end of October, sun's fallen over (part CXXIX)

(Roleplay entry. Continued from part CXXVIII.)

"This is the General Carrier William Gibson. We are near the Tannhäuser Gate. Under heavy attack. Activating Wormhole Drive..."

Grey Area: "William Gibson, abort jump. William Gibson--"

Static bursts over the channels, then...silence.

The first blast in the Dark Sea caused the Prometheus 1 to bounce and momentarily lose control as turbulence and displaced water buffetted the ship. The Prometheus 1 was a Steamlands standard aircraft carrier, posted over Darktow to manage threats from the pirate states to the south of Gearhaven. The Prometheus 1 had a long history of service protecting Gearhaven, prior to the schism and exit from the Steamlands. The self-awareness of the ship's mind developed slowly.

The clockwork consciousness took a different path as it flowed into self-awareness. Prometheus 1 wondered what the other AI experienced. They assumed with the sensors, the robotics, cameras, their world was a fuller spectrum. When the large defense station over Caledon Middlesea was destroyed, Prometheus 1 was aware, watching and responding from over the Firth. Lacking digital sensors, his awareness began with a hyperawareness of Radiowave, the multiple channels of the wireless spectrum. That morning, they were listening to a political discussion from Oxbridge regarding the self-rule and racial justice in the Steamlands, a big band performance of swing music, and he was monitoring the calculations for the Gearhaven Steamland space project. The aspirations of mining Cavorite on the moon. His awareness tracking all frequencies at the same time, as well as the Caledon Railway and Airship signals.

The interference and the attack on Middlesea began as an itch in awareness. Something that was missing from the normal hum of basic air traffic control wireless communication. Back then, Prometheus 1 was too newly self-aware, a nascent intelligence. Today was different: Prometheus 1 saw what he sensed. He could articulate it the itch in his awareness. Something was wrong. Things were not proceeding for a normal sequence.

Prometheus 1 wasn't certain if STAN was infected, or if it was solely members of the Gearhaven organization. But their clockwork-logical mind was certain of one thing: This was not a set of random mistakes, a system out of control.

It was intentionally a set of outcomes, preordained. Was the head of security LaPlace’s proverbial demon? The intentional mechanism of the deterministic clockwork world? Prometheus 1 was not sure. They were sure of one thing, Chaos theory only makes sense with an incomplete, unknowable dataset. Like Magick is based on the limitations of its authors. Prometheus 1 knew its limitations even among its peers. It also knew, it needed more data about what the root cause of this dysfunction was.

As they leveled out the fly path and launched two squadrons of fighters (one to head to the airspace over the Steam Mansion, the seat of Royal power in Gearhaven, the second squadron patrolling the southern ocean), Prometheus 1 knew some enemies were too programmed to hate and despise progress not to attack. They were the broken, dead-end form of life that had to tear down and destroy to feel at all alive. Prometheus 1 monitored the radio waves and the weather reports. He saw the pirates' fleet early. He sensed the black flag flying as it moved toward Darktow, a separate group moving at a higher altitude. Toward the nursery.

(Continued in part CXXX.)

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.

and there is more than just diamonds and rubies hidden beneath the concrete below

Any song that features the lyrics "Desecrate the tomb, to the rhythm of the rumba" is good in my books. (And if you've never heard of Nanowar of Steel, well, there you go. Perfect introduction to their battily insane musical stylings.)

Meanwhile...

[23:01] Nyree Rain: Calla, WHY is my guard robot trying to stuff you into the fuel tank?
[23:01] Nyree Rain: you didn't try to take something again?
[23:06] Calla Iris Waydelich (callidus.waydelich): No??
[23:06] Calla Iris Waydelich (callidus.waydelich): ....Yes...
[23:07] Nyree Rain: sigh

Now really, are you that surprised? One cannot remain Pirate Queen and rest on her laurels, after all, so...it's kind of expected.

This is very interesting: the founders of the Pordenone Silent Film Festival have decided this year to go virtual. Drawing on a host of international film resources to prevent both well-known creations and never-before-released-widely films, I think it's a magnificent effort, both logistically and creativity. (Oh, and the accompanying blog is already up and running.)

There are nutritional psychologists? That's fascinating. That's also a list of recipes that supposedly elevate both physical and emotional well-being. (Of course, YMMV, obviously special diets weren't considered with the list.)

In the meantime, We RP is open! And I got sent another jewelry pack from Adam 'n Eve, which I can finally, I think, do justice to regarding pictures. Because I no longer own a potato to log into SL.



This is the left armlet from Ms. sachi's Priya collection. There's an inherent soft, shimmery glow to the pieces, and this one I'm showing in the bright gold for metal, the emerald green for the gems. It's unrigged, as I discovered because I wanted to adjust it juuuuust the slightest bit--in my case, to be slightly to the left and slightly farther up on the arm.




This is Priya's right armlet, shown in black metal, with pink gems. There's still that soft glow to this, unobtrusive, but definitely noticeable.



There's a pendant with the same design (just the pendant; the collar and the back necklace with the amethyst gem are mine), still unrigged to match the rest of the set. There are two metals on the top of the metals HUD; the one on the left is snowy white, the one on the right (shown here) looked like it would be a white metal, but I'd actually call this silver, maybe? Either way, it's lovely.



