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Faerie Wars?

So...you must be here because you're one of those Neopians who were either confuzzled, maddened or amused (and a lot more!) last March 31-April 1, 2007 when you started reading the Neopian Times and found out about the 'newest plot' Faerie Wars. Still can't figure it out? Think you figured it out but want to make sure you really did? Well, then, here's what really happened...

- The Neopian Times Writers

Neopian Times Issue 285

The mayhem began when Issue 285 of the Neopian Times was released last March 31, 2007. Here's what it said on the New Features page:

Clicking on the link brings you to front page of the latest NT issue where you are immediately confronted with an article with the title Faerie Wars: Tactics by yours truly (ladyariel32) and the following description:

...informing you about the latest plot, Faerie Wars, which was announced (by Fyora) a week ago:

The Faeries are in an uproar over Queen Fyora's shocking announcement a week ago. The queen proclaimed she was going to cut one type of Faerie quest because too many Faeries were giving them out.

The Faeries have been fighting it out since then, hurling insults and magic spells left and right. Things can only get worse. No one wants her quest to get cut! Fyora says a full-out battle could be the only way to get things resolved properly.

Remember: to join the plot, decide which one of your pets you'd like to sign up for the war then choose which camp you want them to join! Good luck and here's to the return of a peaceful Neopia!

Some of you might have stopped there, confused, maybe slightly panicky, and immediately charged to the New Features to check on this new plot -- or to the Help Chat to ask about it.

But if you were one of the more meticulous readers of the NT, you might have had even more cause for alarm. If you checked all the sections of the NT, you would have found, not two, not three but:

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11 Faerie Wars-related pieces!

3 Articles

Faerie Wars: Which Side to Choose? by kittygirl5170
(mentioned on the New Features)
The Dirt on the Earth Faeries by pyrosquirrelx (on the NT frontpage)
Faerie Wars: Tactics by ladyariel32 (also on the NT frontpage)

2 Short Stories

A Negg Tale by evilhamster13
Smelly Protests by goosher

6 Comics!

Pointless Nonsense - Faerie Wars by petfriendamy
Meow? by edddibgaz
Knick Knack - Faerie Wars by pokemon_lunatic (art by ghostkomorichu)
The Not-So-Sweet Smell of Failure by manda314 (also by bird_brain312)
The Happiest Quiggle by nut862
Shiny: Faerie Wars by tamia_silverwing

After reading those pieces, I don't know who wouldn't be at least a little puzzled. All 11 pieces were referring to the same plot. Not only that, they used the same names, same personalities, same physical appearances (in the comics), of the supposed 7 Faerie leaders involved in the war:

Blaze the Fire Faerie
Glare the Light Faerie
Jodi the Earth Faerie
Storm the Air Faerie
Nychta the Dark Faerie
Well the Water Faerie
Smelly the Fire Faerie

But wait, there's more! If you checked the lookups of the 13 NT writers who wrote about Faerie Wars, you would see them sporting spiffy banners (made by the pwnsome tamia_silverwing) telling you which Faerie side they're supporting:

Want to take a banner with you? Heres' the code. Just replace ELEMENTHERE with either of the following: fire, light, earth, air, dark, water, smelly.

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The Theories

At the Help Chat and soon, other chat boards, theories were formulated...

Theory #1: It's probably a soon-to-be-released plot!

Well, since no one seems to know where the sign-up booth is, then maybe it hasn't been released yet. But it has to be something they're going to release soon because there's proof in the NT.

Theory #2: The plot was released a week ago but had limited signups.

Mainly, those writers who sent their stuff to the Times. And no one can find the sign-up booth right now because it's temporarily closed. Maybe it'll re-open soon.

Theory #3: The plot has begun but it's so hard to figure out that only a really minute amount of users are able to participate.

Yup. So all people have to do now is wait for more people to start figuring out where to begin. *nodnod* But it's definitely a real plot.

Theory #4: Aha! It's TNT's April Fools' prank!

Neopian 1: This must be TNT's prank for this year. A non-existent plot...that's just like them.

Neopian 2: But wait, I checked the lookups of the writers. They look like ordinary users. And, see, they've written more than 1 story for the NT.

Neopian 1: Aha! So maybe TNT took over their accounts or asked them to pretend they wrote those stuff.

Neopian 2: But I just told you...they write for the Times regularly. Why would TNT take over their accounts?

Neopian 1: ...eh. I don't get it. They're probably in cahoots with TNT.

Neopian 3: But if this were TNT's prank, then they should've done something more elaborate than just using the NT.

Theory #5: For goodness' sake, people! The Neopian Times is made of fake stories! Faerie Wars is just a story written by that user! It's not real.

Neopian 4: Really? So 13 different people all came up with the same idea? And I don't think the editor would have published their pieces if they were all lying. Using your imagination is well and good but do you really think the editor would let 13 pieces about a fake plot that would deliberately confuse readers through? Think about it.

Neopian 5: Oh. There's 13 of them?

Theory #6: Maybe the Neopian Times writers are trying to trick us...

Neopian 6: But if they were, how could they have conspired about this? I checked. They don't all belong to the same guild. Are we even sure they know one another?

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The Truth Revealed

So what really happened here? What is the truth?

