he cried and said, "She's crazy", and showed off all his burns

I may, in fact, have too much color for the ShuǐMò Gallery, but they're very inviting:

[21:37] Shui Mo Entrance: Welcome to ShuǐMò Gallery! This space is an art installation created in the style of Chinese ink brush (ShuǐMò) painting by FionaFei. Initially designed as a stand-alone art installation is now also used to house Fiona's other artworks. Follow the scrolls to the giant red double doors to head inside! Please feel free to roam around the space and sit on the artwork. :-) Enjoy your visit Emilly Orr!

And then six days pass...(Also the above was written six days ago...)



Four of those days were spent unpacking shoe demos. I wish I was kidding, that's how many I pulled down. (Never let it be said I don't commit fully to the bit.) One day was spent starting to pick the best ones to compare with the geta set, so I wouldn't have to stand around at the gallery forever going through things.

And yesterday...all hell broke loose.



And then today, I find out that essay is under "official review" for violation of the site's rules. Which strikes me as shutting the office after the whistle-blower's gone...

Unfortunately, the problem's not going to just disappear, and while I fully grant, fracturing a leg--after passing the year mark on the Never-Ending Headache--distracted me enough not to notice last November that this was starting to become known, and folks were scrambling to invent stopgaps to prevent child avatars from accessing their adult sims...

The mere fact that I have to type that should be enough to give us all pause. Because...why would a child avatar want access to adult sims? But also, at least one of the SL children I know--and for the other three, one's deceased and one's mentioned in that article and one went to Zindra opening day...only spends part of time in SL as a child, and the other part as an adult avatar. So--how do we deal with those cases?

Plus, the Gearhaven estate comprising sims who want to fully lean in to that adult branding...discussion arose on the essay, and what we, as an estate, wanted to do, and Hiro said--at least for a while--zero tolerance. If it's even slightly iffy, bounce.

Considering the Duchess of Gearhaven had the habit of running around as a Dinkie, or in the Kemono avatar, to build or landscape...that zero tolerance policy means I can't. Which means we have to give severe side-eye looks to Tinies who wander in, or anyone wearing the Tweenster avatar...it's going to be a mess. It already is a mess, considering the Linden accused was responsible for firing a well-known security specialist...and the optics on that are so, so bad. Because even holding the assumption that that particular Linden is innocent of all charges, he did, essentially, fire a security specialist for asking questions. AKA, you know, doing her job.



Ooh, yeah. Get ready for forty-seven miles of barbed wire. Soooo much fun.

she's a big boy now, she's a big boy

Huh. Yesterday I got a notice from Blogger, saying that one of my entries has been placed behind a content warning. It's from 2018--I think whatever damage it may have caused, it's caused it already.

Then today, I get another notice saying this post has also been placed behind a cautionary "adult content" screen. Bwuh? That one's even older--it's from 2010!



What's going on??

I'm breakable, unbreakable

I'm very low energy tonight, but I did want to take a haunt in. I went to Kekuli Bay earlier, and decided nope, the texture flickr on the whole of the ground is so savagely jarring I developed more of a headache, and that's just no good. So, the next one that perked interest was Doom's.



The first warning is for the arachnophobes: There are jumping spiders in this haunt. Like, dog-size jumping spiders. That, not to put too fine a point on it, jump at your face. (As in, the screen--not your avatar, this haunt is going after you.) It's a little jarring even for non-arachnophobes, so steer clear of this one if you aren't big on crawly things.



The burning church was novel, and really well done.



And this is the first time I realized it's pretty much just a three-sided box--and since I was still set on midday, it was kind of a switch between dark gloomy darkness and bright seaside blue?

Then there was the "Hallway of Torment".



Interesting conceit here--the picture frame closest to the avatar shows their avatar's current profile pic. It is slightly unnerving, I'll give them that.



Found the exit point to the next area, and unsurprisingly, lots of fire. Surprisingly, also lots of game rips. Argh.



