The Tenebris Falls Roleplay Community

 
By Bixyl Shuftan

Solista (Mistressbubbles Bondar) recently told me about a new roleplay sim and group: Tenebris Falls. It is located in the Nava sim. There was a grand opening party on Saturday January 22. She described it as a dark modern fantasy roleplay, adding they wanted a sim for it they could protect, and the RP itself "open to as broad a player base as possible. We are furry-friendly. Not many role play sim's like ours are."

"The Admin team here are all players that met on various Role Play Sim's that were great up till they weren't and shut down for various reasons. Well we got tired of losing story lines that we had dedicated ourselves to. So many of us carried our characters over and adapted them to each new sim." She pointed out Samasue, "Sam over there put forward the desire to own our own sim. He's the owner of this place. The other admins are also financial backers to keep the place going. This way we are not reliant on rentals to keep up open."

Samasue was happy to talk about the place, "We are a unique approach, the setting itself allows for almost every kind of race, and most "realistic" furry types....yes we are happy to accept Furry character for RP...but the lore and character creation guidelines allow for the most diverse character population possible, without the restraint of a masquerade.  And the roleplay here can be anything from slice of life, to dark RP (if you know you know) and everything in between.  its set to modern times, with current tech, and realistic expectations.  Magic is also here.

In the background lore of the story world (link), creatures from the four pillars of creation, Aether (order), Void (disorder), Veil (life and growth), and Pale (death and enthropy), had been subtly manipulating the human world, held in check only by magic-using humans and hunters. For millenia, the truth was kept away from the masses of ordinary humans. But with advancing technology it became more and more difficult to preserve the secret. So recently after secret meetings between magic-users, supernaturals, and world leaders, the Masquerade was dropped. Legally, supernaturals could live alongside humans with the same rights and responsibilities. But not all humans and demihumans were satisfied with this arrangement, the biggest problem being human vigilantes who were going after known supernaturals.

Samasue described the area, Tenebris Falls, as a city on an island off the mainland, "the city is a city in North America set aside after the break of the masquerade, where there could be some freedom from racism with humans. There are humans here, and there are some tensions. But for the most part, there is no requirement to 'hide' there is currently no governmental control. But there are local laws. Anything can happen, you can open a business....you can just life your life.....develop a crime syndicate, run with a werewolf pack, work a normal job....what ever..."

Samasue would say besides previous roleplay sims closing down for various reasons, there was also a problem with a few not paying attention to what most of the players desired, "we saw too much martial law out there trying to make people role play the way the minority wanted. Well, with our entire build, we had the community in mind.  We really really try not to say no.  There has to be /SOME/ limitations, has to be. Some people just don't know when enough is enough.  But we're not going to fence in anyone's creativity.  The Lore and RP was designed the same way, how could we give the community the widest possible choices for character creation, and still have a lore that would support it.  It was tough, but our team pulled it off. The main lore writer Kaiya Otelier put in so many hours of work refining and working, and came up with a master piece.  And its community based, for as many possible builds as we could think of.  The City build, same thing. We have aquatics, caves, forests, city, rural, parks, slums, we really wanted an open canvas for the community."

Samasue stated there was an effort to be open-minded, "myself and my staff, are all diverse long time role players, we are friendly and welcoming to any. The community is a SAFE place for anyone, LGBTQ, BDSM, what ever, there is no hate. And if we find hate in our community its dealt with swiftly, with a zero tolerance system."

Of how many were in the roleplay, Samasue told me, "The active community on sim is small, but active, and we're always looking for more....anyone from the 15-20 year veteran RPer (like me) to the first timer, everyone is welcome. But the number is like 10-15 active currently."

Of future plans, there will be monthly concerts at the sim, and most likely some in-character events as the community grows. Samasue also mentioned, "we have a couple projects that we didn't get to add into this build," but they may be done in the future. 

Looking around later, I ran into one of the locals. While he asked to be anonymous, he did say, "As a regular joe player, and I've been playing in Second Life for a long time. Many sims have come and gone. You get nostalgic and looking for a home for old characters. Even if you've got to modify it to theme for whatever sim you've landed in. People are just looking for a home for some version of their beloved characters, to invest and grow stories in again, chance to explore a different aspect or change things up, dare to go a new direction with an old favorite. Sims like Tenebris Falls, fit that bill. Allowing creative freedom within the common sense balance of strengths and weaknesses and consent based paragraph roleplay.

He would then get me in tough with the lore writer and Kaiya Otelier (Hotarru Resident). Of how Tenebris Falls has been doing, "Well we've gotten a few people who rp here regularly, and a few shop owners who've already set up. But the official opening was technically today. I wasn't expecting anything to big because the idea of the sim was basically a place for all of us to RP and be friends, and.. we just wanted to open it to everyone else who would want to join. So, we made it so anyone could be whatever they liked, and.. we had a surprisingly high turn out for opening. I wasn't expecting us to get as many as we did so quick given we weren't trying to hard to advertise."

When I asked if there was a favorite type among the characters here, "Hm. (We) got some unique ones, honestly. I think because we don't use predetermined races and racials, we get quite a wide variety from normal people hosting Eldritch Horrors, to Kumihos people continue to mistake as Kitsune. Some typical fae, but I think that Fae are always so popular because of their varieties. Could have a group of ten fae and not one of them look anything like any of the others. But given all of the admins but one have at least 1 fae character, I'd say they are fairly popular. Fae and witches. People always love magic. Surprised I've only seen two or three demons, so far honestly.

