Issue #14: March 2014

Issue #14
Date: March 8th, 2014

★The Poptropican’s 911★

For all your Poptropica emergencies!

Welcome to the Poptropica Help Blog’s fourteenth issue of the Poptropican’s 911! Starting from this issue, along with entries people have sent in, we’ll also be handpicking some creative works to feature, marked by a ★ beside the title (this will replace the Viewer’s Showcase). As always: enjoy!

–

Ask PHB

We’ve selected a few Poptropica-related questions from our e-mail inbox this month to answer… and here’s what we’ve got.

Whenever I log in and click on the continue game button, it opens, but the screen is black. Not the whole screen, just the part where you play. I was currently on Poptropolis Games 2013 island. I had to restart, but never saved after I closed the window. Does my problem have anything to do with this? Thanks! ~Shy Seagull

The new sound-updated islands (such as Poptropolis) have been sort of glitchy, but it may help to play on a different web browser or computer. You can also contact Poptropica (via the contact link on their homepage) and let them know about your issue so they can try to fix it. Be sure to let them know which web browser you’re using, and make sure your browser is updated to its latest version.

I am having a difficult time with the last part of Counterfeit Island. I am not able to defeat the Black Widow. What should I do? ~Melony

Basically for the last part, there are two things you need to do in the fight with the Black Widow, so just alternate these actions until you’re done. First, when she’s throwing the art down, do the best you can to block each one. After a while she’ll pause to get angry – make use of this pause time to crank the machine and pull the guy up. When she goes back to throwing art, focus just on saving it, and only go back to crank the machine when she stops to get angry again. Keep doing this a few times and you’ll make it to the top!

I logged into Poptropica and then there was no Pop Quiz on the homepage! When will I get Pop Quizzes to answer again? ~Cuddly Knuckle

This could mean that you have run out of Pop Quizzes to do, or that you’ve already answered your question for today. If you haven’t been getting new questions for several days or more, it’s probably the former. Hopefully the Creators will come up with more questions soon!

—

Stories

What’s going on in the fictional fan-created universes of Poptropica?

Poptropica Universe, Episode 5 (Chair or Table!): by Tough Spider & Fearless Fox

(continued from the previous issue of The Poptropican’s 911!)

“REALLY!?” shouted Tough Icicle. “Where is my sister? WHERE IS MY SISTER?!”

Incredible Carrot grinned mysteriously. “Do we have a deal then?” she asked.

“Well,” I said before Tough Icicle could respond, “we don’t really trust you yet. If we knew that you actually knew where she was, then we’d do it, but because we don’t, nope.”

“Oh, it’s safe. Just a chair or table there. No traps,” she said.

That was a weird answer. What did she say?

Tough Icicle glared at me. “Wait,” he said to Incredible Carrot, “our entire group as a whole needs to talk this over.”

“Sure,” Incredible Carrot said. “Take your time.”

Tough Icicle pulled me over into a small little empty building on Main Street. The rest of the group stood guard over Incredible Carrot.

“What are you doing?!” he scream-whispered at me. His face was as red as a tomato. “We’re talking about a Poptropican here! The whole reason we’re going on this hunt is for my sister!

“What about Incredible Carrot?”

“No one cares about Nintendo Friend! Even if we let her go, a cop is going to catch her again!”

“It’s a criminal!”

“It’s my sister, who might be getting killed!” he screamed. Everyone in our group turned their heads towards us and peeked through the little window.

He moved away from the window so our friends couldn’t see us. He beckoned me to follow. I followed.

“Listen,” he said very quietly. “If you don’t do it, I’ll… I’ll…”

He reluctantly pulled out a sword, and I gasped and jumped back. “Don’t you dare!” I said just loud enough for him to hear me.

But instead of him doing what I expected him to do next, he did something even worse.

I expected him to threaten me.

But that’s not what he did.

He raised the sword not above my head, but above his own.

“…I’ll kill myself,” he finished.

There was a long pause. Someone started tapping on the window in the other room.

“Your sister means that much to you?” I asked.

“Of course!” he said, putting the sword away. “She’s part of my family. Family is the most important part of someone. If anyone in your family dies, everything changes.”

“I’ve made up my mind then,” I said. “We’re following Incredible Carrot.”

“That’s enough now!” someone said behind me. I whirled around. It was Fearless Fox. To my surprise, he had tears streaming down his eyes.

“How long have you been listening in?” I asked angrily. “This is supposed to be private! And why are you crying? Tough Icicle isn’t going to kill himself.”

“That’s not it, and how I feel can be private too! Just leave me alone!” he ran out, still crying.

We followed him out. He had joined the group back up. Everyone seemed confused, even Incredible Carrot had a confused look on her face.

“So, do we have a deal or not?” she asked.

