Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Invisible Ring. Enjoy!

Prologue

Whenever I think of Christmas, I think of Christmas carolers, decorations, and Christmas trees with presents underneath. I love all this and more about this holiday season, but I sometimes feel sad in spite of all this, just like Charlie Brown.

Unlike some holidays, there seems to be more to Christmas than this; even more than family reunions and festivals! But it’s hard to remember what it is, and what all those other activities have to do with it.

But when Charlie Brown asked what Christmas is really all about, Linus gave him his answer with the story of the First Christmas, and it really helped him feel better. He passed this story onto his whole neighborhood, and now I wish to pass it to all of you.

The First Christmas
Luke 2: 1-16 (KJV)
Illustrations by Invisible Ring

And it came to pass in those days, that there went out a decree from Caesar Augustus, that all the world should be taxed. And all went to be taxed, every one into his own city.

And Joseph also went up from Galilee, out of the city of Nazareth, into Judea, unto the city of David, which is called Bethlehem; to be taxed with Mary his espoused wife, being great with child.

And so it was, that, while they were there, the days were accomplished that she should be delivered. And she brought forth her firstborn son, and wrapped him in swaddling clothes, and laid him in a manger; because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were in the same country shepherds abiding in the field, keeping watch over their flock by night. And, lo, the angel of the Lord came upon them, and the glory of the Lord shone round about them: and they were sore afraid.

And the angel said unto them, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, which is Christ the Lord.”

“And this shall be a sign unto you; Ye shall find the babe wrapped in swaddling clothes, lying in a manger.”

And suddenly there was with the angel a multitude of the heavenly host praising God, and saying,

Glory to God in the highest,
And on earth peace, good will toward men.

And it came to pass, as the angels were gone away from them into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let us now go even unto Bethlehem, and see this thing which is come to pass, which the Lord hath made known to us.”

And they came with haste, and found Mary, Joseph, and the babe lying in a manger.

Epilogue

Whenever I read this story, I think back to the Christmas trees with stars on top, and think of the star of Bethlehem that guided those shepherds to the Christ child, Jesus. I also think of the carolers, singing together like the multitude of angels that came down to earth that night.

The First Christmas story is often depicted in nativity scenes, alongside the Three Kings who gave gifts to baby Jesus, kind of like how we give gifts to each other nowadays. May we not forget the true meaning of Christmas — the best way to make sense of this whole holiday season!

Hope this yuletide message of good tidings lifts your holiday spirits as it did mine. Have a joyous and Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year, everyone!

Hope you enjoyed this guest post by Invisible Ring. If you did, you might also enjoy another Poptropica rendition of the Christmas story from the PHB here.

The Poptropica Help Blog welcomes interesting Poptropica insights from anyone in the Poptropica community with thoughts to share. Interested in writing for the PHB? We’d love to hear from you!

2024 Poptropica Rewind: Endgame? 👾

December 15, 2024 Slanted Fish

If we thought 2023 was a quiet year for Poptropica, well, 2024 might just give it a run for its money. And a run out of money, too, as the game now hangs on life support. Still, the community won’t let it go so easily.

(You might be interested in taking a look back on Poptropica’s previous years, too. We’ve got just the thing over on our Yearbook page!) 📖

So let’s hit Rewind and see what 2024 had in store for Pop! ⏪

Fresh off a shutdown scare, January brought on more signs of trouble with the deletion of the entire Poptropica Creators’ Blog — years of content down the drain. Not long after, Poptropica announced that they would be moving in with Coolmath Games, keeping membership free.

The move was made official in March, with the Poptropica.com website disappearing altogether and redirecting to its page on Coolmath Games, where the game can still be played. However, there were no new game updates all year, nor will there be for the foreseeable future.

Meanwhile, we heard from a couple of OG Creators: art director Jonathan Pitcher shared with PHB readers about Poptropica seeking new avenues to continue its storytelling amid bumps along the way, and Poptropica founder Jeff Kinney spoke fondly of Poptropica’s legacy, despite older content no longer being playable due to old Flash technology.

In September, the writing was on the wall for Poptropica, with various staff departures announced on LinkedIn. There was even a post from an ex-staffer announcing the closure of the Poptropica company, which was further confirmed in another interview with Jon Pitcher. As Jon shared with us, “The decline in Poptropica’s traffic made the company not able to secure clients for advertising to bring in enough revenue” — but “the plan is for Poptropica to keep going on Cool Math Games.”

Despite the downer of Poptropica’s current state, here on the PHB we’ve tried to keep spirits up with lots of fun content throughout the year. 🎉

We celebrated the magic Poptropica brought us with a Favorite Poptropica Island Tournament where Astro-Knights was crowned victorious. Zeus from runner-up Mythology Island wasn’t too fond of this, but it made for an epic April Fools event!

We also hosted our annual Poppies Awards in July, celebrating 10 Years of Poppies with a look back at highlights from the decade past. And we had a blast engaging with the community in a succession of events: our Tribal Tournament 2024 in August, Poptropica 17th Birthday Collage art collab in September, and 15th Halloween Costume Contest in October.

