Category Archives: Story Telling

Sometimes I love to write little stories, novels or fairytales

The Scarlett Hotel – Chapter 1 – Another Fine Mess

by

The Scarlett Hotel – Chapter 1

Another Fine Mess

Griselda sighed heavily as she looked in to the empty bar of the Scarlett Hotel. Another day, another mess to clean up. This was her life now: or rather, her afterlife.
If she had known back in 1922 what a vacation at the Scarlett Hotel would cost her, Griselda would’ve stayed in the stifling heat of the city. She never would have accepted the position as a companion to a maidenly aunt. And never met … him. Her feet shuffle across the hard wood floor of the hotel’s bar as Griselda carries the cleaning supplies deeper into the room. Exhausted, she drops everything to her feet and slumps down on top of a large, wrapped lump lying on the floor. There is nothing she can do until they are moved out of her way. Last night was one hell of a party. He was in rare form. Anton is quite the charmer, especially back in the Summer of 1922. To a young, innocent girl like Griselda, the worldly aristocrat could do no wrong. She fell hopelessly in love with the tall, dark Duke the moment she espied him in the lobby of the Scarlett Hotel. Her heart stopped when her Aunt Matilda introduced them and he kissed her hand. Griselda nearly fainted when he asked her to dine with him that very night.

Their days were filled with long walks in the dense gardens, lazy umbrella-covered boat rides on the lake or picnics beneath the shade of weeping willows. Anton spun mesmerizing stories of his world travels, read poetry from well-worn first editions and kissed her breathless.
Even in the hot July days, Anton always dressed in a fashionable suit, gloves, hat and sunglasses. At first Griselda associated this with his European upbringing, but Anton assured her it was simply sensitivity to the sun. His pale skin, dark hair and hypnotic eyes just made him all that more handsome. Griselda was wined and dined on champagne and elegant cuisine each night and then danced until dawn. Although Griselda was there to work, Aunt Matilda was ecstatic over Anton’s fascination with her niece. If anything, Aunt Matilda seemed almost relieved.
If Griselda hadn’t been so blinded by Anton’s charisma and attention, she would have remembered Aunt Matilda was not a nice person. Griselda was not her aunt’s first paid traveling companion. There was a long list and they never remained passed one trip and were never heard from again. The family said they all ran away since Aunt Matilda was such a vile person.
On a starry night, beneath a full moon, when Anton asked her to spend the rest of her life with him, Griselda thought she died and gone to heaven. Heaven it was not. She managed to croak out a barely audible acceptance before Anton gathered her in his arms and kissed her long and hard. The kiss left her dizzy and flushed as he peppered soft kisses on her face, along her jaw and down her neck.

And then … Unconsciously, Griselda touched the two puncture marks on her neck and heaved another heavy sigh. Damn Aunt Matilda for selling her off to a Vampire for wealth and immortality. Damn Anton for taking an innocent girl’s dreams and turning them into nightmares. And damn herself for thinking such a sophisticated man like Anton could ever love a frumpy girl like Griselda.
Anton did confess after the deed was done that he had not meant to turn her into a creature of the night. He did truly care for her; as much as a Vampire could care for anyone. She was merely payment for a bargain her aunt made with him decades ago.
Now, Griselda was stuck here in this haunted hell of a hotel and relegated to maid status for all eternity. She rose slowly to her feet as the Zombie bellboys entered the deserted hotel bar and dragged out the bodies that were the unwitting ‘party favors’ for Anton’s guests the night before.
My job is to clean up the aftermath. Griselda cursed at the Zombies as their carelessness left a trail of blood in their wake. With a grunt, Griselda dropped a soaking wet mop on the wooden floor and began the backbreaking job of scrubbing it clean.
Another fine mess.

THE END

Clothing

Outfit: Sorumin – “Sexy Maid Gacha” (Maitreya)

Corset: GizzA – “Passion and Glory [Female] Corset” (BoM, store closed)

Tights: Izzie’s – “Tights Black” (BoM)

Shoes & Socks: friday – “Suzy T-Straps (Coal)” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Earrings: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Earring Mads all linked” (LeLUTKA EvoX female/human)

Piercing: Wicca’s Originals – “Jadeon Piercing” + “Tegan Piercing Set” (unrigged)

Duster & Headpiece: LiViD – “The Bloody French Maid”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: Epoque – “Ever – Genetic” (store closed)

Face Art: Nefekalum Tattoos – “Hunger #01” (Lel. EvoX BoM, Materials)

Wounds: -Lepunk- – “Burn Face” (Lel. EvoX BoM)

Head, Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLUTKA – “EvoX Avalon 3.1”

Teeth: [CX] – “Strigoi’s Fangs – Silver Type.1 ( Size E / Wider )”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara V5.3”

Wounds 1: [POUT!] – “Ouch! My Chest – Chest Injuries” (BoM)

Wounds 2: Ladybird – “Bite Marks – Lighter” (BoM)

Wounds 3: Ladybird – “Gripped – Fading” (BoM)

Wounds 4: NEON – “Bitten – Body Bites (Full)” (BoM)

