Hardcore, Hissies, and Questionable Life Decisions

     I don't really know what I was thinking, it was one of those spur-of-the-moment things like when you're on the computer and you go downstairs to get a snack and then you think you forgot something and start wandering through the house and eventually end up in the bathroom and have no clue why, so you stand around for a bit before going back upstairs, figuring that whatever you wanted wasn't that important. So anyway, I had been casually playing around with mixing beats and stuff, and occasionally DJing at local restaurants. Maybe I could send Cynds some of my tracks and she'd like them. Now, I didn't know how I thought that was a logical idea. It was pretty obvious from her whole persona that Cynds was a solo act. If nothing else, anybody who got too close while she was performing was in kind of serious danger of catching fire. But somehow, I didn't think about this and sent her something I'd been working on. Everybody I'd played it to had really liked, saying that it was reminiscent of a Neopian hardcore scene that hadn't been seen since Yes Boy Ice Cream sold out. Even more insane than the entire rest of this scenario: Cynds responded. She said that she liked what she heard, and was interested in meeting up. She'd been interested in forming a band for a while, apparently, despite never saying it on her channel, and was interested in seeing what I had to offer. And that's where this tale of bad decisions begins.

     Before I get into my life story and unwanted, undeserved fame, I should introduce myself. Name's Black7Pearl, but pretty much everyone I know calls me Black, except for the couple who call me Pearl, which really annoys me because they usually also think I'm a girl. Not that I have anything against girls, I know a lot of really cool (and honestly terrifying) girls, I'm just not one. I'm also unconverted. I didn't really notice this for quite a while, and it wasn't until I was a teenager that I realized that even though I pretty much felt like I moved and looked like any other Darigan Hissi, most clothes didn't fit me. I didn't really know why, and I still don't. Sure, I get that there's a different graphic on my lookup and that my owner can't customize me, but some times I just want to wear clothes for myself. I've got the same body as any other Hissi. But, they didn't fit, or at least the staff at Uni's Clothing Shop wouldn't sell them to me. They claimed that my spikes would rip their merchandise and that they couldn't afford that, so I ended up asking Alli, my owner, to custom-make a hoodie for me with holes for them. But anyway, my troubles with clothing aside, being unconverted means that for whatever reason, I get a lot of attention, not all of it wanted. Before I came to Alli, I was up for trade and basically being treated like an item with a limited edition design. After, I was in a permanent home, but still getting way more attention than Alli's other pets. I asked her why, and she said that it was because I was her "dream" and that she'd specifically wanted an unconverted pet like me for years. I asked her why I needed to be unconverted, and if she'd still love me if I wasn't, but she just stroked my head and told me to go to my room. The attention wasn't just from Alli, either. Don't get me wrong, I like getting trophies and people drawing me, but going to the Art Chat every day to get fan art from Alli's friends, being entered in the Beauty Contest all the time, and being asked to write about my life in the Neopian Times like I'm doing for you right now is kind of overwhelming, I do like the attention, but I don't think that I'm super-special or anything. If you look in my room, it's messy, my bed's covered in plushies, and my computer's in the corner and where I spend most of my time, just like any other teenage Neopet. In many ways, I feel like I'm supposed to be this deep, powerful unconverted pet, and I'm kinda worried that I'm not. Anyway, this tirade about my life isn't really relevant to Cynds, so let's get back to her.

     So, Cynds was interested in meeting up with me, in person. I was terrified. I had never been really good at talking to people, especially not when stuff I cared about was actually on the line like this. But I asked Alli if it was okay, and she said yes, so I figured that I was doing this and that I needed to grit my teeth, put on a good persona, and see if Cynds wanted me for her band. We messaged for a bit to schedule a time and place, it turns out she lived in the same neighbourhood of Maraqua as I did and that we could meet at Kelp. I packed my stuff, brought my laptop so I could show her more of my compositions, and headed out. We pretty much hit it off. It turned out that past all the flashing lights, pyrotechnics, and hard basslines, Cynds was a lot like me, and was interested in working with me since she felt pretty lonely too. I didn't understand how she could be lonely with so many fans, but she explained that she didn't feel like her online persona was her real self and that it felt more like role-playing a character than self-expression at this point. When she first started uploading videos, it was self-expression, but after she got popular, she needed to keep up an image to act like the same Cynds from the past who had first uploaded the videos, and didn't feel like what she was doing was real. It turned out that the confidence I'd admired her for was just as fake as her auto-tuned voice in her tracks. I felt like a complete jerk.

     It turned out that even though the Cynds I had met wasn't really the same Neopet as the one I liked online, she still was interested in learning more about me, and both liked my tracks and the idea of me as a friend, so we messaged after the meetup while she worked out things like sponsors for her band. It turned out that we had more than just confidence issues in common. We both liked Neoquest, and she was actually stronger than me. I sent her a PvP request, and her avatar completely annihilated me with fire spells. Eventually, she got the stuff for her band worked out, and we were ready to work together. She sent me her address, and I asked Alli if I could go meet her.

     Alli started laughing after I asked, and I wasn't sure why. I was sure she was about to say no and start lecturing me about not trusting people you meet online, but she smiled.

     "You don't know that address?"

     "No...it's addressed on Mystery Island, and we live in Maraqua, which is weird because she said she lived in the same neighbourhood as we did."

     "She does, actually, and I'm actually her owner. That's my private island."

     "First of all...Cynds is actually my sister? And second of all...you have multiple Neohomes? And a private island? If you're that rich, why do I eat omelettes and jelly for breakfast every day?"

     "She's not really your sister, you're both adopted from different users. But yeah, you can go meet her, and I'm glad you befriended her. I'd been thinking about introducing you, but I didn't want to overwhelm you."

     "You only answered one of my questions."

     "Why don't you go meet Cynds? Be back before dinner!"

     I went over to Alli's other Neohome that I didn't know she had, and Cynds smiled when she saw me. It was weird because I knew she was my sister in some convoluted way, but I don't think I cared and we talked completely normally like we'd just met as strangers online who became friends. Because we had, and Cynds mentioned that with me, she felt confident for the first time in her life. And so did I.

     The End.