“Such a pretty, happy family,” a looming Madame Silver cooed before spoiling it all. “Let’s just, um, remove the *father* from the scene, har har. Like thus.” She picks up “Monsieur Gold” and squeezes him tight in her hand.
“Now what are you going to do Young Ruby and Tin Tin? Stay in the woods until darkness descends?” She takes another figure.
“Are you??”
“Ooooo. Come here you!!”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0010, 0207, Ruby's Empire/Fishers Island
Tin Tin explains what Ruby Roo originally supposed was a dream.
“They were behind the waterfall barely in the next sim, past the corrugated pipe on the river floor I had just tripped over. Green Glinda, a tree being I had seen before somewhere. But also silver if zoomed in closer.
“A Silver Statue” was the name as I now checked. And then it just seemed to disappear as I adjusted my graphic options. But then, zooming in again: there; silver once more. How could this be? More mysteries to be solved re Fishers Island. For this was Fisher’s island through and through now. Most everyone had forgotten the former name of Wall Island. That was so histories.”
“We have to find Fisher, then,” came Ruby’s quick assessment/analysis. “He must have survived the explosion and is now working on the island somewhere, perhaps in another dance club. Most likely Bendy or Lord Bendington is with him, being indestructible and all.”
“I didn’t like that space,” Tin Tin concluded. “Very confined. Just plain weird.”
“You must return,” Ruby countered. “Again and again. Until: something happens.”
Tin Tin didn’t plan to do that. Besides, he knew what would happen. The beginning. Big Bang. Again and again. “A Silver Statue” was a ticking bomb.
—-
The next time Tin Tin visited that same location he tried pushing “A Silver Statue” through the waterfall and back into Glinda through repeated collisions, but it suddenly became nonphysical at the sim border, unable to be shoved any further in that direction. Glinda couldn’t go back to Glinda. And then he realized something: Glinda was actually Glin. Glin *or* Glinda. Queer.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0010, 0206, Ruby's Empire/Fishers Island
“Beautiful. Isn’t it?” Tin Tin spoke of his beloved river forest, the one he even claims to have been conceived in (!). He pointed upwards from his position. “One of many merged tree types here. I need to make a count of them; survey the woods.” Perhaps you could help me, Young Ruby, he thought silently to himself. Might we possibly make a Tin Tin II here (hehe)??
Ruby certainly liked the trees but didn’t think Tin Tin’s self named Glinda measured up as a whole to the Rubi Woods. Not even close. No leafy grass for one thing. No mysterious inundations all over the place for another. No, this is not worth an intense study if you asked her at this present moment. And then there was the problem of what lies all around it. This was a hole, a void, in the center of a cacophonic symphony of energy. But, true, it *was* energy, she thought. Unlike the old continents now. Our Second Lyfe is certainly not what it use to be. And she can now point to a particular date: July 1, 2009. Working on 10 years ago. Utopia and the resulting chaos-freedom split asunder. Apples in one basket, oranges in another. Or perhaps lemons and limes in this case. These fruit cases, umm…
“Let’s go back to my spot on the river,” Tin Tin shouts up, snapping Ruby out of her reverie. “Have a picnic or something.” But Ruby argued they should return to her — *their* house in the democratic empire. “It’s all very close,” she then compromised. “We can come back most any time.”
And talk about and work on that Tin Tin II, he machinated inwardly. Pleasant images indeed.
Here they are walking past The Spot. Tin Tin glances down, wondering if Ruby might change her mind about that picnic. But too soon, he then decided, and walks without talk for a while.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0010, 0205, Ruby's Empire/Fishers Island
It was awful. The parcel Tin Tin declared they could cross safely to get to what he called the Linden passage to Glinda was blocked most of the way across. And when they finally did get access, the gap in the wall in back that Tin Tin also remembered didn’t exist any longer. “Virtual reality is so mutable!” he declared, making Ruby snort. They tried to fly across an intervening parcel, but — banned land. No luck. So they had to backtrack and go up the sidewalk north anyway and turn left down another main road. Ruby indeed saw things she wished she hadn’t in their short but intense walk there. Finally they reach the Linden passage with the characteristic trees — cypresses all, but of several different hues and sizes. Wonderful, she thought. She’d not seen trees like this on her New Island, which was very sandy in comparison to the green terrain of this place.
