My Second Life Makeover I

My aim is to achieve sustainable change, not just make a cute little makeover. 

Jamie Oliver

          Just recently, I wrote my one hundredth story about my journeys across Second Life (SL) and shortly before that I had celebrated one year as an inworld blogger.  This got me thinking about my inworld appearance.  I need a makeover.  (Significant Other thinks I need one in Real Life (RL) too but that’s another story.)  Right now, the best way to describe me is to say I look like a virtual version of Barbie’s boyfriend Ken.

          To be fair, I’ve had encouragement from SL friends who have subtly (OK, maybe some weren’t so subtle.) suggested that I lose the noob look and get some credibility.  (I also got the sense that I’d be less embarrassing to be around.)  Ilse Runo suggests that people might react more favorably to me if I didn’t look all the time like I’d just stepped out of the SL arrival center. 

          Hints have been made about my hair, my skin, my clothes, and my eyes (which are staying red no matter what).  Admittedly, when I first came to SL, one of my goals was to go “freebie” and not spend any more RL money than I had to.  However, like most things in life, spending a little money can enhance the experience. 

          One SL blogger whose work I read all the time and whom I respect has been chided online for not updating his look for the latest fashions and technologies inworld.  (Sticking to my rule of not being negative I won’t reveal his name.) 

So, it’s not like folks are just ganging up on me.  But I’ve now become sufficiently self-conscious of my inworld looks that I’m ready for that makeover. 

          Where to begin? 

          Fortunately, unlike when I first stumbled into SL, I now have friends who patiently try to advise me and steer me away from my own pitiful choices.  GraciAnne Harte, a successful model inworld, has given me lists of suitable merchants and has taken me shopping.  The amount of choices available is simply overwhelming to me. 

          Ilse actually took the bull by the horns recently and selected a new skin for me which I purchased. (Yes, I actually spent some Linden $’s).  My new skin also comes with some new clothes which, let’s just say, makes me look more contemporary.  She then brought me along to a shop where I could buy some new hair.  This experience taught me a lot that I didn’t know about style and fashion in SL.

Ilse next TP’s me to EMO-tions  an upscale hair shop inworld.  There are a myriad of choices here for men, women, and unisex.  Never being known for quick decisions, I eventually make a selection.  I then learn how to demo a product in SL.  Without Ilse’s help, I’d still be there trying to figure it out.  (Why can’t they just put up a sign that says you purchase the item for 0L$ if you want to try it on?)  We make progress.

          Once I get past trying my new hair on, I buy the hairpiece and wait for it to show up which it eventually does.  Here is where I begin to learn about how one fits one’s self out in SL.  Unlike the freebie stuff I’d just grab ‘n go with previously, I need to have myself fitted or “resized”.  Like when Ilse asks me where my poser is and I go “Huh?”.  Ilse is a very patient woman.  My next problem is that I can’t open my new hairpiece in my home because I’ve somehow bumped up against my prim limits!  (How I did this is beyond me, there’ll be a story on this topic soon, trust me.)

          With Ilse’s help we eventually end up back at EMO-tions where I use their poser to try and put on my hair.  Let’s just say this was a frustrating and unsuccessful process.  Needless to say, I still have a lot to learn.  My first experience with edit mode has makes me appreciate what’s involved in making a good SL appearance.  (Also, have I said Ilse is a very patient woman?) 

          This is my key takeaway this week inworld.  I’ve taken for granted what’s involved with SL style and fashion since I first rezzed in.  My experience with freebies made me say what’s the big deal? My experience with buying and trying to resize a hairpiece has taught me otherwise.  No wonder the fashionistas take a dim view of noobie wannabes like myself.  It takes hard work and time to work at a good appearance inworld.  (It’s only taken me just under two years to come to this realization.)  As with most things in SL, the things worth doing aren’t easy. 

          What’s next?  Well, I have to figure out how to put on my new hairpiece and use edit mode.  Then I’m on for new eyes (red) and some new clothes.  Also, some new tattoos.  (Sorry Ilse!) 

