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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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 Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:56 pm
Here's our ever-expanding entry in the Longest Shop Backstory Ever contest. Yes, if you want to get on the whitelist, you first have to read this entire thread. Some posts can be skimmed; some are more important. Good luck! Priority flags Post headers change depending on the importance of the post. When applying for a Porcelain character, you really do have to read the entire Guide -- but you can use these headers to help you decide whether you need to read something in detail or skim over it.    important OOC information important to how you interact with the shop    less important OOC not really of concern to all players    important world information crucial biology and backstory information    extra world detail less important, but still useful for most players    extra extra detail extra information, mostly unimportant, useful to a few players Table of Contents Page 1 - OOC instructions for players. 2. What are Porcelain?
3. Obtaining a Porcelain
4. Raising your Porcelain
5. Porcelain reproduction
6. Customization
7. Roleplay guidelines, general
8. OOC posting guidelines
9. Suggested roleplay guidelines, journal
10. Guidelines for voting
11. Porcelain with special knowledge
12. Your Porcelains career
13. On godmoding the tutors
14. the Guild
15. Transferring PorcelainPage 2 - Image-heavy posts 16. Stage previews
17. Tailor
18. Hairdresser
19. Jeweler
20. Makeup artist
21. Clutter
22. Maps
23. House of Setsushi
24. --
25. --
26. --
27. --
28. --
29. --
30. --Page 3 - Cultural tidbits 31. Glossary
32. Time and Worlds
33. Cultural Overview
34. Worldview
35. Sleeping, Dreaming, and Lucid
36. Marriage
37. The Imperial Temple
38. Sorcerers
39. Careers
40. Calendar
41. Zodiac
42. Propriety
43. Courtly Arts
44. Military Arts
45. Scholarly ArtsPage 4 - Miscellaneous topics that spilled over from the first three pages 46. Abilities
47. Development
48. Fashion
49. Cuisine
50. Other species
51. Lucidity, for the player
52. Beautiful Arts
53. Imperial Naming Conventions
54. Imperial Gift Culture
55. Magic, scientifically
56. Religions of the Empire
57. Holidays in detail
58. Family dynamics
59. Ideas
60. Everyday magicPage 5 - Miscellaneous topics 61. Player Will
62. OOC Glossary
63. On Inactivity Rules
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Posted: Mon Oct 27, 2008 11:59 pm
What are Porcelain?Porcelain Biology Porcelain are, relatively speaking, very humanlike animals. Most of their internal organs are identical to those of humans, and they eat, sleep, and breathe just like most people in Gaia.
Physically, they have somewhat different superficial features from those of humans; a Porcelain's limbs are small, thin, and rounded, her musculature underdeveloped, and her face quite different from a human's, with hardly any nose, no external ears at all, and large eyes with a "third eyelid," a vertically oriented membrane that usually sits halfway extended over the eye. Females are somewhat smaller and less muscular than males, but there is not much sexual dimorphism in this species. Their skin is usually white-pale and their hair and eyes usually dark, but certain environs and combinations of genes have yielded Porcelain with light, colorful palettes.
More substantial differences are in the psyche of Porcelain, as they are naturally empathic. Porcelain communicate first and foremost by emitting emotions to one another; rather than transmitting clear images or sentences telepathically, they share feelings and contexts with one another through hazy projections. Porcelain do this naturally from the day they are born, and while some may learn to focus their communication or speak aloud, they always understand each other when sharing emotions this way.
Porcelain minds exist on a scale of acuity, called "Lucidity." The least intelligent, least sensitive, and least able to communicate or control their emotions are the Sleeping Porcelain, who have inhabited Gaia for many years now. While not stupid, they have uncomplicated inner lives, prefer simple comforts, and can never bear to hurt another sentient being, as their empathy cripples them when they feel another in pain. Their projections are indistinct and blended; it seems their minds are incapable of learning grammar, and they do not speak aloud, even if physically capable of producing sound.
The Dreaming Porcelain were the most numerous in the ancient Porcelain Empire, and they are more intelligent and sensitive than the Sleeping; far more capable of learning and employment, they thrive in a peaceful and productive community. While occasionally selfish and capable of blunting their empathy to some degree, they still relate to others with an assumption of gentleness and good intent.
