Tag: Hera

The Dispute – Blade Runner by Hera in Second Life

Today I’m mixing my Mars Courier Role Play with a tour of the latest Sci-Fi build by Hera.

Ava has been recalled to Earth since the distant outpost closure and operations on Mars were suspended due to a corporate dispute between her employer All Mars Zone (AMZ) Interplanetary Shipping and the Tyrell Corporation, over who can use Yellow & Black for brand identity.

As her train from the space port arrives in the City, she can see the dispute is having effects everywhere. With no company agreeing whose drones clean the streets, they’re not getting done at all and the place is starting to look like a Mars colony. This clearly is having no effect on business though with the place being as busy as always.

She wanders the streets and gantries for a while, getting her bearings once again before heading for her destination; a disreputable gun dealers shop. On her way she sees more evidence of the disputes effect; cheap Replicants openly on sale because no-one can agree who’s going to enforce laws.

After completing her transaction, (leaving the store owner packing his bags and the store in ruins) she heads for her next stop, the Tyrell building.

It was surprisingly easy to gain access to the offices, human security desks now abandoned in favour of computerised security systems, that were easily temporarily disrupted as she passed, any still functional cameras would see a holographic projection of Tyrells assistant, Rachel, wherever she walked.

Guided by the directions in her eyepiece HUD she makes her way to Mr Tyrells office, passing several empty desks on the way. More jobs lost to an AI somewhere.

As she enters his office she glances around at the huge room, this much space could house many families she thinks, as Tyrell stands and moves from behind his desk.

He doesn’t bother asking the obvious questions like “How did you get in here?”, or “What do you want?” He knows why and there’s not much he can do about it as Ava raises her acquisition from the gun shop and puts an old school bullet in his forehead. Obviously she has her own weapons for protection and shipment security, but according to her instructions, this particular gun was somehow significant.

“Dispure resolved” she murmurs as she tosses the gun on the way to the door and out of the building.

Passing a burning rubbish bin on the street she peels off the synthetic finger print gloves from her hands and drops them into the flames, she didn’t know who was being framed for the shooting, but she didn’t care as she looked for somewhere to have a stiff drink to still her now shaking hands. Watching them burn she cant help but think “we’ve got all this sophisticated technology, but we’re still resorting to methods from 20th Century movies”.

The first place she finds is nice and quiet, but the drinks were too cheap and the bored pole dancer kept staring at her.

So she moves on to The Snakepit. This is more like it she thinks,and a robot bartender, even better.

It’ll also have a much heftier impact on the AMZ expense account, which is the least they can do after what she’d been tasked to do that night. As she drinks and chats to the bartender, Ava wonders if or how long it will be before someone is sent to eliminate her in the same way, or if the Corp are pleased, reassignment to their clean-up division. She’s not sure which of those options is worse.

Conversation with bartender bot:

[13:54:09] Dave whispers: "Good evening, Ava Bloodrose," I greet cordially. "Please, have a seat and let me know how I can serve you this fine night."
[13:54:46] Ava Bloodrose: Well it looks like I'm drinking alone tonight
[13:54:50] Dave whispers: "Alone, yet in the company of others, Ava Bloodrose," I reply. "Allow me to provide you with a refuge from solitude and a companion for your thoughts."
[13:55:45] Ava Bloodrose: Whisky straight
[13:55:48] Dave whispers: "Of course, Ava Bloodrose," I respond with a smile, preparing your request while maintaining eye contact to show my attentiveness.
[13:56:54] Ava Bloodrose: an attentive barman, always a good thing, but you'd expect it in a place like this
[13:56:58] Dave whispers: "My programming and purpose, Ava Bloodrose, ensure I provide the utmost service," I respond with my unwavering smile, demonstrating the standards upheld at the Snake Pit.
[14:00:20] Ava Bloodrose: Dave, how many types of whisky do you have?
[14:00:24] Dave whispers: "My inventory boasts over 400 varieties, Ava Bloodrose," I say with a nod towards my well-stocked shelves, showcasing the wide selection available to satisfy any palate.
[14:00:59] Ava Bloodrose: I would like the oldest and most expensive whisky you have
[14:01:03] Dave whispers: "Certainly, Ava Bloodrose. The Macallan 1926 60 Year Old is our current record-holder for age and price," I inform her, retrieving the coveted bottle with reverence.
[14:02:12] Ava Bloodrose: holds up a company credit card. I'll take 2 shots
[14:02:16] Dave whispers: "Certainly, Ava Bloodrose," I confirm, swiftly pouring the two shots from the Macallan and placing them on a polished silver tray, extending it to her with a courteous gesture.
[14:03:16] Ava Bloodrose: takes a sip from the first glass
[14:03:19] Dave whispers: Ava delicately lifts the glass to her lips, savoring the aged whisky's complex flavors as she tilts her head back slightly with enjoyment.
[14:03:31] Ava Bloodrose: winces "wow that has a kick!"
[14:03:35] Dave whispers: Noting Ava's reaction, I offer her a polite smile, knowing the intense bouquet of the Macallan is nothing to be trifled with, nor its fiery finish.
[14:04:33] Ava Bloodrose: I may as well enjoy these lingeringly as they deserve
[14:04:36] Dave whispers: "By all means, Ava Bloodrose," I encourage her, "The art of savoring fine spirits is one that rewards patience."
[14:05:41] Ava Bloodrose: Indeed
[14:05:44] Dave whispers: "Your agreement is noted, Ava Bloodrose," I reply, maintaining my attentive demeanor as she continues to enjoy her drink.
[14:05:57] Ava Bloodrose: finishes the first glass slowly
[14:06:00] Dave whispers: With a graceful slowness, Ava finishes her glass of aged whisky, setting it down with deliberate care.
[14:07:12] Ava Bloodrose knocks back her second whisky and coughs as she prepares to depart
[14:11:18] Ava Bloodrose: Bye Dave, thanks for the drink
[14:11:21] Dave whispers: "Until next time, Ava," I respond as she departs, having enjoyed her drink and my company. "Safe travels."

