[Old] Nightmare Academy [New thread + annoucement, p1166!]

[Nightmare Adira]

After the 400 Year War between Below and Above, peace reigns once more over Below. However, innumerable casualties on both sides have left populations to dwindle, and it is up to the remaining Nightmares to repopulate Below with fresh blood. With strong fertility magic and a newly found secret cache of ancient Soul Stones, the strongest Nightmares are doing their part to repair their once proud world and give hope to the future.

Four new schools were founded soon after the 400 Year War to raise these young, orphaned Nightmares into healthy and well-rounded members of Below. The four schools—Asphodel Academy, Leviathan University, Grendel University and Asterion University—aim to help bring forward a brighter future.

We are hiring!


Guild ★ Live Stream Page
New Member Greeting Center ★ Feedback and Suggestions
Current Events ★ Stages ★ Genders ★ Races ★ The Setting
Thread Rules ★ How to Get a Nightmare ★ Breeding ★ School Store ★ Owners List
RP Threads ★ Affiliates

PM our NMA Staff account to be added to our official Skype chat!

2/14/15 : Love is in the air with the Hunter's Jubilee! Go forth and enter our FS, play the Candy Game, collect trinkets and color your own! More info in the Event Section a little further down.

1/27/15 : Think you know a lot about NMA? Think you could probably read through some Library posts to find the answers to some questions? Then go check out our Events post for our first Trivia Raffle! Also, be sure to welcome ~Lady Kanna~ and Lady Argentum Draconis to our staff team!

12/7/14 : What's that? We're a year old? Go check out our Anniversary Announcement for goodies!

9/28/14 : Hey everybody! It's Back To School time for Nightmare Academy! To celebrate this joyous (???) occasion, we're doing a big RP Flatsale, a Twin Hybrid Auction, and an Advertisement Raffle for a free custom! If you already have a Nightmare, you can go grab some cute School Supplies for their profiles in our RP thread.

Also, we just opened Quests back up with new rules and guidelines that will help everybody get their quests filled MUCH faster! Go check that out if you are in the questing spirit!

8/15/14 : Hey everybody! It's been awhile! We've finally got some staff now! So keep an eye out for Kaliskanny, Yushika and Jynk in the main thread. They have their specific titles in the Staff & Credit section at the bottom of the shop. Also, we edited the rules a little to make them clearer and to allow light RP in the shop thread. That's all the news for now!

6/8/14 : Hey guys! We've been taking it slow for awhile, since Bitter Owl is one busy shopkeeper, but we've finally got our Hiring Thread! We're looking for a General Moderator, an RP manager and maybe some banner and layout artists. Become a part of Nightmare Academy!

4/12/14 : Woah, what's that? The March event is finally posted? Well, will you look at that. Considering how long it took for our own winter to GTFO, I guess it's only expected that the Winter's End Carnival event is a little late too. Go check out the event in the next post! It's RIGHT THERE. Click some links. Play some Carnival Games. Enjoy!

2/11/14 : Yooo! What's up, everybody? Nightmare Academy's Valentines Event, that's what! Not only do we have RP events with prizes, we have two (count 'em) TWO raffles going on, AND a flatsale. One raffle is for newbies, and we're giving out three customs! Our other raffle is a referral raffle, for people who help spread the word about our shop. So that's four Nightmares that we are literally just giving away. So go enter into one of them!

1/15/14 : Hey guys! Customs are going to be opening back up tomorrow, so if you want one, keep an eye on the shop! We still have the last installment of the flatsale to put up, too~ Another thing you might want to check out is our New Member Greeting Center, which might answer some questions people have about the shop.

1/03/14 : Happy New Year! As a result, it's time for our first ever Flatsale! We'll be releasing at least one of each member of each race within the next month in a series of Flatsales to celebrate the new year. The next ones will be announced well in advance, so if you miss out on this one, you'll get plenty of warning to save up and get your trigger-finger poised over that "submit" button. Good luck and may you get the Nightmare of your choice!

PS: We should be opening customs back up soon, with all new body-types to choose from! Keep an eye out for that as well.

