Category Archives: Nautilus

scene of the crime

Another big wave was coming in. “Well here we are, Wendy Wheeler. Lounging around on a beach with our oversized gin and tonics like an old married couple.”

“You’re leaving me,” she guessed. It was something in the tone of his voice. And, well, his history with women in general.

Jeffrey Phillips sighed, thus giving an answer.

“It was the Tennessee thing, wasn’t it? We didn’t go… far enough.”

“I guess, Wheeler, I just like them (*sigh*) cheap and easy.”

Silence for a while. “You’ll go back to Marwood then, to Easy Street — E Street.”

“Suppose so,” he said after a pause. “I mean, what do you care. You have 2 husbands already — Tropp and Opp or whatever…”

“Opp. His name is Opp. Tropp was just an invention by the maker of this blog.” She stared directly out of the blog and into my eyes. “A contraction of True Opp, just like sometimes I am referred to as True Wheeler — Treelor.”

“Yeah I never figured out what that meant.” He stared out of the blog as well, but not at me. Just at darkness. I’m writing this at 2:42 in the morning with the lights out. What I mean is that he isn’t as informed as Wheeler on the subject of the 4th wall and how to successfully break it. But he did have one trick he was about to reveal to her.

Wheeler/Hidi felt her hair get impossibly wet from that waterfall tumbling off the cliff over there. The blog, if successful, is one continuous collage, and she also knew this. Her marriage was a sham. “Jeffrey,” she then said, staring at it across the water while still getting a bit wet. “Are we even engaged?”

It was here Jeffrey admitted he had his fingers crossed behind his back the whole time, which led to this.

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0403, Castle Town+, Nautilus, Omega, Rim Isles, Southern

inside seeing

Future Schumann was trying to show me something.

—–

I returned to Collagesity, set on finishing that ditch traversing almost the entirety of the town. What do we have here?

And why am I Baker Bloch again? *The* Baker Bloch. Must be Wheeler, I assumed: the third wheel. Her “other”, or “others” I suppose. Marriage, pheh. How can she say she is married… to which one? Or better, which is which? They both came from novel 8, like a Crazy. Maybe Cpt. Crazy over at Half Hitch would know, or at least half know some kind of truth. And what about *his* significant other, that Speck or whatever, the First Mate or the Only Mate or Lone Mate. Mates indeed. Randolph the Bastard Pirate must be laughing in his sleep, chest still rising and heaving with every internal guffaw. The alchemy bird stays silent, forgetting its purpose as a watcher in de skies.

“But a twin *has* moved forward,” I can hear Wheeler inside my head. “We have chosen a hairstyle, a form. We are from Heaven now. You know the denizens of Hell; you’ve seen them very recently.”

You know we are trying to save you and we chose just in the nick of time.”

I shook off the daydream and stared down the length of The Ditch. Ditch City they may call this place in the future, if they have no imagination.

(to be continued)

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0401, Collagesity Fordham-, Lower Austra, Nautilus, White Palace

beside the canal

“You’re not who I was expecting… *Wheeler*.”

“It’s because you tried out that different state on Elsa the other day. She didn’t want to come. She asked me to substitute for her. How did you like *my* kiss?”

Jeffrey Phillips wasn’t impressed and says so. Way too 18th Century, way too mellow. Besides, this was Wheeler for Christ’s sake. This wasn’t one of *his* girls. This was an equal (!). “Anyway, you kissed me, not the opposite way ’round.”

“I was just experimenting. Just like you, tee hee. Do you, do you know what they’re calling you back in Marwood, you stud? Bruce Springsteen,” she answers herself, “because you have your E Street band (of ladies) there, and also you are a Rock. Do you remember playing the game of Rock, Paper, Scissors with the Barrys? You won.”

“Well, Paper and Scissors, I mean, Barry (X. Vampire) and Barry (DeBoy) are still around,” Jeffrey Phillips tries to defend himself, thinking of the 2 faced God Janus looking both forwards and backwards in time. “Sandy Beech as well… I’m not Sandy.”

“No,” countered Wheeler, Hidi for the moment. “You are all of those and more. You are the…”

“… last man standing,” he completed for Wheeler, knowing it was true or at least largely so. Besides Man About Time — and perhaps he doesn’t even count since he’s so unfocused — where are the others? “Baker Bloch has gone to the White Palace in Heaven to join Hucka Doobie,” he explains for the both of ’em. “Baker Blinker is gone as well — you’ve *absorbed* her.”

