“Just staring at a bamboo wall in Perch-Mistletoe. How about you?”
Reply.
“Amazon, eh?”
Reply.
“Oh. *Amagon*.”
Reply.
“Seaweed, huh?”
Reply.
“Well, sounds pretty. Bracket with you?”
—–
It was the last person he suspected while being the first person he suspected, Big Loop completed. Hucka Doobie.
“Triangle of lights,” he said, looking on. Fully a man now, transfer complete.
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0036, 0214, Nautilus, North, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra^
“We’re both tall for our species,” spoke Albert. Maybe we should bury the hatchet, get together. You’d have to have an operation of course. I’m not taking what you have down there currently.”
“You’re joking, right?” Sometimes it was hard for Franklin to tell.
“Of course.” Albert was somewhat reformed, having almost died over at Sporminore in the last photo-novel, 35 (period). He’s kind of seen the light. He returned his butterfly curtains from his formerly very special room to Curtis’ just the other day. I believe we have a photo of him doing so in the media library, along with some attached dialog…
Yes, here:
“You’ll have to trade them in.” “That’s fine.”
“So I come here looking for the Umbrella girl and instead find you. Under an umbrella.” He looked over, he looked up. “Explain.”
“We’re different people,” said Franklin. “I sit on the blue pillow, which represents positivity.”
“I resent that,” shot back Albert quickly. “*I* represent positivity… in the now.”
Franklin realized this was so. More memories kicked in. She was Shelley before, but also, behind that, Wheeler. She was Wheeler. She *is* Wheeler. She took him in, realizing she was sitting beside fellow core Baker Bloch instead of prevert Albert. Only the blackbird linked them together. And the hat(s).
“Take off your hat, Albert, and I’ll know that you speak the truth.” Could he?
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0036, 0104, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra^
“1st off, the umbrella girl in Lorsters Worst *gives* umbrellas, doesn’t just hold one. That’s a big difference in my eyes.”
“That means,” speculates Dickie Doom as well, “Blue Rose Thorn is still relevant, despite being stuck.”
“What I’m thinking,” Debbie agreed. “I’m going back. You stay here in case I need to be rescued.”
Dickie nodded. This was the end of their discussion until something else developed, something totally new. Because the umbrella girl wasn’t giving out umbrellas until Debbie showed up.
—–
There are *2* Dooms, thinks Pot-D or Pan-Z spy Lester Best from his position just around the corner. And the second is recording(!).
Debbie walks inside. Now to figure out how to get this elevator from 01 to 02, she pondered, and started touching stuff.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0032, 0107, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra^, Yd Island^
The candy sentry eventually, inevitably said no no no to the Mosses’ candy shopp and sent it away, along with all their other stuff gathered on the Crypto parcel. “Illegal,” it said. “Unlawful.” But the Mosses get away unscathed except for loss of property, stuff of dreams over.
Only a bit in the formerly unseen basement remains, packed up in one corner.
Then it’s on to Perch-Mistletoe next door to meet Dickie for Debbie, the agent sent in by Pot-D (or maybe Pan-Z) to replace absorbed Blue Rose Thorn still over in Lorsters Worst. Looks like rain.
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0032, 0106, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra^, Yd Island^
Returned to Our Second Lyfe, Marty stares at The Rock from his small sea green isle, wondering what it means. Owned by a Blackbyrds group. The Other Rock is in the southwest part of the square, *this* Rock is too — Nautilus continent that is, and its 32 x 32 grid of 256 x 256 meter sims, the focus of the last 6 photo-novels if you include the current one.
For some reason he doesn’t remember the giant Iris growing in the middle of this isle — its only vegetation — but upon checking later, sees it is on old photos from the area, this so called Owl Island which use to have two blue pools that acted as the upside-down night bird’s peepers. No more — Second Lyfe is soo mutable. But the association still stands in hypertime, which is also what this is all about. Marty stands, the pin beside him, as red as his hair, suddenly glowing brightly. Time to go inside again. He ponders the possible directions: north, northeast, east.
How about Diagonal?
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0031, 0507, Collagesity Fordham, Lands End, Lower Austra^, Metropolis, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Southwestern, Upper Austra^, Wild West
While he was waiting for her, this Moss 03 who goes by Alysha, he decides to prepare a Valentine letter to her professing his new found feelings. ‘I looov…’; ‘I luvvv…’ Strangely he can’t get himself to write the word ‘you’ after a drawn out version of ‘I love’ or ‘I luv’. He looks around at the beige landscape instead, and the objects scattered all about the place. Crypto, he thinks. And this is where they live, all three of the Mosses, Alysha and the 2 others, the black and the blonde haired ones. Alysha: pure red. Red itself. ‘Redd,’ he thinks here, and then writes that down instead. It works!
