now and then there's a light in the darkness

Let me give you another good reason to keep wearing masks. This is dire news. Be safe out there. In the meantime...



Welcome to Hell Castle.



The theatre seems to be the one place that isn't haunted on this parcel, but they have some nifty lobby posters.



And they have a chain ride! So here...we...GO!



There is some spider action, but only here, right past the entrance.



I ended up going through this ride twice, just because I loved this section so much. So, the rest of it moves like your standard chain ride--jerk forward, see set pieces, jerk forward again, new room...but in this passage, the coffin car spun 45 degrees diagonally so that people in mouselook could see each painting change. That's pretty nifty coding.



And I never felt movement up, but we're on the second floor. That's pretty neat too.



I have left out a couple rooms, because they weren't as fun as the rest? But there are some zombies, some floating heads, in other rooms, at least one very familiar split-head dog (it's from a video game, or a movie; I just can't place it right now), a tunnel of reaching hands, and the traditional spiral-of-doom passthrough...



This was also nice. A tunnel passage that managed to be eerie and atmsopheric without dripping gore or triggering repetitive screams on the soundtrack. Neatly done.

There's something like five or six other haunted houses on the parcel, I may go back and see what they are, but if nothing else, any other fan of chain rides in SL needs to check this out. Pretty good job all told. Four out of five skulls.

liars settle into sockets, flip the switch and watch them run

(Roleplay entry.)

Rumors on the wind. Whispers. The beat of drums in the distance, calling...

[13:41] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx waves sadly, looking over a bereft stormhold.
[13:42] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Hugs [Cxxxxxxx] and [Jxxxxxx]. Whats going on?
[13:42] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx looks over at those VILLAINS in tanglewood, wondering if there's any truth to the rumour they had something to do with [Sxxx]'s disappearance. "[Rxxxxx], [Cxxxx],, maybe we need to launch a search and rescue mission."
[13:42] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: oh, dear.
[13:43] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: :( I am not sure searching tanglewood will do us much good in this case [Jxxxxxx]
[13:43] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: but ... we don't KNOW, do we? it MIGHT.
[13:43] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx is all worked up and itching for a fight.
[13:44] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: maybe, we will keep on the lookout on every source to be sure
[13:44] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: and, if we mess the place up a bit and rough some people up, well, [Sxxx] would surely only approve, neh?
[13:44] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i am going too start dinner..
[13:45] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: have a great dinner [Kxxx]!!
[13:45] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx) paces, waving [Kxxx] off, making plans in her head.
[13:45] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) peers dourly out upon the Moors, hearing rumors of coming conflict.
[13:45] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ha i for sure will not enter conflict
[13:45] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx mutters under her breath while she paces, "tanglewood ... villains ... [Sxxx] ... rescue ... "
[13:45] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: :(
[13:46] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: :-P
[13:46] mxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: wait what? No NO intranational strife in my Caledon!!
[13:46] mxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: I will BURN ALL OF YOU EQUALLY
[13:46] mxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ..hem..
[13:47] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx looks at [Mxxx] and sighs. "fine. i'll settle down."
[13:47] mxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: ..'nk you.

And the sky is alive with strange devices, things never seen before, things that perhaps never SHOULD be seen...

[13:49] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx tells his automatons to trigger riot control mode and sleep gas canisters
[13:50] Cxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: hmmm sleep
[14:44] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx emerges from her cottage with a jar of villainous dill pickles?
[14:45] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Now that's the usual [Wxxxxxxxx] nonsense
[14:45] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Villainous dill pickles
[14:45] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: His henchmen, I suppose
[14:45] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: I haven't a clue of poor [Sxxx]'s whereabouts, but I do have pickles, fermented with extra nefariousness.
[14:45] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: I don't think it was his. Hers, possibly.
[14:46] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx looks at the [Wxxxxxxxx] suspiciously, "that sounds exactly like something someone who had [Sxxx] tied up in an attic would say."
[14:47] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: But I should hope he turns up soon. I've made pumpkin ravioli.

And the factories belch smoke into the sky, the air is full of the sounds of hammers and rivet guns and dark, mysterious hissing...

[14:47] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Hmm. Should the question be asked, then?
[14:48] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: 42
[14:48] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: Honestly though, what's going on? Mr. [Jxxxxxx] wasn't in a hurricane zone, was he?
[14:48] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i forgot too add olive oil too the boiling water for the spaghetti.
[14:48] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Did you at least add salt?
[14:49] exxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: As far as I know, [Sxxx] is sick. I do not have any details, though
[14:49] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: Yes, I added salt.
[14:49] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx: Oh :(
[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Good, salted pasta water will help.
[14:49] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: his TYPIST is sick. [Sxxx] is tied up in an attic in tanglewood. [14:49] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: AND NEEDS RESCUING.

