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Post by Chao on Jan 20, 2013 9:03:50 GMT -5
Are we going to have one this year? Are we attempting a collab April Fool as in previous years? Or are we going to skip this year because April Fool issue would be the same as Easter issue this year? Or are we pulling the biggest prank ever and move the date of April Fool?
So what are your thoughts on this issue?
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Post by Coaster on Jan 20, 2013 19:20:01 GMT -5
I was kinda hoping to join in on the tradition, so perhaps we shouldn't cancel it outright this year... *cough*  So, selfishly, I'd agree with the idea of moving the date. Previous years, I've looked at the date after seeing the joke and figured, "Oh, April Fool's," but if it was on a different week... Alternately, we could just try to raid the Easter issue. |
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Post by Yoyti on Jan 20, 2013 19:43:12 GMT -5
I move that we do an escalating April Fools. Like this: Starting in mid March, we send in a slow stream of April Fools stories. Gradually, the number increases, and culminating at some point (probably in late April or early May) where we all send in our April Fools submissions.
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Post by Blueysicle on Jan 20, 2013 19:53:46 GMT -5
^Personally, I don't think it would have as much of an impact if it was drawn out like that. I think that doing April Fools a week late would be better, since that would allow for people that want to do Easter stories/articles/comics to get their stuff in too. And it could be part of the joke, having the April Fool not being on April Fools. |
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Post by Yoyti on Jan 20, 2013 23:43:35 GMT -5
^Personally, I don't think it would have as much of an impact if it was drawn out like that. I think that doing April Fools a week late would be better, since that would allow for people that want to do Easter stories/articles/comics to get their stuff in too. And it could be part of the joke, having the April Fool not being on April Fools. We're switching back to the Julian calender! (Would references to the Julian calender be barred?) |
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Post by chao nli on Jan 21, 2013 4:47:52 GMT -5
A week late would work better than trying to raid Easter issue... And we could have calendar confusion as Fool's theme perhaps.
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Post by Herdy on Jan 21, 2013 6:25:43 GMT -5
Personally I've never been a fan of not doing fools on fools, it ruins the point in my eyes.
What would be the problem with doing it in the Easter issue, exactly? From memory, it's hardly the most popular issue NTWFers submit to.
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Post by Lord Hayati on Jan 21, 2013 13:06:49 GMT -5
I say we make "normal stories", that gradually go completely insane by the end of them. like, not just regular insane, like NTWF insane.
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Post by Breakingchains on Jan 21, 2013 14:29:36 GMT -5
^ So, like, big-lipped alligator moments, wham lines, crazy genre shifts and jell-o falling from the sky? If those would actually get in, that sounds like tons of fun to me. xD But it seems like short stories and articles would have the advantage in terms of pulling it off gracefully.
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Post by Jade on Jan 21, 2013 20:48:08 GMT -5
How about a Jelly World War xD Comics would be normal except the last panel, and have Jelly pets attack, or Jelly falling from the sky.
Ehh, I have no idea what to do, but I'm on board for whatever. I liked the mustache one ;D
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Post by Komori on Jan 21, 2013 20:51:27 GMT -5
I say we make "normal stories", that gradually go completely insane by the end of them. like, not just regular insane, like NTWF insane. Except that "NTWF insane" involves shouting about space weasels and cheese and doesn't exactly make for a good story or a successful comic. These have to actually make it in to the Neopian Times, not just get rejected for not making any sense. XD |
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Post by Coaster on Jan 21, 2013 21:04:03 GMT -5
Looking at a brief history of what I missed, it looks like there were plenty of content suggestions last year. Perhaps participants could mix and match each other's titles, descriptions, and (where applicable) thumbnails... so you'd have a comic's logo with the title of part 5 of an extended series and the description of an article. It would take a lot more coordination, but the thought of the Times being that jumbled seems somewhat entertaining. On a more traditional note, perhaps the Angry Orange Yurble takes over the job of any of the Neopian monarchs for a day? There already seem to be several mentions of jelly, and of jello falling from the sky, so I second the idea of reports of a jelly storm or invasion of sorts. |
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Post by Breakingchains on Jan 21, 2013 21:43:31 GMT -5
I know they say windstorms can make it rain frogs out of nowhere. Maybe jelly world's had some bad weather, and the rest of Neopia is feeling the effects. xD
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Post by Yoyti on Jan 21, 2013 22:15:39 GMT -5
Except that "NTWF insane" involves shouting about space weasels and cheese and doesn't exactly make for a good story or a successful comic. These have to actually make it in to the Neopian Times, not just get rejected for not making any sense. XD Komori, I'm going to be perfectly frank here, because this is a topic which I care strongly about. There is no such thing as insanity. Hercule Poirot explains this in the ABC Murders. He supposes the existence of a man who spends his days squatting meditatively in the backyard. This behavior makes no sense to the ordinary passer by, but once you learn that the man thinks he's Ghandi, his actions suddenly seem perfectly clear. There is method to all madness. Especially literary madness. None of the Gilbert and Sullivan operettas conclude in any logical way. (Well, except for Yeomen Of The Guard), but then you learn that Gilbert studied law, and, compounded with the knowledge that the plays are satire, you suddenly understand why the conclusions are so fraught with loopholes and wordplay. Flatland is an easier example to get one's head around, because the difference is not one of logic, but of geography. You can follow the logic of flatland because in its own world, it makes sense. Alice's Adventures In Wonderland makes sense, given you understand wonderland logic. I think we could pull off something like this. Develop an unusual, but internally consistent, storytelling methodology. One thing that comes to mind is that we tell all our stories in reverse. This is perhaps an easier one than most, as we can just tell the story, and then reverse the scene order, but it proves difficult for comics. We could cross the genres, so the comics are informative guides and explanations, the stories are strings of rapid fire jokes, and the articles are told in a narrative fashion. It doesn't really work the other way around, with narrative comics (which are not unusual), humorous articles (most of them already are), and informative stories (quite difficult to pull off without having to classify it as an article). Or we could base all our submissions around Neopian history, but with a twist. We postulate a single change in neopia's history, extrapolate from that, and build all our submissions around that new chronology. For instance, supposing King Skarl never existed. Hagan would rule both Meridell and Brightvale.
