Slaves and sexuality

     I read a blog the other day of someone I consider a friend, and some of it was about the sexual use of a slave in Gor.  Now I have never made any bones about the fact that I make use of my slave girl on pretty much a daily basis.  She enjoys it, I certainly enjoy it, and we both consider it a part of her being my slave.  To my mind (and hers, and apparently my friend's) it is part and parcel of having a slave as yours.  A way for the Master (Jarl, Mistress, Owner) to show caring for their property while also asserting Dominance and the natural order of things.
     There are, however, other thoughts out there about slaves (and sex in SL as a whole).  I do understand that some cannot partake due to physical or other limitations.  I also understand that some simply have no interest in that.  For my part I did own a slave who had little interest in that part of being a slave, and as a result my ownership of her never felt fulfilling or satisfying.  It never felt like her submission was fully realized, and she was sold out of my collar after being in it for only a short while.  On the other hand, I also owned a girl who was physically incapable of sex in RL due to health and other physical issues, but totally enjoyed sexual RP while mine.  My relationship with her was MUCH stronger than with the other.  Even though she couldn't 'enjoy' the time we spent together in RL, she took pleasure in the fact that she was pleasing to me and that her Master cared enough about her to use her and take his pleasure of her.

     My point here is that slaves in Gor ARE SEXUAL CREATURES.  This is a fact repeated often in the books.  Look for example in the first couple pages of Explorers of Gor.  The slave Linda is begging for use by Samos, to the point she is sobbing when he turns her away and then turns instantly happy when he relents and tells her "After you have been locked in your kennel," said Samos, "ask for a vessel of warm water, oils and a cloth, and perfume. Bathe and perfume yourself. I may summon you later to my chamber." - Explorers of Gor.  

     So how can a slave BE truly gorean and not be a sensual and sexual creature?  I don't think there is a way.  The bonds in Marauders served their Jarls lasciviously, brazenly sexual.  The silk slaves in the south did the same although in a bit more of a veiled or 'refined' way...however, as in the case of Linda mentioned above, even they weren't above begging use or touch.

     I would mention though, that just because slaves are sexual and sensual creatures that doesn't mean they are running around the streets, towns, villages, cities (what have you) trying to fuck everything under the sun or moons.  As an owned slave, you should make sure your owner is ok with your going out and about seeking sex and especially who you seek it from.  Meaning I very much doubt he will want to fuck you after you laid with that mud slinging, stinking rence farmer and his brothers and cousins....especially if your owner is of the High Caste. 

     For those women who want to be in Gor but do not wish to be used sexually, I would suggest many other roles than a slave.  Freewoman, Panther and She-Urt come to mind.  Why become a slave if you actually have no fire or heart for it?

     For those Men or Women who don't wish to have sexual relations with your slave...why take a slave in the first place?  Unless you find one of those who wishes no sex as well, then you are limiting their RP, limiting their submission, and killing her enjoyment of all she could be.  You need to realize that you don't HAVE to own a slave in Gor to enjoy Gor.

     For my part I will never again own a slave who doesn't know very clearly that she is going to be used by me.  Regularly.  I am very up front about it, and expect the same from anyone who would ever come into my collar (No, I don't expect OOC contact like Skype or anything, I mean we would have a very frank OOC discussion about what my expectations of her would be and what she can expect being mine).  Yes, I DO find other uses for my girl and include her in my RP wherever possible.  Sex is not the end all, be all of being a slave, but I feel it is an integral component of it. 

Smithy Girls & Metalworker Apprentices

So on top of the many things I am involved in (building, learning blender and marvelous designer, scripting, and furring the hell out of my slave girl to mention just a few), I have decided to try to help with a program of teaching apprentice metal workers and smith girls.  I consider this to be a continuation of trying to live my part and know my role in Gor (see previous blog entry about knowing your role in Gor)...and putting my money and my effort where my mouth (or at least my blog) is.

It is my hope that I can help to make the role of metalworkers and smiths something honored like physicians and scribes.  While I don't think that everyone who plays a smith in RP needs to have the RL skills to be able to do the job (any more than I think everyone who RP's as a physician needs to be able to step into a surgical suite and perform surgery), I DO believe that being a GOOD smith requires someone who actually knows what they are doing...at least in RP.

Creating your first marketplace listings

I haven't posted here in a long while as I have been fairly busy with RL and work in SL learning Blender and Marvelous Designer (not to mention working on a few projects).  However I promised my lovely girl long ago that I would create a set of instructions for her to follow in order to create her own marketplace listings.....and here it is.