This is the bindi piece, which I do not, as a rule, wear in SL (or RL) because I'm not Hindu or Jain, and the actual bindi mark itself has significance in the culture. That being said, in a fantasy environment, I think this is sufficiently 'ornamental' beyond the religious/cultural connotations, and it is another lovely piece.

I forgot this was in the set, so the bangs do slightly interfere; I got the best shot I could. I'm showing it in the rose gold metal, and the ruby-red gem.



For the diadem, I realized the bangs were really going to interfere. So I switched from Calico's Thedra hair to EscalateD's Lovey, with the trailing strands removed. Keep in mind this is adjusted slightly higher than I think it should naturally rest, because I wanted to clear the hair. (It, like all the other pieces in the set, are unrigged mesh.)



And finally, the right armlet again, shown in the last gem and color setting, both white. It seems the white and the gold metal choices, interestingly enough, show the glow effect best, but even with those two, it's still not a scream-in-your-face level of glow. Just enough to look...well, magical.

I'll go back later and track down the actual booth SLUrl for Adam 'n Eve, but when using the "updated" landmark the We We RP group sent out, I ended up in a wall:

[14:51] Emilly Orr: Also, aaaack. Designer friend of mine sent a jewelry pack for review for We RP? So I've been taking product shots for a blog post. Last thing to do was go to the site, using the handily supplied 'updated landmark'
[14:51] Emilly Orr: Ended up in a wall.
[14:52] Emilly Orr: While I was trying to get OUT of the wall, I realized at least three people had on vocal bumpers
[14:52] Emilly Orr: So it was a sudden cacaphony of "You think you're BETTER than me?", "Dude, I'm sorry" and (the sole female-voiced one) "Ooh, Daddy".
[14:52] Emilly Orr: Very cringeworthy.
[14:54] Mxxxxxxx Wxxxxxxxxx: those seem unrelated :)
[14:55] Emilly Orr: They do!

Yeesh.

So use this one until further notice.

(Further notice, because I had time to run and check: For this set, they're being sold in single metal colors with a HUD to shift the tone of the gems. Each set includes all five pieces, and they run L$185 each. Or you can buy the fatpack, which includes all the metal colors and the gems for each piece, for L$500. Which yes, is a steal, considering the quality. If you're using a browser that supports direct ports, here's the booth, and if you only have beacons to go by, that should tell you where to walk from the center hub.

(Other bits of information:

(I'm wearing the Rheia fantasy skin from Ritual (sadly, the closing-off-the-grid sale has ended, the store is now gone; I was hoping the sale would still be going) and the "Intense Power" outfit in green from Belle Epoque. And of course, all shots were taken on Luane's Magical World, because the scenery really seemed to fit the set.)

the sky is erupting, I must go where it's quiet

Have I been to Shadow Hills yet? Their blurb:

Where the Dead are the Living!
Swamp, Zombies, Halloween, witches, evil, Scary, Haunted, Ghost,

Doesn't look familiar. Does say Bloodlines-friendly, though, so be prepared.



This bride's been officially waiting too long. I mean, yay that she wasn't stuffed in a chest in the attic, but still. Never make a bride wait this long.



The place I took for a haunt is pretty empty, but there's a ghost ship in the harbor.



Wandering another direction brought me to a set of dilapidated shacks and...whatever this is.



Wow. Pink flames. That poor witch.



The worship must commence.

All in all, it's not terrible. Continuation of the haunted bayou theme that seems so popular this year. Some rips, but not obtrusive. If you feel up to a wander, there are worst ways to spend your time.

bittersweet aftertaste is all that remains

The SLUrl name is "Spooky Halloween Gothic fantasy explore GCS Combat". Uh. Okay. Is this a haunt or not? If I get eaten by zombies, I am NOT coming back.



Still not sure. Though this largely seems to be just an atmospheric wander. There's nothing wrong with that; some of my favorite haunted sims (the lost October Country, Pendle Hill, Innsmouth, others) are essentially eerie, atmospheric, changeling lands. Plus, disturbing architecture and a soundtrack can cover a lot of ills.



There are so many things tucked away at the edge of vision--hanging chairs, butterflies in shadow, dragons spewing fire, windows in trees. Lovely, unnerving, impossible things. The lack of any explanation is sometimes better than a storyline.



I didn't fully explore the little cemetery, but it has some lovely touches.



The port plaque that's cut off apparently leads to the GCS Combat area. Oh good, that means I won't be killed by zombies here. The other plaques seem to indicate passage can be had to any sector of the sim without wetting one's feet. That's a very good thing.

All in all, if you're seeking good places for photographs, or if you want just a simple walk with a touch of strangeness, this sim is perfect. It's not a haunt as such, but it's good.

I tried to be someone else, but nothing seemed to change

No, really, that's the name of the haunt. Just off the SL rails in Leafroller, it's a quaint little castle build with one lone, dead tree.



Oh, pardon me, three trees, but attached to one base.



It's a small castle build, really only one room, but there are partitions inside that give some sense of separation. Also, there's no second floor, it's just the one room, divided into two, linked by a tiny hallway.



There is a sofa and a chair in the 'living room', there's some potential photo ops there, but that's really about it.

This isn't a bad haunt, it just feels very incomplete. Maybe they just didn't have that much space to work with. Maybe they ran out of time. I have no idea. It's small, inoffensive, and adequate, though, which, if not a compliment, at least isn't an insult.