Supposing that Hagan ruled both Meridell and Brightvale -- a land which we shall call Brightdell, the whole orb debacle with Darigan wouldn’t have happened. Given that the orb ended up being more symbolic than anything, Brightdell ends up all right. But not quite. Lord Kass still takes over. Remember, even though the circumstances are different, he’s still the same character, with the same flaws, and the same amount of being influenced by the three. And because the circumstances are different, and Lord Darigan is both present and not completely mad with power, Kass actually succeeds this time, and takes over Darigan, killing its former leader in the process. Kass wages war against Brightdell, and this plays out not unlike it did with Meridell, but this time, without lord Darigan, the continent completely sinks and crashed, dividing Brightvale and Meridell in twain. Hagan rules Brightvale from the part which we would call Meridell, as it has easier sea access without being blocked off by Darigan, which ultimately gives it a better defense against Darigan if they should ever choose to attack again. Brightvale effectively controls the two straights between the continent and Roo Island, and the continent and unnamed island.
So Brightvale and Meridell’s positions are reversed, and Darigan is now on the ground. What else changes?
Well, Darigan falling down has serious climatic effects. Not unlike a volcanic eruption, tons of tiny bits of debris spew forth from the landing site. Most of the lands manage to stick it through, but Terror Mountain takes a serious toll, preventing Roxton and company from ever finding Moltara, as that discovery hinged on a clue on Terror Mountain.
Furthermore, Xandra was ultimately successful in her plan, and the faeries are now gone forever. Why? Because Brightvale is now at the edge of a peninsula, and so Brynn’s journeys to and from there take that much longer, buying Xandra more time to bring her plan to completion.
So now both Faerieland and Darigan are on the ground. What else does this lead to?
Well, I’ve hypothesised that the reason Krawk Island flooded after Faerieland fell was because Faerieland was, much like the moon, controling the tides. But as Faerieland wasn’t in orbit, it was keeping the tides in place. Same with Darigan, albeit to a lesser extent. With both of them out of the sky, the ultimate flooding is that much worse, and no one survives the Krawk Island fiasco.
But wait, it gets worse.
Faerieland and Darigan were not only pulling the water away from Krawn Island and thereabouts, but also pulling it toward Brightvale and thereabouts. Without them, the Brightvalian peninsula experiences a drought. Kiko Lake dries up. The rainbow pool is discontinued to make more water available for the masses. Remember, Kiko Lake is not that deep. This sudden tidal change could easily have such an effect. And the Lost Desert is also on that continent. What little water they had is practically eliminated. Basically, either due to flooding or drought, this half of the planet is more or less eradicated. Oh, the major civilisations manage to stick it out, but Skarl never having existed takes its toll. Aren’t you glad we live in the neopia in which we do?
But it’s not all bad. Altador is mostly unaffected. And the Shenkuuvian economy thrives. Everyone turns to Shenkuu for their supplies, as Shenkuu is perhaps the only major producer left. Just as all of our goods are made in China today, all of Neopia’s goods are then made in Shenkuu. Shenkuu develops a monopoly on most consumer goods, and drives up the prices. Unfortunately, Shenkuu dug itself into a hole. Remember, it was mostly isolated up to this point, and now it is opening up to devastation. Economically, the plan ultimately fails, and Shenkuu is left in ruin.
And all because Skarl was never born.
And then all of our submissions would use that history, but we'd pay it no heed, and let the readers figure out that something is very wrong. I'm thinking we could do something along those lines, where the submissions themselves are perfectly normal, when viewed in the proper way. |
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Post by Herdy on Jan 22, 2013 8:11:23 GMT -5
I think Komori was more replying to the notion of NTWF-themed 'insanity' taking over, which is largely a collection of in-jokes that casual viewers wouldn't get.
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