Katie's eyes fill with tears as she sees ANOTHER task she has to do. And even worse, she had to write things. She hated writing (she also hated reading). Why did I sign up for this? Oh wait, I didn't, I never actually applied to come back to this place, I was just forced to come back or else I would be tortured and starved. (Totally not an exaggerated story of what happened, the never actually applying part is true though, so technically this counts as a kidnapping) *Remembers her captors will be reading this when she submits her article* OH BOY HOWDY, GOLLY GEE, I SURE DO LOVE BEING PART OF SOUP. A dungeon guard looks at her wondering why the prisoner is shouting at a wall like a ninny. Thinking the girl could use some fresh air, he lets her out and leads her to the interview room for something even worse than reading or writing -social interaction.
Hello everyone, it's Katie_slytherin here and as you know, we are here to talk about crazes. Today I will be chatting with Peroxidal about the Neopets Craze! This HEXian is an expert, in fact, their username was created from the Neopets Craze! So without further ado, let the interview commence!
Katie: So Peroxidal, if that's even your real name, on a scale of 1-10, how obsessed were you with Neopets?
Peroxidal: A solid 10. I was on there for years playing daily. Much like HEX, I was very much into the economy of Neopets - making money and collecting rare items. I also loved playing games for trophies to add to my profile (I'm very competitive). Neopets is also where I originally began learning how to code (shout out to guilds and profile pages) and that became a big passion of mine and eventually led to me building websites. But because of that passion, I only ended up spending more time on NP helping code for people.
Katie: Cool! I am terrible at the HEX economy, I have my bank account to prove it! *pulls out a single knut* Did you know a bunch of other people who also had accounts?
Peroxidal: I had a couple of friends who I knew in RL at the time who had accounts, but I met more people/made more friends thru the website who had them than I did really in RL.
Katie: That is very relatable, I know that I've met some of my best friends on HEX! Some of my friends have those fancy titles and custom wands and all that other cool stuff you can get via donations on HEX- I'm too broke to do that. Did you ever pay for any membership/upgrades for Neopets?
Peroxidal: Well, I'm old xD When I was on NP they did not have memberships or upgrades that you had to spend money on that I can remember. Everything was free. It was a bit different than it is today.
Katie: Aw. Don't say that, you're not old you're only… MERLIN'S BEARD! YOU WERE BORN IN THE 1900s?! Umm, I mean, are you sure you're even old enough to be having this interview? I'm going to need your parent's permission. *awkward silence* So, back to Neopets, what were some of your favourite things to do there?
Peroxidal: Collect rare items, make money, join guilds and constantly zap my pets in the lab to change their color.
Katie: Zap your pets in the lab? *calls the Wonder Pets to tell them there's an animal in trouble* What are some things you miss from the site?
Peroxidal: It was a very fun experience growing up with it as the internet was just getting fire behind it. There were loads of people who were on there daily so there was always something to do or friends to make and it honestly just makes me think of my childhood.
Katie: Ah yes, it is fun to reminisce. What is one really cool thing/one really cringey thing you remember?
Peroxidal: On the cool side, there was a time where random gifting got really popular within the chat forums. So as an example, I would be online in one of the forums (the help forum was really popular for some reason even just to chat) and when you saw people who were posting/being active or helping other people, you would randomly gift them rare items. I would do this with friends or just random people I found. And then they/other people would do it in return. So for a while, it became a really cool place to not only meet and help people but participate in the economy almost and get cool stuff you might not get elsewhere. On the cringe side, noting super stands out outside of just being a young kid who thought she was older than she was and always trying to prove it.
Katie: Were there any other sites you were obsessed with? Any other website crazes?
Peroxidal: I played on Habbo Hotel a lot too when I was younger and loved that a ton. It was a bit of an obsession as well for a couple of years. I also was in a ton of forums for Harry Potter, Friends, Charmed... anything I enjoyed where one popped up. There were BB forums (a forum company) that popped up all over the place for years in the early 2000s for fandoms and a lot of them did similar things as HEX with items and money and whatnot.
Katie: I went through the Club Penguin craze. I remember paying for memberships, feeling super amazing being able to use my coins to donate real money for charity during coins for change at Christmas time, decorating my igloo, adopting puffles, getting my black belt in jujitsu, being part of the EPF, so many memories. So to wrap our session up, why don't you describe the Neopets experience!
Peroxidal: A social site to meet people, play games, and explore all different types of interests. From taking care of pets to learning about money and trade to coding, and beyond.
Katie: Awesome! Thanks for coming to chat with us! Any last words before we let you go?
Peroxidal: I miss Neopets.
Katie: Spoken like a true fan. Well, everyone, that wraps up this issue's article of Chatting With... Thank you to Peroxidal so so kindly agreed to do this interview with me! If you want YOUR CHANCE TO BE FEATURED IN SOUP, look for my thread in the Slytherin common room- you can't miss the green hearts!
Until I reemerge from my cave again, this is goodbye from your favorite pureblood Slytherin!
- Katie