She sees notations for chemicals the Syndicate has ordered before...but immediately sent on as stable components to their final destinations. Stable until mixed...but there's no notation of ships carting them away...

[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And Mr. [Sxxxxxxx], that is what I was afraid of.
[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Oh.
[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well then.
[14:49] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i hope [Sxxx] gets better.
[14:49] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And gets untied.
[14:50] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx nods at Emilly, "right?"
[14:51] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: and i made a couiple of Texas toast garlic bread.
[14:51] Cxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxx emerges from the cellar with another bucket of fermenting pickles.
[14:51] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): And is the Moors trying to rescue [Sxxx] from durance vile, that's what I want to know.
[14:54] Kxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: i thought it was StormHold?
[14:54] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: why not both? united! [Sxxx] deserves as much support as possible!

She will watch, then, and wait. Surreptitiously ask for reports on the new factories positioned near the airship docks. And wonder whether her side is for, or against, Tanglewood.

And where is Mr. [Jxxxxxx]???

stop me if you've heard this one before: a man walks into a bar and leaves before his ashes hit the floor

Rosewood Hills is here...and if you really want to see it for yourself, well...don't say you weren't warned.

Speaking of madness, the Mad Circus is in town, and for once, it's not ours.



No, this is the Mad Circus sales event, where nearly every booth has a L$10 special gift, most have gachas for those interested, and the theme is decidedly bigtop macabre.

And the people are...strange...

[11:18] Txxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx: XXX Grams MAX of sugar A day, fights sexual addiction. There also Tetris effect Google it, 30 grams of sugar for 30 min of Gameplay but i go for 45 min. it cure it
[11:18] Second Life: Txxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx has given you this texture: Sexual Rage2!!!!!!

I discarded the texture, preparing to walk into the event--I hadn't even walked through the gates yet!--when it happened again:

[11:18] Second Life: Txxxxxxxxxxxx Rxxxxxxx has given you this texture: Sexual Rage2!!!!!!
[11:18] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Excuse me?

He didn't answer, so I pulled the profile as I wandered in. Apparently Mr. T has this as the sum total of his SL bio:

love to use sleep fan App....


the socal bullying hasn't quiet stop tatolly for years



The Gays are handycap

Oh, a troll, then. Blocked and muted.

In other news, the Dark Style Fair is open, and oh, man, is it good. SO much arcane goodness packed into one cracked, lava-fissured landscape.

But that's not why I'm mentioning it. The Hotdog store has an attachment there called "Gutted"



This retails for L$350, if I recall correctly, and there's some up and down here. First, no alpha included, though most people with mesh bodies won't have an issue. It's also built to be unisex, which is awesome.

But...the viscera don't move. Alas. So I'm going to have to keep plugging away at figuring out mesh and animation to rebuild my Eviscera skirt. Still. One step closer!

so I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of what you got (part II)

(Continued from part I.)



We flew right by Osiris, and kept on going, until we approached a pale pale green gas planet...AND FLEW STRAIGHT THROUGH. Noooo, my immersion!



And back into the black.



We did a flyby of this space station...the build put me in mind of Deep Space Nine, but I was told what it actually is. I just can't remember currently? Paradise Station? Drat. I forget.



AND BACK INTO THE BLACK.



Finally! Landfall! Wait...isn't that Haven's airfield?



It was Haven's airfield:

[21:33] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: wait
[21:33] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: are we back where we started?
[21:34] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx:

[21:33] Lxxxxxxx Sxxxxxx: I think your shuttle has malfunctioned. We apologize for the inconvenience and hope you enjoyed the tour ;) (this happens time to time due to SL 'stuff' :). Uusually its a 45 second ride to the Capital

[21:34] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: lol. we ARE.
[21:34] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: OH MY GOD.
[21:34] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): So we missed Osiris
[21:34] Jxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Axxxxxxx: yeah.
[21:34] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) laughs

So, round trip of the quadrant. Got it. Guess we'll have to try to reach Osiris another time...

so I'll take two of what you're having and I'll take all of what you got (part I)

Trying to find a new way to govern? HEXtraordinary has you covered with their Watery Tart Pond!



Yes, for the low low price of L$499, you too can receive your very own animesh pond, a Watery Tart to place in it, and (a copy of) Excalibur to wear or display! Such a deal!

In the meantime, we took a shuttle round the 'verse...only, we just meant to go from Haven to Osiris. What happened was, we'd traveled to Haven to get a feel of the place, with someone we trusted to show us where to avoid the snakes. We didn't run into a single one on our way to the airfield.

