September 24, 2023 · 8:39 am

00400204

“Aw come on Golden. You know I don’t have any money. I can barely afford to buy this espresso from you.”

“25,” she insisted before taking another sip.

“Damnation.” He reached into his pocket, pulled out the required money, handed it to her from across the table. He needed information, and badly!

“Good. Now let’s go inside. Did you bring a personal recorder?”

“Well… *no*.”

“Then we’ll have to use mine. I have an hour tape. That will have to be long enough.”

“Well great, since I have to be back at the salt mine in about that time.” He checks his watch. “Exactly that time as it turns out.”

“Nice. We are in sync. Can you feel it?”

—–

“Interesting. So the cards seem to be going only so far. We have a location called Big Sandy with lots of sun. Let’s do a deeper reading now with the crystal ball.” She manifests one on the table, blue-green as Earth. And it was, a microcosmic version. She could see actions anywhere on the globe.

“Yes, sand sand everywhere. Miring sand. *Trapping* sand. Did you bring your shovel?” She delved deeper. “Never mind. The spirits see you did. And you’re digging, digging your way out of the shit with a golden shovel. Has to be gold. And gold digs out gold. Can you see? Never mind, the spirits understand that you see.”

And he did. He envisioned a bug… no, a car shaped like a bug. Golden in the light. Storm approaching from the northeast which is somehow the same as the west, he knew. A big ship out at sea. Sea ship but also space ship. Lots of people on board. It was three… three… He lost it.

Golden was staring at him instead of the globe. Tell me what you saw… apprentice.”

(to be continued)

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September 23, 2023 · 10:33 am

00400203

“Breakfast looks great, dear. I’m *starving*.”

“Did you hear something outside?”

—–

“Oh, I’m so *full* now. Thanks for cooking again. I swear, I’ll start to chip in on that department very very soon. It’s just that…”

“That what…?”

“I feel like if I pick up a spatula I’ll never put it down. Did you have that feeling? The first time you picked one up or made breakfast for the first time? It’s a strange feeling but one I feel is true.”

“Umm.”

“Never mind. I know it’s a silly thought. And me and you just getting to know each other better. You don’t need to know all this *weird* stuff about me. Just that I’m cute.”

“Adorable!” she said on the couch by his side, and even gave his nose a tweak to reinforce this. Starts right there — tip of the nose; front of the face. Where truth begins.

He decides to address the elephant in the room. Or at least the cow. “H-how long…?”

“Till I remember,” she said about the suit she had on, guessing what he was going to ask. It was inevitable.

—–

Despite the appearance, this is not Marsha “Pink” Krakow. This is the mayor’s daughter. The cow suit makes her forget not remember. She had forgotten that very core fact about its existence. Eddie saw to that. Along with the mayor of this here Meat City, the first woman elected to the office. So many men wanted to keep women down in this primary Omega continent burg, known for its straight city blocks and shady dealings, crooked in every other way. The mayor was going to change all that. And her daughter had to be out of the way for her to do so. Thus the apartment in Broadwater, thus the distraction of opening a strip mall in a neighboring sim the same week of the rental. “See?” she can tell the worriers, the doubters. “She was just on TV that week. She’s *fine*. She runs off now and then.” The cow suit was an heirloom from her mother’s father’s brother’s sister’s aunt-uncle, a cross-dresser of sorts. “Put it on and you’ll turn invisible,” he said to his niece back in 1905 when he revealed the thing for what it was. He didn’t say that the invisible part involved the mind and not the body. They’ll never find her here. As long as she doesn’t know who she is.

Back to the couch…

“Don’t worry, Ginger. No one is watching us. I have all the bases covered, like in a classic Cincinnati Reds game, a victory of course. I’ll keep you safe at home.”

“No sin in Cincinnati, I get it.” But she didn’t smile. There were eyes out there. Brown ones, she sensed.

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September 22, 2023 · 10:25 am

Meat City blues

“I can’t get that girl out of my mind, Other Edward. It reminds me of that one up in, where was it, Broadchurch.”

“Broadwater?” corrected Other Edward, wishing the other Other Edward would chip in and at least dry the dishes he was washing. One f-ing plate at a time, since they dare not go to the store and buy a dishwasher. Might be spotted.

“Yeah, that’s it. Without the pigtails this time of course, but…”

“I saw it too,” admitted Other Edward, who was actually the only Edward here despite the name playing. He: Edward. Him: Eddie. And a change in the last name as well to help disguise. Edward Daigle and Eddie D’Aigle, then. Or “D’Aigle, Eddie” as he also jokingly liked to call himself now and then.

“Welll? Could it be?”

“Impossible,” waved off Edward at the sink. Tough stain on this one; he’ll have to cool it with the curry, he reminds himself. If it’s doing this to the dishes imagine what it’s doing to the inner piping. Bloody mess in there, he supposes, given all those kind of meals he’s woofed down over the years. “I saw her in the news just the other week,” he continued. “Mayor was opening a new strip mall in Kuradov.”

“I bet he was,” quipped Eddie, taking a sip of his coffee and contemplating what to say next. He’d gotten the sex wrong but he’d made his point. “We have to get an old photo somewhere — remove the pigtails; just to be sure.”

