Hey Poptropicans, this is a guest post by HeartOfEnder. Enjoy!
Welcome to a new fanfiction written by HeartOfEnder! This one is different from my previous fanfic on the PHB, The Witch’s Heart, because it takes place in a different timeline. But first, allow me to explain the inspiration behind this new fanfiction.
Last year, I wrote two Popspiracy posts regarding the Baron and their backstory, with the second part being more focused on the Red Queen and all the lore shared alongside her reveal. My original plan was to wait until the official conclusion of her story and make a follow-up post where I go over my theory and see if any of them were true, but as of writing this, the Baron’s ship hasn’t shown up since last year.
With the Pop Creators still being quiet on the current state of Poptropica, and suspicions that the game might end, I decided to do what I do best. If the Creators aren’t going to conclude the Red Queen story, then I’m going to use my powers of writing to create a fanfiction of how I think the story will end.
This is exactly what Seven Systems is about. It’s a continuation of Poptropica’s story told through the Baron’s airship visits and based on my theory about their backstory and the Red Queen’s motives.
The protagonist of Seven Systems is Tempest, who takes the role of the player in the story. She is based on myself and my main non-Poptropica OC, but more on her story and her past will be addressed in the future…
“Tempest” by HeartOfEnder
THE SEVEN SYSTEMS Part One: The Airship A Poptropica Fanfiction by HeartOfEnder/Solemn-Siren
Home Island was covered in snow, with Grapple-Pap decorations being put outside shops, homes, and in the streets. By now it was so cold that everyone walking outside was wearing heavy winter coats, beanies, and gloves. The island was covered in green, red, and most importantly, white.
On top of a gray house with a blue roof just across Adventure Outfitters, there was someone lying down on the roof, the snow falling and piling up on her body. The cold winter didn’t seem to bother her as she stared out at the horizon, as if she was waiting for something.
Two Poptropicans walked past the gray house, noticing the mysterious Poptropican on top. They muttered something before shrugging and continuing on.
The Poptropican atop the gray house remained motionless, still staring out at the horizon. The snow was beginning to form a giant white blanket on her, but she didn’t seem to care.
This is a guest post from Magic Kid sharing their My Place in Poptropica story, which is all about one’s Poptropica journey. Enjoy!
Hello there! It’s Magic Kid here. In light of recent events with membership going down, I’m going to be sharing a “My Place in Poptropica” story. (Don’t worry, I’m still working on my fanfic. 😀)
Getting Introduced to the Game
I was introduced to Poptropica in third grade by one of my friends who absolutely LOVED it. I started playing and quickly I realized why he loved it so much. Soon my other friend joined in, and then not long after, Poptropica became a big hit in our classroom!
No one (well, maybe besides my friend who completed every island) was as obsessed with Poptropica as I was. I spent an excessive amount of time playing poptropica nonstop played it on a regular basis and definitely got the right amount of sleep every night.
Tuck In: Time for a long night’s sleep.
The first island I completed (well, besides the Monkey Wrench tutorial) was 24 Carrot. It’s the island I’ve probably played the most times, and it always will have a special place in my heart. (That’s why I lay off Dr. Hare a bit when he’s being roasted for being overrated.)
An island I had a lot of fun doing in particular was Mythology, probably because I knew all the stories. I was an expert at that island, and I remember the other kids in my classroom always came to me when they were stuck on that island.
Around that time, I noticed and strongly disliked when games force-fed me knowledge and facts, but with Poptropica, I didn’t care. In fact, Poptropica actually encouraged me to try to learn more! After playing Virus Hunter, I wanted to know how viruses worked, after Time Tangled, I wanted to learn more about history, and so on. I had so much fun playing Poptropica. It was my favorite thing to do!
It seemed nothing could go wrong.
Good to Know: Poptropica is your one-stop shop for biology facts.
Things Go Wrong
Of course, things go downhill. I moved away from all my friends, and I didn’t play Poptropica as often anymore. During that time of chaos, Flash — Poptropica’s main engine for over a decade — met its end.
Play on Loop: Let’s try to keep things on track.
Monster Carnival, my favorite island, was gone, along with so many islands I loved so very much. So I played even less. My homework was no longer covered in Poptropica doodles. I only logged in once a month (if I remembered to), and that continued for many years.
Costume Contests
One day (after a few months without logging on), I opened Poptropica to see that there was a new island! I was really excited and I played it a few times soon after. Not only was there a new island, but the Baron’s ship was parked at Home Island. I went up that ladder to find out that I could design a costume and get it in the game! The spark was lit again.
I started drawing so many different types of Poptropicans, it was crazy. I did almost nothing else. To the dismay of my parents (who ban video games, and dislike computer games 🤣), I was obsessed once again!
Evil, Inc.: Three takes on one villain.
I kept submitting costume designs month after month, but nothing I made seemed to catch the Poptropica Creators’ eyes. Still, I understood because there must have been a TON of submissions to go through each month, and I was still learning to draw in Poptropica style.
Then the 12 Days of Member Gifts design contest came. I submitted my limit of ideas and waited.
Day seven (my favorite number) came, and I opened the Creators’ Blog to find that my costume, “Just Chillin'” made it in! If you look at the comments on that post, you can see that I was beyond delighted to have had that happen. It was absolute glee of the purest sort! May have been an overreaction, but what the heck, who cares?