Poses, Props & Tools

Poses: selfmade

Room: DRD – “Scarlett Hotel Ballroom/Theatre Rezzer v1.0” – NEW @ Scarlett Bay

Deco Set 1: DRD – “SH – Le Basilic” – NEW @ Scarlett Bay

Deco Set 2: DRD – “SH – Barnett” – NEW @ Scarlett Bay

Deco Set 3: DRD – “Scarlett Hotel – “Bistro” – NEW @ Scarlett Bay

Deco Set 4: DRD – “Scarlett Hotel – Bar Royal” – NEW @ Scarlett Bay

DRD – “Scarlett Hotel – Grande piano – Opened” – NEW @ Scarlett Bay

DRD – “Scarlett Hotel – Office – file cabinet” – NEW @ Scarlett Bay

DRD – “Scarlett Hotel – Lobby – Luggage cart” – NEW @ Scarlett Bay

DRD – “Scarlett Hotel – Lobby – Luggage”

DRD – “Chartbusters – broom static”

[ContraptioN] – “Props: Wrapped Corpse Set BOXED”

22769 – “Rusty Bucket – COMMON”

{what next} – “Housekeepers Box Decor (cream)”

Story

Anne Daumig

Model, Stylist & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

The Song of Despair

by

“A Thousand Words” is a collaborative Second Life photography project dedicated to expression through creative imagery. For our inaugural exhibition, Second Life residents created photographs inspired by renowned poet Pablo Neruda’s “Twenty Love Poems and a Song of Despair.”

Today I have something very special… I recently was invited to be part of an amazing exhibition. Trouble approached me, asking me if I would kike to be part of his newest vision. He told me about Pablo Neruda and his new project “A Thousand Words”and  sent me a link to Pablo Neruda’s”20 Love Poems and a Song of Despair” – I had to choose one. It took me a few hours to decide which one would be “mine” as they are all amazing and so I really had to think which one would be the most inspiring for myself.

You can watch all the amazing artwork HERE but the exhibition inworld is so much more impressive as it is held in a perfect designed place where you even can hear the poems read to you

Visit the exhibition from November 1st until November 21st this year – You really should not miss it!

Location: A Thousand Words

And here is my choice and above the picture I did, inspired by the amazing “The Song of Despair“

The memory of you emerges from the night around me.
The river mingles its stubborn lament with the sea.
Deserted like the wharves at dawn.
It is the hour of departure, oh deserted one!
Cold flower heads are raining over my heart.
Oh pit of debris, fierce cave of the shipwrecked.
In you the wars and the flights accumulated.
From you the wings of the song birds rose.
You swallowed everything, like distance.
Like the sea, like time. In you everything sank!
It was the happy hour of the assault and the kiss.
The hour of the spell that blazed like a lighthouse.
Pilot’s dread, fury of blind driver,
turbulent drunkenness of love, in you everything sank!
In the childhood of mist my soul, winged and wounded.
Lost discoverer, in you everything sank!
You girdled sorrow, you clung to desire,
sadness stunned you, in you everything sank!
I made the wall of shadow draw back,
beyond desire and act, I walked on.
Oh flesh, my own flesh, woman whom I loved and lost,
I summon you in the moist hour, I raise my song to you.
Like a jar you housed the infinite tenderness,
and the infinite oblivion shattered you like a jar.
There was the black solitude of the islands,
and there, woman of love, your arms took me in.
There was thirst and hunger, and you were the fruit.
There were grief and ruins, and you were the miracle.
Ah woman, I do not know how you could contain me
in the earth of your soul, in the cross of your arms!
How terrible and brief was my desire of you!
How difficult and drunken, how tensed and avid.
Cemetery of kisses, there is still fire in your tombs,
still the fruited boughs burn, pecked at by birds.
Oh the bitten mouth, oh the kissed limbs,
oh the hungering teeth, oh the entwined bodies.
Oh the mad coupling of hope and force
in which we merged and despaired.
And the tenderness, light as water and as flour.
And the word scarcely begun on the lips.
This was my destiny and in it was my voyage of my longing,
and in it my longing fell, in you everything sank!
Oh pit of debris, everything fell into you,
what sorrow did you not express, in what sorrow are you
not drowned!
From billow to billow you still called and sang.
Standing like a sailor in the prow of a vessel.
You still flowered in songs, you still broke the currents.
Oh pit of debris, open and bitter well.
Pale blind diver, luckless slinger,
lost discoverer, in you everything sank!
It is the hour of departure, the hard cold hour
which the night fastens to all the timetables.
The rustling belt of the sea girdles the shore.
Cold stars heave up, black birds migrate.
Deserted like the wharves at dawn.
Only the tremulous shadow twists in my hands.
Oh farther than everything. Oh farther than everything.
It is the hour of departure. Oh abandoned one!
[- Pablo Neruda -]

