I’ve previously mentioned my friend DJ Anj and his set at SL18B among other times. Tonight his partner and my good friend Tori was on the main stage to DJ at Burn2 that I wrote about previously.
It was a fantastic set visually as well as audiably,as I expect the other performers at the event will be!
DJ Anj & Tori are scheduled to be performing on Friday 15th at 1pm SLT/PDT so don’t miss that!
You can find a schedule of the other performers on the Burn2 website Calendar. Which runs until the 17th October.
This one’s a little different. Much more about an adult horror approach to Halloween than the child-friendly pumpkin fest you see elsewhere.
Usually not many people read the welcome notecards given out at places in SecondLife, they’re usually just full of rules that can be abbreviated to something like “don’t be an arse, be polite”. This one was worth reading because it abbreviates to more like “If you’re offended by adult images of nudity leaning heavily towards porn.. Go No Further. You Have Been Warned.”Obviously this didn’t stop me, so take it as fair warning that you will see such images below. I started by exploring the outside grounds, first to the left of the entrance since that’s the side you arrive at.
Then along a misty riverbank to the other side and explore some buildings back there.
It was time to go inside and see what all the fuss was about. In here at ground level there are some fairly inoffensive naked ghostly figures, the kind that could be classed as erotica.
When you mount the stairs and head upstairs however, it’s quite a different story!
Up here you’ll find lots of ghostly figures going at it like they were able to breed and the human race needed repopulating. These aren’t just static images like your regular SL “ghost” popping up to surprise you, quite a few are animated. I would advise against sitting your avatar on anything here, there’s no telling what might happen. For me this resulted in being moved somewhere I couldn’t easily leave, so I had to teleport back outside. Since I’d seen plenty inside I thought I’d see if I missed anything around the back of the house. Sure enough there’s more animated kinkiness round there too.
However before I got there I came across this stone altar with a single pink pose ball on, so I sat and it had some cool ritual type animations in that I was capturing when I got a nasty surprise. Be warned ladies, heed the local chat or you may regret the consequences of staying sat too long!
Next is The Haunted History of Hummingbird Isle which is by the same designer as Once Upon a Spell, but it feels a little smaller. I totally love the environment settings here, a thunderous sky with appropriate sound and rain.
The pirate ship isn’t boardable, but it definitely makes for great scenery on the beach before you proceed up the steep steps to the gardens and house.
From up here you get a great view of that cool sky again before you walk through the rain to the house.
I opened the doors and stepped through, immediately recognising the building was the same as one I saw at Dead Mans Island last year, however while the layout is the same the interior and contenst of the rooms is different so still worth exploring!
My explorations of SecondLife’s Haunted Houses of 2021 continues with Once Upon a Spell. I went to the last page of the list of Haunted Houses on the Destination Guide, simply because I don’t like being totally conventional.
The arrival point is at the entrance to a kind of mystical forest setting with thankfully just a couple of boards for their inworld group and Flickr (regular readers will know how much I hate lots of clutter at an arrival point). As I went forward I came to some autumnal red and gold leaved trees, I was immediately reminded of Pumpkin Town a location from last year.
Coming out of these trees, through a tunnel I arrived at a campfire in what felt like a more bayou swampy kind of place, suggested by the rickety shack on the other side of a small stretch of water.
As I continued into the forest I encountered another shack, but this one in much better condition, evidently maintained by the resident witch.
Just past here are two rows of pumpkins forming a path uphill towards a house, but I went the other way into the green darkness of the forest. This took me to another larger area of water, bordeed by waterfalls and a bridge crossing it at the far end.
I followed the lakeshore til I came to the bridge then turned back towards the pumpkin-bordered path and the house at it’s end.
The pumpkin path
The Witch’s house at the top
The Witch playing her piano is the source of the music here
A cozy bedroom upstairs
TRIGGER WARNING: SPIDERS and CLOWNS BELOW!
(Yeah I know, it made me cringe typing that, why would you be reading a post about a Halloween location and not expect such things? But I know people that are sensitive to them.)
Around the back of the house is the bridge across the lake I saw earlier,at the far end of which is a big spiders web you walk through to get to the next area to explore.
Through here it opens up into another large area with a big top, a cemetery, a haunted mansion and a ghost train.
The haunted mansion was the most tempting to me and turned out to be the largest part of this area.
I’ve not shown everything here, your visit wouldn’t be fun if I did!
After blogging several spooky places last year, I thought it would be fun to do the same again this year. First up is 80Days-Skullingtown.
