Home is where the heart is…

So let me go on record as saying that my home is, was and always will be in Stonehaven.  Whether I rent a house there or not, there is something about the place that just gives me a sense of ease.  Whether it is my familiarity with the sim, my friendships among the regulars, or just a sense of belonging, I will never know for sure.  I suspect it is a combination of all of these things.

As Merl and I would have the opportunity to explore together at times when Edi and Oct were occupied elsewhere or offline, we both discovered an affinity for SL’s bdsm community.  Moreso myself than Merl, but being the friend she is, she helped me explore this lifestyle in SL.

One day, out of the blue, I log on and am immediately pounced upon by Merl via IM.  The conversation went something like this…

“Yas, I found the neatest sim that you are going to LOVE!”

“Oh?  tp me please.”

I arrive, right on the grassy walkway between the castle as it used to sit in old Stonehaven and the cage room.  I look around.  Take in the scene. 

“Good work Merl.  A sim with a castle and a room full of cages.”  *insert stifled yawn here*

Long slow grin from Merl, as only Nekos can do it.

“No sweetie, here the residents wear their keys.”  *Triumphant smile*

“Keys?”

“Yes hon, keys, you know?  Little silver things used to operate locks and restraints.”

“Yes Merl, I know what the hell keys are, what do you mean the residents *wear* them?”

“Sigh.  Wear them Yas, as in, on the cuffs, so that others can *lock* them???”  *Finger flick to the head*

“Like, all the time???”  *Slightly distracted as a long haired beauty named Rylla walks by, going down the slope and into the cage room*

“Yes hon, so that others can pla…..”

“You know what Merl, hold that thought.  I’ll catch up to you later.  I suddenly have a piqued interest in the cage room area.”  And off I stroll to see exactly what this sim has to offer.

And that’s a rough take of how my introduction to Stonehaven occurred.  Not, as some rumors seem to insist, at the hired request of the owner to clean up the riff raff that ran around day and night in lingerie with keys dangling taunting visitors and luring every would be kidnapper in SL.  Don’t laugh, the rumors are out there.

In all seriousness, I actually thought I would write about Stonehaven in one post.  But as I type this, my fifth draft, I realize that it simply cannot be done.  Stonehaven has come to represent so much for a lot of people that choose to participate in the bdsm lifestyle, one post just does not do it justice.  There will be many more entries pertaining not just to Stonehaven, but the people I have met there, and will meet there, and their impact on my SL experience.

One person I will mention before closing is the owner of Stonehaven, Dirk.  Dirk has spent a lot of time and energy in making Stonehaven, not for his own enjoyment, but rather the enjoyment of the visitors it attracts.  Dirk’s pleasure is derived from our own.  For me personally, Dirk has given me a place I can call home within SL.  I don’t say it enough hon, but thanks, from the bottom of my heart.

So, if you’re new to SL, and you’re into the bdsm lifestyle, come visit Stonehaven, and get to know the people.  But if you wear your restraints, keep your hands on your keys.  Chances are I’ve already got my eye on them.

Felina Kitty – “Awwww, who the hell set my autolocks?  C’mon…who did it???”

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Finding Harmony on the Fringe of Lunacy

My first month of SL was perhaps the fastest ride I’ve been on since joining SL, as I suspect it is with many residents.  There’s the rush to gobble up as much information on how to survive and co-exist in SL as well as the simple hunger for exploration.

As Merl was also fairly newer to SL, just a month older than myself, we did a lot of the exploration together.  Being Neko, Merl was naturally inquisitive, so the exploration took us to a lot of unexpected delights.  As we both were, and still are, quite kinky, there were also some *expected* delights.

During this period, Merl also introduced me to a handful of, shall we say, like minded individuals.  Most of these people came and went, being fairly new to SL themselves and wanting to also explore their own boundaries.  Two of these individuals stand out quite clearly and need mentioning.

The first is Octavius, or Oct as she is called.  Oct may very well be the sexiest Neko I have met in SL, bar none.  Certainly nobody can emote or roleplay a better kiss.  By the time Oct’s lips touch your’s, you’ve already lost your soul to her.

Aside from her raw sex appeal, Oct is just downright likeable.  If SL were a high school, Oct would be voted “Most Friendly”.  I honestly cannot remember Oct ever saying a bad word against a soul, living or otherwise, much less a fellow resident.

The second person that warrants mentioning, naturally, was my first partner in SL, Edi Lunasea aka the Queen of Bad Puns.  Its only appropriate that Edi’s last name sounds like lunacy.  She may very well have the craziest sense of humor and roleplay style that I have ever seen in this type of medium.

I swore early on I would not take an SL partner, to avoid limiting myself in my personal “exploration” of some of the things SL had to offer.  Being one of the single most polyamorous women in SL, this was a ridiculous notion.