“NO, NO, IT’S A TRAP!” my head was screaming at me, but I didn’t have a choice. If I said no, Tough Icicle would kill himself, but if I said yes, then we might have a chance of rescuing Slippery Icicle. Or we might have a chance of getting killed ourselves. How fun.

“Yes, we do,” I answered, in spite of myself.

“Excellent,” she said. “Follow me.”

We followed Incredible Carrot as she walked left. She stopped at the abandoned Living Quarters. She used a key and a steam battery to get inside. She lifted a floor tile and a large staircase formed. She motioned us to go forward. I clenched my sword in my hand. I walked down the dark staircase; my heart pounding.

After a few minutes, I turned around. Everyone else was still behind me, except for Spotted Dragon, who, for all I knew, was still on Super Power, staring at that meteor.

After what seemed like ages of walking, the staircase started to get brighter. Finally we stepped out of the tiny passage into a huge open room. There were no chairs or tables, despite what Incredible Carrot had said. There was lava everywhere, but that wasn’t the main attraction. In the middle of the huge room there was a large metal cage with Slippery Icicle in it!

“Slippery Icicle!” we all screamed simultaneously as we ran towards her, being very careful to dodge the small pools of lava.

We all reached her about at the same time. There was a wave of despair and disappointment when we saw that there wasn’t even a door with a lock on the cage. Besides destroying the seemingly indestructible iron bars, there was no way for her to escape.

We asked Slippery Icicle a trillion questions at once. “Are you okay?” “What happened?” “Who kidnapped you?” “How’d you get here?” “Where are we?” just to name a few.

Slippery Icicle seemed very relieved. She told us to calm down and started answering our questions.

“I really don’t know what happened. I have no idea where we are. I have no idea how we got here and I have no idea who kidnapped me.”

“I DID!” someone behind us screamed. A loud slam was heard as the door we came in was slammed shut.

Oh boy, I was right. It was a trap. But who set the trap totally surprised me.

It was Ms. Warless Elfo, from OWL.

“Ms. Warless Elfo?” Silver Wolf said in disbelief. “What? Why?”

“First of all,” Warless Elfo said, “Warless Elfo isn’t my real name. My real name is Fearless Owl. Warless Elfo is an anagram. I love anagrams! Some of my favorites are ‘Dormitory = Dirty room’ and ‘Funeral = Real fun.’ But anyway, that’s beside the point.

“Not only is Owl my name, but it’s also an acronym. It stands for Other World League, and it’s the official name of our organization.

“You see, our true goal isn’t to get people excited about space again. At first, we were looking for a second planet that Poptropicans could survive on. There is too much kindness and good in this world, and we plan to start over. We’re slowly destroying islands one by one until everyone completely panics. Then we’re going to reveal that we’ve been destroying Planet Poptropica so we can sell tickets to people at insanely high prices to go to this second planet. After a while, we’ll completely destroy Planet Poptropica and everyone who couldn’t or didn’t want to pay will get killed. Those who do pay will be forced to follow me for the rest of their life, which will eliminate all good in this world!”

“That’s… that’s… that’s horrible!” Tough Spider said bravely.

Fearless Owl glared at him before continuing with her speech. “We’re also responsible for that meteorite. You see, Incredible Carrot, or Pop Koopa as she likes to be called, paid me a million credits to join OWL. As a reward for the generous donation, I decided to help her out. We sent a radioactive meteorite to the jail where I expected her to be locked up. Our plan was a huge success. The jail was completely destroyed, and the radiation gave Pop Koopa super powers! Pop Koopa, can you please demonstrate?”

Incredible Carrot nodded. She walked up behind Tough Spider and punched him in the back. To our horror, he flew across the room and screamed in pain as he landed in a pool of lava.

“Tough Spider!” we screamed.

“That’s what you get for going against OWL,” Fearless Owl said. “Now shut up, or you guys will join him!”

“But why did you capture me, out of all people?” Slippery Icicle said.

“Because you doubted OWL, just like your friend did. You gave that long speech about how horrible we were, and if you had gotten your message across, then we wouldn’t be able to exist, let alone have any power.”

“But then-” Slippery Icicle tried to continue.

“SILENCE!” Fearless Owl shrieked. “Unless you want to join your friend in that lava!”

I looked around at my friends. Everyone was petrified in fear, except Fearless Fox who seemed both grievous and enraged.

“Anyway,” she continued, “you’re probably wondering why I told you this. You’re trapped in here forever. The only entrance is locked, but don’t worry, I’ll entertain you! As soon as I leave this room, the lava levels are going to start to rise. They’re not going to stop until they reach the ceiling, and in the process, kill you guys.” she laughed a horrible laugh.

“I think that’s everything, then!” she finished. “Pop Koopa, teleport us away!”

Incredible Carrot nodded and laughed. “Have fun, guys!” she said. She snapped her fingers as she and Fearless Owl vanished.

