The Story of O in Second Life - Pen Dragon Reporting...

The Story of O, maybe you’ve heard of it, maybe not. If not, it is a must read for those who are interested in Domination and submission. The book was penned in 1957 by French author Ann Desclos under the Pen name of Pauline Réage as a series of letters to her lover Jean Paulhan. It is an erotic tale of a young female photographer from Paris who is trained and educated by a secret D/s society to which her lover Rene belonged. It is quite graphic and detailed, causing a great deal of controversy when it was released. In fact, French authorities attempted to bring obscenity charges against the author, however; those charged were later dropped. That did not stop the popularity of the novel and it has survived, even today, as a classic book set in the BDSM lifestyle. It is from those pages, written over 60 years ago, that many have an understanding of the training involved in BDSM and how it exists today in Second Life. But to bring that novel, and it’s ideals, into a virtual world would seem almost counterintuitive and near impossible because of dynamic explicit and detailed training involved in both the book and D/s.

In the book the main character, named O, is sent to a chateau in Paris, near Roissy, where she is trained to sexually serve the members of an elite club. From there she is given to a new Master, Sir Stephen, and taken to another location, Samois. These two pivotal locations have inspired the long running sim called Roissy Val d'Oise. Taking many of the educational and training aspects of the Story of O novel and translating them into an immersive roleplay environment. But the question remains, how do the ideals and ideas of the Story of O remain relevant and still work in Second Life. To find that answer I interviewed Sir Thomas, the Roissy Supervisor. I asked what aspects of the Story of O were taken from the book and applied at the Roissy Val d'Oise sim.

Sir Thomas replied,“Our owner Rene Geir believes that the Story of O is a good example of submissive behavior and also what responsible Dominants are. He wanted to provide a place in SL, that both recreated the visual environment but also a place for submissives and Dominants to learn what it truly  means to be in the lifestyle. We believe in SSC (Safe, Sane, Consensual), D/s and protection of submissives and also the proper behavior of Gentlemen Dominants.”

This is a concept taken directly from the story. During her time at Roissy O underwent very particular training, especially in how to please a man was punished for not following the rules or being disobedient. The training was intense and intended to create a more obedient submissive. In the BDSM lifestyle such training is necessary and it helps to develop the submissive’s skill set and her behavior. This includes everything from sexual service and interpersonal skills to household management. Beyond that general training, each Dominant will train his submissive more specifically on his own personal preferences and to help define her personal goals as a submissive. Training and education isn’t exclusive to the submissive however. Many, but not all, Dominants began as submissives and have had similar training. The education of a Dom is just as vital as that of a sub. Roissy provides both Dominants and submissives with a mentor who can help guide them through their journey. This all culminates in both the Dom and sub being more well rounded and educated both socially and emotionally. This kind of training, both the general and specific, is something that is lacking, more often than not, in Second Life.

Continuing my conversation with Sir Thomas, I asked him how the training described in the book translates to Second Life. “We have training logs that dictate what the Dominant and Submissive must learn before advancing. The tasks are very similar to the Story of O or related to the Story of O. We also have Workshops and Discussions.”

This also corresponds directly to the erotic novel. All submissives were given specific tasks and were tracked on their performance. This, again, is another important part of the training of a submissive. Training can include tasks such as cleaning or be more elaborate like learning proper etiquette when setting a dinner table. Despite popular belief, not everything is sex in the BDSM lifestyle. Again this is lost on many of those who practice the lifestyle in Second Life, but is very intact at the Roissy Val d'Oise sim.

As an ‘Old School’ Dominant, I was very impressed with how well behaves, intelligent and courteous the submissives were at Roissy.

I also asked Sir Thomas about the difficulty in bringing the training practices from the Story of O into Second Life because of the lack of physical contact. He answered by saying, “We have to instruct and help them to understand that feelings are real here and so is pain, from punishment, etc.  So for example, whipping is very harsh in the real world and we need to not over due them, just since it's only sl. In short keep it real.”

