Yesterday, thanks to Sid's surprise appearance in the Battledome and a little over 2.5 years coming back to Neopets in late 2021, I achieved my very first Neopets goal made as an adult -- acquiring 100 new avatars since the last time I seriously played, back in 2011, going from 253 to 353 avatars!!! I quit in 2011 because I thought I'd gotten as many avatars as I would ever be able to get (253) and saw no point in continuing.
When I returned to Neopets in late 2021, I had just left a stressful and toxic job with no idea of what I was going to do next or any confidence in my skills. Neopets seemed like a good way to pass the time and also make some low-stakes goals to help me build my confidence back up. I remembered my childhood passion for collecting avatars and decided I'd try my best to get 100 new avatars.
During that journey, I also tried a bunch of new things, like feeding kads, restocking, customizing my pets, NC trading, Plushie Tycoon, collecting game trophies, training my pet, personalizing my UL/petpages/etc. I surprised myself a lot. Everything seemed to be easier or at least much less daunting than I remembered, even some game avatars (even the Shockwave ones).
I completed most of my smaller goals the summer after I came back and had so much fun doing it, especially in terms of realizing I'm more capable than I initially thought. Now I'm enjoying myself in a new career and have also met the love of my life. I wasn't intending for this to happen when I randomly decided to return to Neopets one day, but Neopets helped me cultivate a growth mindset and get more comfortable with trying new things -- and it wasn't just the game either. It's the Neopets community here. I learned so many tips and saw so many cool customizations here, so I am so so so thankful that this community exists. Thank you!!!
P.S. Now to show off my pets and petpets!
P.P.S. For anyone interested, here's how many avatars I had by the end of each year (after coming back -- many of the later ones were event ones):

• Nov-Dec 2021: 289 (+36), last one of the year was the kadoatie one!
  
• 2022: 338 (+49), ended with Volcano Run
  
• 2023: 349 (+11) (ended with Stamp Collector - Snowy Valley; also got Avatar Collector in Oct as #345)
  
• Jan-May 2024: 353 (+4)
  

I wish there was a Tail-Be-Gone because it was hard finding a background close to the Stealthy Uni's base color to hide that she's missing half of her body with the Hind-Be-Gone lol
https://preview.redd.it/d119w20mz71d1.png?width=267&format=png&auto=webp&s=9e801bf60342337181b32b626ffbc19ebdf64893
https://preview.redd.it/32z8j7h9081d1.png?width=262&format=png&auto=webp&s=494adac3d7d76fc144a596fd06acec20b78f0031
https://preview.redd.it/t7hrkepb181d1.png?width=264&format=png&auto=webp&s=c7bc76788c621d431be520787371caca80534ca9
https://preview.redd.it/ja9xysxn181d1.png?width=264&format=png&auto=webp&s=d911610ca721fc22cb341585c5c6e59c3fcf5cc6
https://preview.redd.it/naad8sls181d1.png?width=264&format=png&auto=webp&s=9bb387b3cf2a435f4f301ff9105b3ec4733154ed
https://preview.redd.it/sh4247ew181d1.png?width=264&format=png&auto=webp&s=50a9d4f7f3f7c9ca9846064dbdaa91d0545ffdbf
Lab pet that turned into the moon.. the petpet had just been zapped into a Starry Faellie but turned into a Pile of Soot today... alas nothing gold can stay
https://preview.redd.it/jqgba32a281d1.png?width=264&format=png&auto=webp&s=caea3f015b4d68d53dd93caa8fc0cbf9c192f96c
https://preview.redd.it/2xaadzpd281d1.png?width=264&format=png&auto=webp&s=1eec4974e75bad1bad6e1bc47a5a732bfbcd249c
https://preview.redd.it/frw7ct3h281d1.png?width=264&format=png&auto=webp&s=96cd8d3e0e6dea2625f10543c1139b06dd479670
The water isn't showing up because it hasn't been converted yet so showing how it looks on DTI and also on her lookup
https://preview.redd.it/0vyvgrrd481d1.png?width=356&format=png&auto=webp&s=db1034da392ee0506064941bea9e514faa5c6b6f
https://preview.redd.it/elzsebog481d1.png?width=356&format=png&auto=webp&s=d669e88a6c64693069f953589e1d329d9ad22510
https://preview.redd.it/hhauwdtk481d1.png?width=344&format=png&auto=webp&s=32b7bb978b335815d3854be76e17d4b3cca851d5
https://preview.redd.it/fz06pwjn481d1.png?width=344&format=png&auto=webp&s=5b78803b62e0f2c2c1fcd9a166f47796e065555a

No surprises with Meerca! Candy is such an incredible design, not just the best Meerca design but maybe one of the best for the colour overall. It won with 35.8% of the votes! Second was the rather stylish Striped with 13.7%, and finally Maraquan with 12.6%. A few honourable mentions, but overwhelmingly in favour of Candy.
Vote for Meerca if you haven't here, or check out the results here!
If you'd like to see the results for the polls so far, you can check out the tracking sheet here.

Click here for the Best Colour of Each Species Poll Series - Moehog!

My ripped king 8-Bit MOehog in a piece titled Guest poser: 8-bit moehog by dragoncima13 on FurAffinity
Click here if you've already voted and just want the results!
Okay so as it says in the title Moe is my fav pet. I just think its friendly yet dopey face is adorable, and their story of being servants to Skeiths until they left for a better life is just too good not to root for. Still, I will admit their paint brush options leave a LOT to be desired. Most of them barely change anything about the pet, even Moehog-specific wearables are sort of meh.
Still, I do have my fav colours. Baby, really sweet looking, just seems happy to be there. Christmas, wrapped up like a present, I think this is such a simple and adorable take on a mixed bag paint brush. Darigan, just feels iconic if not the most terrifying or interestingly designed. The Elderlies both look so sweet here, like they'd be really supportive grandparents. Fire has a fire mane which is a nice touch, even if I'm not a huge fan of the colour overall. I've got a Nostalgic Grey that I use as my lab rat and am obsessed with how devastatingly sad he is. Halloween is an icon too, love the Sloth skull cap. Moehog's friendly little eyes look so sweet and sad in the Magma version, like he's on fire but letting you know it's okay. I've also got a Maraquan Moehog, I like that it's vaguely seacow-ish with the sweet pink nose. Mutant is hilarious, my shopkeeper was a Mutant Moehog for a while named Crump, he still has every disease but he's no less loved for it. Pastel was my first dreamie on my return to Neopets last year, I just think the colouring is perfection even if it's a bit sweeter than a pet I'd normally go for. I also have a Water Moe--I think this brush almost always looks great but especially so on him.
Some gripes: Plushie, Tyrannian, Relic, and the Royals are virtually unchanged. They just slightly altered a feature or two, or maybe added some simple clothes. Disappointing given how over the top some pet designs can be in these colours!
I realize that's a lot of text for a rather unpopular pet, but it can't be helped. It's a sweetie and I feel strongly about it. If you feel differently, any particular reason why? I know Moehog's are like the pound troll pet, and they've gained a bit of a reputation for being less desirable, I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Remember polls are open for a week, so if you haven't you can still vote on Lenny, Lupe, Lutari and Meerca!

Hi, I’m an old player that returned about a month ago. So close to that 100k Trudy’s surprise reward! And when I first signed back up I was thinking of making all of my DnD characters into neopets but then I shelved the idea because I’m having too much fun designing the new pets. Buuut I was curious because I might still do this, which pet/color would you assign these characters?
For context Fae is a shifter ranger and Mirranette is a druid.
Also would love to make some new neofriends! Especially if you draw as well.
Art is mine