Its hunger was staggering

by

The craving for human flesh drove the creature into the early morning fog. In the cemetery awaited a new grave and sustenance. As it neared the fresh mound of dirt, the sound of heavy footsteps stopped the creature.
Two men, hunters with rifles slung over their shoulders, approached the forest near the creature’s hiding place. Dense trees and heavy foliage darkened the wooded corpse. Only a stray beam of sunshine could break through the heavy veil.
It followed quietly behind the humans. The hunters were now the prey. With each silent step, the creature shifted into wolf form. If somehow it was seen, a wolf in these woods would not raise an alarm that its true form would.
The first human made no sound as the creature sprang from its cover and easily snapped the man’s neck. The human in the lead turned to speak to his companion, but was dead before he could aim his weapon.
The creature chuckled as it shapeshifted back to its nature form. Humans are so easy to hunt. Their arrogance makes them careless. As if their weapons could ever harm any of its kind.
The young ones will benefit from the blood and after a week or two, the rotted flesh will be quite tasty. For now, it needed to return to the grave as planned. It had no taste for fresh meat. Only rotted, decayed flesh would satisfy the gnawing in the pit of its stomach.
Working quickly, in case more human hunters were about, the creature clawed through the fresh dirt to the plain wooden box buried deep. Oh, this one was a fat, succulent morsel of a man. Women tended to be too lean and children were hardly substantial.
The temptation to feast now was overwhelming, but the creature dare not spare the time. The risk of exposure was too great here in the cemetery. It closed the now empty casket and returned the dirt so no one would be suspicious.
Careful to leave no evidence behind, the creature picked up the body as if as it weighed nothing. It returned to the woods where it left the two hunters stuffed beneath the remains of a fallen tree.
It was a good day. Food aplenty for months. But winter was approaching. It would need to forage a few more times to insure a comfortable hibernation before the first snow fell. A ghoul has to do what a ghoul has to do to keep her family fed.
The creature returns to its lair. an old and forgotten slaughter house far from town. The perfect place to hide and raise its young ones until it is time for them to leave the nest. Its children should be sleep now, but will wake soon and demand food.
Yet one is missing – the eldest. A lopsided smile creeps across the creatures face as it carries the food to the preparation area. There, hard at work draining the blood from a fresh corpse, is the eldest child. The young one looks up with a look of apprehension, a need for approval.
The Ghoul drops the corpses to the floors and slowly approaches the young Ghoul who is squatted on the floor beside a blood filled bucket. Its hand caresses the young one’s face as a sense of pride washes over it. A macabre smile appears on the Ghoul’s face.
Baby’s first kill.

Outfit Ghoul 1 (left)
Collar: ::Static:: – “Captive Chain” (Maitreya)
Collar 2: CURELESS[+] – “Entropy Collar (v.1)”
Harness: [CX] – “Ophanim Harness – Black” (Maitreya)
Gloves: cinphul – “raptor ii [gloves]” (Maitreya, Bento)
Shoes: cinphul – “raptor [boots]” (Maitreya)
Outfit Ghoul 2 (right)
Collar: CURELESS[+] – “Entropy Collar (v.1)”
Harness: [CX] – “Ophanim Harness – Black” (Maitreya)
Hip Chains: [CX] – “Mucronate Chains” (Maitreya)
Hands/Arms (incl. lower arms tattoo): DRD – “Plague Skeleton Creature Hands V 1.7”
Shoes: STOIC – “Vicious Plats Blood” (Maitreya)
Both Ghouls
Head & Body
Head: BeSpoke Caravan – “Ghoul Necrotic”
Body: Maitreya – “Lara V5.3” + “Lara Add-on Flat Chest V1.0”
Props
Backdrop: [CX] – “For Good Time”
Story
Models

Wicca’s Originals @ The Dark Style Fair // October 2021

by

Wicca’s Originals @ The Dark Style Fair // October 9th – 31st

There was no moon to light her way, but it also cloaked her escape. She ran as fast as she could through the dense woods on pure instinct, like an animal in flight, Fitting, since he treated her like a dog.
One minute He offered a kind hand; lulled her into a false sense of comfort. Then, without warning, the pain He caused tore her heart and soul to shreds, Was love suppose to be so painful?
She fell against a tree as her legs gave out beneath her. Lungs burning, her breath sawed harshly in and out of her chest. She looked over her shoulder to see if anyone pursued, but all she saw was darkness. That was all her life really was – endless darkness.
Others had escaped and He had dismissed their absence with a flick of a wrist as if they were nothing more than an annoying gnat. But He said Rhoda was special. Is that why He especially enjoyed hurting her? Building her up to only beat down so far that death was her only escape?
Yes, she often thought of death. The sweet release. The peaceful darkness. She came close, several times. The promises He made and failed to keep. The lies that so easily rolled off his tongue. Sweet words meant to pacify a child that held no meaning to Him as walked away and left her alone and bleeding while he went to find pleasure with his other woman.

That’s not love. That’s greed. The need to possess more than anyone else. A selfish child hoarding all the toys just so no one else could have them. If one was lost, three more took its place. That’s all she really was – a shiny trinket to display. His true pleasure came from the compliments He received about her. Yes, that stroked His ego. He loved what she earned Him – adoration.
No more. She was not a thing. She was not the shiny ruby He named her after. She had a name! And by all that was holy, she would hear that name again or die trying. When she heard His angry shout, she hide behind the tree. His punishments were cruel, oh so very cruel.
It was time to run. Nowhere to go. No one to help her. It didn’t matter. If she didn’t run for her life now, the last tiny bit of life inside her would die.
He won’t hurt her again. No one will ever hurt Rhoda again.
– The End –
Sizes: Maitreya (Lara, Petite, Flat), Legacy[F] (Classic, Perky)
Available as Fatpack with 10 Colors & 10 Metals or Single colors with metal HUD only (5 color combinations available for single purchase)