The arrival point is in front of a tall pair of gates that instinctively you might proceed through, but wait! I did as I always do and look behind me on arrival, you should do the same here. There is a graveyard and a massive pumpkin patch back there to see first.
What’s this behind me?
A Spooky graveyard
and a massive pumpkin patch!
As you explore you’ll hear an appropriately tinny version of a tune from the film The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is quite haunting and coming from the creepy merry go round near the entrance.
Heading through the main gates you’re in small town square with lots of appropriately spooky paraphernalia scattered about around and inside the houses and towers. Some of these are just scenery, but several of them you can enter and explore. I picked the house straight ahead first, stopping at the bottom of the steps to admire its creepiness for a moment.
Looking up at the looming house I realise how damn short this sexy skirt is, good job it comes with undies!
The way ahead
The way back
I then had a wander around the other buildings to see what surprises were in store!
Abandoned dinner
stuff on the doorstep is suggestive of spooky
What’s up here? I’ll let you find out..
But the view is great
back on the ground someones been cooking..
and someone else has been..making a call to a dead relative?
Following Ava’s fairly unfruitful visit to the Armoury and conversation with a potential first customer on the way, hopefully a meeting with the pilot mentioned will be productive.
[08:15:12] Ava wanders around the various parked up ships looking for the one she'd been told about
[08:16:02] Ava stops short as she sees someone sat in the shelter of a ship "Hello there"
[08:16:03] Szondi raises an eyebrow noticing the newcoming , but then concentrates again on her computer
[08:16:56] Szondi looks at the newcoming '' hello ''
[08:17:35] Ava steps a little closer "Hi, I'm looking for a pilot called Szondi, wouldn't happen to be you by an chance?"
[08:19:12] Szondi half nods '' so tell the legends...how may i help you ? ''
[08:21:40] Ava : My name is Ava, I work for AMZ, yo probably noticed the big yellow crate over there by now. I've been sent back to this dust pit to set up and negotiate shipping deals with whoever needs them.
[08:22:02] Szondi closes the computer and places it on ground , near the chair '' you can come closer i don't bite , yet ''
[08:23:09] Szondi : do you want i deliver your stuff?
[08:23:35] Ava steps closer, just under the canopy "I was talking to the chick in the Armoury she was pretty unhelpful, saying she had her own stuff worked out, bus suggested I come talk to you"
[08:24:21] Ava nods "Yes, I was thinking something like that yes, sub-contract as it were"
[08:24:55] Szondi frowns and meditates...'' legal stuff , i suppose....dont wanna troubles , you know ''
[08:27:26] Ava : I expect so yes, but AMZ does have a policy of not opening any packages we're asked to ship, best for all parties concerned. Which of course if *you* stick to that, it passes the buck to AMZ for the contents.
[08:28:37] Szondi : that AMZ covers responsabilities ? any sort of legal assurance ?
08:32:00] Ava : The rules are very..undefined..out here. AMZ uses that to it's advantage, adopting that policy and using our crates passes the responsibility to AMZ, yes. The parent company on Earth is too big to be messed with. Works for everyones advantage.
[08:33:21] Szondi : hmmmmm * nods and smiles for awhile , meditating * sounds interesting , yes....tell me more , please
[08:41:35] Ava : Well right now I'm trying to get a feel of who wants what shipped, AMZ were hoping to get contracts with thor and earthgov
[08:42:06] Ava : so far that's not lookng so promising
[08:42:45] Szondi : i don't wotk to Thor ...mainly , but before continuing there are some things you had to know...
[08:43:22] Ava nods "ok, lets hear it"
[08:44:16] Szondi stands up and makes a sign to Ava , indicating to follow '' ok , come aboard please
[08:45:20] Szondi : you can see this is not a freighter , i mainly transport passengers...
[08:46:24] Szondi : people who wants a fast , safe and discrete trip to their destination...with no questions...
[08:46:55] Szondi : i can carry only 2 tons of merchandise...
[08:49:37] Ava /me nods looking at the vessel "Well that's fine, I find it's often the smallest packages that pay the highest prices anyway. The limitation works in your favour too, scarcity raises prices"
[08:51:20] Szondi : maybe but not in Mars....a journey to Gagaringrad and back costs me 1500 C-bills , so i need to recover that amount and get some profit...
[08:57:57] Ava : I think we''d have to negotiate that on a load by load basis. 1 pound is not a lot for that price. We'd be talking likely very dubious contents. But as I said, you'r covered by AMZ for that.
