Neopian Times Day: The Forgotten Holiday? by starhamster42 |  |
NTAG - I was looking through the
Neopian Calendar yesterday, making notes on the upcoming holidays,
when I noticed something very strange. There's Kougra Day, there's the Day of
Giving and Lupe Day... but why is there no Neopian Times Day?
I was thrown off track by this in much the same way as a hiker is when, after
many pleasant hours of daydreaming and admiring the scenery around him, suddenly
finds himself teetering on the brink of a crumbling cliff, looking into the
endless abyss below. Look up at The Neopian Times logo at the top of your screen
to see just how many readers flock to the newest issue of The Neopian Times
every weekend, flipping eagerly to each section to read the newest stories of
Al and Fluffy's adventures, the weekly episode of Krawk Files, or even the mysterious
plot behind Mind-Control
Hair Gel. The Neopian Times is every bit as important to us as Peophin
Day, the long-awaited Meridell War, or the newest favour of Weevil Coffee to
hit the Neopian streets.
So why, then, is there still no Neopian Times Day? By the numbers in the golden
logo at the top of the screen, you can tell that the NT is no mere fad, easily
forgotten and shoved back into the darkest depths of memory. Remember, the authors
of all these articles, short stories, comics, and series don't even get paid
for their writing; we write because we love to do it--all the better to declare
a holiday about! Still not convinced? Just think of the possibilities!
Neopian Times Day would be a huge event, a celebration of the creativity of
Neopians everywhere. The festivities would start off with a huge bumper issue
of the Times to spread the spirit of the holiday, followed by new items and
events to celebrate the work of those authors.
Something has happened! MonoKeras appears and hands you a Trenchcoat! Wow, thanks!!
New stamps would be issued of Agent Magnolia and the Sheep of Doom, rare plushies
of
Rooruon and Dr_Death ("The more you hug him, the more irritated he
gets!"), and even posters of your favourite characters to decorate your bedroom
walls. A whole flood of new books would be released, so you could read bedtime
stories of Harry
the Grarrl to your beloved Ixi and Chia. Your Jubjub would hug her Fuzzle
with the name "Zack"
stitched on its foot as your Lupe hollowed out his own coconut halves and prepared
to play the part of the brave
King Monty of Omelot.
Let's not forget to credit the editor of The Neopian Times, Mr. Shankly! He
could have a plushie all his own, which smells rather strongly of Studio Stunt
Hair Gel, wears a shirt with emblazoned on the front, and recites bloody awful poetry when
you pull the string in the back.
Finally, what about the idea of Author Spotlight? It would be a fantastic chance
for an up-and-coming author to display their newest ideas to Neopians everywhere,
and also a great way to attract even more attention to Neopia's Favourite Almost-Gummy
News Source. We could even vote for our favourite characters, stories, series,
articles, and comics in the NT Awards, which would give awards to these dedicated
users based on effort and plot, not on amount of writing submitted.
Of course, this isn't a holiday you can create on the spur of the moment; it
would take a long time for the Neopets Team to organise and save submissions
for the bumper issue, create items and plushies, and set up the NT Awards. That's
an awful lot of work, and if the idea was accepted and made into a holiday,
we'd have to make a few sacrifices of our own. The Neopian Times might come
out a little later for a few weeks, new items and games might be released more
slowly, and thousands of cups of Hot Borovan would have to be shipped to Neopets
Headquarters to keep the Team awake!
So I'll leave you with this single thought: you've seen the benefits and the
drawbacks of Neopian Times Day. Is it worth it? Would you gladly accept the
delays to see this glorious holiday in the news? Or do you consider it a glorious
waste of time which you'd rather spend playing a new game or contentedly reading
the works by authors as they are? Feel free to drop
me a line here with your comments.
Until next time, this is Starhamster42, signing off. Happy reading!
Author's Note: The idea for this article stemmed from a discussion in the
Neopian Times Writer's Forum. All are welcome! |
