24 Hours

Not to be confused with the TV show. :)

Yep, I had time to spruce up another Neopian Times short story and put it on FFN!

The idea for this one came when I was browsing old NT issues and was reminded of the first ever Mutant Day, when TNT (the Neopets staff) decided to celebrate the occasion by temporarily turning every eligible Neopet on the site into a mutant. :) Responses ranged from amused to horrified (I was in the former camp), and it's not a stunt that has been repeated since, which I think is kind of a shame.

Anyway, I realized that, given the events of "Worth Fighting For", Hyren would have actually been overjoyed at becoming a mutant again, and then have an existential crisis upon realizing it was only temporary. The resulting events would help him remember his priorities, and I think this was the point at which he really came to terms with being a small, stubby blue Grundo. (He still angsts a little about it in "Worth Searching For", but not nearly as badly as here.)

It was also fun to write awkward teenage Terra, who's about 16 in this story, trying to figure her life out and trying and failing to have friends. Thankfully, she's got an awesome family instead. Don't worry, Terra--in ten more years you'll adopt the Werelupe King, who's one of the strangest friends anyone could ask for, but also one of the best. :)

Also, yes, Blynn has a slightly devious side that I remain unapologetic for. She doesn't mean any harm, but she is an incurable prankster and trickster. She's been compared to Pinkie Pie, but I think she also has a good dose of Vanellope von Schweetz in there, too.

The edits to this one were minor, mostly tightening of the prose and clarifying some points at which I feel like things got a little muddled. For example, during Hyren's conversation with the Techo passerby, hopefully it's clearer now that she just thinks all Grundos are dullards, and that there's kind of a lingering stereotype surrounding mutant Grundos in particular that Hyren can't dispel by being intimidating.

The next NT story I want to polish and put on FFN is "Worth Searching For"... this should be fun. :) I've already thought of a specific edit that would make Terra's character arc read much better and be truer to her personality. Sometimes with all this going back and editing old stuff, I worry that I really am turning into the Tolkien of Neopets... but also, if I'm going to put old things on FFN, I want them to be their best selves! It's kind of fun to see how much I've improved in my writing in just a few years, anyway.