Event Location: Dark Style Fair

Transformation

by

Transformation

He left me for dead in the back alley of London’s most desolate area.
His attack was brutal, ruthless. His hands steady; his blade true. He left me nothing that resembled the fairer sex. His hatred for women knew no boundaries. And when he was finished, he wiped his hands clean as he stared down upon me with bland indifference – a frog dissected.
Time changed after he left. Minutes felt like days. Pain gave way to a coldness that numbed me to the world beyond. Voices, wagons, hawkers – all faded away until the silence screamed in my ears. I prayed for Death to find me.
<scrape, thump> <scrape, thump> <scrape, thump> <scrape, thump>
The sound grew out of the darkness. What did Death sound like?
A shadowy figure hovered over me before large, powerful hands yanked me from the ground and I was thrown across a shoulder as if I were nothing more than a burlap bag filled with potatoes.
<scrape, thump> <scrape, thump> <scrape, thump> <scrape, thump>
The jarring gait matched the eerie sound. That was the last sound I heard before Morpheus dragged into the abyss.
Oh, what fresh Hell is this? I awaken to the taste of rancid gruel forced into my mouth. Only one eye will open and that takes all my strength to perform. A wooden pushed passed my lips and I gagged on the noxious porridge until the whole of my stomach emptied onto my makeshift bed.
Clumsy hands attempted to clean up the mess, but only seemed to spread it around. An angry shout and the familiar sound of uneven footsteps retreating from my side brought me back to my present situation. The rough blanket was snatched away and a violent shiver wracked my body.. I strained to raise my head and with my one eye I saw my both swathed in dirty and blood-stained bandages.
A man stood beside the bed; poked and prodded me with the same dispassion as my attacker. Cold, probing eyes watched me over wired spectacles perched at the tip of his thin nose. White, wiry hair stood out in all directions and thickly pursed lips hide behind a grizzly beard. What must pass for a doctor’s coat covered a wrinkled and ill-kept suit that once must have belonged to a gentleman of considerable wealth.
The uneven footsteps again approached and I got my first good look at my rescuer. Had I been able to move, I would have recoiled in fear and disgust. Had a gargoyle from high upon the Cathedral precipice come to life, it would hold more appeal than the freak approaching me. Hunched backed and dragging a clubbed foot,. its grotesque features distorted into a mask of pure horror. Yet, its eyes reflected … pity. Not for its own circumstances, but for ME!
Suddenly, I realized the man in the doctor’s coat was speaking to me. He explained how his assistance, Igor (the pathetic creature now gently covering me with a clean blanket) found me and carried me to the doctor’s laboratory. My mind spun and I heard only bits and pieces as he inventoried my injuries. Over 300 stitches. Missing eye. Amputated hand. Leg muscles and tendons severed. Lucky to be alive. Permission for procedures.
All i remember was grimly nodding my head in consent. What did it matter what this man did to me. The midnight attacker took my life. Now this doctor, Dr. Frankenstein, said he could fix me. What does it matter. I died in that alley.
Days dragged into weeks. Weeks dragged into months. As soon as my wounds healed, Dr. Frankenstein began his experiments. What did it matter what I looked like. No man would ever look at with anything but disgust in his eyes. The midnight attacker took away everything that made me a woman.
I would have gone mad; I should have gone mad, had it not been for Igor. Beneath that monstrous face and body was a pure and generous heart. Each day Igor would bring me a gift; a trinket of some sort. A wilted flower. Half empty bottle of perfume. A torn lace handkerchief. Items discarded by their owners were treasures in the creature’s eye. And each gift he presented earned him pained and weary smile from me.
Winter was in full force when I woke on my stomach after what Dr. Frankenstein claimed was the final procedure. No sheet covered me, but what did I have to be modest about now. I pushed myself up and startled when movement caught in my peripheral vision. For the first time in the eternity in this hellhole, I was presented with a mirror. Not a small looking glass, but a large, three-sided standing mirror one might find at a couturier’s shop.
I did not wish to look, but it seemed as though the Fate’s compelled me forward. The ever present bandages were gone and my naked flesh was exposed for all to see. What I saw reflected made Igor’s ugliness look like a work of art.
Skin once soft as satin and milky white was now ashen and covered with long, jagged scars. Once full and bountiful breasts were gone and only to be replaced with raw, burnt tissue covering my chest. My face … my perfect face, that once turned heads of men and women alike, was mangled beyond recognition.

Only one crystal blue eye stared back. The other hollow socket was covered with a mechanical piece with wires embedded into my head. Though the eye was missing, my vision was sharper and more intense than humanly possible.

When I reached out to touch the mirror in disbelief, I saw a mechanical claw resembling the talons of a bird of prey. I slashed out at my image and the razor-sharp tips left deep gouges on the mirrors surface. The other hand, while still flesh and blood, had similar claws embedded where fingernails once grew.
A sob escaped my lips when eyes traveled downward and I saw the devastation done to that most sacred of womanly places. Yes, the midnight attacker took great pleasure and care in that area. Nothing remained.
Farther down, the thigh of one leg and calf of another were replaced with metal rods and blood filled tubes and contained in some form of a clear, unbreakable casing. My head snapped up at a sudden movement from behind me. A pair of mighty wings spread out like an avenging angel sent from the heavens. Feathers black as night entwined with pistons and gears and glistening metal talons.
I did not hear Igor’s approach, but saw he stood beside the mirror. In his gnarled hands he carefully held the most beautiful gown I had ever seen in my life. A gown of such great wealth and quality a woman would sell her soul to possess it. His lips were twisted into what had to be a smile as he held out the gown to me as a gift.
But I am no longer a woman. I am no longer human. A shrill and blood-curdling screech tore from my throat as I snatched the dress from Igor and with a strength I did not know I possessed, ripped the gown to shreds. Soul sick and broken, I fall to my knees among the tattered remains of Igor’s gift and weep.
The passage of time again eluded me as I lay huddled on the floor before that mirror, the wings a protective encasement around me guarding me from harm. Only a pitiful, woeful sound made me raise my head.
There, crouched on the floor before me was Igor, tears flowing down his face and a large bundle clutched to his chest. He dropped his burden in front of me and quickly scurried back on his hands and knees like a bug caught in a sudden light.

