Embracing the Inner Neopian Troublemaker by divagoddess1321 |  |
46132 ISLAND CRESCENT, MYSTERY ISLAND- All right, so it seems that everyday
you see proud owners out on the streets of Neopia. Owners bragging about their
beautiful, perfect, angelic, wonderful pets. And it seems to me that the owners
who do brag about their “perfect” pets are the owners who complain the most
about those “naughty, troublemaking fiends” from the Neohome next door. (Trust
me on this, I’ve had a lot of encounters with people complaining about the noise
coming from my own Neohome.) But what about those “naughty, troublemaking fiends?”
Are the spirited, joyous pets always the ones who get labeled as the troublemakers
in the neighborhood? Sadly, the answer to that question is “yes.” Yes, the happy,
joyous pets always have the most complaints lodged about them. And compared
to some of the more snobby or shy pets, they are indeed troublemakers. But that
doesn’t make them bad.
For the past seven months now, I have lived in a small, kind of cramped Neohome
with my four pets and their petpets. It has been a long seven months, let me
tell you, what with my two quiet pets and my two raucous ones. The quiet pets,
namely my Kougra, Pouncer1321_, are always complaining about how noisy our home
is, while the louder pets, namely my Pteri, Piney1313_, are always calling the
quieter pets “Goody-Two-Shoes.” It is hard to establish any sort of peace or
quiet in my Neohome. But I have managed to control everyone, without having
to disown any of my pets. So what about you? Is your Neohome as unbalanced as
mine used to be (and still is, really)? Or do you have those “perfect” pets?
If you fit into the latter category, then I would leave now. This article isn’t
for you. But if your home is as noisy as mine and you need help, then read on!
Deciding What’s Wrong
So, your Neohome is as noisy as mine, eh? Well, the first step to achieving
a *slightly* more peaceful Neohome is to dig down and find out what the problem
is. Is it just one pet that is causing all the noise, or is it more than one?
Is this behavior new to your family or has it been there for a while? I know
that in my Neohome, the main source of noise is indeed Piney1313_. Pterii are
naturally social pets, and it’s fine to enjoy a good romp around the house once
in a while, but Piney used to be a troublemaker every single day. I couldn’t
go anywhere with him, and yet I was too afraid to leave the Pteri alone in the
house for more than ten minutes. Otherwise, I’d come home to find the Slorg
Wardrobe up-ended, all of my semi-good china wrecked to pieces and that annoying
Clockwork Wocky toy going around and around and around in the living room. *Smashes
Clockwork Wocky with Basic Rubber Axe*
But if your house *is* a bit rowdy, don’t automatically assume you’ve got a
serious issue on your hands. Some pets just go through weird phases in their
Neopian lives, which can result in sudden, and often alarming, changes in behavior.
One good way to find out if this issue is just a phase or not is to watch your
pet(s) very carefully. Is his/her lifestyle different one day then normal again
the next? Do his/her favorite foods change on a daily basis? If so, then I would
say that your pet(s) is just going through a rough phase, probably the equivalent
of being a teenager. Don’t worry, things will probably calm down in a while.
Just adjust your style to fit theirs. If, however, your pet has almost always
been a little rowdy and rambunctious, then you’ve probably got a troublemaker
on your hands. Congratulations!
It’s A Troublemaker. Yay!
Why should you be happy that your pet is a certified troublemaker? Why, because
life will never be boring! There’ll always be funny moments, some cute and some
not so cute. And although you may never have peace and quiet in your Neohome
again, you’ll get used to it. Life with troublemakers is FUN! Seriously! Oh,
sure, you can kiss going to any fancy restaurants and concerts goodbye, but
who needs those? I mean, wouldn’t you rather go to, say, a Hikalakas concert
instead of seeing the Neopian Philharmonic? Classical music is all rigid and
fancy, but island tunes are fun and wild! Violins can make people cry, but listening
to the wild sounds of steel drums is sure to put you in a better mood.
