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+--- Thread: The Story of QQ (/showthread.php?tid=112500)
The Story of QQ - Pel - 02-26-2014
There once were a bunch of kids who loved to play in the neighborhood park. It was a nice place with some fields and lots of trees. You could picnic there. Adults played tennis nearby.
The only problem was, the park was kind of old. The water fountains didn't work and the bathrooms were nasty. There were some old monkey bars and a rusted slide, but not much else.
So some creative folks came in and fixed up the park. They told the kids, "Here, we will build you a new play structure. We will put a sandbox over here and add a merry-go-round. We will even put in a soccer field and basketball courts. We will add some swings. And these spinny things you sit on to get dizzy, whatever those are called."
They did all this and fixed the facilities too. Then they told the kids to go play.
The kids were so happy. They had not come up with any of the plans, nor did they build any of this new stuff, nor did they fund it, nor did they maintain it, but it was theirs. They loved their new park.
They spent countless hours in the park, investing large quantities of their time.
They came up with stories about the play structure being a pirate boat, or the merry-go-round being the only haven from the lava monster, who would try to capture them by spinning them until they begged for mercy and stumbled off into the lava to become his prey.
They had disputes over territory and if the sandbox kids were allowed to build and dig things over near the swings. The swings were dominated by the big kids, who said that they were the only ones who knew how to use them properly and claimed the little kids spent so much time fighting over them, they never really mastered swinging. So the swing faction would just sit there for hours, pretending to be airplanes and astronauts and chit-chatting while all the little kids felt left out.
But for the most part, everyone had fun. They all had their own storylines and favorite equipment and favorite sorts of games to play-- war games, or playing house in the shade of the play structure, or games of daring (using equipment in the most dangerous and shocking ways). Some kids got up early on weekends to lay claim to their favorite equipment or stake out a court or get in some soccer practice while the dew was still wet.
A lot of kids had very strong feelings about the park.
So when these same creative people came back and said, "Sorry, but we have to take out this merry-go-round, and we have to install some padded stuff under the play structure, and we have to take out half the big kid swings and put in toddler swings, and we have to cut out part of the sandbox to install a ramp and make the park wheelchair accessible," there were a lot of upset feelings.
None of these kids had built the park, it was not technically theirs, but they felt a deep and abiding sense of ownership. They had put in so much time and energy and imagination and loved the way it was right now. Why could these people, the same people who gave them this wonderful park in the first place, just come in and change things? Shouldn't they be consulted first? They were the kids-- the ones who played in the park. They should have a say!
So they spoke up. The creative people listened to them, but they simply had to go forward with their plans. They had funding and pressure from the city. The liability from the merry-go-round was too great, because kids had been injured on a similar one in a neighboring town. The wheelchair ramp accessibility was another liability issue. And the swings simply needed to be balanced to be usable by more than the big kids. Sacrifices had to be made.
The kids tried to quibble about details, but the changes were made.
They were upset-- very upset-- at first, but they eventually returned to having almost as much fun in the new park. It wasn't the same, but they still had a lot of great memories. In a way that time was not lost-- it was a part of them and it lived on in their remembered experience. Even if you take away the merry-go-round can you take away a kids memory of how it feels? No, not really. It lives on.
In the end, they were kids. They played there. It was important to them, but those creative people had to weigh other concerns. They had given them a lot of wonderful stuff, and yes-- they took some of it away. But overall, it was still a great park. A haven of fun and childhood memories in a place that had been pretty run down and looked likely to fall into ruin before these creative folks stepped in.
I guess a park with a merry-go-round and more big kid swings with long chains is "better" in a way-- more thrilling, more edgy, classic childhood daredevil fun. But somehow, even when stuff needs to change for other reasons (stodgy old adults-- they never seem to understand what's really important), kids find a way to have fun.
RE: The Story of QQ - lIceColon - 02-26-2014
There once was a park.
From a certain perspective, only two types of kids ever played in that park. The first, the kid who was simply the best at everything in the park, he was the best at swinging, he was the best at sliding, he was the best at the merry-go-round, and he had the kind of cocky-attitude that would make stupid girls crazy for him if it wasn't for the fact that his penis was the size of a kid's penis, he being a kid n' all.
Then there was the second kid, who enjoyed the park, but also felt that the creaky swings could do with a bit of renewal, who felt that the slithering murderous wildlife in a certain area of the park was unhealthy and causing kids to get scared. Since he was kind of a nerd, all he ever cared about was the park, so he would try to discuss the park with the adults to get them to add cool new toys as well as fix existing ones.
Unfortunately, although the cocky kid saw that the nerd was making conversation, but since it was still on the playground despite more near the benches and nowhere near the slides, the cocky kid decided that he should be able to have his fun everywhere, so he interrupted the discussion with his usual attitude (despite not knowing anything about playground mechanics, which the nerd kid also had faint idea about but was willing to learn), and while the adults found it amusing, they also lost patience and the words coming from both kid's mouth, meaningful or not and began automatically dismissing it as child's-speak, stuff that didn't matter.
So the cocky kid got his satisfaction in trolling the nerd and the nerd thought he had made his point, however the swing was still creaky and only getting creakier, until one day even the cocky kid began to notice, but by then both of their complaints have become ineffective and what was once amusing child-babble became annoying bickering, both kids realized the adults weren't listening so it became open warfare in which nobody ever attempted a half-civilized communication ever again.
The kids just took whatever the adults could be bothered to give, and gradually they found the park less enjoyable than they remembered, so no biggie, they moved on to alternatives such as video games and getting fat on mcdonalds. Shame about the park though, there was so much work put into it already.
RE: The Story of QQ - Kazinsal - 02-26-2014
There once was a faction called Zoners
Who had them some battleship boners
The devs said "no more!"
"It won't work in lore!"
And the only ones mad were their owners
RE: The Story of QQ - lIceColon - 02-26-2014
There once were a whole lot of players
They RP'd their caps for ages
Just tryn'a play well
like everyone else
Till your changes just ***** in their faces
RE: The Story of QQ - Mephistoles - 02-26-2014
This is a limerick
This is a limerick
Middle part
Middle part
This is a limerick
RE: The Story of QQ - Pel - 02-26-2014
Wow... usually I have to go all the way to the zoo for some good poo-flinging.
Anyway, I forgot to mention, "QQ" is the name of the park! That must have seemed terribly random. My apologies.
RE: The Story of QQ - lIceColon - 02-26-2014
don't be so dismissive of complaints, nom sayin
RE: The Story of QQ - Pel - 02-26-2014
hey, don't muck this thread up with conversation. This is a no complaints zone! I'm going to complain about your complaint, but otherwise-- no complaints!
RE: The Story of QQ - Pel - 02-26-2014
They were gonna name the park "Discovery" but then they thought better of it.
RE: The Story of QQ - SMGSterlin - 02-26-2014
Kazinsal Wrote:There once was a faction called Zoners
Who had them some battleship boners
The devs said "no more!"
"It won't work in lore!"
And the only ones mad were their owners