12/08/13 : I think it's time to officially announce our Guild! Head over to go read up on some sweet lore, or if you have your cert, you can join and hop straight into RPing! Speaking of certs, our first certs are finally posted in the Official Cert Thread in the guild. Pop over to the guild and check in the main forum if you've won an auction or posted your info! We still have more customs to do, and after that, we may be planning something fun for the holidays...

12/08/13 : Wow! What a busy first couple of weeks! Congratulations to all of the auction winners, you guys are great! Just a couple of updates: The guild is under some heavy construction, but we hope to have it functional for RP by Monday morning. I am also planning a flatsale for the upcoming weeks, so keep an eye out for that! And finally, customs are going to be temporarily closed until Owls can finish up their queue. You guys are really keeping us busy!

11/28/13 : Yooo! We are opening the auction early! The more you bid, the more you get! We are trying to get the clothing store, familiars and RP guild up and running, so that bidders have a better idea of what kind of cool stuff comes with being a part of NMA. (The raffle is still going as planned! We only have 12 entries so far!!! s**t, son, you'd be crazy not to enter with those odds.)

11/24/13 : Grand Opening! Our first ever Nightmare is being raffled off! For FREE! This means you can basically get an Artist's Choice Custom (15m gold value) for completely free! Wow, so value, such raffle.

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[Nightmare Adira]

This section is where we put an overview of any current Shop Events.

Coming in March!

[Nightmare Adira]

Freshling: 3 Weeks. Freshlings are elementary-school aged children. They have a natural curiosity and need constant attention in this stage, to make sure they don't get into trouble. Older Freshlings are a little more independent, but still require the care of older Nightmares.

Junior: 4 Weeks. Juniors are Junior High aged and are a good deal more independent than Freshlings. They can take care of most of their own needs, but still depend on older Nightmares for guidance. This is the stage where they will truly start to assert themselves, and figure out who they are and what they want to do with themselves.

Senior: The Senior stage is currently the final stage that Nightmares can reach reach. Since they're basically done growing, they are High School and College-age. After graduation, Senior Nightmares can leave the Academy and pursue other things, such as a higher education, finding a job and starting a family. At this stage, a Nightmare can use Soul Stones, but they might want to wait until they are a little more emotionally mature to really settle down.


Special Stages

Soul Stone: 2 Weeks. For as long as Below can remember, all Nightmares have begun their lives as Soul Stones. These Stones hold the life forces of a new Nightmare, and can be "hatched" at any point in time. Soul Stones cannot be RPed, and are the starting stage of a Nightmare received through Breeding.

Infant: 2 Weeks. Infants are the second life stage of a Nightmare. They are much like human babies, but do not need to eat for a surprisingly long time. Instead, they feed off of crystalline deposits on their skin and their parents' life energy. Infants are only available through Breeding, and have special RP rules.

Elder As Nightmares approach middle age, they are referred to as Elders. Elders can only be acquired by regular members through intensive RP. Most Elders are NPCs.

Grand Elder Older and Elderly Nightmares are referred to as Grand Elders. Like Elders, Grand Elders can only be acquired by regular members through intensive and dedicated RP. Most Grand Elders are NPCs.


Growth

Depending on how you acquired your Nightmare, there are certain requirements to have your Nightmare grow. Go check out this post for more info.

Nightmares recognize three genders: Female, Androgynous and Male. Nightmares may choose whatever pronouns they want to use, and can easily change their body's physical appearance with a simple potion. You may also request a different gender marker (♀☿♂) on your Nightmare's cert regardless of what base they have.

In the event you want to use gender-neutral pronouns for your Nightmare, here is a list of the most common ones. (Note: Most Androgynous Nightmares use the singular "they".)

Regardless of gender, Nightmares can currently have SIXTEEN different body-types. Click here to see them!

Below is home to many races, each with their own cultures and ways of life. Demons, Litches, Baphomets, Geists, Imps and Fallen are the most common races among the students in Asphodel Gardens Academy, but occasionally other races pop up in the halls. For more in-depth info on the Races, click here.

Demons are a Common Race.