Part of me wonders if Merl introduced me to Edi to test my resolve.  Regardless of any intent, within minutes of meeting “the Queen”, I was hooked.  After what I can only describe as a torrid love affair, Edi and I partnered.

Now during this time, the four of us, Merl, Edi, Oct and myself, frequented a sim that was Egyptian in decor, but with a lot of entertaining activities and devices scattered thoughout.  At the center of the building we frequented, was a tall column, roughly 100 meters up, that had a waterfall flowing down around it into a large bath/pool area.  I apologize now for any details that may be fuzzy as this was quite some time ago and prior to my love of taking photos.  Furthermore, when you explore with Merl, Edi and Oct, you’re bound to be *very* distracted.

Early on in our relationship, when Merl or Oct left or we were left alone, Edi and I took to flying to the top of this column, which was then open to the top of the building, and then using flight assist to fly well out of range of anyone passing by or exploring away from the crowds.

We soon came to call the height to which we flew our “Point of Harmony”.  Many an hour was spent there, watching the sun rise, set, rise again…

I could IM Edi if I was having a stressful RL moment and she would say, “Yas, meet me at Harmony” and we both knew where to go.  My only regret is that there was no poseball for us to embrace, but we came quite adept at “hovering” at the same height, as if we were.

Some of the richest discussions I have had in SL came at Harmony.  Edi is one of the lucky few in SL to have figured out exactly how, why and for what SL is to be used.  Edi has the ability to take any negativity, SL or RL, wrap her sense of humor around it, pour in a strong amount of compassion and understanding, and serve you with a delicious dish of love so sweet, you can hardly stand it.

Even at the time in my SL experience when I was Idoru’s Huntress (I promise, a lot more on this timeframe in later posts) I still spent a lot of time with Edi.  I cannot thank Idoru enough for allowing me this freedom following my submission to her.

Sadly, Edi’s RL soon grew to a point where it intervened and cut into our time together.  After some heart breaking discussions, we both decided to dissolve the union, but remain very close friends.  About once a month, I’ll get an IM or a brief visit from Edi, and am instantly cheered up, regardless of my mood at the time of her IM.

The sim where we played, loved, laughed and grew is long gone, but the sense of Harmony remains.  There is of course a lot more to Edi than is detailed in this blog entry, but I’ll keep that to myself.  Some memories are best kept and not shared.

I love you my Queen.  Always.

But you are one nutty chick.  : )

Don’t worry, if you crash I’ll wait here for you…

In all of SL, never could a kinder sentence be spoken, particularly to a noob.  We’ve all been there, those first precious moments of our initial entry into SL.  Who will we meet, where will we go, what will stand out out as the single most important reason to return?

My initial entry started with a patient walk thru of SL’s “Help Island” tutorials.  Patient only because I had not yet learned how to engage “auto run”.  Sadly, they throw the “How to Fly” tutorial at you before the “How to Build and Script” lessons.  I flew, and never went back.  Three hours into SL, and I was standing in a sandbox watching people practice weapons against one another, unsure exactly which direction I had flown in from and not all that sure how to get back.

That’s when I met Merl.  Metamorph Merlin to be exact.  To say Merl is my best friend in all of SL is to say Lacey was just another partner for Cagney.  Merl is far more than a best friend.  She’s a godsend.

Those first few months in SL, I was not fully up to speed on the proper technical equipment for SL, i.e., a very poor video card/driver hampered me from being able to stay online more than 30 minutes at a time.  Additionally, the mere act of teleporting almost always caused me to crash.  So, it was tp, crash, explore, crash, tp, crash, explore, crash…..  You get the idea.

Through it all, Merl’s patience never wavered.  “Don’t worry Yas, if you crash I’ll wait here for you.”  Merl typed that so much I swear she had it as a macro.

As some history, there were some underlying RL events that had drawn me to SL to begin with, so meeting Merl not only taught me that patience was mundo important in SL, but it made me begin to take some hard looks at certain events in my RL.  Events that were slowly but surely draining my patience.

As a result, I soon made some drastic changes to my RL, changes that have shown to have been for the better, and have made “Patience” one of my core beliefs in SL.

And yeah, I also updated my system to make my SL experience more enjoyable.  Now if I crash, its those %$&#ing Lindens.  *grin*

I’ve now been in SL for seventeen months.  I’m happy to say that the one constant I have had to rely on, is Merl as my best friend.  We sometimes go, due to our own lives within SL, weeks at a time without a word, but Merl is one of those people that you can IM and start a conversation with, “so we had spaghetti for lunch…..” and there’s no need to go through the pleasantries of greetings.  There’s just picking up where you left off.  Merl kept me upbeat.  Merl kept me coming back.  Merl is why I am here, and now have the Family and friends I have.

I don’t say it enough Merl, but if you ever stumble…ever fall…don’t worry, I’ll be right here for you….”

I love you.  Yas.