Gothic blogs I frequent...

Friday, November 24, 2023

Revision Two - Back to Second Life Gothic

 

Gothic Cathedral with birds in flight, unattributed

It has been a challenge for me to decide if I wanted to maintain the Steampunk blog or move onto the Gothic blog... thus I'll be focusing my efforts on Second Life Gothic.  At one point I rebranded it as "Virtually Gothic", but upon further consideration I decided to return to rebranding as "Second Life Gothic" - more direct and specific to the blog.  I will begin to add  mostly SL specific content, but will also incorporate RL "Gothic Horror", with some Victorian and Steampunk elements as well.  Thank you for visiting, and onto my first in-world Gothic visit!

Sunday, November 19, 2023

Artistic Interlude: Ms. Peg-Shui, Second Life Vamp

 

Snapshot 024, by Peg-Shui

One endeavor I hope to address though Virtually Gothic is highlighting the amazing Second Life artists who create fantastic photographic works within the realm of the Gothic genre.  In my opinion, their hard work and dedication is not appreciated as much as it should.  My first step towards rectifying this situation is to highlight the amazing work of Ms. Peg-Shui, a brilliant Second Life photographer. 


The Collector, by Peg-Shui

Her extensive catalogue of work not only portrays dynamic images within the Gothic genre, but also juxtaposes colorful palates within her imagery.  Frankly, there were a significant number of photos I enjoyed viewing, but I have only added a few of her works here.  To fully enjoy the scope of her creativity, please consider visiting her DeviantArt location (linked here).



Additionally, I've added my background soundtrack for this entry... Epic Music VN has an amazing selection of genre inspirations, consider a visit there as well!  Until next time, good evening and stay safe... if you can!



Judgement Day, by Peg-Shui

Wednesday, November 15, 2023

A rebrand and emergence - Virtually Gothic


Not invited to the party, by Roiuky 

It has taken time to find a proper focus for my blogging efforts, but I believe I've found my next blogging destination, which is exploring Gothic Horror as recreated in virtual worlds.  I somewhat stumbled into it while trying to relive past successes in a different genre, coming to the realization that I not only needed to push my literary base, but in-world role play development.  Thus... a rebrand of the old SL Gothic into Virtually Gothic.  


Gothic Mansion - Stock by Phoenix Rising Stock

I'll begin my explorations of Second Life Gothic Horror and Victorian sims, role-playing interaction, and documentation of Gothic and Victorian inspired sims.  There is plenty to discover and learn, as well as pulling at the threads of this genre.  I will post, though there is plenty of work to polish up the blog into a work which I would be satisficed with.  As such, my thanks for visiting and more to come soon.

Saturday, November 11, 2023

Gothic SL: Steampunk Whitechapel

 

Physician's notes: My attempts to contact Captain Parker have been unsuccessful, but I can no longer remain in Whitechapel, as the local environment has become extremely tenuous.  Crime has dramatically increased, which as provided an ample supply of... candidates for my research, but the local medical community has begun to viperously question my innovative experiments.  The proverbial last straw occurred the other night when my poor lab assistant, Ludi, fell to pieces.  I did my best to help her with her predicament, but alas, based on current events I would say it is time to relocate.



Steampunk Whitechapel is perhaps one of the most impressive and immersive Steampunk sims I've had the pleasure to visit in ages!  The recreation of a late 1800s London with a Steampunk infusion.  Ms. Hera zee9 created a masterpiece of the Steampunk genre is frankly breath taking as well as busy.



One of Steampunk Whitechapel's many mysterious roadways

To paraphrase from her "Whitechapel notes", which are available at the landing point TP (a very well-done genre train station), she stated she had always wanted to do a Steampunk sim, so she built an expanded and updated version of the original Whitechapel.  



I would say every Steampunk locale be without a dangerous dockside area...

Continuing to paraphrase her notecard, she worked towards establishing an old Victorian London feel, with a good amount of said environment, but with exceptional attention to detail and with more steam and genre related aspects to explore.



