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Post by Kristykimmy on Mar 13, 2013 15:51:17 GMT -5
I'm suddenly inspired and have started writing, in hopes of having it done pretty quick. If Chao and Yoyti don't mind me borrowing from some of their ideas, I'd like to use a few of the same details they established. So long as you don't steal any of my math jokes, go right ahead. (Yes, there will be math jokes. My current title is a combination math/Disney pun  ) I'm too blonde to make math jokes, Yoyti. Thanks, guys. ^-^ Edit: And submitted. *fingers crossed* |
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Post by Huntress on Mar 13, 2013 18:41:04 GMT -5
*hazy stare* I can't remember the last time I made a comic in a single day. It's 2 a.m. But behold, for I made a thingy. If it doesn't get in, it'll be scrapped because it really doesn't work as a standalone xD But if nothing else, you lot can see it here. I also strongly recommend sticking something like "April Fools Day (NTWF prank)" in the comments when you submit, because Droplet needs to associate them all together with us instead of going "wait, whut, this makes no sense". |
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Post by Coaster on Mar 13, 2013 19:01:51 GMT -5
It looks like the designs have already diverged slightly, so I'll just go with more of the same with her hair a bit frazzled. I'm almost done the rendering, but I have a lab this evening, so I'll post the results later tonight when the comic is done and submitted. EDIT: Managed to finish the rest of it too. I'm a bit disappointed with how much of a text wall there is in the beginning, but at least it leaves the action shots wide open.  EDIT: I notice that there seems to be an interesting and entirely unintentional phantom image of a Poké Ball on her eye in the zoomed-in panel. Gotta love ray-tracing? |
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Post by Kristykimmy on Mar 13, 2013 19:48:25 GMT -5
*hazy stare* I can't remember the last time I made a comic in a single day. It's 2 a.m. But behold, for I made a thingy. If it doesn't get in, it'll be scrapped because it really doesn't work as a standalone xD But if nothing else, you lot can see it here. I also strongly recommend sticking something like "April Fools Day (NTWF prank)" in the comments when you submit, because Droplet needs to associate them all together with us instead of going "wait, whut, this makes no sense". Oh, Hunty, I'm dying here. XDDD This is pretty awesome for being done in one day. |
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Post by Chao on Mar 14, 2013 14:01:31 GMT -5
It looks like the designs have already diverged slightly, so I'll just go with more of the same with her hair a bit frazzled. I'm almost done the rendering, but I have a lab this evening, so I'll post the results later tonight when the comic is done and submitted. EDIT: Managed to finish the rest of it too. I'm a bit disappointed with how much of a text wall there is in the beginning, but at least it leaves the action shots wide open.  EDIT: I notice that there seems to be an interesting and entirely unintentional phantom image of a Poké Ball on her eye in the zoomed-in panel. Gotta love ray-tracing? Not sure if I got everything correctly with your comic, Coaster - did Grandma Boochi's ray turn the bush elderly? I wrote my interview article today... not sure if it's good enough to get in, but I submitted it nevertheless... Ever since the beginning of the recording of modern Neopian History you can find frequent mentions of sightings of a small Bruce, who has the means of turning unsuspecting Neopians into babies: Boochi.
One of the greatest mysteries which surround Boochi is that he seemingly doesn’t age – and this in a society which openly acknowledges the fact that everything in Neopia is aging daily. In order to unravel this mystery, I, Quentin, the Inquisitive Quiggel and investigative reporter extraordinaire, dug deep into the available archives and followed several leads until I eventually struck gold. I discovered that Boochi is no orphan without any ties in Neopia – something I had foolishly assumed, as it would explain nicely why this tiny Bruce tries to turn others into babies as it would give him new playmates to ease his solitary existence –, but is member of a large family headed by an elderly Bruce whom everybody in the family simply calls Grandma Boochi. It is with great delight that I announce that this singular lady consented to my interviewing her. Read now what she has to tell the world.
Quentin the Inquisitive Quiggle: Mrs. Boochi – or may I call you Grandma Boochi?
Grandma Boochi: You may.
QIQ: Thank you. Grandma Boochi, not withstanding the fact that for a Neopian your age you look fabulously, does it not sometimes irk you that your grandson does not seem to age and apparently does not share his fountain of youth with you?
GB: (chuckles lightly) Actually, the Boochi you are referring to is my great-grandson. And accurately he should be called Boochi V., seeing that he is the fifth Boochi to tease Neopians with the possibility of being turned into a baby. After all, we Boochis might retain our youthful looks for longer than the average Neopian, but we age nevertheless. I was not born this old, young man.
QIQ: So, would it be correct to assume that in your youth you were the Boochi to ‘tease the Neopians’ as you phrased it?
GB: Yes, that is correct. Ah… those were good times. Also rather challenging times. At least more challenging than my great-grandson’s job is today. Today, it is well known that all pets can be painted Baby, so nobody doubts Boochi’s ability to zap them into a baby. When I took over the job, there were some species who thought they were immune to my gun, simply because the Rainbow Pool did not grant them Baby as painting option. But every Neopian with at least a mote of intelligence should know that painting and zapping are two completely different things.
QIQ: I guess they were in for quite a surprise then…
GB: Certainly. Of course once TNT knew what a certain species looked like when zapped Baby, they hurried to provide a matching paintbrush. Sometimes it was almost like a competition between us to see who would be the first to release the baby look for a species.
QIQ: Impressive. Which species was your favourite among those where you beat TNT in this competition?
