It was perhaps Peter’s favorite place to hang in the town. Tronesisia often listened in on his thoughts from her bench here. Nancy, eh? Nancy is what brought them to Lapara. The hotel room that cost L$100 per week held an unexpected portal. This was the way Tronesisia must proceed too.
Nancy.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0005, 0103, Heterocera, Lapara^
“When he shows up, just remember to act surprised,” requests Tronesisia.
“I will.”
—–
Prissy wakes from her day dream. Bendy walks up.
“Hey babe, I’m looking for the kissing booth. And I think I’ve found it, haha.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0005, 0102, Heterocera, Lapara^
“Hello, anyone… here?”
“How can I help you?” Rocky said. He was writing his Great American Novel.
“Um, my wife… and I… (are) here for the carni-val,” replied Peter SoSo, looking down.
“2 rooms available,” spits out Rocky. “145 and 100 per week.”
Not knowing that there are cheaper rentals in other parts of town, Peter sighs and hands over L$100 to Rocky. “I’ll take… the latter.”
“Follow me.” The small mammal jumped down from the desk and scurried to the elevators in the back.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0005, 0101, Heterocera, Lapara^
Collagesity South or Collagesity Proper — haven’t decided exactly what to call it yet — remains largely unchanged from before.
House Orange, Space Ghost’s former residence and also the site of Furry Karl’s previous bar before he moved up to SoSo Mall, is still empty. Possibilities, then.
We have a new entrance point for the SoSo galleries: Central Tower. Makes more sense now. 80 of the 100 collages of the “Art 10×10” exist within, with the only series missing being Greenup, the earliest completed. Fabulous. I simply couldn’t delete any of this mall, the heart of Collagesity in many ways, when shifting the town more toward the west. Baker Blinker now owns part of the land it occupies. So attached to the SoSo Mall are Norum (an Art 10×10 wing); Bodega Market and Karoz’s upstairs apt., if he still lives here; SoSo South (Art 10×10 wing); Starbuccaneers coffee shop; SoSo North (Art 10×10 wing); Central Tower; and Furry Karl’s new bar, Joker’s Wild. 7 buildings directly attached to it, then.
There’s land to the immediate south of the mall that could be used for development, but not a lot.
Poppy Pond still exists. Mary might find it a proper fishing hole when she returns. If she returns. I think she will.
Beside it, “City Hall” remains empty.
Duplicate Carrcassonnee in the South Gazebo. Which is real? Both? Neither? No answer coming from Carrcassonnee herself. Either one.
Entrance to a sealed off portion of the village (complete with seal) featured in “Collagesity 2017 Early” LINK.
Within: VWX Secret Society. More stories here fer sure.
Perch, Gloomy Gus, Blue Feather, Darkly Manor, Fal Mouth Moon from the forest.
It’s good to be back. 🙂
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0005, 0100, Heterocera, Rubi^
Both Woody Woodmanson’s…
…and Pitch Darkly’s houses are smushed up right against the Fal Mouth Moon gallery, and on opposite sides. Interesting contrast of black and white abodes as well. Another yin-yang relationship, but not in an antagonistic way. I feel that Pitch and Woody might become the best of friends. Two refuges.
Another small structure wedged in between the still empty Stairs gallery and the mysterious Castle Knight. No one lives here currently.
The empty Stairs.
Temple of TILE, still being worked on by Karoz presumably. Baker Blinker and Karoz Blogger were conspicuously absent from the “Collagesity 2017 Early” novel just completed. Will they stay in Collagesity, or will they head back to Chilbo? And will we fictionally follow them there and see what they’re up to? Questions for upcoming Collagesity novels, because for certain they’ll be at least one or two more of ’em.
Carrcassonnee is within the temple, but Baker Blinker has found her largely unresponsive to questions in that position. Wheeler Wilson stated recently that Big C will not re-assume leadership of the community, which seems to mean that the former wants to gain control again. But will the townspeople let her? At any rate, Collagesity turns over a new leaf.
Starry ceiling of Castle Knight. I suppose we can say The Millers live here. LINK
New town map located to the south of this castle.
Buster Damm’s home, still unoccupied. Or is it?
