The Alphaville Herald

Shuless – Episode Five

by Alphaville Herald on 20/05/08 at 6:07 pm

On the Day That We Were Born

by Iona Nikolaidis

[21:02] Iona Nikolaidis: I have a little photo album
[21:02] Iona Nikolaidis: hold on
[21:02] hehe…a butt shot!
[21:02] Iona Nikolaidis: yeah!
[21:02] Iona Nikolaidis: I am Annie fucking Leibovitz
[21:04] Colona castle….hmmm….one of those sex dungeons?
[21:04] Iona Nikolaidis: yeah!
[21:04] That we used to frequent?
[21:04] Iona Nikolaidis: That was the one where the dumb ass guy was like “Hey ladies…..”
[21:04] and make fun of the patrons?
[21:04] Iona Nikolaidis: YEAH!
[21:05] Iona Nikolaidis: Good times
[21:05] Oh yeah!!
[21:05] Iona Nikolaidis: I think that was the night you hit on me!
[21:05] Meeeee????
[21:05] Iona Nikolaidis: I hope so…..
[21:06] Yeah, it’s true.
[21:06] I am glad you did
[21:06] Me too!!
[21:06] Iona Nikolaidis: uh huh!
[21:06] Iona Nikolaidis: You fell into my lap so nicely
[21:06] You caught me in my extrovert.
[21:07] Iona Nikolaidis: Lucky lucky me
[21:07] We sure can sure tear a place up.
[21:08] Iona Nikolaidis: oh yeah
[21:08] But you lead the way.
[21:08] Iona Nikolaidis: Yeah man
[21:08] Iona Nikolaidis: Let’s fuck shit up again soon
[21:08] Yeah! Sounds like fun!

There comes a time in every avatar’s life when you need to figure out how, when and why you are going to approach others for virtual intimacy. I imagine, in some regard, what you bring to this endeavor mirrors what you bring in real life….or perhaps I am too reality-based (strike this…I AM too reality-based for SL).

Nevertheless, after her amateurish attempts at cyber with Vhaera and her “Um, why am I doing this?” interludes with Zigma, Iona was pretty much all bark, no bite (which, most of the time, is true for me too, even though I think I am a bad-ass). So, it was a comfort and a joy to know Alex, who is funny, smart and knows how to turn a clever word, and to be able to have quality fun time without the pressure of coming up with scintillating virtual sexual escapades.

We spent a significant amount of time in those early days bantering about….I don’t remember. With the exception of a conversation about the shooting at Virginia Tech, about which she was genuinely distraught, I just don’t know what we discussed. This happens to me in real life too. Sometimes, I get caught up in the experience of an exchange with someone at a party, and the rapid-fire give and take of conversation, that I miss the substance of what was discussed and remember only the good feeling and good will it generated.

It annoys me that I didn’t know how to log my chat or instant messages back then, because I would have enjoyed the process of looking back on those moments. It is rare that you can see a friendship unfold, and the opportunity that presents in SL for this experience strikes me as a real treat. Hell, I would give a lot to be able to remember how I met some of my best real life friends (I know at least one of them won me over when she uttered the word “luggage” spontaneously a few hours after a conversation about favorite words, luggage being one of mine). Whatever we talked about, I had a tremendous reservoir of good will and feeling for Alex.

I am not sure, at the time anyway, what she saw in Iona. Iona is a bit of a pain in the ass. Iona likes to push people’s buttons. One of the easiest places to do this in Second Life is at a sex Sim or dungeon. Call me old-fashioned, but I don’t get the appeal of lashing your avatar self to a bench so you can be ball-gagged and trussed up like a Thanksgiving turkey. This probably makes both Iona and me pedestrian.

I did see the humor in going to these places and asking my fellow avatars dumb-ass questions about their intentions in such locations (this would make me Beavis or Butthead or both). Alex would sometimes accompany Iona on these trips. It was fun to test out the dungeon furniture with her, and out avatars sometimes wound up in sexually compromising positions while we virtually laughed at what we were doing. I never intended to virtually hit on Alex, and I probably wouldn’t have, because I am a wuss.

But, one night, after an evening of hopping from one sex Sim to another, we wound up back at the Brew. If I remember correctly, we were talking and a message like this sprung up on my screen “Alexandra Shu wants to kiss you, or animate your avatar, or otherwise jump your pixel bones.” I was more than a little surprised, but it made me realize that the warm, friendly, fun energy I felt for Alex could easily translate into cyber romance. And, it did.

This poem makes me think of you.

A Cradle Song
William Blake

Sweet dreams form a shade,
O’er my lovely infants head.
Sweet dreams of pleasant streams,
By happy silent moony beams

Sweet sleep with soft down.
Weave thy brows an infant crown.
Sweet sleep Angel mild,
Hover o’er my happy child.

Sweet smiles in the night,
Hover over my delight.
Sweet smiles Mothers smiles,
All the livelong night beguiles.

Sweet moans, dovelike sighs,
Chase not slumber from thy eyes,
Sweet moans, sweeter smiles,
All the dovelike moans beguiles.

Sleep sleep happy child,
All creation slept and smil’d.
Sleep sleep, happy sleep.
While o’er thee thy mother weep

Sweet babe in thy face,
Holy image I can trace.
Sweet babe once like thee.
Thy maker lay and wept for me

Wept for me for thee for all,
When he was an infant small.
Thou his image ever see.
Heavenly face that smiles on thee,

Smiles on thee on me on all,
Who became an infant small,
Infant smiles are His own smiles,
Heaven & earth to peace beguiles.

I’m tired. Good night.

[Shuless appears courtesy of http://soshuless.blogspot.com/ and is reprinted here by permission of Iona Nikolaidis]