GB: I’d have to say the Flotsam. One would think that since TNT had already released the Baby Paintbrush for Jetsams rather early in the game, Flotsam would have been the next species for which Baby as colour was to be released. Yet almost two years later, the Rainbow Pool still did not list Baby as available colour for Flotsams. Something I intended to remedy. But, you see, aiming with the ray gun at something under water is rather tricky… I don’t know how often I missed – I was beginning to fear that nobody would take me seriously and I’d be the laughingstock of all of Neopia. But every try taught me more about the refraction of water and how to aim correctly and eventually Flotsams experienced what life as a baby was like.
QIQ: Sounds like a rather eventful time in your life. Somehow I can’t imagine that you were glad to hand over your job to the next generation…
GB: Listening to you, one might get the impression that we Boochis are only responsible for the baby-zapping.
QIQ: Are you not?
GB: Most certainly not. We Boochis are born colour-changers. Consequently we are also responsible for drenching unsuspecting Neopets with multi-coloured water, giving them a random new colour. Perfect for venting pent-up adolescent energy.
QIQ: Forgive me for saying this – according to my research the ones responsible for this colour-change drench Neopians from the sky, meaning they have to be air-borne, and Bruces are not really known for their flying abilities.
GB: That may be, but Meridell has a fantastic airship industry. By learning to handle and maintain these airships we also teach our adolescent family members responsibility and technical skills.
QIQ: Good point. What about the colour-change to invisible?
GB: Very good, young man, you are catching on. Indeed, once we Boochis are past those boisterous and loud stages of youth and have learned the value of peace and quiet, we become rather stealthy. Not that we can ever claim Ninja-stealth, but we are good enough to fool certain Neopians and turn them invisible.
QIQ: Doesn’t it sometimes rankle you that nobody seems to know that it is Boochi family members, who are responsible for these other colour-changes?
GB: Being known for the baby-zapping is fame enough. After all, we all have been in this position, so we all were famous. It’s more like feeling proud of maintaining the family tradition than striving for individual fame. Individual fame requires far too much time and effort. Just take a look at Dr. Sloth – in order to be remembered and not fade into oblivion he has to try to take over Neopia every few years, while giving out Transmogrification Potions in those off-times. Not to mention the time and energy to be invested in cooking up those potions and world-domination plans. And all this for fame… Life as a Boochi is far more preferable, even if until now we were not receiving the credit due to us for the other colour-changes.
QIQ: A wise and noble point of view. I guess such kind of wisdom simply comes with age. Speaking of age, what do you do, when you get too old for the stealth required to turn Neopians invisible? No offence meant, but your walker is hardly the sign of youthful light-footedness. I think spending your days knitting, drinking tea and enjoying retired life is more your line of occupation right now, isn’t it?
GB: (indignant) Does it look like I waste my time with such frivolities, young man? And who said that I am retired? A Boochi never retires!
With this, dear reader, our interview came to an abrupt end, seeing that Grandma Boochi suddenly raised her walker, aimed it at my poor humble self and fired. Given the fact that this elderly Bruce had a whole lifetime of training and that I was too stunned to think of dodging, the ray flashing out of the walker did not miss and all of a sudden I found myself to have aged drastically. So much in fact, that I think I may safely claim to be the first elderly Quiggle of Neopia. And for those of you who wish to correct me that there is no such colour as Elderly for Quiggles yet, might I turn your attention to the discussion Grandma Boochi and I had regarding early baby-zapping? What applies to the colour Baby certainly also applies to the colour Elderly. After all, Elderly is not available for Bruces at the Rainbow Pool either, yet there is no doubting that my interview partner was an elderly Bruce. Looks like the competition between a member of the Boochi family and TNT is on once more. |
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Post by Kristykimmy on Mar 14, 2013 14:16:12 GMT -5
It looks like the designs have already diverged slightly, so I'll just go with more of the same with her hair a bit frazzled. I'm almost done the rendering, but I have a lab this evening, so I'll post the results later tonight when the comic is done and submitted. EDIT: Managed to finish the rest of it too. I'm a bit disappointed with how much of a text wall there is in the beginning, but at least it leaves the action shots wide open. EDIT: I notice that there seems to be an interesting and entirely unintentional phantom image of a Poké Ball on her eye in the zoomed-in panel. Gotta love ray-tracing? Not sure if I got everything correctly with your comic, Coaster - did Grandma Boochi's ray turn the bush elderly? I wrote my interview article today... not sure if it's good enough to get in, but I submitted it nevertheless... Ever since the beginning of the recording of modern Neopian History you can find frequent mentions of sightings of a small Bruce, who has the means of turning unsuspecting Neopians into babies: Boochi.
One of the greatest mysteries which surround Boochi is that he seemingly doesn’t age – and this in a society which openly acknowledges the fact that everything in Neopia is aging daily. In order to unravel this mystery, I, Quentin, the Inquisitive Quiggel and investigative reporter extraordinaire, dug deep into the available archives and followed several leads until I eventually struck gold. I discovered that Boochi is no orphan without any ties in Neopia – something I had foolishly assumed, as it would explain nicely why this tiny Bruce tries to turn others into babies as it would give him new playmates to ease his solitary existence –, but is member of a large family headed by an elderly Bruce whom everybody in the family simply calls Grandma Boochi. It is with great delight that I announce that this singular lady consented to my interviewing her. Read now what she has to tell the world.
Quentin the Inquisitive Quiggle: Mrs. Boochi – or may I call you Grandma Boochi?
Grandma Boochi: You may.
QIQ: Thank you. Grandma Boochi, not withstanding the fact that for a Neopian your age you look fabulously, does it not sometimes irk you that your grandson does not seem to age and apparently does not share his fountain of youth with you?
GB: (chuckles lightly) Actually, the Boochi you are referring to is my great-grandson. And accurately he should be called Boochi V., seeing that he is the fifth Boochi to tease Neopians with the possibility of being turned into a baby. After all, we Boochis might retain our youthful looks for longer than the average Neopian, but we age nevertheless. I was not born this old, young man.