Like these, the hanging triptych from Silent Hill.

But finally, I found the exit to the next area and ran into the sim owners in an...uh...intimate moment, let's say...so...I left.

For the game rips, I'd give them two skulls, but that profile picture trick was neat, so I'm upgrading to three. Don't know if I'll stop back by again, though, so...they may stay at three.

you see the piece of paper could be a little greater

Hi Emilly,

Oh, hi! Another Pin was removed because the copyright holder didn't want their image out there? I get that. Happens a lot.

We recently removed a Pin from your "Art" for violation of our Community Guidelines on adult content.

...Wait, what?

We may limit the distribution of or remove explicit content. This includes:
Fetish imagery
Vivid sexual descriptions
Graphic depictions of sexual activity
Images of nudity where the poses, camera angles, or props suggest pornographic intent

I mean, that makes sense, I just can't think of a single Pin I put in that folder that had those things.

These rules apply to all Pins, including ones on your secret boards.

I...don't have any secret boards??

Please take some time to go through your Pins and remove any that may be in violation of our Community Guidelines, or we may take additional action on your account.

That sounds like a threat. There is nothing in the Art folder that was not rePinned from someone else. I have uploaded nothing personally.

I've uploaded personal photos to other boards. Steam. Words. Unhallows. But Art? No. All the Art pins were linked from other accounts, so why are you getting so harsh with me, Pinterest?

If you think we've made a mistake, you can submit an appeal within 7 days.

Nah, I'm fine.

Thanks,

Sure?

The Pinterest Team

I'm very confused.

So I went through my entire Art folder. The few--and they are very few--pieces in there that could possibly, in any wise, be counted as "nudes" show no sexual organs, no breasts, no sensual encounters. There's one of a couple bathers--they are nude, but the painting shows only their backs. There are two 'full frontal' pieces--both are women lifting their skin to reveal organs and bones. Nothing else. Absolutely nothing else. What gives?

tell the mirror what you know she's heard before

This was weirdly amusing.

[14:48] Axxx Dxxxxx: {{VERY NSFW Flickr link redacted}}?
[14:48] Axxx Dxxxxx: Crap! So wrong window
[14:49] axxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hot gallery
[14:49] Axxx Dxxxxx: Sorry folks.
[14:49] mxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: or guerrilla marketing? :P
[14:49] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ANNE
[14:49] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: you perv
[14:50] Axxx Dxxxxx: I am trying to prove someone else is and needs to be dumped

And this was where, Constant Reader, your Editrix looked up from arranging furniture in a gothic manor and read back.

[14:50] lxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: .... regardless of the content, those are some REALLY nice photos like dang
[14:50] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: oooo
[14:50] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: gimmme the tea
[14:51] xxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx noms popcorn
[15:04] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I mean, she says, getting to this late, he definitely has a good eye for composition. But one must ask, since it came up--why is taking artistic nudes a sign that someone should sever a relationship?

Because I thought the question should be asked.

[15:04] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: idk maybe didnt ask partner to take such naughty photos with people?

And, at least to me--I know I didn't include the original link, but--his main female model for the intimate shots is the same elf girl, so perhaps this is an ex now? I have no way of knowing.

[15:05] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, unless they've been dating for some time, these pictures have been around? The first one posted to his Flickr is dated 2020.
[15:06] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Unless we're simply talking 'ew sex icky', in which case, [Axxx], I guess you're welcome to your opinion, and I don't agree.
[15:07] xxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Depends on how long they've been dating.
[15:07] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): It does.
[15:08] xxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: And when the pics were posted to be honest.

Also true, but as said, the first one was posted way back in 2020, so...

