Why am I doing this?

Logging into Neopets for the first time in weeks to join Team Lost Desert because hashtag Team Lost Desert 4 life and double taking @ the description being that Team Lost Desert has had to rely on donations & fundraising from a group of thieves to survive ?? Surely that’s a microaggression lmao.

Something something even in fiction the west cannot imagine a world where Arab people are thriving and succesful. Lost Desert takes its inspiration from ANCIENT EGYPT they should be an exorbitantly wealthy and decadent empire!! Why have we had multiple allusions to like real world strife and war in these last few years. In 2019 the press tour was about how the team almost couldn’t play because they were almost conscripted into military service. Last year was also all about working with the thieves. Lost Desert is never gonna get gay people or cutesy slice of life stories we gotta be dying in warfare and crowdfunding donations to stay afloat and fighting thieves forever and ever and ever.

Sorry to take this more seriously than I really should but man it sucks as an Arab person. It is admittedly more than about Neopets I just find it sad to see it so obvious in Neopets. Neopets functions very much as fantastical escapism when it comes to real-world western issues. There are times when real-world issues are loosely alluded to but like, there is no Neopets Donald Trump or Neopets Republicanism or whatever. But Middle Eastern people don’t get that at all ever. War and poverty and strife is just the default state of Arab people and our homes. The same site that can introduce a million gay and nonbinary characters (in the same site event even!) had nobody to double check if “The Middle Eastern team has had to rely on crowdfunding donations” was appropriate to publish. Neopets more like Neoliberal.

No it sucks and you should say it actually.