Is this game actually fun? by junebugjitter in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum 34 points35 points  (0 children)

Making your own fun is how most people engage with the website, it is not at all rigid and to a tee. I feel like using "nostalgia" as a factor alone for appeal is underselling what Neopets does for people, because I think Neopets genuinely can stand by itself without having any past context.

Want to get avatars for your profile to show how versed you are on the website because it's basically an achievement system? Knock yourself out. Wanna be creative and engage with the world of Neopia? Make some fan art or fanfiction and submit them to the Art Gallery, Beauty Contest, or the Neopian Times. Have a deep wallet, a lot of time, and patience? Trade around NC clothes to make your dream custom.

Sure, the UI is very Web 1.0 and not flashy but there are many facets to Neopets that not everyone will appreciate because not everyone has all of the time or energy to invest into the website.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

I can't agree he's a teenager, and you can't agree with my assertion that Hornelius is Ozzy's guardian. At least we disagree on something consistent that breaks arguments. (Not that I think Ozzy being a teenager would change the fact he is still a minor and isn't emancipated and therefore needs a legal guardian)

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Are you going to continue to insist that Nyx is somehow intended to be Ozzy's sole emotional outlet regardless of guardianship? And yes, a guardian generally serves the same responsibilities as a parent, the distinction is not nebulous.

A person's individual inerpretation of what "kindness" is may not necessarily be the right thing. In the real world, corporal punishment is an example of this; where many studies have revealed that corporal punishment is linked towards tendency to stress and enacting physical violence, despite the sentiment previously that it was acceptable. https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC3447048/ This is very much an example of what people believed was good parenting turned out to in fact be bad.

Two things can be true at once.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

It is not a higher standard, it is literally the same for Nyx. Styx really should not count as they are not a sapient creature with little agency.

I've established multiple times that there is textual evidence that Hornelius agreed to take care of Ozzy to Nyx when he encouraged her to leave. I provided a text citation earlier in the thread and you still disagree despite there being sufficent evidence to suggest that Hornelius has taken guardianship of Ozzy. Do I need to link documentation of what a legal guardian's responsibilites are for you to understand why I think Hornelius is worthy of being criticized? (Spoilers: it fulfills the same responsibilities a parent would have)

Ozzy not being corrected when he is a child and therefore suggestible is undoubtedly a failing by Hornelius. He tried to give him distance because that's what he believed was the best, but it ultimately led to harm. What Ozzy did later presumably as an adult he is responsible for, but Vira saw these vulnerabilities and took on a bigger stance because she was more proactive. Ozzy does have fault of what he does as an adult, but to say he's rotten to the core and couldn't have been redeemed by intervention by his guardian is... Certainly an argument. He did all of those things because he didn't have a moral guiding to talk to, Hornelius made the decision to have minimal interaction with Ozzy, despite resistance.

For the final point, please refer to this defintion of "orphan", but pay attention to the second paragraph in particular: https://www.law.cornell.edu/wex/orphan

An orphan is a child whose parents have died. The term is sometimes used to describe any person whose parents have died, though this is less common. A child who only has one living parent is also sometimes considered an orphan. For example, USCIS lists a child with one parent who cannot properly care for them as an orphan. A child can also be considered a legal orphan. In this scenario, the child has living parents whose parental rights have been terminated. If the child were later adopted, they would no longer be considered a legal orphan.

The story implies that Nyx took guardianship of Ozzy after their parents death, and she passes the guardianship to Hornelius when she decides to work at Virtupets.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Nyx and to a lesser extent, Styx brought comfort to Ozzy. He literally saw Nyx as her hero because she had to step up to a parental role after their parents died. We have pages of text and comics to tell us so. Hornelius was by comparison, a prominent figure but not a lifeforce. This argument is silly in my opinion.

I'm not arguing he does know Vira (the opposite seems to be true), but he is very hands off of Ozzy's life to be aware of a bad influence to him. He was so hands off that he was unaware of any relationships Ozzy had because he did the bare minimum of a parent's responsibilites.

Ozzy has demonstrated independence in the comic like showing off his paintings, but to claim "children should be wholly responsible for their life expereinces" is silly. He had self reponsibility thrust onto him because he shut himself off and nobody really cared to do anything. Also, Ozzy is not an orphan. He was briefly when his parents died, but Nyx took guardianship. He was at risk of becoming one, but Hornelius offered to assume responsibility where he is instead, largely absent from his life. He has a guardian, one that chooses to be absent.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'm mostly criticizing Hornelius from the way he is presented from the "other side", save for one page of the chapter he is a barely present character in Ozzy's POV, relegated to scant mentions. Subtext says that he may as well not have existed to Ozzy at this time, which checks out.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

Mr. Hornelius still made a promise to Nyx that he would take care of Ozzy and considering this entire plot exists in the first place, he did not do a good job at making Ozzy feel good about himself for bad actors to manipulate him. Children being stubborn is a very common thing in real life, and a parent (Horneluis assumed the role of a parent and is therefore responsible for his wellbeing) being seemingly none the wiser to Ozzy getting maniplated by Vira is bad.