Roissy Val d'Oise certainly pays attention to every detail in the training of it’s submissives, just as described in the book. But something the book doesn’t focus as much on is the effect this training has on the submissives. I wanted to know, from one of the Roissy submissives, just how the training has impacted her. I spoke with Jaymelie, a sister of Roissy who has been at the sim for 5 years, who was able to provide some very insightful information. I began by asking her what it was about Roissy that made her feel comfortable enough to stay.  She said “Its, family... It may sound corny, but I have been a Sister for nearly 3 years now, and I love to come back here and be a mentor, come back to a place the gives meaning to people. And so many amazing people find their way here, so I still experience new things, new feelings, by coming here - and for that, I am grateful.”

I continued by asking her how the training she received at Roissy has impacted her life.

“It's been a journey for sure.... I started the path back in 2013, but never finished - then I returned and started over, finally graduating in 2015.... And I have evolved as a submissive, found my weaknesses first, then my strengths - and that has definitely made me a more assertive person. In RL as well, Sir.” she explained. Her response sums up exactly the importance and purpose of the training a submissive should receive.

The Story of O, despite being written over 60 years ago, has remained relevant in the BDSM lifestyle and has even provided many with their first glimpse into that world. It’s a dark, erotic, entertaining and important book that one would think couldn’t be brought to a virtual world like Second Life. Yet, as we’ve seen, Roissy Val d'Oise does just that and in doing so provides an important aspect of the BDSM community that seems to be in short supply here. If you have any interest in D/s, you should read the book and maybe pay a visit to Roissy.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION:

Roissy SLURL: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Roissy%20Val%20DuOise/55/145/30

Website: http://www.roissy-vdo.com

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Agriculture RP with G&S: How One System Bloomed - Seersha Heart Reporting...

Role play is very popular in SL, from escapades in outer space to western sims and anything the mind may imagine in between those examples.  One of the most popular RP groups are those modeled after the planet of Gor.  Gor was conceived within the science fiction novels of John Norman.  SL resident’s participant in Gorean culture either as BTB [by the book] or GE [Gorean evolved].  For more information on Gor, I have provided links below.

A resident of a Turia [Spanish Gorean SIM], Sombra.Magic developed an intricate role playing agricultural society.  Originally it was designed for his SIM and other practicing Gorean SIMS.  Today G&S products may be seen throughout SL used by many different individuals as well as RP groups.  All aspects of the G&S products are modeled after the lives in the John Norman novels.  The clever G&S designs have objects that both interact with each other and interact with the player.  This RP system has evolved to a wide array of activities for the user.  

One example of the circular nature of one of the processes would begin with crops.  I began with a Grain field.  This field needs water to survive and thrive.  I obtained my buckets of water from a water well.  I placed water on the field and would replace it if it disappeared [was used].  After 5 days, the field would display that it was ready to be harvested.  By clicking on the field, I would receive 1 bag of grain for that field.  Next, I purchased a Verr [goat] for my farm.  The Verr needs both water from the well and grain from the field.  The Verr may be bred with other Verr for increasing livestock.  The Verr only ‘live’ for 40 days so I must manage my livestock carefully.  The lives and the breeding of animals is thoughtfully designed using Gregor Johann Mendel’s Principles of Inheritance.  The Verr provide many products; Milk, meat, wool and skin.  Each of these products may be used with other products to make items such as thread, rugs, tapestries or to cook several recipes.

That Verr example is one of hundreds of scenarios one can set up using the G&S RP items.  This RP system has definitely ‘bloomed’ in SL and continues to grow within and outside of the Gor communities.  Exciting news

After working with several of the G&S items, I submitted some questions to Sombra and G&S right hand Erica to learn more about the system and the future.

SEERSHA:    When [what year] did G&S begin within the Spanish Gorean SIM it was designed for?

SOMBRA:    G&S started in 2008 in the Spanish sim of Turia.

SEERSHA:    When did G&S begin selling products beyond that SIM?

SOMBRA:    It was that same year, a few months after starting. The English sim of Turia, convinced me to sell the products in all SL.

