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.)



Another spider warning--seems like visitors are going to have to make their way through the webs to reach the front door.



Through the front door, more webs, more spiders...and a skeleton playing piano.



In a side room, two very tired skeletons, a wife and husband reclining after a hard day, and...a skinned dog??



Upstairs, in this very familiar build, the childrens' room--where the children seem to be watching over their possessed grandmother, as the crucifix slowly rotates on the wall.



And finally, the master bedroom, with a web-bedecked canopy bed, a web-draped sewing mannequin, and a very dusty vanity.

All in all, this one's fairly quiet, but well done. Not one for people who aren't fans of creepy-crawlies, but it's a pleasant walk, with some nifty decorations, and I quite enjoyed it. It's not a large space, but you know, they don't all need to be. My first five out of five skulls for the year.

I believe all your lies, the look in your eyes, you make it all seem true

(Roleplay entry.)



The factory's gone quiet, but that doesn't mean things have ceased. And the new ships being commissioned...more driven by arcane power than steam and tubing.



For instance, what assembly line needs retaining circles?



I haven't been inside this one yet. I...don't think I want to know what's inside.



And through the wall of the castle, phasing in and out of reality...



And through the soil of Steelhead, reaching for the Northwest sky...



And from within the tangle of viridescent tentacles, some heavily plated machine shaped like a...shark? It took some concentration to freeze the emergence in place, but...that's all I can do. I can't send it back. I don't dare let it out. What is the Duke doing?



And why did he invent a witch bomb? What purpose does that serve?

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

GRIND Halloween's blurb said:"Romantic Dancing with your date and Halloween Spooky Sim brought to you by Alexzis Meredith.
Haunted,house,skeletons,zombies,zombie,graveyard,Scarecrow,scary,,ghotic,Ghosts,Tombstone,Graves, scary sprits, ghouls, witches,trick or treat, costumes, dress u" Well, I was in a dress, so...I went.



Turns out I didn't need one. While there was a dance floor--and people there--I was more interested in the marquee arrows that led around the side, because that's where I saw Hallows decorations. Including this rather familiar Slenderman at a bus stop along the sidewalk.



Well, this is certainly unusual. From a quiet sidewalk, through a wrought-iron gate, to...an alligator? Seemed upset, too.



To the side of the alligator--and the little shack it was in front of--was a side passage. Here be spiders, so be warned.



To one side of the house was this dancing masked fellow. Not sure why he was dancing there, but he seemed to be enjoying himself.



And to the other side of the house I noticed these color-changing skeletons. I hadn't noticed them on the other side of the fence, so...either they hadn't rezzed in yet, or they weren't visible from the front? Not sure, but they were also fun to watch.

Next up: the house!

how much I let the fear take the wheel and steer

Walked in on a statement from a friend elsewhere:

[6:53 AM] SphynxCatVP: Blake Sea regions are uplifted, so if you want to see what region crossings are like, pic a blake, fly up, and then fly across borders

I think she means uploaded?

Which I think--if I'm not wrong--means the entire Blake Sea chain of sim data is now in the cloud.



So I started in Spyglass. Figured flying was my best bet.

Right now I'm angled towards Brigantine, so that's where I'll go next.



Crossing into Brigantine, and then into Lanyard, there was just a brief bright flicker--no swooping down or up, no losing control, no jittering as one sim fought to hand off my data to another.

Crossing into Half Hitch was the first serious crossing resembling the old-style ones, but...even that was a quarter-second of black screen, then everything restored. No jitter, no lag.



Now in Turnbuckle, and talking with a friend about the project:

[11:58] Exx Oxxxxxx hugs you tightly, kisses you softly, gently, just because...
[11:59] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) smiles, and had opened the window to say something, and then got distracted by someone's comment elsewhere. :)
[12:00] Exx Oxxxxxx: "Look! Shiny...." *grins*
[12:00] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr) giggles
[12:00] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): More, "Look, the Blake Sea has been uploaded fully to the cloud, you should check out the sim transitions."
[12:01] Exx Oxxxxxx: Is there any visible impact of the upload? Do you know?
[12:02] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Well, I've gone through....*checks*
[12:02] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Five sims so far, and about the only impact was crossing Lanyard into Half Hitch, where the screen went black for a microsecond.
[12:02] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): So far, no jittering, no lag, that I'm noticing at least.
[12:03] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I did see one ship sail by where the two avatars in it were jumping back and forth, so...it may be worse on the ground?
[12:03] Exx Oxxxxxx: It will be interesting to see what the impacts are, in any, as things settle down

It will be.



