Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by Silver Sword. Enjoy!
Heya, Poptropicans, it’s Silver Sword! Been a while, huh? Last time I shared on the blog, it was in February of 2020! However, this post isn’t about me. This time, I wanna bring up a Poptropica-related theory.
At the end of the revised Monster Carnival Island, Edgar says the next destination for the carnival is Super Villain Island. The same island where four of Poptropica’s most infamous villains were being kept in sleeping chambers. Why on Earth would the carnies be heading there?
Besides the apparent subtext that Bird Boy is caged to be shipped off to the prison at Super Villain, could something else be going on?
Then it hit me: the dream machine. Even though it was partially destroyed at the end of the main island quest, it was still functional. (Spoiler: That’s actually how Zeus was able to be contained in the first place!) There could be parts left over from that machine that would be of use to Bird Boy, aka Ringmaster Raven.
And Raven would be interested because he too has a machine that can control minds. And unlike the machine on Super Villain, I don’t think the one from the circus out of commission just yet. Taken apart for travel, maybe, but not damaged like the dream machine from the prison has been. And with both machines being mind-control related, at least some pieces from each machine might fit together.
You may have convinced Bird Boy to become your friend, but he may still have his original viewpoint on the rest of Poptropica…
I hope you guys enjoyed my little Popspiracy theory. It’s not too far-fetched once you look at the evidence, and having Super Villain Island return would be divine — it’s one of my three all-time favorite islands, tied with Night Watch Island and Virus Hunter Island.
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!
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by HeartofEnder. Enjoy!
Heart here! Now when I wrote my Popspiracy on the Baron’s backstory, I wasn’t planning on doing a part two to the theory. However, Red October and the reveal of the Red Queen brought new lore with even more questions, so here we are. Reminder: This is all guesswork gathered from what we know — it’s not canon to Poptropica (yet?).
The Seven Systems, the Resistance, and Astro Knights?
Let’s start with the seven systems. The dark knights guarding the airship mention that the great Red Queen conquered the seven systems, but what even are they? From the Queen’s own words, they seem to be planets in outer space.
But why is there a resistance in the first place? Maybe the seven planets didn’t want to be conquered by the Queen. While conquest can introduce new languages, tools, and culture, it can also destroy the old cultures of the area being conquered. Overall, not a great thing.
Now we move onto the fun stuff — the mention of everyone’s favorite lost island, Astro-Knights. The Red Queen believes that whoever freed Rumpelstiltskin is affiliated with the Astro Knights, suggesting that she has some problems with them. Maybe the Astro Knights are defending the seven systems from being conquered. However, there’s one key piece of info worth remembering.
In Astro-Knights Island, after we gather the three “Astro Knights” (which back then were simply known as the Knights of Arturus) at the Crystal Gate, it’s revealed that the player is the fourth knight.
We also happened to be the ones who freed Rumpel in Fairytale Island. Perhaps sealing away Rumpel was the key to the Queen’s conquest of the seven systems, but since we, the player and potentially the last of the Astro Knights, freed Rumpel, that may mess with the Queen’s plans. This leads to the next question…
Why did the Queen trap Rumpel in the first place?
In my previous Popspiracy, I guessed that the Queen trapped Rumpel because he was causing trouble, but could there be another reason?
Perhaps Rumpel has some hidden power the Queen wants to use. The royal family doesn’t seem to have any sort of magic, so the Red Queen could have trapped Rumpel on Fairytale Island not for the safety of Poptropica, but for personal gain.
So why was Rumpel stealing happy endings, kidnapping a king, and possessing a sky pirate? For the first two, it could purely be for revenge. Rumpel is angry the Queen sealed him away, so he gives her family a taste of what happens when you take magical beings for personal gain.
However, kidnapping the Baron could be something different. The Red Queen clearly doesn’t care about the Baron, in fact seeing her as an obstacle. The Baron could be resisting the Queen’s ways. Maybe Rumpel went through a lot of trouble to kidnap the Baron with the hopes of gaining information and possibly working together to stop the Queen.
Last time I theorized that the Baron simply didn’t like being royalty. But if the Baron resisted the Queen’s ways, that could be a reason for why she’s not royalty anymore. Maybe the Queen disowned the Baron, simply for resisting conquest. Maybe the King and the Prince of Fairytale started fearing the Queen because of such events.
What does the future hold for Fairytale Island?