“That was a long time ago.”

“Karoz too.”

“Karoz is still around,” says Wheeler, knowing it was both false and true at once.

Jeffrey Phillips blew out air. “I guess… we just needed to talk.” He looked over at her: Janus faced as well. She changed. Windy, as in City. Big Windy even, bigger than ever. Where was this going? Was he ready… or did he need to wait? And where the heck was Norm Bob, Jimbo/O’Jimbo, Bimbo/O’Bimbo, and Drunk Dude? Why just the E girls now over in Marwood? Bruce Springsteen, pheh.

“I am not with you,” he decides to say, thinking of the queen-prime minister type relationship again that they had, his saving grace.

“I know.” She breathes out as well. “I have others.”

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0315, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra

76 and 2 more

Jeffrey Phillips senses something is important here in this sim wide town near the center of Nautilus, and that the creators know about his attempt at circling the continent’s square, as it were. But no one seems to live here, perhaps another mystery in itself: houses and buildings basically empty. Still the word Perch in its hyphenated name of Mistletoe-Perch seems to represent another clue, given that’s what’s in famed Collagesity deity Carrcassonnee’s nogg’n and allows her to (potentially) see and interact with others. Jeffrey wonders what would happen if you kissed someone in the middle of it, down on that bridge crossing a central canal of sorts. Perhaps he could invite Elsa from Marwood over to find out, try that little Tennessee move again to see if it works better over here.

He dials the 4 numbers he knows will connect him to her. Oklahoma.

“Elsa it’s me.”

(reply)

“No, only Kentucky tonight, I promise.” But he was crossing his fingers behind his back.

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0314, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra

3rd (of 4?)

I returned to the island of Meaux — seen here in the distance behind a quite familiar fluttering owl flag — for more potential links and clues about where to head next. This newest owl sighting seemed to dictate the action.

I fairly quickly ended up on Half Hitch, an island just beyond the south*east* corner of Nautilus, certainly my mainland continent of focus now that Collagesity has returned to it. So I’ve visited Castle Valeria in Nautilus’ northwest corner directly opposite here on the continent seemingly based on a 31×31 square, and then Valgate and also the overall Viterbo environs kind of tucked in its northeast corner. Now: southeast. I appear to be perhaps circling the square, a variation on the old alchemical paradox of squaring the circle. Circle near historical Valgate, Montana is also a hint here, to add onto, of course, the close proximity of Valeria and (Green)castle in Jasper County, IA., a square based county after all, just like its twin in IL where all the names of my collage series down through the years comes from. Up until the newest: Picturetown. Something is different now; shifted.

Exploring…

Was that a shouting (or singing?) man etched in the bow of this wrecked ship? What would be the utterance if so? Was this an angry or joyous person?

*Anyhoot* (Jeffrey Phillips likes to toss that word around a lot these days to segue between trains of thought), back to Half Hitch. Climbing the highest hill there to take a look around. Climbing, climbing…

—–

From the vantage point at the top, Jeffrey Phillips takes in the sight of Captain Crazy’s noisy, dirty trawler pulling into the small harbor of the town. Here was a man who might know something. So it’s back down off the hill for Jeffrey and into the tavern where he sees him and his men — well, man — head into. Cpt. Crazy use to have 8 men working on his ship but now he’s down to 1 thanks to the Child Labor Board cracking down on him last Fall. The only one over 18, heck the only one over 12. Here was a man who not only bent the rules, but turned them into salty pretzels to consume after any drinking jag. He was crazy, yes. But he still was probably the sanest man to visit Half Hitch today, what with that loonie convention going on over at neighboring Nautilus Island (yes, there is an island named Nautilus in addition to a continent, although the island and continent are next to each other and Nautilus Island is sometimes included as a part of the Nautilus continent, logically enough; but it causes some confusion, even to long time Our Second Lyfe residents).