Alysha Redd comes up from the main house, finished with her shopping. She couldn’t find the new tattoo she wanted inworld. Disappointment, but it may have distracted from the ones she already had, the tree, the orange and the violet. Sometimes she dreams about them: they are as much as part of her as her fingers or her knees. Not overdone but not underdone. To add to them at this point may be stretching it; and tough to top the tree. She’s heard tattoos don’t age well with the stretch marks that inevitably come. Nervous about meeting MAT again, she gently nibbles at at the silver metal ring in her lip. When to tell him she’s actually married, if separated? Probably best to do it sooner than later. And I suppose I’ll have to wake him up at some point as well, she tacks on.
She reaches the table. “Okay, I’m ready for our second date.” This one should be a doozy if all goes well, she thinks to herself. The apartment above the citrus fruit shop is all prepared, including another writing desk. He can pen all the love letters he wants after we’re through. MAT keeps on writing. ‘Reddd, Reddd.’ “Ahem, *now*? This evening sometime?” MAT wakes up.
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0031, 0504, Metropolis, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra^
He ignored Baker’s invitation to teleport back to Collagesity with him and roamed around this most central of Nautilus burgs instead. He waved at the monkeys and beavers in this pool near its southeast corner but did it the wrong way…
… and they became confused and thus didn’t respond. “Hmph,” he said in his mild, innocent way, not really insulted by the supposed snub but also not not insulted. Both ways (don’t say 1/2 and 1/2). In his wandering haze, he’d already forgotten about Baker, about Collagesity, about the invitation.
Baker tried again just as Man About Time walked into a waterfall on the southern wall and missed once more. Error!
—–
He lay there in front of the solid backed falls for the longest time, rubbing his aching head. Where was he? Who was he?
And so it goes…
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0031, 0313, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra^
Like any child, Duncan realizes he is neither one nor the other. He is himself. Yet he must honor the dead.
What *now*, mother, father? I am a mere black child with red on his hands from doing wrong deeds. Continuously! Tell me how I made my error.
Could it have been… conception itself?
—–
Neighboring Perch-Mistletoe now:
I’m doing what Wendy did before, he thinks while rubbing down a counter in a local sushi bar with his bare hands. I killed her (!).
The Man About Time showed up.
“Sorry about the lateness,” he apologized in his mild manner, too embarrassed to say he’d forgotten how to put on his clothes and had to be reminded by those around him. “Just change your wardrobe,” they collectively scolded. “Oh,” he said in return, turning as red as Duncan’s sinful mitts, another error filled story.
“Wellll?”
“Carrcassonnee?” Man About Time said, knowing what was foremost in Duncan’s mind even if he didn’t. Did it work this time? Was he able to merge the 7th back into the 6 and start the, er, *car*? It was a thing to ponder and he did. Remember, MAT, remember! Where *was* he? He looked around. I was there and now I’m here which was there before, but…
Duncan repeated his original one word question to Man About Time, refocusing him to the present. Center. He recalls: center.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0031, 0312, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra^
Yeah, in staring at the sign again, Dr. Mouse realizes he’s never been on this Paper-Soap property. Wonder why.
He’s a bit drunk tonight but still resists the urge to explore the offerings of the Lucky Motel, because he knows it is really not that atall (*hiccup*). Plus he’s kind of got a relationship with the ex Wheeler/Wendy again. Moving on…
—–
Let’s go back to the big Nautilus continent map and see where we are. We started in Center (01) with the visiting of the Ur-parent’s graves, and worked our way up to the Aviary (02) where both Alysha and Hidi testified against Kolya as it were, almost eliminating him from our story, then quickly followed by Rooster’s Peninsula (03) where a nifty castle was established that may well replace Collagesity itself in our continuing Second Lyfe adventures. As you can see, these three basically equidistant locations form a line essentially running directly north, right to edge of the map and thus the continent.
But in the second half of the present photo-novel (XVIII), we have focused away from Nautilus to other, mostly non-mainland locations, like Paper-Soap. It’s as if the establishment of the castle provided us with a new anchor and then we moved on. So the question is: Is the more southern Collagesity now *toast*, at least for a while?
We haven’t even seen Collagesity leader Jeffrey Phillips in the current story yet. Perhaps that should change; he should have a say in all this.
(to be continued)
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0028, 0516, Collagesity Fordham, Lower Austra^, Nautilus, North, Paper Soap, Perch-Mistletoe, Rooster's Peninsula, Soap, Upper Austra^
Before going on another one of his adventures, Kolya pauses at the CENTER to pay respects to what he considers to be his ur-parents. “Oh Black and White (he never knew their names), I *will* live up to your name; I *will* find out who I really am and heal these wounds to my heads… head I meant there. Sorry.” He takes his leave.
“We hear. We: here.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL, 0028, 0101, Nautilus, Perch-Mistletoe, Upper Austra^, White Palace
Sunklands 