The lava slowly started to creep up.

“There’s gotta be a way out!” Silver Wolf screamed.

“You’re lucky you can move to higher ground!” Slippery Icicle screamed.

I was wondering about that chair or table thing, hoping it would be some kind of password to get us out.

My heart sank when it hit me.

It was an anagram, just like Warless Elfo.

Chair or table = A horrible act.

Yep, this was definitely a chair or table.

Poptropica Universe, Episode 6 (Plus One, Minus One): by Tough Spider & Fearless Fox

Well, what happened next was all a whirl, but this is what I think happened.

“Don’t worry!” I said to Slippery Icicle, “I’ll get you out of there!”

I looked round and noticed Tough Spider’s Legendary Sword, lying near the edge where he had fallen off. I ran to the edge and looked over, but I couldn’t see Tough Spider anywhere. I grabbed the sword and focused.

“Lets heat things up in here!” I shouted.

Nothing happened.

I tried again. I focused so hard that my head started to hurt.

“Let’s heat things up in here!” I screamed.

The sword glowed bright red before suddenly exploding. There was smoke everywhere, and we couldn’t see anything. The sword disappeared.

After a bit of wandering around in the smoke, the smoke itself burst into flame. I screamed. It felt like I was in a oven, burning, trying to bear super high temperatures. Then the sword appeared out of nowhere and floated down to me. It was on fire, which confused me for a few seconds until I figured out exactly what I had to do next. I launched forward, thrusting the sword upwards into the air. I brought it down onto the cage Slippery Icicle was in. The result couldn’t have been more perfect. The sword exploded again, and I could hear the cage bars breaking. Another explosion followed as if it was answering the earlier one, and I got thrown into the air like a rag doll and hit the floor. The sword flew over the edge into the lava.

“Take your sword, Tough Spider!” I screamed.

“Are you alright!?” shouted Silver Wolf, as she rushed over.

“I’m fine.” I said. I could hardly speak.

“Slippery Icicle!” shouted Tough Icicle. “Are you okay?”.

“Yep,” said Slippery Icicle, “But what are we going to do about the lava!?”.

We looked down, terrified to see that the lava was nearly up to us.

“We got to get out of here!” shouted Tough Icicle.

Just then, the door opened and Spotted Dragon emerged. She nearly fell into the lava, but she caught her balance at the last second.

“What on earth is going on?” she said.

“Just save us! The lava keeps rising!” Fearless Fox screamed.

“It’s magma,” she replied, “because it hasn’t erupted onto the earth’s surface. If it ha-”

“WE DON’T CARE!” I yelled. “Science isn’t as important as a life or death situation!”

“Well,” Spotted Dragon said, a bit hurt, “I don’t know what I can do for you. I don’t have any way for you guys to get up here.”

“So you’re telling us that we’re gonna die?” I squeaked.

“Does anyone have a rope?” she asked. “Or something similar to a rope?”

No one answered.

“A ladder? A bunch of shoelaces? A grappling bowtie? Anyone?” she asked. Tears were in her eyes. She obviously thought this was the end. Deep down inside, I did too, but I refused to believe it.

“How did you guys even get here?” she asked. “Why on earth was there a huge pool of magma underneath the living quarters?”

“OWL,” Silver Wolf replied, and she told Spotted Dragon the whole story.

When she finished, Spotted Dragon was screaming “Curse you, Fearless Owl!” and the lava or magma or whatever was inches away from us. We probably had another two minutes or so.

“We’re dead!” I wailed.

All of a sudden, we were saved.

An enormous wave of water appeared out of nowhere. The only problem was that I couldn’t swim!

“SAVE ME!” I screamed. I cringed as the water hit me.

But the water seemed to be, well, helpful, as if it had a mind of its own and was determined to help out. It was cool and refreshing, and it brought us right through the door that Spotted Dragon was holding open.

Once we had all gotten through the door, the water receded behind us. There was absolutely no trace of its existence. More magma started to bubble back up, but that wasn’t a problem anymore.

“What… what… what happened?” Tough Icicle asked, dazed, “was I hallucinating?”

“No,” said Silver Wolf. “That water saved me too. It saved all of us.”

“But how did it get there? Was it sheer luck?” Spotted Dragon asked.

I knew how it had gotten there. I looked over at the pool of magma that Tough Spider had fallen into. It was still bubbling.

Everyone followed my gaze and understood.

“Well,” said Fearless Fox after a long pause. “We should get out of here before Fearless Owl,” (he shook his fist at the mention of her name), “traps us again!”

“But what about Tough Spider?” Slippery Icicle asked.

“There’s really nothing we can do…” said Silver Wolf sadly. “Hopefully his sword will keep him from…” she trailed off.

“We better go back to the Icicles’ house.” said Spotted Dragon.

We all nodded in consent and started walking up the stairs.