QIQ: So, would it be correct to assume that in your youth you were the Boochi to ‘tease the Neopians’ as you phrased it?
GB: Yes, that is correct. Ah… those were good times. Also rather challenging times. At least more challenging than my great-grandson’s job is today. Today, it is well known that all pets can be painted Baby, so nobody doubts Boochi’s ability to zap them into a baby. When I took over the job, there were some species who thought they were immune to my gun, simply because the Rainbow Pool did not grant them Baby as painting option. But every Neopian with at least a mote of intelligence should know that painting and zapping are two completely different things.
QIQ: I guess they were in for quite a surprise then…
GB: Certainly. Of course once TNT knew what a certain species looked like when zapped Baby, they hurried to provide a matching paintbrush. Sometimes it was almost like a competition between us to see who would be the first to release the baby look for a species.
QIQ: Impressive. Which species was your favourite among those where you beat TNT in this competition?
GB: I’d have to say the Flotsam. One would think that since TNT had already released the Baby Paintbrush for Jetsams rather early in the game, Flotsam would have been the next species for which Baby as colour was to be released. Yet almost two years later, the Rainbow Pool still did not list Baby as available colour for Flotsams. Something I intended to remedy. But, you see, aiming with the ray gun at something under water is rather tricky… I don’t know how often I missed – I was beginning to fear that nobody would take me seriously and I’d be the laughingstock of all of Neopia. But every try taught me more about the refraction of water and how to aim correctly and eventually Flotsams experienced what life as a baby was like.
QIQ: Sounds like a rather eventful time in your life. Somehow I can’t imagine that you were glad to hand over your job to the next generation…
GB: Listening to you, one might get the impression that we Boochis are only responsible for the baby-zapping.
QIQ: Are you not?
GB: Most certainly not. We Boochis are born colour-changers. Consequently we are also responsible for drenching unsuspecting Neopets with multi-coloured water, giving them a random new colour. Perfect for venting pent-up adolescent energy.
QIQ: Forgive me for saying this – according to my research the ones responsible for this colour-change drench Neopians from the sky, meaning they have to be air-borne, and Bruces are not really known for their flying abilities.
GB: That may be, but Meridell has a fantastic airship industry. By learning to handle and maintain these airships we also teach our adolescent family members responsibility and technical skills.
QIQ: Good point. What about the colour-change to invisible?
GB: Very good, young man, you are catching on. Indeed, once we Boochis are past those boisterous and loud stages of youth and have learned the value of peace and quiet, we become rather stealthy. Not that we can ever claim Ninja-stealth, but we are good enough to fool certain Neopians and turn them invisible.
QIQ: Doesn’t it sometimes rankle you that nobody seems to know that it is Boochi family members, who are responsible for these other colour-changes?
GB: Being known for the baby-zapping is fame enough. After all, we all have been in this position, so we all were famous. It’s more like feeling proud of maintaining the family tradition than striving for individual fame. Individual fame requires far too much time and effort. Just take a look at Dr. Sloth – in order to be remembered and not fade into oblivion he has to try to take over Neopia every few years, while giving out Transmogrification Potions in those off-times. Not to mention the time and energy to be invested in cooking up those potions and world-domination plans. And all this for fame… Life as a Boochi is far more preferable, even if until now we were not receiving the credit due to us for the other colour-changes.
QIQ: A wise and noble point of view. I guess such kind of wisdom simply comes with age. Speaking of age, what do you do, when you get too old for the stealth required to turn Neopians invisible? No offence meant, but your walker is hardly the sign of youthful light-footedness. I think spending your days knitting, drinking tea and enjoying retired life is more your line of occupation right now, isn’t it?
GB: (indignant) Does it look like I waste my time with such frivolities, young man? And who said that I am retired? A Boochi never retires!
With this, dear reader, our interview came to an abrupt end, seeing that Grandma Boochi suddenly raised her walker, aimed it at my poor humble self and fired. Given the fact that this elderly Bruce had a whole lifetime of training and that I was too stunned to think of dodging, the ray flashing out of the walker did not miss and all of a sudden I found myself to have aged drastically. So much in fact, that I think I may safely claim to be the first elderly Quiggle of Neopia. And for those of you who wish to correct me that there is no such colour as Elderly for Quiggles yet, might I turn your attention to the discussion Grandma Boochi and I had regarding early baby-zapping? What applies to the colour Baby certainly also applies to the colour Elderly. After all, Elderly is not available for Bruces at the Rainbow Pool either, yet there is no doubting that my interview partner was an elderly Bruce. Looks like the competition between a member of the Boochi family and TNT is on once more. You put the e before the l in the first instance of Quiggle in your article. So, if it gets held over, you should remember to ask Droplet to fix that. If anyone wants to read my story, here is is. Get Off My Lawn “Sooooooooo,” I said, drawing out the word because I was nervous. “Why does Buzz want to see me today?” Sheila looked up from the paperwork she was filling out and smiled at me. I still don’t get Sheila. She’s Buzz’s secretary, which means she has to put up with him all day long, and yet she’s still nice. Sure, Buzz doesn’t treat her quite as acidly as the rest of us, but he’s not nice to her either, so you’d expect her to be jaded or something. But no, the Pink Scorchio is the cheeriest person you could ever hope to work with. “Well, I could tell you, but I think Buzz would be mad. He likes the dumbfounded look you make when someone slaps you with some inconceivable piece of information,” she said