To begin with, we need to open the new Viewer Managed Marketplace (VMM) Listing Manager.  We do this by going to Avatar, and then click on Marketplace Listings...

Now for those of you for who this is truly your first exposure to the marketplace, you will get a box about creating a new store.

Don't be intimidated...this is actually a really simple process.  I'm not going to go into a ton of detail, but here are the basic steps you need to take to create your store:

1. Make sure your Second Life account is at least five days old and has payment information on file.
2. On any Marketplace page, click My Marketplace in the upper-right and click Create a Store.
3. Read the Marketplace Terms of Service carefully, then scroll down to the bottom and click Accept.
4. (Optional) Customize your store profile to make it more attractive and easier to find.
5. Restart your Second Life Viewer before attempting to upload items to the Marketplace website.

Now, once your store is ready, if you go to Avatar, Marketplace Listings... you are presented with your Marketplace Panel.  This lists everything you have in your marketplace. If they are limited items (no copy) then it shows the amount you have on hand, the listing number, and if it is active or not.

The items in BOLD are active listings.  They also say (listed) on every item.  If it's a limited item it will list how many you still have for sale (max=<number you still have>).  If the item is NOT in Bold, then it is either a delisted item or a new (Unassociated) item.  There are tabs at the top of the popup which you can use to break them down into ALL, Listed, Unlisted and Unassociated.

Listed is pretty straight forward.  These are items you actually have in your MP store.

Unlisted items are typically items you have run out of, or are items you have delisted or retired for one reason or another.   Limited (no copy) items you have run out of will say (out of stock) at the end.

Unassociated items are items you have either not listed yet, or might be something you chose to unlist and then remove from the MP.  Typically though, this is where new items will be, and is where we will spend the majority of our time in this post.

Click the Unassociated tab

In order to create a NEW listing for an item, all you need to do is drag that item from your inventory to your marketplace listings window.  You can drag ONE item, or a whole folder of items.  Personally I like to drag ONE item over (even if I have many), create the listing, activate it, and then drag over additional items once I know it's working.  In the example I am going to drag a Gatcha item from the inventory to the marketplace. 

Note that although I have 5 of that item I only dragged ONE over.  Yes, I could have dragged over the folder and just put all 5 into the MP, but as I said, I like to do one item first and then stock the listing after it's done and active.  Also note that I grabbed the item that isn't listed with a number behind (like Cuff 1, Cuff 2, Cuff 3, etc) it as I want the listing to not reflect this.

 If you right click the item now, you will get a drop down menu like this

There are a lot of items in this menu, but we are only going to concentrate on the first one, which is Create Listing.  When you create the listing you will see it say (updating) behind it and then it will disappear from the Unassociated tab (now it is an unlisted item).

Now you can click on the Unlisted tab and at the bottom you will find our new listing.  You see that is says the name of the item, the listing number, and (max=1) meaning we have one in stock to sell.  Later we will move the other 4 items into the listing so that you will have 5.

Right Click the item again and you will see the same drop down menu as before, however the Create Listing and Associate Listing options are now greyed out.  What we want to do is Edit Listing.  Select that option and you will be taken to your MP listing for that item.

This is a really long page on which you need to fill in all the info about your item.
SKU is something you can safely ignore for the most part UNLESS you have a larger store and need to start cross linking items.  For now we will ignore it.
Version is again something we will ignore as it's an advanced topic.
Item Status is where you can activate the listing or inactivate it from the browser.  For now leave it at Inactive.  I always leave my listings Inactive until I am sure that everything is filled out the way I want it.  Plus, we will activate the listing from inside SL...so ignore this.
Maturity level is fairly self explanatory.  Just keep in mind that any words you use in the description of the item or in the keywords later can affect this.  Using words like 'Gor' or 'Slave' or such will result in the item being listed immediately as Adult (even if it's something clearly for everyone).
Mesh Again self explanatory
Permissions This is the permissions the object you are selling has.  In this case it's a Gatcha item, so the permissions will be Transfer (sometimes it's Mod and Transfer).  Make SURE you check the item and mark the permissions correctly here.  For non gatcha items you really should make anything you sell into NO TRANSFER items unless you don't really care how many are out there and that people can compete with you.  Keep in mind this is a business where L's are transacted.  People will screw you over if you give them the least chance...so protecting yourself and your intellectual property is of utmost importance.
Usage requirements In most cases items come in boxes that need to be unpacked (ie - they can't be worn immediately).  However some items come unpacked and ready to wear.  Select the appropriate button.
Clothing works with self explanatory.  In our case we will mark both the Classic and Mesh avatars

Moving down to the Languages section, you can see the Folder name, the item title, features, description, and keywords. 

