Fountain Faerie Quest, would like informed opinions

[reallyundecided]

After nearly 6 and 1/2 years of being on Neopets, I finally got a Fountain Faerie Quest today. I have come here to seek advice from those of you more experienced with painting.

I feel it is necessary to provide some background information before I post my dilemma for your assistance. This way you get an idea as to what my options are based on my individual situation regarding my Neopets profile.

I'm a university student who doesn't have a lot of time to actually spend on the site. I have about 1.3 million tied up in stocks, 320K in the bank, and a size 22 gallery that contains some 6 figure priced items (some as in a handful). The rest of the items are buyable anywhere from 90k to the lowest possible price.

The reason I am including this information is so that you guys are aware that if I choose to go after a very rare pet option (like draik or krawk), it might be difficult since I do not spend a lot of actual time surfing the site and playing games. I earn the majority of my NP through stocks --- this is long term and the return is not as quick, but it works for me. There is no time limit on the Fountain Faerie Quest so if need be, I can take my time. I have other options which I will post below.

As for my account, this is what I have right now:
Disco Ixi
Christmas Kougra
Fire Uni
Faerie Cybunny

I am considering either giving away the Ixi to a guildie (I haven't informed them yet so there may not be any takers), or moving it to a side account I have created. It will just sit on the side account so I'd rather give it to a guildie. I'd also rather give it to someone I actually know vs a total stranger, which is why I'd prefer giving it to a guildie.

The reason I don't want to get rid of the Christmas Kougra is that was my "starter" pet. This was the pet I rolled originally back in 2002 when I started playing. You can understand why I want to keep it. My intention for her is to eventually save up the 1.7 million and buy a royal paint brush. To be honest, the reason for that is I do not like any of the other Kougra colors.

The Fire Uni and Faerie Cybunny I intend to keep forever, so abandoning them is out. The Ixi was the last pet I created, and my attachment to her is not as high as the others.

Now we get to the dilemma. If you read this far, I apologize, but I felt the details needed to be provided so you can best help me.

Here are my possible Fountain Faerie options in order of my favorites. Some are more feasible than others.

Pea Chia
Durian Chia

Coconut Jubjub

Maraquan Chomby

Maraquan Draik (cannot be done immediately due to lack of funds, requires long term due to lack of play time)
Pirate Krawk (cannot be done immediately due to lack of funds, requires long term due to lack of play time)

other, less lucrative options:
Paint my Christmas Kougra Royal
Paint the Disco Ixi Darigan
Paint the Fire Uni Halloween

I would like to stress that what I consider "rare" is obviously different from what any of you would consider rare. Rarity to me is in the eye of the beholder. For example, some people might not like the way a certain species looks, so even a rare version of that species would not be considered appealing to them.

Any advice or opinions would be greatly appreciated. I just want to know what other people would do given my situation (specifically the lack of actual play time due to being a working adult.)

Thanks in advance if you provide any help or insights.

Edit: I would also like to stress the reason I consider this a dilemma is that I've been on the site so long, and I do not want to "waste" or "blow" this quest. It is very meaningful for me (or anyone) and I want to be sure about what I am doing.

Right now I just can't decide is the main problem. The Maraquan Chomby would also require a little bit of time, but not as long as the Draik or Krawk would require.

Again, any of your opinions are greatly appreciated.

[Wingsrising]

Well, it's easy for me to say as I don't know how much a Draik or Krawk is going these days, but my first suggestion would be to save up for whatever pet you want the most. No sense wasting a FF quest on something you don't want, and as you said, it doesn't go bad. If a Draik or Krawk is what you want, then I think that's what you should get. If you keep going with the stocks and don't spend too much, you'll get the money eventually.

(Per the most recent editorial: apparently you can still get OFFERED a new FF quest while you have a painting sitting unused. However, you can only have one unused painting (fulfilled quest) at a time. So if you already have an unused painting sitting around, you'll lose it if you don't use it before you turn in the item for the new quest. But there's really no penalty to having an unused painting sitting around in terms of GETTING a new quest offer, if that made any sense.)

If you decided not to save up for the Draik/Krawk my second suggestion would be to paint the Christmas Kougra Royal, since that was something you were planning on doing anyway. (Aside: are you wedded to the idea of keeping it a Kougra? I can understand if you are -- I have a pet I made a Kougra back before the first revamp for labbing purposes, and it took me a long time to think of him as anything but a Kougra even though I hated Kougras back then. But it's something to think about if you don't like most Kougra colors.)

That's me. I figure you only have a limited number of pet slots, keep them for things you really, really want!

Also, I wouldn't worry about how expensive the paint job is when you use the FF quest. I mean, of all the paint jobs you want, obviously it makes sense to get the most expensive one (unless one is on a Buzz, and maybe even then.) But, I wouldn't use it on something you don't really want just for the sake of making sure it's an expensive paint job.

Speaking as someone who also doesn't have very much time to play and also makes most of her money via stocks... you will get the money eventually. 1.3 million in stocks is still early days (mine is about 5.6 million). If you buy your 1,000 stocks a day you'll get the money for a Draik or Krawk eventually!

[reallyundecided]

Wings thank you for your advice.