sweetly. “Oh, that’s lovely, that is,” I replied sarcastically. “Just get in there already, before the boss-” her words were cut off by Buzz bellowing my name. I hurried into his office, smiling apologetically. “When I summon you to the office, Miss Kimmy, it is not to gab with my secretary,” he informed me. “No, sir. Sorry, sir,” I said meekly. “Very good. Now, I have a specific article for you to write,” Buzz said. “It doesn’t involve boy bands or Usukis, does it?” I was really hoping it didn’t. “No, nothing like that,” Buzz said with a dismissive wave. I was starting to relax when he said, “Remember the article you did on Boochi?” I started sweating, there was no way I’d ever forget that particular article. “Yes, sir?” “Well, it turns out that Boochi has some competition.” Buzz was suddenly smirking; I guess I was making that face Sheila told me I make. I certainly felt dumbfounded. “Someone else is turning Neopets into babies?” I asked. “No, someone is turning Neopets elderly.” “What?” my voice hit a pitch I didn’t know I was capable of. “That’s Borovan, Buzz. That has got to be a joke.” Buzz pushed a folder across the desk and I opened it. Inside were pictures of an elderly Red Bruce lady pointing her walking frame at screaming crowds. In the crowds, Neopets were being turned elderly. I looked up at Buzz. “You’re not joking. I mean, you never joke, but just this once I was hoping…” I trailed off, unable to finish my thought. “They are calling her Grandma Boochi. Whether that is because she is the Anti-Boochi or because she is his grandmother is unknown. I want you to find her and get the scoop on her. Don’t forget to find out if she is really Boochi’s grandmother.” “How am I supposed to find her?” I asked. “How did you find Boochi?” Buzz replied. “Through much suffering,” I replied. He raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘There you go.’ I suppressed a sigh and said, “Got it. I’m off, Boss.” “You’d better come back with a good article, Kimmy,” Buzz said darkly. I considered telling him that the day I came back with an article that he would consider ‘good’ was the day that the Space Station fell out of the sky, but I didn’t want to tempt fate like that. Instead, I just gave him a confident salute as I walked out. He wouldn’t appreciate my sarcasm anyway. Sheila was grinning when I came out. “Go kiss a Mortog,” I told her, but I was smiling too. It was hard to get annoyed at Sheila. “Good luck, Kristy,” she said. I walked out of the building and out into the crisp April air. It was still a trifle cold, but substantially warmer than this time last month. Chloe was leaning against the building, waiting for me. For some reason she had stopped coming in with me. I didn’t ask what was wrong, but I assumed it had something to do with my boss. She probably didn’t want to get me into trouble by sticking up for me when he was giving me one of his usual dressing downs. “So, what’s up?” the Starry Aisha asked, brushing a strand of her orange hair out of her eyes. I handed her the folder Buzz had given me. “Take a look.” “Oh, come on,” she cried. “Boochi wasn’t bad enough? Now we’ve got to put up with his Grandmother?” “My assignment is to track her down and interview her,” I told her. “Well, boss, let’s get moving. She’s not going to be just waiting by the Money Tree,” Chloe said. “Actually, she might be. Those pictures are dated, and they are all from yesterday. She was in that general area of Neopia Central. She’s old, so she might not be going too far. We can try wandering the area and hoping we get lucky,” I said. “Hey, you used logical deduction to reach a reasonable conclusion. I’m proud of you,” Chloe said. “Oh, grow up, you,” I replied. So we set off for the Money Tree. Once there, we just hung around, waiting for the screams we figured a Grandma Boochi sighting would set off. Of course, no such luck. It was around two that Chloe pointed out that we should get some lunch. “Where do you want to eat?” I asked. “How about Pizzaroo?” she suggested. I frowned. “Stop being a workaholic. We had pizza last night for dinner, so I doubt you want it again. You just want to go there because we have to pass the DoN HQ on the way. You want to go check in to see if they need an extra help. It is your day off, no working. You need time off, just like everyone else. Also, if you leave me I’ll probably trip over my own feet, bump into the Monocerous, who will be offended and eat me.” “Fine,” Chloe pouted as she gave in. “Well then, how about the Bakery for sandwiches or the Smoothie Store for smoothies?” “Both options sound good. Let’s flip for it,” I said. I pulled a Neopoint out of my pocket and said, “Call it.” “Bakery is heads.” I flipped and caught it, slapping it on the back of my opposite hand. “It looks like we are getting smoothies. Asparrot smoothie, here I come.” Chloe made a disgusted face. “You are so gross when it comes to food.” “It’s not my fault you guys don’t like asparagus and I do,” I protested. We were walking in the direction of the Bazaar during this exchange. Behind me I heard what sounded like a raspy chuckle. Curious, I started to turn. As I did, a beam of some sort passed me. My focus shifted, I turned forward again to see what the beam was. What I saw both elated and upset me. Chloe was no longer Starry. She was suddenly a grey-blue, her face wrinkled and her orange hair now white. I turned around and saw an elderly looking Bruce cackling as she waved her walker in the air. “Grandma Boochi!” I cried. “You are much easier to find than Boochi.” “You’ve met my great-grandson?” the old lady asked. She seemed a little surprised that I seemed so pleasant considering what she had just done to Chloe. I hurriedly worked my notebook out of my pocket and wrote down her response. So they were related. “Yes, I have had the pleasure. I’m a journalist with the Weekly World; I interviewed him a while ago. I’ve been looking for you, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to grant me an interview?” The old lady leaned on her walker and smiled sweetly. “Of course, dear.” She was such a nice old grandmother type that it was hard to believe that she was causing such chaos around Neopia Central. I launched into my questions, and she answered them readily. During the course of our conversation I learned that she had been the original Boochi back ages ago, and the mantle had been passed on to her descendants, coming to rest on the current Boochi. Boochi was a