          In case you’re wondering why I’m not revealing any in progress shots or mentioning products, I’m still a work in progress.  The big reveal will happen in a few weeks.  Stay tuned!  Any suggestions or help (like with edit) would be greatly appreciated! 

          I’d like to thank Ilse and Graci for their help and patience in assisting me through my makeover process.  All mistakes and gaffes are solely my responsibility and are probably the result of my not taking the very good, useful, and sane advice I’ve received from both of them. 

           As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 webspelunker – My Usual Look

Photo No. 2 webspelunker – Headshot

Photo No. 3 EMO-tions I

Photo No. 4 EMO-tions II

Photo No. 5 EMO-tions III

My 100th Story

It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.

Ernest Hemingway

            I’ve done it!  This is my one hundredth story that I’ve posted since I began blogging about Second Life (SL) last year. 

            Now some may argue is this really my one hundredth story.  Was every posting really a story or maybe just a public service announcement or a simple request?  I don’t care.  I’m putting a stake in the ground and declaring this to be my one hundredth story.  (For the fact checkers out there, make sure you include my first stories on CNN iReports before I was unceremoniously dumped – not for cause.) 

            Some may ask “Who cares?”  Well, for one I do.  (After all it is my blog.)  Several readers have reached out to tell me they enjoy my writings and that they look forward to each story. (No, Significant Other isn’t one of these.)  This is important to me because I stuck it out and kept writing.  One hundred stories is an achievement even if I do say so myself. 

            When I began blogging about SL way back when, I looked at other blogs which had great concepts and good writing. Unfortunately, after a strong start, they would peter out after a handful of postings.  At the time, I thought the Great Recession of 2008 had something to do with this.  But, after having written one hundred stories myself, I have a better appreciation for what’s involved in writing regularly.  It’s work especially when interviews and research are involved.  (Contrary to popular belief, I don’t simply “make it up”.)  At the risk of sounding immodest, I’m kinda proud of what I’ve done.    

            Why do I blog?  First, I enjoy blogging.  I enjoy going inworld meeting people, visiting places, and having new experiences.  And, I especially enjoy bringing all this back to my readers.  Second, this is fun.  I get to do things and see things that I wouldn’t normally do in Real Life (RL).  Finally, there’s a need for a blog like this.  There are many very good boutique blogs about SL out there but I haven’t come across too many generalist SL blogs that are still active.  (If I’ve missed someone’s blog, it’s not by intent.  Please send me your link, I’ll check it out, and maybe add it to my blog roll.)  I try to cover the unconventional.  (Who else do you know who has visited BDSM clubs and interviewed a Tarot card reader?) 

            For those of my loyal readers who may ask “Will I continue to blog?”  The answer is a resounding “Yes, I will!”  For all the reasons I just gave, enjoyment, fun, and need, I will continue.  It was only five months ago when I blogged about my first anniversary as a SL blogger.  When I look back to that story and think about the all people I’d met up to that time and all whom I’ve met subsequently, I’m amazed that I’ve been able to meet them all.  (Significant Other is amazed that I still have a RL.) 

            But that’s how SL is.  Meeting people and forming friendships just seems to happen.  People do come and go.  Sometimes they just disappear and we hope that all is well in RL. 

            What have I learned after writing one hundred stories?  Besides the mechanics of blogging (and I still have a lot to learn there!), I’ve learned about the friendship, social life, and humor among residents and their communities.  The creativity of SL is shown in events like the steampunk communities’ STEAM 7 and Day of the Dead events.  Tribute City shows their creativity in one of their fashion shows and Halloween activities. 

            I continued to push the edges of the envelope with stories about naturism and sex in SL.  I also began the series “Sex and the Single Avatar in SL”.  Lifestyles are an important part of life in SL and these stories probed them. 

            I’ve also been exploring the creativity within SL with visits to ancient sites such as Alexandria and the start of a series visiting the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World. 

