Prison

 

Cica Ghost is a well known artist that has been filling the Grid with a lot of marvellous and original installations and a personal favourite. 

When I saw she was working on a new piece I was very curious but never ever expected to find something like this. Prison is the most shockingly beautiful and simple work of art I've ever seen on SL. I fell immediately in love with this place it its complexity, yet simplicity.

The sim is a unique and lonely island in the middle of nowhere. You find yourself in a maze made of iron bars and doors. These doors will open as soon as you come close..there's no actual "prison" in there, yet as soon as you walk in..you'll never want to leave. Because that's the way it works: in the middle of the void, even some iron cells make a comfortable home when the only other option is a complete and dishartening emptyness.

Music also plays an important trick as it drives you even closer to phobia. All you want to do is find the most central cell, as far away from the external as you can, and close yourself in there as if it was the only safe place. Your prison, nonetheless.

Poetry. Pure, amazing, fascinating poetry.

I'm in complete awe.

I've been waiting years to see something this beautiful. And now I'm the happiest avatar ever.

TAXI- http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Blackmoore/201/159/28

Also, don't forget to check Cica's store here: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Appalachian/141/139/3502

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Sudare Gami Town

 

Sudare Gami Town is yet another contemporary japanese town, but one of the funniest I've seen around. As soon as you teleport in, you find yourself in the middle of a chaotic yet beautiful little city, with real mesh people hidden here and there.

Sudare Gami Town hides a lot of pearls, a handful of surprises and unique features that will make you smile to the least.

The sim is very well built, with many different buildings and locations, most of them are mesh and very well texturized.  There's a second sim which acts like another neighborhood of the same town and hosts a few houses for rent. The place is very quiet and nice to stroll in or take some nice pictures (which, as you can see, I couldn't do too well since I'm on a crappy laptotp atm ;_; ) and also, why not?, get some inspiration for your own house or ..whatever!

I've been spending hours in this place, kidnapped by the simple yet fascinating atmosphere. 

Definitely one of my fave recent findings. 

Some parts of the city are still on development, I hope they'll be finished soon, but the choice of "closing" them with signs is pure genious and give this beutiful place even more realism.

A really really must see.

TAXI:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sudare%20Gami%20Town/46/178/21

Public restrooms

Docks and fishing boats

the airport

Fair at the temple

The most beautiful and detailed house in the sim.

The whole city

Gas station friends

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Twisted Hunt Fall 2015 - QI

Remember remember the first of.. Ok, no. BUT remember that the hardest and funniest hunt (nonetheless, the only one that I actually really enjoy doing since the very first edition) on SL has begun a few days ago and will be up until October the 19th. Sooo you've got almost an entire month to go and catch all those prizes.
And some of them are very good. Some. I still wonder why they keep on accepting newb creators that offer 2006-ish prizes but hey! nevermind!

so, here we go.
TAXI :  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Secrets%20of%20Gaia/76/117/23

(also remember to join the ingame group for info and hints)
this is the official site: http://twistedhunt.com/

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Midori - an old japanese city

 

Midori is what you'd call a..typical cntemporary japanese village sim. There's nothing really "new" about this place and you have probably seen a million places like this, while roaming on the grid. What had me stopping for quite some time in this sim is the overall atmosphere and "air" that inhabits the place. 

There's a bunch of typical landmarks, like the shinto temple, the beach, the small alley full of stores and the likes.... but if you stop for a little longer you will notice details. Details like who is the temple dedicated to. Or what is the cook cooking. Or what the children are actually learning at school...


Midori is old, built with the gool ol' prims and all the magic that they used to hide. I find it refreshing, in an epidemic spread of mesh-infinite copy-sims, to see that some people still hae the will and fantasy to create something really original.. and not just an exposition of gatcha prizes.
Clap-clap!

TAXI : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Midori/62/60/26

Night in the alley

Official truck?

OMG should I eat that? xD

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Body Language

AO's are something that I never grow tired of looking for, mostly because a good one can give your avatar a completely different style..no matter what you're wearing.
There's been a lot of fuss around some new shops that became famous selling complete sets for a few lindens, while these things usually costs a lot...a real LOT. 
So, when I opened my client and saw the ad for this shop on the splashscreen I decided to go and see what it was all about. The overall place is empty and very atmospheric: it's like falling in the middle of the Valley of Death, with nothing else than a couple of buildings and a few dead plants.
Absolutely stunning.

The real problem comes when you actually enter the shop and take a look at their prices: unless you're a royalty on SL, paying 1700-1800 $L for an AO is not really your thing. I was about to teleport away when I noticed a tent. The roadsign said "OUTLET" so I wandered near it and discovered a HUGE collection of animations and AOs of all kinds, priced 300-350$L . Aaaand that's why I'm still happy I've found the place: go and have a look at the outlet part because it might hold some really good treasures ;)

TAXI : http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Bon%20Voyage/51/48/253

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Off the Wall

 Rachel Breaker is insane, we've known that for years. But everytime I stumble upon some of her works I find myself speechless and fascinated by the scary amount of absolutely nonsense..stuff she can give light to. It's simply ..amazing.
And so is Off the Wall, her sim, which includes shops, games, prizes, challenges, quests and a giant amount of completely crazy things. I'll let some images speak for me.

