Neopets around the world all cringed in unison on the morning of May 16th
2002 when the latest Paint Brush color was announced. Shoyrus who thought they
would look fetching in a Mystery Island color crossed their paws and hoped for
a Mystery Island Paint Brush, while Unis who were craving Tartan coats gnawed
on their lips and hoped for a Tartan Paint Brush. But when the announcement
was made that the latest color available to Neopets would be Baby, life became
miserable for all species in Neopia.
After reading about the new Baby Paint Brush and Baby Neopets that would be
coming out, my pet Shoyru Ashiki looked up at me with fear in his big blue eyes
and said, "Kel. You wouldn't want me to be a baby again, would you?"
I mussed the hair on his head and let him know that I'd never paint him a color
he didn't like, and he breathed a sigh of relief.
The Baby Paint Brush completely blasted away all of its competition; the Mystery
Island Paint Brush and Tartan Paint Brush never had a Ghost Lupe of a chance.
While millions of Neopet owners are ecstatic about the sickeningly cute upcoming
baby Neopets, no one seems concerned about what the pets think of this.
All other Paint Brushes that you can get on Neopets only have a slight effect
on your pet's color. You can give your pet speckles, stripes, spots, or some
fashionable wings if you're lucky enough to get your hands on a Faerie Paint
Brush. However the baby Paint Brush breaks all the rules by being a brush that
changes the size, appearance and apparently the very AGE of your Neopet. Perhaps
a Baby Potion would have been more appropriate? But it doesn't change the fact
that the pets of Neopia are enraged, and fearful for their lives.
I took the liberty of interviewing some different pets anonymously to find
out what the general population of pets thinks of the Baby Paint Brush. We all
know that the majority of Neopet owners think that baby pets are just adorable,
but since it is the pets who will be effected by this brush, I thought that
their voices deserved to be heard. The following are excerpts from interviews
with two pets who I thought expressed their concerns very eloquently.
Interview One: This interview was with a two year old Chia who overheard her
owner talking about buying a Baby Paint Brush for her.
Kel: So what do you think about the idea of being painted Baby?
Chia: To tell you the truth Kel, I'm absolutely horrified by the idea. I'm
two years old! I'm a full-grown adult Neopet! I don't want to have to go back
to being clad in diapers and sucking on a pacifier, it's undignified!
Kel: Have you told your owner any of this?
Chia: I tried, I really did, but it's almost like she doesnıt even hear me,
she just keeps on saying, "But you'd look so cute!" Aren't I cute
enough as I am now? I was cute enough for her to love me for two whole years,
I don't know why she thinks I need to change.
Kel: Do you think the Paint Brush will effect more than your appearance?
Chia: That's what worries me the most. Will I still be able to talk, or will
I only be able to babble? Will I still think like a grownup Chia, but be trapped
in a baby Chiaıs body? Or will I look AND think like a baby? I have an intelligence
of over 100, I'm an ultimate genius thanks to all the books I've read, but after
I'm painted, will I even be able to read? I do jobs at the Employment Agency
daily, but how can I work if I'm a baby? This Paint Brush will change my entire
life!
Kel: Why do you think your owner wants to paint you Baby so badly?
Chia: I think the problem is just so many owners desire cuteness above anything
else. I've seen owners who let their pets starve just because theyıre saving
up their Neopoints so they can buy a fancy Paint Brush to paint their pet. I'd
rather be a happy yellow Chia than a starving Faerie Chia any day! Owners need
to realize that we are creatures with our own feelings, needs and desires; we're
not just some cute things for them to come and look at occasionally. They can't
just let their desire for cute things push them to be cruel to their pets.
Interview Two: For this I interviewed an 18-month-old Skeith, who says he'll
run away if his owner ever thinks of painting him Baby.
Kel: Now, why are you so against being painted Baby? It seems to be very popular
with owners in Neopia.
Skeith: Well, of course! That's because THEY aren't the ones who have to be
painted! Can I ask how old you are?
Kel: I'm 22, why do you ask?
Skeith: Well, how would YOU like it if suddenly your parents decided to do
something to you that turned you back into a baby?
Kel: I see your point.
Skeith: But owners don't think of it that way, they just think, "Aww
wookit dah cute wittle baby waby Neopets!" They don't think about how WE
feel about it! I don't want to be a baby again! I've grown up! I fight in the
Battledome, I hang out with my friends, and I explore the world. I LIKE that
I can do things on my own. I don't want to have to be fed and changed and *gulp*
washed again. The whole idea of it is just so embarrassing and humiliating.
Kel: Do you think the introduction of this Paint Brush is going to have a
big effect on Neopia?
Skeith: Oh yes, definitely. For one thing, this is the only Paint Brush that
you can actually buy somewhere, and even though the price is pretty high, that's
going to mean that a lot more people will be getting their hands on it! Before,
Paint Brushes could only be found randomly, so they were pretty rare, but now
anyone who has enough savings can get one. What worries me the most is that
people will probably start creating lots of young newborn Neopets, and painting
them baby right away, so that they'll stay babies forever, and never know what
it's like to grow up and be independent and free. We'll have an overabundance
of Neopets who will never get the chance to do anything but spit-up, drool and
crawl their whole life.
Kel: It does sound pretty sad, when you put it that way; owners deliberately
keeping their pets from ever growing up.
Skeith: Everyone should have the right to grow up and be their own person.
So, although the owners of Neopets are squealing with pleasure at the new
Baby Paint Brush, the Neopets are living in a constant state of fear, wondering
if their owners will be selfish enough to stunt or reverse their growth, just
to have a pet that's THAT much more cute. So if you are saving up your NP to
buy that brush from the Hidden Tower, don't be surprised if one morning you
wake up in your NeoHome, to find your pet has run away. And if you are planning
on painting your pet baby, be sure you discuss it with them, and make sure that
it is what THEY really want, and not just what YOU want. Because, after all,
Neopets is supposed to be all about loving your pets for who they are, not making
them what you want.
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