SEERSHA:    For our readers, the main G&S page [below] also has a “G&S trading list”.  This provides G&S product providers.  I am very curious, who are the developers?

SOMBRA: Guardian Baron is the main developer of the Mesh. And I of the scripts, Erica participates in different phases of development and customer service.

SEERSHA:   I have met Erica through my use of the G&S products.  She provides excellent and quick answers to a lot of questions.  I have spoked to a few different developers of RP environments in SL.  One thing I love to learn is what the developers notice in player behavior that emerges as the product is put into service.  Have you noticed any emergent behavior that you did not anticipate once you began selling G&S products to everyone in SL?

SOMBRA: Above all I notice it in fishing. At first, we thought that there would not be many people fishing, but it exceeded all our calculations, we even had to put an extra server to support it.

SEERSHA:  I noticed the fishing as well.  I haven’t tried it yet but I am sure too at one point.  Are there any plans to make different types of HUDs for the RP?

SOMBRA:there will be updates for the Hud, but not different types.

SEERSHA:    Is there any plan to add some of the other 102 insects and animals found on GOR such as larls or sleens?

SOMBRA:  For animals, yes, sleens, kailas, larls, tarns, but I had never thought about insects, it could be interesting.

“Suddenly a great shadow covered the ledge. My tarn had returned. I looked up and, to my horror, saw that it was not my tarn. It was another tarn, a wild tarn. He lit on the ledge, snapping his beak. This time I had none of the careful conditioning of the tarn keepers working in my favor.”
Tarnsman of Gor     Book 1     Page 143

SEERSHA:   *smiles* From my research I learned that generally Tharlarions are for those who have not yet mastered Tarns.  Any plans to develop Tarns?  The G&S crowd loves to race those Tharlarions!

SOMBRA: Of course, I always have tarns in mind. :)

“There are different varieties of domestic tarns, some bred for war, some for racing, and some for draft purposes, the haulage of tarn baskets, which may contain cargo or passengers, or, in the case of slaves, slave cargo. A tarnster commonly controls the tarn with reins from the basket, unless there is a line of tarns, tied together, which commonly follows a lead tarn, with its own tarnster and basket.”
Rebels of Gor     Book 33     Page 90

SEERSHA:   I am using the G&S system.  I know of other individuals using G&S.  What are some of the other RP communities that you know are using G&S?

SOMBRA: I've seen some very varied, almost all set in medieval RP, and I've seen some very curious, Star Wars, and another set in the Europe of 1800

SEERSHA:    Star Wars?  *laughs* may the force be with them, right?  I read from on your G&S Trading page that there have been hackers to your system.  Have you experienced support from LL to curb this practice?  Have you taken this abuse outside of SL to pursue violators in a rl court?

SOMBRA: LL Helped a little, especially in the illegal copies put on sale in the market,but, I’m from the old school,and these battles also fascinate me, and sincerely, I have not received attacks so strong or that could not be rejected with a little ingenuity to use the laws outside of SL.

SEERSHA:   That is good to know that LL has lended some support.  I have provided links to the main G&S page below.  What other items would you like the readers of this article to know about G&S and the roleplay system?

SOMBRA:  I think this is all, we have no facebook or twitter.

G&S is the only group to make a full range of Gorean roleplay agricultural and animal roleplay items.  There are other Gor items produced by residents of SL you will find on Market Place.  Many thinks of the Gor SIMs only for the human interaction from the novels.  As with most things in SL, dig a little deeper and there is much more to be found.  In the case of the Gorean RP, this is much more complex than one might imagine.  And on these SIMs and in this roleplay, there are many creative members who are dedicated to making the experience close to the novels.

Main Information Webpage: http://gstrading.info/

SRUL:  secondlife://GYS/146/142/2033

MP store: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/27655/

On their webpage there are instructions to submit questions via NC to Kristal Clarity.