[15:08] Axxx Dxxxxx: Long story involved
[15:08] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Ah.
[15:08] xxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx shuts up and goes back to her popcorn now.
[15:08] Vxxxx Cxxxxx: Is there something I'm missing about these photos?
[15:09] Axxx Dxxxxx: No, just me being tired and hitting the wrong IM box
[15:10] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I mean, we can make an educated guess that [Axxx]'s trying to warn her friend in some fashion, but beyond that? No, nothing there to miss, [Vxxxx].
[15:10] txxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Jesus, what is this conversation O_O
[15:10] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Amusing?

I mean, am I wrong? This was just a strange conversation all around for this group.

[15:11] Axxx Dxxxxx: A big mistake on my part. An accident gone wrong.
[15:12] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Ah, so your friend did not agree.
[15:17] lxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: we all make copy/paste mistakes when we aren't really paying attention, it's okay
[15:17] lxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: but really, kudos to the well made photos on that flickr
[15:17] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Mmhmm.

And the chat fell silent at this point. I shrugged and went back to arranging furniture, until:

[16:01] Mxxxxxx Mxxxxxxxxxx: Anyone know any good mesh NPC figures
[16:09] Axxxxxx Wxxxxxxx: Studio Dire
[16:09] Axxxxxx Wxxxxxxx: They have a lot of neat stuff
[16:10] Mxxxxxx Mxxxxxxxxxx: They have an inworld store or MP?
[16:12] Axxxxxx Wxxxxxxx: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/29387 Idk if their mp is up to date or not. You can find all their stuff in world too
[16:14] Axxx Dxxxxx: I know I am the last person whos should say this today, but no links in chat. Please share them in IM.
[16:14] Axxxxxx Wxxxxxxx: ah sorry!

And I fell down laughing, as chat went dead for the second time. I mean, thanks for the caution, Ms. A, but yes, you're right, you are absolutely the last one who should say this today, considering you linked a Flickr page with full-on penetration.

I'm still terribly amused.

my coffin cannot be that dark, it's cramped and I can't even hear songs

This is pulled from another chat service, not SL:

[11:53 PM] Wxxxxxxxx: So I checked out what I could of the Halloweeny stuff last night, and before going to the Haunted Mansion I spent like, 20 minutes trying to find some underwear that would fit under my skirt without clipping since it was a G sim and Disney related event, so just kinda felt like it was what I should do to follow the rules this time.
[11:53 PM] Wxxxxxxxx: What do I find when I get there?

Apparently, not G content:



At all.

[11:54 PM] Ixxxxx: You took the effort to check.
[11:54 PM] Wxxxxxxxx: Well, yes. I was curious. How else was I gonna find out?

And find out she did.



Both of them.

[6:59 PM] Emilly: Wait, the MAIDS?!??
[7:58 PM] Wxxxxxxxx: Yep! The NPC ones around the area that the sim makers set up.

Because...that makes sense on a G sim, right?

[10:47 AM] Emilly rolls her eyes

Because seriously. How dumb is that? G rated sim. Come on, guys, I know they're props, but think about these things.

Next, this one's a doozy.

[14:20] jxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: My bf/pimp says that I seem to be addicted to [c*cks]. I'm not sure how he gets this idea...

And she included a picture, which I am NOT going to link here. Let's just say both she, and the gentle in question, were very nude.

[14:21] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: [Mxxxx] this is not the place for that!

It's really not. Also, Ms. J at the start, and Ms. M above? Same person.

[14:21] axxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Please read the rules
[14:21] sxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I don't know if I should laugh or be shocked haha
[14:24] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well. That's bold AND stupid, congratulations, [Mxxxx]!

This is what I never get. Like, are these all people seeking public humiliation? Because most of the time they don't even get that when they post one of these wrong windows, they just get bounced out of the group--because nine times out of ten, it's a completely non-sensual group in any way. So why?

buried in the basement floor, didn't know what I had planted

I won't lie, this year has been incredibly disappointing for haunts. I just want one last one I don't hate, so on a whim, I went to the Haunted House from Hell.



