short story
“I think it will be a good day in BoB today, don’t you think sister of mine?”
“BoB willing. Let me check my hand mein sister.”
“The veins indicate good fortune and good weather. The arteries I feel inside the veins dictate strength within weakness.” She put her ivory hand back in her lap. “It is time to venture out into the No Sayers Land. It is time to say Yes to No.”
“Last time…” Esther ventured.
“I know, I know. We will take Terrible Tarantula this time for ease of negotiation. Bring forth the Cage of Time!”
Significant pause. “I don’t know where that is sister of mine. We might have left it at Jim’s. How about the Fence of Space?”
“Very well,” Esther relents. “The Fence… of Space!”
“There he is, mein sister,” quivered Esther, turning around to behold the manifested demon dog corralled by an invisible barrier. “The terrible, horrible Tarantula. More Terrible than Horrible, hence the name.
“That one day when he ate friend Jim Buffet was pretty horrible,” offered sister Mamie.
“Indeed. But also terrible. And Terrible is what we need today to protect. What else do we got?”
“Erm, Plaid the Imploder? That’s all I got.”
“Bring forth! Wait… we need a safe container… forgot. Always forgetting that. Let’s see Fence of Space — Terrible Tarantula’s occupying that right now. Can’t let *him* loose like before. “How about the Box of Chocolates. Box of Chocolates!” she summons.
“Oh no! Left open!” they screamed in terrible, horrible unison.
Jim had just killed his two bestest friends he ever had in the world. He observes from heaven. “Oh no! Left open!” he cries in turn. But with sarcasm.
decision
Spongeberg Resident’s last creative activity in Whitehead Crossing before the move to Our Second Lyfe was a temple complex at the very uppermost portion of Green Stream’s Korean Channel, reachable by the log bridge pictured below.
The centerpiece was suppose to be Seven Stone but modified to 12 in the construction. Spongeberg rationalized this by saying the 7th was pregnant at the time and had 5 children rocks to top the structure.
Spongeberg’s energy spins on from world to world. The Baker Family now has a chance to buy a pretty big chunk of cheap land in the center of the Route 13-14 peninsula, connecting Whitehead Crossing to BoB in a more direct way. In fact, I think I’ll just make a call to the wife (who’s out of town currently visiting her poor, sick father), to wish her Happy Anniversary and also ask if buying the virtual land is okay. I’m sure she’ll be good with it, but she always seems to tell me about her expenditures that may amount to over 50 dollars or so. Potentially amount in this case, for the land itself is only 25 bucks and tier for 3 weeks will be 32 additional dollars. And I have the option to sell the 8192 square meter parcel before that, perhaps for more than what I bought it with. A question then becomes: What happens after this 3 week “grace” period?
—–
Okay, Happy Anniversary wished, permission granted, and so I’m going to purchase the 8192. Before I do, a word about the word BoB.
—-
Okay, purchased land (!). Didn’t want to wait.
Now: about BoB.
(to be continued)
righteous and depraved
“Mamie and Esther’s house above the big faun statue is a cursed one, just like the duplicate house above the giant Jesus statue was a blessed dwelling. Another 2 fer 1: black and white; good and bad; masculine and feminine; Heaven and Earth.”
“Omit good and bad from the list,” suggested Hucka Doobie, sitting 2 down from Baker Bloch at the Blue Feather Table tonight. “We better get to the new land.”
[delete 15 exchanges]
“Okay, we’ll wait 2 weeks for that one. Wheeler’s tier will roll over into the next cycle by then.”
“Cool,” replies Hucka Doobie. “And Collagesity may live on in its present location after all. Things will happen. This *novel* will be finished or almost done by then. How to wrap up?”
“Keep focusing on BoB, obviously.”
“Better hop… er, get, um, go after it then.”
duplicate house above the giant Jesus statue, formerly in Siliconicus; note that Jesus faces *away* from the house here, and the faun faces toward the identical one in Fumb — seems to reach for it, even
—–
More info about the houses and a lot of other Nautilus/Route 13-14 stuff here:
Baker Blinker Blog Book VIII: Post-Jeogeot 01 (Jan Feb 2012)
More about the related BoB concept here:
Big news. *Big* big news.
As of this afternoon, Collagesity is no more. A new town has sprouted up on the Nautilus continent to take its place. Name: 7 Stones. The transference is complete; Minoa properties are all up for sale. There’s a 5120 and 4096 next to the Rubi Woods, in case anyone is interested. Asking price: 2.3 linden dollars per square meter. Also there’s a 1024 over there owned by Wheeler going for L$1.7 per sq. meter.
Shocked I could move a town so fast? So am I. But almost *everything* was transferred, with a few exceptions. The SoSo Mall didn’t make it. Nor did Pitch’s Darkly Manor. But about everything else was successfully shifted from Minoa to Fordham (my new home sim) in well under 3 days.