            My recent stories are also making me realize that there seem to be two types of sims inworld.  One based around people and the communities they form based on some common interest.  The other is monuments, works of art if you will.  The former have many visitors whenever I rezz in and the latter are empty though striking in their beauty.  Something for me to look into in the future. 

            Any look back wouldn’t be complete without thanking all the people inworld whom I’ve met and have befriended me.  Folks like Perryn Peterson  who organizes his famous steampunk hunts and other events.  GraciAnne Harte for helping me realize my total lack of fashion sense and what I need to do about it.  (I’m a work in progress.)  Jessii Warrhol who keeps me up to date on Tribute City events.  Spec Belfire and his particle dance performances.  Glorf Bulmer, who is my favorite mad scientist in either SL or RL.  (OK, I don’t know any mad scientists in RL but you get the idea.)  My friends, Janey Bracken and Hibiscus Hastings, whom I first met when we all blogged on CNN iReports.  (I will have that game of Greedy-Greedy this year!) 

            There are many others too numerous to mention and I thank all of you! 

As always, I’m grateful to all those, while not being “formal” friends, for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.

I’ve included links to several pictures from my various journeys inworld.  But, as I always ask, please go and see for yourselves.  Pictures, especially when I’m the photographer, are never as good as being there.  The personal interaction alone is worth more than any picture. 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 Vampire Empire Landing Pentagram

Photo No. 2 Vampire Wedding Party

Photo No. 3 Phaze Demesnes – Flying Crane Tour

Photo No. 4 1920’s Berlin Restored Bath House

Photo No. 5 Wild Coast Naturist Resort

Photo No. 6 Ancient Alexandria Portside

Photo No. 7 Ancient Alexandria Harbor Lighthouse

Photo No. 8 STEAM 7 Laughing Gryphon House

Photo No. 9 Perryn Peterson

Photo No. 10 Mieville Arcadia Asylum City

Photo No. 11 Great Pyramid at Giza

Photo No. 12 El Dia de Los Muertos

My First Second Life Fashion Show (and Maybe My Last!)

If you are not in fashion, you are nobody.

Lord Chesterfield

 

          GraciAnn Harte, my friend and Traveling Companion, recently invited me to join her at the Labor Day Fashion Show being held at A Tribute to Venice in Tribute City.  Graci was one of the models and thought it would broaden my horizons.  (Graci appears to have made it her mission to save me from myself in Second Life (SL) and to bring me to civilization.)

          Never having been to a fashion show in either SL or Real Life (RL) and always willing to support a friend, I decided to attend. 

          I arrive near the Grand Canal in Venice and see people arriving for the show.  I’m greeted immediately by my friend Jessii Warrhol who’s running the event with Ava Jhamin of L’Amour Management. 

Others are assembling in the cathedral and I walk over.  I enter and find myself face to face with my old friend, World Undercroft, who has moved on from being a vampire when I knew him with Nulli Secundus and had just arrived in SL.  Since then he’s moved onto modeling and recently won the title of Mr. Virtual World 2012. 

This event is starting to become like Old Home Week for me. (I’m probably spending too much time inworld.) 

          After World and I exchange greetings, he promptly tells me that I’m in the wrong place. (Story of my virtual and, come to think of it, real lives as well.)  Only the models are allowed inside.  Here begin my misadventures.   

          Returning outside I walk over near the Grand Canal where I’m told to go and wait for the show to start with other spectators.  A nice sized crowd forms. 

          The show is intended to celebrate workers in honor of the American Labor Day holiday which is being observed on this day.  Twelve models will be showing clothes worn by working people.  At the conclusion of the show, judges will select male and female best models from the models. 

          The models appearing in today’s show are World Undercroft, Raezelle Aphrodite, Vivy Coppola, GraciAnne Harte, Sidney Hax, Brendan Macarthur, Aradia Mistwood, Kitty Picadilly, Thayna, Steele Sirnah Undercroft, dee Shepherd, and Zivaaj Achyleus.  (Please click on the models’ names to see them in their outfits.  Rex Requiem took the pictures.) 