It's starting off atmospherically enough, I guess.



That's a great sign, walking in the front door. My hopes are sinking.



Repetitive sound loops, check. Game rips for decorations, check. Come on, people...



Yep, I'm done here.

Okay! Next up! Okay, how about Bizenghasp's Imaginarium? Their blurb says

Bizenghasp!, Imaginarium ...a macabre menagarie with a Burtonesque feel. You can buy a ticket to the freakshow, or get lost in the surreal cemetary. Photo friendly sim or just a cool place to hang out.halloween, monsters, zombies, Burtonesque, clowns

It's Adult rated, but that doesn't necessarily mean terrible.



Okay, they're already off to a better start, if a more cluttered one.



Keep in mind that this is less a haunt, per se, and more a collection of set pieces...but again, atmosphere is pretty good so far.



Yeah. Come for the frantic search for something appropriate to the season, stay for the photo ops? Not the worst idea.

I'd give the Haunted House from Hell zero out of five skulls, but the Imaginarium I'll give a full five. It's a breath of fresh spectral air.

and though you're broken and defeated, your weary widow marches on

Zombies and sex never really go well together, IMO, but that seems to be the claim to fame for this Adult haunt:

"Halloween, zombie, spooky, creepy, adult, sex, haunted house, monster, haunted, ghosts, cemetery, circus, horror, macabre, Great for photographers as well, many photo opportunities!"

Let's at least go see before I give up.



Based on discoveries later (some pictured, some not) this seems to be a bifurcated haunt. There's this little intro area, mostly just fun places to take pictures, and then there's the giant skull gate at the back. And while the entire thing is on Adult land, that's where things get very adult in spots.



Past the skull gate, to the left, is a circus marquee. This is the only real "effect" this haunt has going--going near that marquee, or going towards it to exit the circus patch, pops the avatar into the air at a great height. Not sure what else it does beyond that? But there you go.



I'm not sure how haunted dolls fit into circuses. But there's a section for haunted dolls.



Now, technically, this frame--part of Smooching Serpents' shibari line--is found outside the circus, but inside the circle are references to sex (skeleton strippers, skeletons making out, random adult toys) as well as ways to have sex (a whole tent full of BDSM equipment), so...keep that in mind, too.



All this is is a giant skull floating in some dead shrubbery with floating candles, but...I liked the way it looked.



I have sworn that someday, I will own this house. And I will make an entire haunt around it and set everything on fire.

That day is not this October, obviously, but still. I will own this house.



This is just a fun pumpkin with flaily bits, but beyond it is a reinforced steel door, and through that is a quarter of an urban city, replete with zombies and undead clowns.



Fallen doll angels? Sure.

All in all, while I don't think they got everything right, they didn't get everything wrong, either. And it is a very expansive haunt--to cover everything by walking would easily take half an hour, and these eight pictures just represent a fraction of what's out. So overall, I'd actually toss them four out of five skulls.

and in its wake, a market erected; an entire industry built on the dead

Seen on a random profile:

"That which submits rules...The willow submits to the wind and prospers until one day it is many willows--a wall against the wind. This is the willow's purpose."
~Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam (Dune)

Mm. Pretty much.

Anyway, back to the Belasco Mansion. AKA, Hell House. Ostensibly to see if I can track down a good pose, or setting, for this years Fallen Gods' photography contest...

As it turns out, I did (one of those pictures I'll include after the ones shot for this entry), but for this run, as I've covered the Belasco Mansion before, I wanted to concentrate on things I've managed to miss over the years, or new things, and...I think I found a few.



First, I don't think I've ever just looked at the exterior of the build before. It is really, really close to the house used in the film in 1973.



(Gif courtesy of the Final Girl's Tumblr.)

See? The builder did a great job here.



Over to the far right of the mansion, I found this. It's just a cutout propped against the wall, but it's interesting. The dim, glowing red lights fade in and out, it's a neat effect.