“We burned them all,” reminded Edward. “Evidence.”

“Right right.” Eddie hung his head. “I can’t even remember her name now, Edward. But you know I’m bad on names. That’s why, heh, I just call you Other Edward all the time.”

“I know you’re not,” replies his cousin who was now disguised as a lover, as in gay partner. They even had to kiss in public the other day for demonstration. His own cousin (!). And then that other time… but he doesn’t even like to think about it. “It’s Wanda.”

“Wanda, yeah. What kind of car did she drive?”

“I think she just took the mayor’s car most places. Of course, that’s what got us caught in the first place — why we’re on the lam *now*. Two gay lovers instead of two gay cousins. I mean, two *cousins*. No gay.”

“No, since we fell for the same gal and went to that place in Broadchurch [sic] and, right, she left the car outside and then the police chief drove by and then wondered why the mayor was in such a seedy spot in town, *seedier*, and went inside to check. Caught!”

“Like rats,” Edward at the sink reiterated. “The mayor’s daughter.” He scrubbed harder, as if trying to erase the memory from his brain. No go. He had a better one than Eddie. He recalled *everything*.

(to be continued)

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September 21, 2023 · 8:40 am

00400201

“Say’s here in the paper there’s a 2 fer 1 special on Amazon products down at the mall. We better go snag us some more exotic rain forest flowers, boys!”

“Here here,” they said kind of jointly, kind of as one. How to differentiate?

“Stew dogs’ ready!” called the one at the grill. That was Eddie, then (00330201). Different from Edward, like D’Aigle is different from Daigle. And *that* is her chosen boyfriend. Edward was just here for the hand off, the negotiation or price. No, let’s say he’s a cousin just come for a visit. Or maybe an old lover pretending to be a cousin if Edward and Eddie are or were gay. Where did it all get started?

When it stopped; Marsha’s VW bug that is. Stuck in the sand — should have traded yellow vehicles with neighbor Mrs. Ordinary (aka Bethany, Ginger) while she had the chance. Drifts were often high on the edges of Big Sandy where beige spills over into green. Like today, a windier one thanks to the northeaster coming into shore from the west, from the direction of the USS Galaxy, duplicated both in sea and in space. Just came back from a journey to the Pleiades, which I believe is a star constellation formation (thanks Dolores!).

Eddie was grilling then as well, watched her spin her tires trying to get out of a predicament. Stew dogs done, he put down the spatula and walked over to help.

(to be continued)

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September 20, 2023 · 9:37 pm

twofer

She peered closer at one of the 2 bathers she thought might somehow represented Brabinites Ditsy and Zizzy Grant seen at the Omega continent’s Mountain Lake earlier in this here section. Instead: “That looks like me(!) Two of me!”

Somebody waited below out on the deck of the [Carcossa] houseboat with all the flowers they’d bought. Edward. The chosen one.

And… Edward?

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September 20, 2023 · 6:23 pm

00400115

They’d found something else in the sim of Carcossa, as close as you can get to Carcassonne among sim names in Our Second Lyfe. She knew this *crocogator* was the same as the great olive being, the former ruler of Collagesity back in the old days before the coming of Wheeler — olive as a color, even, if one didn’t already have enough evidence. Near the southeast corner of a 3×3 square of island sims effectively separated from the rest of old Bellissaria. But they don’t know what it means yet.

She had to approach the deity in order to become herself again, pink clad and dominant among the three constituents. It was going to be especially hard to keep Shelley down in the subconscious. Very powerful: dark butterfly power. Marsha tries to keep light about things. A laugh here and a giggle there helps, positive influence of Brown (3rd).

And that’s not all they found in this highlighted sim. A similar reptile positioned in a likewise southeast corner points the way.

Strong evidence that the rapscallion Bart lived here as a 13 year old boy in a 15 year old avatar’s body.

(to be continued)

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September 19, 2023 · 9:28 am

TILE trains (you always have to be aware)

“You know, I’m tired of the toy room. This is the second day in a row.”

“What!?”

“I said, this is the second day!”

“Sorry! Still can’t hear you over the chair springs!”

“We’ve got to start acting our age,” continued Gill one toy attraction over. “Blue Berry Girl could have been a real thing. Then we would have had serious problems!”

“Patty cake?” spoke Rock over, still not worried. Moving on…

“I mean, what about that pension fund you were going to start at the bank, the one that paid 5.74% interest? How’s that going?”

“Your rump is big, te he.” Next…

“I mean, Rock. Look at us. I’m 42 and you’re 48 or something.”

“46!” he protested, debating whether to trade a giraffe for one of Gill’s kangaroos. Might swing the zoo business in his favor.

“Point is, we’re not getting any younger.”

“Can I play now??”

Jointly: “No!” Poor kid.

—–

“We don’t have any other attractions to visit in the toy room anyways. We *have* to leave. Right kid?”

“No!!”

Ship steward Jimmy Bimimmy showing up at 9:55 again: “Is this *your* kid? *Kids.*” (snicker)

Was it?