7 Stones Phase 1 is complete. The town has been established. I’m now on Phase 2, which will include stabilizing and then reopening the Fal Mouth Moon and SoSo galleries formerly present in Collagesity, and just rounding out the place in general as the dust continues to settle.
Why the name change? one may ask, especially since the current plan is to display about the same amount of collages in the town. Well… just decided it was time. And the name 7 Stones actually has a history in this general vicinity. Too long a story to go in tonight. I have plenty of time to delve into town history, because I’m certainly here for a while, probably years.
For the record, this is the 5th appellation change for a virtual village of my creation, starting with Pietmond in 2010. But the name Collagesity has lasted the longest by far, existing from June 2014 until this month. 5 year anniversary would have been in a month and a half (!). Sad… but the new town is working out so well. Everything is slotting in really nicely.
Shocked…
Some more preliminary shots:
7 Stones: Artist “Alley”
Audrey’s
Paying respect (Karl, Terry, other pirates).
I suppose *this* could be the alley. Behind the structures instead of in front.
Yes.
But Woody’s blocked this completing underpass if so.
Woody appears to be the new Pitch Darkly, in that *his* house is connected to the Blue Feather instead of his bloodied vampire friend’s Darkly Manor. Interesting new twist — probably one of many the town will provide. Although full of familiar structures and viewpoints, 7 Stones has a new air to it. Beyond Collagesity.
I hope so, since so much is at stake.
—–
“And House Greenup has also returned, Cardboard,” chirps Woody Woodmanson cheerfully to his ever-present, flattie house companion.”
Woody’s Wonders
She teleported into the center of the Blue Feather, per usual. Home. But no more Linden woods, she sighs while staring out the transparent wall.
She spots Woody’s first addition: an abandoned car beside the Fal Mouth Moon gallery next door, which cheers her up somehow. Something new, something different. “Oh well,” she speaks aloud to herself. “Time to march onward and upward, as Baker Bloch might positively say. Or Woody now, I suppose. Let’s see, he said meet him at the town dump…”
Wheeler decides to change into Hidi tonight before heading out in public. Quick and easy. She moves toward the front door of the club, and then spots something else different: pirate mausoleum’s wall penetrating through (although she didn’t guess this at the time).
She then goes outside through Blocking Shrub, takes a gander up and then down the main road bisecting 7 Stones.
Oh me Gods, she thinks. The crystals are back, pheh. I suppose that’s what you get for having a wooden toy decorate your town now. On cue, Woody pops into view across the street, first a glowing white ovoid, then himself. He was sitting in a rocking chair, looking smug and proud as usual. And that voice (!). She must brace herself.
—–
“Well I’m here. What’s you got, Dummy?”
“Woody, please.”
“Oh that’s right,” Wheeler/Hidi amended. “You’re a toy, not a dummy. And not a dummy toy.”
“I have a college degree!” he spoke in a high, irritating register while holding forward his glinting gold key.
“Diploma, yes.” Wheeler remembers seeing Woody for the first time with that key. She remembered the key didn’t like her, even though Woody didn’t say it out loud. Thought her *aberrant*. Well… I’ll show him — it — who’s aberrant now.
Woody takes a long, deep sniff. Wheeler didn’t like this gesture either, although no nasal vocalizations are involved. Just the fact that it came out of the same nose, I suppose. “Smell that?!” The voice again, ugh. “Ewww. Doesn’t smell *good*, does it? Aberrant more like it.” Like you, Woody thinks, but once again doesn’t say aloud. He gets up. “Let’s go see where it’s coming from.”
“The dump, I would suppose,” states Hidi logically while following Woody past the appropriate sign.
Before she knew it, Woody had run ahead of her and dived off what appeared to be a bank.
She gasped, walked much more carefully to the precipice, and peered down, fearing the worse. But there was only Woody sprawled atop a mouth shaped floatie toy, looking up from a interestingly decorated swimming pool. “Oh hi, Wheeler! Long time no see. Dive on down. The water is perfect today!”
The closer she got to the bank, the more the smell dissipated. “Oh what the hell.”
Jacksboro
Somewhat later, a tall, blue-ish gnome approached the side of the sunken pool from around one of the two giant cylinder rocks there, telling respectively swimming and sunbathing Woody and Wheeler he dug it. His name: Salazar, according to the object’s description. Beside him, a shorter, similarly red capped gnome protested Linden tier gauging, a subject reviewed in a post earlier this month by Baker Bloch to “newbie” Grassy Noll. I don’t know what the policeman has to do with any of this. Maybe he’s policing the protester?
Who lives in the nearby, lemony VWX dust bunny fairy house remains a mystery. I don’t think it’s Salazar nor the other gnome, nor the policeman. Someone else.
