Reflections

I’m coming up on my four year mark in Second Life, so I’m feeling a bit reflective of late.  Thinking about people I used to be very close to and have drifted away from.  Thinking about lost opportunities and relationships.  I’m still amazed at the rate in which some regions come and go almost before you get the chance to fully explore them.  Wondering about some people that moved in very close and now seem to have vanished altogether.

Its not all negative though, there are new relationships and loves.  New areas of interest to explore and play in.  New changes in the relationships I currently share with others.  And of course, if you believe Linden Labs statistics, over a thousand potential new opportunities are joining every day.

I did recently release Diomita from her submission to me, upon her request.  I guess I have seen it coming for a while and my acceptance of Valerie’s collar was no doubt the final catalyst.  I suppose I feel very bittersweet over it.  I hate losing Dio as my Brat.  She was an exceptional Brat to own.  Very loyal.  Very devoted.  Very obedient.  Yet at the same time, very ready to stand unhindered as the Domme she is and run her Family fully.  I feel some pride with the hope that her Family structure mirrors mine for a good cause.

Perhaps as a sign of my four year anniversary coming soon, and hopefully a sign of more positive changes and less negative ones, I received a message from Munsta.  Those that know me remember Mun.  He contacted me to apologize over our falling out long ago and to tell me that he had grown up and matured.  I have to say I was impressed with his apology.  Certainly an apology like that is never easy.  It was also one of the last things I ever expected.

Here’s hoping my next year is full of positive and unexpected changes.

You will be missed Dio.  : (

Gra, Dilseacht, Cairdeas

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A Touch of Sadness

Its no secret that I continue to keep tabs on several aspects of my history in Second Life, even those that I no longer associate myself with or locations I no longer frequent.

Someone recently directed my attention to a recent post on the Stonehaven forum that Stonehaven was closing and moving to the OSGrid.  I think the person that directed my attention to this post expected me to let out a congratulatory whoop.  Quite the opposite indeed.  I am very saddened by this development.

Rather than dwell on the basis of my sadness though, I am going to spend the next few days going through my inventory and sorting reminders of the time my Family and I spent there.  I think I’ll lump it all into one handy folder titled “Memories”.

See, despite the falling out I had with certain members of Stonehaven and my disagreement over the *sanitization* of Stonehaven, one thing I cannot deny is the strong presence in my life of friendships forged and strengthened within that sim’s borders.  Even today, some of my closest friends are people I met and played with at Stonehaven, both new and old.

Personally, I wish the sim luck on the OSGrid.  The land prices there are astronomically low, and for a good reason.  It takes a lot of bravery to try and pioneer a remaking of what was once a great and glorious place.  It will also take a lot of work.  I for one am not a fan of the OSGrid, yet, but my Family and I have begun *exploring* alternatives to Second Life should one become necessary.  No, I’ll not say anything further on this topic as it is still very much in the exploratory stage.  Suffice to say, a lot of the logic Dirk spells out in his explanation for Stonehaven’s closure is very sound.  Not complete, but I’ll concede it is sound.

One souvenir I do not have is a photograph of the gazebo that used to sit above the deck at the newer Stonehaven castle.  If anyone has a picture of this within their inventory, I would greatly appreciate you forwarding it to me.  I have my personal reasons for wanting this.  Bonus points if myself, Yar Telling, or Diomita Maurer are in the photograph.  I’ll really be full of joy and good tidings if anyone has a photo of Felina Kitty leashed to the leashing wall at old Stonehaven, the one that sat in Littlefield.

Fare thee well Stonehaven.

Furniture and more

I suppose when its been too long since I’ve posted, a surefire way to entice me to write and bring some things up to date is to provide me with anything that may generate a laugh.  This may not cause most of you to even grin, but it sure as hell got me to giggle.  Many thanks to Jenny Maurer.

Its fucking fine y'all!

Can you just see the commercial?  Dio in a cheap suit with a nude girl leashed and kneeling beside her.  “Y’all get on down here to Dio’s.  Our furniture is fucking fine!”

Anyway, on to some other topics that are long overdue.  The island is once again open to the public.  I think this may be the final renovation for a long time as it seems to be generating the most compliments.  I am slowly introducing various devices and traps and promise to try and rotate in several favorites.  As usual, if anyone has a request for a particular piece, feel free to provide that to me in-world.

I want to say thank you again to Jill Ormstein for donating the entire line of DoD devices to be used at the island.  Several are currently out for display and more will be added as I rotate items in and out.  Its a simple formula, if I see an item being used on a regular basis, it stays.  If not, it goes.

Of course, in real life its the holiday season and of course, its beginning to cost a lot like Christmas.  I mean this monetarily, as well as time commitments.  Whatever holiday you celebrate or faith you worship this time of year, I would like to wish everyone a happy holiday season and peace on earth.

We continue to get updates on Rabea, who’s kept away from Second Life for health reasons.  Our thoughts are with her and we wish her the best.

Its also been a while since we’ve seen Anna, but understand from her bratty comments its not health related.  Love you Anna!

Valerie has also been on a short sabbatical recently as the result of technical issues on her end with regards to her equipment and power supplies.  Miss you Love!!!!  I hope to see you soon.