Again, Igor brought me clothing, but this time far different from the Lady’s gown. This offering contained men’s trousers and jacket made from fine leather and boots to match. Seems when Igor stole, he stole only the highest quality goods.

The pants were snug and fit me like a second skin. The jacket, too, fit me perfectly and was even tailored to allow for the wings now permanently affixed to my back. The tall, thick boots provided warmth and protection.
And it seems Igor was not willing to allow me to forget I was once a woman, for he included a short velvet cape elaborately embroidered with gold thread.
I pulled what was left of my unevenly cut hair together into a bun and turned to the mirror for the last time. Anne was gone forever. Only this creature, the Dark Angel of Harper’s Ferry remained. And she was ready to hunt.
Beware, Jack the Ripper. I am coming for you!

I feel so gifted to be allowed to call Anne a close and dear friend. Today it was her coming to me when I was trying to run after all my duties. I didn’t say something, but she asked if all is fine. She does have that 6th sense I guess, that makes her feel, if I am just slightly sad, stressed or frustrated. Today she must have felt that I am a little stressed and he asked me if all would be ok. Basically everything was ok and I told her that Liam fine, but had to finish some pictures for a magazine, a blog post and the posting for the store – for that she as well wrote a wonderful story, just take a look at the previous post HERE – and today I wanted to reveal the first chapter of it (yes she made 3 chapters and they will come one after another *winks* ). Being such a sweetheart she always is, she asked me if she could help me. Since it was making pictures, I told her that I do not think I could ‘outsource’ any of my work. A little later I again thought about the amazing story she wrote me yesterday for my post and so I carefully asked her if she still would be in a writing mood. I really was a little shy as she already wrote all those amazing chapters for the store releases and that incredible amazing story for me yesterday. But she said she had the second half of her frozen custard, which made her so cuber awesome creative yesterday and she asked me what kind of story. I showed her my raw shots for the post and instead of asking when I need it or telling me she would not have time, she just asked “Did you have anything in mind while styling this?” That was the moment where I just could have hugged her super tight again. I told her about the basic idea I had for the pictures and she started writing. Again she saved my ass! I adore her creativity, her skills for making all those stories for me and as well for our store releases – Anne you are such sweet little diamond, thank you so much… again ♥

Clothing

Top: AsteroidBox – “Tempus Shirt” (Maitreya Petite) – NEW @ Engine Room // September 2021

Pants: AsteroidBox – “Elise Leggings” (Maitreya)

Shoes: AsteroidBox – “Elise Boots” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Hair Accessory: ::Static:: – “Chrono Hairpin {Cluster}” – NEW @ Engine Room // September 2021

Glasses: [KROVA] – “Vitzili’s Lens 1 L” – NEW @ Engine Room // September 2021

Earrings: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Mads” (for Lel. EvoX Human Ears)

Ear Accessory: L’Emporio&PL – “Vulnus” (for Lel. EvoX Human Ears)

Nose Piercing: Wicca’s Originals – “Jadeon” (unriged)

Wings: {Aii & Ego} – “Starfire Angel Wings” – NEW @ Engine Room // September 2021

Finger Accessory: L’Emporio&PL – “Essentia” (Maitreya, Bento)

Nails: L’Emporio&PL – “Scripta Manent – Classic” (Maitreya, Bento)

Belt Accessory: kosmii – “Bedelia Chatelaine” – NEW @ Engine Room // September 2021

Hair & Makeup

Hair: KMH – “Hair F175” (unrigged) – NEW @ Engine Room // September 2021

Face Art:  Nefekalum Tattoos – “Hunger #01” (Lel. EvoX BoM, Materials)

Lipstick 1: [Cubic Cherry] – “{Tenuous} Lipstick” (Lel. EvoX HD Applier)

Lipstick 2: Mad’ – “Daemon Lips” (Lel. EvoX BoM)

Head, Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLUTKA – “EvoX Avalon 3.0”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara V5.3” + “Lara Add-On Petite 1.1”

Poses, Props & Tools

Backdrop: VARONIS – “Dayport Backdrop Scene”

Pose 1: Poseidon – “Valkyrie 6rev” (Bento)

Pose 2: Poseidon – “Heroes – Flight 4” (Bento)

Pose 3: Poseidon – “Flight 15” (Bento)

Model, Stylist & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

The Greed of Man

by

There are only five of us left.

One year ago, when 214 men and women arrived on this desolate, unnamed planetoid, it was with only one thought on out minds – how sinfully rich we would be when we left.

When Boyton Bros. Mining Corporation discovered a new fuel source, which they shamelessly named BBMC-X, their stocks skyrocketed. Just one of the small green rocks, no bigger than a baseball, could fuel a city the size of New York for two years. And just in time, too. The Earth, with all its greedy, wasteful inhabitants, had depleted all the natural resources on the planet.