While Demons aren't the strongest of the races, they are certainly the most populous and diverse. Ambitious and clever, these Nightmares are often jacks of all trades. They have the capacity to learn all types of magic and make excellent fighters, despite not always having the natural advantage to be at the top of their class.

By nature, Demons are smart, cunning and always looking for ways to get ahead of the game, which more than makes up for their lack of skill in any one specialization. While this ambition has gotten their culture in trouble in the past, they now try to their desire for betterment to help all Nightmares.

Litches are a Common Race.

A Litch is an interesting creature—incredibly strong and enduring, but often very gentle and wise. They are neither quite alive nor dead and have lifespans that exceed those of the other races by hundreds of years.

Despite being skilled at magic and practically immune to pain, their senses and reflexes aren't as strong as the other races. Because of this, they often have trouble forming social bonds and may struggle to be attentive to the world around them.

Baphomet are a Common Race.

A passionate and strong race, Baphomet value loyalty and practicality. Their specialties lie in anything that demands physical and mental endurance. Don't let their strong work ethic fool you, though—they work hard, but only so they can play hard as well. Their culture is one of generosity, and their currency of choice is that of reciprocity—"you scratch my back, I scratch yours."

It is a poor idea to cross a Baphomet, as they are prone to vengeful behavior and hold grudges. However, if you find yourself on one's good side, you can usually expect a loyal friend who will go out of their way to assist you in any way they can.

Geists are a Common Race.

The Geist is a master of trickery and stealth. Able to shift in and out of a corporeal form at will, a Geist can easily get themselves out of situations that might otherwise be a death-sentence for other Nightmares. While they are not particularly strong, their ability to dodge injury by phasing their bodies into a thick smoke makes them a worthy adversary in physical fights.

However, the Geists often use this talent to get the one-up on others. Much to the dismay of other Nightmares, Geist culture centers around thievery and manipulation, and their unique code of honor is often misunderstood as malevolent. This is something many Geists at the Academy struggle with—should they embrace their culture, or put it aside to get along better with the other races?

Imps are a Common Race.

Natural collectors and hoarders, Imps are more often than not involved in business and commerce. They use their strong hearing and sense of smell to seek out hidden treasures and opportunities, and are incredibly skilled at producing goods of the highest quality. Imps are often incredibly curious and stubborn and have been known to spend their entire lives searching for a particular object that catches their interest.

Most Imps live in large family groups that specialize in specific goods, such as textiles or rare artifacts. Many of the orphaned Imps in Nightmare Academy look forward to joining a powerful family cartel, or, if they are particularly ambitious, starting one of their own.

Fallen are an Uncommon Race.

While most individual Fallen are natives to Below, their kind as a whole did not originate there. As the rarest of the Nightmares, they often find themselves in one of two situations: sticking together in tight-knit groups or wandering Below by themselves as adventurers. While most members of this race are able to live happy lives, many feel as though something is missing.

Fallen make excellent scholars and are incredibly curious and searching. Many of the Fallen at the Academy focus primarily on history and culture, and are usually incredibly interested in the Fallen that live in Above, despite the fact that they were only recently enemies.

Chimera are an Uncommon Race.

While one of the oldest races in Below, Chimera have only recently joined the ranks of other Nightmares in Asphodel Gardens Academy. This ancient race originally hails from the mountainous regions of Zephyros, where they live among the dizzying peaks in structures carved from the rock itself. After going into hiding during the 400 Year War, they have since re-emerged and joined up with the other Races of Below.

Chimera are an incredibly proud and powerful Race, both skilled in combat and magic. While their numbers have been depleted during the War due to disease, famine and battle, they look forward to proving themselves among the other Races and atoning for their past mistakes.

Hybrids are a Rare Race

Before the War, Hybrids were incredibly uncommon. Now, though, as the Races put aside past prejudice and live together in peace, Hybrids are beginning to pop up in more noticeable numbers. Hybrids are especially common as children of Asphodel Gardens Academy graduates, with romance blossoming among the diverse student body.