As we walked up the first few stairs, I looked back. There was still no sign of Tough Spider.

Things were going to be different without him and his sword to save us.

Poptropica Universe, Episode 7 (An Unnecessary Purchase): by Tough Spider & Fearless Fox

After years of walking, we made it to the top of the staircase. We were all way too tired to talk, and as soon as we reached the top, we collapsed onto the ground.

After a few minutes of trying to catch our breath, we could talk again.

“Well,” Fearless Fox said, “it looks like we have to rescue Tough Spider now. But how are we going to get him out of that lava?”

“Magma,” said Spotted Dragon, “and I know that Sticky Clown has fire resistant suits in his store. We can probably use those to swim in the magma!”

We all piled into the blimp and headed for Zomberry Island. I didn’t feel too good about swimming in lava. I can’t swim in water, let alone lava…

When we arrived, Sticky Clown greeted us happily. Spotted Dragon pestered him with scientific questions about the fire resistant suits as she tried to figure out if one could swim with them. Eventually she decided that it was possible to swim with them and we bought six.

I put mine on as soon as I got it. It was really thick, almost like the space suit they made me put on on Lunar Colony when I went to the moon. That suit was so uncomfortable, it’s probably what made that guy whose place I took sick.

“What do you think?” Silver Wolf asked me.

“No,” I replied. “It’s too thick and uncomfortable.”

“Well,” Spotted Dragon said, “it’s the only thing that can protect you from fire and lava and magma.”

“I can’t swim, guys. I’m not doing this. We don’t need six people swimming around in that tiny pool of lava. We only need one or two!”

“Then maybe you should have told us that BEFORE we bought them,” Fearless Fox grumbled.

Sticky Clown had a huge smile on his face. “No one ever buys those!” he said. “You guys are the first ones to ever buy those! Thanks for not making my decision to sell those things stupid!”

“Whatever,” Tough Icicle said. “Let’s go back and get Tough Spider. We don’t have all day!”

He was right. We had spent a bit of time in the store. I hope it wasn’t too late…

We rushed out of the store and steered the blimp back to Steamworks. I was enjoying the view when suddenly I heard Slippery Icicle scream.

We all looked around. Slippery Icicle had fallen out of the blimp!

“Slippery Icicle!” Tough Icicle shouted, jumping out of the blimp after her. They became small dots. We heard a little splash.

“Quick! We have to steer the blimp down to them!” Fearless Fox shouted, taking control of the blimp. “Let the rope down!”

Silver Wolf let down the rope, “Grab on!” she shouted. The two Icicles came climbing up the rope, and Fearless Fox quickly steered towards Steamworks Island.

“Are you two okay?” Spotted Dragon asked. She walked over and checked on both of them before deciding that they were both unharmed.

“Sorry to cause any trouble,” said Slippery Icicle.

“It’s all fine.” I said, reassuring her.

We hopped off the blip the second we got to Steamworks. We raced over to the living quarters. The tile hiding the base had already been lifted up.

“That’s strange…” Silver Wolf said, “I could have sworn I closed it on our way back out…”

None of us knew if this was good news or bad news.

We raced down the years of stairs and you’ll never believe what we saw.

All of the lava had cooled and hardened. If Tough Spider had been in the magma when that happened, he would have been trapped forever.

BUT HE WAS STANDING RIGHT IN FRONT OF US!

“TOUGH SPIDER!” I screamed and ran towards him.

He turned towards me. “Hmmm?” he asked. “What do you want?”

That was a strange thing for someone who was almost killed by hardening magma to say.

“How did you get out?” I asked.

“By getting out,” he replied coldly.

“Well,” Spotted Dragon said, “We’d better get going then.”

“No,” he replied. “I’m staying here.”

“What?” Tough Icicle asked. “Why?

There was a pause. Then he spoke. I still remember the exact words that came out of his mouth.

“I’m working for OWL now.”

He had a horrible, twisted grin on his face.

The Chronicles of Sleepy Feather (Prologue): by Sleepy Feather

(check out the rest of the story over on Adventure Time Pop!)

The two children, dressed in Halloween costumes that made them look like pumpkins (along with matching trick-or-treat candy holders), surveyed the flyer for the so-called ‘Monster Carnival’. They seemed to be arguing about something, something that seemed rather important to them by their use of extreme body language and expressions.

“Come on, Crazy Tiger! We have to go and see the Monster Carnival today!” the girl with dark hair and a straight posture said heatedly, her hands moving haphazardly as she took a step backwards and ran into a lamppost. Nine-year-old Silver Feather sighed as she tried to persuade her friend Crazy Tiger to go with her to the ‘Monster’ carnival on the newly discovered Monster Carnival Island.

“I don’t know about you, Silver, but my parents will care if I get back from a carnival after midnight. It took them so much persuasion to get me to even leave Cryptids Island!” the girl’s friend, a short but round boy with shockingly bleached-blonde hair.