          The show starts and World leads the models out of the cathedral dressed in an outfit celebrating those serving in the Armed Forces.  Then as the others come out, I can’t see them.  So, I decide to switch places.  Using the mini-map I think I see where the models are.  I move across the bridge which looks empty when suddenly I receive an IM requesting me to move off the runway!  As Graci would later explain to me, I’ve made the classic faux pas of walking across the runway during the middle of a show!  (I suspect Graci’s rethinking the wisdom of inviting me in the first place.)

          I now find myself stranded on the other side of the Canal not being able to see the show at all.  I follow what’s going on as the models continue coming out as Nani Xue (who is dressed in an interesting and somewhat revealing nun’s outfit herself) shouts out who’s modeling and what they’re wearing.  (BTW, most of these work clothes would probably be frowned upon by most RL Human Resources departments.) 

          Unfortunately, I miss Graci when she appears in her French maid’s costume.  (Life, even SL, can be so cruel.)  After her walk, she checks in on me and tells me that after the models walk there will be a fanfare where they will all appear.  I sense a chance to get back into the mainstream of things. 

          Nani continues shouting about what’s going on and then announces that the judges are considering their decisions.  I ask the person who called me out for wandering across the runway if I can recross the bridge and she says I can.  I make my break.

          I arrive in the plaza before the cathedral and run into Graci who is merrily dancing away to the song YMCA.  Actually, I first thought she was having a seizure but she told me what she was doing.  Watching a French maid dance to YMCA without losing her feather duster is a sight to behold.  Trust me.  (Another reason why Graci will probably never invite me to her next fashion show.) 

          By this time, I manage to get into more trouble.  I walk in front of the photographer, Rex Requiem, while he’s taking his shots.  He’s really very nice about it.  (Yep, you got it.  Another good reason for Graci not to invite me back again especially since it’s her photos I’m ruining.) 

          There are winners.  For the female models, Graci and her French maid costume takes the trophy.  Brendan Macarthur takes the gold for the male models.  Both are exceptional models and I congratulate both of them!  (I also wonder why Graci lets me hang around.  Probably curiosity about what I’ll mess up next.) 

          Models and spectators mill about offering congratulations and chatting.  I notice that many start to leave soon after the winners are announced.  The after show socializing is not quite Paris Fashion Week.  (Maybe they should serve drinks?) 

          At this point I take my leave myself and return home.  I have enjoyed myself.  The show stayed true to its theme of celebrating workers and their outfits on Labor Day.  Despite the models and spectators, I experienced no lag.  (I crashed once but that’s a regular event inworld it seems these days.)  I haven’t blogged about the SL fashion world in a world and it was good to be back.  (The SL fashion world may have another opinion about that.) 

          Ava and L’Amour Management runs these fashion shows regularly.  The theme depends on the time of the year.  Recent ones have been Vintage Fashion Week and Sports Show. I recommend that you attend these when you’re inworld.  The fashions are stylish, creative, and fun.  The shows are enjoyable events in themselves.  (Please try not to be as disruptive as I was and if you are, you don’t know me!) 

          In closing, I’d like to thank Graci for inviting me and I congratulate her and Brendan for their wins.  They’re both exceptional models and I expect to see more of them in SL’s fashion circles in the future.  I thank Jessii and Ava for putting on a great event (and not ejecting me for my gaffes).  I also want to thank Ava for permitting me to use the show’s pictures for this story.  Rex Requiem did an outstanding job taking them.  More pictures can be found at the Tribute City News website.  And, I apologize to Rex for ruining some of his shots.  If I have done anything else to anyone else while I was at the show, please accept my most sincere apologies.  I promise to improve.

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives.

