WELCOME
Breeding Guide
Like most species, Astrolytes reproduce through the act of a pair breeding with one another!
The creation of new Lavalings is heavily dependent on the magic of the world, hinging mainly on the inherent magic each lyte possesses from birth. Because of this connection, parents with damaged lavalamps or magical difficulties tend to be less successful on the breeding scene than an average lyte.
Breeding is not necessarily deemed as incredibly significant among the islands! That's not to say that most just don't care for it, there's just no stigma of breeding requiring long term partners or being a life goal, especially with the prevalence of orphaned Lavalings up for adoption at local lamperies.
Finding a "soul mate" or "the one" isn't a widespread way of thinking, and it's not uncommon for lytes to try and experience a variety of relationships throughout their life rather than searching for just one.
Despite this, many lytes still partake in breeding -- so what would bring two lytes to breed?
Relationships
The most obvious reason are couples and other partners going for a kid of their own! It mostly depends on personal preference whether partners will choose to breed or adopt, but some lytes consider bloodlines and specific familial relations as something important as well [although this is seen as a very outdated way of thinking in most areas]. There is no expectation for what levels of relationships are "allowed" to have children, but the intent to start a family usually indicates that they intend to stay close for a long while.
Intentional
Another less common situation is a single lyte wishing to have their own kid and breeding for that purpose alone, rather than it being a result of any romantic connection with the other parent. In the case of this, the second lyte involved tends to serve more of a "surrogate" type role to help those who don't want to adopt.
Flings and such are also an option, albeit less likely due to the nature of breeding. The activation of magic that actually results in a child beginning to form tends to be a conscious effort, but it isn't unheard of for it to accidentally happen as a reflex, especially if the lytes involved are intoxicated or otherwise distracted mentally.
Accidental
Affection
Aside from the usual hugs and kisses, actions such as nuzzling and petting are quite standard among all Astrolytes as general shows of affection, romantic or not! Those with longer tails may wrap around good friends or close family or entwine it with their partner's to express their bond. "Hoof-holding" is also commonplace among friends and partners alike, those without digits simply placing their hooves on top of one another and those with digits intertwining them.
Resting with one's lavalamps facing or pressed against another is a major sign of trust and often isn't done on accident! Lytes tend to instinctively "protect" their lamps from strangers and others they dislike, so it's a very notable act if they feel comfortable enough to purposefully lean their lamps towards someone else.
Astrolytes can make a wide range of noises to show emotion, but one they have specifically developed for affection is a sort of chirp or whistle! Each lyte's whistle is unique to them, and they form "conversations" of whistles between those they are close to. There is typically one who starts the whistle as a cue, and others respond with their own. It is just a simple sign of love, indicating that each lyte is there for the other and are nearby if any of them need support! Some regard it as a cheesy gesture, but it's rare to come across someone who doesn't have a personalized chirp.
General
After breeding, the magic of both parents will swirl and mix inside the body of one of the parent lytes! The Lavaling doesn’t actually take physical form, during this process — instead, what is essentially their magical presence begins to develop. This manifests as a small shape that appears within the carrying parent's lavalamps, often a small heart, earning it the nickname "heartspot." It presents as the child's lavalamp color and glows much brighter than the surrounding material.
After some time has passed and the non-physical process is complete, the parent will transfer the accumulated magic to a Glass Egg. If successful, the egg will shift and transform to match the Lavaling inside’s colors, markings, and lavalamps!
The Lavaling will now begin to physically form inside their egg. The shell is initially quite tough, but the glass sections gradually thin out to allow the child inside to break through as they get closer to hatching. It’s easy to tell when an egg is about to hatch, as the lava inside appears to “drain” and is absorbed into the Lavaling’s own lavalamps for their own use!
Preliminary Requirements
- If two Astrolytes would like to breed, a Glass Egg is required! All users start out with one for free, so no need to worry about buying one to begin with.
- Both lytes involved must be at least 4 months old and be an adult in order to breed!
- You can either breed two of your own lytes or breed one of yours with another person’s lyte [as long as they approve, of course]!
- There must be 2 images showing the Astrolytes as partners! This can be anything that shows they are together, even if it’s just a fling.
- If two users are involved in the breeding, then one image must be drawn & submitted by each artist [collabs are alright]!
Breeding
Once all that’s been completed, your lytes will be ready to breed! Fill out this form and comment on the Breeding Requests forum with it:
Astrolyte's Names:
References:
Approval Images:
Partner Images:
Subspecies?:
[Are either of the parents a subspecies? If so, which parent and which subspecies?]
Parent #1 Ferroii and Magic:
[Please do this in a listing format* following the request below! Parent #1 should be the Carrier.]
Parent #2 Ferroii and Magic:
[Same as above!]
Egg Owner:
[The user keeping the egg! This will be the user we will be taking the Glass Egg from, so make sure they have one!]
Previous Children?:
[Did either of these parents have kids beforehand? If so, link the child's approval image here! This is to make sure the cool down is over.]
A message of consent must be sent from the user not sending the form if the breeding is between lytes owned by different users!
*Listing Format Example:
Head Fluff
Pupils
Neck Poof
Flappy Ears
Please try to list ferroii according to the order of them on the site! It’d make it much easier on us if Lavaling ferroii were all listed near the top and Event ones near the bottom instead of mixed in.
Ferroii such as "Accessory," "Fashion Form," "Facial Fur," etc. cannot be passed down in breeding, so feel free to exempt cosmetic traits like those.
Carrier Images
There are 3 images that need to be drawn of the lyte who will actually create the child:
1. The Carrier with the heartspot indicating the formation of a child's magic at the center of their lavalamps!
[It is the color of the child's lamps & glows very brightly to stand out against the rest of the lava!]
