DJing Saturday @the Dark Wishes Halloween Party!

Expect rock, metal, oldschool goth and some oddities. Oh and there are prices to get: Likely evil RLV devices^^

I got my last haircut at a sushi-bar!

Where? Dark Wishes Playground

When? 1 PM SLT

See you there!

Actually Exploreworthy: Invictus

Its been a while since I posted something here. Partly due to RL reasons (good RL reasons!), partly because there haven't been so many interesting sims I have seen lately and none really which was worth to take some photos and blog about them.

Invictus though is different. Unlike most LEA installations it is more than just a plain surface, dotted with some more or less random abstract humanoid sculptures: It is beautiful, dense, gloomy and in its composition and emotional impact simply stunning!

Sure, the visual standard today has become pretty high in SL. Complex, mesh structures with baked textures and material effects are a commonplace, but aesthetically many creators are walking on a well beaten path. This sim though makes things a bit differently; has some edge and a certain vibe... and it did instantly captivate me.

Before I forget: the theme of the installation is a poem Invictus by William Ernest Henley:

Out of the night that covers me,
Black as the pit from pole to pole,
I thank whatever gods may be
For my unconquerable soul.

In the fell clutch of circumstance
I have not winced nor cried aloud.
Under the bludgeonings of chance
My head is bloody, but unbowed.

Beyond this place of wrath and tears
Looms but the Horror of the shade,
And yet the menace of the years
Finds, and shall find me, unafraid.

It matters not how strait the gate,
How charged with punishments the scroll,
I am the master of my fate:
I am the captain of my soul.

So yeah, check it out. Its not shit!

New Rentals at Dark Wishes!

A couple of days ago, I wrote about Linden Labs offering lower prices for their land. My friend Talia instantly picked up that opportunity and opened a second Sim for rentals and extension for her pony track too!

There are currently three levels of rentals:

Level 1 - Houseboat with 50 prims allowance for L$ 75 per week

Level 2 - Parcel with 250 prims allowance for L$ 450 per week  

Level 3 - Parcel with 400 prims for L$ 750 per week

Level 3 also have a spacious dungeon skybox included!

The new sim, Dark Wish, is just south of the Night Wish sim. You can just walk over there and check it out!

Teleport to Dark Wishes

No-Theme Dance on Saturday

Just a short heads-up: our friends over at Z&A are having another of their fourtnightly Raven Park dances on Saturday. The theme this time is "no theme", so come as you are or wrap yourself in skimpy fetish clothes. You can't really do something wrong  with that!
The dances are hilariously funny events and the highlights of the SL-weekend. See you there!


Z&A "No Theme" Dance on Saturday

Sunstone

Here's now something less-Second Life related (yet somehow it is, but more of that later), but with a quite high BDSM content. I guess long-term readers of my blog don't object that ;-)
You may have seen the drawings of Shiniez (or Stjepan Sejic, how he is known in the rl-world) hanging on some walls in Second Life (for example at Dark Wishes) or on his DeviantArt page.
For those who are not familiar with him: His fetish-comic/graphic-novel series Sunstone is about the Domme Ally and her Sub Lisa and their adventures together. Yes, in- and outside of their bed :p

Ally and Lisa. I don't think I have to tell you who is the Domme and who the Sub!

Sunstone is quite something special: Besides the outstanding quality of the artwork, it also show BDSM as a fun activity between two quite believable persons, not just exchangeable one-dimensional fetish-figures with exaggerated anatomy, as it is the case in a lot of fetish art.
You get to see them silly and playful, slouching around home in all-day clothes, bound and full of excitement, but also struggling with their self-doubts or with life's numerous ways to make things more complicated.
His characters have exactly what the name says: character.

There is also an  aspect in Sunstone which makes me wonder if the author has any experience with Second Life (hence the hint at the beginning of my post): He describes Ally as a (at times) hardcore MMO-player, so it seems rather likely that he is at least aware of it (and hence likely of its BDSM-scene too). Anyway, in Volume 1 he shows a bit of the backstory of his main characters and how they found each other and eventually came together. From BDSM sessions inChat to exchanging more and more personal details and sending each other pictures till finally meeting up in real-life for the first time...
This is another aspect of the story which rings a bell for me, because that is exactly the way how Emma and I came together. Ok, we are less comical (hopefully!) but the pattern is the same and a lot of the feelings and thoughts which went through their minds could just as well been ours.

Sunstone also isn't shy of addressing the more serious aspects of BDSM like trust, health and safety (Safeword, SSC*), but usually not in a preaching way and very well woven into the story.

The only issue I really have is the visual uniformity of the characters. The girls all have more or less ideal body-shapes and all characters have quite similar faces and hairstyles (and not only that: tons of redheads, tons!)- and so far they are all white (I'm not waiting for Drows to appear though!).
So that's a bit of a flaw, but not a big one really as it doesn't affects the quality of the story or the visuals. (Edit: I was - at least partially - wrong: Harper, the owner of the BDSM club in Sunstone is actually black).

All in all Sunstone is a light-hearted and very well written (and drawn) series I am glad to recommend to everybody. Newbies to BDSM, who don't quite know where to start will likely find it just as entertaining and insightful as more experienced people who may find a bit of themselves in the characters.


Volume 4 of Sunstone was released recently and whilst you can get the series as digital copy or even as part of a humble bundle, I recommend the real deal and getting a printed copy. It is with $15.99 only insignificantly more expensive than the digital one ($11.99) and you can "forget" it innocently on your coffee table and see how your friends react to it ;-)

Vol. 4, not the Black Sabbath one. That's here.

*Three important aspects of any BDSM interaction. It should be: Safe, Sane, Consensual

Weird Saturday's Science!

Me and Emma great fun last night at the Raven Park Dance. Thanks to Antony, Anna and Eve and everyone who came by for the great party!

In A Pub in Tether's End...

Strolling through SL often leads to meeting talented and interesting people - thats one of the things I really like it for. Like today at Tether's End, when I met Mellow - a bloody good photographer. It's definitely worth to check out her flickr page!

Games you really need to know about

Little Inferno

My friend Oiolosse is an avid gamer - and one with a good taste too. Its not only high-profile titles she is writing about, often the rather unknown indie titles are the most interesting really.

New Kraken Wars Chapter published!

Friday is Kraken Wars Day! Read the 2nd part of Jack Tracker's  epic steampunk story at the official Drow Science Blog.

Introducing: The New Drow Science Blog!

When I started writing my Drow Diary back in 2011, it was purely a personal Blog about my adventures (some call them shenanigans) in Second Life, like my bike-tours, Blake-Sea-flights and some evil adult fun. It all was and still is great fun and brought me loads of positive feedback! 

Over the years though the focus of the Drow Diary shifted more and more towards my activities as builder and shop-owner, while I also kept posting more personal content. To cut the story short here: The content-situation became a bit messy!

The new year is a fine opportunity to clean this mess up a little by creating a new Blog, called Drow Science, exclusively for my steampunk- and building activities. That should make it much easier for visitors to navigate and to find much faster what they are looking for.

Goes without saying that I keep The Drow Diary too. For more personal posts and things which don't really have much to do with Drow Science.

I wish you a fantastic 2016 and see you at the new Drow Science Blog!