Only got to the articles (and technically comics, but honestly all my comments were "haha, I get that reference" so decided they weren't really worth posting). Anyway, here's my article reviews:
ARTICLES:The Top 6 Pirate Crosspaints by
Quizzer I wonder how much customization had also affected the value of Paint Brushes that give clothing. While most also give a nice base Colour, no doubt the original draw of those PBs were they dressed up your Neopet. Not saying PBs like Pirate has completely lost their value as the clothes they give are unique, but at the same time I wonder if TNT shouldn't look back at these PBs and seeing if there's any Neopet which could do for a nicer redraw to get better/more clothing.
Thoughts on Suggested Crosspaints:
* General: While I like the descriptions, I think you could have added a bit more like listing some Neopets which the crosspaint would look good on. Also maybe adding some pictures could help people visualize the combination better.
* Plushie: A cute idea for sure! Ones I think would look good, at least aesthetically, would be the ones which are solid blue/greens with not that many patches (and possibly having the patch make the Plush look like it's a rough pirate): Blumaroo, Chia, Eyrie (bonus points for a red & white patch), Jubjub, Moehog, Ogrin, Pteri, Shoyru, Tonu, Uni, Wocky, & Zafara.
* White/Shadow: While not a bad idea I feel this one needs a bit more planning. Some Pirate clothes would look better or certain Colours or at least contrast better. Not only that, you also gotta keep in mind that a lot of them come with black eyepatches and/or hats which would blend in with a Shadow Neopet. Not to mention the Colours and White & Shadow have some quirks of their own (White can make the Neopet or parts of it pale yellow or cyan, Shadow adds accents of purple & gray).
* Elderly: LOL! That would certainly be a sight to see. I would feel you wouldn't want one with too ridiculous hair. For boys: Ixi, Kyrii, Lupe, & ESPECIALLY the Tuskaninny (who already looks like a retired sailor in default Elderly!). For girls: Now this is a bit more complex as they like giving many of the girls either big hair or buns and put something in them like curlers or pins; they would be more a case-by-case basis.
* Candy/Chocolate: You're thinking of the Candy Kougra, aren't you? I'll admit a Pirate Candy Kougra does look stunning... but I wouldn't say that for all Candy Neopets. Like I could also see the Elephante & Ruki working, maybe a few of the blue colored ones like Krawks & Shoyru, but it's just not a Colour I think works well for the majority. Chocolate sadly I just don't think works at all, or at least one that should be noted.
* Island: This one is tricky. I can see it working in certain cases, but not because of the base color. I can see it working if you are able to combine certain Pirate and Mystery Island clothes together. Like for the ones which come with grass skirts, grass leggings/sandels, & necklaces I would try keeping on them along with their pirate clothes. Think ones this could work with is the Bori (which means you'll also have the shell markings), Cybunny, Elephante, Eyrie, Flotsam, Gnorbu, Grarrl?, Jetsam, Jubjub, Lupe, Moehog, Ogrin, Scorchio, Shoyru, Tonu, Uni, Usul, Wocky, & Xweetok.
* Magma: Eh, like it's not bad, but like with Chocolate I don't feel noteworthy.
My Crosspaints Suggestions:
* Ghost/Transparent/Zombie: I'm surprised you skipped these suggestions! Ghost pirates are a popular pirate sub-genre and their dull teal & red eyes goes nicely with their pirate's counterparts clothes. Transparent is for those who liked the design of the cursed crew of the Black Pearl in the first Pirates of the Caribbean. And there's of course just plain ol' but good ol' Zombie for an undead crew.
* Gold/Silver: Why only own treasure when you can also BE the treasure! Simple reason, and like with White/Shadow some work better with a certain Colour, but I think it's a very pirate-y thing a pirate Neopet would do to show off their wealth.
* Maractite/Water: For that bit of irony; sadly Maraquan Neopets can't wear normal clothes. But these are a close fit and I think shows the pirate has a practical mind: they're spending a lot of time on water, maybe a Colour to help them in water wouldn't be a bad idea.
* Eventide/Oil Paint: And if I was allowed to indulge, I just think Eventide and Oil Paint would go well with being a pirate. Eventide showing the colors of the horizen & sky that a pirate would all be too familiar with, and Oil Paint being a flowing art style which colors swirl and blend into one another.
I like at the end you suggesting other ways that one could combine certain pirate clothing with other colors, infact I think you could have gone a bit more into that even for just a few mentions. Eye patches could be put on Food-based Neopets of Grey Neopets as a bit of a morbid joke. For those that get a hook hand putting that on their Halloween or Darigan version would make for a frightening image (or once again on a Food/Grey Neopet).
Overall I liked your article. Even if I didn't agree with all of it, at the same time you did achieve what you set out to do: you got me thinking about all the possible crosspaint potential that Pirate has!