3. The Carrier caring for the egg / giving it away / or abandoning it somewhere / etc. [depending on where you want the story to go]!
2. The Carrier transferring the Lavaling into a Glass Egg!
*Either party can draw these images if 2 members are involved, not just the Carrier's owner!
**If you have been gifted an egg and you have not heard word about either parent owner completing the Carrier images in over 2 months, it is alright for you as the current egg owner to draw them yourself!
The Carrier cannot be changed halfway through -- if you began with Parent #1 as the Carrier, you cannot suddenly draw Parent #2 completing the Carrier requirements!
Egg Design
Now that you’ve received your new kid’s roll, you can design their egg!
- The egg’s main color should always be the base color of the Lavaling inside!
- Secondary colors should cover no more than half of the egg! Not all have to be present in the design.
- If the Lavaling has any marking ferroii, those should be included in the egg’s design! If they don't have any specified markings, then distinct designs or patterns should not be included.
- Lavalamps also make an appearance on eggs! They can appear on any section of the shell, but must match the lavalamp colors of the Lavaling.
Design Your Bred Lavaling
There are a couple specific guidelines to follow when designing bred lytes:
- When an admin replies to your breeding note, they will give you a list of obtained ferroii, any magic the child inherited, and a template including the base, lavalamp, and eye colors that were rolled for the kid.
Colors & ferroii are rolled randomly — keep in mind that you can’t pick and choose beforehand!
- While you must use the given colors, you are completely free to choose the secondaries! They must follow regular MYO rules, but there is one exception:
The admin may mention that a color may be drawn from a certain parent in their reply — in the case of this, you may pick one existing base / secondary color from the parents given, regardless of if it matches the child's current base hue or not!
Ready to Hatch
It’s finally time for your bred kid to come to life!
Now that you’ve got them designed & ready to upload, just be sure to put this in their description:
Name:
Biological Sex:
Gender:
[Optional]
Species:
Type: Bred Lavaling
Egg ID: #XX
[Your Egg Roller will give you this number after you breed!]
Inherited Ferroii:
Hatch Location:
Carrier Images:
Personality:
Subspecies
Due to subspecies being slightly “rarer” than your average Astrolyte, there are a few more specific guidelines for breeding them!
- Certain subspecies have slightly longer cool-downs [see the F.A.Q. section below]!
- Standard / Subspecies breedings will have a much higher chance of having a Standard egg!
- Same Subspecies / Subspecies breedings will always result in a Subspecies egg!
- Different Subspecies / Subspecies breedings will always result in a Subspecies egg! Which Subspecies it’ll most likely be depends on the “rarity” of that species.
- Even if the Lavaling turns out to be Standard, they do have the chance of inheriting Subspecies ferroii* if the parent has them!
[*WIP feature]
F.A.Q.
What’s the “cool-down” mentioned before?
Astrolytes have breeding cool-downs, or certain amounts of time they have to wait out before breeding again! This is to compensate for the fact that we allow you to keep all the ferroii we rolled for your kid during breeding [there is no “max” amount]! To prevent too many “rare” Lavalings being bred rapidly only for their traits, Astrolytes and Subspecies alike have set cool-down times.
Regular Astrolytes: 4 weeks
Basic Subspecies ‘lytes: 5 weeks
Secondary Subspecies ‘lytes: 6 weeks
Cool-downs start as soon as an admin replies to your breeding request with your roll, so keep this in mind when breeding!
- - -
How long does my Lavaling have to stay as an egg?
They must stay as an egg for at least 10 days before the Lavaling will be able to hatch! This countdown starts as soon as the last Carrier image is uploaded.
[It isn’t required to get them approved exactly at the 10 day mark, they can be a “late bloomer” if you’d like / don’t have the time!]
- - -
What if I want to breed a same-sex couple?
That is perfectly fine! Breeding is a completely magical act, so sex doesn't necessarily have an effect on what couples can have a kid.
- - -
Do I have to add every ferrosome rolled for my Lavaling?
Nope! It’s completely up to you if you’d like to use every ferrosome given or limit it to a few. You cannot "swap" the given ferroii out to ones given by your Egg Roller, however.
- - -
Can my Lavaling inherit traits from their grandparents?
Yep! Just keep in mind this only works if one or both of the parents is a Bred Astrolyte themselves. If they are, just follow the same trait-listing format for the grandparents & we’ll include them in the breeding roll!
- - -
Can I give my egg to another user after breeding?
Yes you can! Just note the group stating the Egg ID and who you’d like to give them to. Remember, Carrier images must still be completed, the cool-down still applies, & this will not give you your Glass Egg back!
- - -
Is it possible to include more than 2 parents in a single breeding?
It is not! Despite the fact that breeding is completely magical, the magic that causes a new Lavaling to begin to form seems to only be affected by 2 separate parents, no more and no less. You're free to include multiple dates in the Partner Images if the relationship involves more than 2 lytes, but the actual breeding form will only acknowledge 2 parents for the sake of simplicity!
- - -
What happens if my lyte is married?
Please link your marriage approval in your breeding form to receive the correlating bonuses / restrictions! Be sure to include the ferrosome you would like to choose.
- - -
Do miscarriages happen?
Unfortunately they do! But this chance only arises if at least one parent has a cracked lavalamp placement or mutation marked with a miscarriage chance. If neither parent have cracked placements, then there is no chance of a miscarriage! Multiple cracked placements do increase the chance of miscarriage, though.
If it does occur, then you will get your Glass Egg back, unless surviving twins / triplets are rolled!
- - -
Can mutations occur during breeding?
Again, it is unfortunate, but they can happen! Luckily, it is only a 3% chance for regular breedings, but does seem to rise an unknown amount during the month of October.
- - -