The Lucid Porcelain were the rarest of Porcelain in the Empire and disappeared entirely from the succeeding civilizations, though they have begun being born naturally again in Gaia recently. Lucid Porcelain have minds that are simultaneously strong and sensitive; able to grasp complex concepts and feelings, sense faint intentions and memories, and exert their psychic power in a way that resembles magic, they were the wisest and most powerful Porcelain of the Empire and served as its rulers. Though the most gifted, they were also the most cruel, as they learned many ways of blunting their empathy and natural need to bond, which allowed them to commit atrocities against each other; but beneath their techniques and artifice, they remained Porcelain, always yearning to be useful and to earn the love and acceptance of others.Aging Average Height Red representing males
Blue representing females
Percentile charts are available for males and females, as well. see also: Abilities
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:01 am
Obtaining a Porcelain:
Quest/Request Process (This is a compression of the older "quest or flatsale" into a single system.)Quest The first part of obtaining a Porcelain is the "quest."
You must read the entire Guide, then post the questers application form on the questers thread.
When I feel that the current questers have accumulated a solid number of roleplay posts, I'll hold a "judging session," in which I solicit the opinions of the current players. At the end of the judging session, I will decide whether to approve the questers or not. If a quester is not approved, she won't be banned or anything; she will be re-considered every judging session, provided she has made new posts, unless she deletes her application.
If a quester is approved, she is added to the roleplay whitelist as a successful quester, which means she can request a new Golden World Porcelain or receive one as gift.Request Formerly "flatsale."
Once on the whitelist as a successful quester, you can request a new Porcelain character. This service is almost always open, closing only when I am really busy, so you can usually get your first Porcelain as soon as you are on the whitelist.
You should send in the flatsale form to Imperial Princess Rika. When your Porcelain is ready, I'll give you his or her graphic and backstory and make you a new journal. This will normally take between a day and a week, with older Porcelain taking much longer than younger Porcelain (as they have more of a life story to write.) Feel free to poke me (at Setsushi) and ask what's up if I'm taking a long time.
Whenever this service is open, anyone in green on the whitelist can send in a form! You must wait at least 30 days between submissions, however. Also, while a quester's first Porcelain request will almost certainly be filled, a returning player may be turned down for any reason (but probably because she already has too many still-growing characters and I'm not sure she can keep up with them all.)
Since 6/8/09, returning oldbies, who are listed in brown to signify that they have been grandfathered in, do have access to most whitelist services such as unlimited free petpets, but they must also quest and be approved in a vote in order to get new Golden World Porcelain.
Don't abuse this system! D: I don't intend for you to pop a new Porcelain every month; it's just that there might someday be special circumstances where it would make sense for two Porcelain to arrive soon after each other. But those would be special circumstances. Be sensible and space them out so that it's not too much work for me or for you.
Also, be forewarned: you may not request a Lucid adult as your first Porcelain. Your first Porcelain grow into a Lucid, but if you request Lucid right off the bat I will laugh at you. Even after you have RPed several Porcelain characters, I am rather unlikely to fulfill any requests for specifically Lucid adults. Lucid art is offered.Other methods If you already have a Porcelain as a successful quester, you can obtain a new one via NPC marriage or adoption. This isn't ready yet, though.
Births are available to married male-female couples; see reproduction.
Finally, another player could give (or sell) you one of her Porcelain.see also: Porcelain reproduction, Guidelines for voting, Transferring Porcelain
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:03 am
Raising Your Porcelain Porcelain are "RP/activity-required," but not exactly. You have to roleplay in order to grow your Porcelain, but you can take breaks whenever you like.
Whenever growths are open, you can apply to grow your Porcelain. Send Imperial Princess Rika the application to grow form, and if you're approved, you'll be ready to go on a growth retreat!
A growth retreat occurs when Setsushi discovers and investigates a portal to the Silver World. When he returns, he will report on the local environment and the available tutors who have volunteered to mentor your Porcelain on the other side. If your Porcelain is brave enough, he or she can cross over to the other side and spend several years learning skills and making new contacts. Send in the entering the Silver World form to Imperial Princess Rika, and you'll be ready to begin!
First, you will receive a short introductory prompt describing your Porcelain's new living arrangements in your journal. You must write at least one journal entry in response, in any format that you like; one idea is an entry from your Porcelain's perspective describing what he or she thinks of the Silver World so far. Then, for every year your Porcelain spends in the Silver World, you will receive another prompt detailing the year's events, and you must write at least one entry in response to each. Again, you may use any format you like; snippets from the year, or perhaps a more fleshed-out and detailed entry on a particular day's events.