Seersha Heart [saoirseheart resident]

saoirseheart@gmail.com

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Spotlight on K-Mae Babies & Toddlers- Lanai Jarrico Reporting…

Family Roleplay is one of the most popular types of communities in Second Life. Just like in real-life we all want a sense of belonging and feeling the security of a loving family unit. We build friendships that can become long-lasting bonds that feel like relatives and even blossom into love with the right type of nurturing.

Interactive babies have become a special addition to building a family in the virtual world. Couples seeking something more to strengthen their relationships have the opportunity to create a life that is a combination of both parents. Looking deeper into parenting in Second Life, it also gives people who are past child bearing age or those unable to conceive in the real world, a chance to feel that special bond between parent and child. I’m not saying it is the same thing, but it does fill a void for many who long for a family of their own.

The Second Life Enquirer met up with the creator of K-Mae Babies & Toddlers; Singerman Marquette to learn more about these interactive babies and how they compare to the other brands in Second Life.

Interview with  Chris aka Singerman Marquette

Singerman, Tell our readers a little bit about yourself. Where are you from and how did you discover Second Life?

I’m from the Southeast United States and do electrical maintenance on various rental properties in my local area as well as developing content for Second Life. I also have a 13 year old daughter who I’m raising on my own.

 I have a prim baby business in Second Life (K-Mae Babies), as well as a full perm mesh kit business (Prims n Things), a kids items business (K-Kids) and a bento mesh avatar business (Boo Fever). I also do custom projects for various clients in SL which often times includes making custom models, textures and scripting.

 I discovered Second Life via a magazine article in 2006 and decided to give it a try. I started creating things with regular prims, which was all we had at the time. Sculpties came along and I learned to make those, then mesh came along and I’m getting pretty decent at that too. :)

What inspired you to create K-Mae Babies & Toddlers and when was this brand established?

My wife, Lori, and I had a baby brand and clinic called Binky Babies around 2008.. I built the babies and items to go with and she handled the rest, including clinic operations. They were basic prim babies that were really high prim and designed to be held by the parent. She passed and when mesh came to SL I decided to remake the brand, to keep the tradition going in her honor, and named it after our daughter Kayley Mae (K-Mae for short).

Are you the only creator of K-Mae & Toddlers or do you have a team of developers?

We have a team of developers which includes myself, a couple of excellent script gurus and a couple of graphic artists. We are from all over the world and have come together to bring you great, affordable products for your SL family roleplay.

What are the features you can expect from K-Mae Babies & Toddlers?

One of the main features that has made K-Mae so popular is its ability to be customized in many different ways by using accessories such as skins, eyes, nail polishes, hairstyles and clothing/accessory options. Another great feature is the lifelike smooth movements and animations package. We spent many weeks developing these unique animations. Low maintenance cost is another feature our parents love about K-Mae. We offer 4 styles of regular K-Mae children and also 4 styles of our latest additions, the Lil Sprouts, which are more on the cartoony side and have their own clothing/accessory system. We offer all of these in the regular variety, which require food, diapers and other care items to maintain. We also offer them in Self-Regulating, which never need any maintenance items or foods.

You’ll never have to worry about losing your K-Mae child. We have an in-store recovery system, so if SL gets hungry, or if your partner or anyone else takes off with your little one you can come to the store and do a recovery to get your child back.

You can also expect great customer service. I know how it feels to be the victim of bad customer service so I ensure our parents never have that experience with K-Mae.

What types of furniture and accessories are required to maintain these babies & Toddlers?

Furniture for a newborn isn’t required, but we do offer a wide selection of nursery furniture for those parents who want to set up a nursery in their home. We even have Starter Packs, which contain everything you’ll need to set up your new nursery. When the child is a little older (26+ weeks) he will need a high chair and food for it. When the child reaches 78 weeks he will then need a toddler table. Fortunately we offer a feeding item that is both a high chair AND a toddler table. It converts to the different configurations via menu and will hold both baby food and toddler meal components. Also when the child reaches 78 weeks he will need a Toddler Potty. Beds and cribs aren’t required, but they are a nice way to furnish your child’s room. We have several bed options to choose from, and a lot of bedding texture options for each bed. You can even get a Bedding Creation Kit and make your own beddings!