Mankind now reached out to the heavens and stripped each planet we touched until it, too, was a dead rock in space. We took and stole every useful resource for consumption on Earth and left behind an empty shell.

So 214 men and women came to this lifeless planet with the promise of untold wealth once we strip-mined every last iota of BBMC-X in existence. Everything ran smoothly for the first month, until the killings began. It began in the deepest shafts when a shift reported for work and found a dozen bodies shredded to pieces; limbs torn away.

Security was sent into the tunnels armed with the deadliest weapons know to man, only never to be seen again. Soon the attacks were closer to Base Camp. Metal building ripped open like they were made of paper. The mined BBMC-X disappeared. That’s when we saw the monster. Hideous. Malevolent Lethal. A mindless killing machine.

Its skin was like armor that no man-made weapon could pierce, Long talons sprouted from its back that could tear a man to pieces in seconds or fell him with a single drop poisonous venom. It was mindless, merciless and killed without conscious. Now the remaining five are hunting the beast. Or, is it hunting us?

As we enter a large chamber filled with BBMC-X, the attack is swift and silent. The other were killed instantly. I was not so lucky. I feel the venom flow through my blood like acid as convulsions violently shake my body. In my last moments, I watch the gruesome creature carefully pick up a small green rock that fell to the ground close by. A fanged mouth opens and hisses its contempt for me as it gently cradles the rock to it chest.

The hiss turns into what I can only describe as a soft, soothing purr as a deadly, gnarled claw reaches out to a green orb bigger than my head. At the creature’s touch, the orb glows and shadows shift inside it. Something inside is … alive. Each orb the creature lovingly caresses responds the same way.

These rocks are not a new fuel source. It is not ore to mine for our consumption. They are eggs. And the creature was only protecting her young!

Dear God, what have we done!

The amazing story was written by my dear friend Anne Daumig. She was with me when I did shoot the pictures. Since I know what she can do and because she already had some cool ideas while I was looking for poses for my pictures, I could not resist to beg her… I asked her if she would be in a writing mood and give it  a try for a story to my picture ideas – She agreed and made my day with her writing magic again. Check out her BLOG and FLICKR and don’t forget to give her some star love *winks*

Thank you so much Anne ♥

Clothing

Outfit: cinphul – “council of flesh [dress] (Maitreya)

Gloves: Human Glitch – ” WTCHVRM Gloves” (Maitreya, Bento)

Shoes: cinphul – “excess [boots]” (Maitreya) – NEW @ The Warehouse Sale // September 2021

Accessories

Headpiece: BeSpoke – “Nemesis Headpiece” – NEW @ Engine Room // September 2021

Collar: CURELESS[+] – “Entrophy Collar” (Maitreya)

Head, Body & Tattoo

Head: BeSpoke – “Monster Nemesis” – NEW @ Engine Room // September 2021

Body: Maitreya – “Lara V5.3”

Skin: BeSpoke – “Nemesis – Night Terror” (BoM) – NEW @ Engine Room // September 2021

Spiderlegs: { aii & ego } – “Tsuchigumo Animesh Spider Legs”

Poses, Props & Tools

Pose 1: Poseidon – “Amazon Princess 8” (Bento)

Pose 2: Poseidon – “Wild Child 21” (Bento)

Scenery:  cinphul – “azrexok [alien decor set]”

Deco: Walton R. Wainwright – “NECROTIZE – Regular Booth” & “NECROTIZE – Sponsor Booth” & “NECROTIZE Group Gift container” (not for sale)

Model, Stylist & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Angels & Demons – Part 2

by

Originally shot for Eclipse Magazine // June 2021 Page 159-168 // https://issuu.com/eclipsemagazinesl/docs/eclipse_magazine_june_2021

Angels & Demons

What would you choose? Who would you become? Would you rather be enchanted or consumed by Heaven or Hell, Light or Dark, Good or Evil, Love or Hate, or to be Blessed or Cursed. Angels and Demons are polar opposites of one another within many cultures and in fiction. On one hand, they are a form of symbology and on the other they are seen in religion, mythology, and fantasy. Magical and mystical beings that we will read find in books, movies,movies, TV, anime or plays from ancient to modern. Even within the confines of real life and Second Life, we will roleplay and become one of them.

Despite the difference in abilities and the cultural milieu they come from, they share some similarities, such as, hierarchical ranks, miraculous or magical powers, and the enmities and friendships with each other and with mortals. Though Angels and Demons are often in a never-ending battle to defeat the other, in that chaos comes a little spark: opposites, suddenly attracted to or obsessed  with each other. Will they escape and find peace or be consumed by their conflict?

Their appearances can differ, both taking on ugly, distorted, fear-inducing manifestations, or transforming into beautiful, ethereal and alluring personas. Angels usually are depicted with long, modest, feather-like flowing garments, while a Demons attire is often tight, conforming to every curve or their form making it matter little how much or how little clothing they wear.. Although in the more modern age and flight of fantasy, anything goes, the color palettes don’t often change. Angels decorated in white and softened colors and pastels signifying purity and innocence, guiding you on your travels, while the Demons adorn black and deep, rich colors, warning you to watch where you tread, but do you want to? Will they draw you into the darkness forever lost in their grasp.