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0005, 0100, Heterocera, Rubi^
“Collagesity 2017 Early” novel done! You can catch all the action here (under the “Virtual” heading of the “Sunklands” blog):
There are 2 what I call preludes to the current novel, 4th in the Collagesity series so far. They are not essential for understanding what’s going on in the 6 proper sections of the novel, but make for interesting reads nonetheless, especially the second (Prelude 2 of 2) where a new character called The Musician investigates Art Oluja’s fabulous LEA11 creation, now officially ended. He carries directly over into the novel proper, where his story unfolds from beginning to end and then, for me, even loops back into the start again to initiate a higher octave of analysis (work in progress). I had a lot of fun writing all this, mainly in the middle of the night. But it made for some groggy mornings at times. 🙂
State of Collagesity at the end of the novel: It’s now shifted more toward the Rubi Forest, a more permanent status, I feel. Markland rental properties to the east given up. Baker Bloch and also Baker Blinker own everything now. The square meterage remains the same, however. I still have to sell a bit of property in the east before everything is completely stable.
Collagesity map for now.
Two official (kiosked) galleries now in the town: SoSo and Fal Mouth Moon. A third, Boos, can be reached via teleporter from either one.
In the recent shift of my land more toward the woods, I decided to sacrifice a couple of galleries and their inclusive collages, including the hugely high Power Tower Gowlery and also the Red Umbrella. This reduced the number of collages in Collagesity from around 270 down to about 200. I hated to do it, but I needed the prims for additional story telling adventures, including providing homes for two more new or new-ish characters named Pitch Darkly and Woody Woodmanson also found in “Collagesity 2017 Early.” They are both official residents of the town now.
Collagesity (2) and VHC City (many) kiosked galleries with “linking” Continental Diagonal.
Who else is in Collagesity currently, then (characters)? Baker Blinker and Karoz Blogger appear to have returned from their approx. 3 month stint in Chilbo, but we’ll see. They are not prominently featured in “Collagesity 2017 Early”. Baker Bloch, Wheeler Wilson, and Hucka Doobie basically continue their stories from the earlier novels. Wheeler has a new sidekick to hang around with: the aforementioned Musician, but I’m not sure about their status within Collagesity itself. Maybe their home is the Blue Feather? Another important new character is Mary Ball, also known as Chuckles Greentop. She appears to live with Pitch, but is currently away for a spell.
For “Collagesity 2017 Early” (C17E), action starts in VHC City, where it continues throughout the first half of the novel. Then we shift to the “extraterrestrial” Muff-Bermingham, partly set up in my Collagesity skybox but also employing the amazing Bliss Gardens run by Luna Bliss, which I’ve known about for a long time now. The number of sims in the Gardens has been reduced from olden days but the unique magic is still present. Waterfalls waterfalls waterfalls! I’ve had a lot of fun bumming around there and “filming.” In section 5, we return basically to the VHC City area and then in 6 head back to Collagesity to wrap things up. But Muff-Bermingham scenes pop up in the last 2 sections as well.
A word about the symmetry between “Collagesity 2016-2017 Winter” and “Collagesity 2017 Early”, or Collagesity novels 3 and 4. Both have 2 preludes. Both have 6 sections of approx. (or exactly, in the case of novel 4) 18 posts apiece. The first 5 of 6 sections of C1617W are set in Collagesity. *Only* part 6 of C17E takes place in Collagesity — inversion, then.
More on an analysis of C17E soon!
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0005, 0100, Heterocera, Rubi^
No one says anything, not knowing if Woody is finished or not. But after about 30 seconds, it’s pretty obvious to all that he’s wrapped up his spiel. Mary takes his place, thanking Woody and the others for their words, then asks if anyone else wants to speak. She looks at Baker Bloch then at Hucka Doobie. Both wave her off, but then Baker felt the need to say, “We appreciate your supreme sacrifice Mary.”
“Then I suppose it’s time.” She turns to the rocket ship. “Goodbye all! I’ll be back as soon as I can.”
“Goodbye my love!” Pitch cries from the second row. “I know you will. I have faith in the Gods.”
Sobbing, she touches the launcher, then manifests inside the firing capsule. A person was already there. It was George, seated beside her.
He took her hand. “It’s you and me now.”
—–
24 years later…
“Do you not know me?” asked Mary/Chuckles to Sikul Himakt The Musician.
“Of course I do mother.”
END OF “COLLAGESITY 2017 MIDDLE”!
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0004, 0618, Heterocera, Muff-Bermingham^^, Rubi^
During Pitch’s awkward pause, Wheeler walked across the bridge spanning Central Stream and took the empty seat beside The Librarian. “Hello you total bitch,” he says in a low voice without turning toward her. “Hello you complete bastard,” she answers back, also not looking in his direction. But both share a smile for a few seconds. Fences have been mended.
Mary turns around and whispers to her friend. “Where’ve you been?”