Then she asked if we wanted to see Osiris. As the Sphinx-Templar Syndicate is interested in a potential office there, too, we said yes. She bade us get into a shuttle. Shouldn't take more than a minute, she said.



And up we went. Bit odd to go from horizontal to vertical, but we were strapped in. Strong thrusters pushed us from the sands and into the sky.



And soon into the black.



We flew past one of the mining consortium stations, in place around the asteroids ringing Haven.



I for one had no idea there was so much mineable sitting in this sector of space.



We passed a large, radiant planet--couldn't have been a sun, as we didn't fry, but it surely isn't a habitable orb--and kept flying.



And finally, we saw it, Osiris gleaming below us, and the glittering spires of Capitol City, their...not too original...name for their, well, capitol city...and...wait, why aren't we stopping?

Where are we going??

(Continued in part II.)

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.)

the sun's a desperate star that burns like every single one before

Okay, one more little bit on that particular RP sim, because...this is braincell-killing levels of bafflement.

[11:53] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: so [mxxxx] was talking about how the RP on the [sim] is ALL sexual...
[11:53] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Wait, what?
[11:53] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: yes
[11:53] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: i was like WTF
[11:53] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: where?
[11:53] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): So...WE WERE THE PG ELEMENT?!?

Because, look, I'll play to moderate content and be happy, I lived in Caledon after all, but--I have never considered myself PG.

[11:54] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: and they have a story line but they are not on the right page
[11:54] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: and [mxxxx] is like i wanted a fun diesel punk thing...if i wanted slezzy sex i would get it in the underbelly of Caledon...
[11:55] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): So, all the work we did to track down the storyline, and it was basically all just bed-hopping. Great.
[11:55] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): What a waste of a stellar concept.

It really is. They could do so much, and it's just being...wasted.

[11:55] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: yes
[11:56] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: [sxx] and [exxxx] had one commonality
[11:56] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: they were waiting for me to be the sexual aggressor...and didnt give any consent in RP...
[11:57] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) facepalms
[11:57] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: and expressed frustration
[11:57] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: that i didnt move faster...
[11:57] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: and i was like..."no mean no, even in RP"
[11:57] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): You were waiting for consent! Because you're not an idiot, and because you're not a rapist!
[11:57] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): WTF, these people
[11:57] Hxxx Sxxxxxx: this is a MODERATE SIM

I don't even anything. Maybe we're well done with it. Insanity.

Anyway, the haunt of the day is in The Outlands, and it's called "Welcome Home".



A lot of this haunt is straight out of Death Row Designs' coffers. This is not to say that's bad; DRD does some amazing things. And put together well, they are designed to make a very effective haunt.



In the parlor there were pairs of translucent...children? Goblins?...sitting on the couches. Effective little trick.



I quickly learned the best effects in this haunt happens when one walks near something that's rigged for a certain effect. This one, for instance: walking by the stove in the corner of the kitchen spawned a ghostly, black-boned butler drifting around.



Here there be spiders.



Hands down, this was the best effect in the entire house. In a side parlor I found a small, round fortune-teller's table draped in a cloth. A raven stood atop a stack of books, with the crystal ball centered and glowing teal.

But when I walked close enough, the entire table burst into flames and began to spin rapidly. Absolutely enchanting.



Another triggered effect on the second floor, this one a glowing, translucent skeleton drifting up from a cobwebbed bed.



And in the attic, the nursery, of course. With the ghost of a little boy fading in and out at the window.

I'd honestly give this one four skulls out of five--not perfect, and we've seen all these haunt items used before, but they were put together very effectively. I liked the atmosphere. Well done.

go away, come back, go away, come back, why can't I just have it both ways?

I'm probbably one of five people who will be really excited by the fact I found a goat's blood flan recipe. But it sounds awesome and I want to make it.

(They have other recipes too! Woo!)

In the meantime, let's talk about the Silent Scream haunted house. It launched awfully bright and cheery, so I switched the Windlight to Eugene 2, and that added a significant bit of atmosphere.



I have no idea why the haunted house has patches of lava. Doesn't connect to anything else.



Off to one side was a little doorless cabin. The one thing that became abundantly clear through this entire haunt is age--and I don't mean, worn, faded furnishings, cobwebs, tattered curtains, though there were instances of that. I mean, this entire haunt was very old-school--prims, not mesh, original Grimworx haunt pieces, the whole deal.



I did like this tree, though. Simple, but amusing, and far more entertaining than the screamers scattered here and there.