Can you customize your baby’s appearance?

Yes, by using our available eyes, skins, hairs, earrings, base clothing and mesh clothing/shoes. Also if you want to do your own customizations you can purchase our Developers Kit which has models, templates and full instructions on how to make clothing and accessories for your K-Mae child. In addition to that we have a program where I can turn any single-prim item you have (providing it’s full perm to you) into an addable which you can sell of have your baby use. Addables are external items, such as mesh hair, shoes, clothing or other accessories, which link to your K-Mae child via menu.

Do the newborn grow into toddlers or do you have to purchase the toddler version at a certain age?

Our babies start as newborns and will age to 6 years old (312 weeks) on their own, at a rate you choose. The baby has an Aging Ratio option, which can be set to 0 for Off (no aging), 1:1 for aging in real time, 2:1 for aging 2x faster than real time, or 4:1 for aging 4x faster than real time. They don’t need anything special to develop, learn and grow, like with some other brands. They do all this on their own.

We also offer an aging alternative for parents who are switching to K-Mae from another brand and want their K-Mae to be around the same age as the one they’re replacing. This option is a product called Booster Bears, which can age the child to various ages (1-6 years old in yearly increments), or 4 weeks at a time, depending on which bear they get.

Are there various stages that allow them to learn new things or interact with other K-Mae children?

They interact with other K-Mae children on their own, as well as interact with their parents and people on their Buddy List. Also people who are on their Buddy List have limited access to the baby menu to do basic care functions. Being on the Buddy List also allows them to use furniture owned by the child’s parents with that child.

Can they become ill if they are not tended to for a period of time? If so, do you have clinics and medication to help care for the little ones?

Yes. If not fed or diapered for a day or so their Health and Happy stats will start to decline. When these stats reach a certain level the baby’s text will turn Yellow, indicating action is needed or baby will get sick soon. If baby continues to be neglected the stats will continue dropping until the text turns Red. At this point the child will need medicine to get his Health stat back up. The Happy stat can be raised by a number of methods including toys or our baby bath. There are a few K-Mae clinics which can tend to your baby’s health needs. There is an area in our store dedicated to these clinics, near the entry. Just click their sign for info.

For couples planning on starting a family, what is the price range for the necessities required to take care of K-Mae babies & Toddlers?

The child itself will cost around L$2900 and at this point the furniture is purely optional, but you will need at a minimum a Care Bag or a Refillable Diaper Box to hold and dispense diapers and meds, and some bottles. The care bag costs L$299. We have many texture options for these. The Refillable Diaper Box costs L$10 and only works for diapers. The diapers which go into the care bag or diaper box cost L$50 for 100, and our bottles cost L$1 for 100. The bottles go into your baby’s storage upon purchase so they’re always handy when needed. We also offer furniture which has the Lifetime Diapers feature, meaning you’ll never need to purchase diapers for that item. We even have a crib with this awesome feature!

The babies have a breastfeeding option for parents who want to go that route, and we offer a breastpump system for breastfeeding parents on the go.

There are a variety of HUD and Clinic options for expectant couples to use. Are there pregnancy and delivery HUDs specific for K-Mae babies?

We don’t offer a pregnancy or delivery HUD for the babies, at this time, but we’re always open to suggestions for new products and features. However we do offer the Bento Baby Belly, which is an avatar add-on that can visibly represent the 3 trimester stages. It comes with 2 options..With shirt and without shirt. It fits many avatars including Maitreya, Slink and classic avatars and is Omega-friendly, meaning you can apply your favorite skin or omega clothing using the wide array of existing omega skin and clothing appliers. The belly also has Bento animations, so it appears as if baby is actually moving in your belly! There is a control HUD for the belly also, for changing the shirt textures or showing one of the three trimester sizes. This belly is available in our store, near the baby display, or you can get it on Marketplace here >>>

https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Bento-Baby-Belly-Animated-Pregnancy-Tummy/13350317

Do you have any recommendations for expectant couples on where to start and what HUDS work best for a realistic experience?