family name it seemed, but she didn’t want to give their individual names. Boochi hadn’t been open to talking about his past and family when I had interviewed him, so this was all new information to me. “So, how does Boochi feel about you entering the pet zapping scene?” I asked. The question turned out to either be remarkably timed, or an invitation for disaster. Chloe was next me, leaning on me since she was now old and unsteady. Suddenly a beam hit her and she morphed. I caught her as she seemed to shrink down, and found myself holding a Baby Aisha. I started to aw, but Chloe shoved to face into mine and threatened, “You finish that sound and I will be forced to hurt you.” We looked over to where the beam had come from. Boochi was standing there fuming. “Hello, dear,” Grandma Boochi said, clearly happy to see her great-grandson. “Grams! It’s not fair. You’re cutting in on my job!” he shouted. “Don’t be spoiled, dear. You must share. There are plenty of Neopets in Neopia,” Grandma Boochi replied in soothing tone. “You had your turn, Grams!” Boochi was only getting madder. He raised his ray gun and pointed it at her. “Don’t you do it, Boochi,” Grandma Boochi warned, her tone becoming hard. Boochi took a shot, but he missed. She was quick for an old lady. “Oh, that is quite enough of that,” Grandma Boochi said. “You need a good spanking, young man.” With surprising speed, she took off, running towards him. Boochi shrieked and started running, wailing at the top of his lungs. They turned a corner and were out of sight. Chloe and I looked at each other, needing confirmation that we’d just really seen that. A moment of silence passed between us. Suddenly Chloe frowned and grabbed me by the cheeks with her chubby little hands. “It is my day off, you said. Stay with you; don’t go into the office to see if they needed an extra hand. I need time off, you said. Now look at me,” Chloe griped. “Okay, never listen to me again, I’m a walking disaster,” I agreed. “Let’s go see the Shopwizard and get you a morphing potion or a paintbrush to fix this.” We set off in that direction. “I hope she got him,” Chloe said suddenly. “What?” I asked. “I hope Boochi got spanked. That would be really funny,” Chloe laughed. I laughed too; glad she could see some humor in what had happened to her. Life in Neopia Central had suddenly gotten far more interesting, which meant it was high time to move back to Meridell for the foreseeable future. The End. |
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Post by Chao on Mar 14, 2013 15:07:48 GMT -5
You put the e before the l in the first instance of Quiggle in your article. So, if it gets held over, you should remember to ask Droplet to fix that. If anyone wants to read my story, here is is. Get Off My Lawn “Sooooooooo,” I said, drawing out the word because I was nervous. “Why does Buzz want to see me today?” Sheila looked up from the paperwork she was filling out and smiled at me. I still don’t get Sheila. She’s Buzz’s secretary, which means she has to put up with him all day long, and yet she’s still nice. Sure, Buzz doesn’t treat her quite as acidly as the rest of us, but he’s not nice to her either, so you’d expect her to be jaded or something. But no, the Pink Scorchio is the cheeriest person you could ever hope to work with. “Well, I could tell you, but I think Buzz would be mad. He likes the dumbfounded look you make when someone slaps you with some inconceivable piece of information,” she said sweetly. “Oh, that’s lovely, that is,” I replied sarcastically. “Just get in there already, before the boss-” her words were cut off by Buzz bellowing my name. I hurried into his office, smiling apologetically. “When I summon you to the office, Miss Kimmy, it is not to gab with my secretary,” he informed me. “No, sir. Sorry, sir,” I said meekly. “Very good. Now, I have a specific article for you to write,” Buzz said. “It doesn’t involve boy bands or Usukis, does it?” I was really hoping it didn’t. “No, nothing like that,” Buzz said with a dismissive wave. I was starting to relax when he said, “Remember the article you did on Boochi?” I started sweating, there was no way I’d ever forget that particular article. “Yes, sir?” “Well, it turns out that Boochi has some competition.” Buzz was suddenly smirking; I guess I was making that face Sheila told me I make. I certainly felt dumbfounded. “Someone else is turning Neopets into babies?” I asked. “No, someone is turning Neopets elderly.” “What?” my voice hit a pitch I didn’t know I was capable of. “That’s Borovan, Buzz. That has got to be a joke.” Buzz pushed a folder across the desk and I opened it. Inside were pictures of an elderly Red Bruce lady pointing her walking frame at screaming crowds. In the crowds, Neopets were being turned elderly. I looked up at Buzz. “You’re not joking. I mean, you never joke, but just this once I was hoping…” I trailed off, unable to finish my thought. “They are calling her Grandma Boochi. Whether that is because she is the Anti-Boochi or because she is his grandmother is unknown. I want you to find her and get the scoop on her. Don’t forget to find out if she is really Boochi’s grandmother.” “How am I supposed to find her?” I asked. “How did you find Boochi?” Buzz replied. “Through much suffering,” I replied. He raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘There you go.’ I suppressed a sigh and said, “Got it. I’m off, Boss.” “You’d better come back with a good article, Kimmy,” Buzz said darkly. I considered telling him that the day I came back with an article that he would consider ‘good’ was the day that the Space Station fell out of the sky, but I didn’t want to tempt fate like that. Instead, I just gave him a confident salute as I walked out. He wouldn’t appreciate my sarcasm anyway. Sheila was grinning when I came out. “Go kiss a Mortog,” I told her, but I was smiling too. It was hard to get annoyed at Sheila. “Good luck, Kristy,” she said. I walked out of the building and out into the crisp April air. It was still a trifle cold, but substantially warmer than this time last month. Chloe was leaning against the building, waiting for me. For some reason she had stopped coming in with me. I didn’t ask what was wrong, but I assumed it had something to do with my boss. She probably didn’t want to get me into trouble by sticking up for me when he was giving me one of his usual dressing downs. “So, what’s up?” the Starry Aisha asked, brushing a strand of her orange hair