The Case for a Valentine's Paint Brush

Valentine’s Day – the day where all of Neopia is sending messages of love. When shopping for Valentine’s Day gifts this year, I noticed the assortment of Valentine-themed Neopet plushies. Pink and red and covered in hearts, these plushies were the epitome of love. This brought to mind my old shopkeeper, a most adorable Valentine Ixi (“Ixi – Heart”), whose cute behind is unfortunately now replaced by sour-looking Usul. I thought to myself – these Valentine pets look fantastic! I bet a lot of owners would love to have their pets look like this. And the more I thought about it, the more reasons came to mind as to why a Valentine’s Paint Brush would be a great idea. So without further ado, I present my case...

1. Pink is the new black

This phrase has often been said and I’ll say it again! Pink is in. For boys, girls, young, or old... different shades of pink can work for anyone. Pink can represent shyness, boldness, casualness, glamour. It goes fantastically with white or black, and of course, red. Since pink is so popular, I believe the Valentine’s Paint Brush would be wildly popular as well.

2. Current pink is too pink

Wait, isn’t there already a Pink Paint Brush? Yes, there is, but most Pink pets are a washed out fuchsia hue. Not so bright as to blind you, but fuchsia enough to be an eyesore. A few species are in a slightly different shade of pink. A few others bear the red and pink markings found on Valentine pets. But by large, Pink Neopets are, in my opinion, a little bland. Do you know anyone who owns a Pink pet who didn’t get it just for avatar purposes? Alright, I (half *cough*) kid!

As for Red, well that’s just too common a colour. Red and pink? Now that’s a winning combination. Furthermore, Valentine plushies currently bear many different shades of pink and red. Diversity is beautiful.

3. Every pet should have a heart

One subtlety that I’ve always loved about Blumaroos is their heart-shaped footpads. I’ve sometimes noticed the same thing with Aisha ears, but that seems to vary by picture. Hearts are the eternal symbol of love and love is one the best things that Neopets represent. All Neopet species should be able to display hearts on their bodies if they and their owner so choose. The Valentine plushies currently bear a variety of heart patterns. Some species have a single heart on their tummy, others on different areas, and some all over. Again, I really appreciate the diversity of these designs and I believe they would be a smash hit with the Neopian public.

4. Valentine’s Day customization is incomplete

Certainly, there already exist a number of Valentine’s Day wearables, from handhelds to backgrounds. But essential to every well-customized pet is a well-selected base colour. In the previous sections, I have explained my reservations about Pink and Red Paint Brushes. You may now be thinking that a seasonal Paint Brush is a waste of Neopoints and wonder who would want their pet to be Valentine-themed all year round. I suspect a great number of owners in fact would, since the pink heart-based design would appeal to many people. A quick perusal of the Avatar Chat will reveal many users who chronically use pink avatars, namely “Queen Fyora”, “Kadoatery – Mew!”, and “Valentine Chia”, and bear pink signatures with hearts. I, myself, use the Valentine site theme all year round.

5. The next holiday theme

We already have great-looking Christmas and Halloween coloured Neopets. The next most widely known holiday is either Valentine’s Day or Easter. Since we already have Chocolate pets and because Easter is not easily associated with any particular design, I propose the next holiday-themed Paint Brush be for Valentine’s Day. Valentine’s Day is already widely celebrated in Neopia due to the Mysterious Valentines Card (MVC) restocking craze the week prior and the sending of the MVCs on Valentine’s Day itself. Furthermore, the availability of an avatar on that day only makes February 14th one of the most well-known days in Neopia.

6. Easy peasy

Perhaps the most compelling reason to introduce Valentine-themed Neopets is that the designs already exist. We know TNT work their behinds off to bring beautiful pets to life – so why not make it a little easier by using designs which already exist? There are currently eleven species with Valentine plushies: Grarrl, Nimmo, Wocky, Yurble, Bruce, Chia, Cybunny, Grundo, Kacheek, Quiggle, and Kiko. Among shopkeepers, at least two other species have a Valentine design – Aisha (“Aisha – Hearts”) and Ixi (“Ixi – Heart”). With thirteen designs already existent, that’s almost as much as the number of Chocolate pets (fourteen) and more than the number of Clay, Custard, Sponge, and Zombie pets. Come on, TNT – Valentine pets have got to be more appealing than Clay, Custard or Sponge!

7. Beyond Neopia

Of course, we all know Neopia is just another planet. As a denizen of planet Earth, I think I speak for a number of people when I say that we’d love to have plushie versions of Valentine Neopets over here. Did you know that Valentine’s Day is also widely celebrated on Earth?! Since love is a universal truth, I believe Valentine plushies would be wildly popular on Earth as much as on Neopia. Seeing these plushies would likely pique the curiosity of Earth denizens and encourage them to go explore Neopia. This would lead to more Neopet owners and more pets who are loved in return.

Conclusion

Valentine-themed wearables are great, but behind every good-looking pet is a good-looking base colour. I propose that the Valentine’s Paint Brush provide a mix of red and pink as a base with aesthetically placed hearts over the body. I believe that the Valentine plushies and shopkeeper pictures are excellent designs that should be translated into reality. Not only do I foresee these Neopets being popular in Neopia, I think the Earth plushie versions would be quite popular as well. After all, isn’t the bottom line of Neopets all about love?