A new life.

I have left New Babbage.

Yes, that surprised me.

It all started with people in the city becoming more and more suspicious about the ones who were "different". Grown-ups, ya know, don't believe in the tales they read in the books. Smoke and mirrors they say, charlatans! Or they get scared and try to hunt down and make disappear everything that doesn't fit their image of a perfect world.

'tis sad cause I know they do exist. I've seen them. Just like in the books, they are. Even the Mayor is an imp, even if he keeps scolding me for saying so.

Miss Mara is an elf, everyone knows that, she doesn't hide it. And Miss Softpaw is a fairy. But life has become too hard for them in New Babbage. People don't like it that they've got special powers. Sure they're jealous or something. Nobody's nicer than them though. But that city doesn't mind if you're nice or not, it just doesn't want things they don't understand. Cause that scares them.

Miss Mara got driven away and decided to go settle in Steelhead, far away across the sea. Miss Softpaw went there too, and lots of urchins with them, and Miss Mara's new friend, a faun lady named Autumn, and her children.

I am sad to leave the city I was born in, where I made all my friends, where I had so many adventures.

I will miss the Imperial theatre, the Absinthe cafe, my lost bakery.

I will miss waving at Mr Holmes and the Doctor Watson on a ride, seeing Mr Tenk on the roofs, going to Miss Breezy's balls, plotting against the evil Dr O, talking with the nice ladies and gentlemen, running on the rooftops, rafting in the sewers and ice-skating on the canals. I will miss the friends I left behind.

But I know I would also miss chatting with gargoyles on the roofs, being hunted down by werewolves, offering tea to a mummy, discovering with horror that ladies I thought my friends and role models had become blood-thirsty vampires, being amazed at the elven healing abilities, trying to figure out what the cloud angels are, speaking with ghosts, meeting the random silly people and creatures appearing in the streets and being dragged spontaneously into a new mysterious and exciting adventure.

I decided it was time for me to travel away and find a new place to play in before my memories of my birth city started to get tainted with dullness and scorn.

So I waved farewell to New Babbage from the boat that was taking us to Steelhead.

I haven't visited the wole of Steelhead yet, but I have started looking around and that seems to be a cool city. It's not the same as Babbage, but it's interesting in a different way. Plus there are trees, and I like climbing on trees. And Flynn too.

Jimmy already found new clothes more suited to the climate in that city, and I have to change mine too. Also I can't wait to meet the local urchins.. I mean, the local children, they're not called urchins over here. Will be fun to compare our accents and ways and adventures and all.

Miss Mara got a dog, called Gonzo. He's very cute with his long hair. I do wonder how he can see where he's going though. But at least he may warn us if Creaky Gloom or some other danger approaches from the Hostel.

I went back to New Babbage for the lesson at school though. The other urchins from Steelhead went too. The teacher, Mr Jenkin Slenderbelly, was very weird. All thin and green-blue with glowing eyes and a big black moustache. He had a big book where he was taking notes and he kept yelling at us, asking us our name and what made us happy.

That's only at the end that I suddenly had a bad feeling after someone noticed it wasn't really a lesson since he just asked us what made us happy. I suddenly recalled someone who had visited Babbage the previous years, the Angry Jenkins. He hated seeing people having fun and his aim was to remove that fun from us. Eventually the Captain Dagger tickled him away and he disappeared.

I wonder if our teacher isn't actually Angry Jenkins, and he knocked the real teacher on the head to take his place...

He asked us to do some homework for Sunday, when we'll have our actual test (80 pages, gah!). We have to create something. And I've got a little idea...

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The typist's point of view :

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I first came to New Babbage because I found a landmark at Loki's sim, now Goony Island. I visited and found it rather nice. I am not that big a fan of cities though, but Loki's first roleplay event, the Moriarty affair, totally hooked me up there.

I had been roleplaying in SL in others sims, but had grown lazy and bored with most of them. The concept of an optional roleplay really seduced me at this point. I could just be out of character when I didn't feel like roleplaying, didn't have to change clothes or appearance all the time, wear a meter, fill in a character sheet or the other silly things you have to do in a strict RP sim.

It was FREEDOM!

Of course, at the time Babbage was only two sims and not much RP was happening there at all. It was more of a builders town. And sure, it was a very pretty background. But what I really enjoyed was interacting with the people, trying to solve the mysteries etc.

I bought a parcel, built a bakery, invented my own roleplay stories. I met many various interesting avatars and had a lot of fun.

Over the time, New Babbage grew, attracting more people, and more stories. The story tellers aren't any more counted on the fingers of an ET hand but on all 20 fingers and toes of a human. That's a nice thing, everyone can choose to participate in the one they like more. Or not participate at all.

There have always been all kind of creatures in Babbage. Humans, clockworks, fantasy, magical... Has it done any wrong to the Steampunk theme of the city? I don't think so.

Would the lovely builds be affected by the people living and roleplaying around them? I don't think so.

Would visitors think Babbage is a fantasy sim because they crossed an elf or a fairy in the streets? I don't think so. Fantasy sims have got forests and stuff. Never saw one with as many cobblestones and smokestacks.

Will Babbage become boring and restrictive if the roleplay and the characters are regulated? Well for my own personal case, the answer is yes. Most of what I loved in Babbage, its freedom and openness, will be lost.

I can't argue because this is the Mayor's decision, and he is the one who owns and pays for the sims.

Thus, I prefer to leave it now, before it becomes unbearable for me.

It's been a hard decision, because I have lots of fond memories there, but I am sure I can have as much fun in Steelhead. Oliver Twist Myrtil will just slowly become Huckleberry Finn Myrtil :)