out of her eyes. I handed her the folder Buzz had given me. “Take a look.” “Oh, come on,” she cried. “Boochi wasn’t bad enough? Now we’ve got to put up with his Grandmother?” “My assignment is to track her down and interview her,” I told her. “Well, boss, let’s get moving. She’s not going to be just waiting by the Money Tree,” Chloe said. “Actually, she might be. Those pictures are dated, and they are all from yesterday. She was in that general area of Neopia Central. She’s old, so she might not be going too far. We can try wandering the area and hoping we get lucky,” I said. “Hey, you used logical deduction to reach a reasonable conclusion. I’m proud of you,” Chloe said. “Oh, grow up, you,” I replied. So we set off for the Money Tree. Once there, we just hung around, waiting for the screams we figured a Grandma Boochi sighting would set off. Of course, no such luck. It was around two that Chloe pointed out that we should get some lunch. “Where do you want to eat?” I asked. “How about Pizzaroo?” she suggested. I frowned. “Stop being a workaholic. We had pizza last night for dinner, so I doubt you want it again. You just want to go there because we have to pass the DoN HQ on the way. You want to go check in to see if they need an extra help. It is your day off, no working. You need time off, just like everyone else. Also, if you leave me I’ll probably trip over my own feet, bump into the Monocerous, who will be offended and eat me.” “Fine,” Chloe pouted as she gave in. “Well then, how about the Bakery for sandwiches or the Smoothie Store for smoothies?” “Both options sound good. Let’s flip for it,” I said. I pulled a Neopoint out of my pocket and said, “Call it.” “Bakery is heads.” I flipped and caught it, slapping it on the back of my opposite hand. “It looks like we are getting smoothies. Asparrot smoothie, here I come.” Chloe made a disgusted face. “You are so gross when it comes to food.” “It’s not my fault you guys don’t like asparagus and I do,” I protested. We were walking in the direction of the Bazaar during this exchange. Behind me I heard what sounded like a raspy chuckle. Curious, I started to turn. As I did, a beam of some sort passed me. My focus shifted, I turned forward again to see what the beam was. What I saw both elated and upset me. Chloe was no longer Starry. She was suddenly a grey-blue, her face wrinkled and her orange hair now white. I turned around and saw an elderly looking Bruce cackling as she waved her walker in the air. “Grandma Boochi!” I cried. “You are much easier to find than Boochi.” “You’ve met my great-grandson?” the old lady asked. She seemed a little surprised that I seemed so pleasant considering what she had just done to Chloe. I hurriedly worked my notebook out of my pocket and wrote down her response. So they were related. “Yes, I have had the pleasure. I’m a journalist with the Weekly World; I interviewed him a while ago. I’ve been looking for you, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to grant me an interview?” The old lady leaned on her walker and smiled sweetly. “Of course, dear.” She was such a nice old grandmother type that it was hard to believe that she was causing such chaos around Neopia Central. I launched into my questions, and she answered them readily. During the course of our conversation I learned that she had been the original Boochi back ages ago, and the mantle had been passed on to her descendants, coming to rest on the current Boochi. Boochi was a family name it seemed, but she didn’t want to give their individual names. Boochi hadn’t been open to talking about his past and family when I had interviewed him, so this was all new information to me. “So, how does Boochi feel about you entering the pet zapping scene?” I asked. The question turned out to either be remarkably timed, or an invitation for disaster. Chloe was next me, leaning on me since she was now old and unsteady. Suddenly a beam hit her and she morphed. I caught her as she seemed to shrink down, and found myself holding a Baby Aisha. I started to aw, but Chloe shoved to face into mine and threatened, “You finish that sound and I will be forced to hurt you.” We looked over to where the beam had come from. Boochi was standing there fuming. “Hello, dear,” Grandma Boochi said, clearly happy to see her great-grandson. “Grams! It’s not fair. You’re cutting in on my job!” he shouted. “Don’t be spoiled, dear. You must share. There are plenty of Neopets in Neopia,” Grandma Boochi replied in soothing tone. “You had your turn, Grams!” Boochi was only getting madder. He raised his ray gun and pointed it at her. “Don’t you do it, Boochi,” Grandma Boochi warned, her tone becoming hard. Boochi took a shot, but he missed. She was quick for an old lady. “Oh, that is quite enough of that,” Grandma Boochi said. “You need a good spanking, young man.” With surprising speed, she took off, running towards him. Boochi shrieked and started running, wailing at the top of his lungs. They turned a corner and were out of sight. Chloe and I looked at each other, needing confirmation that we’d just really seen that. A moment of silence passed between us. Suddenly Chloe frowned and grabbed me by the cheeks with her chubby little hands. “It is my day off, you said. Stay with you; don’t go into the office to see if they needed an extra hand. I need time off, you said. Now look at me,” Chloe griped. “Okay, never listen to me again, I’m a walking disaster,” I agreed. “Let’s go see the Shopwizard and get you a morphing potion or a paintbrush to fix this.” We set off in that direction. “I hope she got him,” Chloe said suddenly. “What?” I asked. “I hope Boochi got spanked. That would be really funny,” Chloe laughed. I laughed too; glad she could see some humor in what had happened to her. Life in Neopia Central had suddenly gotten far more interesting, which meant it was high time to move back to Meridell for the foreseeable future. The End. Thanks for pointing out the spelling mistake with the Quiggle. And may I return the favour? When Chloe is turned into a baby and Kristy catches her, the 'shoved to face' does not make sense... |
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Post by Kristykimmy on Mar 14, 2013 15:23:29 GMT -5