She looks down the hill they were perched upon into the meat of the town while Tin Tin played in the grass behind her, feeling the freedom. She’ll not go into that mess if at all possible, she decided. Country to the east of her empire, *future* empire she reminded herself. She’ll take that direction to explore after they finish up this adventure. But this turned out only to be partially true.
“Follow the rail,” Tin Tin declared. “Easy. 200 more meters tops.” So they did.
“Glinda,” he indicated as they passed through a more intense cluster of cypresses. “Here, but moreso across the river. *The* river. I was named for this river. I never told you that before. I’ve waited until right this moment.”
Ruby was curious about what Tin Tin was babbling on about *now*, but could see nothing of interest across the water. Until she turned up her draw distance to the max and viewed remotely.
Glinda.
Nice. Very nice indeed.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0010, 0203, Ruby's Empire/Fishers Island
“Alright you talked me into it, Mr. Tin Tin,” spoke Ruby, tired of her texture laden house for now. “Take me to this Glinda you go on about.”
Tin Tin clapped his hands in glee. “You won’t regret it.” He too was frustrated with things not rezzing in correctly when they were together in the house. “Just follow the Linden land as best we can there and it shouldn’t be a problem. BUT… once you step off this sim — your empire after all.”
“In the future,” Ruby amended. “Not quite yet.”
“But, anyway, once you step off you have to be CAREFUL. Siren lures everywhere. Or in your case — what’s the opposite of sirens? You know, the men sirens or something.”
“I don’t know,” she stated plainly. “I’m rather plain looking. I doubt if anyone out there will find me that attractive.”
“*I* find you attractive.”
Ruby blushed a little, but then composed herself, flattening out the front of her skirt. “You don’t count. You are my housemate by mistake and perhaps deception and that’s all. We share a house — for now. Madame Silver and I are working on a long term solution. She’s apologized again and again.”
“Not as much to me,” Tin Tin spoke, winking the left eye of his two toned face. Could she ever get use to it? Rather shocked at herself, she suddenly understood she perhaps could. He was becoming ever so *slightly* attractive to her, despite the inherent split nature. And she’s taught him how to eat with his mouth closed, at least *most* of the time. That helps.
Looking around at the beautiful but flawed textures again, Ruby vibrates her lips together in exasperation. Talk of the duplicate contract — another wacky combo, I suppose — could wait until later. “Okay, so where do we start?”
—–
“Scale the wall? And stop knocking into me all the time!”
“I’m just *joking*.”
Turning and staring, Ruby then swatted him hard on the shoulder. “You just wanted to see me climb it… see if I would do it.”
“Yeah, okay, I’m *sorry*. He points southward. “The wall ends a little bit over there. We can cross the road — no problem. Just remember to look left, look right, look left again. This is an urban area, not the hick island you stayed at before.”
“Which had some similar problems to the ones you’re describing. I’m not totally oblivious to the big, fantastic fantasy world out there.”
“Alright,” Tin Tin relented, shuffling his feet. “I get it.” He thrust his hands into his pockets, starts swaying back and forth. He decides to just blurt it out. “Sooo… you’ve had a boyfriend before?”
“*Before*?” She swatted him again, but then ultimately didn’t answer his question.
——
“So here we are,” declared Tin Tin. He points. “Just through that gap over there. With the Linden trees.”
“Are you *sure* you know what you’re doing Tin Tin?”
“No,” he admits with uncharacteristic seriousness. “No I do not.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0010, 0202, Ruby's Empire/Fishers Island
“You better hurry up with your pie, Ruby. We’ve got a whole shake to get at (!).”
“Well… you hurry too,” Ruby commanded to her new acquaintance Tin Tin. “You’ve got a whole piece of pie to go as well.”
“Fork’s a little dirty,” he said, turning it round and round. “Maybe I should ask the waitress for a new one.”
“You can’t ask the waitress for a new fork every time you take a couple of bites (!). Just clean it off with your mouth, dufus. Your lips or tongue or something.”
“Hey, don’t call me stupid.”
“I didn’t,” Ruby returned measuredly. “I called you dufus.”