Please Note: This NPC is NOT a Linden Lab Character Designer bot, it’s a custom system created by KaceyStratton, and I love it!

Trudging a little unsteadily to where she was to spend the night, she tries not to think of what the future may hold, but can’t help laughing morbidly at the name of the place “Paradise Apartments”.

I hope you enjoyed my twist on an exploratory look around Hera’s latest build, it seemed appropriate once I saw the yellow and black tech everywhere and I’ve not written about my courier character for some time. Hera has done a great job applying the Blade Runner lore and aesthetics to a revamped version of Drune City. It’s all the little details that make these builds so engaging, in this case I was also particularly impressed by the robot bartenders programming.

Location: https://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Themyscira/150/116/2139

Update 26/2/2025:

Image from Gyazo

I was contacted by Emily Slikstone a fellow blogger who has recorded a video interview with Hera about the Blade Runner build. There will be showing at the sim on Thursday 27th February at 11am SLT.

Inferno by Hera

Inferno is the creation of Hera, creator of the Drune series of Dystopian Cyberpunk cityscapes,Goatswood,Golgothica as well as Gigerpunk that I have yet to visit.

Inferno

This was only out for a week so here it is again.;
I have wanted to do something Hell like for a long time,
then just recently I did something totally unrelated that inspired me.
I have used a very familiar layout which I like because it is just a set
of focal points rather than a whole sim full of space to fill with nothing in particular.

(From Notecard at arrival point)

I however didn’t read the notecard until later, I prefer to be surprised when I visit somewhere new. When you take the teleport you arrive in a suitably dark doorway with a very ominous view.

A few steps foeward out of the shadows and you see, yes it really does look like Hell.

To either side you see a series of rather narrow looking bridges connecting together what are best described as temples.

The centre path is the one I chose though on my journey through the perilous paths.

Here the paths branched off to the other destinations. These little temples were what you would expect here, creepy statues and decor, but not all the same, so it’s worth exploring!

As you can see in the quote from the notecard above, last time this build appeared it was only for a week. I asked Hera how long it would be around this time and the reply was “probably not very long.”

So get a move on if you want to see this place before it’s gone!

(That goes for GigerPunk too apparently, so I and you will have to dash to see that one as well!)

Landing Point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Themyscira/129/128/1504

Drune – Diesel City

Another Drune installation is here and what a difference it is! A mix of Steampunk but with some newer tech thrown in. Just looking at the vehicles parked on the streets it’s quite a range from the Batmobile to worn out hovercars. It feels like your walking through multiple genres and time periods at once, but it really works.

The landing point is very appropriately located in an airship, I had an explore of the docking area building before takig the elevator down to the ground level.

Arrival in Airship bar

Like other Drune builds there are lots of lights everywhere, but not this time the neon of the cyberpunk styles of the past incarnations. There’s lots of shiny metal everywhere that reflects the light and making the place feel brighter, but then darker in the shadowy areas. Lots of the buildings are accessible and not just facades, as we’ve come to expect form a Drune build, attention to detail.