Now in Windlass, and for all I can tell--if the Blake Sea is any indication--sim crossing is going to be a LOT easier. Let's hope that I'm right!

Obviously, this is only a (brief) flyover--I have no idea how choppy the seas are if one is actually trying to pilot a ship. Though willing to try it with someone who wants to do a sailing run, or I'll pick an afternoon and flip on fins and see how the sim crossings are under the surface.

you could come to me by plane, but that wouldn't be the same as that old motel room in Texarkana was

"An honorable human relationship — that is, one in which two people have the right to use the word 'love' — is a process, delicate, violent, often terrifying to both persons involved, a process of refining the truths they can tell each other."
~Adrienne Rich

Food for thought.

At any rate, "Spook House by Sinatra," the listing said. It went on:

Sinatra's Spook House Ride - Haunted House Sinatra ghost train dark ride Carnival ride Sideshow Spook Halloween scary Spooky

Okay. The first dark ride in SL? I thought that belonged to someone else, the Temple dark ride...but sure, let's check it out.



2003? That is quite old, yes. (And upon reflection, looking at the layout...I may have been through this one before.)



I have ridden this one before! This is the pay ride!



So, since I'd covered that already, and nothing in the ride has changed...I wandered the rest of the area. Some small storefronts, some decor items, and...a side tent, with...fortune-telling machines?

[14:00] The Spirit Speaks: "The winds are about and walking."

Though that's not really a fortune...



The next machine said "Touch skull for fortune". So I did.

[14:00] Magic Skull: So uh Emilly Shatner-Orr ......you touch dead guys a lot do yah? You kinda look the freaky type.
[14:01] Magic Skull: I see an attractive stranger in your future. I can't help but feel sorry for them.

Rude.



Scattered through the circle were Zyngo systems, and some other match-and-win "non"-gambling machines, and a few vendors, but all in all, it at least took up five more minutes.

[14:03] 7 - Your Future: All things are off in one hour.
[14:03] 7 - Your Future: You already know the answer to the questions lingering inside your head.

Now you tell me.

All in all, the ride itself still gets two of of three skulls, but the tent area, and some of the decor pieces, get three, so...it's at least worth going to if you're bored?

I want you to be unused, I want you to remember

The blurb said

"Haunted house on route 8! Come explore or start the hunt for a prize at the end. October, Halloween, haunting, ghost, hunt, prize"

So off to Morbid Manor we go!



More drunken skeletons. They are fun to watch.



Well, that's not creepy at all. The creepiest thing? This wasn't even part of the haunt, these were someone's breedables on the next parcel over!



To stand at the window, alone, in a dilapidated house...while spirits degraded to floating lights flow past...That's also creepy.



And this is a very dilapidated house.



And the game rips start. This place was doing so well...evocative mood, fun little effects, definitely had the creep factor going...and now the game rips. This one they didn't even bother to hide--she's actually named 'Samara'.



And two more. Well, I guess I'm done here, then.

Overall, I really liked this one until the game rips. It really does present with lovely little mood pieces. For that alone, I'll give it four out of five skulls, but...really. Next year, do the same thing without copyright infringement? And it will be stellar.

so, don't swear to God, he never asked you, it's not his heart you drove a knife through (part II)

(Continued from part one.)

So it was another chain ride--another dark ride--but it had a few odd differences...



It started off the same as most of them. This one was based around blasphemy, so the exterior was a black church with dark red and yellow stained glass gothic windows. Inside, all the walls were painted black, and it started right up with the inverted pentacles.



The first turn was a straight run towards a panel inset with a flickering photo of a long hallway.



The first serious turn brought me into a large room the car spirals through--and I do mean "spirals", it was REALLY hard to take pictures because the car kept corkscrewing along the track. I could swear the figure to the right is one of the elves from World of Warcraft, but to be fair, I don't really know that game as well as others.



I am fairly sure that the two sigils on either side of the eviscerated lass is a small homage to Silent Hill, however.



After a few more corkscrew turns, the car slides past the devil towards another inverted pentacle...



...the pentacle in question, of course, being on fire...and the snarling whatever-it-is underneath...



...and the ride finishes by running the car through a solid corridor of flames and capering imps. And then it ends, and I'm back at the front again.

Short? Absolutely. Fun? Not if you're taking pictures, but otherwise yes. There's lots to do here, between the park rides and the various 'photo ops', not to mention the maze--and, barring the 'graphic' (ha) nature of the dark ride, there's very little here I'd say is even R-rated, so it's fairly suitable for all ages.