After you have written all the required journal entries, send in the leaving the Silver World form. I will then start preparing your Porcelain's art, and when it is ready, update his or her tags.
If you have a young Porcelain and an Adult Porcelain, you can send your Adult Porcelain to the Silver World too, to be your young one's tutor. Your Adult will also age (though there is no Elder stage yet.)
You may abort a growth retreat at any time. You will have to send in the Leaving the Silver World form. This might be a good option to take on the longer retreats, such as Youth II to Adult, so you don't have to slog through so many years of prompts at once.see also: Roleplay guidelines, general, Suggested roleplay guidelines, journal, Stage previews, Development
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:05 am
Porcelain ReproductionPorcelain Marriage Porcelain reproduction almost always happens in the context of "marriage." When two Porcelain mate, an extremely strong emotional bond forms between them, with only the very most powerful Lucid Porcelain able to block it from forming. If the bond is broken by death or betrayal (which is usually only "forced betrayal," a euphemism for rape,) the survivor(s) are devastated and frequently traumatized. Males feel this bond more strongly than females, and often die of heartbreak if it is broken - with females and Lucids more likely to survive, heal, and move on, after many years.
Upon her Porcelain's marriage, a player should PM the marriage form to Imperial Princess Rika. If two player Porcelain are marrying, both players need to send in forms, of course.Where do babies come from? Porcelain become fertile around age 13, the time of the Naming Ceremony, and both males and females begin to decline in reproductive capacity around age 30, with few children born to parents over 45. Female Porcelain, especially those of the higher Lucidities, have a high psychic awareness of their bodies and can reliably predict when they are fertile and when they are not, allowing them to space pregnancies as they choose. Pregnancy lasts for about 7 months; most children are single births, but twins do occasionally occur.
Porcelain are not known to be interfertile with any other species.Your Porcelain's children If your Porcelain is married to an opposite-sex Porcelain, they may have children.
A pregnancy works much like a growth retreat; when your Porcelain have successfully conceived, they will travel to the Silver World to spend the 7 months of the pregnancy, plus a few months after the baby is born. When your Porcelain return, you will receive the baby as a new Porcelain character.
I can do new births whenever I am "open for growths." In terms of what you, the player, must do, pregnancy varies depending on the ownership of the parent Porcelain. If you play both Porcelain, fill out the single player breeding form and PM it to Imperial Princess Rika. If accepted, your Porcelain will then be sent to the Silver World and will receive one prompt, posted in the mother's journal. You must then write at least one diary entry in response (either parent's journal); then, once the art is ready, I will reveal your new child.
Things are more complicated if the parent Porcelain are owned by different players. Both players must discuss their plans for breeding in detail, and make sure that they agree on all aspects of it. Most importantly, one player must be chosen as the official player of the child. Then, the two players must fill out the two player breeding form together, and each PM an identical copy to Imperial Princess Rika. Consider the form a binding contract on both of you.
If accepted, the selected Porcelain will then be sent to the Silver World. Only the official player will receive prompts and have to write a diary response. The other player may respond to the prompt in her own diary, but she is not required to. And then, when the art is ready, the baby will be presented to the official player.
If both players want a child, you can do two breedings in quick succession, as almost a full year passes for the parents ICly.Same-sex marriages Though it is not typically condoned by Imperial society, mate-bonds can form between two Porcelain of the same sex. The bond formed is just as strong as that between opposite-sex mates (and in the case of two males, may be even stronger and fraught with more passion and drama.) Children do not, however, arise naturally from these unions.
If your Porcelain is married to another of the same sex, but wants a child, he or she will have to adopt...Adoption Comin' soon!see also: Marriage, Development
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:08 am
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:09 am
Roleplay Guidelines, general The thread is, at the moment, a kind of roleplay free-for-all. We usually use third-person paragraph style, but there are no specific length or style requirements. Use emoticons or one-liners if you feel like it!
Anyone can roleplay in the thread. You do not need to have a Porcelain to play. But, please do follow some minimal guidelines:
1. Please do try to be minimally literate, enough so that we can understand what you're saying.
1'. A lot of our players are older and academically inclined. If our vocabularies are too difficult for you, you may be in the wrong shop!
2. Respect the Porcelain biology and backstory. Do not make up stuff or change things. I am extremely protective of my concepts, and I will throw a fit if I feel like you are disrespecting them.