Between the main haunt and the cabin is a graveyard, mostly gravestones with a few raised crypts. Then, there was this sign on the door in to the main haunt. I have to be honest, I have no idea what they meant here? This is a haunt nearly completely without gore or violence (barring one moment mentioned later).



Several rooms were like this--simple furnishings, what we could probably term as Haunt Standard, but not badly done.



And between this shot, and the one previous, near the entrance to the long room the skull in the crystal ball is in, is a small coffin with a sign saying "Look but don't touch!"

I touched. And out rose one of the Phantasm flying death spheres (NSFW warning here, probably, as that video does contain violence and gore) that attached to my head and drilled in. More irritating than debilitating, though the sound--a cross between a dentist's drill and a wood bore--was unnerving.

All in all, though, not a terrible haunt. Not spectacular, but if you're bored, it's a way to take up some time. None of the poses on the furniture are stellar, but again, that's probably not the point. Three out of five skulls.

I could take a Greyhound home, but when I got there it'd be gone

"Halloween Nightmare," the listing said.

"Dare to wander in the night? Come face your deepest, darkest nightmares where you pray you make it out alive! Asylum escape house, haunted mortuary, and challenge yourself in the Temple of Doom."

Huh. Okay, let's go see.

(Late insert from the Editrix: this entry posted without the location! I'm so sorry, it's fixed now!)



I'm...not sure how to describe this one. Some haunts are just haunted ground we wander; some are tied up in a house, or a carnival, or an asylum...This one? It's like a collection of set pieces, more than anything else.



Be warned going in, there's at least one spider corridor, and they are active.



To be fair, some of the set pieces were really nice. This one had hands reaching up around the raised slabs, candles burning, and in a tree nearby, a skeleton happily swings back and forth from its knees.



I have to say, I like their dance floor. I may have to return to find out who made it, and nab one of my own.



These three stood around a cauldron, in front of a cabin, and maybe it's just me, they all looked like Alice Krige. They also didn't seem to match the feel of any other sets on the land.



I left the overlay slightly too dark to allow easy reading, so the plaque behind the two statues says,

"Stop Traveller, as you pass by
As you are now, so once was I
As I am now, you soon will be
So prepare for Death, and follow me."

I've seen this build before. I was pretty sure when the stairs up had a switchback and rose three levels to the top door, but this tilted hallway confirmed it.



And this one says:

Stop!!!
DO NOT ENTER
IF YOU HAVE ANY
MEDICAL CONDITION
THAT MAY BE
TRIGGERED BY
FLASHING OR
SWIRLING LIGHTS!

And it was here I decided to stop. I don't have any medical condition triggered by lights, but I didn't particularly feel like going through it either.

Past this point, there's a tiny carnival, a small graveyard, and the most singularly depressing asylum I've ever walked through, but...for the most part, that's all this is. Barring the dance floor, it's basically a walking tour, and there's not a lot of consistency beyond bones, spiders, and fog.

Still, there are worse haunts out there, and there are some nice pieces, as said, so...it's a nice walk, if nothing else? I'd give it three out of five skulls for effort.

this is how the world ends, not with a bang but with a whimper

Title, of course, taken from T.S. Eliot's The Hollow Men.

Seen on a random profile:

"I feel a good submissive should be like an Italian Courtesan of the middle Ages. Loyal, obedient, subservient, and if you mistreat them they slit your throat before you have a chance to apologize."

Sadly, no author was listed, and Google isn't saying.

But I do tend to agree.

And I try to stay away from direct copyright violation, but this seems enough different...I think I've found this year's Halloween costume for the Sakura ball. Sadly, Salt and Pepper sells each dress separately from the gloves, but I was able to pick up the red dress, and the purple gloves, so...that will be fun.

Now to other matters, and I'll make this brief. It has been a day. Sniping, accusations, insane misbehavior on the part of more than one person at many times during the day, all of it accusing me or mine of things we've never done, wouldn't do, and don't intend to do. The last straw was someone's alt coming after my partner for something I've written on here, so...that's it. That's all, I'm done.

Observant readers will find one singular mention of a particular roleplay sim in tags. That is the only entry that now links to that particular roleplay sim, and that is only left intact because that sim's blog linked to it in an entry there. If they wish to let me know they're taking down the link, I'll happily delete the entry. It's up to them.

All other entries have been edited to remove any references to places, sims, or people on them by name. The pictures are the same, but beyond that, nothing else directly points to a particular place.

And there will be NO further mention of this particular roleplay sim on this blog in future, because apparently, some people never made it out of junior high emotionally, and are getting snippy.

So. That's it. The blog's clear. Everyone happy now? We are most decidedly moving on.