“Just Chillin'” by Magic Kid
Discovering the PHB and the Fandom
I found the PHB through an interview on the Creators’ Blog. I started checking in once in a while, read some posts, and then started commenting, too! I saw a Community Creations post and I began entering. Since the Creators’ Blog hadn’t posted anything for a while, I retreated into the PHB. I started remembering screen names and making friends. Plus, I was becoming a better artist by the day!
I started a fanfiction: Zombies, Zombies, ALWAYS ZOMBIES! I have a lot of fun writing it (when I don’t have writer’s block). And I joined the PHC on Discord, where I have a lot of fun chatting about random theories and stuff. I love it there so much!
“The PHB team” by Magic Kid
I was really excited that there was a fandom! Normally with the stuff I’m into, the fandoms are either massive or non-existent. Finding the Poptropica fandom was a Goldilocks moment for me.
This may sound odd, but Poptropica’s been a good rock for me — a good place I could go back to after a stressful day of work, a hard time with school, and so on. I’m really grateful for this fandom and for the game. I wish the best for its future.
I hope you enjoyed hearing my “My Place In Poptropica” story. You can friend me with the username: BravestChicken. I’m also on DeviantArt and YouTube. If you’re interested, I can try to draw some Popsonas!
Thank you so much for reading, Magic Kid
Over and Out!
Hope you enjoyed this “My Place in Poptropica” story! If you did, you’ll probably enjoy our other MPIP stories here on the PHB.
If you haven’t already shared your story, we invite you to send in your own. 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!
However, the members-only side quests — Rumpel’s Challenge after Fairy Tale, and Blitz on the Fritz after Goofball — are now nowhere to be seen. But perhaps it’s a small price to pay for everything else now being accessible to all. This essentially means membership is now obsolete.
Well, almost — the clubhouse appears to be the last holdout. Non-members who pull the switch to access the multiple rooms (a members-only feature) will be greeted with the message that first popped up last week about how memberships are no longer offered.
It’s amazing to see Poptropica dropping their paywalls, but we still haven’t heard them give any sort of official statement as to why. As exciting as it is for more players to gain access to previously limited content, the lack of updates in general seems to further confirm the lack of priority being given to the game. 🫣
And the resources being diverted from Poptropica to Roblox are most evident in the profiles of the people behind them. For example, while Suit Up Games’ Managing Director, Ross Targett, was also Poptropica’s General Manager last year, this year he’s taken the Poptropica role off his LinkedIn profile entirely. Meanwhile, Poptropica’s full-time Art Director, Jon Pitcher, is also now Suit Up Games’ full-time Art Manager and Lead Animator as of August 2023, according to his LinkedIn profile.
Suit Up Games announces Nerf ExtractionJon Pitcher promoted at Suit Up Games
But hey — no more Poptropica membership. Go enjoy it while you can! 🥳 And if you want to do it in community, drop by the PHC, our Discord server for Poptropica fans ages 13+. Keep on poppin’ on!
CUT TO MOREAU and DIRECTOR D., practically wasting away in their office. They’re surrounded by a mess of papers and folders neither have bothered to clean up.
DIRECTOR D.
You’d think Jupiter would at least send in other prisoners for us to talk to while we’re still here.
MOREAU
He knows we aren’t psychologists. Besides, I don’t think he cares about the rest.
DIRECTOR D.
Yup. Did you see another volunteer come in today?
MOREAU
Hah! Another piece of canon fodder for him because the coward won’t do it himself.
DIRECTOR D.
Be a little more optimistic, Moreau. If he loses too many people he may ask us to go next.
The building suddenly shakes. Both jump from their seats.
Breaking news — and possibly even game-breaking at that: Poptropica is getting rid of paid memberships.
Players clicking around at any members-only content, such as certain store costumes and islands, are now being confronted with a pop-up that says “Membership subscriptions no longer offered.”
UPDATE: All members’ content is now free for all.Read more here!
But before you get too excited: no, the game’s members-only content has not been opened to everyone. Existing members still retain their membership status and can still access the paywalled content, such as PoptropiCon, Ep.3, while they remain closed to non-members.
On Poptropica’s website, all membership plans are now marked at $0. But this does not mean you can now snag a membership for free — on the contrary, now no one can buy a membership.
Even if you enter valid credit card details to make a purchase, the page will give an error about how the posted currency does not match the plan currency code, whatever that means. Changing the currency will result in the same error, just with a different currency listed.
As much as we’d like to share optimism for a Poptropica without paywalls, the signs aren’t exactly pointing to a bright new era. If Poptropica intends to let everyone access everything, why haven’t they done so in this move?(UPDATE: Days later, they did make everything available to all.) As usual, there is no comms around this update on any of their platforms, leaving fans to speculate.
There certainly aren’t any new member gifts this month, let alone 12 Days of Member Gifts, breaking a five-year December holiday tradition that began in 2018. The shop floor hasn’t been updated either, still swimming along with November’s aquatic-themed items. Meanwhile, Poptropica’s recent Cyber Monday merch sale has now ended.
With one less thing to manage — the monthly member gifts — and very few updates to the game in general, Poptropica seems headed for its sunset, as fans have been speculating on the PHC, our Discord server.
What are your thoughts on this no-membership business? Share with us in the comments and on the PHC!
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