3. And please, display basic roleplay decency. Do not godmode. Do not violently interrupt others' play (by, for example, starting a fight in the middle of a peaceful scene or harassing characters IC.) There may be dramatic moments in-thread, but let's transition into and out of them slowly and respectfully. It would be even better if, before roleplaying a conflict, you discuss your plans for the scene with the other players OOC.
I highly recommend the Daisy Code, which provides detailed guidelines on how to be a considerate roleplayer.
Egregiously bad and inconsiderate roleplay may get you blacklisted. We want to have fun, not to struggle desperately to have fun despite your presence. If you make all of us miserable, we will ask you to leave.see also: Suggested roleplay guidelines, journal
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:11 am
OOC Posting Feel free to chat OOC, though try to enclose OOC comments in double parentheses ((like this.))
Although in the past I said to chat as much as you like about anything, this has led to the thread consisting almost entirely of non-Porcelain-related daily chatter. In an effort to make the shop recognizable, I am revising these guidelines.
1. You must be considerate, kind, and respectful to one another at all times. Do not whine, insult one another, or try playing passive-aggressive games. Don't even do it sarcastically! This is part of the shop rules. If your behavior disturbs me I will ask you to leave.
2. Along the lines of the last point, there will be absolutely no hate speech of any kind. Please don't even use it sarcastically or as a joke. If I do it accidentally, correct me.
3. This is not a strict rule, but let's try to avoid topics that tend to cause drama or hurt feelings, such as politics or religion concerning the last 50 years or so. I suspect that I share the same sentiments as 99% of you, but still, let's save those discussions for other threads.
4. If you post something with innocent intent, and another thread denizen asks you not to do it again because she finds it offensive or triggering, please comply. (If you are afraid to ask someone to stop yourself, PM Setsushi and he'll do it for you.)
5. Keep chatter under control. Getting off-topic now and then or reporting about your day is fine, but remember that this is the Porcelain shop thread, not a social club and not the Chatterbox. The thread does not need to be bumped; too much bumping buries RP and shop- and plot-related discussion!
If you have problems with somebody on Gaia, please don't vent your spleen on the thread. But if you have problems with another player and are concerned this will diminish the joy of roleplaying with us, please do PM me at Setsushi, and we'll see if we can figure out a way to keep things fun for you.see also: Roleplay guidelines, general
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:15 am
Roleplay Guidelines, journal You can post any sort of stuff in your journal you like in-between growth retreats. Items collected by your Porcelain, records of the roleplays you've participated in -- whatever!
During growth retreats, you must make at least one journal entry in response to every prompt you receive. These don't have to follow a specific format; you can write an entry detailing your Porcelain's thoughts about one event from the past year, write snippets of entries for each of the months, or anything. The only real requirement is that you give me some idea of what your Porcelain's goals and intentions for the next year are. Don't just rewrite the prompts -- I know what they say, I wrote them! You've got to tell me what your Porcelain is doing to help me write appropriate prompts for the next year.
You are allowed to roleplay your tutor to a small extent, but don't do anything too drastic. See on godmoding the tutors.
Porcelain at the stage of Baby or Child I will often not know how to write yet. Actual "journal entry style" entries may have to be from the perspective of parent, caretaker, or tutor -- though you can also do "RP-style" entries or "crayon scribble" entries.see also: Raising your Porcelain, Roleplay guidelines, general
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:16 am
How to Vote Firstly, owners never have to vote. blaugh You can leave all the decision-making up to me if you like.
During a "judging session," you can PM your opinion on the applicant(s) NOT to Imperial Princess Rika, but to Setsushi (to ensure that your vote is completely private.)
Your vote should consist of at least a "yay" or "nay." You can expand on your vote as much as you like. I appreciate detailed reasons, but a one-word vote is better than no vote at all!Things to consider (or not) • Quality of RP? (Fun, intelligent, interesting?)
• RP appropriate to Porcelain? (If the quester wants to RP lots of fighting and flirting, she's probably in the wrong shop)
• Respecting the backstory? (It's a good sign if she can find things in the Guide without being directly linked.)
• Appropriateness, detail, etc., of character/s used for questing RP? (More of a concern if the character is clearly inappropriate.)
• Sportsmanship, adaptability, politeness, and general good attitude OOC?
• Good or bad history in other shops? This is important, as Setsushi rarely leaves Porcelain. ^^;
• Anything that would cause you, personally, to be uncomfortable playing with this person?