With all this new info, it seems possible Fairytale Island is connected to Astro-Knights in one way or another. I theorize that as the last of the Astro Knights, the player heads to the seven systems to assist the planets in fighting back against the Queen, with potential assistance from the Baron and Rumpel. We might even get more references to this classic island… anyway, if there’s another fight in space, I’m all up for it.
When I first started playing Poptropica, the Baron was only an antagonistic character that appeared once on Monkey Wrench and was never seen again. It makes me happy to see characters like her get more of a spotlight. For now, we can only sit back, relax, and prepare for whatever the Pop Creators are up to next…
Hope you enjoyed this guest post by HeartofEnder. If you did, you might also enjoy her fanfiction series, The Witch’s Heart.
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!
We open on a wide shot displaying Erewhon Prison. It’s a rare non-stormy day, where bits of sunlight can actually be seen through the fog. The island is in perpetual shadow, but you can just barely tell it’s afternoon.
CUT TO inside the prison, on the first floor near the doors. Only a couple guards are stationed there, one sleeping and the other playing a game of solitaire on a work computer.
The camera heads to the elevator, then speeds up the building. We at last arrive at Floor 13, where a guard is leading DR. HARE into the medical and testing side. The doors to JUPITER’S strange machinery remain closed and locked.
Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by HeartofEnder. Enjoy!
Heart here, with a slightly impulsive guest post written shortly after Baronstiltskin’s takeover. With all the new lore, I decided to write up this Popspiracy (Poptropica conspiracy) about the Baron’s potential backstory. Remember: None of this is canon to Poptropica (yet?), so take this with the tiniest grain of salt.
Early Life
The Baron was born on Fairytale Island as a member of the royal family. This was confirmed in the latest Baron visit but has been theorized for a long time. At some point either before or after Baron was born, Rumpel was causing trouble for Poptropica, playing with the world around him. This annoyed the Red Queen, so she locked Rumpel away.
The Baron didn’t like the whole being part of the royal family thing, so at some point she ran away or announced her departure. Either way, the Royal family seemed fine with that, since we never see them trying to get their daughter back. They likely still have some sort of connection, considering that Thanksgiving picture we saw.
Relationship with Amelia
So the Baron left the royal family, now what? They turned their attention to the thing they loved the most: legends! Were they real or not? Only one way to find out, and that’s to go on an adventure!
The Baron started adventuring, eventually stopping at an island in danger. There she met Amelia and together they saved the island, becoming friends.
Now what caused their friendship to become sour? Those who played Monkey Wrench Island would know the serious measures she took to come first place in the race. Perhaps before, Amelia and Baron had a friendly race. Amelia won, which angered the Baron so much that she ended their friendship —throwing a literal wrench in Amelia’s plane as revenge for the event that ended their friendship.
Post-Monkey Wrench
After the events of Monkey Wrench, the Baron likely crash landed on the same island we did, or landed in the sea and washed up on the island’s shores — we won’t question things too much here.
Here, the Baron met Ack and decided to adopt the monkey as her sidekick. While stranded on Monkey Wrench, she did some thinking. Taking revenge on Amelia was not a good idea, so what now? Sure, adventuring brought her money, but were there other options?
And then it hit her. The Baron could make easy money by looting faraway islands of their stuff, and selling them to dedicated adventurers: the players! But first she needed to get off the island.
The monkeys on Monkey Wrench Island were smart enough to plan and build the Poptropica blimp, so together with Ack, they worked to build the Baron an airship.
And so, the Baron began her monthly pop-up shop on Home Island to sell her findings to the players. Soon she was offering to let players assist her on her treasure hunts with The Baron’s Crusade.
With various developments surrouding the Baron and Rumpelstiltskin of Fairytale Island since then — including Rumpel’s Challenge ending on a cliffhanger, the side-quest becoming available for all, the shenanigans with the Baron’s Rumpel obsession, going missing, and now returning as Baronstiltskin — it sure seems like Poptropica might finally tie up the loose ends of Fairytale Island.
I hope you enjoy this little theory of putting pieces together! I couldn’t stop thinking about the new lore we got, so here we are. Love how lore adds so much depth to a virtual world — it’s my favorite thing in games.
Last thing: Chapter 6 of Storm’s Calamity, my Poptropica fanfic series, is now available on Tumblr and Quotev.
Heart out!