Further down, still on the right side, there's this little greenhouse. Floating eyes in the center of a spiraling vortex of energy. (Some of the details blurred out on the image cutouts, though, because this haunt is still VERY NSFW, start to finish.)


And this lovely little fountain, which I had to capture very carefully, as it sits between a fully erect satyr on one side, and an elf-human couple having energetic sex on the other.



Inside the house now, and...did I know there was a little interior (quite dead) garden spot, on the second floor? I don't think I did.



Everything else seemed substantially the same, save for this little attic loft. There's a ring of chairs around a large, circular table topped in red velvet. I'll leave any intrepid explorers to discover the pictures on that table, and the...menu...of a certain night's events...but in the meantime, I found this statue interesting. This had a 'touch' sign, too, and when it was touched, lightning flared, rain began pouring down, and the statue's face changed from verdigris to Vincent Price:



Another neat effect.



And finally, this was this year's entry for the Fallen Gods' Gods and Goddesses photography contest. Taken in the haunted chapel of Belasco, naturally. I liked the way it came out.

As always, this comes with five out of five skulls, BUT a significant caution--if you're not wanting to see adult content, DO NOT GO, because you practically can't take two steps without tripping over a nude body or a few nude bodies, most of them very actively engaged, let's say. For those willing to take the risk, it's starting to show its age, definitely, but it still has some power to it.

(For those curious: The 2019 visit, the 2018 visit, and I could have sworn that there were other visits between those two and the 2012 one, but...there you go.)

feeling twenty-two, acting seventeen

(Note from the Editrix: Because these are mounting, sadly, I'm going to start generally indicating when they were written, as opposed to published. This one was written on the 28th of July, using pictures taken on the 26th, and...it's the last full picture run I took. This may be the last of the cycle.)



it's what you do, it's what you see
I know if I'm haunting you, you must be haunting me

The one thing I do not doubt is that I'm thought of. The one thing I know for a surety is I hold him in mind--along with my dominant, along with my RL loves, along with the wandering Duke. My head may be constrained by blood and bone, but my heart has always been bigger on the inside. There's room.



it's where we go, it's where we'll be
I know if I'm onto you, I'm onto you
onto you, you must be on to me

Was it just that I had a specific goal for this set? I wanted dieselpunk, or its nearest equivalent, and while I didn't exactly find everything I was looking for, I found enough. And for once, the quiet streets, the empty houses didn't bother me. Things are by no means peaceful at this point, but...some of the screaming has died down.



my haunted lungs, ghost in the sheets
I know if I'm onto you, you must be haunting me
my wicked tongue, where will it be?
I know if I'm onto you, I'm on to you
onto you, I'm onto you
onto you, you must be on to me

Can I make peace with something I don't want to make peace with? If it's important, if it's required, I can, and I will. I will find a way. Will it be yet another regret on the unsteady pile? Oh, yes, very much yes. But I have so many already, what's one more?



you want me? I walk down the hallway
you like it? The bedroom's my runway
slap me! I'm pinned to the doorway
kiss, bite, foreplay

Finding the Black Sun Tabernacle's sim marks the second place I found I intend to visit again. The Deathlands I've already returned to once, but it's that feel of desolation, of abandonment of the old, forging of the new, that draws me there. Black Sun is...different. And it may not end up being more than an occasional visiting spot; in these charged times, any link to Nazi symbolism is something to be wary of, but...nothing I saw loudly proclaimed alt-right, fascist, or even, necessarily, Germanic belief sets, so...I will keep my guard up, but I will visit again.

And it is most definitely an Adult sim, with a very specific angle, and it is not an angle I've ever had. (Outside of one brief tryst in Lumindor when the new-born succubus emerged with a lass, and I discovered apparently the succubus was fertile...)