(to be continued?)

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September 19, 2023 · 7:07 am

last laughs

Well they’re having some fun, aren’t they. But Gill/Vain and Artery Boy doesn’t think he’s putting his best face forward so they stop this…

… and move on to the toy room where Gill feels Rock hogs the horsie while he’s stuck on the slide.

Literally stuck, as it turned out. “I’ll get you out of there, buddy,” speaks Rock over to his helpless mate. “Just as sooon… as I finish this picture I’m working on, he he.”

“F- you.”

Then it’s on to the climbing wall where Rock enjoys the view just before things turn tragic and Gill tumbles downward after being distracted by a passing balloon. “Nice work… *Jill*,” Rock belabors head holding Gill at the bottom (pronounced with a hard g of course instead of the soft one), making his day even worse. He promises to get even in the end, though…

“No room on the ship no room on the ship!” he cries while Rock sheds tears outside, knowing the Earth is about to blow up and he’s going with it. The aliens only save one this day.

Now Gill can get a good night’s sleep amongst the stars, HA.

“Okay, toy room’s closing in 5 minutes, *children*,” spoke ship steward Jimmy Bimimmy to Rock and Gill at 9:55. “Can you find your way back to your rooms? Do you want me to call your Mommy and Daddy to come help you?” (*snicker*)

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September 18, 2023 · 1:29 am

sounds like Serendipity (people call her Dip)

“Anyway, I thought you’d want to know about your cousin.”

“Thanks, Marsha. We haven’t really interacted with each other in years. But: ‘preciate the news.” She takes another drag off her cigarette, this Serenity Lane, related to Shelley Lane through their fathers who are brothers, she said.

“It’s not like she’s totally gone, though. She’s in here.” And Marsha pointed to her heart to indicate the inside nature of the other Lane now. “Actually she provided me with the (grown up) body during the conversion. The other one, a girl named Brown, provided the gestures and maybe the conscience of the conceived entity.”

“You,” spoke Serenity, still trying to wrap her brain around the concept. A three-in-one, she pondered. Another drag. That means…

“Yes, I’m Marsha ‘Pink’ Krakow still,” Marsha continued, “because of the hair, the hot pink clothes and shoes. But mainly the hair.” She tugged at it, indicating it wasn’t a wig and that it was a permanent part of the body now. Unlike before. Although she had an important add-on of similar tint. Some pigtails. She was waiting for that special someone to show the thing off to. She’s working on it by process of elimination, Arthur Kill (hubby to Shelley) already decided upon and sent away. Next up: Edward Daigle, the fantasy boyfriend inside the novels which were as real as the outside, one penetrating and interweaving with the other. She had a hard time telling them apart any more. But that was yesterday. Today is today. So odd she finds the 1st cousin of one of her 3 constituents in Big Sandy, and not far from the central Rocky Comfort atall, just over the sound from it. Maybe it’s the actual reason she came here. She’s finding many odd things about the region, starting with multiple giant bugs.

“How long have you been here? if you don’t mind me asking.”

“Not atall.” She put out the cigarette in the palm of her other hand and then used the same to count years, no sign of pain detected and no burn mark left. Magic, we can guess, which would continue. “One two three four five,” she said, indicating the fingers in order from thumb to pinkie on the somehow undamaged hand, then again: “six seven eight, let’s see, nine. Nine years.”

Marsha “Pink” Krakow knew the original continent of the Bellissaria complex was only formed 5 years ago. So either Serenity was lying or she was living in an alternate universe where time operated differently. Turns out it was the latter.

(to be continued)

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September 17, 2023 · 10:11 pm

triad

“I’m glad we switched places so that my blue side is showing,” spoke Vain and Artery Boy, our Gill Alex, over to lover and perhaps brother (from another mother) Rock Ramby, formerly of Chaucey. Always vain, this tri-colored avatar is, wanting to show his best side to the outside world, the camera, the 4th wall which both knew was always there when they appeared in these here photo-novels. Self-awareness of sorts, if only in a narcissistic way. “I’m sorry,” Vain and Artery Boy continued, “if that particular side reminds you of my old lover, the Blue Berry Girl we’ve been talking about so much recently. I wish her well,” he spoke huskily, adapting to the ocean air at last, “but it’s over, done, kaput. We will probably never speak to each other again.”

Rock took it all in. He knew they were here to look for a knob, and not necessarily his, although it does involve rocks, as in a Rocky knob. Just over there somewhere in Big Sandy, just out of sight from their perspective on the starboard side of the USS Galaxy, draw distance extended to the max while they were sitting here and not experiencing any lag through movement. If only they had Mrs. Ordinary’s pricey, fancy schmancy long seeing eyes it might be spotted. Still… soon enough. Mrs. Ordinary was a friend and she lived right below it. Vain and Artery Boy just had to ditch Blue Berry Girl, probably crying her own eyes out in her room somewhere across from them, he imagined. But in actuality, she was quite relieved of the unburdening. She’d met someone else too, a new person and not an old love in his case. Chaucey (there’s that name again). Also known as Bill Ups I believe. I’ll check asap.

(to be continued)

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