Tag: online

Posted in Gaming

Online Multiplayer Websites I Wish Still Existed

Posted on by Katie Night

Hey Dearies!

I wanted to take a trip down memory lane from my childhood. You know those videos that show pictures of stuff that we used to see, especially if you grew up in the 90’s or 00’s? Well, YouTube started pulling them up, and one of the videos was about old websites that no longer exist.

It was kinda heartbreaking, but at the same time, it made me remember what it was like to go back to being a kid and logging onto these websites with no care in the world other than having fun.

Granted, I wasn’t one of those kids who was glued to the computer; my mom was pretty strict about screen time, especially when it came to the home computer that we all shared. If anything, we spent more time outside in the backyard than on the computer as kids.

There were so many websites that I loved visiting, but there were a few multiplayer ones that were my go-to’s as a kid/pre-teen. This was before Facebook was the place to go to play online games such as Farmville, which later my mom would let me have a Facebook at 13, just so I could send her stuff she needed for her farm.

Now, not all of these websites are gone, some of them had been relaunched with a new site name and owners or they are still hanging on with a thread. I will be including the new website link as well if you wanted to check it out!

So, lets go back down memory lane!

Millsberry.com

Millsberry was one of my all-time favorite websites to visit as a kid! It was simple and yet was super fun! You had a house that you could adopt pets, buy clothes, send mail to friends, visit friends houses, and play mini games that were based on your favorite cereal brands!

It was such a simple, but yet fun game to play and it sucked when it shut down. It first came out on July 2004, sadly it shut down in December of 2010.

HOWEVER, during researching this, I found out that there is a group of people that are trying to rebuild the beloved Millsberry.com! I was shocked and so excited! If it really happens, that is going to be amazing to go back and enjoy what made Millsberry.com such an amazing platform!

I’m going to leave the link here if you want to check it out: https://www.millsberry-rebirth.com/

Fantage

This was another game that not only I enjoyed, but my siblings did as well! This was one of the websites that we would literally fight over to be able to login. Between Millsberry, Club Penguin and Fantage, I would classify as more of a kid-friendly/kid-safe for online multiplayer.

There was so much you could do, visit different places, visit other players houses, become a spy, lots of mini games, and of course my all time favorite activity, the fashion show! Granted, some of the features did require a purchase of a membership, which I never had a chance to enjoy, but honestly, the only thing it did get you was upgraded hair, clothes, or stuff to decorate your home with.

Fantage was first launched in March of 2008 and lasted until July of 2018. Its crazy to think it lasted 10 years! During researching this, I did see that there was possibly a revamp of Fantage coming back, but it doesn’t look like a site or date is saying for sure if its in the works.

I think it would be so cool for this to make a return for sure!

Club Penguin

Of course, I have to talk about Club Penguin! This was another one my siblings and I fought over to log in as! It was different from the other ones as your character was a penguin that you could dress up, change the color of, and have a pet puffle that followed you around the map!

There was a lot you could do on the island! Tons of mini games to play, my favorite was the pizza making one and also becoming a ninja as well. So many places you could visit with friends and an igloo you get to decorate as well!

It was so popular that Disney even bought it! Granted, not everything was completely free; you did have to pay for a membership for the more fancier items, but there’s no surprise there. Plus they also had secret places you could go as well, I think it was more fun exploring and finding something new every corner.

Club Penguin first launched on October of 2005 and ended up shutting down on March 2017. Which is crazy to think it lasted that long, however, this isn’t completely gone away!

After researching, I found out someone did bring back Club Penguin, but its called Club Penguin Legacy and its completely free! All of the membership stuff that locked most of the items has been unlocked and if you are interested to check out a blast from the past, I have included the link below!

The link for Club Penguin Legacy: https://www.cplegacy.com/

ourWorld

ourWorld was one of those games I got into during middle school. One of my friends was so into it, that I ended up getting into it, however, I didn’t get into as bad as a lot of people used to. I can still say, I never spent a dime on that game!

It was a very unique world were you could level up and get different features that made your character look cooler. I didn’t do a lot of exploring as you needed to be leveled up to see most of the island, but I was more focused on playing the mini games, which the more you played, the more flow you got in order to level up.

Most of the mini games were really fun to play and most of my time was spent doing that. There were a few times I got a job at a cafe, but it got boring quick, plus sometimes most of the people wouldn’t want anything to do with you until you had the “cool” features or if you had a membership for it.

ourWorld launched in April 2008 and ended up shutting down in October 2021.

SmallWorlds

SmallWorlds was an online platform that I really liked, although most of the items you had to pay to be a member in order to unlock. Now, I didn’t spend as much time on this one as I did with the others, but it was different from the other online games that I used to play.

One of my favorite things was to go to school and role-play as a student. Now, I don’t really remember if they had mini games to play, but they had a lot of locations to visit and pretty much chat with others and role-play. You could also customize your character and house as well.

I think what didn’t keep me playing was that the characters sort of looked creepy looking and there wasn’t really a way to make them less creepy unless you paid more for it. There was a lot you could do free wise, but most of these games like this wanted you to pay to make your character better looking.

SmallWorlds was released in 2008 and shut down in 2018. However, this one is also available to play online, its just under a new name.

Here is the link: https://www.smallworldslegacy.com/

Poptropica

Poptropica was one of those fun online platforms that was very centered for kids and it was, in my opinion, a safer way to play online. Yes, you could still chat, but the messages were generated or pre-written, which I think my mom liked that factor.

This was one of the websites that you could play during school that the teachers wouldn’t mind you playing during free period. Pretty much, you visited different islands and there were tasks that you needed to do to unlock items that was used to lock more of the island. Once you completed it, you went onto the next one.