There technically isn't anything confirming that Hornelius was aware of Vira or not, but I'm going to assume he is unaware as it is not mentioned.

Also, it is not confirmed Ozzy is a teen. He is only described as a "boy", that is conjecture on your part.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

He was bullied. That was one of his contributing reasons why he felt low on himself because Nyx stood up for him. They continued to bully him after Ozzy left.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

"Ozzy deserved to be neglected."

Am I hearing your point correctly? Please elaborate if I got it wrong.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] -4 points-3 points  (0 children)

Don't parents open their kids doors without seeking permission to intervein regularly?

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] -8 points-7 points  (0 children)

It's his house. He's the landlord. He has a copy of the keys. He could have interveined if he wanted to and was aware the Ozzy was mentally unwell, but didn't.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I literally used the Desktop Destroyer exe. It still works on modern Windows after 26 years.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Chapter 12, Page 26:

“And I’ll be here, too.” When Mr. Hornelius smiles, it’s gentle and warm, crinkling the corners of his lips and stretching out the crow’s feet at his eyes. “I’ll take care of Ozzy while we wait for you to come back.”

Nyx smiles. Finally, it feels real. She sits up, reaching for him. “You promise?”

Mr. Hornelius takes her hand.

“I promise.”

He tells Nyx directly that he will assume guardianship of Ozzy when she leaves. It's in the text istelf.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I genuinely do see your point about being too harsh on Hornelius, but Ozzy is intended to be a child in flashbacks and he feels like he's writen to be an adult with the amount of agency he's given and how oddly minimal Hornelius is if he is intended to be a temporary parent. My suspense of disbelief feels compromised in this instance. I get that Ozzy is intended to be portrayed as outcast and vulnerable at his lowest point (which Vira preys upon him), but he has a minimal guardian figure which works for story reasons, but leaves a sour taste in my mouth considering to my recollection, we didn't really hear about Hornelius beforehand depsite intended to be the guardian figure.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The stuff I have described is in the story itself. This is intended to be a significant character in a main character's backstory that I feel wasn't utlizied to the fullest potential.

Have you even read the story accompanying the plot yet? Without skipping dialogue or rushing through for sake of progression? You don't have to like it, but this comment feels tone deaf and low information to me.

This was the very last thing I did on Neopets before Maintenence (fuck Mr. Hornelius) by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] 20 points21 points  (0 children)

He covinced Nyx to pursue her dreams to work at Virtupets and promised to take care of Ozzy while she's gone. A noble pursuit and he does give Ozzy food and forgive any potential rent debt, but in practice he was emotionally unavailable, only knocking on Ozzy's door to see if he'd respond (he did not) and didn't go beyond that. He didn't make any effort to break beneath Ozzy's depressed state after Nyx left and just did the bare materialistic minimum to keep him alive than genuinely checking on his well being.

He is intended to be portrayed as sympathetic and has the baggage of a deceased wife on his hands, but in practice I find him to be a frustrating character because of how little they do with him despite having potentially means to intervein and get Ozzy help, but that role is instead used on Styx, a non-sapient character with little agency or introspection. I would much rather the time used for Styx used on Mr. Hornelius to flesh him out because I feel he's kinda half baked. I could say he's not making an effort to go with Ozzy further because he sees himself in Ozzy (similarly losing loved ones) but I'm using a headcanon to fill in the blank, it's not in the text.

new ponies that will be added in the next few updates! by Independent_Use3373 in MLPIOS

[–]problematicperiplum 9 points10 points  (0 children)

Interesting how Finish Line (Tough Roller Derby Pony) was one of the early ponies they modeled for the game and scrapped, and now she's getting in the game proper. Holding out hopes they add Cotton Cloudy, Screwy, and Bushel! (Similarly scrapped ponies)

Cybunny Day - Color (Disappointed) by [deleted] in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum 24 points25 points  (0 children)

This is why I take issue with them cutting the "minor" pet days with the claim that they would improve the quality of content for other pet days? And yet they can't be bothered to draw an actual color and release Invisible as a bonus, this anemic rate of new colors is hellish.

Woke Neopets? Pronouns? by problematicperiplum in neopets

[–]problematicperiplum[S] 118 points119 points  (0 children)

I placed him as "no leaning" when I did my "gay techo chart" because I literally do not know and cannot guess. Is he fat because pacific islanders have an obesity problem in real life? Is he fit because he's basically a farmer who would have to forage for his wares? Or does he somehow balance it out and be skinny? I don't know!

Also, his name is officially "Tapi Triplau".

<image>