[08:59:47] Szondi : i don't ask what boxes have in , just need a cover if gov officers inquire about...i'm not a smuggler...
[09:05:35] Ava : Well I'm not asking you to be a smuggler, AMZ is a legit shipping company. I'm not sure on exactly what loopholes AMZ have jumped through, but you don't have to worry about the officials. They can't open the boxes, that's the beauty of it. I can't, you can't. Only the sender and the intended final recipient with a biometric lock.
At which point the strange world that is RealLife required my attenion, so I look forward to continuing this story sometime soon.
On her way to find the pilot mentioned by the Armoury proprietor Ava comes across a potential customer outside the Thor Mining Corp offices.
[07:40:52] Cyka looks over to the woman in front of her appearing obviously grouchy as she nods briefly. "Hi... You wouldn't happen to have some smokes on you by chance...?"
[07:43:27] Ava shakes her head "No sorry, never picked up that habit. I'm Ava, a courier for AMZ, they've sent me to try and set up shipping deals with whoever wants or neds them."
[07:44:18] Cyka cocks her brow some and just sighs "Any chance you can procure cigs. or different kind of courier?" she asks obviously going through nicotine withdrawal if Ava had ever seen it before.
[07:47:34] Ava: I'm sure I would work something out, get some on a shipment this way, but obviously would have to be among other stuff. The Armoury chick wasn't too cooperative and not been able to make contact with anyone from Thor or EarthGov yet.
[07:48:41] Cyka nods lightly "Thor mostly keeps to themselves.. and i would suggest not trusting the earth gov people are far as you could throw them" she states flatly. "but if you can get me a few cartons of cigs i will pay you cost and a half for them. "
[07:52:08] Ava laughs "Trust? No, any large organisation, corporate or government shouldn't be trusted. You just gotta use their language though, cash. I don't care if they're trustworthy, so long as they pay upfront"
[08:01:07] Ava: Well I shall keep you in mind your offer as I fish around for customers, a shipload just full of cigarettes might not be all that profitable..but we shall see.
[08:03:15] Cyka shrugs "Im a street sam. working for the towns mayor. All i need are cigs and booze. and I'm offering a 50% over cost at base. more if in bulk.. so just keep that in mind.. its a comodity out here"
[08:05:00] Ava: I certainly will. Gotta go with market demand, if that's fags n booze, so be it.
[08:05:52] Cyka chuckles "i dont know about market demand. but if nothing else. you will have a steady reavenue if you help me out.. and i can help deal with any one who might fuck with your routes. " she says with a chilling smirk
[08:07:22] Ava nods in completely understanding the womans' last comments "Definitely a consideration"
[08:09:36] Cyka shrugs lightly before yawning "Any ways, names Cyka, i work dirrectly for Jadz as her security detail. if you need some help let me know. Will owe ya a favor if you manage to get those cigs. and.. some say a favor is as good as gold" she says lightly reaching to her pocket only to remember her pack of cigs has long since been filled with this horrid places dust just sighing in irritation
[08:11:00] Ava: Thanks Cyka, I look forward to working with you, I've gotta go head over and talk to a pilot that the armory chick told me about.
[08:13:02] Ava raises her hand in a farewell wave and heads off
Since my return to the Hellas Mars crater Sci-Fi roleplay coincided with the opening of the CyberFair event this month I thought it was time I gave Ava’s AMZ characters appearance a bit of an overhaul, along with some embellishments and extra details to her story.
The Story so far:
Ava is a courier for AMZ (All Mars Zone) that ship pretty much anything anywhere. She was sent to Mars originally to deliver a particular dangerous package (given that she was sent with a personal bomb shelter capsule), to the Martian city of Helix. The delivery wasn’t originally made because the city was evacuated. Later she met the local courier that she was supposed to give it to on Mars, but not the final recipient, so she was stuck on Mars with a useless dangerous crate and a portable bomb shelter.
After some time spent with the refugees of Helix she was recalled to Earth by the company. When she explained the situation on Mars and the surprising growth of the crater community to her employers, they sent her back. Her instructions were to establish an office there and negotiate shipping contracts with whoever or whatever organisations or entities required them.
The resulting “Office” being a very loose term for a storage crate painted in company colours and signage placed under the shuttle landing pad.
AMZ are now using unmanned drone ships for the long haul to Mars, controlled by an AMZ employee for take-off and landing, or if the there is problem such as the pod deviating from its set course. The company’s focus is customer privacy, confidentiality and shipment security. To this end the drones cargo compartment can only be opened by AMZ employees with biometric authentication. Additionally customers can ship goods in AMZ crates with similar protections, so only the intended final recipient can open it.