Beyond the festivities, we’ve also shared some interesting posts this year. Here’s a selection, with more in our Greatest PHB Posts:

While things may continue to be quiet on Poptropica’s end, the Poptropica fandom will still be around to make some noise for our favorite game. Join us on our PHC Discord server to find fellow Poptropicans, keep playing Poptropica on Flashpoint for more content, and of course, stay tuned to the PHB for the latest. 🫶

2025, keep stayin’ alive.

~ 💧🩵 the PHB

Uncategorized

Poptropica Tattoo Spotlights 🐲✨

October 16, 2024October 16, 2024 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans! Amid the somber news of Poptropica going out of business, some diehard fans are keeping the game’s legacy alive through the art of tattoos. Check out these incredible inks below!

Here’s a line-art tattoo of the dragon from the torn picture and manhole cover in Counterfeit Island, created by @lexjjart. So cool!

Next up is a tattoo of Poseidon from Mythology Island! The design was done by @rekitto.inks for their sister, and features a bit of color alongside some grayscale shading, topped off with some sparkles. Nice!

Besides these two recent tatts, we’ve also featured a few more permanent Poptropica inks on our site. Enjoy these tattoos of Bucky Lucas of Reality TV Island from VillageInner8961, Dr. Hare in a blimp from invisible_b0nes, and a Poptropolis Games citizen from pworddestroyer69.

Would you consider getting a Poptropica tattoo, and if so, what design would you go for? If you come across more Pop tatts or get one of your own, we’d love for you to share it with us on our Discord server, the PHC.

Keep on poppin’ on! ✨

~🐠

Fanfiction, Guest Posts

Fanfic: Murder at Myron’s 🦉 Part 2/4

October 11, 2024October 10, 2024 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Magic Kid. Enjoy!

Howdy guys! It’s Magic Kid, again, and I’m back with the second part in my latest fanfiction: Murder at Myron’s! If you have no idea what’s going on, you can read the first part here.

Guys, I am having WAY too much fun writing this, I’d forgotten how satisfactory it was to leave innocent readers on cliffhangers.

Last time I left you guys, you were introduced into a villain get-together dinner party, which was all jolly good fun until Winston returned to the party with the news that Myron Van Buren is MISSING!

*comical gasps from the crowd*

Where did he go? You’ll have to read for yourself to find out…

Murder at Myron’s

(Part 2/4)

Lightning split the sky, illuminating the scene.

Mordred was looking piercingly at Winston, as though he was reading his mind to see if this was some sort of prank. Director D was looking politely surprised. Moreau made a small gasp that was so comically French of her that Daphne sniggered. Ringmaster Raven did not seem affected by the news and remained still.

Captain Crawfish, on the other hand, spit out a drink and banged the empty cup on the table with a loud “HE’S MISSIN’?”. Gretchen Grimlock (whom Crawfish’s drink had been spat out on) was scowling and looked disgusted. Black Widow couldn’t care less. And Count Bram sat up a little straighter in his chair, waiting to hear more.

I, Merlin, was shocked to hear that the host had disappeared. I wondered what had happened to him and was very curious to find out. Excited (though very concerned), I started to fly around Mordred’s head.

“I’ve looked everywhere!” Winston said heavily. “He’s nowhere in the house — or outside, for that matter.”

“Odd,” Moreau said. “He’s normally the first one present for these sorts of things.”

“Very odd indeed,” agreed Raven.

Gretchen mused, “He ALWAYS makes a big scene whenever he’s at a party. Something must be wrong if he’s not around…”

Captain Crawfish stood up. “I’m going to go find him!” He started to walk out of the room.

“Wait!” Winston said. “We should go in groups to search. I hate to be the paranoid one, but something’s definitely off. It wouldn’t be safe to go alone.”

“Alright,” Crawfish sighed. “Which one of you lot wants to come with me?”

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Fanfiction, Guest Posts

Fanfic: Murder at Myron’s 🦉 Part 1/4

October 9, 2024October 9, 2024 Slanted Fish

Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Magic Kid. Enjoy!

BOO! Hi guys, did I scare you? I’m Magic Kid, and after my long hiatus after my last fanfiction, Zombies, Zombies, Always Zombies!, I’m back with another Poptropica fic for y’all: Murder at Myron’s. I’ll post this fanfiction in four parts throughout the month of October as a Halloween treat for you PHB readers!

This series will be narrated by none other than Merlin, the mechanical owl from Astro-Knights Island, and will feature several Poptropica villains you know and love that will be introduced as the story goes on.

And now! Without further ado, I present you with…

Murder at Myron’s

(Part 1/4)

It was a dark and stormy night…

That’s how most stories start, right? Either that or “Once upon a time”, which wouldn’t suit the tale we were about to embark on anyway. But I assure you that the night of which our story starts was indeed “dark and stormy”.

Thunder echoed in every corner of the woods, lightning crackled and split the sky, the rain mercilessly poured from the heavy gray clouds. What a storm, what a storm!

And then, from the clouded night sky, a light shone. It was bright and it was… moving? Sure enough, the light was getting bigger, coming closer and closer to the ground.

Was it a UFO? Were perhaps aliens about to invade the lush forest? Good guess.

As the clouds parted to let this mysterious object land, it was now apparent that the light was from fire from the spaceship’s thruster. The rain pounded against the metal of the ship as it gently lowered itself down onto the earth, breaking the tall trees’ branches as it went.

BOOM! And with that, our ship had landed.

Continue reading →