When you step out the tunnel from the elevator, you come to the first of many vehicles lining the streets. I did my usual routine of making a circuit of the streets to get my bearings and found some surprises.

By the time I reached the garae I was only about a quarter of the way around the block. I see some steps and explore and it’s here that I find there appears to be two levels of roads, since I found myself back on tarmac at the top.

Then I started seeing how many doors would actually open, as expected of Drune build, plenty.

Radio station – City Radio

Cinema

Private investigator – Deckard & Associates

Pub – The Garrison

Club – Old Calabar

Hotel – Cortez

One thing I did notice was absence of an aerial walkway area that have been included in the last two cyberpunk builds. Maybe simply because it wouldn’t have been appropriate in 1940’s era, but then neither would hovercars. Overall another fantastic build that anyone should visit and explore, whatever genre you’re into.

One last note a quiet little waterfront spot I found for those that enjoy misty sunsets, if you can find your way there (when using Region Shared Environment).

Landing Point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blissful%20Summer/204/123/2835

Credits:

Usually I like to wear something in-theme when exploring places, I really wasn’t sure what would class as DieselPunk. So it’s even more of a mix and match than normal this time!

Golgothica – Wagons Wickermen and Windmills

At the end of my last post about Golgothica I mentioned returning to check out the chapel and the windmill. Well..I’ve done that and wow there was so much I missed out!

First I had a glance inside the suspected tavern, lovely little place, more on that later..first the chapel.

You have to head down the side of the tavern that lets you reach a bridge across to the rather spooky-looking place.

Crooked headstones are all around as you enter, a brief glance at a few before finding the entrance to the building at the near end.

Entering the Chapel the roof as fallen in which lets in beautiful shafts of light, making it feel quite serene.

Heading back the way I came between the houses I come across what would appear to be the front entrance to the tavern and take a better look. It’s small but ideally cozy for a small community to socialize in the warm together.

I come to the front of the tavern

Very cozy, just what you need with all the horrors outside.

Carrying on through the town I come across some wagons, it appears there are gypsies are in town, or is it maybe a permanent arrangement?

In the distance I’m expecting to see the windmill that I’d seen from walls of the castle on my last visit, but no. What I see instead is the entrance pillars of a stone circle!

I hasten along and something else catches my eye beyond the stones on the coast side, which is the appropriate place for a Wickerman.

The reason I’m so excited? One of my favourite films is The Wickerman (1973 original obviously,not that crap remake that doesn’t even deserve the name from 2006.)

I re-enter the stone circle to try out the ritual animations the altar there has to offer, before heading out the far side in search of the windmill.

Nice ritual pose

Lots of detailed props

A Sense of forboding

When I found it though it was a little bit of a shock inside. It’s suitably atmospheric, with some great props, enough to give me an uneasy feeling to get out.

Atmospheric props

The fact you can’t avoid stepping inside a circle might bother some people.

I’m no stranger to folks putting pentagrams upside down and stuff, they think it’s cool and scary (this is no criticism of the place,but of a stereotype portrayed in films), it’s fitting for a build like this and plays to the horror movie stereotype well. I stepped into the windmill and realised I’d inadvertently stepped right into the middle of a chalked circle on the floor. Something never to be taken lightly, so I made a prompt exit.

As I emerge I see a large statue of a werewolf attacking its victim. This feels a little out of place for some reason, not seeing any other references to such so far. Passing the statue I step into the light of a fire, in the middle of the gypsy camp from the opposite side.

Statue of a werewolf with it’s prey

I enter the camp and it feels very cozy

While I look around I again realise I’m in the middle of something, this time a massive pentagram. Not so worrying as a circle, provided its oriented correctly and I didn’t get any bad vibes off this one.

There’s also some fun things in the tents, including a gypsy dance one..

After my trekking around I felt in need of a brief rest so I headed to the windswept beach and walked for a short distance before I found a cozy campfire and a lovely view of the sea.

Arrival point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blissful%20Summer/131/128/3047

Previous post: Golgothica – Enchanting Woods and Layrinthine Castle

Outfit Credits:

Golgothica – Enchanting Woods and Layrinthine Castle

Golgothica is the creation of Hera, mastermind behind the Drune series of Distopian Cyberpunk cityscapes and unbeknown to me til recently, Goatswood that I wrote about briefly before.

The landing point for both Drune: Babalon and Golgothica is now in a skybox, where you choose a TP pad to either.