"We are furry friendly, as long as they match their character up with the lore and setting.  I don't see why that needs to be stated.. As if furries shouldn't be allowed for some reason? But yeah, we let in anyone as long as they abide the roleplay etiquette, and character creation rules."

I pointed out the variety of buildings, "Yup. Tried to add a lot of different ones so people could find things that suit them. And I think we got a few different kinds, modern to old style, homey to run down.. people like a variety." I then asked what was the most unusual place made into a home, "That would undoubtedly be April Jean. During the build, (she) requested we give her a cave that she could set up a cardboard box in. (She) offered to pay rent, and Sam told her she didn't have to pay L for a 2li box. So yeah, we got her a cave. And a dumpster here in the city (chuckle). ... she's a bit of an insane and young unruly lycan.

"We want to be that place you can bring your character that doesn't fit anywhere else. (The) only thing we don't really have a spot for is scifi and cyber punk set characters. ... We are set in modern day, a place just off the coast of north west America. Separate mind you, as we try to keep politics, covid, and all that jazz out of the picture. People come here to avoid real-life, not get into it, ya know?  But yeah, you'll find a lot of people are playing characters that are either warped to present day from older time framed sims, or just grew to be a couple hundred or thousand years old. So you'll find their places fashioned up and decorated to be more old fashioned.

"I think a good idea of separation would be the confectionery shop run by a human that looks like a normal confectionery. Then if you go out to the woods, you can find a bath house run by a fae who grew up in the roman times. So it's an open roof dual sex bath house with lots of statues themed to look like it was run that time, but made to fit in with the settings."

I would look around. There was a small city area, and a housing area with a small event area in between. The houses themselves ranged from large homes fit for a wealthy man to small rustic looking ones for those with not much income. The town area had some businesses from manufacturing to local ones such as the coffee shop and the confectionery. There was a movie theater and what looked like a disco. And there was the clinic and police station. There was also a Japanese garden and a church with a cemetery. A tunnel led to the countryside (located on another level), with an asphalt road leading to a biker bar, and dirt paths that went into the woods. I found one abandoned building.

For those looking for more information about the roleplay community, check out the website at https://tenebris-falls.wixsite.com/tenebris-falls . You can also find a little information as well as ways to contact the admins at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nava/97/152/2501 . 

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview with Nydia Tungsten about "Switched Destinies"

By Bixyl Shuftan

Nydia Tungsten is known for many things in Second Life, DJ, estate manager, community leader, video director, and writer. Of her writing talents, she has recently applied them to real-life. Earlier this week, she announced her novel "Switched Destinies" has appeared on Amazon.

"It was a LONG time coming," Nydia told me of the story finally being published, saying it had taken "about eight months or so" to write. Of where the idea came from, "When I was 18 I think, I had a rough idea hit me. I tried to put it down then, (but) got poo-pooed by family, so I gave it up. ... It was too, strange for them. The lead character was a cougar, in a human world. This was WAY before I ever even HEARD the word furry (laughter). This was MANY moons ago."

So what made her decide to give the story another try? She explained, "I was riding with my brother in his truck, spending many an hour just watching the world go by. Then one day I let my mind wander, and I found (the story) again. It was like saying hello to an old friend. I spoke to my brother about it, and he told me to get it out of my system and see where it goes. So he bought me a laptop and I started putting it down."

"The next hurdle was finding someone to help editing it," she went on, "My daughter and a few others helped me with it. My daughter read it when she was, 12 I think. She took over my laptop and read it...and read it and read it, she would have read the whole thing in one go if I didn't take it away and make her go to sleep. When she did finish, she was raving about it and about how I HAD to publish it because (according to her) it was better than any of the 'Harry Potter' books she read. I told her she was just being nice and I almost had a fight on my hands (laughter)."

So what is the story about? The description on Amazon is, "Two souls, viewed by many of their kinds’ as eccentric lunatics, suddenly find themselves switched within their parallel universes. Now in strange new lands, each is having to learn about the other side of the mirror. In the all new Switched Destinies.” The story is a science-fiction/fantasy one in which a human scientist, Kevin Baron, ends up changing places with his counterpart in a universe where the world is populated by anthropomorphic beings, or furries, such as cat people, rabbit people, and many other varieties.

But a population made up of people looking like various animals is just the first surprise, "He finds a new culture and some shocking surprises, but also a few friends along the way." The society is roughly Medieval in technology, "Honor and status it what 90% of what their society is built on. Weapons consist of swords and bows, for the most part. Most can use some form of magic, and some can be really good with it. There are different 'classes' of people as well." From the human visitor's point of view, "the basic laws can be a bit, extreme, and how conflicts are handled."

Nydia didn't want to give away too much of the story and the characters, "I am so proud of how they came together. I want the readers to enjoy the 'First Experience' for themselves. And the more they know in advance reduces that for them. I want them to experience like I did, as it happens whether it is to laugh or cry or wonder. They way they tell their story, you are carried along with them, as they learn about each other and their ways."