He stared at her, then just waved it off and took another bite. She did as well.
“Can we *please* stop talking about food all the time and get to why we came here?”
“We came for the talk,” Tin Tin returned. “*And* the food.” He started eating with his mouth open again.
Ruby couldn’t wait much longer. The water and the fish across the room seemed to be closing in on her. Maybe she has agoraphobia she didn’t know about before. Or maybe it’s simply the company crushing her down.
“I don’t think this pie is getting smaller, Ruby,” proclaims Tin Tin, looking down at it. He glanced over. “Neither is yours. Do you *feel* like you’re getting any fuller?”
“Yes,” she replied quickly, staring at his queerly two-toned face. Yes, she thought to herself. I’m certainly getting my fill of all this.
—–
Yesterday, across the sim:
Hearing approaching footsteps, Tin Tin rolled over on his sleeping sofa.
“What are *you* doing here?”
“Well… what are *you* doing here?”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0010, 0111, Ruby's Empire/Fishers Island
“You know something. Don’t you?
Now spill it.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0010, 0109, Ruby's Empire/Fishers Island
From the first time she saw it in the northeast corner of the sim, Young Ruby knew this was her church. Somehow it wasn’t the Maxites per se that caught on in Collagesity. It was more connected to the Cult of Oo’d then, obviously. But the only way the true story would unfold is if she signed the contract. She’d met Madame Silver yesterday and understood the basic terms. Fishers Island progressed from New Island; Tronesisia as art-clay centerpoint brought back to life. Eels. Right now it was Silver’s empire to rule, but she was the understudy, destined to be top dog soon enough. She asked how long she had to make a decision. She wanted to explore the other river islands more to make sure she was picking the correct reality to manifest. Other islands represented other array points (!). Fishers Island had to be named carefully and with much consideration and deliberation. Quality over quantity this time around, Ruby thought, face unwincing. Sucklands to Sunklands. Time capsule castle opened.
—–
“Well, looks like radiation levels are finally low enough where we can return to the ground and feel safe, Ruby.”
Axis looks around the table, the room, as if waking from a dream.
“Ruby? Young Ruby?
Hmm. Not here.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0010, 0108, New Island, Ruby's Empire/Fishers Island
“It’s just going to be you guys and me for a while, Curled Paper and 2nd Librarian. And Gus, of course. The Power.
4 long, long years. But we’ll be *seen* before then. Oh yes. Sally will make sure of that. And New Island’s south central Wastelands will be expanded beyond anything we dreamed before. Manifest destiny. In the meantime, we have Mabel’s fascinating journals to entertain us, 3 being the latest. More will follow. Perhaps 10 total? That would be nice; keep us busy. Librarian, pick one of your favorite passages and start for us. But read it *sloowly*. We need to stretch out time to the max.”
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0009, 0616, New Island
“Give. Me. Some. PILLS!”
—–
“Flying high are we again tonight Annie? And we’re also joined by Young Ruby. Hi Young Ruby!”
“Hellooo,” the 15 year old replied innocently across the table. The Table. She was also flying high but in a different way.
“And of course The Librarian between you. But let’s go further up tonight, guys,” Axis suggests, retaining a small, mischievous smile upon his lips, Mona Lisa style. “To the Hitop Pool of Undifferentiated Lovemaking. Love, I meant there. 1/2 and 1/2. And I believe its Hilltop. Let’s top, er, hop to it!
—–
“Annie, you chose the red tube. That means you’re temperamental and undisciplined. Ruby you chose the blue one. You are even keeled and fun to work with. Your weaknesses are chocolate…”
“It is!”
“… butter pecan…”
“Right!”
“… and lemonade.”
“Sure ’nuff! Remarkable Axis.” Young Ruby was amazed over how spot on his on-the-spot psychoanalysis was. Axis was an evil genius for sure! And also: in that order.
“It’s time for me to turn into the dog.”
Oh goodie, both women thought as one. Their love of Tin Tin was only matched by their love for their weaknesses, but unfortunately he had his back to them tonight with not much to say.
The sun was rising on Hilltop Pool. The sun was always rising here, over wealthy and poor alike.
Sun Rose.
Filed under **VIRTUAL SL, 0009, 0411, New Island
Sunklands 