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Stephanie (swordlilly) Are you adding in your own lore because I don't think its ever been stated if the Techo Master is from Shenkuu?
Have you seen some of the food they eat at Food Club? While I'm sure a Food Club pirate would notice the different flavor, I don't think they would refuse it. They drink fruity Slushies, and Sushi is on the menu as well.
Round One: Appetizer:* Why did the GD Chef only make Anchovies? That's not even on the menu there. Was it because the Underwater Chef is a Flotsam, a species based on a dolphin? Good thing he didn't notice or the Underwater Chef may have removed points from the sheer audacity.
* While I'll agree compared to the Anchoives that the Edamame looked better, I don't think it's a 10. We're judging the food, not the plate and mat the food is served on.
Round Two: Main Course:* Underwater Chef, were the colors of the bento servings off for what they're supposed to be? If not, and they don't look like it to me, that's a pretty arbitrary ruling to take a point off.
Round Four: Drinks:* Had nothing to say for the previous two rounds.
* China bowl? Don't you mean a Shenkuu bowl?
Not sure why the green tea didn't receive full Nutrition points.
Well all's well that ends well. Honestly I don't think either chef put their best foot (or maybe I should say "food") forward and Underwater Chef put a bit too much weight on appearance.
... All of which would be complaints if it was a real like competition. But stepping back, it was a fun article and felt like I was reading an actual food critic's judgement. I like the little trivia you included here and there and how the Underwater Chef reacted to certain dishes. Also nice use of images to split up the segments!
Overall good article.
I can imagine it took quite some time to figure out what dishes each chef would serve and how they would be rated, I'm assuming you were trying to have them come out equal? Would be interested to see how things would stack up if they served their best, but you got the point across that each culture's food is no better then the other.
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RielCZ Ah, what pirate themed anything would be complete without a reference to Monkey Island?
This was a really fun read, mostly because it was more of a game! While I never played Monkey Island I watched a few playthroughs (though even before then I've heard about the Insult Sword Fighting game from general pop culture), still I got curious and checked a wiki. I recognized the first insult being a Neopian version of the most famous insult of the game, but color me impressed that the rest are unique! I can only imagine how long it took you to think of not only the initial insult & comeback but a second set of insults that match the comebacks, major kudos!
I of course tried my hand at besting Hannah, and I got 13 of them right. Unfortunetly I read one of the insults wrong that led to me getting 2 others wrong, but could have been worse.
: Thank you! Glad you liked it!
I've always wanted to do this idea myself but had a hard time thinking how I would do it. Finally this theme gave me the chance to do so! Maybe I'll be able to make it into a series, or maybe it'll be a one-off, sadly I don't have much spare time as I used to and even writing this took a few months.
Scarblade vs. Hiroru I had some worries about as it was much more story oriented in the setup. Everyone else got to their fight right away but it just didn't feel right to do the same here. I needed to get Hiroru on the Revenge but not have him at a disadvantage so decided against him getting captured. After I wrote his bio I decided on the "saving the passengers" angle. As for the fight itself, I essentially treated Scarblade like a video game boss and Hiroru as the player responding to all the tricks Scarblade did during his "phases". Of course, being this isn't a video game, I was able to have Hiroru do some sword trickery of his own to win. I was a bit worried that, since this was essentially a fight to the death and I had them actually cutting into each other this possibly might get the story rejected, but thankfully I must have kept it PG enough it wasn't an issue.
Hannah vs. Terrana I probably rewrote the most since I initially had Terrana catch-up to Hannah as they were scaling down the mountain. I couldn't think of a good way for Hannah to really get "out" of the situation, at least not without having put Terrana in danger which would make Hannah look kind of bad and make the Emperor angry, so decided Hannah would be able to scale down the mountain in the time it took Terrana to cut herself free. Doing that made the Emperor's speech at the end easier as now Hannah didn't have to talk her way putting Terrana in danger. I figured Hannah really isn't a "fighter", especially against someone she has no ill will against, and instead made it a chase with Terrana mainly the aggravator. Was a fun aversion, speaking of which is also the reason I included it as I didn't want to be TOO obvious on who overall won. Figured Hannah & Terrana would be "pirate & ninja" enough to pull the trick off.
Didn't intend on making the Usuls "always win", just how it came about after I wrote it all down. Honestly Garin vs. Ryshu could have gone eitherway, but decided on Garin as he was pretty much the only pirate win and I wanted a victory through trickery like that and Garin was really the only one I could do it with.
Captain Dread was fun to think how he would work but had to hold back on how powerful he would be. Since he only appeared for the Destruction of Maraqua event, and seemingly abandoned in favor of Scarblade, I felt I had free reign to make him more than just a Kiko skeleton.
Not sure why the green tea didn't receive full Nutrition points.