You put the e before the l in the first instance of Quiggle in your article. So, if it gets held over, you should remember to ask Droplet to fix that. If anyone wants to read my story, here is is. Get Off My Lawn “Sooooooooo,” I said, drawing out the word because I was nervous. “Why does Buzz want to see me today?” Sheila looked up from the paperwork she was filling out and smiled at me. I still don’t get Sheila. She’s Buzz’s secretary, which means she has to put up with him all day long, and yet she’s still nice. Sure, Buzz doesn’t treat her quite as acidly as the rest of us, but he’s not nice to her either, so you’d expect her to be jaded or something. But no, the Pink Scorchio is the cheeriest person you could ever hope to work with. “Well, I could tell you, but I think Buzz would be mad. He likes the dumbfounded look you make when someone slaps you with some inconceivable piece of information,” she said sweetly. “Oh, that’s lovely, that is,” I replied sarcastically. “Just get in there already, before the boss-” her words were cut off by Buzz bellowing my name. I hurried into his office, smiling apologetically. “When I summon you to the office, Miss Kimmy, it is not to gab with my secretary,” he informed me. “No, sir. Sorry, sir,” I said meekly. “Very good. Now, I have a specific article for you to write,” Buzz said. “It doesn’t involve boy bands or Usukis, does it?” I was really hoping it didn’t. “No, nothing like that,” Buzz said with a dismissive wave. I was starting to relax when he said, “Remember the article you did on Boochi?” I started sweating, there was no way I’d ever forget that particular article. “Yes, sir?” “Well, it turns out that Boochi has some competition.” Buzz was suddenly smirking; I guess I was making that face Sheila told me I make. I certainly felt dumbfounded. “Someone else is turning Neopets into babies?” I asked. “No, someone is turning Neopets elderly.” “What?” my voice hit a pitch I didn’t know I was capable of. “That’s Borovan, Buzz. That has got to be a joke.” Buzz pushed a folder across the desk and I opened it. Inside were pictures of an elderly Red Bruce lady pointing her walking frame at screaming crowds. In the crowds, Neopets were being turned elderly. I looked up at Buzz. “You’re not joking. I mean, you never joke, but just this once I was hoping…” I trailed off, unable to finish my thought. “They are calling her Grandma Boochi. Whether that is because she is the Anti-Boochi or because she is his grandmother is unknown. I want you to find her and get the scoop on her. Don’t forget to find out if she is really Boochi’s grandmother.” “How am I supposed to find her?” I asked. “How did you find Boochi?” Buzz replied. “Through much suffering,” I replied. He raised his eyebrows as if to say, ‘There you go.’ I suppressed a sigh and said, “Got it. I’m off, Boss.” “You’d better come back with a good article, Kimmy,” Buzz said darkly. I considered telling him that the day I came back with an article that he would consider ‘good’ was the day that the Space Station fell out of the sky, but I didn’t want to tempt fate like that. Instead, I just gave him a confident salute as I walked out. He wouldn’t appreciate my sarcasm anyway. Sheila was grinning when I came out. “Go kiss a Mortog,” I told her, but I was smiling too. It was hard to get annoyed at Sheila. “Good luck, Kristy,” she said. I walked out of the building and out into the crisp April air. It was still a trifle cold, but substantially warmer than this time last month. Chloe was leaning against the building, waiting for me. For some reason she had stopped coming in with me. I didn’t ask what was wrong, but I assumed it had something to do with my boss. She probably didn’t want to get me into trouble by sticking up for me when he was giving me one of his usual dressing downs. “So, what’s up?” the Starry Aisha asked, brushing a strand of her orange hair out of her eyes. I handed her the folder Buzz had given me. “Take a look.” “Oh, come on,” she cried. “Boochi wasn’t bad enough? Now we’ve got to put up with his Grandmother?” “My assignment is to track her down and interview her,” I told her. “Well, boss, let’s get moving. She’s not going to be just waiting by the Money Tree,” Chloe said. “Actually, she might be. Those pictures are dated, and they are all from yesterday. She was in that general area of Neopia Central. She’s old, so she might not be going too far. We can try wandering the area and hoping we get lucky,” I said. “Hey, you used logical deduction to reach a reasonable conclusion. I’m proud of you,” Chloe said. “Oh, grow up, you,” I replied. So we set off for the Money Tree. Once there, we just hung around, waiting for the screams we figured a Grandma Boochi sighting would set off. Of course, no such luck. It was around two that Chloe pointed out that we should get some lunch. “Where do you want to eat?” I asked. “How about Pizzaroo?” she suggested. I frowned. “Stop being a workaholic. We had pizza last night for dinner, so I doubt you want it again. You just want to go there because we have to pass the DoN HQ on the way. You want to go check in to see if they need an extra help. It is your day off, no working. You need time off, just like everyone else. Also, if you leave me I’ll probably trip over my own feet, bump into the Monocerous, who will be offended and eat me.” “Fine,” Chloe pouted as she gave in. “Well then, how about the Bakery for sandwiches or the Smoothie Store for smoothies?” “Both options sound good. Let’s flip for it,” I said. I pulled a Neopoint out of my pocket and said, “Call it.” “Bakery is heads.” I flipped and caught it, slapping it on the back of my opposite hand. “It looks like we are getting smoothies. Asparrot smoothie, here I come.” Chloe made a disgusted face. “You are so gross when it comes to food.” “It’s not my fault you guys don’t like asparagus and I do,” I protested. We were walking in the direction of the Bazaar during this exchange. Behind me I heard what sounded like a raspy chuckle. Curious, I started to turn. As I did, a beam of some sort passed me. My focus shifted, I turned forward again to see what the beam was. What I saw both elated and upset me. Chloe was no longer Starry. She was suddenly a grey-blue, her face wrinkled and her orange hair now white. I turned around and saw an elderly looking Bruce cackling as she waved her walker in the air. “Grandma Boochi!” I cried. “You are much easier to find than Boochi.” “You’ve met my great-grandson?” the old lady asked. She seemed a little surprised that I seemed so pleasant considering what she had just done to Chloe. I hurriedly worked my notebook out of my pocket and wrote down her response. So they were related. “Yes, I have had