(Which, in less RP terms, was the absolute last time I played with organic attachments that more naturally belong to other genders, because that whole ensuing melodramatic pregnancy scenario? Nightmarish start to finish.)



my haunted lungs, ghost in the sheets
I know if I'm haunting you, you must be haunting me
my wicked tongue, where will it be?
I know if I'm onto you, you must be onto me

If nothing else, it's a very pretty spot to sit by the sea, or to drink a glass of wine while perusing the news. I could see returning for that alone, at least until the Nazi angle is discovered, or decried.



it's what we see
I know if I'm haunting you, you must be haunting me
it's where we go, it's where we'll be
I know if I'm onto you, I'm onto you

And maybe there's nohwere left to go. Maybe the decision is what it's always been. Maybe it's not. Either way...I'm declaring an end to obsessing, at least for now. It may not get better, but at least it won't get worse.



onto you, I'm onto you
onto you, you must be onto me

I won't lie, there are times I miss my brief stint in Babbage, too, but it's never called to me as strongly as Caledon. Or Winterfell-turned-Rosehaven. But there is something absolutely unique about Babbage's mix of heavy iron and ethereal fog, and even in the places where there is more light, more life, this is what I think of when I think of Babbage: the overcast docks, still but for the sound of washing waves, and distant ships' bells as they move ponderously down the coast.



on to you, I'm on to you
on to you, I'm on to you

But, now we're here. Over a month of analysis. A lot of kilometers covered on the grid. A lot of heartache, a lot of confusion, some few tears. Some nightmares turned dreams. But along the way, good things happened too: work picked back up in a good way. The wandering Duke returned, and while he may not bring Armada back, or Gearhaven, due to (if nothing else) the current ban on region sales through the Lab, something else may happen.

Some fences were mended. Many discussions were had. That other heart bought me a horse, and...I won't lie, I never thought of myself as part of the riding set, but...it's really fun. Far more fun than it has a right to be.

And while I've said I've started to heal before, there was always a chance the bandages would tear, the stitches would rip, and some did. But now, I think, there's been enough recovery that I can honestly say--I may still be bruised, I may still be hurting, but I'm not actively bleeding out from another soul wound. That's not nothing.

And even the dreams are more comfort than agony and yearning, and...that's not nothing, either.

I can work with this. I've had less to work with as a restarting point. From here, at least, I can still see support, I can still see affection, I can still see I'm not alone. And sometimes...that's really all we need.

(Pictures were taken at Cassandra City, Black Sun Tabernacle, the 1920s Berlin Project, the Theriomorph Emancipation Association on the Babbage Canals, the Trocadero Club and Carmen's Art Deco Ballroom. Lyrics from Beyonce's Haunted.)

integrity, honesty, its too late for me

Well, this was...ick:

[22:26] ixxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: a free [p***y] with hud and sounds inclus here [just gave the sim name and the number coordinates, no actual SLUrl]
[22:27] bxxxxx Bxxxxxx:
[22:30] Emilly Orr: That's...not a SLUrl.
[22:31] Oxxxx Sxxxxxxx: it can happen when you copy one, you can pop that name into the map
[22:31] Oxxxx Sxxxxxxx: and coordinates
[22:33] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: hit Map
[22:33] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: stand infront of the board
[22:33] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: then hit Copy SLURL on the 'map' screen
[22:34] Nxxx Exxxxxxxxxxx: i think its fake bot person.. same message in multiple groups

So...sure, I pulled the profile, as is my wont. She's not a native English speaker, and she has eight years on the grid, so I'd say she's old enough to know better, if she hasn't been hacked. Beyond that and a few of her groups giving some indication of her interests, there's vanishingly little additional info on her profile.

[22:34] ixxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: no its not
[22:35] ixxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: come see

Really, not interested. Plus, I was busy. But then she IMed me:

ixxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx has given you this landmark:
[name of club]

Oh, what new fresh hell is this...

[22:36] Emilly Orr: Newp, not interested in going to a club, thanks.

I just hit discard.