Hope you enjoyed this guest post by HeartofEnder. If you did, you might also enjoy her fanfiction series, The Witch’s Heart.
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!
Hello once again everyone! Spotted Dragon here bringing you the September recap for Community Creations. September’s theme was Survival, so be sure to check out all the featured artists!
How to Survive Off Path in the Dark Woods of Fairytale Islandby Dizzy Feather (Little Pear)
To kick things off, we have a super unique submission! It presents a mixture of art and literature, which really brings the handbook-style short story to life. There is a lot of creative lore included that shows great attention to detail and imagination, expanding on what Fairytale Island (not Survival Island, but still clearly survival themed!) already gives us. Love the layout! Find her in the comments and on the PHC Discord.
Survival by Megan123456
Taking a step away from sepia, this submission has such beautiful, bright colors! It makes for quite the eye-catching scene and creates wonderful atmosphere in the environment. This is especially reinforced with the snow and flame texture. The effect also interestingly contrasts the freezing cold of the forest with the intense warmth of the fire, which is definitely reminiscent of Survival Island. Find her in the comments and on the PHC Discord.
Survivor Island – The Greatest Game by krazytalez
Here we have another bit of sequential work, this one featuring Silly Chicken’s time on Survival Island. An adventure—with both the excitement and the fear—I’m sure all of our Poptropicans remember! I enjoy seeing these little snapshots into different parts of the episodic quest in this format. The night vision adds an especially cool effect! Find their Instagram here, where you can find more from this comic series.
Survival Island by Doubletheblame
Another great snapshot of Survival Island, this design really captures that feeling of uncertainty when experiencing the story. There is a simultaneous atmosphere of total isolation and constant sense of being watched. It’s especially intriguing to see Myron’s point of view in this side-by-side! The layout of the camera and the reverse shot of the villain comes across as quite cinematic. Find her DeviantArt here.
Myron Animation by tillymeowjings-arsb
Though sans-mustache, this reanimation of an earlier post shows great personality—and amazing artistic growth! Lip-syncing is a challenging skill to master on top of drawing in general. And this short little video came out so smooth! I really enjoy the style of the character and the adorable facial expressions, all paired so some fantastic audio. Find her Tumblr here.
Honorable Mentions
This is Fine by HeartofEnderStaredown by PegakidWarming Up by PegakidFamily by Sleepy BikerMyron Van Buren by eli.wout
Looks like we not only survived this month but thrived this month, guys. 💪 These creations were to die for, as always!
October: How Do I Participate?
Community Creations is a cool series for anyone in the Poptropica community to join in on. To sum up what it’s about, it’s basically a chance to show off your artwork, creepy fan-fics, Pop clubhouses, costumes, and anything else that pops into your mind.
If we really like the piece you submit, we will feature it here on the PHB! As long as it relates to that month’s theme. So what is October’s theme? October’s theme is…
💙💎😢 Feeling Blue! 😢💎💙
According to the Pop Creators, Poptropica isn’t just blue… it’s cerulean. But hey, there are plenty of cool shades of blue out there, so why stick to just the one? Still, I hope all the other colors aren’t green with envy.
For this set of creations, anything blue goes. That means the color and the feeling! If you draw me a picture, I wanna see everything from cobalt to navy, to sky and baby! If you write me a short story, I better feel all the feels and start tearing up by the end.
Though I exaggerate a bit, you get the idea. Think about all your favorite Poptropicans with blue outfits, or all your favorite blue background art. Think about the saddest moments from each island, and all that blue ocean our characters have to traverse. And be sure to keep an eye out for our annual Halloween Costume Contest this month as well!
Submit: Comment below with a link to whatever you’ve created, email it to the PHB team on our Contact page, OR share it with me (SydVC aka Spotted Dragon) on DeviantArt, Twitter, Tumblr, or Discord.
Results: Next month, I will feature 5 submissions that stood out to me the most as well as some honorable mentions.
Limitations: Just make sure you relate to both the theme and Poptropica (and nothing NSFW or otherwise inappropriate).
Due Date: I will take any entries before the end of this month. Submit as many things as you’d like!
I will be sure to let you know I have seen your creation. While quality counts, I’m mainly looking for something to simply catch my eye, so don’t be afraid to join in!
So what are you waiting for? Go make something awesome!
🏝 Poptropica Help Blog 🗺 