Is That REALLY Fyora On The Faerie Queen Doll Avatar

     By Nick Neopia

     Neopians, you may not have heard from me since I broke the news about TNT’s Mind Control Ray last year, but I assure you that I have not been idle! I remain committed to uncovering the conspiracies and secrets that the despots at TNT keep hidden from us. The Sceptic Tank is on the case.

     Have you considered how many discrepancies lurk in plain sight? Or perhaps, plain site? They stare at us from the Neoboards, we even flaunt them ourselves! I speak, of course, about “secret” avatars.

     It all started when I tried to find the adorable Nova Plushie shown in the Nova Plushie avatar.

     I assumed that all I would need to do is visit the Plushie Palace. But the Plushie was not there. So I checked fellow Neopian shops. No dice. That’s when it dawned on me - the Plushie in the Nova Plushie avatar does not, in fact, exist at all!

     This led me to question: where did this Plushie come from? Is it even a Plushie at all?? Why would TNT make a Plushie avatar with a Plushie that doesn’t exist? The only reason can be that it DID at one point exist, but then where did it go? And why was it hidden?

     My fellow Neopians, we are only scratching the surface. I come to you with several more disturbing examples of avatars that hint at something more nefarious...

     Stamp Collector - Others II

      This might be the most asked question in all of avatar history - why is Brucey B on the cover of the Other II avatar when there are no Brucey B avatars in the Other II album?

     To understand this, it’s important for me to give you historical context. Brucey B is a greatly influential figure in Neopian history. After his Lucky Coin was stolen, his quest to find it led to the discovery of the Lost Desert.

     And yet, there is no Brucey B stamp in the Lost Desert album. Disgrace!

     Even the SCARABS from Brucey’s Lucky Coin plot have their own stamps. Jewelled Scarab has its place in the Battledome. Golden Scarab is featured in the Lost Desert album AND the Coin album. Disgrace!

     Brucey B has never been featured in any avatars, unlike his Cheat! playmates. Capara has an avatar. Even Branston has an avatar (I know it’s for the Beauty Contest, but still, is he really that important?) Disgrace!

     After being passed over time and time again, Brucey B only had one choice - he had to PAY for his avatar with the profits from his lucky coin. That’s right—he bribed TNT to get the avatar that he deserves.

     I can’t help but wonder if he isn’t the only one…

     Meerca - Chase

      Look closely at this avatar my friends. Have you ever noticed this negg…has eyes?

     Tell me, how many neggs have you seen that have eyes? I have found only one, the yellow Happiness Negg. But there are no other smiling neggs. Why is this the case? Why does this negg have eyes when the blue neggs sold by the Food Shop don’t?

     There is only one plausible answer, and it will horrify you. The neggs we know and love must have undergone GENEGGIC MUTATION. That’s right friends. Your neggs are NOT non-GMO. It is my belief that the Negg Faerie is harbouring a secret laboratory deep in the Ice Caves where she experiments with neggs and changes their traits. I have not been able to confirm this myself, because it was way too cold when I went to go searching for it. I assume that the Negg Faerie uses this undesirable climate to repel intruders, which is why no one has ever seen such a lab before.

     What else is this mad scientist doing to neggs besides removing their eyes? What other traits are being selectively bred out? And what is her motivation? Fear not Neopians, I will continue to investigate this and expose the Negg Faerie for the nefarious researcher she is. As soon as I procure a warmer winter coat.

     Queen Fyora

      Look at this avatar. Now look at the Faerie Queen Doll. Now look at the avatar. Look at the doll. Can you tell me, with a straight face, with 100% certainty, that this avatar and the doll are one in the same?

     Clearly not! This avatar showcases something else. Someone else, perhaps. Ponder this—does Fyora have any... family... that she wouldn’t want us to know about? Any kind of ... distant sister? A sister who just happens to have a lovely tan?

     To investigate, I travelled to the best place to get a tan—Mystery Island—and sought out Jhuidah for an interview. “Does Fyora have any family members who have vacationed here on Mystery Island in recent years?” I asked.