[ Thank you so much Daffodil Crimson for helping me with the text! ]
Clothing

Outfit: [CX] – “Nimue Set – Black” (Maitreya)

Harness: [CX] – “Ophanim Harness – Black” (Maitreya)

Gloves: Cureless[+] – “Incubus&Succubus / Diabolus Gloves / Black” (Maitreya, Gacha, Common)

Shoes: Cureless[+] – “Incubus&Succubus / Satyr Boots / Black” (Maitreya, Gacha, Common)

Accessories

Horns: [CX] – “Hundred Chain Horns (Chained+Black)”

Bindi: Wicca’s Originals – “Carvis Bindi”

Septum: -[TWC]- – “Thirst Septum -Silver-“

Collar: [CX] – “Hell’s Harbinger (Black Out+Silver)” (Maitreya)

Flames: *CC* – “Eternal Flaming Palms” (Gacha, Rare)

Wings: Material Squirrel – “Abyss Demon Wings”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: Exile – “Dani”

Face Art:  Nefekalum Tattoos – “Hunger #01” (Lel. EvoX BoM, Materials)

Head, Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLUTKA – ” EvoX Avalon 3.0″

Body: Maitreya – “Lara V5.3”

Tattoo: .:Vegas:. – “Tattoo Dark Serenity” (BoM)

Poses, Props & Tools

Pose by Vivien De’Lancoure

Backdrop: .PALETO. – “Backdrop:EXORCISM”

Models

Vivien De’Lancoure & Wicca Merlin (for Her look you need to poke her *winks*)

Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Silent Scream

by

TUNES

Silent Scream

[Akira Yamaoka]
Tell me all the things you see
Lately, I have come to dream
Of birdless skies, their silent cries
In this empty box, my heart is lost

Picture made for Eclipse Magazine July 2020 // https://issuu.com/eclipsemagazinesl/docs/eclipse_magazine_july_2020

Once blind by the fears we hide
Fragile like a wounded child
The maze of life, we fall behind
In this empty box, where your heart is lost
Shame of memories when we fall asleep
Among the burning dreams
Make your feelings in the silent screams
When they whisper in your sleep
One day, when you run away
From all the pain that you face
You’re as lonely when you come to see
That the truth is never seen
Shame of memories when we fall asleep
Among the burning dreams
Make your feelings in the silent screams
When they whisper in your sleep
Shame of memories when we fall asleep
Among the burning dreams
Make your feelings in the silent screams
When they whisper, “Come to me.”
Clothing
Dress: [CX] – “Vicious Vaccine – Dress ( VIP )” (Maitreya, Gacha VIP Gift)
Panty: [CX] – “Sticky Bits Bottom” (Maitreya)
Shoes (incl. Blood Tattoo): Astralia – “Bloody Bandage Feet Accessory” (Maitreya, Maitreya Applier)
Accessories
Hat: [CX] – “Vicious Vaccine – Hat ( VIP )” (Gacha VIP Gift)
Nails: Izzie’s – “Dirty Nails” (Maitreya Applier)
Collar: .:-CatniP-:. – Enslaved Collar ~ rough brown”
Head, Body & Tattoo
Head: [CX] – “Juggerknow Remake’18 Plain F”
Body: Maitreya – “Lara 5.2”
Tattoo: Izzie’s – “Blood and Wounds dark” (BoM)
Arms (incl. Appliers): [CX] + Hotdog – “Krokodil Decay” (unrigged, Omega Applier)
Poses, Props & Tools
Background: [CX] – “Crucem Inverso”
Syringe: [CX] – “Vicious Vaccine – Syringe ( VIP )” (Gacha VIP Gift)
Wheelchair (incl. Poses): Poseidon – “Silent Heals”
Poses: Poseidon
Model & Photographer

“My Heart has been always Yours”

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Image made for Eclipse Magazine // June 2020 https://issuu.com/eclipsemagazinesl/docs/eclipse_magazine_june_2020?issuu_product=document_page&issuu_context=action&issuu_cta=like_publication

Recently I had a talk with Trouble, my little brother in SL (that grew over many years) and we came across an idea we had for a while, but it never seemed to be the right time. Now it was the right time and we talked about my sweet little corner in the Eclipse Magazine, where I could contribute something with all my weird and crazy ideas. I always missed a more roleplay based fashion and places section. Not the typical fashion spread that we all got tired of seeing in all the magazines, more something with fantasy but still themed and with according places to go. More than that I am allowed to have a little paragraph about the theme to characterize and explain certain genres a little bit. I do not know how I can describe it properly, but my little “Across the Grid” section in the Eclipse Magazine was born *winks* Thank you Trouble for giving me a corner to express all my funky ideas and dreams!

I love steampunk in RL and SL and so it was an easy choice what my initial theme would be – Steampunk!

One of the pictures that I did for the magazine, is the one above (the other one I will showcase in a separate blog post). The style was based on a look I did for the Second Life CyberCon show we did with Madd Modelz, I just did pimp it a little bit more to go towards steampunk even more. For the show Tour Blanche – another close friend of mine – wrote a wonderful story to my look, which I have to put down here as well so that it wasn’t just for the show and I can read it over and over again myself too because I love it so much. Thank you so much Tour for that incredible, wonderful and amazing story.

There once was a man. He was brilliant, but his brilliance made him an outcast, exiled for dabbling in upsetting the natural order, attempting to create life itself. It was not so many years later that he had his first true breakthrough, and /she/ was awakened. A construct from head to toe, she was built with the purpose of being his assistant. Her metallic body was capable of working without tiring, and her capacity to learn made her adept at not only aiding in his work, but also conversing.