It was honestly a lot of fun and there was so much you could do on there. There was also areas where you could hang out with other players on each of the different islands, but there was only so much you could say to others.

Poptropica first released in 2007, however, the game has been moved to CoolMathGames in 2024. It is also available on Steam as well, which I wasn’t aware.

Here is the link: https://www.coolmathgames.com/0-poptropica

Those were just a few of the ones that I used to visit all the time as a kid/tween. There are others, but the other ones are still active today, like Habbo Hotel or Stardoll or IMVU, just to name a few.

I’m really excited for them to bring back Millsberry, it would be so awesome to show my kids the games that I grew up playing online. I showed my oldest about Webkinz and Club Penguin and she was all excited to try it for herself.

Of course, I would be sitting right next to her when she did because, honestly, I think parents need to be more observant of what their kids are doing online and talk about how to be safe online.

Were there any of the websites on this list that you also enjoyed like me? If so, which ones were your favorites? Let me know in the comments below!

Posted in Writing Works

The Scars He Left Behind (Friday’s Short Stories)

Posted on by Katie Night

‘Hey, Dearies! So, this is the first, of many, short stories that I’ll be posting every Friday. I’ll be posting the writing prompt or idea from where I got it from, and then you’ll get to read my version of the story. These are all fiction, nothing is real unless said otherwise. These are something fun to do and if you want to comment or send me a version of your story, from the prompt, I’ll be happy to read it and possibly post it on my blog, if you would like!’ 

Tell the story of a scar, whether a physical scar or emotional one. To be a writer, said Stephen King, “The only requirement is the ability to remember every scar.”

The Scars He Left Behind

Looking up from the stars, Lela was waiting for something to catch her eye, whether it be a shooting star or the moon turning full as it looked down upon her. The full moon gave

Lela a sense of power, made her feel safe.

She usually did this every night, feeling the hot summer day finally cool off and letting the dark sky raise over the town like a blanket, hiding us underneath it. It was her favorite time of day.

Until now.

Things have changed for her, she had a busy plate, going into her 3rd year of high school. She wasn’t a straight-A student but did enough work to make sure she passed her classes. This year was different, not only had she given up on love, but she found it again.

Or so she thought.

It started out so simple, she thought, but how wrong was she. It started with a random message on a chat room, she was on there talking to one of her two best friends about the excitement that happened during lunch, a fight broke out and they got to witness it first hand.

It was the most exciting thing that had ever happened to them on that day, but for Lela, it was him.

The message from him popped up on her screen, she didn’t know what to do, nor react. She never had a guy take interest in her since middle school, but even then, she still didn’t know what to say, nor how to respond.

‘Can you help me meet Sarah? She seemed to log off.’

Little did Lela know that would be the start of a new chapter for her, not her friend Sarah.

‘Can’t you ask her yourself?’

Lela snapped back, thinking that this man wouldn’t want any interest in her. Why would they?

‘Sadly, I can’t seem to find her. I was supposed to meet her at the library, but I can’t seem to find her?’

Lela laughed at the message. She remembered Sarah was meeting up with her mystery guy today, but with midterms just about to start, she ended up setting up her date at the library with him.

Lela decided to stay home since she had to make sure to be home for her younger brother.

‘Didn’t you use her profile picture?’

Lela tried to explain, as much as she didn’t want to continue the conversation, she felt that she had to at least help him. Although, she chuckled at the fact that he didn’t have much common sense and wondered what Sarah saw in him.

She decided to do some snooping of her own and clicked on his profile picture. He looked semi-cute, or average. He wasn’t fat, nor was he too skinny. His dark hair complemented his eyes. As she kept looking, it seems that she found that they had more in common than she thought.

Lela thought he was kinda cute, but when she saw the year of his birth, she froze. Not only was Sarah talking to a much older guy, but a guy that would be legally called a man.

Chills went down Lela’s back as the conversation continued. Not only had it changed from helping him find Sarah, but his interest in her instead.

That was only the beginning.

After that same conversation, things changed. Lela and this man got closer and not even the 3rd day of talking, they finally met. To her mother’s disgrace, she didn’t want to see her 15-year-old daughter with someone who was 5 years older but tried her best to fight it.

She didn’t know what else to do, she banned her from seeing him, but that just made Lela want to be with him much more. The more the mother forbid it, the more she snuck around to see him.

It had been a week together for Lela and him, but in that week she lost so much. She didn’t know how it happened, it just did. His tongue mouthed words that made her jump into his bed. Making it seem that her virginity was something he wanted to take from her. Claim in with the others he took before hers, add it to his collection.

Once it was gone, she never got it back. The worst part is what came after that.

For months, she tried to build a so-called relationship with him, but he didn’t seem invested in her. Instead, his games came before her, the only time he wanted her was when he needed to be pleasured by her.

The times she did nor didn’t, he still went off and found another woman to laid in his bed. Forgive and forget, she thought over and over, the many times that he cheated. She didn’t know what else to do.

The scar.

He left two on that day in June. The heat was too hot to do much, but he still managed to leave a scar on her shoulder. She wanted to spend time with him, wanted to be apart of that world he was so attached too, but instead cut her left shoulder, and left her there, thinking she was wrong.

The second scar ended right in heart, making it seem like she might never find love again. Making it be more impossible or out of reach, just like the stars are from our grasp.

Once Lela had enough, she ended it, walking away from the first relationship she could ever call her own. She always looks down at that scar, to remind her that she is stronger than those dark times from where she got it from.

Looking back at the stars once more, she took a deep breath and smiled. Getting up from the patch of grass she was laying on and standing up tall, ready to walk into her next chapter, even with the scar he gave her.

Let me know in the comments of what you thought about this short story! These will be posted every Friday and if you have a prompt or idea that you would like me to try out, let me know in the comments!