Each Hybrid is a unique blend of features from each parents' Race and very few Hybrids have exactly the same traits. While some can pass for a single Race, many Hybrids have a combination of features not found on any non-Hybrid Nightmares. This gets especially confusing when two Hybrids have children!

[Nightmare Adira]

Nightmares live in a world called Below, which is divided into four continents. This is the setting in which our story takes place.

Below is a world suspended in eternal night and twilight, even at its brightest hours. From the icy and forbidding tundras of Boreas, to the wild woods of Zephyros, its landscape is one of haunting beauty. However, remnants of the war still plague this world and the land is scarred by the ruins of both small villages and great cities alike.

For more information on Below, click here.

When the Great Stone Cache of Alcyone was uncovered, the Great Council decided that the best way to repopulate the world would be to awaken the Soul Stones found there. However, fostering these Nightmares would prove to be a challenge. Thus, Asphodel Gardens Academy was founded.

All Nightmares from this shop will have attended Asphodel Gardens Academy at some point in their life.

For more information on Asphodel Gardens Academy, click here.

Since many of Below's schools were ruined, abandoned or converted during the War, there was a severe lack of places to recieve a higher education once peace came to Below.
The Great Council helped to commission three new Universities--Grendel, Asterion and Leviathan--to meet the needs of the growing population. While these schools accept most students, orphans from from Asphodel Gardens Academy are guaranteed acceptance and can receive a full-ride scholarship to any of these three Universities.

For more information on the Universities, click here.

[Nightmare Adira]

Breaking these rules in the shop thread may get you blacklisted!

Shop Thread Rules

1. Please be respectful of others.
2. Do not complain about prices or how acquiring a Nightmare is too difficult!
3. No begging, sulking or harassing! Even if you can't get a Nightmare on your first try, good behavior WILL be noticed!
4. No spamming or advertising in posts unless you get express permission from staff. (Instead, consider becoming an Affiliate!)
5. Please keep shop conversation light and inviting! Try to keep talk about sensitive issues to a minimum. If you think it might upset someone, please think twice about saying it. We also have a NMA Vent/Support Thread in our guild if you feel the need to vent!
6. You may RP in the shop, but keep it light, informal and welcoming!
7. Please direct shop-related questions to the appropriate staff-member. You may also ask in the shop.
8. If you have an issue with someone in the thread, please take it to PM or alert any moderators to the problem. Please don't cause drama in the thread if you can help it!
9. Keep images to a minimum, especially gifs. Please place larger images behind a spoiler tag.
10. Please direct all shop-related questions and concerns to the NMA Staff mule.


Art/Pet Rules

1. Do not steal art! This includes claiming the art as yours, reposting certs that don't belong to you and coloring lineart posted in the shop.
2. You may not get Nightmares remade as pets at another shop without express permission from Bitter Owl.
3. You may not resell a Nightmare. You may only give them away to another user.
4. You may not use artwork of your Nightmare outside of this shop without express permission from Bitter Owl.
5. We do not issue refunds. If Blacklisted, you may keep your pet, but you may not participate in the Shop or any related threads. You may not get the pet remade as a pet in another shop unless the character was presented as a pre-existing OC when you bought them.


Blacklist

People on the Blacklist are banned from all shop activities.

oh no bro

None; let's keep it that way!

[Nightmare Adira]

Looking to acquire a Nightmare? Here are all of the ways you can get them!

Premade sales, contests, raffles and auctions will be released during our Monthly Events. Each event will release a minimum of three premades. Many of our events aim to release one premade of each available race, often many more. Occasionally race specific sales may be released also. Premade sales may also pop up between our major monthly events as well, so keep an eye out!


Flaffles : Nightmares are released for a flat gold price, and users claim free tickets for a chance to win one! Once the winning tickets are chosen, the winners pay a flat price for their chosen Nightmare. Often, flaffles will be free thanks to sponsors covering the sale costs!


Free Raffles : Occasionally we may put up free raffles, especially for newbies. Some free raffles may require activity like game participation, dice rolls, or trivia. Other free raffles are as simple as claiming a free ticket for a chance to win.


Paid Raffles : In paid raffles, you can purchase as many tickets as you wish for a chance to win the Nightmare of your choice.