Folder name cannot be changed.

Item title This is where you can change the name that people see for the item you are selling.  Typically we leave this alone UNLESS you have placed in an item that you have multiple of and it had a number behind it.  We will want to remove that number.  Example: You are selling Super Great No Copy Cuffs, and have Super Great No Copy Cuffs 1, Super Great No Copy Cuffs 2, Super Great No Copy Cuffs 3, Super Great No Copy Cuffs 4 all in your inventory because you boxed them up previously.  When you went to sell the item you dragged Super Great No Copy Cuffs 3 to the listing.  So now the item title says Super Great No Copy Cuffs 3 in it.  Just remove the '3' so that it says Super Great No Copy Cuffs

Product features Here you can list up to 5 features of the product.  You can skip this part...most people never even look here...however it CAN help with searches.  It's up to you if you choose to use it.

Extended Description This is a required field.  Here is where you can go into long and flowery descriptions of the product you are selling.  In the case of Gatcha items I always just paste in a standard disclaimer:
The items are sold "AS IS"
I am not the creator of the items you get. I got them at gachas, special sales and VIP members paid groups. If you have something to complain about, please go to the original creator of the item. Just right click on it and you will see the name of the creator.
Please do not try to cheat me and say you didn’t receive the item, because you did. Or that the box is empty, because it isn’t. Or that a full set is missing a rare, because it’s not.
No refunds. Please don't buy any item you are not sure you want.

Keywords This is where you put in some key words about your item.  In our example case we are selling [Tia] Beatrix Cuffs, so I will put in [Tia], Beatrix, Cuff, BDSM, Gatcha  These are the important words that will come up when people are searching the MP.  Hence anyone searching for anything [Tia] related or for Cuffs will pull up your item. If someone is specifically looking for the Beatrix cuffs your item will pull up as well.  Keywords can be vitally important, so make sure you use them strategically.

Final note on this section is that you CAN go in and fill in all the other language tabs individually.  This is great if you are trying to make sure that your item can also be seen and read in the German, Japanese, Spanish, etc markets.

Category  Pretty self explanatory.  just make sure you categorize your item correctly, else SL will recategorize it FOR you, deactivate your item and then you will have to come back and reactivate it.  In our case they are Cuffs, so we will use Avatar Accessories, BDSM Accessories, BDSM Cuffs, Leashes & Restraints

Price Self Explanatory.  Just make sure not to price your item too high else you will never sell it, or too low as you will be cheating yourself out of money.  Doing a lot of comparison shopping on the MP helps with this.  Just make sure you are comparing apples to apples (in the case of gatcha's, make sure you compare a rare to a rare of the exact same kind, color and style, and not to a common and visa versa)

Prim Count, SL url, Video url we will all leave blank as for this item it's not important.  Prim count is important when it's something you don't WEAR.  And SLurl is the location of your inworld store....so for now we won't use them.

Available Qty is prefilled in for you and you can't affect it.

Images Here is where you upload an image of the item from your computer (NOT from your inventory in SL)  If the only image you have of the item is in your SL inventory then you will need to save it out of SL to your computer so that you can upload it here.  In our case I have the image of the gatcha items and upload it to use as the picture.

Most of the remaining parts of the listing can be ignored with two exceptions:

Related Items  This is where you can link to up to 8 other items you sell.  This is important if you want people to see all the stuff you have.  They will be listed at the bottom of the page for that item in the MP.  Now, THIS is why I don't activate my listings immediately.  Usually I go through and create all the listings I am making (in this case for all the cuffs in different colors) and then I will go back to each listing and add the other listings as 'related items' before activating it.  That way I am giving people the chance to see my other stuff.

Revenue Distribution  This is how you share in the profits from an item you are selling.  By adding a distribution, you are essentially giving someone a 'cut' (percentage) of the sale price of the item.  In our case I am taking a small percentage cut of the cuff as per our agreement.  So I add in my SL name as the collaborator and add 25 to the percentage (meaning I get 25% of the sale price after the 10% commission to SL).  Note that you don't need to add in 'Resident' to the name as that will give an error.

Finally you UPDATE the listing and you end up looking at the VMM Listing page

Now you CAN activate the listing from here by clicking on the check mark, but we are going to do it from inside SL, so you can now safely close the browser.

Inside SL you can now right click and List the item.  That takes it from Unlisted to Listed, makes it bold and essentially turns the listing 'on' in the MP.

Now we will go back and fill in the remaining inventory we have of that item from our inventory to the marketplace.   In the Marketplace listing open the folders fro that item until you see the actual item.