I personally don’t have much experience with the wide variety of pregnancy HUDs out there, but we have a group (K-Mae Babies) with lots of parents who have probably used them. New parents are always encouraged to chat in our group with other parents to help them learn how K-Mae works and to get advice on pregnancy/maternity products, even if they aren’t K-Mae brand.

Compared to other interactive baby brands in Second Life with costs ranging between 2,300L-12,000L on babies and supplies, what is the average budget for couples who are looking to start a family with K-Mae babies?

The baby costs L$2900 for regular and L$6000 for Self-Regulating. For the regular babies the monthly cost for maintaining their stats can go from around 2 USD per month to 10 USD per month, depending on which feeding/diapering options you choose. We offer a wide variety of stat maintenance options including a nanny system, which tends to all of your baby’s stats, and can tend to up to 1000 babies on the same sim. Some of our parents have over 40 K-Mae children, so this is a handy system to own for them. Other feeding options include Rez-n-Go foods, which you’d rez out for your child 26+ weeks and they’d go to it and eat it when they get hungry. We also offer our Convertible Feeding Table, which converts from high chair to toddler table via menu. It holds baby foods plus toddler meal components and even has a nifty texture changer built right into the menu with many texture options.

What sets K-Mae Babies & Toddlers apart from the other major interactive babies in Second Life?

I think one major thing that sets K-Mae Babies apart from other brands is that we want Second Life parents to be happy with their family roleplay, no matter which brand they decide upon. I model and texture most of our items myself, and with some of the more popular items I have full perm kits I sell. Some other brands have purchased  them to sell to their customers. I want to share my creations with all the parents in Second Life, not just K-Mae parents.

Also we won’t ban people from our sim just because they bring another brand child to our store. We realize parents sometimes buy other brands in addition to their K-Mae’s and we’re ok with that. If they want to bring their other babies along while they shop at K-Mae it’s perfectly fine.

Another thing that sets us apart is that we’re not all about the money like some other brands are. We offer FREE lifetime updates for our children. Any time there is a baby update each parent can come to our store and get the latest version replacement, for free. We keep prices low as possible because we think family roleplay in Second Life shouldn’t cost a fortune. We do have to charge something of course, to pay overhead, tier, and development costs, but we’re not here to rip anyone off.

Customer service is a big deal in Second Life, especially for new parents that need guidance in caring for their little ones or getting helpful advice. Do you have a group for support? If so, what type of notices and offers can K-Mae group members expect?

We do have a support group in Second Life called K-Mae Babies. Any parent can ask questions in group chat when they need assistance, or they can contact me directly inworld. My offline IMs go to email, so I’ll get your message even if I’m not logged in and will reply as soon as possible (usually within 1-2 hours). Nobody likes to wait days or even weeks for product support.

 Most of the time when a new parent asks for assistance in group chat, another parent will step forward and offer to help. We’re a tight knit community and always there to help and support each other. Also the baby comes with a 5-note card Care Manual. It is split into sections to make it easier to find the info you’re looking for, and each of our products also has an Info card, so you’ll know how to use the item.

We don’t send a lot of spammy notices, as we find those to be annoying. We do however send notices when we release a new product or feature update. Also our affiliates will send notices in group when they have new releases, and of course we send a notice at the first of each month to announce the Monthly Group Gift, which parents can get from our store. Usually it’s a new Addable toy or something else baby can have fun using.

Why do you think the interactive babies are a top ranking industry in Second Life?

I don’t. In fact I think it is a very limited market, limited to those who want to roleplay having a family in Second Life without adopting a child avatar, but I enjoy what I do and our parents love their K-Mae children.

Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers about K-Mae Babies and Toddlers?