I’ve included a few pictures below from my visit.  They’re nowhere near the quality of Rex’s but they give a sense of the venue. 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 Church Plaza – Site of Show

Photo No. 2 GraciAnne Harte (on right) – Winner for Best Female Model

Photo No. 3 The Grand Canal

Photo No. 4 Church Exterior

Photo No. 5 Church Interior

Photo No. 6 Grand Canal Pathway  

Photo No. 7 Venice – Interior of Shops   

 

 

Among the Pirates

Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, God would permit us to be pirates.

Mark Twain

      

          After my trip last week with my Traveling Companion to Ancient Alexandria  I decided to go back and follow up on some requests from my readers.  Earlier, I had written about the Age of Sail in Second Life (SL).  I had met with BrendonPatrick MacRory to visit the world of eighteenth century sailing ships inworld and the communities involved.  While visiting I learned about pirates and I planned to go back and visit among them. 

          But, several of my readers wanted to know more about pirates now and as I always aim to please my readers, I decided to go back and look them up.  After all, going off and being a pirate is every little boy’s dream, right?  It’s up there with going off with Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn.  (Mark Twain nailed this space, didn’t he?) 

          So, how does one find pirates?  I cheated. I contacted BrendonPatrick and asked for an introduction.  (I wonder if I could meet Captain Jack Sparrow this way?)  And, BrendonPatrick came through for me with an introduction to Steve Decker, SL pirate extraordinaire.        

          Steve and I meet in his private workshop near the inworld pirate sims.  Steve says he’s still a relative newcomer to the SL pirates’ life but appears to have taken to this lifestyle if his outfit and projects underway are any indication.

          From Steve I learn that pirate role playing goes back a long way in SL.  There are six pirate sims in the pirates community that he’s involved with, some playing at the roles harder than others.  Steve tells me about some secretive pirates inworld who have built sims hidden away from everyone else and whom no one unaffiliated with them knows anything about. (Sounds like a future story here.) 

          Four (Fair Winds, Ocean Realms, Blake Sea, Jolie Rouge; AKA the United Collaboration Estates) of these six sims joined together to form Pirate Realms to recast the rules for more standard and fairer method of playing.   

          I ask if there are any pirate crews who are really just about raising mayhem in SL à la griefers outside of role playing.  Steve replies there are some Gor role playing pirate groups which get very messy (as in lots of blood) but many don’t play with these groups.  (Maybe it’s me but I would have thought that a place like SL would have some New Age cyber pirates running amuck somewhere.  I’m probably reading too much cyberpunk.)   

          In his own role playing, Steve also plays the smuggler and is building up his role.  He smuggles anything: slaves, spice without paying tax, drugs (note this is a role playing eighteenth century sim not Real Life (RL)), and weapons. 

          I ask if there is more to being a pirate in SL than just battles.  Steve replies in the affirmative and apparently in Jolie Rouge there is an economy with its own currency, crowns, whereby pirates can earn a living.  (I’ll wager taxes will be next!)  This currency is apart from Lindens which is the grid-wide currency used inworld.

          Steve adds that many pirates just have ship-to-ship battles but he will be writing new scenarios to add story lines. 

          Being a healthy male with a taste for adventure (at least in SL if not in RL, Significant Other reserves the right of final veto in the latter) I have to ask, how does one become a pirate? 

          Steve’s answer is simple but to the point.  One can just show up and join a crew or get press ganged someplace.  For those who are more law abiding there is the Navy where one can either enlist as a seaperson or obtain letters of marque and go out as a privateer.  Free starter kits and free boats are available for those so inclined to join the pirates’ life.  Why can’t RL be this simple? 

          Pirating is based on a tool, SPD Meter, which records hits on both ships and crew members.  Hits being received from cannon, muskets, swords or whatever else is employed in game.  Twelve battle coordinators assist in arranging and conducting engagements.  (Did Captain Kidd have one of these?)  Steve explains that the most popular pirate sims are the ones based on the seagoing engagements. 