 Simply highlight all the copies of that item in your inventory (Left click the top item and then SHIFT-Left click the bottom one to highlight them all) and then drag tem on top of the item in the marketplace listings.  Make sure they end up in the lowest level folder with the first item, else the inventory count won't work properly.

When you are done, the listing should show like this

And that's all there is to it.  I know this seems like a LOT of work, and it can be, but once you have done it a few times you will see it's very simple and repetitive.

Places gone and places missed - do your part before more are gone!

So last night I was at the HUB with my girl listening to DJ Irish Breen spinning tunes when I struck up a conversation with a woman who needed some help.  I will spare the details here, but she was looking for someplace safe to go and submit herself where she could live and learn in a BTB environment.  Immediately my mind went to Port Haifa, and that is where I directed her.  Over the years I had been to many classes there of all kinds, RP'd in the tavern, attended a few slave graduation ceremonies, knew one or two of the prominent personalities, and even had a stall for a few months selling my goods.  I considered it, along with the Gorean University and the Gorean Campus to be one of the main pillars or 'foundation sims' of SL Gor.  Someplace you could always go and gain some knowledge, or a reliable place to send or sell a slave to a slaver that knew his business and handled both the IC and OOC needs of the slaves in his kennels.  Someplace that would always be there churning out new and better Goreans every day.

Imagine my surprise when a few moments later I was told that Port Haifa was no more.  I have to admit that I was truly shaken.  I immediately looked at the world map and tried to pull it up.  No luck.  I went to find the people that I knew that lived there only to have my concerns substantiated.  Haifa is indeed gone.  How and why it happened I don't know.  I suspect, as with many Gorean sims, there was not enough funds to support it....even after 8 years of supporting and training thousands of Goreans both free and slave they likely couldn't make ends meet and had to shut down.

Of course Port Haifa is not the first place I have seen ripped away from us.  The first place I stepped into Gor so very long ago, Lorem Ipsum (ran by Magistrate Papa Gibbs), met a similar fate.  The first sim I took part of as a leader, Borderlands (Fulcrum), the Gorean Slave Gardens, Gimli, even stores like the Perfumed Rope...the list goes on and on....all gone now..  Here is the scary part...as we enter what everyone knows as the 'summer doldrums' of 2016 we are sure to lose a number of other sims as well...we always do.

'So what?' you might ask.  Change is a part of Gor and SL.  Places come and go and that is life.  While I do agree with that sentiment to some extent, we are not talking of regular RP sims or stores here.  A store has to survive on it's customers, and normal RP sims need to survive on the generosity of the players there or the person running the sim.  Places like Port Haifa, the GC and GU need and deserve ALL of our support!  Without safe places to learn or expand our RP, teach newcomers to Gor, and get insight on the different cultures and places in Gor what will Gor on SL devolve to?  I hear so many of you bitching about what Gor has become...but what are you doing about it besides standing in the Gor HUB and whining like two year olds?  Do you not understand that letting places like Port Haifa slip away hurts us ALL?  Do you not understand that failing to get new folks into Gor and helping them learn will only mean the eventual death of Gor on SL?

For those of you who frequent these places I call on you to please DONATE!  Not just of your time which I know is VERY appreciated, but also a little of your hard earned funds!  It costs approx 80,000 Linden (or $300 US) a month to have a sim on SL.  That's right, a sim actually COSTS REAL MONEY to run!  It's not provided free by the Lindens for your amusement.  Having had to administer a sim myself I can tell you that every tiny bit helps!  Please don't think that 5L or 100L won't make a difference...it does!

For those of you (like me) who are merchants selling gorean items, remember that without 'foundation' sims like the GU, GC, and Port Haifa pumping out more Goreans into SL your customer base WILL dwindle down to nothing.  No Goreans on SL means NO SALES.  Supporting these kinds of sims is in your own best interest.  Open a stall or store there...become a paying supporter...do something besides simply take advantage of them putting out new and better Goreans.


If we all do our parts, if we all contribute just a little, maybe we won't have to see another of our pillars, our foundation sims crumble.  Maybe it's not to late to breath life back into Port Haifa.  I don't know.  What I do know is that if we all just sit on our hands, or stand in the 'flesh lanes' of the HUB and whine then we will eventually see more places close and Gor on SL will suffer a long and lingering death.

Finally, I want to offer one person a very personal apology.  emm.jacks was a cornerstone of Port Haifa.  No matter how many times I was there over the years I saw her on sim.  I am sure she doesn't know me from Adam (or Torvald in my case), but I certainly knew of her.  Reading her profile picks last night was heartbreaking.  To her I would like to offer the most heartfelt of apologies.  I should have done more to support Haifa.  We all should have.  I hope you do rebuild Port Haifa, and if you do I will be taking a merchant stall there to show my support. 