     “No one comes to mind,” Jhuidah replied. “But Fyora does come to visit from time to time. She used to visit quite often, actually, and once owned a vacation home on the South Shore. However, in recent years, I believe she’s been too busy to visit. Or if she does visit, she doesn’t stay long enough to say hello to me.”

     From there, I went searching for Fyora’s vacation home. I stopped into the Tiki Tack to ask for directions, where I left with an address and an extremely fashionable pink grass skirt. The Neohome in question looked rather dilapidated, as if it hadn’t been used in quite some time. The door was locked (What? Of course I tried opening the door..), but peering into the windows showed me a tastefully decorated and fully stocked kitchen. The home was clearly meant to be lived in, and had been before, but the Spyders crawling across the kitchen counter made it clear that it was no longer occupied.

     So it is clear that Fyora used to frequent Mystery Island enough to warrant owning a vacation home, but she has not been by in recent memory. I believe that at the time Faerie Queen Doll was created, Fyora actually did have a tan. But now that she gets out of Faerieland less and less, she has withered to her current pale tone. The Queen Fyora avatar is a lesson to us all: it’s good to get out of the house every once in a while.

     Extreme Herder

      You may recognise this avatar as the one awarded for scoring highly in Extreme Herder. If you’re not familiar, Extreme Herder is a game starring a shepherd named Samrin who is responsible for herding Petpets into a corral to save them from being eaten by Balthazar. An avatar featuring Samrin is befitting such a noble achievement.

     However, the Kacheek in the avatar is NOT Samrin! Samrin is a Blue Kacheek, and the shepherd in this avatar is yellow. Who is this person??

     I could only find one piece of evidence explaining this mysterious Yellow Kacheek.

      In this card from the Neopets TCG base set, you can find the yellow Kacheek with his straw hat and his Petpet Babaa. He is known only as the “Kacheek Shepherd.” He is not even worthy of a name!

     Not only was Samrin omitted from the avatar for his own game—he was even omitted from the Neopets TCG, replaced by this ersatz herder wannabe. If TNT already has Samrin as a canonical Petpet herding Kacheek, why are they featuring another one here and elsewhere?

     When I reached out to TNT for comment, they referred me to their PR department. PR referred me to Legal. And then Legal slammed the door in my face. Inexcusable! TNT is clearly hiding something from us. With the clues we have, there is only one logical conclusion: Samrin refused to allow TNT to use his likeness, forcing TNT to recruit this nameless knock-off instead. Why did Samrin refuse? Did TNT refuse to compensate him appropriately? I am sure they cited “budget cuts” but we all know TNT made a killing off of those Retired MME caps in the NC mall.

     Friends, I urge you all to not use this avatar out of solidarity with Samrin. His heroic sacrifice for Petpets is not honoured by this counterfeit, phoney, black-market, fraudulent version of him.

     What Have We Learned?

     Today we have learned something very important—there are no truly hidden secrets. No lie can ever 100% cover the truth. And when one lie is revealed, the entire story unravels. We have learned about Brucey B’s bribery, Fyora’s vacation habits, the Negg Faerie’s cruel experiments, and most importantly, the flimflam black-market-boon Kacheek Shepherd who steals Samrin’s glory every time he appears on the Neoboards.

      As for the Nova Plushie, maybe I will understand the real story one day…wait, what’s this image??

      Notes / extra

     Sources:

     https://bookofages.jellyneo.net/characters/70/

     https://bookofages.jellyneo.net/events/brucey-b-and-the-lucky-coin/

     https://www.neopets.com/desert/plot.phtml

     Funny Notes:

     Brucey B doesn’t have a stamp, but the Jewelled Scarab from the Brucey B and the Lucky Coin plot is featured in The Battledome album

     Actually the Golden Scarab has been featured in the Lost Desert album and Coin album

     Capara and Branston have their own avatars but Brucey B does not (Branston is featured in the Beauty Contest)

     https://bookofages.jellyneo.net/characters/1552/ - Nick Neopia quotes to get a sense of writing style