgetting to note which tickets they're purchasing in the donation comments box. XD;

Or, at least, I hope that's the only real confusing thing. @[email protected];

Another minor spending spree. Today I purchased:

- Amarande Black Boots
- Glammy's Black Waspie

If they were on my to-purchase list before (I think they were!) then they will be removed and my Completed Quests section will be updated!

Yay! New toys to play with!

Aw, Crepsley (er, actually - how do you prefer to have your name shortened? Or do you prefer being called by your full handle? XD; )... I know your pain! I just sold off a huge amount of half-priced event items that I never used and I'll bet you the 1500 or so gold I got back from the Sellback Store will be gone tomorrow. :/ Once I decide how I want to spend it. :V

I'd borrow gold too if one of my, "I'd love it, but don't need it" Quest items came up for auction and was within a reasonable reach. XD; It only makes sense if someone's willing to float it to you!

Ten thou' gold on Gaia for a piece of art like that? Bargain! Good find. :3

I've seen some people dress up a Ragged Shirt to the point that I kinda wanted to sport the look myself. XD Best 30 gold you can spend, I think. XD (Well, if you're wiling to invest time and gold into figuring out some good accessories, anyway!)

I wish I'd thought to buy extras of some of those CIs... I don't know that I'm going to do that anytime soon. :' There are a few sets coming up that I'm really excited about, though. Maybe I'll invest in those.... It's hard to find a seller of this month's CIs, it seems. And after spending so much money last month on my trip I'd feel guilty if I bought an extra set. D:

Oh, I should note now that I'm super tired today, so sorry if I sound more spacy than usual. ^^; The last few days have not been kind to me. I feel wrung out. :p

Cool! That seems really exciting to only have three major items to work towards! Though it's possible by the time you get to working on those extra CIs they might be 'major items'. XD;

I'm not sure exactly when the next store update will be. I know it'll be this month, of course! But the Devs have been put to work on the new site, so it'll probably be towards the end of the month, no matter what. That gives the pixelists time to finish up any items for the update they were working on. *nods*

There are a lot of neat old items that I would purchase if they weren't insanely priced. x_x; Ahwell. There's a learning curve involved in pricing, and it wouldn't be fair to those who purchased it at a crazy price if the price were later dropped. o_o

Yeah! I learn a lot more from someone explaining exactly what they did or didn't like about something I've worked on or when I'll be working on something similar in the future than I do if someone just expresses they "like" or don't something. Every once in awhile, I've pressed someone on exactly why they did/didn't like something and their answers were surprising to me sometimes. Like, for instance, I'll draw a cute little drawing and someone will say they 'like it' and when pressed, they say they liked it for the bare toes when I expected them to like the bug-eyed fish. (Or whatever. XD; ) And then I take a look at the feet and go, "Actually, those are kinda neat... *learn*"

Rambling - my bad. :P

The inventory system makes me super, super giddy. D: I don't know how I want to organize my things (type of item? store? even color?). But certainly I'll have a tab for "extras" of items. Assuming things work like I'm guessing. (I don't know, though. ;_; )

I saw that you played the Fox Hunt! Yay! I can't remember if you won anything though. >_>; (It's been a long week. ;p ) Congrats if you did! And boo if you didn't! XD;

That's really cool of the person from Roliana that they remembered. XD That's not something I really keep track of, I'm afraid. >_> That's why I have a thread to keep track of what I've done. >___>;

Speaking of.

-----------

Sold back lots of stuff. Earned back approximately 1.5k. Horray!

Question to self (others are welcome to chime in too) - Start on Atlantis collection? Or look more hard-core for the chickie?

Sleep on it. :P

I slept on it. :B

But before I did, I purchased:

- Red School Girl Skirt
- Blue School Girl Skirt

Today I purchased most of the Atlantis set that is avaliable to females:

- Atlantis Skirt
- Atlantis Belt
- Atlantis String of Pearls
- Atlantis Shell Bra
- Atlantis Shell Bottoms
- Atlantis Ankle Bracelet
- Shell Necklace

Made a happy mess of an outfit to celebrate! Yay! Will work up gold and purchase the male set and the trident a.s.a.p. :V


EDIT & PS:
Those items that were listed in my, "Yay, I want!" lists will be removed and moved to my "Quests Completed" section! WOOT!

Noting to myself that I am putting my Atlantis quest on hold until after the March update...

Want to try to get 3,500 gold by the time the update gets here... :'

Only problem with this new goal is that I don't know when the update will be yet, so I don't know if the goal I have set myself is ridiculously out of reach (ie: the update will be soon) or simple enough (ie: the update will be at the end of the month). :B

I did manage to make about 3,000 in about a week, so I guess it's an obtainable goal as long as I don't buy anything. >:' Determination is key!

EDITING to admit that not even five minutes after I posted the above, I purchased the "Flower Hairpin of Beauty" (for 100 gold) so I could have something in my avatar's hair that went with this outfit... I am weak. ;_;

EDITING.... AGAIN to admit to purchasing a 750 gold item... The Ayumi White Skirt. >_> BUT IT WAS SO PRETTY BLEACHED WHITE. :o

*shame*

*but goes to update her mini-quest post* :3

Hokay - it's been a few days since my last 'official' update on my Atlantis quest. XD

Like I said before - I'm putting that one on hold temporarily so I can save up some gold for the next item update.

But I have a question to ask you - random passer-by!

Should I attempt to obtain the Atlantis Mask Contribution Item to complete my Atlantis set?

There's a poll, if you don't want to reply. XD The poll's fine - that's what it's there for. XD But if you have a reason why I should or shouldn't, talk me into or out of it. XD

You may ask yourself, "Why is CK asking me? Shouldn't she know if she wants it or not?"

And the answer is, "No, actually, CK doesn't know at all what she thinks of the Atlantis Mask. ... Sorry. XD; "

In other news - you would be surprised at how quickly you can earn gold by simply welcoming newbies in the Fresh Meat forum. @[email protected]; I'd forgotten.

Good luck on your quest! :D