“Crazy! Please?” Silver begged. Crazy sighed in defeat and nodded, as though it was taking a lot of effort. Silver smiled and lead the way to the Monster Carnival.

*

The man hidden by a bandanna around his face swished his long cloak behind him as he approached the nine-year olds. He rubbed his gloved hands together as he passed them his hand to shake. “Welcome,” he drawled in an accent, “to the Monster Carnival. I am…” he paused here for dramatic effect, “…The Ringmaster.”

Silver Feather shivered against her will at the creepiness of this man as she followed him into the big top.  She did not see anything that made it look like a carnival, except something big covered by a cloth. She sat down with Crazy on a pile of dust. “What’s this?” she asked, not really wanting to hear the answer.

“Oh, just the bones of someone who came here earlier,” The Ringmaster said in an eerie tone. Is this his idea of a joke? Silver thought. He must have a pretty twisted sense of humor. But her gut feeling told her that she was wrong. The Ringmaster was in the ring soon. “Ladies and gentlepoptropicans, behold: THE MONSTER GIRL!” He pulled the cloth off and revealed a most hideous creature, half-Poptropican, half…monster. Silver resisted the urge to scream. Crazy did not refrain.

“And you are next!” he yelled, coming closer and closer and gripping their wrists. This time Silver cried out, but the Ringmaster paid no attention for her shrieks. “You know, you remind me of a girl I knew once…pathetic, useless and screaming when the going gets tough. Weak.” He pulled the two children deeper and deeper into the room, ignoring their loud shrieks.

★The Tale of Two Icicles: (Episode 1: Slippery Icicle) by Cuddly Lion

(check out the rest of the story over on Top Pop!)

The name’s Slippery Icicle, but I just go by Slip. I’m a 12 year old girl, and a horrible storyteller. Oh, I’m sorry, did that sound too negative? Let me add on some sunshine and rainbows for you! Um, and I get sarcastic when I’m nervous. So where to start, where to start. I guess here…

“B.F!” I yelled, pounding on his door, my towel hastily wrapped around me. “What?” he shouted back from the other side of his door. I threw the door open. “Did you put all those dead bugs in my shampoo again?” I demanded. “No. The Hair Fairy did,” he said, rolling his eyes. I went into my room and changed, then I jumped my brother. A girl can’t stay like that very long. Unfortunately, it was pretty hard to throttle him when he had no neck. He shoved me off and massaged the base of his head (which was really pointless, maybe he was trying to make up for his lack of neck). I finally got a good, long look at him as he eyed me warily.

Barefoot (he prefers B.F, but who cares) is my older brother. He’s fifteen and a half and he reeks of aftershave. I grabbed his phone and flipped it open. Of course. 13 texts from his girlfriend, Happy Fish. He swiped the phone away. “Give that back!” he said, his face turning red. I was about to prank call Happy saying it was from him, when my parents called up the stairs. “Kids! Dinner’s ready!” They said.

I sighed. They got in the middle of some pretty good arguments between us sometimes and then I lost my phone for a week and he got off scot-free. “Race you down the stairs!” B.F yelled. He didn’t even take them, just slid down the stair rail. Figures. By the time I got down, he was already wolfing down his steak. “Kids,” said my dad, Sticky Icicle. He’s a tough looking guy, with sunglasses and a pointed beard. “We have a surprise for you.” my mom, Cuddly Icicle, chimed in. “We’re going to the beach!” B.F was so surprised, he spewed out all of his steak on the table. Nasty. I couldn’t help laughing, or at least not until Dad shot me a dirty look. That shut me up.

“Remember last time? Have you lost your minds?” he demanded. Ah…yes. Last time. The only beach is on Shark Tooth, and we went there 6 years ago. B.F had gone swimming and lost his leg to Booga, so he had replaced his leg with a peg leg. That’s probably why Happy started dating him- because she thought he looked like a “warrior.” So, obviously, he was terrified of the place. “It’s alright, son,” said Dad. “I heard they got the shark thing under control. I forget his name…” He looked at my mother for support.

“Cuddly Lion,” she offered. “Thirty-seven island completer.” I sighed. That guy was all over the news. Lion this, Lion that, who cares. B.F likes to tease me and say that I like him, but I think he’s really just a normal guy. B.F still looked hesitant. “Are you sure?” he asked Mom. “Positive,” she replied. My brother relaxed. “Fine.” Mom squealed. “Oh, sweetie! We’re going to have so much fun! We rented a beach house on Hammerhead’s island, nice and private-” “-so no one will be able to hear us scream for help as we get eaten alive by a shark,” B.F interrupted.