the pleasure. I’m a journalist with the Weekly World; I interviewed him a while ago. I’ve been looking for you, I was wondering if you would be so kind as to grant me an interview?” The old lady leaned on her walker and smiled sweetly. “Of course, dear.” She was such a nice old grandmother type that it was hard to believe that she was causing such chaos around Neopia Central. I launched into my questions, and she answered them readily. During the course of our conversation I learned that she had been the original Boochi back ages ago, and the mantle had been passed on to her descendants, coming to rest on the current Boochi. Boochi was a family name it seemed, but she didn’t want to give their individual names. Boochi hadn’t been open to talking about his past and family when I had interviewed him, so this was all new information to me. “So, how does Boochi feel about you entering the pet zapping scene?” I asked. The question turned out to either be remarkably timed, or an invitation for disaster. Chloe was next me, leaning on me since she was now old and unsteady. Suddenly a beam hit her and she morphed. I caught her as she seemed to shrink down, and found myself holding a Baby Aisha. I started to aw, but Chloe shoved to face into mine and threatened, “You finish that sound and I will be forced to hurt you.” We looked over to where the beam had come from. Boochi was standing there fuming. “Hello, dear,” Grandma Boochi said, clearly happy to see her great-grandson. “Grams! It’s not fair. You’re cutting in on my job!” he shouted. “Don’t be spoiled, dear. You must share. There are plenty of Neopets in Neopia,” Grandma Boochi replied in soothing tone. “You had your turn, Grams!” Boochi was only getting madder. He raised his ray gun and pointed it at her. “Don’t you do it, Boochi,” Grandma Boochi warned, her tone becoming hard. Boochi took a shot, but he missed. She was quick for an old lady. “Oh, that is quite enough of that,” Grandma Boochi said. “You need a good spanking, young man.” With surprising speed, she took off, running towards him. Boochi shrieked and started running, wailing at the top of his lungs. They turned a corner and were out of sight. Chloe and I looked at each other, needing confirmation that we’d just really seen that. A moment of silence passed between us. Suddenly Chloe frowned and grabbed me by the cheeks with her chubby little hands. “It is my day off, you said. Stay with you; don’t go into the office to see if they needed an extra hand. I need time off, you said. Now look at me,” Chloe griped. “Okay, never listen to me again, I’m a walking disaster,” I agreed. “Let’s go see the Shopwizard and get you a morphing potion or a paintbrush to fix this.” We set off in that direction. “I hope she got him,” Chloe said suddenly. “What?” I asked. “I hope Boochi got spanked. That would be really funny,” Chloe laughed. I laughed too; glad she could see some humor in what had happened to her. Life in Neopia Central had suddenly gotten far more interesting, which meant it was high time to move back to Meridell for the foreseeable future. The End. Thanks for pointing out the spelling mistake with the Quiggle. And may I return the favour? When Chloe is turned into a baby and Kristy catches her, the 'shoved to face' does not make sense... Thank you so much. That should be 'shoved her face into mine'. I'm not sure what happened there. XD |
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Post by Chao on Mar 14, 2013 15:29:45 GMT -5
Thank you so much. That should be 'shoved her face into mine'. I'm not sure what happened there. XD Typo Faerie having her April Fools early, that's what happened ;D |
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Post by Coaster on Mar 14, 2013 19:31:27 GMT -5
It looks like the designs have already diverged slightly, so I'll just go with more of the same with her hair a bit frazzled. I'm almost done the rendering, but I have a lab this evening, so I'll post the results later tonight when the comic is done and submitted. EDIT: Managed to finish the rest of it too. I'm a bit disappointed with how much of a text wall there is in the beginning, but at least it leaves the action shots wide open. EDIT: I notice that there seems to be an interesting and entirely unintentional phantom image of a Poké Ball on her eye in the zoomed-in panel. Gotta love ray-tracing? Not sure if I got everything correctly with your comic, Coaster - did Grandma Boochi's ray turn the bush elderly? Yes, that was the intention, but I probably should have put in an extra image for before/after to make it clearer.  These stories are all pretty good, though--perhaps it'll be incentive for more Elderly pets to be released! |
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Post by Kristykimmy on Mar 14, 2013 19:38:03 GMT -5
Not sure if I got everything correctly with your comic, Coaster - did Grandma Boochi's ray turn the bush elderly? Yes, that was the intention, but I probably should have put in an extra image for before/after to make it clearer. These stories are all pretty good, though--perhaps it'll be incentive for more Elderly pets to be released! Wait, what? Nooooooooooooooooo! *hides under couch* The elderly pets scare me.(Maybe it will. It would certainly lend our trick a little more believability (is that a word?) if a bunch of new elderly pets were suddenly released.) |
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Post by DanDan on Mar 15, 2013 18:30:03 GMT -5
Did you guys write "for the easter issue" or what? EDIT: Submitted it. I could have done it better, but I just don't know how. So I'm not gonna upload it here, because I wouldn't feel comfortable... I think. Well, good luck everyone.  |
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Post by Kristykimmy on Mar 15, 2013 21:47:22 GMT -5
Did you guys write "for the easter issue" or what? I just gave the issue number, but I would do what Hunty suggested if submitting now. |
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Post by Jade on Mar 16, 2013 0:02:00 GMT -5
I dunno if I'll make it in time or not, but so far I've got my comic sketched out. I just need to scan and color it What issue are we gunning for? Or what should I write in the comments area? |
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Post by Coaster on Mar 16, 2013 1:11:11 GMT -5
I just put "for NTWF April Fools' prank", so hopefully that's clear enough. |
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