Nightmare before Christmas

Nightmare before Christmas

Wow, now this event is over too. And it was really something very special again. The Realm of Shades was the perfect place for this theme and DJ Polpeta put together an amazing set to entertain us. And most of us had a lot of fun. I had already started to write about the preparation of the event and maybe some of you got an idea what an event here at the Sunshine Realm means. It starts with choosing the theme, then we choose the right place for it and develop an idea of what it should look like. Then we decorate the venue, write a teaser and later group notes. We add the event mostly to the SecondLife Scheduler. This is the first part. For our friends and guests it is then the choice of a suitable outfit. But this is also a part of our agenda, because after we have prepared the place, we also need a suitable outfit. And that can drag on for days and then change a few times. So the last decision is sometimes made just before an event.

But that's exactly what keeps SecondLife alive and moving. We build new venues, go shopping for it. We look for new outfits and design our avatars and go shopping for this. Some of us take pictures during the preparation, follow the fantasy or go also into appropriate Sims with similar topics around ideas to collect. This can also lead to role plays or make a photo sessions. It's a challenge that can keep you busy for some time. Then it is time for the event, and the curiosity rises. What will others say about the implemented ideas? Does the event go down well? And what ideas did realize our friends as they put together their outfits? It is always an exciting moment.

That's how it was today. Valantine is still offline. We all hope she's all right and will be back soon. So Polpeta had prepared to cover Valantine today. And she had put together a wonderful set. We arrived a few minutes before 4pm and she started immediately with a very good set. And also many of our friends came, and the first guests. Outside in front of the church ruin it was still snowing, but inside it was warm enough and the heat rising up as we danced together.

So far everything seemed to become a normal event. Now we are in the middle of the pre-Christmas season and Advent time. But only bells ringing and Christmas is too much. This event should take us back to the dark world, the otherworld. But eerie bells ring in our old church ruins too. It almost seems Halloween has returned. It's Friday the 13th! We asked in the invitation teaser "Are you superstitious? Do you believe in ghosts and beings from the shadow world? You should definitely have strong nerves when you come to this event. Because this event could be taken from your nightmares." We wanted to make a scary break from the pre-Christmas time and went with our friends and guests in our Realm of Shades. And who knew what was waiting for them when they came to the old gothic church ruin.

But maybe the theme was too demanding for some. Or they wanted to get some Linden with less and less effort. We had written in the invitations:

"Which figures are haunting your nightmares? Werewolves and vampires, ghosts or assassins? Or is it Jeckll and Hyde, Freddy Krueger, Michael Myers or Frankenstein? Show us your creativity and create a character from your nightmares. I'm sure many of the guests who just come for the contest will be zombies again. I hope most of the friends and guests will try a little harder. Just such a topic offers a lot of possibilities in SecondLife. 

And that's the second part of today's challenge. You need a mask today. What kind of mask doesn't really matter, a Venetian carnival mask, maybe a medieval black plague mask, a face mask as surgical nurse or a gas mask. It should match your outfit and complement it. So surprise us. Like most events, it's a challenge again."

So it was not enough for us that some came in Christmas costumes, that they had probably just dressed at another event before, and simply put on a dog mask. We wrote in the invitation that the mask should complement the costume and match with it. And some even came without a costume, just in casual clothes. Some of them said that they only came to look at the topic and then wanted change their clothes. They can't understand why we're upset, we should just give them enough time. But the Sunshine Realm isn't a changing cubicle either. We have our group notes and send IMs about the group to all group members. Well, some of them might have switched off, but that's not our problem. Read the rules again. And then there's my blog with the page "Upcoming Events" where we (mostly) announce events long before. Anyone can bookmark this page. Often are the invitations with pictures that can give you an idea of the event and sometimes with further informations. So also today. 

I even wrote a blog page about the preparations for this event, and shared it with the group notices and chat. There were a lot of pictures, so everyone could get an idea about the topic. So everyone had a fair chance to prepare.  And we also have the contest that is always filled with at least 1,000 L$, and since it runs in split mode everyone can get a part of it. But sometimes the jackpot is higher. So we usually increase it if more than 30 participants are registered in the contest to 1,250 L$. But sometimes friends of ours also donate to the contest, so we often had more in the jackpot and the record was 5,000 L$. 

Everyone who comes to us can expect unique events that follow a theme and provide a matching atmosphere. SecondLife is a virtual world where we can create almost any illusion. I also wrote something about it in the blog post "Some about our Events". That includes the guests, who are then something like extras. And that's why we take care how the guests appear, otherwise it would just destroy the atmosphere. That's why we pay attention and speak to guests when they don't follow the theme. Some of them think that ignoring is an option. But we send these visitors out of the sim. And if the outfit is too crass, if they disturb other guests with their appearance or come back repeatedly without checking and changing the outfit before, we eject them out of the sim without warning and write later a message. But I always compare that with the real life, there are bouncers who won't let you in unless you have the proper outfit wearing. 

So it was today. Unfortunately, some of the improperly dressed guests reacted offended. So I heard "FUCK YOU" as an answer to my request "come back if you match with our theme". It's funny when the Sunshine Rocker group continues with rough insults. What can the group do for it? But that doesn't stop them from saying such things as "fUCK sUNSHINE COVE" and adding "fuck this group". Okay, the typos aren't mine, I quoted the original text. Then the Sunshine Realm is again only an place for ALTs and that nobody wants to go to us. Also here I answered already generally when I wrote my blogpost "some about ALTs". And why this excitement later, if nobody wants to come to us anyway? This also showed the reaction of another guest who replied to my request "please prepare you to the theme and come back" the phrase "I do not need your money and even left your group that shit" and later he added the remark "stay at the party with your alt". Oh my god, again the ALT theme. Well, I don't have ALT, but maybe he does. Somal both interactions were only a few minutes apart and have the same low level. So our group got smaller tonight and the ban list of our sim fuller. And I prefer people with ALTs that join the themes and are polite, rather than people who come and don't follow the theme and stumble around and can't behave. Maybe everyone should check out the blog page "Rules for Events at Sunshine Realm".

Well, with these problems, it's not surprising that there are a bit fewer people today. So this discussion was carried into the Sunshine Rocker group. We finished this discussion immediately, but it became clear to everyone that we would take tougher action today with the dress rule. But in the end there were more than 40 guests and 33 of them together in our old church ruin. It was a wonderful mood. Outside the winterly mood with the snowfall and inside the group has danced together. DJ Polpeta had put together a very good set and entertained us very well. So at the end it became a really nice event. 

And even if nobody wants our money, there were almost 30 participants registered in the contest. At the beginning we filled it with 1,000 L$ and started it in split mode. With this jackpot it stayed at the end. At the end 26 voted and we were able to finish the event on time. The winnings were paid out and we said goodbye to the guests. Of course with the daily announcements about the upcoming events and the wishes for a good way home. An exciting and beautiful event was over. 

But that means at the Sunshine Realm: "Time for After-Partyyy, yesss" and you could add the slogan "boobies time". Some of us stayed and DJ Polpeta continued her set without break. That also means that some of us have been barely drawn and shown swaying tits. We stayed together for another 3 hours. We used the TV and Youtube after Polpeta went to bed. But at the end we all went to bed tired and dreamed.

Of course there is a Google Images Album with the pictures from this event again. Maybe you'll take a look and browse through the pictures. And if you'd like to stop by, you can find information about upcoming events on the blog page "Upcoming Events".