I smiled. That’s my brother. Existing just for argument’s sake. My mom gave him a look and continued “-and we have a flight from Golden Blimp Services, Inc.” That got my attention. I loved riding Golden Blimp blimps. Trust me, it’s not the flying part I love. Air travel makes me sick. Nah, there’s this really cute boy who runs the wheel, and he’s only thirteen-not much older than me! I keep on trying to make my move on him, but Barefoot keeps getting in the way. He’s read all three of my diaries four times, and if he loved to read books as much as he loved to read my secrets, he would be on honor roll. But he’s not. The point is, B.F knows I like him, and he keeps on trying to ruin things for me. But this time would be different. I could feel it in my gut.

Unfortunately, my gut was right-this time would be different. But not in the way I had hoped.

★Nevermore (Monster Carnival Fanfiction) – Preview: by Brave Tomato

(A fan-made account of Ringmaster Raven’s backstory, plus an awesome cover image… stay tuned for the full story on BT’s deviantArt!)

“It’s here, it’s here!”

“Can we go, Mom?”

“Please?”

“I’ll do all my chores, Dad! Please?”

The triumphant sounds of the children cheering echoed throughout the town. In the little town of Sanguenera, there were not that many special occasions the whole town celebrated. Sure, there were the holidays- the colorful lights of Christmastime and the aroma of candy teeming through the air in Halloween were always a pleasure. In actuality, the big event of that year of 1936 was the carnival that decided to visit Sanguenera that July.

The clamber and clatter of innocent footsteps ran and walked down the dirt road and towards the edge of town, where the carnival is being held. Circus music echoed in the air and laughter was abounded. People of all ages went about the carnival. The kiddies enjoyed the carousel and the carnival games that were set up in the fair. The teenagers preferred the Haunted Lab, even though not all of them are that brave. Couples paired up to go on the tunnel of love, and some of their lovey-dovey attitudes brought dismay to the ride operator who had to constantly spoil the romance to remind them of the rules. And the whole family enjoyed the ferris wheel, taking them up into the skies with such a gentle motion that makes those who enjoy the height more appreciative of the view.

However, the centerpiece of the carnival was an extravagant red and yellow big top, a triangular flag at each of its posts. Besides the ferris wheel, it is one of the first attractions that catches the eye. The music was especially prominent there and it continued to swell throughout the carnival.

Right nearby the big top was a small carnival game. “Dunk the Bird Boy” was painted in light blue over it. A small water tank was set up and next to it a target. And there on the seat connected to the target was a young boy. The whites of his eyes were pitch-black and the pupils were white, with a purple iris separating it. He had dark skin with sopping wet black hair- and feathers. His nose was long and pointed as if it were a beak. His soaked small black-feathered wings drooped down a little as he sat there, waiting for the next normal to dunk him in again.

He looked up at the myriad of people roaming the carnival. A cunning teenager looked at him and paid the game operator a dime. The carnie gave the teenager a  bucket of three baseballs. The teen looked up at the Bird Boy again and then aimed at the target. Upon throwing, the ball flung across the grass, yet missed the target, hitting the wall with a loud thump. The Bird Boy smiled a bit. Good thing this guy is a poor shot, he thought, I get to be dry for another minute!

However, just as he thought that, the teenager threw again, very close to the target, yet missing. The bird boy flinched a little. Okay, maybe this boy isn’t as weak as he had originally thought. The teen, growing more frustrated aimed the baseball again right at the target, then threw again.

The baseball hit the target with a clang and the seat under the bird boy collapsed, him falling into the water. Once again, it was freezing cold, but at this point, he was getting used to it. He broke through the surface of the water, gasping for air. Times like this make him wish he’d be gone out of this carnival, but he has to stay because this carnival is the only home he has. The carnie gave the teenager a stuffed teddy bear and the prideful teen walked off with the stuffed animal and gave it to a young teenage girl, likely his girlfriend. Bird Boy saw the fair girl smile with her peachy lips and mouth the words “Thank You” to her boyfriend. He continued looking out into the crowd as he climbed back onto the seat, waiting for the next person to dunk him again.

The bright sun began to set, turning the azure sky yellow, orange and pink overhead. The youngest children and their parents went home, while the teenagers stayed to enjoy more of the carnival. The carnie running his game looked at the Bird Boy and sighed.

“Okay, Bird Boy, you’re done for the night- the freak show is coming up, and you should get ready for it,” he said.

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Island Ideas

What sort of lands would you conjure up and visit?

Doodle Island: by HPuterpop

In this island, you would have to solve the mystery of a famous missing artist. Without her, the town is in ruin! You are helped by her son, and are led to her by a trail of doodles. These doodles can come alive, and so the journey is tough. When you finally find the artist, she takes off her disguise — it’s just a cow! And her son is a duck! Turns out you’ve been running around in her doodles all along. It all started when she got a hold of a piece of paper… 😛

Gangster vs. Zombies Island: by Cuddly Knuckle

Is this thing on? Okay. Hey everyone and I’m posting an island idea called Gangster vs. Zombies island. So in this island someone tells you that Gangster Dude (Hip Hop) from Reality TV Island is caught in a Zomberry apocalypse, and it’s your job to save him and bring all the zombies back to normal. Here’s how to complete it.

