Halloween 2008 [iv] : Help, I’ve got a box on my head!

or, The Adventures of Plywood Man

October 23rd, 2008 at 12:32pm Ryan Darragh

When Plywood Man rezzed at the Welcome Center, it was like being born.  He had no clear memory of anything that might have been before, but suddenly he found himself immersed in a world of sights, sounds and lag.  It was breathtaking…or would have been, if he breathed.  He tried mightily to communicate with those around him–beautiful creatures with skin and faces!–but found himself frustrated and at least temporarily stymied by his lack of fingers.  Nobody seemed to understand his attempts to chat.  “HHHHHiiiii ttttthhhhheeeeerrrrreeeee,,,,, wwwwwhhhhhaaaaattttt””’sssss yyyyyooooouuuuurrrrr nnnnnaaaaammmmmeeeee?????” earned him no response, unless some of the chorus of “hey baby” and “how you doin shmexy?!?” was intended for him.

Having quickly lost interest with the mundane pursuits of the other newbies (for that is what they were), Plywood Man set off in search of he knew not what, but he felt certain that he would know it when he found it.  Thanks to the Search button, and his quick mastery of the art of keyword selection (and not-so-quick mastery of typing with the tips of his hand-pads), he soon found himself at the portal of the Ivory Tower, that grand repository of SL prim knowledge.  It was there, after working his way through the elementary tutorials, that he learned the central, inescapable truth of his existence: out of prims was he made, and unto prims would he return, at the end of his days.  Such knowledge can be difficult to confront, but Plywood Man bore it with stoicism and equanimity.  No philosopher he, but he did know when worrying about something would do no good.

His thirst for knowledge satisfied, at least for the time being, Plywood Man set out to see the world.  He started out by walking, but quickly decided that teleporting is a beautiful thing indeed.  He traveled hither and yon on the grid, from North to South, from East to West, and along the way found himself in Svarga.  There for a time he found himself content with the beauty and harmony of Nature.  He wandered; he meditated; he communed with himself, and with the All.  He attained, if truth be told, some level of enlightenment.

But, in the end, he was not content.  Although many others passed through on their visits to Svarga, their presence was temporary, and he established no lasting connection.  He began to feel an absence, an emptiness, a hollowness at his core that, he was somehow very certain, only the company of another could fill.  He set forth on the third leg of his journey, full of hope and desire.

It is a sad truth of the world that hope and desire often go unfulfilled.  It is also sadly true that the ones whom we love, or think we love, are all and always the wrong ones, until the right one comes along.  Plywood Man met his share and then some of plywood women (some pre-fab, some custom), but alas, he made no love connection.  He began to realize that, while he was happy with his lot and had no dreams of being a real boy, he did dream of loving a real girl, and being loved by her in return.  Take heart, then, that one day, at long last, as he knew he must, he met his Soul Mate.

“Hi,” she said.  “What’s your name?”

“My friends call me Ply.  What’s your name?”

“It’s Posy.  You know, I’ve always said that plywood men need hugs, too.”  And he knew that it was Love.  He did not know how he knew; he knew only that he knew, and that was enough.

Plywood Man’s story is the story of us all: as he did, we all go through Life, and the World, searching for Truth, Beauty and Love.  If we’re lucky, like he did, we also learn to have a little fun.

Then we go Shopping.

And, of course, we live Happily Ever After.

= | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | = | =

Peter Stindberg’s “Plywood Man” is a full avatar, complete with skin, shape, eyes, bald head, and 20 prim attachments, including block-shaped body parts and ball joints.  Peter created Plywood Man in response to the introduction of sculpted prims and “as an homage to the ‘old’ style of building with prims.”  The finish is the light blond plywood we all know and recognize as the default prim texture.  The avatar gives the impression of being a fully articulated, free-moving marionette–it’s quite an impressive effect.  The included body shape is spindly, which allows the prim attachments to form a more or less “properly” proportioned human figure, so poses and animations look good and don’t result in unfortunate, unattractive intersections.

Permissions are M C T, so you can give Plywood Man as a gift, tweak individual pieces (maybe you think he needs a Roman nose) or even re-texture him.  I’m not aware of any inworld availability, but Plywood Man is available inworld for L$199, or you can make your purchase on OnRez or XStreet SL.

Disclosure: Disclosure: Seen in World: Yes | Review Copy: Yes | Friends List: No

Entry Filed under: Avatars,Costumes,Fantasy,Novelty,Peter Stindberg