Prototype Drone Roleplay Prop. (I plan to make something more suitable when I find the right vehicle to base it on in SecondLife.)
My recent return to Hellas crater to tell you of it’s rebuild has got me back into mind of Roleplaying there again. So I’m reviving my AMZ courier storyline.
Recap: Ava is a courier for AMZ (All Mars Zone) that ship pretty much anything anywhere. She was sent to Mars originally to deliver a particularly dangerous package to the Martian city of Helix. After some time spent with the refugees of Helix she was recalled to Earth by the company. She’s now been sent back to Mars to establish an office there and negotiate shipping contracts with whoever or whatever organisations or entities required them.
Thinking that the Armoury might be a good start for places that will need regular supplies, Ava pays the proprietor a visit.
After some time chatting over a drink, it becomes quite evident that the proprietor isn’t interested in the services AMZ has to offer and Ava politely leaves. It hasn’t been an entirely wasted visit however, Ava now has the name of a local pilot that might be useful for transporting goods across the planet.
RP Log:
[06:53:25] Ixela: hello missus , may i help you ?....problems with your weapon ?
[06:55:46] Ava smiles "nope, just came to check the place out and see what you might be short on. I courier weapons and my employer is wanting to expand here, potentially supply you"
[06:57:51] Ixela meditates for awhile and nods '' can he supply me for Astra-Llama sub-machineguns ? Minolta-Dragunov rifles ? Mauser&Gray pistols ?
[06:58:03] Ava : All Mars Zone shipping is looking to take an interest here, with regular shipments to and from Earth. Main client would probably be the mining co, but doesn't mean there's not room for stuff you might need on those ships
[06:58:57] Ixela: shipments from Earth are late and expensive , my common customers can't afford it on their repairs
[07:01:28] Ava : Shipments are expensive because of infrequency, more there are, the cheaper they become. But what I'm talking about is adding your stuff onto shipments mostly paid for by the corpos, to make the most of each voyage.
[07:06:32] Ixela: hnmmmm* grumbles , then frowns and stares the woman , then smiles * thanks for your offer , missus , but i already have a provider in Gagaringrad....here i can get second hand pieces and supplies
[07:13:05] Ava shrugs "Ok, well I hope that works for you. My bosses want to try and set something up here, but hopefully we won't get in each others way.
[07:13:09] Ixela looks inside the workshop and makes a signal to the woman , '' weh! come and tell me about these shipments ''
[07:14:07] Ava follows the woman inside
[07:14:12] Ixela shows the table '' take a seat , please ''
[07:14:57] Ixela offers a coffee cup to the woman
[07:17:34] Ixela: now , tell me about these shipments...
[07:18:50] Ava : okay, it'll be easiest if I start at the beginning...
[07:19:01] Ixela: please...
[07:21:15] Ava : A while back before the city of Helix was evacuated, I was sent to escort a very dangerous shipment. Nasty enough that they sent me with an emergency shelter capsule. I never made the delivery before the city was evacuated, the recopient go between neer showed. A few months later, I came across the courier, or rather my implant here *taps her eye augment* spotted her. She confirmed she was meant to have collected it, but didn't know the final recipient.
[07:22:56] Ixela nods , listening carefully
[07:23:08] Ava : So I've been stuck on Mars with a dangerous shipment and no client.
[07:23:56] Ixela nods meditating...'' a weapons and ammo shipment ? ''
[07:24:07] Ava : Til recently I was called back and they decided they want to start something here, a branch office or something, with the presence of a corp here, it's likely htey'll get plenty of business
[07:25:03] Ixela: on who are you meaning when say ''they'' ...the army ?
[07:25:56] Ava : They, as in AMZ shipping
[07:26:37] Ava steps out for a moment an comes back with a small box and puts it on the table
[07:27:01] Ava : this cursed thing is what I've been lugging around
[07:27:05] Ixela: these are private deliveries ?
[07:28:34] Ava : a mix, this one was evidently for some with far too much money in the city.
[07:29:17] Ava : and evidently intending to have a negative impact on the population, or some of them at least
[07:29:50] Ixela: hahahahaha...then don't look at me , i won't be prosecuted for buying stolen materials....
[07:31:30] Ava : Dont worry, this isn't for sale
[07:31:40] Ava : even I can't open it
[07:32:05] Ava : only the intended recipient can, with a palm scan
[07:32:38] Ixela: anyway , i dont want troubles , i have my providers ....maybe not the best quality stuff , but all legal...there are government officers here.....