An outstanding recreation of the Ten Bells pub (patrons beware)!



One aspect I particularly enjoyed about Ms. Hera zee9's Steampunk Whitechapel construction was her impressive attention to detail on locales of note.  Special attention was paid to the interiors of unique parts of the sim, which added to the immersive experience of Steampunk Whitechapel.  The above is a view of the interior of the Ten Bells, displaying an impressive bar and a nice Steampunk octopus as well!



For those with a taste for entertainment, one can visit the Grand Guignol!



The Beautiful recreation of the stage inside the Grand Guignol



One of two docking airships in Whitechapel, which were inspired by the art of Mr. Vadim Voitekhovitch (per the Ms. Hera zee9's notes)



The atmosphere of Steampunk Whitechapel (when using the shared environment) provides a beautiful experience into a Victorian / Steampunk world.  When cavorting through the Steamlands, I often feel the need to adjust my settings to try to find the "perfect" setting.  None of that was needed in Whitechapel - the recommended shared environment was perfect for my (many) visits to the sim.



Yet another mysterious alley winding through Whitechapel.



The lighting is also spot-on... in addition to the unique and stunning Steampunk lampposts throughout Whitechapel, the well-placed lighting throughout adds to virality of a stark yet busy city.



There are plenty of mysteries and shocking events throughout Steampunk Whitechapel.  Just around the Ten Bells Pub, a poor young lady suffered a terrible fate...



... which may or may not be tied to the questionable individual spotted above!



Addressing my current situation, when I said, Ludi "fell to pieces", I perhaps should have mentioned she was a victim of a neer-do-well.  Though she suffered significant injuries, I was able to stich her back together again, and she is almost cured... just one more treatment was necessary.  Based on my studies and calculations of human anatomy, after she has an Aether bath followed by an innovative infusion of humors, she would be as good as new!



She was a bit reluctant to enter the Aether bath and frankly a tad confused to the entire situation since she was "technically deceased" when she arrived at my office. She needed immediate intervention, and though she had mostly recovered, I tried my best to calm and assuage her fears involving her final treatment.  Though currently unable to talk, I reassured her... "Now Ludi, I realize the humors bath is a bit cold and perhaps viscous, but once I throw the master switch and the bolts of electricity course through you, you will feel like a new woman!  Trust me, my dear, I'm a doctor!"



A brilliant confluence of beautiful and detailed building, a fantastic genre atmosphere, Ms. Hera zee9's Steampunk Whitechapel is a breathtaking work of art.  

The only regret about the sim is it will be relocated after this Halloween (2023, thus three days from this post), so do yourself a favor and pay a visit to Steampunk Whitechapel as soon as possible, at 

Sunday, August 20, 2023

Six Classic Ghost Stories, from Bitesized Audio Classics


Getting ready for the holiday season, so I've added a few ghost stories for now - more to come...!

Saturday, December 17, 2022

Why do we love Dark Girls? (by schnee)

 


Found a nice article on Goth gals, and figured I'd post it.  I've been away because of RL and trying to improve my Photoshop skills, so I haven't added as much to the blog lately.  Ideally that'll change in the future, but I'll keep posting none the less - thanks for stopping by!

Saturday, December 10, 2022

Gothic Foods: Sin Eaters and Funeral Biscuits


Welp, I've been away for a minute, as RL has been a bit challenging professionally.  That being said, I'm quite impressed and intrigued at the success of Netflix's Wednesday.  Having premiered last month, it (and the Gothic genre) seem to have secured a growing foothold in popular culture.  That being said, I will add my two cents soon, as there is a cacophony of opinion, noise, and better yet, articles about the Gothic aesthetic.  So more to come on that.

 

In the interim, I've posted a interesting post on Sin Eaters and Funeral Biscuits.  It's something that I had no previous knowledge about and frankly, is exceptionally... unique to an earlier time.  In the meantime, thank you for visiting, and I'll hope to see you later.