Wheeler holds up “Floydodo” for her to see. “I got involved,” she explains, shaking the book to emphasize what she’d been doing. “Lost track of time, sorry.” She looks toward Pitch. “Is he alright over there? Does he need help?”
“Why don’t you go up and say a few words, Wheeler,” Mary requested. “We’ve both had our turns now. You’re the town general, after all. Whatever you titled yourself.”
“Dictator,” Wheeler proclaims proudly. She stands and walks up to Pitch, then escorts him to the seat she formerly occupied. “Here, hold this for me,” she demands, picking up “Floydodo” and shoving it into his hands. He sits down with it. She returns beside the lamp post before the rocketship where Mary and Pitch had previously spoken.
“Greetings fellow Collagsitians. Wheeler Wilson here, you’re beloved former leader, haha.” Some sour looks appeared amongst the crowd. “Ah, I see we have a couple who disagree. Well, I can’t say I blame you. I was occassionally a bit harsh with some of my orders. But, overall, I think I did a good job.” She pauses. “Let me put this plainly. Your old leader Carrcassonnee will and cannot return. The play or interview form of speaking to each other, between the Bakers, between anyone in this town, has been rendered obsolete. Perch is perched up there in *my* diner.” She points toward the indicated eating establishment to her back and left, behind the rocket launcher from this direction. “So where does that leave us, citizens of Collagesity? We’ve moved forward, yes? We attempted to become assimilated into VHC City. Didn’t work. Baker Bloch here became Pitch became Woody and it all went to hell. Duncan Avocado’s our hope in that direction now. He has emerged from the PCH Forest — has that been mentioned yet?” Baker Bloch nods to her, thinking she means the woods itself and not Duncan’s exit from it. “Okay.” She then points back to the left rear. “What is our focus, then, people? What should be the entire reason for our existence here? Can you guess? What is it?” The crowd looks around at each other, basically wondering what she’s on about. She answers herself. “The *woods*. The *trees*. That’s what this is all about. I personally recommend sealing the whole town up again until Mary returns from a successful Muff-Bermingham trip. I’ve been (myself). I know what she’s up against. There’s power there. Osborne Well still controls. I should know, being a controller myself. And then there’s his children, his twins. Morris and Lou. I know the former but not the latter. But The Musician knows Lou. *Woody* here knows Lou (Woody nods). Having taken on the negative characteristics of her father, Lou is not the best of persons, I’ve heard. She wishes for everyone to dream, to keep asleep. What is reality? she wants everyone to ask, confused about what’s right and left, up and down, east-west. We’ve lost Tronesisia to her. We’ve lost Bendy. I’ve lost my Musician.” She pauses, appearing to wipe a tear forming in her eye, an emotional display especially surprising the several with the sour looks before.
Woody Woodmanson raises his hand. “Excuse me Mrs. Wheeler. Do you mind if I say a couple of words?”
“It’s *Ms. Wilson*,” she says, sniffing. “But, yeah, come on up here Woody. I’ve said my peace.” Woody gets up and Wheeler takes his seat. “Woods, people!” she shouts in emphasis while settling in.
Woody displays awkwardness. “Do I just stand beside this lamp post here? Is this okay?”
“That’s fine, Woody,” comforts Mary from the front row. “Go ahead and speak your mind as well. We have plenty of time. No rush on the launching.”
“Well, okay.” He loudly clears his throat for several seconds. Very high pitch, startling a couple in the crowd, including the already nervous Mary.
“I am… *very* grateful to be here in Collagesity. You cannot know the extent.” He clears his throat again. “I am a refuge of several worlds. My original master, Old Kringles — a lukewarm Santa Claus — use to tell me, ‘Don’t get sick, don’t get sick,’ over and over. It made me sick. I was expelled from his Christmas village. My second master, Luke Purden, owner of a spectacular mountainside castle, gave me better advice. He said, ‘Don’t judge a book by the color of its cover.’ At the time, half of the books I owned were green and the other half white. I always wondered why I preferred reading the white covered books. Then it hit me like a humongous hammer.” Woody hits one wooden hand with the other here. “Someone else was inside me that preferred the *green* colored books. Another Woody.” More throat clearing. “Which brings us to Muff-Bermingham.” Leaning forward intently, he looks in the direction of Wheeler. “I both know Lou very well and don’t know her atall. As such, I can vouch for her decency and honesty. Yes, she wants you to dream, to wonder, to envision the impossible. There’s a village at the bottom of the hill. But there isn’t. But there *is*.” He straightens up. “And that’s all I have to say about all *that*.”