The Facts

The Faerie Wars plot does not exist. Unfortunately, Faerie Wars really is a fake plot but who knows? Maybe TNT will realize it's a great idea for a plot and we might actually see it in the future. ;)

The Faerie Wars plot was the Neopian Times Writers Forum's (NTWF) joke for April Fools. Nope, it wasn't just another series written by NT writers. It was a planned April Fools' joke. All 13 writers involved in this are members of the NTWF, an off-site forum that's been around for years. NTWFers who didn't submit something Faerie Wars-related contributed to the plot idea and helped with the execution. The NT writers try to pull a prank every year (remember that time when authors advertised the end of the comics section of the NT?) but this one seems to be the one that worked best (so far XD).

TNT did not create Faerie Wars. The NT writers are not part of TNT. Nope, TNT didn't send us mails asking us to take part in their joke (although, for a while, we were excitedly hoping that TNT would enhance Faerie Wars and use it for their joke).

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The Prank Unfolded

Compiled with lots of help from NT writer, reasonably_crazy

Q: How did it all begin?

A: Since the NT writers tried to pull a prank every year, it was only natural that we started planning for this one. It was ghostkomorichu (Komo, author of Spooky comics) who began this year's April Fools thread by asking, "So, is there going to be a mass theme this April Fool's day, or is it every writer/artist to him/herself?" Komo soon suggested that we talk about a non-existent plot. It was tamia_silverwing who coined the name Faerie Wars, unintentionally giving it the same name as a famous novel. Other people started throwing in their contributions from there.

Q: Where did the Faerie leaders come from?

A: The 7 Faeries were created by the writers:

Blaze the Fire Faerie
Name, personality: Nut
Early profile: Fierce, strong, but loyal above all else
Physical appearance: Komo
Ghostkomorichu's concept sketch: (Blaze is on the right)

Glare the Light Faerie
Name, personality: Nut
Early profile: Strong-willed, good tactical officer
Physical appearance: Tamia
Tamia's concept sketch: (Glare is the one on top)

Jodi the Earth Faerie
Name, personality: PFA
Early profile: Gullible, ditzy
Physical appearance: PFA
Petfriendamy's concept sketch:

Storm the Air Faerie
Name, personality: Tamia
Early profile: Gentle, kind, until angered. Then she'll go nuts.

Nychta the Dark Faerie
Name, personality: Dimitris
Early profile: Malevolent, selfish, cruel, merciless.
Physical appearance: Tamia
Tamia's concept sketch: (Nychta is at the bottom)

Well the Water Faerie
Name, personality: PFA
Early profile: Arrogant, competitive.
Physical appearance: PFA
Petfriendamy's concept sketch:

Smelly the Fire Faerie
Name, personality: Goosher
Early profile: Smelly. (Go Smelly! W00T!)
Physical appearance: Komo
Ghostkomorichu's concept sketch: (Smelly is on the left)

Q: Who decided what caused the war?

A: It was a joint effort. The writers pitched in ideas but it was Dan who said Fyora could have created a controversial law. It was Kitty who said Fyora could have announced that one quest was to be cut.

Q: How were you able to make sure your prank would get into the Times?

A: Simple. We asked the Times editor, Droplet, what she thought of the idea. ;)

UPDATE: Here's what NT Editorial # 286 has to say about Faerie Wars.

Q: Okay, this has been driving me absolutely CRAZY! Sorry, back to my question. Where do you sign up for a side in the Faerie Wars plot? I just can't seem to find it. I've seen a lot of articles in the Neopian Times about a "Faerie Wars" plot. I am obsessed with Neopian plots, but I have absolutely no idea of how to join. Thank you TNT, you rock! Also, can you remove my username from this editorial question?

A: Hehe! Looks like those mischievous Neopian Times writers fooled a lot of people this April Fools' Day! ;) The "Faerie Wars" were simply a prank they collectively pulled on Neopia and, just so you realise how cool the whole prank was, we'll add that they did so without any assistance on our part (well, aside from the lovely Droplet catching on and deciding to publish the submissions involved).

The editorial was simply flooded this week with people asking where to sign up, so as much as we don't want to ruin their prank, we must assure everyone that there is no such thing as "Faerie Wars." Don't worry, though; if you're looking for a plot, we've got that and something much larger in the making. Keep your eye on New Features!

Got questions that still need answers? Just Neomail me and we'll answer them for you.

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Anything Else?

I can safely say that March 31, 2007 (and part of April 1) was one of the few times when a lot of NT regulars suddenly appeared on the Neoboards. Some lurked. Some posted on the Faerie Wars boards to approve, disprove, or add to the theories floating around. It's amazing how even the writers of the published pieces themselves could join in on conversations without anyone suspecting they had anything to do with the plot.

Throughout the day, clues were mysteriously dropped on the boards leading to expeditions in Altador, Shenkuu, and the rest of Neopia. A moving sign-up booth even made an appearance every now and then.

Codestone prices also shot up in preparation for the war. *blink blink* Well, I guess NT writers aren't the only devious people at work.

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Message from the Writers

Please know that the Faerie Wars plot was really just a joke. We didn't do it for anything else other than the fun of it. If it maddened you instead of amused you, then we are very sorry. That was not our intention. And, believe us when we say we didn't expect the joke to affect so many people. I guess it worked better than we had originally anticipated. ^^;

Thank you so much for your understanding. We especially appreciate all those Neopians who after finding out the truth (either through mailing us or on the boards) found it funny...because that's how we wanted it to be. Nothing more.

Signed Kitty, Pyro, Belle, Ebil, Goosh, PFA,
Xanme, Dimitris, Komo, Manda, CV, Nut, Tamia
and the rest of the NTWF.