This is part one of a four-part extended “My Place in Poptropica” guest post series by ShinyB1rd, which details one Poptropica hero’s journey through the years. Enjoy!
Author’s Note
Hi everyone! I’m Shiny Bird, or just Shiny for short. Before we start, just a brief introduction: I’m a longtime Poptropican, been playing since 2009, but am new to this glorious community. In real life, I am a socially awkward, music loving, hipster wannabe who loves to write, play the French horn, and listen to music.
OK. Boring talk aside. Just so nobody gets confused, I somehow thought it would be cool and innovative to alternate writing in first and third person for this four-part MPIP story. I know, it’s weird since I’m literally writing about myself, but I was desperate to get out of writer’s block and this was how I did it, so whatever, that’s that, I’ll stop talking—ENJOY.
Prelude
Once upon a time, ten years ago in a school long forgotten… There dwelled bright, young, sophisticated little children. They all lived in harmony with one another. Everyone knew each other; they were all friends, and peace was prominent in the lands.
But lurking in the shadows was a particularly strange one. He was unusually silent; someone who separated himself from the rest; someone easy to flout.
One breezy winter, the children at the school were ordered to retreat inside the building for recess. Everyone settled comfortably inside the classroom, all except one boy. The boy thought this was going to be another boring, secluded recess. But that all soon changed.
He noticed an unusual crowd of kids gathering around a computer. Curious, he went to investigate. He saw a game. An unusual one indeed. A blue screen, little people, and what seems to be quite the adventure. Above all, there lay the majestic title: Poptropica.
The boy returned home with the name engraved in his head. Poptropica. Poptropica. Poptropica. He rushed to the computer, turned it on, and did a quick Google search. Before he knew it, he was staring at a blue screen with little people running across it, and the all too familiar word: Poptropica. He clicked on “new player,” created his Poptropican, and hopped on the yellow blimp. A story had just begun… What he didn’t know was that this story would continue to be written for more than a decade.
First Impressions
Once the game loaded, the boy was confronted with a map. There seemed to be various unique quests to choose from, each presenting a new challenge. But which one should he start with? “Spy Island” sounded interesting. There was also this new island that was coming soon with a cool name: “Astro-Knights Island.” But none of that mattered after he saw something else that sounded cooler: “Super Hero Power Island.”
Upon entering the island, he soon discovered that the island was in danger of mutant escapees from a prison that somehow didn’t get obliterated (along with the entire island) after a radioactive meteorite (that’s still pretty intact) struck it. (#Poptropica logic!)
Though a stranger to the island, he soon assumed the role of a superhero and convinced the police to let him fight criminals with literal superpowers and with a totally 100% authentic “Super Hero ID” obtained from some shady dude who owned a superhero costume store. Luckily, the criminals had -10 IQ so he dealt with them with ease. The boy hacked and slashed through each one of the challenges, and saving the island felt like a breeze.
With just over 25 minutes of experience and a one-sentence-long master class from some loner retired superhero under his belt, nothing could stop him. All the prisoners were sent back to the slammer, and the island medallion was within his grasp. But then the unthinkable happened: Ned Noodlehead claimed the medallion, and he demanded a hot dog to trade it.
The boy had met his match. All these years of training finally put to the test. A final boss battle. Typical, he thought to himself. This shouldn’t take no more than a couple minutes!
5 minutes later: Ugh, where do you find a hot dog around here?
30 minutes later: Okay this is getting ridiculous.
1 hour later: WHERE IS IT OH MY FJDHFDJKSLDS–
3 hours later: *bangs head on table*
One eternity later: OkaY. I giVe uP… i suRreNDe– “Hey, want a free hot dog?–Here have a free hot dog!” says the man standing next to a hot dog stand.
At 7 years old, simply noticing a picture of a hot dog plastered on the side of a cart was hard enough for the boy who’d just had the medallion he deserved swiped by a superhero-wannabe / comic bookstore owner. Finally, overjoyed by his victory, he did some lame dance to Bill Conti’s “Gonna Fly Now.” In that moment, he felt something greater than joy: he had passion.
A Poptropican is Born
WAIT. He stopped himself before closing the game. In order to save his hard-earned progress, he realized, he had to create an account. So he clicked the “Save” button and got to thinking up a username. Favorite video game? HALO!… But that’s too simple… Hmmmm… Ah! My favorite character: The Arbiter! Oh wait, that’s taken… ummm… “Arbiter213”? Perfect!
Lo and behold, a bird is born. But ladies and gentlemen, this isn’t just any bird—nonononono you don’t understand—it’s a Shiny Bird.
For the next couple of months, Shiny Bird would spend countless hours conquering each and every island that he set afoot. He traveled through time, saved the world from going bald, defeated some weirdo carrot addict in a pink bunny suit, brought peace among the seas of Skullduggery, traveled through space in a cool spaceship—et cetera, et cetera, et cetera! Peace and order would soon be spread in all of Poptropica, thanks to this adventurer.
The End…?
Shiny walks slowly out of the ruins of a steampunk island: he had once again saved the day. In fact, he’d saved all of Poptropica!
But now, he was desolate. Flooded in dismal. His glee had worn out. He had done everything he had ever wanted to do. His destiny was fulfilled. Why continue on when you have nothing left to do?
So right then, the boy said goodbye to his little hero, logged out, and shut down the computer. Shiny Bird was set down to his final resting place. He had brought peace to Poptropica. Now it was he who would be receiving it.
For now…
Hope you enjoyed part one of this “My Place in Poptropica” story! Stay tuned for the next few parts of the Chronicles of Shiny Bird, coming soon to the PHB.
If you haven’t already, we invite you to send in your own (and they don’t have to be as long as this one!). Please include your username and a minimum of 500 words, typed with good spelling and grammar, and divided into labeled sections. If you send in your story, we will continue to post new community MPIPs!
Interested in writing for the PHB under a different Pop-topic? Take a look at our Write for the PHB page for ideas, guidelines, and more. We’d love to hear from you!
~the Poptropica Help Blog
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