          My time with Steve has taught me a lot about the world of pirates in SL.  However, I’ve barely scratched the surface.  Steve has offered to take me along with him on one of his sea battles in the future.  I’ll bring the story back when I do.  (I wonder if Traveling Companion will want to go along on that one?)  I’ll visit the United Collaboration Estates and see what happens there both at sea and on the land.  Then there are those mysterious, secretive pirate communities.  Maybe I can find them. 

          So, if you’re interested in pirates and SL, keep an eye on this blog as I keep blogging about another one of SL’s interesting communities. 

I’d like to thank Steve Decker for taking the time to meet with me and introduce me to the world of piracy in SL.  I’d also like to thank BrendonPatrick MacRory for introducing me to Steve. 

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 Steve Decker, Pirate, Smuggler

Photo No. 2 Pirate Hub at Jolie Rouge

Photo No. 3 Pirate Who Missed the Boat

Photo No. 4 Fair Winds Harbor

Photo No. 5 Fair Winds Dungeon

Photo No. 6 Fair Winds Man O’War

Photo No. 7 Ocean Realms, Dublin Harbor

Journey to Ancient Alexandria

Trouble's just the bits in between! It's all waiting out there, Jackie. And it's brand new to me. All those planets, creatures and horizons—I haven't seen them yet. Not with these eyes. And it is gonna be... fantastic.

The Tenth Doctor

          This week I’m doing something I haven’t done in a while, visit a good old fashioned Second Life (SL) sim where the sim itself is the main attraction and everyone keeps their clothes on (or at least taking them off is not the primary activity). 

          So, after bouncing around the grid for a bit I came across Ancient Alexandria.  A role playing sim which recreates the ancient world of the Ptolemy’s and Cleopatra’s in all its past glory. 

          Unfortunately, when I first came across Alexandria, I wasn’t in proper period attire so I wouldn’t enter.  (Contrary to popular belief, I try to respect sim’s rules about attire and behavior.  One reason why I’ve been bouncing around butt naked so much lately.)  I promised myself to return for further investigation.

Something else different about this trip is that I’m accompanied by my Traveling Companion, GraciAnn Harte.  (Hey, Doctor Who’s been doing it for fifty years.  Why not me?)  Some of my readers may remember her.  We’re neighbors in Nowaki.  Graci also accompanied me on my recent BDSM club tour.   When not suffering with my presence, she’s a model who has recently graduated from modeling school.  Graci has been wanting to go exploring inworld and I offered to invite her on some of my adventures. (Actually, I think she comes along to see what trouble I get into next!) 

Graci and I agree on a day and time and begin to prepare for our trip.  One thing about hanging around with a model is that she knows a lot about how to dress and where to get cool outfits.  We went shopping together where Graci’s great taste and common sense came into play.  Especially when she saw what period costume I wanted to wear.  She mumbled something about not wanting to be seen in public with anyone dressed as a slave.  Needless to say, I ultimately went with her recommendation.  I have to admit I do look spiffy in her choice.  (Significant Other thought so too.  Now, she wants Graci to go to work on my hair and eyes.) 

At the appointed time and date, Graci and I teleport into Ancient Alexandria. Graci has selected a traditional long white dress with period jewelry.  Her hair is done in a Cleopatra classic style.   She is barefoot.  (So much easier in SL isn’t it?) 

We arrive at the port area.  (Where else would people arrive in ancient times?) The famed Lighthouse is visible in the harbor.  We move onto a temple and then back to a market back near the port area. Along the way we pass through a residence and wander the streets. 

Since Graci and I had to make our trip early on a Sunday morning because of our schedules, many residents aren’t about.  In fact, we only meet two.  One, a woman driving a horse and wagon and another woman running through the city streets. 

The sim’s attention to detail is extraordinary and this is at two levels.  The first is the period accuracy and layout of the buildings, furniture, and other everyday implements.  Then there is the quality of the detail work for these objects.  Intricate patterns are woven into rugs and mosaics.  Having had the opportunity to visit some ancient ruins in Real Life (RL) myself, I’m impressed by the quality of the workmanship and the accuracy. 