Wait. I’m picking up something. A person named Jack lives there. Pretty sure of that.
So many Jacks, though, to choose from.
non-working holidays
It was always going to be us vs. them for control of Our Second Lyfe. Santa vs. Halloween (Jack) all over again.
Which of course worked both ways.
Let’s dive in.
non-working holidays 02
They emerged from the sunken pool quite refreshed and relaxed. Woody continued their tour.
“Here we have symbols representing the primary holidays of Christmas and Easter,” he piped up in his whiny, nasal voice. So irritating, thought Wheeler. But she must concentrate — she knew all of this was important now. But that’s not Christmas and Easter. Something else. Or was it?
Maybe nearby barwoman *Jean Fade* would know.
Yes. She did.
“Sister,” she explained in starting out. “Twin.”
more
So many Jacks to think about now in 7 Stones.
Now which one of these dueling dudes is Jack? questioned apparent town leader Woody in his head.
Oh yeah: both of ’em.
And Jean Fade even indicated perpetually digging Salazar is a Jack as well, owner/creator of an ancient mythology detailing where Linden (Lime) World and World of Lemon originally split off from each other, one going forwards and the other heading backwards in space/time.
bar 01
“Now where are we on this map again, Wheeler?”
“You know where we are, Woody. Nautilus. Right in the middle.”
“Oh. Yeah. I was looking around the edges.”
“No longer. Smack dab in the center,” she reinforced to the new town leader. Who was actually Baker Bloch once more, of course. And herself tonight? Let’s go with Hidi again.
But then I, the user of both, was pretty much shocked to find this out-of-the-way sky bar in Fordham, about the only other business I could find in the sim besides the galleries in 7 Stones itself, was owned by the same Lemon who ran that bar in Fishertown — formerly Wallytown — featured in Collagesity novel 10 (“Collagesity 2018 Later”). And a *Lemon* at that, recalling how we were just talking about World of Lemon vs. Linden (Lime) World in a post from yesterday. Startling, really. How could this be? Better get back to the characters right now, though. But I think they should know this too. I’ll have Woody mouth the fact in his oh-so-nasal voice…
“I checked the About Land before, Wheeler. This place is owned by a Ms. *Lemon*, and the same avatar that owned Bar Lemon in Wallytown featured in novel 10.”
Wheeler’s jaw dropped. How could this be?
She decided to change over into a character whose jaw could actually drop, though, since Hidi was a mesh figure.
Quick and easy, yeah, but limiting in that way.
bar 02
Wheeler investigates the bar more thoroughly. She then found the teleport directly connecting this one with Bar Lemon over in Wallytown Fishertown.
“I was *just* there,” she said under her breath. As if Woody didn’t need to know that fact. “This is about *me*” She uses the provided landmark to teleport over…
Things have changed over here…
“Well hello over there,” spoke a woman from behind. “Haven’t seen you in a while.”
Wheeler turned and approached the policeperson. “You *know* me?”
“Of course we do, Wheeler. If that’s still what you go by. We’ve been monitoring your progress, even. Pretty big party you had in LO next door before you, um, left. How’re the novels going?”
“Mary,” spoke Wheeler, whose mouth would be dropping again if she weren’t using it presently. She must have been the one to delete the objects left behind. Jimmy Carter, a copy of “I Robot”… Obama. It must have confused them greatly. And they *investigated*… But that still doesn’t explain how 7 Stones could be set up in the very sim where a portal bar was situated. This runs deeper that 7 Stones and Fishertown combined. This is *double* lemony.
“Um, fine,” she finally managed to answer. “How… how much do you *know*?”
“We know who you are,” reinforced Policeperson Mary. “We know about walking trees in the wall, and so on. We are taking your story and spinning off our *own* story from it.” She waved at Bar Lemon and Drugstore Orange now behind Wheeler. “This is the link.”
Wheeler suddenly got an im from Woody/Baker. “Where are you?” he asked in it. “I had my head turned and you were gone.”
Wheeler excused herself to walk over to the corner of Bar Lemon and text back. “Baker, this is important. Listen up. Our Second Lyfe… there’s something… behind it all.”
bars
She returned to bar 01. They talked.
“Nautilus is the oldest continent,” she began, thinking of the center again.
“Sansara,” corrected Woody.
“*No*.”
“Not any more at least,” she furthered after a weighted pause.
—–
They entered “Lime House” together.
“Philip,” Baker spoke. “You may want to sit down for this one.”
“You didn’t create Second Life,” Wheeler blurted out. She couldn’t wait.
continue
Who am I?
Who was sitting opposite me?
I am here. But not here. There. Better get there.
—–
The grass has changed. Trees. I look to the distance and see…
Unsure.