Visit our store inworld and see why more parents are switching to K-Mae. :)

Additional Information

K-Mae Babies & Toddlers

SLURL:http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Peaceful%20Valley/124/87/25

URL:http://kmaebabies.com/public/index.php/home

Group:secondlife:///app/group/7cd9d854-7464-1eef-ae37-fbfb73d54c00/about

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Welcome to The Walking Dead RPG and resident living Sim.

Thank you for taking interest in our Walking Dead themed sim. We try to keep to the Walking Dead and what fans would expect. We feature communities and characters from both the TV show and the comic. Each featured community had its own personal touch, with each being able to be recognized. The communities that we offer are as followed. Alexandria, Hilltop, Kingdom, Sanctuary, and Whisperer's. Each community is choice selected based on your own interest. We accept both comic and show based character as well as  custom characters.

Walking Dead cast members 

If you are not familiar with much of The Walking Dead, that is fine. Almost all of our staff is up today and well educated with the TV show and the comics. We do not do spoilers here, and we do not copy from the TV show nor the comic, but might take certain aspects from either or. 

From time to time we do major role-plays on the sim that go in hand with our current storyline, often times those major role-plays are a player vs player type role-play where selected members will be killed. We understand everyone spends a lot of time on their characters, so your death here will only be for 24 hours. 

Walking dead scene

We do run the grim combat system as a form of combat to go with the walker aspect of the show and or comics. We offer a number of interactive quests that also run on the grim combat system. Combat is not something you have to take part in, in order to role-play here. We do have a few who are more role-play then combat. 

We offer a wide range of resident living for role-players on the sim, as well as lodging. We also have our very own talking dead studio. Here at The Walking Dead sim we are like family, we do not judge, and we do not accept drama, unless role-play calls for it of course. We welcome everyone and anyone to take in the experiences we personally create here for our role-players and fans. 

Dare to leave the fenced community

This was a vision, and it has blossomed. This has and always was our gift to give something to the fans, something they can not only enjoy, but also take part in, and tour our number of replicated locations. Please do enjoy your visit at The Walking Dead Sim, and if you have any questions feel free to message anyone of our staff on sim.

Visit The Walking Dead and be part of the action!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife//222/168/206

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Please join the Virtual Pioneers and our tour guilds Junior for a tour of this 1930 roleplay community. Nov 13th at 5pm SLT

New Palermo is a town on the coast of New Jersey, an area known for its bloody history of piracy and smuggling.  Dress code is 1930's attire or anything conservative.

Guided by (JakTheSad Resident) and Momma Avery  (AveryKarr Resident) 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/EduIsland%209/105/69/22

** Retrieved from Sl Events

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An in depth interview with Elite Management - Dean Lawson reporting

*Elite Equestrian*, the leading purveyer of all things equine and equestrian, is an enterprise that offers shopping and role play for Second Life horses and riders. I had the good fortune to chat with Elite Management to learn more about their original sim and their new Elite Riding Academy. 

Dean :  Could you give me a brief overview of the history Elite Equestrian?

Elite Management : Elite Equestrian was formed this year as a spin-off to my parent brand, ~Ladies' Pleasure~, which was founded in November 2012. EE is a maker of the RealHorse horse breed avatars, tack and accessories for our 12 breeds of horses.  We have two regions, one is our main store location at Cherry Island, where we do most of our work and have our stores laid out conveniently for horses to shop.  Our original sim is where all of our demo models may be seen in action, and in some cases, even ridden!  Our second region is our roleplay sim in Tamarillo Island. We launched our roleplay sim, the Elite Riding Academy, in August of this year.  Other than being horse-centric, the two regions are very different. Cherry Island is our display sim; ERA is open to the public and to registered roleplayers, and while there is a small mall at our landing point, that is not the point of the region,

ERA was inspired by one of our customers, who said that she was unable to find a sim where she could RP with her RealHorse. We thought that was an opportunity for our team and so we asked our customers for input about what they'd like to see in an equine roleplay.  After talking to them for a week and collating their responses, we put the sim together in about 3 days and opened it that same week. One of my business partners, Cherry Lastchance, is responsible for the design and the decoration of our sims, and she has done a beautiful job.  