Tapestries, fabrics, and other objets d’art are strategically located throughout the sim.  Again, attention to detail and quality of craftsmanship are evident throughout.

There is an eerie sense as Graci and I walk through the empty streets.  I’m reminded of a ghost town.  Fortunately, it’s daylight.  Otherwise it could be more scary than eerie.  (I admit it, I’m afraid of the dark.) The two people whom we do meet are busy and can’t spend much time with us.   

While we wander about, Graci is taking pictures.  Despite my nobleman’s costume, I look the part of a tourist from the provinces wandering aimlessly about. The people we do meet respond better to Graci than to me. Maybe it’s my red eyes? 

This is an abbreviated trip for Graci and me as we both have RL commitments which call us back sooner than we’d have preferred.  But, our brief visit has given us a chance to see another SL sim lovingly built and maintained by a community dedicated to one theme.  We’re grateful for their efforts and for allowing travelers like us to visit. 

Graci and I encourage you to visit and see the work which brings back images of a world long gone. 

I’d like to thank my Traveling Companion, GraciAnne Harte, for making the time to join me and I hope that she will be back for further adventures inworld. 

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1 GraciAnne Harte in Period Dress

Photo No. 2 web Prior to Departure

Photo No. 3 Alexandria Arrival Hall

Photo No. 4 Harbor Lighthouse (Ancient Wonder of the World)

Photo No. 5 Harbor Breakwater

Photo No. 6 Ship Dockside

Photo No. 7 Public Baths

Photo No. 8 Murals in Public Baths

Photo No. 9 Street Scene at Night

Photo No. 10 Private Garden

Photo No. 11 Interior of Residence

BDSM Clubbing

There's nothing either good or bad ... but thinking makes it so!

William Shakespeare

As part of my ongoing series of blogs about BDSM in Second Life (SL), for this blog, I am going clubbing across several BDSM clubs inworld to see who is there and what is going on.

Unlike most of my inworld trips I am accompanied by a friend, GraciAnne Harte.  GraciAnne is a neighbor of mine in Nowaki whom I met as I was getting to know my inworld neighborhood.  She is an aspiring model.  Many times when I’m inworld, I see her going to classes and practicing in her home.  A loyal reader of my blog, she once asked if she could accompany me on one of my inworld trips. I quickly agreed hoping that I wouldn’t destroy our friendship in the process.  Also, GraciAnne is not a participant in the BDSM lifestyle so this is a new experience for her. 

GraciAnne and I meet one evening in front of my home.  She is wearing a eye catching leather body suit quite suitable for where we’ll be going.  (It’s one of those outfits that men dream about in Real Life (RL) and women say only a man could dream up such an impractical garment.  I’m learning that most inworld fashions would never survive in RL because of the laws of physics and the tedium involved in putting them on and taking them off.  But I digress!)

Our plan is to visit three BDSM clubs, check them out, mingle with the locals, and try to get out without getting into too much trouble.  I’m also hoping to come away with leads for future stories. 

As the fates would have it, we’re off to a bad start.  I TP to the first club, send a TP request to GraciAnne for her to join me and voila – nothing!  GraciAnne isn’t permitted entry.  She receives a message saying no valid parcel can be found.

I ask if she has been age verified and GraciAnne replies in the affirmative adding that when she looked that morning she was still an adult.  We decide to move onto to the next club as we’re losing time. 

I TP to the next club and we make a little progress.  This time, GraciAnne can land on the club’s roof but yellow ban lines prevent her from entering.  This is beginning to get frustrating.  (But, wait, isn’t this what BDSM is supposed to be all about?)  The clock is ticking so I throw out the script and take a chance on a place I’ve only visited briefly.  (Later, Significant Other observes that this is reminiscent of when we go out.)

I TP to the Truth or Dare BDSM club in Pyromania.  This time the fates are with us and GraciAnne arrives without issue.  And as this is an adult sim letting her in, we’re both at a loss as to what happened previously.  (I’ve deliberately not mentioned the name of the two prior sims so I can speak with their owners first and give them a chance to look into this.  I can understand not letting me in but GraciAnne?  Something’s wrong here.) However, I haven’t spent much time here so this is a shot in the dark for me. 