Let’s not worry about those Nautilus loonies nor go into any details on why they’re even crazier than Crazy. Half Hitch is definitely not a part of any Nautilus, although it lies, like I said, just beyond the southeast corner of the continent, and also just beyond the eastern edge of the island. It’s similar to Castle Valeria just past the northwest corner in this way, since that sim wasn’t part of the original Nautilus either — it’s an add on. Let’s just move into a dialog with Crazy to dig up more information…

—–

Jeffrey Phillips was going to interject himself but the two mates, captain and one man crew, seemed to be having some kind of romantic dinner going on, what with the red coral heart between them and the, well, occasional mouth kissing and all the accompanying holding of hands across the table inside this heart. Jeffrey was, of course, okay with the Captain and his mate being gay. His half sister on his mother father’s side was half so and they got along better than any of his other percentage siblings. Viewpoints matter. Jeffrey would bide his time, having nothing else pressing on his calendar at the moment. Crime was down in Collagesity thanks to the new-ish police department. 5 fingerprince had been lifted from the more serious crime scenes, and Jeffrey had them all under control. Now was the time to synchronize the continent to his city to ensure more stability, and circling its square seemed to be the key.

(to be continued)

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0312, Maebaleia/Satori, Nautilus, Outer Islands, Rim Isles

Viterbo

She often dreamed of past times, before the coming of the invasive wisteria. She liked it! The plant basically held the porch together now, so entwined they were.  Well, it wasn’t that bad — *yet*.

She had big plans for her island still. She had already built a moat. A castle was surely to follow, she speculated. But what about the house, the porch, the wisteria? Could she give up bucolic freedom just like that?

She thought of the others, also from the before times. Underwater they are now. Well, their *spirits* dwelt there still for certain. She’d seen them! Her grandmother and grandfather decided not to follow them down into their watery grave, which led to her mother and father (also brother and sister), and then, now, her. And her own husband and brother. Just like Toothpick/Filburt and Elberta back in NWES City, as you might recall, sis and bro married at the end of photo-novel 22 (a nodal one).

They were alone now. All dead beneath the sea, with only ghosts left. No claims left to any of the island land. She could do what she wanted to. The moat was a lot of hard work, comparable to digging a french drain. The house was adequate for her needs for sure, but she also had to think about Stymie. Where was Stymie anyhoot? Deep sea diving down in the ruins again?

We can affirm this.

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0309, Nautilus, Rim Isles

times 3

Sun, Moon & Earth

The distance between the Earth and the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Sun.

The distance between the Earth and Moon is 108 times the diameter of the Moon.

The diameter of the Sun is 108 times the diameter of the Earth.

“Valgate began at 108/108/108 and was worked downward. The rock the Valgate (V-gate for short) was built upon extends to the entrance of the temple/den below, the *gate* — sideways this time, in reference to the first — between peaceful inner, where vampires (another V) set away their differences and came together for communion, and then outer, the exterior, the pretend.”

“Devils. Not vampires,” she responded, knowing more than me for certain. I ask her about the (off-limits) witch house, yet another demon monster of the night.

“Owl,” she responded.

Something wasn’t quite right here. It was all built upon the Diagonal for sure, but… “I guess it’s just unfinished, Wheeler,” I then offered to my counterpart sitting across from me in the Table Room of the Blue Feather in Collagesity, Nautilus, the same continent that this mysterious, perhaps ultra-mysterious Valgate lay upon as well. I decided to extend its important and perhaps ultra-important Diagonal down into the continent itself.

Also important: the inner temple, or “den”, was aligned to the untraceable Anti-Diagonal of the sim as opposed to the (traceable) Diagonal, but maybe I just make that word up.

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0308, Nautilus, Rim Isles

00250307

“Did you create this, Fern?”

“I had a hand in it.”

—–

“Tessa! And… Robert?”

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0307, Nautilus, Rim Isles

Circle

I had my next clue. V-Gate, short for Valgate, another red V like the corner in Marwood. Landing spot right on the triple number for the sim: 108/108/108. A bit of history of that number here:

https://www.thezenlife.com/blogs/news/the-significance-of-the-number-108

But what lies all around from this high spot of the property? Strangeness, and beauty. Something was here — I could feel it. But maybe not manifest quite yet since the property is fairly new. This triple 108 was a starting point, an anchor. All is arranged downward from here.

That castle down there is private, but otherwise the sim, and also the neighboring sim which seems to partially be a section of the same “town”, is open for exploration and investigation.

There are stories here, or at least one or two. We will return; snapshots for now…

Valgate is near the ne corner of the Nautilus continent. That’s not its actual name but it’s very close.

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0306, Nautilus, Rim Isles

Randolph Country

“One of us is going to have to speak, twin of mine,” she thought into the other’s head. “Talky films are the way out, Oz be darned.”

“Someone,” the other furthered likewise, “is going to have to return to that three pointed hat bastard of a pirate over there with rising, snoozing chest.” Which is which?

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Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0025, 0305, Nautilus, Rim Isles, Sansara