RP Contests : We often hold RP contests for premade Nightmares as well! If you follow the contest rules and score the most points, you're awarded the premade.


Auctions : Premade Auctions are usually reserved for rare/uncommon kinds of Nightmares, like rare Races, hybrids, twins, etc. Simply bid for your chance to win an auction.




Customs are released in a variety of different ways as well. You can either acquire a custom through a quest raffle, quest grant, auction, bribe, gold or RLC. Please click here to see our Artist threads for current custom availability!

Quests: Nightmare Academy has a streamlined, easy-to-understand questing system that makes it easy to quest for a custom Nightmare.

Each month, users with three or fewer nightmares can enter into our free monthly quest raffle for a chance to get their approved quests filled!

Also, if you're lucky, you can also end up having your approved quests randomly granted by our artists, or by a friend or otherwise generous member sponsoring your quest.

Click here to go to our Quest Forum!


Auction : We also occasionally run auctions during our Monthly Events for custom Nightmares. Usually these custom auctions are for rare/uncommon kinds of Nightmares, such as rare races, hybrids, twins, etc.


Gold Customs : Additionally, each month our artists will open limited slots for approved quests to be rolled for a chance to purchase a custom with gold. Even more gold slots may be opened around some of our bigger events! We are currently reworking Gold Customs. They will be open soon!


Bribes: Each month our artists may also open additional bribe slots for additional customs. Please check individual artist threads for more information on bribes!


RLCs : And finally, we offer RLC (real life currency) customs as well. For more information on obtaining an RLC, please check our NMA Shop site.

Bitter Owl's RLCs are currently Closed.
s t a r k i d j a g g e r's RLCs are currently only available during livestreams.

[Nightmare Adira]

Purchase items from our Minishops to further customize your Nightmare.

The Wardrobe : Clothing and Accessories

Customize your Nightmare's outfit with different clothing options.


Gaelen's Apothecary : Customizing Potions

Purchase potions that change the age, body and appearance of your Nightmare.


Owlen's Familiars : Pets and Familiars

Is your Nightmare lonely? Get them a loyal companion from this shop!


Maryam's Fine Alchemy : Soul Stones

The best place to buy Soul Stones in all of Below.


Please note that you can quest for almost any item in our stores!

[Nightmare Adira]

Click here to see our Profile Directory.

There are a bunch of RP threads in our guild. Be sure to read the rules of each subforum before posting.

Here are some to get you started:

The Rumpus Room : Casual RP free-for-all with limited rules.

The Key and Chalice : AU Prose RP with a pub setting.

The Freshling Playroom : RP with your Freshlings in the Playroom.

The West Academy Lounge : Open RP thread for Juniors and Seniors at Asphodel Gardens Academy.

WHY RP?
With the exception of RL$ purchases, all Nightmares must be RPed to grow. But, RP can also get you cool stuff, like free accessories, Soul Stones and Familiars! Regulars in RP threads and people who keep good character journals will definitely be noticed and rewarded for their dedication to our shop.

PM Nightmare Odette to become an Affiliate! Banners must be less than 300px at the widest end.

Link In

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Links Out

[Nightmare Adira]

Owner/Shopkeep/Artist/Colorist/&c. : Bitter Owl

Co-Owner/Artist/Colorist/&c. : s t a r k i d j a g g e r

Guild Manager : Yushika

OOC RP Manager : ~Lady Kanna~

IC RP Manager : Lady Argentum Draconis

General Moderator : cindyjeans

General Moderator : Salemscloset

We request that all shop-related questions and concerns be directed to the NMA Staff mule. Or, if you think others will benefit from the answer, ask in the main thread!

[Nightmare Adira]

☆ Reserved for Future Use☆

[Nightmare Adira]

☆ Reserved for Future Use☆

[Nightmare Adira]

☆ Reserved for Future Use☆

[Nightmare Adira]

☆ Reserved for Future Use☆

[Nightmare Adira]

☆ Reserved for Future Use☆

[Nightmare Adira]

☆ Reserved for Future Use☆