One more item I want to address and that is to say thank you to each and every person that has taken the time to click on this blog and read about my SL experience, my life in SL, my Family and those I love.  According to my stats checker, we are approaching 20,000 views of this page.  We’re currently at 19, 502.  I am simply blown away that so many of you have kept up with the Brat Pack in this way.  In hindsight, I guess I shouldn’t be, as so many of you continue to visit Yasminia and support us there.

“Depth of friendship does not depend on length of acquaintance.”

Narrowing the Search

If you’ve kept up with my blog, you know the Family recently dropped the sim who’s name has been removed from our vocabulary as our home away from home.

Since then, it seems we have narrowed the field to two sims as possible replacements, both with equal attraction and merits.  This post pertains to one of those sims.

Out Skirts of Town.  http://slurl.com/secondlife/Funk%20Rush/228/233/25

A cute little sim dominated by two clubs.  One is a strip club and the other, the one pictured, is a cozy little getaway where events occur nightly, usually between 8 and 10 pm SL time, sometimes 7 and 9 pm, and the themes are as wacky as the regulars.

Out Skirts is a sexy, flirty, fun and underground dance club for TG’s and their friends and admirers.  So, if this crowd isn’t your crowd, stay away.  If you’re not uptight and can use a night of fun, laughs, jokes and just good wholesome conversation, then stop by.  Tell the owner, Plato, that some crazy bitch named Yasmin sent you.

I think what may have attracted us the most here is the complete absence of bdsm or the need to grab keys, hide keys, make keys, etc.  Its been a while since we found such a relaxed atmosphere.  Maybe several of us are burned out on the whole bdsm thing.  Could we be evolving?  Taking a mild break?  Who knows.  I do sense more on this as we progress though.

On the flip side, the other sim that has come up several times in Family discussion is being explored heavily by Dio, the head of the Euro Brat Division, and my sexy sultry neighbor, Tania Owatatsumi.  This sim is Estate Obscure.  To be fair, I’ve not spent nearly enough time exploring Alt’s sim to comment on its attractions, but I plan to do so in the near future so an entry can be dedicated to that locale as well.

I need to say a special thank you to Mistress for introducing me to Out Skirts and its lovely residents.  Oopsie, did I say the M word?  I think I might have just given away the topic of my next post.

Impromptu

On October 24, 2008, I had the privilege of leading a wedding ceremony in Second Life that brought together one of my Brats, Diomita, and her own submissive, LayLady, or Jenny as she is known, together in marriage.

Today, one year and four days later, it was my honor to lead in a ceremony in which they re-affirmed their vows.  We originally tried to hold the ceremony on the one year anniversary, but as most of you taking part in the adventure known as Second Life know, Real Life can and does occur.

So, today’s ceremony was impromptu.  It occurred to Dio that a strong majority of the people she wanted present for the ceremony were online, so she called it together.

As I watched how quickly everyone came together to give themselves for a few precious moments in the witnessing of this union, the word impromptu stuck with me.  So, I incorporated it into my opening comments of the ceremony.

We come here to Second Life for fun.  Adventure.  To live out or pursue a fantasy.  Some of us are blessed.  Along the way, we make very close friends.  Some of us are luckier still.  We fall in love.  This love is not planned.  It is not scheduled.  Most times, it is not even expected or sought.  Simply put, love occurs.  It is *impromptu*.

As I smile down at Dio and Jen during their ceremony, and think how they met, lived, loved, and married, I find myself strongly in favor of things impromptu.

By the way, I was asked after the ceremony if I prepared my opening remarks.  I assured that person, as I do my readers, it was very *impromptu*.

Here’s hoping you find what you desire in Second Life.  Good night.

Diomita

Yasmin’s Enforcer.  I first met Dio about a year ago while taking a brief hiatus to explore SL’s prison system.  At the time, Dio was a guard at Pandora’s Box.

My goal when I entered Pandora’s was to cause as much trouble as I possibly could, perhaps even start a riot.  To my shock, this was frowned on heavily by Pandora’s administrators as they wanted a prison where the inmates were quiet and obedient.  I assume much like a prison one would find today, in nirvana.

During one of my tirades, I encountered the rudest, most obnoxious, foul mouthed prison bitch of a guard one could ever imagine, Dio.  *sigh*  It was love at first sight.  At least for me.  Dio barely gave me the time of day.

Flash forward a month, which in SL is like six years, and lo and behold, Dio has discovered Stonehaven.  Not only discovered it, but taken up residency there.  Not only taken up residency there, but living next door to me.

Luckily for me, Dio did not recall our first encounter, and seemed to have a much softer attitude, even after I relayed the nature of our first encounter.

In time, I was able to coax Dio to test her submissiveness by trusting me to be her guide.  Eventually, I collared Dio and brought her into my Family as the Family Enforcer.  Make no mistake, Dio may be owned by me, and submissive to me, but she is very much a feisty independent Domme in her own right. 

Of all the Brats, Dio probably has the best disposition to be her own Domme.  That is why I am doubly blessed to continue to garner her devotion.

Additionally, Dio is the head of the Family Euro Brat Division.  She has put together her own Family and has even modeled her Family after mine.  They say imitation is the highest form of flattery, Dio flatters me every day.  I am sure there will be more on Dio’s Family in later posts, as both her girls have, in their own way, touched me.

Being perhaps the closest to me in age of all my Brats, I am still surprised at times how much alike Dio and I think.  Dio has become more than my Enforcer, more than my Brat, she is my Friend.

I love you Dio!