You drop down from your blimp and a police officer comes and tells you that Gangster Dude (Hip Hop) from RTV is lost in a zomberry apocalypse. You follow him to a helicopter and then you fly the helicopter around until you see Gangster Dude. Then you drop down from the helicopter and Gangster Dude runs to you and tells you that he needs you to help him get out of this apocalypse. But then some zombies come and chase you and Gangster Dude, but you run to a car and turn the car lights on. Then all the zombies walk away. Suddenly, you and Gangster Dude go into a small room and lock the door.

All of a sudden, you hear moaning and groaning. Then you finally unlock the door and all the zombies come in and grab Gangster Dude by the collar of his jacket. You try to grab his hand, but then the zombies are already gone. You exit the small room and then someone tells you that there are zombies coming to scare everyone, and he gives you a gun to turn the zombies back to normal.

You walk across the street until you see a building. You open the building door and the zombies come out and try to grab you, too. You grab your special gun and shoot the zombies back to normal. But after you shoot all the zombies, you see Gangster Dude, but he, too, turned into a zombie. You shoot him a few times until he turns back to normal. Then Gangster Dude thanks you for saving him and gives you the island medallion. Now how do you like my island idea?

Summer Camp Island: by Haley H.

It would be cool to have like a summer camp island, where you go to a summer camp, and you have to do normal summer camp stuff (ex: swim, crafts, etc…) and then there’s this kid who wants to destroy the camp because his dad wants to develop it. So you have to stop him and his dad.

Deep Freeze Island: by Giant Leopard

In the southern seas of Poptropica, lies an island too cold for scientists to explore. However a recent shift in the climate caused by global warming allows scientists to finally explore this uncharted region. Deep below the ice lies ruins and many frozen artifacts. While mining in the glacier, they uncover an underground temple/shrine and decide to take some of the artifacts for studying. However, this comes with a price. Other islands begin to experience a MAJOR shift in climate. Snow in the middle of summer! Ocean Water Frozen. It’s time to investigate. You must journey deep below the glacier and find the source of this strange climate change.

Dino Island: by Giant Leopard

In this Sequel to Time Tangled, you are off on another time based mission. You and a couple of special scientists are going back in time to study the Dinosaurs.  However, during your mission you accidently cause an event causing the meteor that wiped out dinosaurs to miss, therefore allowing dinosaurs to roam freely in present day. The majority of the island has you trying to fix your mistake and putting the dinos back where they belong.

Retro Island: by Giant Leopard

In this Adventure, a new arcade has opened up and every kid in the neighborhood is there! In the arcade, there are recognizable games such as Twisted Wizard, Thunder Volt, and many others. However, there is one new game that is very addicting. “Pop Trop & Roll” an action plat forming adventure game is so popular that parents have a hard time getting their kids away from the machine. However, after a while, Parents begin to say that their children are going missing after letting them go to the arcade by themselves. One night, when the arcade is less crowded, you decide to investigate. You actually find out that Pop Trop & Roll is actually a mysterious portal into the world of the game itself! Your mission is track down 10 missing in 10 different games with each game being a different genre.  But be warned, you never know what could lurking around each virtual corner. (Note: in some games, you have the ability to transform into and 8-bit version of your character)

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HPuterpop’s Sneak Peek: Tutorial Island

While poking around in the files of Poptropica, I happened to notice a “Home” island on the list of SUIs. I decided to investigate — perhaps it’s a start on the released for all version of Poptropica Lands?

What I did find was an island, but not for Lands — it was a tutorial island for beginners. The idea was that you had to find 8 missing “Medal Shard” pieces in order to beat the island. They call the island “Tutorial Island”, quite frankly.

Once you find all the shard pieces, you will get a “Tutorial Island” medallion!

Here’s the question: is this a planned feature for the public, or a feature for the beta testers of the island? All we know is that it’s coming soon.  –HP

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Fashion

Light blue or white mini-jackets, hipster glasses, a broomstick on one’s back and a dinosaur tail on another  – check out the crazy costumes we found in this Multiverse!

HPuterpop’s been visiting Multiverses as well, and… hey, is that the 11th Doctor?

Valentine’s Party

The PHB had a party on Valentine’s Day, and if you missed it or want to see more screenshots, check out our recap! Pink, purple, and hearts of all sizes are in season!