 Halloween is on the way here as well so there's a special game which you can play: at the entrance you'll be given a special object that..kinda.. reminds of a ghostbuster-under-LSD ghost capturing backpack. And it's pretty easy to guess what's next: just step in, do your businesses and occasionally capture those tiny ethereal creatures: the more you get the better the score, the highest the score the more prizes you can get.

All in all, this place is SO crazy that it feels like an endless dream and it's deadly funny. I've always liked Rachel's way of seeing life (and second life) and still, after all these years, she hasn't changed. YAY!!


TAXI:  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Off%20The%20Wall/91/129/33

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Amitomo & Haikei

Gravitys Rainbow is a sim where everything is peaceful, dreamy and relaxing. As soon as you teleport in you can feel that dreamy atmosphere that usually permeates good spring/summer days, when you were young and everything was happy.

The Amitomo store

 This place is home to a couple of the most beautiful stores I've seen in a while: Amitomo and Haikei.  The first one sells mostly clothing and a few accessories, awesome quality and the usual pastel-elegant-yound-dollyish-student japanese style.

Haikei's store

 Haikei, on the other side, is home to some of the simpliest yet most beautiful buildings and home props ever. I completely fell in love with this style: white, simple, modernist..yet definitely not cold or impersonal.

Both stores sit on a small island in the middle of what looks like an infinite sea and are surrounded by a few, but powerful, seaside scenes. Definitely worth a visit, even if you're not planning to go shopping!

TAXI :  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gravitys%20Rainbow/109/120/28

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Gatcha Fair - On the Boardwalk

One of the things that seem to have more success lately on SL is the whole Gatcha business.
What the hell is a gatcha? Well, it's a machine. Like those you find at faires and the likes. You basically pay it and hope to win the prize you want..or at least something decent. I don't usually like them because it's mostly RNG so I tend to avoid them like the plague since it's a dark pit for money.
Today, I was wandering around the net when I stumbled across the ad for "On the boardwalk" and was caught by the monthly theme which is "Tales from the crypt". I told myself why not and decided to go and have a look.
To my surprise, this actually is a nice gatcha event: not too many machines, a very nice enviroment and setting, not the usual booooooooring stores and almost everything on theme. Nice work.

..and I have to admit I've used a couple of them and won the rare prize on first attempt both times so I am satisfied.
Last but not least: don't wait too much because it's gonna close in a few days.

Official site: http://seraphimsl.com/2015/08/07/on-the-boardwalk-gacha-fair-is-open/
TAXI: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Nuvoletta/166/213/29

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UNIA

Yeah, that's me, I'm that voyeur XD

Guys at MadPea got us used to big, awesome and complex games over the years. And UNIA is none less than this: a game. Set out in what looks like a cross between one of Fallout's cities and some sort of  desert-rockabilly version of Twin Peaks, you won't find anything "normal" in this place.
I won't spoil most of the fun out of it, just follow this simple advice: nothing here is casual and every detail is awesome and possibly important.

As a big fan of the long-lost The Mother Road's sim, I'm extremely happy that this place is now up and visitable (even if you don't take part in the game, as long as you don't spoil it for players, you're free to wander around and take piccies) and I hope it'll stick around as long as possible.

So,  wether you're just having a stroll, or wandering in search of that perfect shot of your life..or maybe trying to win the prizes of the game, take some time to have a closer look at all the small cottages and containers because they're sure to hide good surprises.
Wanna take part in the game? Just look at the entrance and get your hud with instructions: like every other MadPea production, playing costs a bit but everything you find is free. You also get an outfit in different shades, depending on the "package" you choose.
So..what are you waiting for? ;)

TAXI: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/MadPea%20Base/214/118/22

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LICK

It seems like abandoned places still have a big fascination, not on myself only, but for the whole SL's universe.
I've been visiting a lot of seemingly deranged places like that in the years, most of them leaning towards the most realistic look they can achieve ever.
LICK is one of these, but I've found it quite different and with some sort of twisted atmosphere that made me feel kinda like the last woman on earth. Or, well.. at least on some sort of..planet.

The sim is build to be a showcase, to be honest, since Lick Designs is a shop for enviromental and building props and pieces: the whole region is like a giant products' exibithion but you don't really care about it, once you step in.

Everything starts like a "normal" abandoned sim with the usual carousel and the likes. Then you notice a pathway leading to some underground zone. And this is where everything starts, because it's not a simple cave: there's an hidden control room with panels and computers and monitors. Makes you think there's someone spying you. Or at least, there was.

When you finally emerge on the other side of this odd submarine (oh..did I mention we're underwater?) establishment, you find yourself in a seemingly alien place, full of odd and futuristic buildings which kinda remind me of the infamous "alien abandoned village" in China (yeah, the real China..)** , even if in a revamped state XD

All in all, this is a strange place. Well worth a visit.

TAXI --->  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Oyster%20Bay/179/178/27


** The Sanzhi UFO houses : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanzhi_UFO_houses

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