When asked about what influences she had when coming up with the story, she answered, "I am not sure what inspired me to start it, but they, the characters, inspired me to keep going, to see what happens next." She's also started a sequel of both the further adventures of the human hero and his furry counterpart, "though my editor, my daughter, is now pushing me to write the story of what happens in the human world more. She is the self proclaimed "Expert" on my books since she has read them so many times. The second book follows the same time line as the first. The third takes place a few years later. So there are three, possibly four, more books coming." Does either hero find a way back to his home universe? Nydia isn't telling.

One thing she was willing to reveal was the woman, a rabbit/raccoon hybrid or "mix," whom the human visitor ends up in a relationship with and marrying. The character is named Nydia, but she didn't name her after her Second Life persona, but the other way around as she had developed her years earlier, "she is TOTALLY different from me, but when I started Second Life it asked me to come up with a name, and her name was the one that came out." She did have an avatar of the character in Second Life, "One of my (close friends), Jian, made an avi of her. I am SO proud of it. I only were it for special occasions, so I don't soil her image (laughter)."

She then changed avatars to the appearance of the "Switched Destinies" character, and spoke to me as if the character, "Good Afternoon Bixyl, I am the Lady of Baron Manor Nydia Tangen." Of the character starting off with a low status in her society but ending up the second in charge of a noble house, "Since you know of what my station in life was, you know how shocked I was to get to where I am today. My spouse, may the Goddess bless him, hasn't a clue, nor care of any such status I may have had in the past. But just tells me 'I am worth it,' and he loves his 'Little bandit' to which I usually roll my eyes and laugh at his other worldly ideals. But I do love him, and will die for him if ever called to do so, we all would."

And what did the character think some of the more odd things about humans and Earth? "Hmm, the shear number there are of you and your just ONE species, which you would think would make it easier to get along, but doesn't for some reason. And if I have to be honest, when I found out what some of you eat, I was a bit more than disturbed." Asking what that was, she answered, "Well, you eat rabbits and raccoons for a start. But what shocked me to the very core was ... well, my spouse told us ... dear Goddess ... we .. they taste like ..... chicken! And since I am a 'Mix' of the two, surely you can see why I would find that disturbing."

And what did her spouse find surprising about this world's food? The character answered that it was that magic was sometimes used in cooking, "He was surprised by self-stirring bowls of all things. We were more shocked he actually knew which side of the pan to cook on. I mean, he IS male, so we were absolutely shocked! His first dish he made, didn't look very appetizing, like worms covered in blood. But it turned out WONDERFULLY! He called it, what was it again, 'spagetty?' My personal favorite was what he called 'cheesecake,' he put strawberries on it, oh dear Goddess, it was so decadent!" Others in the world caught interest in his food as well, "It was so odd, but good. It is now being server in 'Shelly's' in Hightown itself. Most refer to it as exotic. What adds to it is the fact that is was a MALE that created these dishes. ... There are NO male chefs anywhere. Men just can't cook." When asked about examples when they had to such as when lost in the wilderness, she answered, "Lost in the wilderness? A male? Never. They rarely even leave their towns."

Asking the author if there was anything else she wanted to add, Nydia responded, "The meeting between my namesake and her spouse Kevin is an interesting one. She is a very honest an loyal woman. But, don't threaten her spouse or family. She has and will kill for them. ... I hope you enjoy our story."

Shortly after the interview, Nydia announced that Amazon had published her book.

As most of you know I have been trying to publish my book for longer than I have been in SL. Yesterday it happened. I was so all over the board in just giddiness, I may not have explained it well. Anyways, here is the link to the book. It is up and active. If you buy it let me know  how you like the story. Feel free to share the link with the readers in your life

"Switched Destinies" is available on Amazon for $5.00.

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview with Fantasy Author Amehana Ishtari About "Castle and Wells Selkie Skins"

By Grease Coakes

On my seventh Second Life birthday I wasn't completely lazy I talked to a friend of mine Amehana Ishtari and asked to meet with her and ask her about her new book, "Castle and Wells Selkie Skins: Volume 1." The next day I met with Amehana the pony at http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nisa/38/225/29. From what I saw the previous night it was an action packed pony party. I met her at a little before 8AM SLT, and here's what she had to say. Her new book involves a girl named Kristy who uses paste to change into a seal. She hasn't earned her seal quite yet however.

 Grease Coakes, "What you told me before that your character came about from roleplaying with Vadise, how did that work out?"

Amehana Ishtari, "The roleplay? That's still ongoing. We are working on wrapping up their last year of school and getting them set to begin further training for their future occupations. Or are you referring to Raikou and my RPs for Nisa?"

Grease Coakes, "I'm not sure. You have lots of Roleplays I just roleplayed with you the one time with my dragon Bubbles. So your roleplay with Vadise Reikaz is a continuation of what's going in the book with the various characters in a way?"

Amehana Ishtari, "Yes. The book actually resulted because of wanting to tell him the full story of how Kristy got her sealskin and full selkiehood. Her biggest part of that quest happened over the summer without David. That part of her quest is in the second book of the Selkies' series, which is the manuscript I'm working on now."

Grease Coakes, "It's kind of how characters write themselves and grow a life of their own, and they just aren't words on a page."

Amehana Ishtari, "Yes. The story was supposed to be one small book, but it grew."

Grease Coakes, "But it turned out to be something much larger? I guess so if a second book is in the works."

Amehana Ishtari, "After she earns her skin in this next book, the book after that I expect to cover David's contribution to solving her family's problems. I have had some comments about werewolves being over the top, but there is a reason that Mara is intrigued by Herne and his Hounds, a particular type of werewolf."

Grease Coakes, "Werewolves can never be over the top. They are tortured souls not able to live a normal life. They must not like full moons. When I’m reading the book, I get a feel of Harry Potter is that what you're intending? Not that it's a bad thing a world of magic is a popular genre to read for most people."

Amehana Ishtari, "It is a bit Harry Potter, and our RP is a lot more Potter than what I write for the book. I had wanted to do a story about magic schools before Rowling did hers, but I was working on Dragon Shaman. I'd intended that to tie into magic schools anyway. There is a third series that will also tie in with Dragon Shaman and Selkies' Skins, that I actually started work on in the 90's, that lead to both of these. But I'm not ready to show Flightesa and Angelina yet."

Grease Coakes, "That's right you did write a different books series what can tell the SL Newser's readers about your dragon shaman series? The first in the series is sitting on my desk, "Book One Taming the Blowing wind." That sounds enticing, mixing your Selkie skins characters in with Blowing wind and Ryu."

Amehana Ishtari, "I'm working on the third book in that series. My plan is to go between that and Selkies so that I'm not letting one stagnate. The next book in the Dragon Shaman series introduces Jewel O'Drake, BlowingWind's cousin, and Huetziatl, a South American dragon of the coatl persuasion. Jewel is an archaeologist, and like most O'Drakes avoided going to magical schooling."

Grease Coakes, "Oh? I would think a magic school would be fun to go to. Yeah going to a magic school,sounds better than being lost in pyramid. But characters don't always make good decisions."

Amehana Ishtari, "She might have benefited from going though considering getting lost in a pyramid ...

With shifting creatures!" (big grin)

Grease Coakes, "Shifting creatures? you mean like shapeshifters that turn into werewolves?"

Amehana Ishtari, "No. Jewel will be meeting snakes, the coatl, jaguars, bats... jungle creatures."

Grease Coakes, "Oooo snakes and jaguars, sounds dangerous."

Amehana Ishtari, "Much more Meso-American."

Grease Coakes, "Ahhh neat."

Amehana Arashi, "The O'Drakes started avoiding the schools way back in the past because of the disdain prevalent in the magically endowed community that cropped up so often. The O'Drakes are bound to Brigit in the way the Makay's are bound to Mara and the Lady."

Grease Coakes, "They are magically bound to serve their gods? Gotcha."

Amehana Ishtari, "They are, and Jewel will learn the reason that the 'young' river god destroyed his people and got sealed into his pyramid."

Grease Coakes, "Ohhh sounds interesting so she might awaken a Pandora’s box?"

Amehana Ishtari, *nods* "She might. The meeting between the two is being orchestrated by the family's curse, the same as BlowingWind and Ryu's was."

Grease Coakes, "Lots of curses. Sounds like quite a challenge, your characters don't have it easy, hahaha."

Amehana Ishtari, "Between the two sides the cruse might manage to be broken, or it might not. But there is also trouble that they aren't aware of that is pointed at in Kristy's tale. ... No, they don't. I have been beaten up a few times in meta writing. When I do that trying to figure out how to unblock myself when my characters get obstinate."

Grease Coakes, "Oooo, so the two curses are connected by what Kristy is going through in your newest book Castle and Wells Selkie Skins."

Amehana Ishtari, "There's only one curse, on the O'Drake line. Remember, Marie, the mother, was an O'Drake."

Grease Coakes, "And the O Drakes are from South America right? That's right. So the curse of the O Drakes goes to Kristy her daughter?"

Amehana Ishtari, "No. The O'Drakes are from Ireland, like Kristy. At one time before the clan moved to Draganpairc Brigid's forge was walking distance from the remains of the Makay village. Jewel is in South America because she became an archaeologist and was always fascinated by Meso-American cultures. Kristy has a different geas on her. Though I suppose that yes, maybe there are two curses if you count the one that the Lilitu family put on the Makays many generations before Kristy's birth."

Grease Coakes, "So Jewel is going on an Indiana Jones kind of adventure. Instead of going to a magic school."

Amehana Ishtari, "Well, there is magic involved in Jewel's adventure, so maybe a combination of Jones in some fashions with magic. She's not trained though. But, she is ripe for a coatl to take as a priestess, like what Ryu is doing with Wind. I don't expect Jewel to be too thrilled."

Grease Coakes, "But Wind is being very stubborn with Ryu. Even when Ryu cares deeply for Wind, she's not giving him any ground romantically. And he does go out of his way for her."

The Dragon Shaman series characters are Blowing Wind and Ryu. Blowing Wind is a spiritual woman and Ryu is the dragon who loves and cares for her.

Amehana Ishtari, *chuckles* "There will be reason for that to change. BlowingWind won't remain locked up and grieving inside forever."

Grease Coakes, "That's good. So is it true then for your newest book Selkie Skins that to have it published on Amazon, you had to have a kickstarter campaign? Why not tell me about that? The Veronica Mars movie was funded the same way."

For readers who may not know, kickstarter is a website for people to contribute to for something they greatly believe in.

Amehana Ishtari, "I still have to send out the larger rewards for that kickstarter. I intend to get those sent out later today in fact. I was introduced to using kickstarter when I saw M.C.A. Hogarth, who I greatly respect the work of, having success with it. A kickstarter is a lot of work though. You have to decide what rewards you can afford to give, set a goal that will cover your needs...then the hardest part is getting backers. I didn't get many backers, but I got enough pledges to cover the editing costs. Even enough to pay the cover artist, who is my niece."

Grease Coakes, "So it was a few large pledges to cover your editing and artwork costs. Your niece did a great job with the cover the artwork is very pretty."

Amehana Ishtari, "She will actually be releasing a comic/manga fairly soon."

Grease Coakes, "Oh? what will her comic Manga be about?"

Amehana Ishtari, "Pirates."

Grease Coakes, "That sounds fun."

Amehana Ishtari, "http://clockwork-labyrinth.deviantart.com/ This is her deviant art actually. She does a wide range. Not all her work is there though."

Looking at her deviant art page the artwork looks really good.

Amehana Ishtari, "Yes, a few large pledges to cover paying the editor. I may run another Kickstarter later to help with the other projects. It is a lot of advertising though to get the word out."

Grease Coakes, "I'm sure you can pull through and when the same people who kickstarted you before when they see your first Selkie Skins book complete they would want to kickstart you again and perhaps you can also gain new fans with your writing."

Amehana Ishtari, "I had a few setbacks while working on it, and shortly after publishing which has delayed getting things shipped out. Personal issues."

Grease Coakes, "Apparently those setbacks didn't hold you back as my copy of Selkie Skins Castle and Wells is on my bookcase. Is there anything else you want to add about Selkie Skins Castle and Wells? It seems like (a) Harry Potter kind of world and the main character is torn between many responsibilities, oh and she lost her voice. And she's also a shapeshifter who changes into a seal when she touches water."

Amehana corrected me and said, "Not when she touches water. She has to take a paste to make the change, until she earns her skin. Then she will have to wear her skin. Touching water is too easy and would reveal her far too quickly." (big grin)

Grease Coakes, "Gotcha so she hasn't earned it quite yet. Oh yeah if she took a shower or bath she'd instantly turn into a seal and someone walks in on her or swims with her."

Amehana Ishtari, "I do have to add that there are three genders of dieties in the book."

Grease Coakes, "Oh right I remember that the moon is a shi, so it's just not men and women dieties."

Amehana Ishtari, "Mara and the Lady for example are female and denoted with the usual labels. Herne is very very male. The Moon though... he/she gets shi and hir when written about. Yes. I've had a few people think that those were typos. They aren't. Morgan Freepony (AKA Illya Leonov) is also narrating the audiobook version. He just recently sent me chapter 29, so there isn't much more to go before he finishes. And he sounds AMAZING!"

Grease Coakes, "Ahhh so the audio book is in the works.You mentioned there might be a release party when the audio book comes out."

Amehana Ishtari, "I do want a party when it's released, yes (and a serving of plum sake or raspberry wine I think would be in order too). Illya only records in the mornings, and his work has been keeping him pretty busy, so I don't know when he'll be finished so that picking a date can be done. I can say though that when he finishes this book, he wants to voice the Dragon Shaman books."

Grease Coakes, "Oh that sounds pretty cool so he wants to keep doing voice work for you. ... rumors mention that Grease Coakes may be the DJ for that part- do you deny or confirm these rumors?" (big grin)

Amehana Ishtari, "Oh yes, I intend to have Grease DJ for the party, of course. He DJ'd for the Dragon Shaman release you know. That would be greatly appreciated, you know with how many balls I've got in the air sometimes I have a hard time communicating or remembering to say 'hey! Guess what?' You should go to the Trotsdale library and hear his stories. Generally they get played Thursdays at 7PM SLT, so long as someone can stream them. The LM to the trotsdale library is here," http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Trotsdale%20Heights/185/63/29 

Grease Coakes, "If someone wanted to buy a copy of your books Selkie Skins or the Dragon Shaman Books where would he or she go to order the books?"

Amehana Ishtari, "Amazon is where they can be ordered in all formats. Smashwords has them in several ebook formats. Or they can go to the publishing website and send an order request using the contact info there, www.thgstardragon.com ."

Grease Coakes: Btw you look more like a diva today, not pimped out.

Amehana Ishtari: Thank you (laughs out loud).

The previous day when I turned 7 I had mistakenly called Amehana pimped out.

If any readers have any questions Amehana's twitter account is @AmehanaArashi and they could also go to her facebook page as well.

Amehana Arashi, "Ah. 'A World of Verse" not poetry. I've not finished my first cup of coffee yet (laughing out loud)  https://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/ASMSG Right here."

Grease Coakes,"Lawl ^-^ Haha I feel that way at work I get free coffee at work so I milk that instead of soda."

Amehana is a busy lady in Second Life and an even busier writer. Look for her books under her real life name Teresa Garcia. All her books are good as she's also an excellent poet as I have heard her audio book “Call of the Kami” As I won through one of her contests.

She also does Tarot readings as I mentioned in an earlier article:  http://slnewserextra.blogspot.com/2013/04/a-tarot-reader-in-second-life.html. Please keep in mind however that Amehana is a busy woman and that her readings are by appointment only. She does excellent readings though.

If you get the chance and if you're looking for something fresh to read check out one of her books.

http://www.amazon.com/Selkies-Skins-Castle-Well-Volume/dp/0615947743

http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18281102-taming-the-blowing-wind

http://www.amazon.com/Call-Kami-Teresa-Garcia/dp/1480131814

Grease Coakes

Muertos Okawa and Her New Book

By Grease Coakes

Bixyl told me about a new author within the amazing realm of Second Life. Her name is Muertos Okawa (Muertos Ashbourne) and she just released her book on amazon.com. I took the time to meet with Muertos at the Ark the popular furry club http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Quarabia/100/129/501

“What Dreams May Come, Kara’s Journey,” was interesting to read as I bought it for all of 99 cents and read it on Kindle reader on my computer. When I asked Muertos about her book she had this to say, ”It's been something that I have dreamed about since I was back in Jr. High, but for whatever reason, I never finished a story, or was unwilling to let anyone else see it. But finally my husband gave me the courage to let this one go and to let others see it.” Sorry guys Muertos is taken but you can still read her steamy book.

Muertos explained, "It is an erotica/romance depicting the journey of emotions that take place when the world of reality and fantasy collide."That’s certainly the case as I began reading the first few pages of her story. I won’t say anything. Kara is a lonely secretary who is looking for something more to fulfill her life. What she finds is more than she may be able to handle. Muertos said a second book a sequel to this will be written soon.

When I asked what is in this steamy book she said this, "Yes. It has Domination/Submission undertones throughout the adventure." Domination and submission undertones? Wow sounds like some heavy reading.

As writers we were talking to each other as characters take over and write their own dialogue and actions. I told her, "I've had characters that are growing on their own. Greg Griffin and Glenda Griffin might walk into their own stories. It seems as if the characters have a life of their own. And Ginny Griffin as the girl next door she certainly deserves more stories."

Muertos smiled, "Exactly. It's like I gave her life, but after that, I'm just the director, it's her life and she lives it like she wants to. Her fantasy becomes very much a part of her daily life, but to the exact extent, I cannot say. Not without giving away the ending."

For the people reading this article wondering whether or not to buy the book, I’d say it’s certainly a fun read. Muertos did say this was aimed at the lady audience. But when she mentioned it had adult themes I couldn’t resist. Her and I mentioned that sometimes we had to go back and fix the story.

Muertos told me, "Oh yeah. She took me in directions I hadn't planned, even in this first story. I found myself writing a paragraph and then having to redo it because it just didn't sound like Kara anymore." I had to do the same and rewrite the whole ending of my children’s book.

Muertos and I just talked for a while about our characters and writing in general. She did say this about Amazon, "That's one thing that I thank Amazon for with their Kindle format. I can write, and they don't have a million miles of red tape for me to go through to get my stuff out there."

I pretended like I didn’t know anything about writing and asked Muertos if she had any advice for anyone wanting to become an author. Here’s what she had to say, " Advice: Best thing I can say is just write what you enjoy. If you enjoyed writing it and it's something that you're proud of, then don't get too hung up on whether anyone else likes it. Some will, some won't. But either way, if you can enjoy the adventure of writing it and produce a piece that you're truly proud of, then that's the greatest reward in itself. As for the adult theme, don't take it too seriously. That's a broad spectrum and very vast audience, so someone out there will share your fetish, fantasy, whatever theme you write about."

Muertos certainly has good advice as reading her story was pretty fun. I won’t say what’s going on you the reader has to buy her amazon book and find out for yourself. I did ask her the burning question as a furry.

"If you're a neko would you ever think of writing a story involving furries?"

Muertos Okawa blushed, "Uhm actually...yes and it will be a later story in the What Dreams May Come series."

 “What Dreams May Come, Kara’s Journey” Is an excellent read. I look forward to Muertos’s sequels in her series as I read along her first book. The story can be found at the following link - http://www.amazon.com/What-DreamsMay-Come-ebook/dp/B00F1LSDXE/ref=sr_1_3?s=digital-text&ie=UTF8&qid=1378600502&sr=1-3&keywords=Melissa+Kite

Grease Coakes

Adventures in Cadair

By Grease Coakes

 

A friend of mine Inhandra Birdsong told me that when she wasn’t in Second Life for a while that she was on under a different name in a roleplaying sim. I actually found this out when Aurora Avila asked where she was. When I IMed Inhandra and told her that, she told me about Cadair, the roleplaying sim she role-plays at.

 

What’s Cadair? It’s a medieval roleplaying sim that takes lots of patience, but the patience can be rewarding as you role-play a character in a medieval magical environment. I put together an old B@R clothes set and some bow and arrow props to make myself look like a ranger type of character which would mesh well with my green Tokushi griffin avatar.

 

New to roleplaying? Not to worry the players there will assist you to craft your roleplaying into a richer part of everyone’s addition to the roleplay experience. Furries and humans are both welcome as I ran into both human characters and furries. The first character I ran into was a mute woman named Birala when I role-played that I was new to Cadair as a ranger searching for a “Bow of Destiny.” Even if with her name above her head I pretended I didn’t know her name. She invited me to her house using hand motions. Each motion of explaining what your character is doing is about a paragraph or two so there’s lots of typing involved. Later she told me her name through a scroll she handed to me from her belt.

 

She was helpful to me reminding me to use quotation marks when I spoke to make it clear what I was saying and doing were kept separate. Very quickly I improved as my adventure began in Cadair. I role-played along helping her prepare fish and eel that she brought home with her. She got upset with me, gesturing when I chopped up too many vegetables for her stew. I stopped helping her and went to the table instead. She told me of demons to the west to be careful of. I asked her about the "Bow of Destiny" I was hunting for as part of my character story. She had no idea shaking her head no.

The Bow of Destiny as I explained in RP “Would let the clumsiest farmer or the most skilled archer hit any target without fail.” Birala ventured away to Real Life having to leave the sim so I wandered around some more running into merlin and some child characters. Then a minotaur walked over asking me to accompany her to the infirmary. She asked for my allegiance to the land of Cadair. Playing along I said sure that I may find the Bow of Destiny helping the land.

 

Walking along with Vilge the Minotaur I walked into some more people talking about demons and other things. Vilge who crashed requested that I tag along to help her something. Learning the hard way I found out this was a bad idea. Read along and find out why.

 

Following Vilge for a short walk she led me to an underground cave which happened to be the warded moonpool of werewolves! Wait werewolves? In my character’s words “If there was a mad cow disease its name would be Vilge for leading me here. “

 

I roleplay myself jumping on to a ledge and shooting the alpha werewolf in his shoulder, but instead his mate Violet takes the arrow instead. Next the child named Saliu next to me morphs into a werewolf (WAIT she was a werewolf? I didn’t know that she was) and she pins me to the ground.  Luckily for me her clan mates bite her ear to get her off of me. All I had was an arm bruise wound.

 

To make this interesting, the minotaur character was called away for business and the same for the alpha werewolf character named Maral. I roleplayed action with the remaining characters, however Vilge comes back and asks technical questions. Luckily my actions were valid and Vilge did nothing so my actions were not voided. A RP overseer, like a dungeon master, came by and ruled in my favor.

 

When Maral came back as well, we continued the roleplay to me being led to a firepit. Saliu seeing me was enraged again as I shot one of her parents. Once again her clan mates intervened as I flew away, stating out of character, then I flew far enough to escape their clutches. A lot of the characters said I did a great job of paragraph roleplay for my first day in Cadair. I was also told that having a RP overseer intervene is a rare occurrence. So it was neat to see a RP issue handled first hand.

 

Looking for something new and exciting within Second Life? Check out the Medieval roleplay sim Cadair. Just be patient with others and if real life gets in the way there’s not much you can do about that. 

 

Whatever you do DON’T FOLLOW THE MINOTAUR!

 

Grease Coakes

Xymbers Slade: Second Life Fortune Teller and Online Writer

Xymbers Slade is a resident with an interesting past and present. He was with the Second Life Mentor Volunteer group, until Linden Lab shut them down in November 2009. Another thing he did then, and still does today, is fortune telling.

Xymbers “office,” accessible from his dragon’s lair on Sunweaver Air, has a feeling of Medieval and the arcane about it, with the dragons, pentagrams and other mystical symbols, and more. He describes his business as “off and on,” getting a few clients a week.

He offered me a reading, inviting me to his place, “Have a seat... I'll go right into shuffling and we'll see what comes up here... one sec... “

After a few minutes of waiting, “I don't like the locations of some of these cards, they are not painting a pretty picture for 2011. A lot of this seems to want to focus on your own work and your own paper, too. I want to say some of these cards are more general, but a lot of them seem to be painting you with a pretty big target.”

“Six things stand out here. The first is that I got an upside down 4 of Cups (Apathy) as the ‘ best outcome.’ This is basically saying no one is paying attention to what is printed, or no one cares enough to take action if something ‘bad’ is brought up. Very tempted to say if Linden Labs wanted to pull something shady, this'd be the time to do it, and they'd get away with it.”

“The second thing that stands out here seems to be you. I drew you in three separate locations (yourself as the upside down King of Wands as ‘ next influence,’ you as the Emperor in the Past, coming off of a ‘ spilled milk loss ‘ and you as an upside down King of Swords ... someone up in arms here about something but completely lacking the resources to affect the situation). Have you recently come off of a time where you had to issue a retraction or a series of corrections that left your credibility stained? That 5 of Cups in the Past next to you would suggest so... a black eye that affected harder than it was supposed to.” To this I answered no, “All right, then I don't know what that ‘ crying over spilled milk moment ‘ would have been. Fortunately it's in the past and it hit you when you were strongest anyway, so it's a minor blip at this point.”

“The third thing that stands out here is that it looks like people's resources and dreams are far fewer in availability --- overall situation card is an upside down 7 of Cups (big dreams staying dreams) and we have an upside down Ace of Pentacles as the Emotions card (no profit in emotions/effort, or a lack of needed emotional resources to see projects through). Combined with that apathy card as the best outcome, this is looking ugly.”

“The fourth thing that stands out is that we have two rivals trying to discredit each other. There will be no peace, and if God put the peace branch out, they'd both set fire to it before turning back on each other. That could be a big problem. It will be something you need to stay out of, else they'll turn their viciousness on you. My guess is a possible story that hits about people being jerks to each other. This is Hatfield/McCoy fight levels here. Effort put trying to make things right or bring it to the attention of people is just going to turn a spotlight on you.”