• Any reason you would especially like this person to be involved? (Your friend? You think they're totally awesome? etc.)Things not to worry so much about • Length of posts (within reason; extremely short or long posts might be cause for concern)
• Nitpicky details of spelling and grammar
• "Caretaker profile" (remember that the quester's first Porcelain could very well not have a caretaker or attach to another player's Porcelain?)
Go ahead and be a tough grader! If you're ambivalent, you should not say "yay" but "I'm torn," and give the reasons why. If you do not think the applicant has posted enough yet for you to decide, please vote "I'm torn" or "nay" with an explanation.
Do not "abstain due to personal bias" or something ridiculous like that. You are SUPPOSED to tell me all about your biases for and against -- because you are whitelistees and I trust your judgment. And it's not like there's a limited number of "winners."
If you vote prematurely and change your mind later during the judging period, you can send in a correction.
I will then consider your opinions and issue my decision on whether the person obtains a Porcelain or not. Votes are not tallied or weighed against each other in any objective way; in the end, although I'll try hard to make a decision that makes everyone happy, it comes down to my opinion alone. I will only make Porcelain for people for whom I want to make Porcelain -- maybe this is harsh and unfair, but if I can't stay positive about the shop I can't keep it open. see also: Obtaining a Porcelain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:18 am
Porcelain with special knowledge Chaos Sorcerers, certain priests, and prophets should, ICly, be able to obtain special knowledge about the Porcelain worlds. For example, a Chaos Sorcerer should be able to ask his Chaos about the past and its predictions for the future.
If your Porcelain has such a special ability, you can PM your questions to Setsushi (or bother me on AIM, or whatever) and I'll give you an appropriate answer. (You can PM Imperial Princess Rika, but Setsushi is faster.) Your answer will probably be cryptic, but give you some clues so that you don't roleplay something out of sync with the plots.
Examples of Porcelain who would have special abilities:
Chaos Sorcerers. Beware, though, that Chaoses are not impartial and not always truthful.
Seers who have special gifts of sight into the future or past. You can also ring me up for a "random vision." Remember, though, that a Seer's beliefs and imagination affect what she Sees...
Diviners such as priests or astrologers, who use some sort of tool or magical technology in order to find out about the future or past. Astrologers need to be in the Golden World or Silver World to function, and all mortal tool-users are prone to making errors.
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:20 am
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:22 am
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:24 am
the Guild Right now, I am using the Guild for supplemental threads such as the Caretaker's Guide (You Are Here,) Forms, NPC Who's Who, and Who's applying?, and of course the very important Journals.
Porcelain players are also welcome to use the guild for their own nefarious purposes. If the main shop thread gets too random and spammy for you (I agree that it is hard to maintain continuity with people coming in and out all the time) then you are welcome to set up independent RPs in the guild main forum.
You can follow the example of other Breedables shops and label your guild threads as:
[ORP] Open to everybody.
[PRP] Private RP, open only to those who are invited to play.
[PRP*] Private RP with exceptions for Setsushi/Imperial Princess Rika to come in and play NPCs.
PRP* might be a fun choice if you are on a growth retreat at the same time as somebody else, and you want to roleplay wandering around the Silver World together! 3nodding
... although, uhh, there are no advantages to joining the guild right now. All forums are open to non-member posting, so it's not required at this time. However, if we get invaded by scary people, I'll close posting to members only.
And don't donate, unless we decide we need subforums later.
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Imperial Princess Rika Vice Captain
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Posted: Tue Oct 28, 2008 12:28 am
Transferring Porcelain Players are allowed to transfer ownership of their Porcelain in certain situations.
Although your Porcelain will never be forcibly revoked for inactivity, if you lose interest in the shop you are welcome to surrender your character to Setsushi (refund will probably be attempted, but is not guaranteed.) I will then try to find a new player for your Porcelain or establish him or her as an NPC.
It's more likely that you will want to give one of your extra Porcelain to another player, perhaps a friend who is on the roleplay whitelist, so that you can roleplay with each other.
Most of the time, you can transfer any of your Porcelain to someone else on the whitelist. However, when you obtain a Porcelain through a two player breeding or adoption, it may be part of your contract that you do not immediately give away that Porcelain. You cannot transfer such a Porcelain until several growth stages have passed.
I encourage you to transfer Porcelain as freely given gifts, but you may also trade your Porcelain for something, including gold or another shop's pet. There are no minimum or maximum prices.
When transferring Porcelain, you must fill out the transferring porcelain form, or the transfer will not be considered official.see also: Obtaining a Porcelain
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