When this woman is upset about her Neopets account, she asks Reddit:
Ok so I'm upset and confused and I told Sister/BIL I would post here to settle this argument, so they will be seeing and reading this. For those who don't know Neopets is a virtual pet game site that was really popular around the late 90s/early 2000s. It kind of died a bit for a while but has recently started to get popular again. I have been playing for years.
My account is 18 years old and it has the stats to reflect that (pets/avatars/stamps/gallery/trophies etc.). If you don't play it may not mean alot and not to brag but I have a rather impressive account due to the fact I have been playing so long.
I 34F have no kids (not childfree, just don't have any). My sister 32F and BIL 34M have a daughter 11F who has been very sickly all her life. I'll not go into exactly what is wrong with her but she's been in and out of hospitals alot in her young life and recently had to go back in again for a few weeks. :(
I recently learned that she's been playing on Neopets.com for a few months to help pass the time when she's not feeling well. She's really gotten into it and from what my sister says talks about it alot. She was excited to learn I also play and we talked about it when I visited her.
I looked up her account and gifted her a bunch of stuff, expensive stuff that would be hard for a newer account to get. (In-game stuff using In-game money which can be kind of hard to earn in large amounts).
Anyway, long story short she asked how I can afford the stuff I sent her (it was worth millions of NP) and how I have all the stuff my account has. I explained I had been playing for 18 years, did every plot/event etc. Well, apparently she got upset at the huge difference between our two accounts and asked for more stuff. When I told her no she started crying to my sister and BIL about it.
My BIL came over and asked if I could gift my account to niece for her upcoming birthday (which she has to spend in the hospital). Said it would mean to world to her. I said no. I've had this account since before she was born, before we even met my BIL. I don't want to get rid of it. I still play on it literally everyday.
Well he got mad and tried guilt-tripping me. I'm an adult and she's a child and it would make her happy in a rough time in her life. I'm happy to help her learn the tricks and trades of the game but I'm not giving away my account. He tried to buy it off me but I still said no.
Now he is super pissed and got my sister and parents on their side. I'm being hounded everyday for this and being called an asshole because it's all my niece will talk about and she really really wants it. I feel bad because she's just a little girl in the hospital and guilty for not giving it.
I offered to send a bunch of stuff to her account again but she wants my stats so she's not treated like such a newbie who doesn't know anything by other players too. I feel guilty for this but I want to keep my account. AITA?
windybreezer writes:
NTA - There's no reason a child can't learn to earn their rewards. She will have way more fun and feel proud of herself if she plays the game and earns things on her own.
The fact that she doesn't understand that seems like she isn't that interested in the game and it's just a passing interest for her. Keep your account, you've earned it and you should enjoy it! You've already been super generous by gifting her those items.
greenroads8 writes:
NTA Your niece is a newbie. She should be treated as such and needs to be treated as such. It's not a bad thing to be a newbie, everyone needs to go through this stage. People (hopefully) are more accomodation to newbies, understand that they are not fully au fait with the game.
Getting your stats is a massive jump she hasn't put in the time to earn and hasn't the age to acquire. It's an 18yr old account. . She's 11. It will do her no good to present herself as effectively an adult.
thothscull writes:
NTA. BIL for sure is. Rest of family for dismissing you, your life, and you interests as a trivial thing that can be given away sp casually. Damn account is almost old enough to buy you some scotch, and you are just supposed to give it away? They can rot.