“The fifth thing to stand out is just another ‘ lack of resources ‘ situation. Though this one seems to be pointed at you specifically. It's saying ‘ Ok, there's a lack of potential here. It's all said and done. No one cares anymore.’ And I think revelations are going to be had that put you on a horse off of SL in time. The center three cards on the right there --- 8 of Cups upside down showing lack of potential (combined with the big dreams staying dreams and lack of emotional resources to make things done right from earlier) Then the Moon showing secrets revealed... And then you as a very weak Knight of Cups... you go out on a good note, but off to where is the question. It all stretches back to that apathy. Less and less people are caring about SL in some form or another. It's an underlying current. After 6-7 years, even new twists on old novelties grow old and faded. So I would not be surprised if the paper or even SL ended by the end of the year. These cards want to suggest that if there's any time for it to collapse under its own weight or (given the presence of the Moon), more likely they'll shoot themselves in the foot and wind up having the bullet ricochet and hit them in between the eyes.”

“The final thing that stands out here is the final three cards. I have no idea what context these are for. Upside down Ace of Wands, suggesting growth but in the wrong direction... and right next to that is the Ace of Swords, the Excalibur of victory. So even though everyone goes in the wrong direction, their goals are still achieved pretty solidly. Justice, the card of Karma and of ‘ you get what you deserve ‘ is not liking this one bit and wants to make those victories moot. So I think while goals are achieved, they're like the pixels making up the program. They go away the moment you log off or turn away to look at something else. They're not worth anything if they're not looked at. If that makes any sense.”

“Other than that, that's what's standing out here in the cards. I would not be surprised if you were either out of a SL job or just off SL period at the end of December of 2011 or January of 2012.”

I asked if he meant superficial victories, “I think the word I'd use is that they're all mirages. They're not even superficial victories. Even superficial ones linger. These do not. Everything works well in that one specific moment in which it happens, but the moment it is put down it is forgotten. And no one cares to go back to it.” So he foresaw troubled times for the paper and Second Life? “In a nutshell, yeah. It's like you produce your material, people ‘buy’ it, but it either is not read, or not ‘absorbed’ or something. The stuff doesn't stick. At least according to these cards, anyway. ... Something needs to galvanize the people of SL into a collection of individuals, rather than the mess of things it is now. I -want- to say no organization. Not enough to get -all- involved, which is what I think is to happen. It's not even about ‘ toppling the 800 pound gorilla ’ even. Some grid wide mega event needs to happen free of Linden Lab’s mismanagement.”

“Anyway, those are the cards. Too bad they were not any better; this is one of the more negative reads I've had in the last few weeks.” Xymbers did admit he was wrong on a couple recent readings, “Things like that come and go though. The first couple months of a year are always slow and unfocused as the year gets underway.”

And when someone else did a reading on him, it turned out wrong, “It was mostly warnings about people doing power plays and how people have entered certain businesses only to lord over others, so ‘ watch yourself. ‘ A few things that were almost certain to happen didn't, which was a surprise to both of us. Now I have to go back towards the end of this month because one of the power plays was a few weeks ‘ late ‘ and I have to see if things have changed from its previous incarnation. ... Yeah, always more readings. But at least we act on the knowledge. The reading I got for you suggested no one cared enough to react about anything written or whatnot.”

Besides his fortune telling, Xymbers has also been developing a story for self-publication on the Internet. “People will get to decide how the story progresses at points,” he explained, “The viewers will have a say as to what the heroes do. And if the viewers make the wrong decisions, it might be a ‘Total Party Kill.’ “ He went as far as to have artwork for the original set of his characters commissioned, which are set up in his dragon’s lair.

The story is around several characters in a future Earth of which humans are gone and the world is populated by “Anthro-Kin,” living in a Medieval society of which those with the talent and patience can learn magic. He originally had nine characters, some heroic, some anything but. But the more he thought about the characters, the more he realized some would have little reason to stick around with certain ones, “that adventuring troupe was going to be the focus of the story but they wanted nothing to do with each other and I knew it was bad when my ‘self insert’ wanted nothing to do with them either. ... My characters actively fought me at every step. ”

So he chose four new characters whom could stick in a group, “I finally gave up and asked ‘who wants to come forward,’ and got four volunteers. I'm still banging things out around them though, so I don't have much more than that for now. ... it starts on the 1st and I'm aiming for a twice a week schedule.” Later on, he told me of a fifth character coming to mind.

Of the five characters, the first is Ameris the “bovine bladesinger” whom despite dressing up as a Valkyrie and carrying a long axe insists she’s no warrior, "I'm not a barbarian, I'm a mercenary!" Then there is Target, an obnoxious thin and wry wolf whom dresses in second hand leather outfits, "I'm either in trouble, getting in it, getting out of it, or taking credit for it." There is Soyal the sorceress, a white cougar whose real name is a mystery and dresses all in pink, and woe to those who laugh at her outfit. Fourth is Thrana, a quiet snowshoe hare whose oversize feet can do serious damage, "Actions speak louder. I'll let my paws do the talking for me." Last but not least is Zelda, a blue eyed vixen water sorceress.

Xymber’s story, currently with no working title, is on his Livejournal. More on his fortune telling can be read from the article on him at Second Life Newspaper, and he also does business from a website. His place, Wyvernhome, is at Sunweaver Air at (184, 87, 26).

Bixyl Shuftan