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0004, 0618, Heterocera, Rubi^
Because Karoz had put so much work into the rocket ship, the Bakers made sure Mary’s trip to Muff-Bermingham was a bigger affair than Tronesisia’s before her. Most of the town turned out for the event, with the notable exception of Karoz himself, along with mate Baker Blinker. Thing is, the exhausted moss being, working around the clock for the past several days in order to get everything right about the ship, had now come down with a nasty bit of flu, with the female Baker having to tend to him. Also absent was Wheeler.
“Where is she?” asked Mary to Baker Bloch in a loud whisper, disappointed that her clown possessed friend was not present to see her off. Baker just shrugged. “Why don’t you go ahead and start, Mary. I’m sure she’ll be along.”
Composing herself, Mary began. “I’d like to thank everyone for showing up. A special thanks goes out to Karoz Blogger, who couldn’t be with us today due to illness. We wish him a speedy recovery. Without his mastery of scripting, I wouldn’t be standing before you here, about to embark on a mission of utmost importance to a distant corner of our known universe. Collagesity is about to enter a new chapter of existence, another turning point in its already long history of change and evolution. I want to extend a heartfelt gratitude to the whole town for welcoming Pitch and me so readily into its arms, along with fellow newcomer Woody Woodmanson (Woody stands up and bows stiffly). I know that you will, so to speak, hold down the fort while I am away, which shouldn’t be long.”
Mary shuffles her feet, thinking of George, then continues. “As you all know, I’m not the first of our kind to visit this distant planet called Muff-Bermingham.” She clears her throat. “Most immediately, we have Pitch and I’s good friend Tronesisia journeying up to this place only 6 days back. We fear her mission of rescuing fellow robot Bendy has not proceeded as planned. A snag has been hit.” She looks toward Pitch and Baker Bloch for encouragement. “Our best guess… is that they have been separated on opposite sides of this world by malefic forces, Muff for Bendy and Bermingham for Tronesisia. My own mission is to stitch up the involved rift and make Muff-Bermingham whole once and for all. For that to happen, I need to introduce a new element.”
She begins sobbing here. Pitch gets up and continues for her. “Take a seat sweetie and rest for a spell.”
Pitch’s words: “I’d also like to thank the whole community for welcoming us, fellow refuges from the sprawling urban landscape to our northeast called VHC City. A sister city indeed still, firmly straddling The Continental Diagonal which also runs through our marvelous Linden woods to the immediate west and use to cut through an older incarnation of Collagesity itself. Help me out, Baker Bloch. What was it called?”
“VWX Town,” pipes up the male Baker.
“Yes,” resumes Pitch. “And there’s also a somewhat smaller woods near VHC City called the PCH Forest coming into play now. More on that later.” He shifts from right to left a couple of times, head down, figuring out what to say next. How to put it? Mary and I are with child? Mary and I are expecting? But who is the real father? Last night, Mary confessed to him about that vivid dream in the old house, just before they left VHC City. Could Osborne Well really have done what Mary described? It was something they desperately needed to find out. Perhaps not to save their relationship, per se (they’ve also decided to become engaged when all this Muff-Bermingham mess gets clears up!), but just to uncover the truth. Who is George really? What happened to him and Duncan all those years ago?
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0004, 0617, Heterocera, Rubi^
“Rule 110, pheh.”
—–
His stint as Surrogate George ended, Duncan Avocado returned to the PCH Forest bear cave one last time to do a general cleanup. Afterwards only items directly linked to Abigail’s humble abode remained…
… including this stash of Bearmalade which started the whole East-West spell war, of course. Both sides coveted it. With permission from Ms. Adams, he noms some down to give him needed energy for the return home. This was a magic elixir, part of the next generation of pass-through devices. Mana from heaven. The days of the enslaved portal animals will soon come to an end.
He then discharges his collected gormanbozia into the cave’s central pit, a long held ritual.
A series of transformations follow. First Baker Bloch, then Woody Woodmanson, then Pitch Darkly. Tempted one last time to keep this particular form, he thinks of Mary.
“The right George is with her now,” he speaks aloud. Returning to Duncan Avocado, he turns from the pit toward the bear behind him. “I wish to thank you for this gift again, Abigail Adams. I promise to use it well.”
“No problem Duncan my man,” the bear replies. “You better leave now. The witches will never end their battle.”
“Right you are.” He goes to the sacred fishing hole. Something is tugging at the line — something has always been tugging at the line, unhooked until today.
“Floydodo.”
Leaving the forest.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0004, 0616, Heterocera, Rubi^, VHC City^
Sunklands 