Dean : How would you describe the roleplay at Elite Equestrian?

Elite Management : I think it's important to make clear we have two different sims. Our store sim is not a roleplay sim. Horses talk, shop, run around, do their thing, but it's totally not a RP place.  the Elite Riding Academy, however, is a full on RP sim, with horses and humans expect to engage in roleplay.  Our sim differs from other animal sims in several ways. First of all, we are focused on having an experience as close to a RL equine industry trainin facility as we can. Many of our RPers currently own/train/ride horses and quite a few have been horse owners/riders/trainers in the past, so there is a strong body of knowledge about the horse in our roleplay community.  We offer narrative roleplay, where roleplay is storyline driven, and again, in a way that would be logical in a high-end, American-based horse training facility.  Thirdly, we require all horses who are roleplaying at ERA to have an open RLV relay set to our group, so that the human RPers can bring them out, ride them, and otherwise RP with them as if they were RL horses.  That's another thing that makes our RP move more smoothly.  Human RPers aren't left dangling about 'how do I RP with this barn full of hostile horse avatars?' They know that if a horse is at the ERA, and in a stall or the turnout paddock, they are up for RP and they will respond to the human like a horse would.

We have formal RP times, when horses are introduced into the RP narrative through something we call 'Barn Walk'. Barn Walk takes 1 1/2-2 hours and we try to RP with as many horses as show up.

We also have competitions, clinic and other events, including performances off the sim.

Dean : Are the horse avatars in your stores created exclusively for Elite Equestrian?

Elite Management : Elite Equestrian is the spin-off company from ~Ladies' Pleasure~.  We are the maker of the *E* RealHorse, which we made because we wanted a horse avatar that was as close to RL as we could get. We now have 12 breeds, each in 2 genders, so a total of 24 horse avatars, with more breeds coming soon.  We spend much of our time working on our horses and the tack, hair, skins and accessories they wear.

Dean : Are all the horses avatars or can riders "wear" the horse they ride?

Elite Management : All of our horses are avatars. Some of our customers get the best of both worlds, by purchasing a horse to put on an alt that they register as a bot.

Dean :  With Halloween approaching are there any events that you will be hosting or that involve equestrian events?

Elite Management : yes, many in fact! We currently have a leaf chase going on, with random leaves appearing in the sim for the horses to chase to win 1 of 48 prizes. We have an upcoming Cross Country competition at Equine Island, which is currently decorated in their best Halloween spookiness.  We will also be participating in [ Free Bird ]'s 'Live Trick or Treat' at the end of the month, where our Percherons will be providing hay rides to our visitors.  (Our 'treat' will be a very cute limited edition 'Tiny Tails' horse avatar, in 6 different halloween patterns).  We've been invited to provide horses for hayrides at several events and of course, we have our special Costume Show on the 30th, with both ridden and driven dressage in costume.

Dean : Do you have any advice for anyone who is interested in roleplay but is new to SL RP?

Elite Management : Well, gosh. I myself am not what I'd call an epic RPer.  There are tons of places to go learn about RP, but I guess my best advice is to rememebr that IC actions usually bring IC responses, and if you don't like the IC response, maybe you need to stop your IC actions that generated it! Also, IC is not the same as OOC, and if you visit RP sims be respectful of the owners and mods, many of whom are doing what they do as a passion, not a job.  Respect their rules if you visit; usually it's not that hard to do and most places do list their rules pretty prominently.  There are tons of groups you can join to help connect you to a good community, as well. Search is a great tool, just type in 'Roleplay' into the groups tab and a lot of options will pop up.

Dean : Is there anything else you would like our readers to know about Elite Equestrian?

Elite Management : We have built what we feel is the best horse avatar in SL, and we encourage anyone with an interest in going equine or riding to come try them out at our Cherry Island store or visit the Elite Riding Academy.  Horsing around in SL has been a lot of fun and I still find riding my personal horses a total blast, whether we're jumping, driving, or riding dressage.

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Cherry%20Island/153/31/25

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