It’s nightfall when we arrive and few are about.  We walk across a beach and into a club.  Deserted.  GraciAnne activates a TP portal and we rezz into a site called the Sex House.  Again, nightfall with no one about.  (Can I pick ‘em or what?) 

We walk up the front steps and into the ground floor which is occupied by several king sized beds.  This place is definitely set up for group sex action.  We go up another set of stairs to an open balcony which contains several pieces of BDSM equipment. 

Situated around the room are pose balls associated with the equipment.  GraciAnne begins to experiment with these and finds herself hanging by her wrists from the ceiling.  I don’t help matters any when I do a little experimenting myself and she ends up suspended in midair spread-eagled upside down.  GraciAnne complains about the blood rushing to her had.  I manage to free her but not without inverting her first.  She next gets herself caught in a sex cage.  After getting extricated, we decide to leave for our next stop.  GraciAnne diplomatically suggests that maybe we could find a place with people.  (Obviously, my charms are starting to wear a little thin right about now. Or, maybe she thinks that she’s less likely to get hurt in a crowd.)

I next TP us to Bondage Island .  There is a recently opened club here and we head there.  Fortunately for us, the evening’s festivities have already begun and a crowd is dancing away to the music.  Although, oddly, I seem to be the only man about.  I wish I could dance as well in RL as I seem to able to in SL.  GraciAnne and I dance for a while and enjoy ourselves with the others.  (Keep your minds out of the gutter!  As Glorf Bulmer would say, this is Not That Kind of Blog!) 

After a bit, we leave the party and wander over to the Castle and go exploring.  We find the usual, large master bedroom for when someone wants to invite the local mob over to share intimate moments and a standard sized orgy room. No one is around as we wander the hallways of this large and impressive castle. (Ivanhoe eat your heart out!)

Unfortunately, our earlier misadventures force us to hurry.  So, we TP off to our third and final stop, the KL Nightclub and Mall which specializes in BDSM. RL commitments now cause GraciAnne to leave. Despite everything that has happened this evening, she’s game to head out on another one of my walkabouts on the grid.  I thank her for her time and commitment, not to mention, the pleasure of her company. 

I wander about by myself for a while.  This sim is more commercial than the others we saw earlier.  But there is a park with various pieces of bondage equipment about for people to use.  And unlike earlier when GraciAnne was with me, I run into people in various states of undress trying out the various devices.  (Remember this is an adult sim.) 

By now, it’s getting late even for me and I go home and then back to RL. 

This has been a fun evening for me (and, hopefully for GraciAnne) as I learned more about the BDSM clubs inworld, met a few more people, and, have no fear, definitely obtained a few more ideas for stories.  (More on these at a later date.) 

The BDSM community in SL is a very diverse and fairly well organized community.  Maybe that has something to do with its RL roots.  Most residents who participate in the lifestyle inworld have some sort of involvement with it in RL.  The same can’t be said for the vampires and nekkos whom I meet inworld.  Although, Goths may be able to make a similar claim.    

I’d like to thank GraciAnne Harte for taking the time from both her busy RL and SL schedules to spend an evening clubbing with me inworld.  I’m especially grateful to her for sticking with the program as everything seemed to becoming undone early on.

As always, I’m grateful to all for their kindness and time in stopping to talk with a stranger who was passing through their lives. 

I welcome feedback from readers, please either comment on my blog or e-mail me at webspelunker@gmail.com . 

     If you would like to read about my other adventures in Second Life please click here.

Photo No. 1: GraciAnne Harte in BDSM Traveling Costume

Photo No. 2: GraciAnne Harte – Modeling Portrait

Photo No. 3: Truth or Dare, Pyromania

Photo No. 4: Sex House

Photo No. 5: Bondage Island, Club  

Photo No. 6: KL Mall and Club