Places to Chat
The girl walks
Chatterbox: Chirp at Cricket
The girl walks
The girl walks slowly through the CB. Around her, new and old CBers are milling around, laughing and talking. Æs race about madly, talking about their crushes. CAPTCHAs perch here and there, belting out nonsense to the amusement of everyone. It seems like everyone is content and happy. But then she notices the posters.
Retired: Daisy
Gone: Cho C.
Missed:Mei
There are even more, all over the place. Then the girl notices the faces of some of the older CBers. They looked cheerful enough on the outside, but there is a longing in their eyes. They miss the way the CB used to be. Sure, they like how it is now, but it has changed too much. The girl makes her way through the crowd, past the Kyngdomers (in their own separate district) and steps up to a pedestal. Atop it sits Abbie's Soap Box. She climbs up on top of it and clears her throat. All of the CBS inhabitants stop, and look up. Then the girl starts to speak.
"Things are always changing and morphing around. Flexing and twisting in new and different ways. That is the way of all things on earth. Nothing is constant, though there are people who wish it were. If the CB were to stay the same forever, it would get kind of boring. Old CBers leave, and new CBers are always coming in, it's like human skin. New cells must take the place of old ones, otherwise all you have is a brittle crust. Don't give up on something you love because of change. Stick with it because of the change. That way you can change it for the better. Always remember the way things used to be though, don't use change as an excuse to forget past mistakes and mishaps. Learn from he past so that, if you stlay, you cam influence the world around you. Remember those who have come before you, and stay so you can continue their memory."
The girl hopped down, dusted off the soap box and then walked away.
submitted by Nebula , age 1 Million , The Milky Way
(January 29, 2017 - 7:18 pm)
(January 29, 2017 - 7:18 pm)
The new girl, fresh-pressed and fidgety, observed her new surroundings. She remembered briefly visiting the Chatterbox once, long ago under a different name, and this place was indeed quite different now. People came and they left. Innovative ideas had spun into existence while some sputtered out. Still, it was the Chatterbox after all.
She looked at the soapbox.
A voice flickered to life in her head: You are new to this old place. You don't know what you're doing. It is easier to just let the others take care of it.
But she had something she wanted to say. Trembling only slightly, she stepped up to the pedestal and onto the soapbox.
"Nebula is right. As far as I can tell, the Chatterbox is made of and by the people who use it. We get to choose what happens here, and we get to choose what it becomes. What is it you miss most about the past? We can graft a new version of that into its future. No experience will ever be the same, but as Nebula said, if it were to be the same forever, it would get kind of boring. We need change.
And I think that's a decision best made together. Let's talk about what we want to keep and change. I see that the Chatterbox has always been a place of creativity and kindness, and that's why I wanted to be a part of it. What's important about the CB to you?"
She tucked a hair behind her ear, stepped off the pedestal, and looked around.
(January 29, 2017 - 9:52 pm)
(January 29, 2017 - 10:08 pm)
(January 29, 2017 - 11:11 pm)
(January 30, 2017 - 12:47 am)
The girl pushed through the streets filled with AEs and Captchas, towards the to others at the soapbox. She tucked a peice of her wild brown hair behind her ear and ran to the girl who had just been speaking. Embers gave the girl a small, friendly smile, and then stepped onto the soapbox.
And then she realized
Oh me. I just volunteered to do some public speaking.
She swollowed back her fear, looking down at her audience. And her beautiful voice, she spoke.
"I love the Chatterbox. Not in a way one loves their mother or their dog, or even their hometown, but in the way one loves a pair of lucky socks. When you're feeling down or in need of luck, you slip into the socks for a bit, hoping they can cheer you up and bring sunny skies your way. When the election comes and everyone's nervous, you slip into the socks for a bit of comfort, away from politicians screaming at each other. Even when you're just having a good day,you can look over your shoulder and see the socks sitting on your dresser, as if saying I'm here if ever you need me. The CB is like a pair of lucky socks. Always ready, always there, something for you to crawl back into when you truly need it. It's like the biggest, largest, most incredible story in the world, except filled with amazing, real, intelligent and artistic people instead of characters, who can comfort you when you're feeling down about anything from the weather to the school play to the passing of your goldfish, Herbert. The CBis filled with good people, from those who just drop in every once in a while to the ever present Admins, who lighten up our days. Thank you."
(January 30, 2017 - 6:54 am)
Um... what prompted this, exactly? I mean, it's a nice speech, but... who's leaving 'cause of change? If there's no reason to stir people up about this, please don't. Also, as far as I know, Mei's still here, just... not as often as she used to be.
(January 30, 2017 - 8:05 am)
I hav just noticed how some CBers were talking about how they missed the way the CB used to be. I also noticed that the last time there was a big argument some people left because of it. After those people left even more people thought of leaving just because of this. I have been thinking about how this was for a while so...
(January 30, 2017 - 9:23 pm)