Art
“The SoSo Galleries have been reopened,” explained Woody Woodmanson during another tour at another time. “SoSo Proper to the right, Gallery Jack dead ahead, and then House Greenup to the left here. Cardboard Derak Jones is *so so* happy!”
Cringing at every exclamation point, Wheeler points out that Woody mentioned two sets of galleries. They move on across the bridges, across the waterfalls…
… to 7 Stones Proper. Forgot to mention that the SoSo Galleries lie in what’s called 7 Stones Eastside, a 2048 sq meter parcel owned by Wheeler right now instead of Baker Bloch (who owns the the rest of the 11,264 sq. meter town — the “Proper” part).
“Right up here, my co-owner of this fine village,” urges Woody, indicating the second art kiosk. Wheeler joins him in front of it. “3 galleries again: Red Umbrella to the left, Boos *behind*, and then Fal Mouth Moon, the king and perhaps queen of them all, just to the right here.”
“And — as I’m checking — the kiosks are also directly east and west of each other! With only the *slightest* of tweaking,” Woody then added, trying to take a slight edge off at least one 7 Stones oddity that has cropped up lately.
“We can smell here too,” proclaimed Wheeler, part of the growing list. “Lemony quality again. We’re so close to something else. Something *not art* ([Collagesity] related). She sniffs the air again to check. Nothing now.
“Anyway, I just wanted to give you a tour of the galleries and tell you how they’re set up. Just in case…” He trailed off.
“Just in case what?” asked Wheeler.
“Just in case,” Woody repeated simply.
7 Stones gallery map; kiosks marked with red pins
2nd, shorter way between the 2 (east-west) kiosks
SoSo/Gallery Jack/House Greenup kiosk
Narrow Way
Red Umbrella/Boos/Fal Mouth Moon kiosk
another center
Baker Bloch kept pushing the uniqueness of the new town.
“It’s obvious that in several ways, 7 Stones is actually a stand in for the Fal Mouth Moon, the largest gallery in town and the one with the most collages. By a little over Gallery Jack.”
“I would agree,” Karoz opined, “from what you’ve told me.”
“Whitehead Crossing collages at the top,” illuminated Baker Blinker.
“And, most of all, *7* stories to the structure, working up from the basement. Like the 7 stacked stones.”
Karoz stared over at the male Baker, the one he’s not married to. “How long you gonna keep up the Woody appearance?”
“I’m just winging it,” he returns. “Similar to Wheeler.”
“Who’s — Jennifer still?”
“Kind of, I suppose. You should think about shape shifting, Karoz. It’s a lot of fun. It’s a little disorienting to your friends, but they just have to get use to it.”
“I’ll think about it,” the blue-green being replies crisply.
Baker Blinker lays a hand on his knee. “I may get to play a new role, Karoz. I forgot to tell you in all the moving excitement.”
Karoz turned. “Really?” He couldn’t quite hide the negative in his voice.
“Yes, a short, dumpy clown named Tillie. Like TILE.”
“Show me,” he requested.
“Alright.” She looked at Baker Bloch. “Is this okay Other Baker? Not too soon, is it?”
“Of course not.”
She shifts.
Karoz stares at her then looks away. “Well. I can certainly see the whites of your eyes.”
They argued about the Tillie character that afternoon, Baker Blinker’s sticking point being the unyielding, stick-in-the-mud approach to life in general of her 1/2 moss, 1/2 mist husband. A decision on whether to move to 7 Stones from Chilbo and live in the Julia House perched on top of Waterfall #1 would have to wait.
And she so so wants to play that role.
another
2 days later he was back.
“House Julia,” he mumbled to himself while testing out the upstairs bed again. “Or Julia House. Let’s see, Spongeberg *destroyed* the version in Collagesity, then Collagesity *itself* was destroyed, but then the Julia House returns to 7 Stones, which is more or less Collagesity reborn. On Nautilus.”
He decides to smoke. He can do this since Baker Blinker remained in Chilbo. “Shopping, she said. I have to do some shopping today — sorry. But she’d just been to the grocery store yesterday. Is her desire to move to 7 Stones, to play Tillie, waning? Yet my own dreams of ambition here are growing. 670 free prims Baker Bloch texted yesterday, still on the recruiting trail. Many more than Collagesity had free. I could rebuild my college. I could teach the pure ways of TILE to a whole new generation of hungry truth seekers. But *Tillie* — nah, that could spoil the whole effect. She is a gorgeous, beautiful women. Yet she wants to play someone dumpy and gaseous.” He puffs and then blows smoke upward from his bed position. “It’s Wheeler’s influence again. I know it. She’ll never, ever get over Wheeler.” He puffs again. He blows again.
He tests the springs by bouncing up and down. “Could this be a *Julian* House as well? Can I recover the ‘N’ here? Z to N?” A question to be asking.
Sunklands 