 |
| DQ Prompt via Microsoft Designer |
So I went to the playpark the other day, and everything seemed… off.
I had gotten done with my work and wandered over, admiring the fresh coat of paint and shades that kept some of the sun off the recently installed prefab equipment on my way over to the sandbox.
I took a moment to mold a sandcastle, then headed to the bench to watch others play in the sandbox as well. There were a lot of benches, and a lot of people watching. Seeing another person with a cupcake shirt on and a vacant expression on her face, I sat down next to her.
“Hi,” I said.
“Oh, it’s you, DQ. Hi,” she said. “Watching anyone in particular? Or do you have someone else in your family in there?”
“No, the LP really isn’t into sandboxes, he’s just in it for the comics. I’m the builder,” I explained.
“I like to display them. I have a lot of toys, don’t you?” she asked.
“I sure do! And we have some great drops coming this week, too! More Disney, and Sesame Street too! Grover’s my favorite,” I admitted. “Near! Far! Classic!”
“Oh, but I really want Belle,” she said.
“Who doesn’t want Belle?” I agreed. “Still, something seems missing, doesn’t it?”
The two of us paused and watched the fam playing with their toys in the sandbox. There were a multitude of toy cars they had to make their own “vroom vroom” noises for. There were stormtroopers to line up, and shiny toys to put on top of giant mounds of sand. There were Mickeys and Minnies, Big Birds and Cookie Monsters, and cute stables filled with Unicornos at every corner of the standbox. It was as I was looking at a display of dinosaurs chasing LOL dolls that I turned to her again.
“How old do you suppose he is? The guy playing with the dinosaurs?” I asked.
“I don’t know. Thirty-something,” she guessed.
“Huh. I think some of the ones playing with those spaceships over there are forty-something,” I suggested.
“You think so?” she said dubiously, then shrugged. “Well, it’s always best to guess a younger age than an older age when it comes to guessing ages, right?”
“How very true. They’d better be taking off a decade in my case,” I joked.
“I’m right there with you,” she agreed. “But I think you’re right. Something’s missing. Something really important.”
That is when I glanced around the play park… past the Mighties and the Maters… past the Doris and the Donalds over to a giant rules sign which read:
“THIS APP IS FOR ADULTS ONLY!”
Suddenly, I no longer wanted to watch forty year old men playing with Elmo.
“Why isn’t there a kid version of this app that just lets them have collectibles without the store?” I wanted to know. “It seems like a no-brainer, doesn’t it?”
“I don’t get it either,” she admitted.
“Hey, you know what? The LP isn’t using his sandbox at the moment. I can make my daughter her own space and only let her invite family in so that it’s private,” I suggested. “Not only that, but you can’t buy stuff directly from the Veveverse, even if they don’t have parental controls yet. Let’s sneak the kids in.
“I’m way ahead of you,” she said. “Although it’s a shame that Veve keeps leaving out its best customers.”
“Those who can grow up with it, and be just as nostalgic about it as we are about growing up with these characters in the first place,” I agreed. “I think I’ll go ask the LP to go buy a bunch of two gem toys for her to build with.”
“Good idea,” she agreed, and the two of us walked out of the sandbox, glaring at the sign defiantly on our way to build something that includes the whole family.