Well I'm pretty hellbent on keeping the Kougra a Kougra, in terms of species. I have a fondness for felines. The issue I have with most of the Kougra colors has to do with the redraw that took place when customization was implemented. I didn't realize what would happen at the time, and I basically converted my kougra by trying on an accessory (during customization beta). After the conversion, I felt that the colors didn't look as good because of the way the kougra is posed/standing now. So based on that, my favorite coloring is the Royalgirl coloring for the Kougra (converted version, not old version). Confusing, I know, but hopefully you know what I mean! Christmas is nice too (I painted her Christmas because I like Christmas and originally, she looked good as a white kougra).

Painting the kougra is actually feasible for me right now though. I could do this if I sold some items and moved NP around. So I actually don't want to use the Fountain quest for this.

I like the Draik and Krawk but frankly I think I only like them due to the "hype". It seems the main community likes these so much just because of the expense and rarity, but for me they don't rank as high.

I actually like the fruit pets more. I've always wanted a fruit/veggie chia and the coconut jubjub I always liked as well.

The maraquan chomby I threw in because I have a humorous fondness for the Loch Ness monster and the resemblance is striking.

*sigh* I just have to figure out what I want the most. Well right now I know the kougra is lower priority -- it's one of those things you plan to do eventually but you don't need/want to do it right now.

[Arviragus]

Hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't believe you can paint Royal from a FFQ. I think the four colours you can't do are Royal, Ice, Robot, and MSP.

Other than that, I really have no advice as to what you should do, other than to mention I've got a well-named Chomby rotting on a side account that you're welcome to if you decide to pursue that option.

[reallyundecided]

Thank you Arviragus, for your offer.

I decided I'm gonna at least sleep on it since the quest only came up today. I forgot to mention that the item the Fountain Faerie requested was a Carassa Gnome. I purchased one via trading post earlier for 126k (another seller wanted 150k). It's sitting in my Safety Deposit Box. I haven't completed the quest yet because I want to wait until I know for sure what I"m going to do.

I forgot that the Fountain can't paint a pet Royal --- so that option is out even if I wanted to do that. That actually makes my decision making process EASIER because I'm trying to narrow down the choices.

I'll let you all know what happens regardless though. Thank you again for your input.

[varii]

It's sitting in my Safety Deposit Box. I haven't completed the quest yet because I want to wait until I know for sure what I"m going to do.

She doesn't make you paint your pet once you complete the quest. You can turn in your item to get your shop wizard back and come back to the fountain at any time.

[Anna the Red]

I reckon that if what you really want is one of the fruit ones, go for it! They're a pain to get any other way, so I'm putting in my opinion for a pea chia. I love those guys!

If it were me, I'd put the Ixi on a side, make a Pea chia, and move things around to paint the Kougra royal as that's what you want to do.

But that's me. And I am not you, and you are not me.
Path Number One?
Precisely my dear Braveheart!

Sorry, got onto a Care Bears tangent there.

[Xelio]

Personally I'd say go for something that you're not going to be able to get unless it's via the lab/FFQ. I know the fruit chias have pops that can make them the various fruit colors, but what of the coconut jubjub? I'm not sure if there's something to feed jubjubs to turn them coconut or not. So anyways, my suggestion would be to move the ixi you're not as attached to either to the side or the to your friend and go for the jubjub. I'd just say make sure whatever you do be careful of keeping that pet as active as I do believe Boochi is still a RE on the rampage, correct me if I'm wrong. Wordy as it is, that's my input on the matter.

[covet]

Well, Chia transmogs are on the TP for 250k, and I'm sure someone would take 200k for one. So if you like your Ixi's name, I'd probably boy one, morph it into a chia (or jubjub) and then go for pea chia or coco jub. Of which my favourite is the pea chia.

Well, done. I've been on the site 8 years with no quest, myself. Let us know how it goes!

[reallyundecided]

Just a minor update.

I turned in the Carassa Gnome so I got the Shop Wizard back.

I've narrowed my choices down to the following, in order of preference.

Durian Chia
Maraquan Chomby
Pea Chia

The Coconut Jubjub is out. I'm not a fan of the new version of it, and while they might make it so you can go back to the old version, it's not measuring up to the other choices.

The Durian Chia is top choice because of some sentimental reasons. The Durian fruit is indigenous to Southeast Asia and my parents grew up there. They are Durian enthusiasts. As a child I hated the fruit, but now as an adult I have a better understanding of the Durian phenomenon. Those of you in the dark...I would encourage you to look up the Durian fruit. It is supposedly the king of all fruits. There is also humor behind the pungent smell.

The Maraquan Chomby is still on the list. I've been looking at the graphics and I really like how it looks. Not being able to wear clothes doesn't matter to me as it's a sea monster (they don't wear clothes).

The Pea Chia is now on the bottom of the list. I know this is super rare and yadda yadda, but for me it's lower priority.

Will update when I finally make a decision. If anyone has any other suggestions that were not included in my choices, feel free to post here.

I really like the fruit/veggie chias, but I am curious why there is no Raspberry/Strawberry/Blackberry/Cherry Chia. Those would be extremely popular. There's a whole load of fruits and other veggies they could try. Oh well.

[reallyundecided]

Disregard this original post - I figured things out.

Still undecided. Will update when I finally use the quest.

[reallyundecided]

Major Update

I decided to go for the Durian Chia. I love Durians, and always wanted a fruit Chia, so there it is. I made her tonight.

I would thank all of you for your informed opinions, input, advice, and well wishes.

This to me was a Fountain Faerie Quest well spent. Thanks again.

[covet]

Aww, I'm so glad you got what you wanted in the end. Congrats again!

Now send that faerie my way XD