[07:34:02] Ava : Oh I wasn't suggesting anything illegal, AMZ is a respectable business, dealing in private and commercial shipments, the contents aren't our concern.
[07:34:13] Ixela: i don't care on the crate size but in the contents , and if it has a former owner
[07:36:48] Ava : by which you mean, you want new? Or don't want new?
[07:36:52] Ixela: i have no room for such storage ...why do you ask me ?
[07:42:51] Ava : I'm just offering another shipment route that might have benefited you in some way. But if you're all covered, that's no problem. I'll be negotiating with Thor and EarthGov anyway, so no loss on my end.
[07:43:03] Ixela: as i said , my customers can't afford new supplies on their weapon's repair...i don't work with Thor mining....my customers are private persons...
[07:44:48] Ava : So I gathered, just thought another courier might be useful, you'd be paying cheaper personal rates for your items.
[07:45:45] Ixela: i know someone who makes private transportings
[07:50:36] Ava shrugs "well in that case I think we're done here. Thanks for the drink" puts down her cup and stands
[07:51:20] Ixela smiles '' as you wish...don't want to ask the person i mentioned ?''
[07:52:23] Ava : Perhaps it would be useful to know all the players in the market yes.
[07:52:54] Ixela: but first i must ask you something...are you human ?
[07:55:34] Ava : Yes. I would have thought that was obvious, but I guess all you can see is neck up and an implant it's a fair question.
[07:56:24] Ava : It's just an implant, rest of me is human
[07:56:38] Ixela: some cyborgs are undistinguishable from humans lately...and that person hates cyborgs , droids , sinths and nearly any non-human
[07:57:25] Ixela: i guess she has good reasons to act this way...
[07:57:28] Ixela: ok
[07:57:37] Ava nods "many do feel that way"
[07:58:06] Ixela: go to the port , entering on the pistes , in the right side , box 2...here she places her hoverboat
[07:58:41] Ixela: she's more daring than me
[08:00:05] Ava : Okay, thankyou, who shall I say sent me to her?
[08:00:51] Ixela: as you wish....guess she has no protocol....
[08:01:08] Ava nods
[08:01:21] Ixela: her name is Szondi
Outfit Credits:
Suit: Space Cadet Bodysuit by {REC} from Fantasy Faire 2020
I’ve been meaning to do this piece for quite a while, but the folks kept adding,expanding or moving things, now apparently it’s complete.
Because I like to write about places from perspective of a newcomer and I’m a member of the community here I decided to go in disguise,using an Alt avatar. I’m sure they’ll forgive my little deception eventually, but it did help get a fresh perspective on the place.
The arrival point is on a landing pad next to a rather battered old spaceship and provides a good view of the surrounding area, which is mainly shipping crates I thought at first, til at the back I saw a vehicle, I thought it would be best if I didn’t try to drive it off. You’ll also find a teleporter here that takes you to the Deep Space Hub located at Moonbase 3.
Heading on towards the entrance I was greeted warmly by Jadzia, who told me a whole bunch of useful stuff and answered my questions. Quite a lot of it I didn’t actually know, because the place has changed a lot and there are lots of new storyline elements I wasn’t aware of. (So it wasn’t a waste of your time and breath, Jadzia.)
I continued left into town and followed the main street to do a circuit of the place. There’s lots of places to see and explore here, providing lots of opportunities and locations for roleplay.
There’s a few other places that you reach by Teleport doors, but I’ll let you find those for yourself, wouldn’t want to spoil everything.
What’s different I find about Hellas is the community effort and storyline that’s genuine. They did live in a city called Helix which had to be evacuated (the region closed) and they did find themselves homeless, so they settled in a dusty crater and built lives for themselves.
Some of the regulars
This story and the environment it creates, very much gives you the feeling of an old Western frontier town or mining colony. Like the old West, it has attracted some not very nice characters(story wise), doing things that would make them criminals on Earth. As a result the authorities on Earth are taking an interest and trying to assert themselves on the populous. Alongside this you have a not-so-reputable mining company that are trying to do the same, as they restart mining operations in the crater. Hence some newer less derelict-looking buildings about the place.
There are lots of post-apocalyptic, dystopian and shiny space station locations in SecondLife which I’ve seen lots lately. Hellas is different in that Earth is still happily ticking over, life going on as normal. The citizens ignorant of or uncaring for those that have chosen this remote life.