[22:35] Emilly Orr: Ew. Multiple groups?
[22:35] Oxxxx Sxxxxxxx: not sure that wording or content is ok here

I'm not sure either? Though I did read through the group's rules on their website, and they don't specifically cover intimate bits, per se? So not sure. Though I'd hazard a guess that the terminology plus the complete failure to post properly, added to the fact it's a club, not a store, would get a scolding were a mod on.

[22:35] Emilly Orr: I wasn't either, but I figured I'd err on the side of 'new person to posting here'.
[22:35] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: well, if you post the actual link, we WILL come
[22:35] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: do the thing I said
[22:35] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: hit the Map button
[22:35] gxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i went and it's a club
[22:35] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: and then hit Copy SLURL
[22:35] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: and paste it here
[22:35] Emilly Orr: Double ew.
[22:35] Axxxx Bxxx: just open your map and type in
[22:35] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: no pun intended ?
[22:36] Axxxx Bxxx: dont ned one but i do wonder what sound it has lol
[22:36] Axxxx Bxxx: splashes?
[22:36] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: if someone got to the thing, can you TP me?
[22:37] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: or post the damn SLURL?
[22:37] Axxxx Bxxx: [posted proper SLUrl this time]
[22:37] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: ty
[22:38] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: where do you see the free [p***y] thing?
[22:39] Axxxx Bxxx: no ide
[22:39] Oxxxx Sxxxxxxx: 1. Group Chat IS allowed. Please be considerate and respectful to the other members. DO NOT gossip! Discriminatory discussions involving racial, sexual, religious, political, vulgar, and argumentative views are disallowed. Take any arguments to private IM. The group is not meant for debates or belittling of others. Basically if you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.

Figured it was only a matter of time before someone posted the group rules.

[22:39] gxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i only saw girls there and a dance floor, no gift
[22:39] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: ah, right inside the door
[22:39] Oxxxx Sxxxxxxx: that covers at least 2 words
[22:39] Emilly Orr: The SLUrl [Ixxxxxxx] sent me--unasked--was to "[name of club]", and...I could not be less interested if I had actually died.

Because if I ask for it, that's one thing, but if someone just wants to gank me into their club? Not cool, not cool at all.

I also looked up the club. This is from their place bio:

"Place for All Nylon Lovers!!! pantyhose tights stockings feet foot fetish dancer go-go girls meet people europe russian girls relax fashion shows soul 80's music pole dance pad french german english private room lounge"

Not surprising, about what I expected. And I'm not kink-shaming here--truly, if I was going to shame anyone's kinks, Dolcett is the top of my list, not nylons. (For all I've been hassled more by weird nylon wrestling fetishists than any other kink group). But in all seriousness, does that sound like a place with an MM board? Or even a free gift?

[22:39] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: [posted the club SLUrl again]
[22:40] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: im infront of it
[22:40] Txxxxx Axxxxxx: will TP anyone who wants
[22:40] Rxxxxx Sxxxxxxxxx: lol Emilly
[22:40] Oxxxx Sxxxxxxx: no thanks

Here's the thing. This particular group isn't dead-set against adult items, nor are they that draconian about language, but this went beyond the pale for them. And I expected what the group members still up said. When posting in a freebie/gift/MM group, you want to list the item, the numbers on the board, free group needed or no group needed, and the SLUrl. She failed in nearly all aspects with her initial post.

And that's really all, it's not hard. No spamming, no misdirection to get traffic to your club, no missing links, and please, please wait until someone actually asks to send a port. Because that's just tacky.

your eyes are like two jewels in the sky

{Decided far, far after publishing, this should probably be under the roleplay tag officially.}



I finally had an opportunity today to travel to the Isle Du Noir, and the Silhouettes Club. First things first: just as Jadida Mondrago presents a specific view of steampunk (post-Victorian Arabic, in their case), so Isle Du Noir does for dieselpunk--in their case, filtered through the view of a Caribbean port d'escale marchand, a home for pirates des Caraïbes, and interested others, contrebandiers, les commerçants, and simple travelers alike. A small, but significant, island nation.



