The Scriblet: Ignored?

My investigation was of the old plot, Journey to the Lost Isle. Neopians who had been there when the plot was taking place may remember a certain Battledome enemy who went by the name of the "Petpetpet Horde". If one was observant, you could see that among the the grotesquely mutated pinchit and vernax, was a giant scriblet. Despite the fact that both the pinchit and vernax had or would later gain fame in Neopia (Habitarium and Web of Vernax respectively), the poor Scriblet was promptly ignored by the masses of Neopia, being quickly forgotten and thrown away along with the plot in remnants of site. Why did that happen? Judging from the reactions of Neopians everywhere when certain petpets or petpetpets were released, I have come to the conclusion that the vast majority of Neopians simply did not find the scriblet "cute" enough, and resigned it to its fate of being constantly ignored when its brethren were gaining fame and stardom in Neopian culture. However, not every Neopian had liked something because it was "cute". So by that logic, you would think the scriblet would be vastly popular with them, yes? But the Scriblet was also ignored by this group of Neopians, even though everything else pointed to them getting along. Why? That is my next investigation.

I was genuinely puzzled on this strange occurrence when I decided to question the group of individuals themselves. Their answers were all long and varied, but at the end, they all shared a common trait - avatars. These particular Neopians have given into the hunt for avatars, and as such, they deemed anything with nothing to do with avatars as "not worth our time." So it seems, that even though the scriblet best matched the characteristics of the things they were enjoying, if it had no avatars, it was worthless, whereas, if say, the Mootix was given to them, they would rave and fight and attempt to claim it for themselves - all because of an avatar. That is the unfortunate truth nowadays, it seems.

Furthermore, I decided to dig even deeper into the scriblet's history, and discovered some surprising insights. The scriblet was actually released alongside the lightmite and blechy, two iconic petpetpets as well. Out of all these three, why was the scriblet the one who was ignored? I myself cannot say, but when compared to the other two in terms of popularity, the poor scriblet pales in comparison. Another key factor I have theorised is the convenience and practicality of certain petpetpets as opposed to others. For example, the lightmite is known to bite, but one with a strong bond to its petpet companion would make a good emergency light, and another example in the rainblug, its vibrant, clearly visible multicolored segments would make it easy to spot in a petpet's fur (providing the petpet isn't rainbow itself).

However, I have also discovered some unique traits that the scriblet itself exclusively carries. For one, the large horns on its head are surprisingly strong, and can be used to gather various food in the wild, such as berries, nuts and other small fruit. While not enough for sufficient sustenance for a neopet, it could be a relief for a hungry petpet companion lost in the woods. Also of note is its unusually large overall size. When compared to other petpetpets, the scriblet ranks in as one of (if not THE) largest of them all. This unusual size is used for intimidation in the wild, and for a companion petpet, might provide some form of amusement. So if the scriblet has all these unique traits, you might ask, "Then why haven't they been revealed to the Neopian public?" The answer is simple - no one bothered. They didn't look at the practical purposes of this fine creature, and simply focused their attention at all the other petpetpets. The unfortunate truth is that the Neopian public simply doesn't know about the scriblet, as its limited appearances on the site itself can attest to. The Neopian public isn't at fault here - it's that it is unfortunately neglected by the site, and lack of appearances = lack of popularity despite all the amazing things it can do.

By this point I have come to the conclusion that it is unknown to the majority of Neopia because of the following facts: A) "cuteness" B) avatars and C) scarceness of content on the site itself. Despite all this confounding evidence, however, I believe that if Neopians would just give the scriblet a chance, it would become a well-loved and integrated part of Neopian petpetpet culture. It would perhaps even be in the league of the mootix. I hope that this article has helped bring to light the glory and dilemma of the scriblet, and that readers will be spurred to spread the word of this magnificent petpetpet. If you see one, perhaps on a hiking trip, or in your neogarden, don't chase it away - invite it into your life.

This is lux_aeterna1234, signing off.