While the strangeness of her voice and slightly inhuman mannerisms might repel some, hers was the only companionship he had. She would be the reason he gave up pursuing further research. He viewed her as his magnun opus, and continued to refine her as needed as the years went on, rather than creating new constructs. While she was capable of thought, she was bereft of true feeling. Though she went through the learned motions to embrace him when he needed it, and spoke affectionate words, she did not truly know what they meant.

Over the decades, her parts were improved or sometimes replaced with mismatched pieces, but he aged, growing old, tired, and eventually infirm. On his deathbed, he pledged his love to her, “My heart has always been yours.” When he perished, she surgically extracted his heart, and using all he had taught her, connected it to herself. When this was done, his devotion to her strangely resonated within her chest. It struck her core like a hammer, and for the first time, part of her metal shell cracked and broke loose. A truth revealed: She had not been a full construct all along. She did not know whose body went into her creation, but she did know that she now missed him for the first time in her life, and yearned to hear his voice again. She knew now what he felt, as she felt it too; a love for him. She would find a way to bring him back. For now, she would preserve his heart as a part of her, and wander the earth, seeking the forbidden knowledge she would need.

Clothing

Dress: Wicca’s Originals – “Amity Dress [Black]” (Maitreya, Gacha, Common)

Belt: Wicca’s Originals – “Amity Belt [Black]” (Maitreya, Gacha, Common)

Sleeve: Wicca’s Originals – “Amity Arm Left” (Maitreya, Gacha, Rare)

Right Shoe: Wicca’s Originals – “Michonne Boots” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Backpack: Hypnos – Treasure Hunter Backpack”

Rings & Nails: .:E.A.Studio:.  – “Thunderstrike Ring Woman” (Maitreya, Bento)

Head, Body & Tattoos

Head & Mask: Wicca’s Originals – “Elmstone Head [Gold]” (Maitreya)

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 5.1”

Arms: Wicca’s Originals – “Eagleden Arms” (Maitreya)

Legs: Wicca’s Originals – “Eagleden Legs” (Maitreya)

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Prop 1- Rusty Companion: HILTED – “Little Bust Rucket – Floaty Flying Version”

Prop 2 – Cat: HEXtraordinary – “Lord Bartleby Von Tinkleton Esq. – Companion”

Location

Piltover & Zaun

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Breathing Underwater

by

TUNES

Breathing Underwater

There’s a light in the dark where the sky splits apart
Where the stars find a way to shine through all the spaces in between
Here we are, face to face, all alone in this place
And the night is finally coming down to you and me
Tell me where you been hiding
Oh, I want to know, oh
You’re my silver lining covered in gold
Tell me what am I feeling
Well, it’s hard to explain
Like underwater breathing, swimming in rain

Wanna fly through the blue bay on the bottom with you
Getting lost in the waves, let the world slip away
Where nobody can find us, I don’t wanna be safe
Leave it all behind us, make an escape
Oh, tell me what am I feeling
Oh, it’s hard to explain
Like underwater breathing, swimming in rain

Wanna go to the edge
Wanna dive in again
Here we are, face to face
All alone in this place
And it’s finally coming down to you and me
Breathing under

Oh oh, all I really wanna do, do
Is fall a little deeper with you, you
Never come up
Breathing, breathing underwater
Weightless with every little kiss you steal, boy
You are m-making me feel, feel
Like I’m breathing
Breathing, breathing underwater
[Marié Digby]

Clothing

Dress:[CX] – “Vicious Vaccine – Pack A” (Maitreya, Gacha, Rare)

Bra: [CX] / [CntrpN] – “Clam Yo Tits – Kelp” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Piercing : [CX] – “Vermin – Silver – L”

Lip Piercing: [CX] – “Bitten 2017 Update (Silver)” (Bento)

Collar: [CX] – “XenoCircuit – Ocean” (Maitreya)

Head Piece: DRD – “Wasteland Helmet – Metal Mohawk”

Hair & Makeup

Face Art: Nefekalum Tattoos – “Selkie” (BoM+Materials Applier – Part of the Body Tattoo)

Lipstick: Izzie’s – “LeLutka Holo Metallic Lipstick 10” (BoM)

Head, Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLUTKA – “Lake 1.1”

Ears: [Trap][Gauze] – “Djinn Ears”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 5.0.2”

Skin: Human Glitch – “MNFRM Skin / MTL” (BoM)

Arms: [Cubic Cherry] – “Ekion Arms” (Maitreya, Bento)

Legs: [Cubic Cherry] – “Altered Legs” (Maitreya)

Tattoo: Nefekalum Tattoos – “Selkie” (Maitreya Applier+Materials Applier)

Poses, Props & Tools

Poses:

Picture 1: Body Talking – “Silent Mermaid 2” (store closed)

Picture 2: selfmade

Picture 3: an lar [poses] – “The Ariel Series – Three”

Picture 4: .MILA: POSES – “In My Bed 6R”

Picture 5: an lar [poses] – “The Ariel Series – Two”

Picture 6: an lar [poses] – “The Ariel Series – Five”

Particles: *CC* – “Hot Blue Fizz” – NEW @ UBER

Pose Tool: Anypose – “BVN HUD v1.6”

Face Animation Tool: LeLutka – “Axis HUD Face 1.1”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin