Monday, March 31, 2008

This Week's Events!

Wednesday, April 2, 2008: Love Doll Pageant 1-3pm SLtime

Attention Masters and Mistresses! Bring your girls down for our Love Doll Pageant on Wednesday from 1-3pm SL time. Winner receives a FREE Membership to our group, an honorary title, plus 1000L!

Rubber/Latex Dolls: OK
Ballerinas: OK
Wind-up Dolls: OK

IM Nicolette Poutine for more info!

Thursday, April 3, 2008: Captive Coffee 5-7pm SLtime

Ladies and Gentlemen, the staff at Blackthorne Estates are proud to present to you a New Weekly Event: Captive Coffee. An event where all can come down to our Clubhouse for themed chats. All community members are welcome and encouraged to participate, in an open and free discussion. Our first topic will be, "What makes a well-trained sub." Where all Masters, Mistresses, and subs are welcome to come take part of a respectful, honest, and equal conversation. Event times will be Thursdays from 5-7pm, hosted by Nicolette Poutine and Manwa Pastorelli. For suggestions feel free to contact either of us.


Nicolette Poutine and
Manwa Pastorelli

Friday, March 28, 2008

Live Reggae Concert 3-27-2008

Our Live Concert event on Thursday, March 27th, 2008 featured Daniara Blackburn, who graced us with her smooth melodies and sensuous take on Reggae.



We'd like to thank all of our guests and all of Daniara's fans for making it out to the event. The night was full of dancing, socializing, and good 'ol fashioned neighborly love.

Miss Stephanie and Miss Evangeline danced the night away to the suave tunes.

Beautiful music, beautiful smiles, and beautiful people; just a few of the things you can find at our Clubhouse.

Thank you all for making last night a great night! We would love to see you all again soon, so "OLHOS ATENTOS" for your next event reminder!



Staff at BTE



Thursday, March 20, 2008

Updates and Plans For Blackthorne!

We had a great Grand Opening Party with Kyle Saturday. I think our Bondage Ball will go great as well. So what is in store at Blackthorne?

Well first I have 3 new sims on order. The first, Blackthorne Nocturne, should arrive any day (Lindens are being slow) and is 100% residential. There is already a waiting list for that one, so if you are interested or know anyone interested let me know. There are also two water sims coming in, one the north and south edges of Blackthorne Gardens. Both of these sims will be designed for members to use their watercraft in. There will be land as well each sim with a different purpose.

The north sim, Blackthorne Abyss, will be developed by Stephanie Lindman to be used for capture role play, and also combat role play! Currently, we expect combat to be limited to melee weapons and primarily focus on duels. Have a conflict with another dom(me)? think they have offended your honor? Settle it in Blackthorne Abyss. The details are still being worked out, contact Stephanie Lindman with comments, questions or suggestions.

The south sim is residential and already has a soft commitment to be bought by a single buyer. Although the land will be privately used, at least 3/4 of the area will be water and open for all members to use.

I plan to make extensive use of water sims to make it possible for all residents and members to travel from one sim to another with out having to teleport if they like. I hope to make life a bit slower and more relaxed for those who would like that.

We also have more plans for the club house and other open areas of Blackthorne Gardens! I will continue to host events designed to grow our groups, and make the place a more social place to be. The beginning is always the hardest time, so bear with us as we grow. Some things in the works are more live events, classes taught by our very on Nicolette Poutine and Master Trainer North Hapsburg. I will also continue building and adding places to go, currently on my list are a couple skyboxes for hourly rent (for only 1L to members), one an Asian Themed, the other probably a nice Victorian Theme. Both will be stocked with beds and other toys. On the ground, a tea house where the old info center is. A place for Dom(mes) only to be, subs allowed only with their Dom(me), and possible a sub only place too.

Trinity has graciously allowed one of her parcels to be used as a Town Square. In time we will use this area for a variety of purposes, community meetings, slave auctions and so on. Please thank Trinity when you see this for her generosity!

Our goal is not necessarily a high traffic sim, but rather a place where you can usually find people to socialize with. I am starting to hire more staff. We already have a core of staff there. I'll be making a Staff Post soon introducing all our staff!

Monday, March 17, 2008

Bondage Ball this Thursday (March 20th) 8-10pm SLT

Our grand opening was great! Kyle was wonderful and he had a great time too. A great performer and a great crowd always makes for a wonderful night!

It's time to announce our next event! Our first Bondage Ball. A formal event where we will be crowning our first Blackthorne King/Queen (dom(me)) and Blackthorne Treasure (sub)! I will have at least 3000L in the prize pool for each category! In addition the winners get King/Queen and Treasure Titles, free membership into the members group and most importantly the love and envy of everyone else! Everyone is welcome, members and guests alike!

So come in your best formal attire! Minh-Dustrial sounds will be playing her favorite, jazz, bossanova and other fitting songs for such an important occasion! Let's make our first Bondage Ball an event to remember! I am pretty sure this will become a monthly event for us!

Saturday, March 15, 2008

What is the Blackthorne Community?

I should have written this post first! Anyway, if you are reading this you are interested and want to know more. This post is just a brief introduction. Reading other blog entries or IM Minh Ahn in world to learn more!

I created the Blackthorne Community to fill what I feel is a void in Second Life, residential land with a sense of community. Although we are a BDSM community, I think all of our residents so far would say that even more important is we are friends and family. In fact, I do believe anyone would enjoy many of the aspects of our community, even if they are not into BDSM.

We are also instituting a title system to facilitate BDSM role play and interactions. Its based loosely (some would say very loosely) on European feudal systems. The goal is not to become role play nazis, but rather to facilitate social interactions. Something that I think is lacking in most BDSM clubs and sims.

The focus of community development is our club house, referred to as the club house, Stephanie's Secret Garden and Blackthorne Gardens. It serves as a meeting place, a place to hang out, hold events and in the near futures we'll hold classes and other such events. Its a great place to meet new people, romance them, chat with them, flirt with them, then move on to more private places if the mood takes you.

The community consists of land owners (the primary income comes through land sales and tier payments) and paying members. Membership fees are currently set at 350L/month. We also welcome anyone to the club house and other public areas. Land owners and paying members receive other benefits such as use of titles for role play, access to members only land, invitations to members only events and discounts on any products offered for sale in the info center.

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Titles and Role Play in the Blackthorne Community (updated 3/18/08)

Introduction

One thing I have found lacking in most BDSM places is actual D/s relationships. It’s true that there are usually Masters/Mistresses and their pets, but the groups usually do not facilitate interaction. Unlike most places, we are not entirely geared toward sex (although it’s a huge part of our community!). Rather we are focusing more on building a BDSM community and facilitating healthy and close D/s relationships, and expect that this can only enhance the physical aspects of our relationships.

Therefore, we are implementing a title system based loosely on Feudal systems (no particular one, lets say Japanese for fun). We expect group members to display their group title and behave accordingly. As the club house region is open to public, anyone not wearing their title should be treated with respect but need not be treated according to these rules. These are intended to facilitate role play and social interactions. This is not a role play sim as such.

Dom(me)s are expected to be dominant and should treat subs as such. We do not mean that there should be no respect or that one has absolute free ticket of course, but that anyone wearing a sub tag (Pet, Slave or Property) wants to be treated as a sub. In addition, since much of Blackthorne Estates is for residential property owners we work that into the system as well. Members may choose any title they wish and switch freely with the one exception that only land owners may be gentry.

Note: anyone found to be abusing the system to limit others’ enjoyment of our facilities will be dismissed from the group and may find themselves estate banned.

Staff

Regent

These are owners. Namely Minh Ahn . Think of it as a Queen, Monarch or such. In Blackthorne, Regents are very hands off rulers. If you see one treat them with respect, but they are not typically inclined to use their position for any purpose than to send a signal that they are working. Perhaps referring to Minh as Miss would be appropriate. If a regent asks you to do something, it is because there is a problem that needs to be fixed, or she needs a favor.

Noble

These are officers. Again, anyone wearing an Noble title, must be treated with respect, should be referred to as Miss or Mister. Anyone wearing this title is working and if they ask you to do something, please do so as its likely to facilitate smooth operations.

Lord/Lady

These are managers. They should be treated just as nobles, but answer to nobles in most matters. Anyone wearing this tag, is working, but unlike nobles, part of their job is interacting with our guests more.

Nymph/Satyrs

Nymphs/Satyrs are the work horses of our staff. They are there to serve and are the sub of the staff class. Any Dominant Member may freely treat nymphs/satyrs as subs. Any dominant member may ask a nymph or satyr to serve them. Nymphs and satyrs are required to fulfill most non-sexual requests, beyond that, it is up to the nymph where to draw his or her limits. It is important to remember that they are working for you, and your tips, while not required, are greatly appreciated.

Members

Baron/Baroness

These are the highest rank of the members class. Gentry are land owners in the Blackthorne Community. As such they enjoy certain privileges, such as free membership to the group and discounts on any merchandise offered in the info center or at events. They should be treated as land owners in any feudal system. Gentry may choose any title they wish, but in doing so will be treated according to the title they wear. Baronesses and Barons are also to be given preferential treatment by our nymphs. As with any feudal system, land owner ship has its priveleges.

Master/Mistress

As we all know, Masters/Mistresses deserve respect. Anyone wearing this title should be treated as such. Subs should address them as Miss/Mistress/Sir/Master. Subs should be wary of standing in a position that denotes dominance to a dom(me). Although subs should be treated with respect, Masters and Mistresses should feel free to treat subs as sub. As they are paying members, Masters and Mistresses are also to be given preferential treatment by our staff.

Pet

This title should be worn by anyone wishing to be treated as a sub, but wants to demonstrate independence. They should refer to dom(mes) correctly and with deference. They should refer to all other subs as sister/brother. Please remember, many pets are already owned. Dominant classes should expect respectful treatment from pets, but should also respect the boundaries set by each pet or slave.

Slave

One notch down on the rung, this title should be worn by anyone who wishes to have very little personal freedom . Otherwise, they should behave as pets.

Chattle

This is the lowest of the low. Property should be treated as furniture. Anyone wearing this title should probably even refer to a pet or slave as sir/ma’am. Additionally, anyone wearing this may be assumed to have no owner and be used as the property of Blackthorne Estates. As always, anyone may place limits, but this title should be used by those who wish to have few limits on how others may treat them.

Wednesday, March 5, 2008

Grand Opening Set for March 15th!


YAY! The club house is coming along nicely. See previous posts for pics, i'll add more soon. I have booked Kyle Beltran, an amazing jazz pianist and singer for 8-10 pm for our grand opening day, he was my first choice too! I am also hoping to get a talented sl artist to have an exhibition that day. I will work hard to plan a full day of events that day. I think we'll have a great opening.



Check out Kyle's web page if you want to read more about him. I've seen him a few times and really love his music.

Once the club is pretty much done, and it almost is, I'll move on to building some other things for our residents and guests to enjoy. If you know any SL artists, or have any ideas for opening day events I would love to hear from you!

Sunday, March 2, 2008

The New Club House is Nearing Completion!!


I have spent most of last week building, building and building. A tiny bit of scripting and lots of time getting friendly with the GIMP. I am pleased to say that the "bones" of our community center are complete. Come visit it using the SURL below, or using the Land Mark that you should have gotten in the announcement if you are already a member of Blackthorne Estates.


The club house is designed with a rococo theme in mind, although as usual, I do not really hold to a specific RL architectural style. It features intricately carved buttresses, vaulted ceilings, a nice dance patio. I 'll be adding furniture, dances and more landscaping soon. I want to see how I am doing with prims first. A stage for live events, and other events requiring a stage will be added, and possibly another "island" in the water for some other content.

Tentatively and likely permanently, we'll call the club house "Stephanie's Secret Garden". We'll develop a fanciful but still BDSMy atmosphere to the place. Eventually this will be the public face of Blackthorne Estates. I'll close the open areas on the ground to all but land owners and paying club members. Everyone else will be free to enjoy club house. As always, this club house is intended primarily for our land owners to relax and socialize with their neighbors. We feel that this can only be enhanced by promoting the club enough to attract a good group of like minded people to join as and enjoy our company as well. This is not to be a high lag, high traffic club!

I'll be adding a new blog post soon about the more social aspects of the club. Feel free and visit any time now! Give me any suggestions you have, I'd love to hear them.