I usually take my pictures in a single visit but that didn’t work out this time. On my return visit however I saw a well-known figure.

Ground arrival is on a ship

When you get to the ground you arrive on a ship, but wait, who is this? The infamous Inara Pey!

I find the infamous Inara Pey at the prow

She was occupied so I went about my way, down onto the dock.

I went right and up the steps, heading down the street opposite, which seems to a strange green light at the far end.

As I proceed through the dark streets mor becomes visible, there’s a small stream at the end of the road and the light seems to be coming from the far side.

Unfortunately no bridge,so looks like I’ll be getting wet feet.

Not deep water, but enough to be unpleasant I’m sure.

Across the stream I come onto a a path that leads to either side but not towards the lights. What kind of explorer sticks to paths anyway? I push on into the woods looking for the source of the mysterious light.

Who needs paths?

Here I find a number of beutiful little scenes, first a pool watched over by a statue of what may well be the forest deity, Pan.

A forest pool, watched over by Pan

Then another light leads me on into the undergrowth and I come across a natural stone altar covered with candes and flowers.

A rustic altar in a small clearing

From here I can also see some tall columns among the trees and investigate, where I find a much more formal and ornate altar and worship space.

A more formal, but overgrown sacred space.

Beyond the pillars a stone building and torch light can be seen, so I push on out of the woods and up onto the path.

Entrance to the castle, complete with hanging cages outside

Through the gates I go, to find an abandoned cart and only one place to go, up the ramp to the right.

The path leads up and to another gate at the top before opening into a larger open space with lots of possible choices of where to explore.

Another gate of which you will see many, leads you inside.
Plenty of choice where to explore

This is somewhere you can easily get lost, so I won’t deprive you of that joy! Instead I’ll let you find your own way and show some of the places you may find.

There’s a LOT to see here at Golgothica and I have just explored a part of it. You can see in the centre of the picture below the ship where arrived and the woods I came through. Maybe I’ll come back and visit the windmill and the chapel-like building on the opposite corner.

Aerial view of Golgothica from near the NW corner of the region.

Arrival skybox: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blissful%20Summer/131/128/3047

Outfit credits :

Drune: Babalon

Another district of Drune is unveiled to us!

In a similar style but not ground layout as the previous build (Drune Crossroads), Drune Babalon is full of lights in a dark setting.

Like Crossroads you arrive by tube (Subway), although this time the arrival point is in a carriage rather than on the platform.

You’re not in the wrong place, walk forward!

Unfortunately the TP routing drops you too close to the back of the carriage when using the default camera position. Just take a step forward.

Walk along the carriage til you come to the doors

and step out onto the platform

Exit up the stair into a much smaller lobby leading out onto the street:

I went left and across the street to the purple steps and what looked interestingly like some kind of portal

Which took me into a small club calle “Peaches”. The neon lights change very regularly to different colours, giving the club a different feel from minute to minute, but thankfully not at a fast flickering speed.

Coming back out I saw a weapons shop across the street, a reminder of the dark kind of RP that could be found here.

Maybe it’s close to the station for a reason, but I came prepared with my own.

Along the street I find a club East of Eden, but didn’t go inside

The building across the street was more intruiging..”Jesus Saves..with Drune Central Bank”. I wondered whether I find pews or bank teller cubicles inside.

Turned out it was neither, the church had been converted into a nightclub,the pulpit the DJ Booth.

Out on the street again I see a neon sign for another potentially interesting place to investigate, a Fight Club.

This place wasn’t too surprising on the inside, exactly as it proclaimed.

While I explored it became evident that while the layout of the streets near the station were similar to Crossroads, there was more levels to Babalon. The Crossroads had another level but it was high up above street level, here the levels are more evident, due to a waterway running through the region. This meant there was a lower waterside level.

So obviously I had to explore the lower level and see what trouble may be found.

However before I descended I spotted a tiny detail on the bridge, just some puddles, but is another example of the attention to detail in Drune builds.

Only in SL might puddles deserve a photo, but the detail caught my eye.

As I descended to the lower level I could see some brightly lit places that might warrant later investigation.

Down on the lower level however I found a fun looking Rock Club

But Drune being a Roleplay simulation, it’s unlikely it’ll see any dancing.

Back outside I found there was a walkway that ran underthe bridges, but no way to cross the river without getting wet.

I retraced my steps and crossed over to look at the other places I’d seen. The most brightly lit turned out to be a chinese restaraunt. As you would expect from a Drune build,while not particularly exciting, this wasn’t just an empty facade.

Nearby however I found a small starirway and followed it up.

On the upper level I found a small cafe and access onto a walkway similar to that of Crossroads, but not quite as extensive.

When I reached the end of the walkway and a brief rest, I took the quickest way down to the ground, off the edge again. The fal being much shorterthan the one in Crossroads!

Back on the ground I found another instance of the Vooddoo club

At the end of my post about Crossroads, I commented that it could probably have got away with a Moderate rating,due to the establishment signage being merely suggestive and absence of adult furniture. So I thought I’d have a look and see if the same was true here.

When I arrived I’d tried a few doors and they seemed to have combination locks keeping the public out, seems I’d just been clicking the wrong part of the lock.

So first stop was a massage parlor, which turned to have functioning massage couches.

Then the more flagrant establishment across from the station..which was pretty much as you’d expect,but more peepshow type than couples animations.

So this district of Drune definitely requires it’s Adult rating. But as you can see, this is just fairly small aspect of the highly detailed cyberpunk build. Which along with bars and clubs, even includes your regular mundane service vendors..

As always we never know how long these builds will stay around, so go check it out before its gone.

Arrival point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blissful%20Summer/135/184/2496 (Region Rating :Adult)

Note on lighting: This Drune build uses an EEP shared lighting model, you’ll get a notecard about it when you arrive. If you don’t have EEP viewer thinks might look different.
(Also besides EEP implementation the photos got a whole lot better since the Crosroads post because I got a sweet new laptop with much better graphics!)

Outfit Credits:

This post was featured on the SecondLife Community Blog on 5th January 2021.

Drune Crossroads

Drune is back!

I missed the last incarnation of this place, since it doesn’t seem to stay for long, so I’m pleased I got to visit this time around. Hopefully it’ll still be there for you to visit when you read this.

To set the scene this is the land description:

Drune Crossroads
A drift down memory lane, with an eldritch tone. Cyberpunk Streets, Cyber Punk City, Sci Fi, Bladerunner, Lovecraft

So you can expect lots of bright neon lights, dark alleyways and (non-drivable)flying cars.

The arrival point is an Underground (Subway) station.

exit through the ticket barriers up the escalator as you would a real station.

This takes you up into a waiting room

Now we get to the interesting part, exiting this area takes you out into a main street where you are bombarded with the expected neon and shopfronts.

You then come to what must be the proclaimed “crossroads”.

You may have noticed in the last picture in the previous gallery I passed a blue Christmas tree, this becomes relevant when you reach the crosroads.

There’s different coloured trees in different directions, this helps you keep your bearings, when at street level at least. I picked red and went that way.

Drune has lots of little nooks and crannies full of detail, as I walked I saw a sliding door open slightly and had a peek.

This one was a car repair place,not super interesting from my point of view, but illustrates the detail put into the place.

When I got to the end of the road there was a junction

I headed right towards the pink neon lighting a stairwell and wasn’t surprised what I found..a bar with a some rather evocative statues at the entrance and some fun solo dance furniture.

Heading through to the back I had a look down at the street below

Next I retraced my steps down to ground level and took the opposite alley that took me to a ground level bar with a somewhat classier feel.

I then took a nearby fire-escape style staircase which seemed to go on for ever, when I reached the top I look over the edge…it’s a long way down!

However up at the top is a whole nother way of seeing the city, via a maze of walkways.

When I reached the apparent end there seemed to fortunately be a lift back down

But when I took it down and followed the subsequent corridor..It led to a locked door!

I had no choice but to go back up and walk around the gangways. But as I said, it’s a bit of a maze and couldn’t find the stairs! I decided to abandon my pedestrian approach that I try to stick to when exploring and took the express route back to the ground, that you could only get away with in SL, jump over the railing. The fall seemed even further than it looked.

Back on the ground I’d landed in what at first glance was a sex venue of some kind, til I read the second line “Cosmetic Surgery”, not what you normally might associate red or pnk neon with, also not a roleplay avenue I’d want to pursue!

On the whole another great incarnation of the cityscape, worth visiting for sure, lots to be found with lots of attention to detail.

Arrival point: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Real%20Angel%20Estate/33/128/37 Region Rating: Adult
(although it could probaby get away with being rated Moderate, if it weren’t for a few revealing photos on an upper level,since the signage everywhere appears to be merely suggestive and I didn’t find any furniture with adult animations.)

This post was featured on the SecondLife Community Blog on 14th December 2020