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Terror Mountain (7th day in the month of Celebrating, year 5) - I'm mundane57
reporting live. This morning, hundreds of Neopet owners are trudging up this mountain
path despite blizzards and a horridly low temperature of -29 degrees C. Brrr…
Let me see if I can borrow a coat from Taelia the Snow Faerie.
Taelia: Go on, you know you want to help me? :) Pretty please?
mundane57: I'm so sorry, Taelia. I'm doing live coverage of this pilgrimage
and I'm freezing to death as it is.
Taelia: (Looking puzzled) Oh dear, what pilgrimage? (Eyes lighting
up) Oh! You mean those blue-faced avatar hunters everywhere on the mountain.
(Rapid knocks on the door)
Taelia: Sigh, here they come again… please go away? I really don't
have any Icy Snowflake to lend you, and even if I do, I don't accept collateral.
Can't I work on my spells in peace?
mundane57: Avatar hunters, you say?
Taelia: Yes, yes, I'm so exasperated with the Neopets team! First,
it was that "Snowbunny Whee!" avatar which clogged up the Avatar/NeoSignature
Chat Board, so I couldn't show off my wonderful new signature. Wouldn't you
like to see it - it's all icy blue with a double glow. Here, let me show you.
mundane57: Eh, later perhaps. You were saying…
Taelia: Oh yes, the "Whee!" avatar that had everyone buzzing over the
weekend about how they could get it. I'm not saying it's cute, although I must
say it has a delicate charm. Snowbunnies are rather adorable, don't you think?
Perhaps I should use the avatar, too…
mundane57: You have it?! You really have it?! A-hem, I mean one of
my Neopets has a Snowbunny, but he's going crazy over not having that avatar.
Oh my goodness, you have the avatar… so you solved the mystery?
Taelia: Not me… where in Neopia have you been? Someone - I can't recall
who -finally appeared on the boards with that charming little avatar, and said
something about having adopted a Snowbunny since last year. But I must say,
it wasn't very nice of some people to claim they had the avatar but refused
to show it.
mundane57: I can never be sure if they are lying.
Taelia: Oh yes, that's what I mean. If you have it, just show it, though
of course, people may start harassing you for the "secret". Anyway, people started
checking and more came back with good news. As you know, we gave out Snowbunnies
for an Advent Calendar prize last year. Come to think of it, that's a wonderful
365 and ¼ days ago.
mundane57: So people got rewarded for being faithful to their petpets?
Taelia: :) Isn't that just a wonderful idea? Like the Petpet Protection
League, you know. I'm rather sick of those who dump their petpets for the stupidest
reasons.
mundane57: I thought you were mad with the Neopets team?
Taelia: Well, I still am… but they are clever. And they must have been
laughing at all those ridiculous theories that came up.
mundane57: Theories?
Taelia: Well, people were getting their Neopets to say "Whee!" to their
Snowbunnies. Can you imagine what the Snowbunnies must have been thinking?
(mundane57 turns red, but Taelia doesn't notice.)
Taelia: Then people tried typing "Whee!" on the boards, as though the
team would be so silly as to repeat the "Squawk" trick twice. And people suggested
giving Snowbunnies to Cybunnies, or trying to get hold of those cool skating
rinks that just came out so their Snowbunnies can go sliding and perhaps start
whee-ing! Haha…
mundane57: There wasn't a bit of truth in that?
Taelia: Oh, one can never say. Of course, Adam - that dear, dear boy
- started fooling with everyone's mind with that little poem on his user lookup.
I thought that was really funny: everyone dissecting his words to make sense
of it all. I really must remember to send him a cup of borovan later.
mundane57: But the crowd now? What are they looking for? More hidden
Snowbunnies?
Taelia: Of course not. They're here checking the weather to get the
"Let It Snow" Snow Bruce avatar. Not everyone can afford it, you know. I mean,
having an Icy Snowflake used to be a relatively cheap business, even if it was
rarity 97, but the price just shot up after the news broke. Wait a minute… Aren't
you supposed to be the reporter and not me?
mundane57: I haven't been reading the news and Neoboards much, I'm
afraid.
Taelia: You really should. My goodness, just take a look at the auctions.
In three hours, the price shot up from 97,000 NP to over 180,000 NP, though
hopefully people will get over the craze and start being sensible. Those snowflakes
used to go as cheap as 200 NP, I read somewhere on the boards.
mundane57: I can't imagine that.
Taelia: Just look at what's happening. The price of cheese has gone
up after those hungry Drackonacks started chomping them to make an avatar. My
orange items are always going missing after people visit. Thank goodness I don't
have dung items or those will go missing too. Why would anyone want to be "Mad
About Orange" or tell people "I'm Smelly"?
mundane57: Maybe avatar hunting is just a fad.
Taelia: I doubt so. But what I'm really upset are those poor Pepitos
being fed to Jetsams. I can't bear to think about that. (Starts weeping)
mundane57: There, there…
Taelia: Can't we have other, less dangerous avatars? Like "Hungry for
Omelettes" for those people who have 50 omelettes in their inventory? Or "Jelly
Lovers" for those crazy about Jellies? Or even "Tombola Winner" for those who
have a full set of the near-worthless Bottles of Sand, Toy Sail Boats and Sandals?
Those items are free, aren't they? They won't mess up the economy that much.
mundane57: Perhaps…
Taelia: Or people could just go with their free Pet Species Neopets
avatars. Can't they see that those so-called secret avatars are getting way
too overused?
mundane57: Yes, yes… perhaps. Taelia, I really have to get on with
my interviewing, so I'll see you later?
(More rapid knocks on the door)
Taelia: Oh, here they come again… please go away? I don't have any
Icy Snowflake and if you don't leave, I'll turn you into popsicles!
mundane57: Sigh, this is mundane57 signing off on my report "Avatar
Fever in Neopian Winter".
Disclaimer - I love avatars even if I just stick to my plain old Kacheek
for the Neoboards. By the way, can anyone lend me a "Malevolent Sentient Poogle
Plushie (TCG)"? :)
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