Dieselpunk is intriguing on its own. One, because it's such a varied era setting--essentially, anywhere from the early 1920s to mid- to late-1940s, which covers a LOT of changes--socially, musically, in fashion, in representation--but that also means there's a lot of room to move when adapting to the era.



Of course, some never got the memo...I had to fairly significantly figleaf her, too, because head-on you could clearly see nipples and...other bits.

[12:32] Vxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx smacks her butt suggestively

Kind of clueless in more than one sense, too. Which...I'd normally ignore, because a) not my sim, not my rules, and b) it's intended, by everything I've heard, to be a sort of alternative adult playground...save for one thing. The sim's moderate. I am fairly sure nothing about Ms. V qualifies as "moderate".



There's not a lot of info on her profile to make that connection, per se,, but considering her SL bio implies heavily she was looking to become a high-powered lawyer and threw it all away for a dominant, I think I can read between the lines. There's also this:

"The only gift one can offer is its self. The last decision a true slave will ever make. To offer its self.
"This slave craves to be under total and full restrictive control as any true slave would. It's ability to communicate and act upon its own removed from its life. All communications, interaction and travel will be under the Dominant's control and observation. Plain and simple it is an object and property. It is to be respected and dealt with as any such, property owned by another."

Hoo boy. Okay, look. It's a wide world. There's a whole lot of ways to do a whole lot of things. I get that. But unless the sub knows their dominant very well, and trusts them completely...24/7 submission is so dangerous. And TPE, total power exchange, is a very easy way to explode relationships, personalities, self-esteem, self-worth... unless both parties know what they're doing.

And, at least in SL, I've seen dozens of subs--and a fair amount of doms--who say this is exactly what they want, when in truth, they have no clue what they're demanding.



And I won't lie, I've met some 24/7 sorts who seem very happy. Some have even completely depersonalized, so they're no longer Sally Smith from Albequerque, say, but 0171235, registered and ID-tattooed--or branded. (Note: that last link goes to a NSFW site, but more for the actual branding being shown than the nudity. Still, there is both, so it comes with a warning.) There's one lass I knew a while back who spent a consistent amount of time traveling between England, her home, and Dubai, where her dominant was--and every time she did, she traveled in a 100% covering, black latex burqa--frankly, the first one I'd ever heard of. And some trips, even that was not enough for her "owner", so he sent a handler to escort her back--because she needed one when she was traveling with hands cuffed together and attached by the wrists to her collar, and ankles cuffed together, attached to a six-inch chain.



That is far too close to places I don't want to go. She seems happy, and that's great for her, but...that's not something I can do. I will give a great deal of control to a dominant I trust, a great deal of access, occasionally levels of honesty my partners in RL don't always get...but I am always a person, I always have personal rights, and if they can't accept that, we can't function together as a D/s pair on any level.



I am not an object, and I will never be an "it". I don't believe any human should be. But...again, that's me, that's my take on things, and that's my issues talking. Maybe it's less about personality annihilation to those that engage, and more about freedom, but me...that entire end of things is terrifying.


Still, overall, it's a very pretty club, in a very pretty sim. And it was nice to see Ms. R again, though she's going by another name (and, to be fair, she pulled it off pretty well, for what was basically an Akasha cosplay). She's still an amazing DJ.



And I won't lie, I have been very tempted to get kitty feets for my daily avatar, but...boss-lady would not approve, so...I don't.

Plus, I'd lose the ability to wear shoes. And I like my shoes.

Ultimately, though, if you're interested in dieselpunk, piracy, era-based roleplay, or gentle villainy, this might be your island to visit. If nothing else, find out when the next event is at Silhouettes, because at the very least it's worth a look.