All in all, not bad. Three out of five skulls.

so, don't swear to God, he never asked you, it's not his heart you drove a knife through (part I)

Creepfest Park told me,

"Join us Oct. 2 thru Nov. 1 @ CREEPFEST PARK Where you can create your own image of CREEPY and we won't distort your view. Halloween, Fair , Ferris Wheel, Roller coaster, Corn Maze. Rides, Haunted House, Interactive, Couples, Singles, Family.."

but now I'm wondering how they mean that. I can "create [my] own image of CREEPY" and they won't "distort" my view?

What view?



I was amused by this, I admit.



So, past the entrance, there was a proper amusement park of creepy rides. This was the front entrance to it.



This was a pirate ship, hydrolically rocked through an artificial storm. I'm intrigued enough I might go back and see how it is to actually ride.



Past the section with rides, there was a small area where small yellow "Photo opportunity!" signs started showing up. While this rest area had one near the front, where I stretched out by the crackling fire was fine for pictures.



Past the fire and the log and hay bale seating was the entrance to a maze...



...and, uh...whatever this was...



And past that I found...the Unholy Roller Horror Ride.

(Continued in part two.)

well, I ain't really falling asleep; I'm fading to black

Not Scenes? Well, yes, because at this point, I don't want to cause further strife, so this is NOT quoting of conversations from SL. It will be markedly rephrased to my opinions only. (Which still may not stop controversy, but I'm doing what I can.)

So here they are, in order.

1. Attacking people just for being friends with me is a low blow. Please, just stop. You're all adults. Act like them.
2. I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm not holding onto grudges. I'm sorry we are where we are. But I'm not dwelling on anything, I'm not feeling guilty over anything, and I'm certainly not plotting against anyone.
3. The main reason this is up in the air, still, is not just being accused, but being accused of specific things. The current being "poaching". I've never "poached" anyone from any sim. Neither has Hiro. I've never told ANYONE who's playing on ANY sim to leave that sim, including sims I KNEW were deeply, psychotically toxic (and before anyone points fingers at that statement, I am thinking SPECIFICALLY of Lumindor and Valruna, and NOTHING MORE CURRENT). That is not my place, and MOREOVER I encouraged people to stay. Just because we leave a place doesn't mean that place can't still be wonderful and enthralling for others.
4. Codicil to the above: there is NO ONE who roleplays on the grid who lives and solely exists, 24/7, on one sim. People port away for sales, to meet with friends, people log out for RL, people go to classes elsewhere if they're involved in some learning effort in SL. Every time someone leaves X sim, it doesn't mean someone else has stolen them away. That is a staggering amount of paranoia. Again, please stop. Be adult about it.

Ultimately, people will believe what they want to, and nothing I say will convince the ones who've already decided who's right and who's wrong. All I'm asking is that whether I'm viewed as an individual, with my own thoughts and feelings, or Her Satanic Majesty of improper influence and aggrandizing plans, to please consider before you attack others. You want to attack me? Fine. Come to MY door. Don't pick on other people just because you're upset. That's what bullies do.

And that's all.

Will this still bug me? Of course. For reasons of closure, and because I am an obsessive-compulsive on many things, but also...If I had no other reasons, I apparently lost a close friend over everything that happened, someone who used to talk to me several times a day, and now won't even answer the two notecards I sent asking why she unfriended me. And again, this person is an adult, with their own mind and emotions, but if this is the level of nonsensical detritus thrown around in meetings and conversations, it's really no wonder she's also apparently decided I'm Satan. Or married to Satan.

I don't get people sometimes.

Haunted Crowe

The blurb said:

"Open till November 1 - Come get ghoulishly thrilled! Haunted House Halloween ghost ghoul horror scare scary all hallows eve samhain spooky photography"

So I went.



There is way too much going on here, in all directions, but I did like the drunken skeletons. They were fun to watch.



Turning around to face the other way, I found a crimson cornfield and a spooky mansion high up a cliff. I didn't check over that way due to the everything else.



Coming up on the first house I picked up, I thought these were just adorable little spooks. They moved when I walked past.



I will say this--they are having fun with skeletons in this one.



A lot of fun--this guy bobbed up and down in one corner of the living room.



Outside again discovered more posed skeletons--this one next to another draped over a high-backed chair, which were both beside a swing set made of blood-streaked bones.



Across a little bridge I found this rather despondent fisher-skeleton.



I remember new trails. Whatever happened to them and their lovely sense of haunted whimsy?



Did I mention there's a lot going on here? At least four haunts, if not six, plus set pieces everywhere, including this ghost ship. Some game rips, not a ton, and even through all the clutter, there's a definite intention behind everything. Even if you just hit one or two places, as I did, you'll find something worth seeing, I think. Four out of five skulls.