Electric Blue: designed by Magic Fire

Cuddly Knuckle: designed by Cuddly Knuckle

• Gray hat: from signup or randomizing
• Suit, shades, and black pants: top secret secretary (Spy Island HQ)
• Jacket, headphones, backpack, and MP3: headphones and MP3 come from Lunar Colony on Main Street, backpack may come by randomizing your character (ctrl+shift+R), and the jacket is from Cryptids Island at Loch Ness, on the man that has a submarine
• Sword: Skull Pirate costume (enter the promo code SKULLBOOK)

Lorde (singer): designed by Toaau

Black Widow (superhero – hangin’ with Hawkeye): designed by Toaau

Carnival Monster: designed by Nameless UnDEFiNed

• Hair – Woman in Black (Cryptids Island – Main Street)
• Crown w/ Blush, Bangs – Woman in Purple (Mythology Island – Herc’s Hero Hut)
• Lips – A Poptropican (Common Room)
• Shirt, Skirt – Girl in Pink (Astro-Knights Island – Ye Olde        Rumour Mille)
• Lab Coat – Scientist (Lunar Colony – PASE Mission Control)
• Skin – Light Pink
• Hair – Dark Pink

Marceline: designed by Spotted Dragon

• Hair – Vampire Girl 1 (Store)
• Bangs – Girl w/ Braid (Reality T.V. Island – Main Street)
• Mouth – Vampire (Haunted House)
• Shirt – Scientist (Lunar Colony – PASE Mission Control)
• Jacket – A Poptropican (Common Room)
• Pants – Space Loving Parents (Lunar Colony Island – Cape Carpenter)
• Skin – Blue/Grey
• Hair – Black

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Fan Art

Check out the creativity of these Poptropica fan artists!

“Proud to Be” Series: by Spotted Dragon

Check out more of SD’s “Proud to Be” series on her blog, Adventure Time Pop!

★Scary Catfish with Ringmaster Raven: by Scary Catfish

At long last, Monster Carnival is revealed… (fanart from SC’s Tumblr!)

PHB Sprites: by WMB

Sprites of PHB authors Blake and Slanted Fish, made in Pixelartor.

Where is the Bathroom? – by Big Kid

Seriously, why won’t anyone tell me where it is? (note: may need to visit external site to view)

★MegaForce Go! – Mocktropica: by Brave Tomato

A focus group. An advertiser. A cost-cutter. A safety inspector. Recipe for disaster.

★Happy Valentine’s Day: by geena926

Binary Bard seems shy about asking out his villain crush Black Widow…

Tall Turtle: by livdove2

A Poptropican self-portrait by Tall Turtle – you can add her username at “livdove2”!

Binary Bard (Boris Style): Boris V.

Binary Bard looks friendlier than usual…

Magic Fire: by K.Q (Magic Fire)

A lovely red-and-pink Poptropican self portrait!

Poptropica Google Doodle: by Funny Dolphin

Wouldn’t this look rad on the Google homepage?

Slanted Fish: by Adela V.

Fanart of Fishy’s Poptropican in human form! Thanks, Adela!

The ‘Gorey’ Fates of Past Poptropicans: by Slanted Fish

An abecedarian poem about some unfortunate Poptropicans we meet in our adventures, inspired by The Gashlycrumb Tinies by Edward Gorey.

A is for Annie and Jack, imprisoned during their stay
B is for Balloon Boy, who floated away

C is for Captain Crawfish, whose ship was destroyed
D is for Dr. Hare, betrayed by his rabbit android

E is for El Mustachio Grande, lassoed with a shove
F is for Fiona, who lost her true love

G is for Greg Heffley, for whom nothing ever goes right
H is for Holmes, reprogrammed byte by byte

I is for Ishmael, stuck underwater – how piteous
J is for Joe Stockman, fallen victim to a virus

K is for Katya, captured by a vampire
L is for the Lumberjerks, who had their plans backfire

M is for Mordred, whose green orb did fall
N is for Nessie, a creature sought out by all

O is for the Oompa Loompas, whose jobs were no piece of cake
P is for Preston Wilhelm, caught red-handed by a snake

Q is for the Queen of Arturus, whose daughter’s abduction was a mystery
R is for Romero, turned into a zombie by blueberry

S is for Silva, shrunk tinier than a puppy
T is for Tesla, framed by a French lady

U is for Uncle Silas Moon, who’d already met his end
V is for Valiant, tricked by his jealous best friend

W is for Willy Wonka, who let in kids who weren’t careful
X is for eXplorer Lewis, who lost his peace medal

Y is for the Yeti, who hides because he’s too shy
And Z is for Zeus, dethroned from the sky

Of Poptropicans riddled with disasters there are plenty,
But good thing you’re there to save the day for many!

The Shark (parody of Ylvis’s The Fox): by Cuddly Knuckle

We just had to include this! I sang the entire song, and lost my voice for the entire day. 😛

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Take a look at our main newsletter page for more information about our Poptropican’s 911 magazines and learn how you can submit an entry too! Thanks for reading! 🙂