Tinies from Raglan Shire invaded New Toulouse on Saturday, June 1, but it was all in a good cause. Relay for Life team Tiny Steps for a Cure organized a dance at the Green-eyed Fairy, where a great time was had by all, and an amazing L$12,228 was raised for the American Cancer Society.
Music was provided by DJ Manfred “Owlbear” Hancroft. His “totally legit” vintage covers of modern songs entertained us all. Imagine time travelers from the early 1900s, newly returned from the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries. Impressed by all the songs they’ve heard, they can’t wait to record their own versions, played in the styles of their time. They use the very latest recording technique: the wax cylinder. That will give you some idea of the music we heard. This writer will never listen to ABBA’s “Super Trouper” in quite the same way again. DJ Mani was supported by the Seals: animated seal musicians. These cute critters were available for purchase from RFL vendors and proved very popular.
Tiny Steps team captains and bunnehs Neill McCullough and Jennylynn Capalini (wife of DJ Mani) co-hosted with Miss Frannie, owner of the Green-eyed Fairy. Fans of the ChangHigh Trinity Sisters Fireshow will have seen Miz Jen in her biggie form as the Fire Dancer.
Many Taloosters took the opportunity to release their inner tinies. Mr. Lazarus Morane, who has recently relocated his famed oyster bar to Bayou, was a most elegantly attired frog. Mr. Orinoco Beresford, Shotgun Row’s newest resident, appeared as a dapper ferret appropriately clad in Relay for Life “purkle.” Miss Cookie, formerly of Bourbon, was a Pokemon, the “legendary Jirachi” who makes wishes come true. Miz Karima-Kareem (Hoisan) wore a smart black tux and top hat that perfectly complemented the black markings on her tiny white leopard avatar. Miz Gardenia Malheur arrived as a biggie, but she was so enchanted by Mr. Laz’s fly-catching antics that she herself changed into a frog, prompting Miz Jen to ask if it were not more common for the frog to turn into a handsome prince when kissed than for the princess to turn into a frog. Miz Gardie seemed to like her new self and said that we all looked “like a bunch of depraved electrons.” It is unclear whether the word “depraved” referred to her own “nakie” form. Miss Frannie, who embraced her inner tiny after the last New Toulouse tiny dance, was a raccoon and wore a green flapper dress with a fetching cloche hat.
Mayor Henri, fresh from his fact-finding mission to our RL sister sim of Louisiana, took time out from his busy schedule to join the fun, and he was accompanied by Miz Yvonne Follet, who so ably steered the ship of state in his absence. New Toulouse newlyweds Mr. and Mrs. Pazzo and BelAmi Pestana were also among the guests and drew admiring glances as they danced gracefully around the room.
Miss Cookie’s friends, Bret Foxglove and his sister Taffilia, were a micro-fox and micro-bunneh respectively, and with Miss Momoe Mollari as a sprouting bean and Mr. Boots Shamrock of the Shire as a Dinky, even the tinies present felt like biggies.
We were delighted that members of other teams joined us: Miz Sienna Thor, captain of the Cure Chasers team, and some of her teammates; Lord Eldemar of Winterfell and his wife, Lady Cassie, from the Aether Chrononauts; and Miz Calumn Tomsen of the RFL Committee.
SL’s legendary crankiness did little to dampen our spirits, even after a mass ejection to RL. Once we had all relogged and rezzed, we carried on having fun. The dance ended in customary tiny fashion with a spirited performance of Riverdance, both tinies and biggies joining in with gusto.
We all carry our secret sorrows and scars, our fear and pain. We all want to beat cancer, that scourge that has blighted so many lives. We are all united in wanting to raise as much money as we can to help with the fight. As Saturday’s dance proved, we can have a lot of fun doing it.
Until there’s a cure, we relay.
Frances Lava is the pseudonym of a well-known Talooster who wishes to remain anonymous. She knows nothing about running a bar and would never dream of turning into a raccoon.