Speaking of mood, your Neohome is also guaranteed to be a much happier place
with a troublemaker around. Got one of those new Grey pets at home? Cheer ‘em
up with an excitable little Pteri! The Pteri’s pranks will have you rolling
in the aisle-er, hallways, with laughter! And speaking of laughter, being with
a troublemaker 24/7 will certainly open your eyes to a whole new side of life.
Sick of seeing the world in color? See it with a troublemaker in really BRIGHT
color! This improved look on life will be sure to make you a wittier, more amusing
Neopian, and may even help you clinch that long-sought-after Caption Contest
trophy! Aren’t troublemakers awesome?
Drawing the Line
Sure, troublemakers make the world a better place, but sometimes that funny
little Mynci of yours will pull just one too many pranks. Don’t let the benefits
of living with a troublemaker make you blind to discipline. Sometimes the most
spoiled pets are those who have no self-control whatsoever, and who’s owners
are too afraid to take action. So, know when to draw the line! Tipping over
that new Babaa Wardrobe may be funny when it’s just you and the gang, but when
company comes over, that sort of behavior might embarrass you as an owner. Be
sure to tell your pets what sort of behavior is funny, and what is just plain
annoying. Then, set up a punishment for breaking a certain rule (or item, hahaha!),
and make sure your pets know it. It might break your heart to have to enforce
these rules, but every Neohome needs some sort of authority figure, and that
happens to be you. Just remember, by enforcing the rules, you are putting your
pet’s best interests at heart, and helping to establish your reputation as an
honest but amusing Neopian, one that isn’t afraid to do the right thing.
But in your quest for Neohome-wide peace, do not go overboard and start becoming
a tyrannical dictator. Yes, those rowdy little Pterii and their raucous petpets
can be exasperating sometimes, but you have to have patience. And when I say
patience, I mean patience. You might be tempted to disown them all and go back
to a nice, tranquil life, but just remember all the benefits of living in semi-chaos.
And, if nothing else, you at least will have had an interesting experience.
Other Troublemaking-Related Tips
For one thing, I highly suggest troublemaker-proofing your Neohome. Having
a lot of rare pottery items from the Lost Desert and a rambunctious pet in the
same room really is asking for trouble. Instead, put all those nice vases in
a little room where no pets are allowed, to insure that they don’t end up, well,
utterly destroyed. And another thing, it’s a good idea to limit the sugar intake
of your troublemaker. Even a little Apple Sweetie could be a catalyst for some
serious trouble. The same goes for troublemakers and some of those more annoying
toys, like the Clockwork Wocky described earlier. Man, can those things get
annoying real fast, especially when you’ve tripped over them sixty thousand
times like I have. *Nurses sore foot*
Finally, it is a very bad idea to mix any sort of troublemaker with any sort
of item that you especially cherish, rare or not. I know from personal experience
that mixing such an item (like, say, my beloved Glass Roses) with such a pet
(like Piney1313_) is a recipe for disaster. Troublemaking pets have a terrible
habit of purposely ruining those things you love best, especially things that
are rare, fragile, or just generally eye-catching. (Again, like my Glass Roses
*sniffs*).
Well, hopefully reading this article will have opened your eyes to the real
inner troublemaker. Whether you live in chaos (like me ^_^), have a nice, well-balanced
home or live in a tranquil sanctuary (booooorrring!), you now know about the
real troublemaker and how to adjust your life to such a pet. Remember, troublemakers
are Neopians, too, and deserve to be treated as such.
Author’s Note: Thanks for reading about my *very* hectic Neopian life, and
how yours can become wonderfully hectic, too! This is my first ever NT submission,
and I’m very open to feedback, criticism, whatever you can throw at me. Just
make sure all Neomails are not done in leet (1337) or chatspeak, that drives
me more insane then I already am, and that you do not request to be my Neofriend,
as I am swamped with requests as it is. A quick shout-out to a few people is
all that’s left, I suppose: Hi, Cat (_cat_luvr_), Rache (spyderfun101), Kelly
(iamatwin2), Rach (rachaelmckee) and anyone else I know particularly well! You
guys are awesome ^_^!
That’s it, thanks for reading!
~divagoddess1321
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