Gorean slaves are like cars....

When I first came into Gor on SL I had some ideas about slaves in Gor from my readings of the books.  Admittedly I have only read through Marauders of Gor (book 9) so my views were decidedly slanted towards the first books...but then my entire view of Gor as a world or setting is slanted towards the first books.  It is my understanding that the later books had a distinct change in attitude and view.

Anyway, the attitude in SL Gor I find to be most prevalent is that slaves are 'a dime a dozen' in that they could be easily replaced and shouldn't be given any real thought.  Valuing your slave amounted to the same as coddling them, and if you cared for them then that only made YOU weak and 'ungorean'.  I see this attitude over and over again throughout many sims.

Personally I find this idea completely without any logical sense.  If we want to take from the books, then you can find again and again how Tarl valued and showed great affection for the slaves in his collar.  Just because they were his chattel (property) didn't change that.  In fact we can find on MANY occasions that Owners valued and cared for their slaves.

As I watched and learned more about Gor on SL and became an Owner and Master/Jarl I started to define what I think of slaves, and it can be summed up pretty easily:

A slave on SL Gor is like a Car to an earthling.

Ok, I know that will draw criticism from many, but read on and I will lay out my reasons.  These are the same reasons that many things from the books like Kajira Canjelline simply don't work in SL Gor.

• A slave on SL Gor represents an outlay of cash or effort (or both) to obtain and maintain.
• I paid a good deal of money for my car.  Therefor it is in my own best interest to make sure it is maintained and cared for properly, otherwise when I need or want it, it may simply not be there for me.  In the same way, a slave owner on Gor will pay good money for a slave OR they had to fight and capture them putting themselves at some level of risk.  Then the slave needs to be collared, branded, fed...all of which costs MORE money.  And, just as on Earth, money on Gor doesn't grow on trees...hence a slave would be something an owner would value and care for.  Good example here, which almost any parent can attest to:  When my kids first entered college I gave them a Car to use (and phones and computers).  I paid for those things as well as gas and insurance.  Over time that car (and all the other things I gave them) got trashed.  Flash forward a bit and my kids bought their own computers, phones and in the case of my oldest, a car.  They take care of those things like they never did for the things I GAVE them, because they had to work to purchase and maintain them.  The logic here is simple:  If you pay for something you are going to care for it...I don't care if you are on Gor or on Earth.
• Finding a slave on SL Gor who meshes with you as far as time zones, times online, interests, and even your particular kinks and needs can be very challenging and time consuming.  
• When I purchased my car I took a number of others for a test drive.  I looked for the best deal on the make and model, all the amenities I wanted, used or new, hell even the color of the outside and upholstery made a difference.  I took the time and effort to find the car that was the best fit for me.  Why the hell would I do anything less for a slave I was going to bed and feed and keep?  And having made such an effort to find her and make them yours, is it really hard to imagine that it might cause a bit of drama or anger if someone tries to take them away?  If not, then I wonder how you might react if someone stole your car...because it's the same thing. 
  
• A slave on SL Gor takes time to train and get to know until they are completely pleasing and useful to their owner, the same like customizing my car took time and effort.
• For my car I purchased mats for the front and back seats, the nice cargo tray for in the back, it has the special paint chip protection on the front, the upholstery has been treated to resist stains, I've loaded the MP3 player with a couple hundred songs, the navigation system with multiple points of interest...the list goes on.  As far as a slave, this is predicated on the idea that you actually try to involve your slave in your RP and treat them as something more than your personal fuck bunny and toss them to the side when you go for RP.  In my own RP I have taken time to train my slave how to help me in my work in the smithy (beyond just sweeping and cleaning).  I have also taught her what pleases me both in and out of the furs.  This represents a significant outlay of time for me as her owner.  Unless I consider my time as having zero value, then this obviously translates to my not wanting to lose all that time and start over for either the car OR my slave.
• A Car is property without feelings...yet we still become very attached to them.  A slave is property with feelings so becoming attached to them would be almost a forgone conclusion.

• This one is pretty obvious.  Look at the way some folks love their cars. (Ok, some folks love them way too much...the shifter seriously doesn't belong there hon...).  They pour money and love and time into their cars.  Now look at the way many owners train their slaves.  I know many who have helped their girls to become excellent dancers, helped them to figure out how to act, improve the look of their avatars and any number of other things.  Do you honestly think those owners had no attachment to their slaves? 

A few other ways slaves are like cars:

•  Not everyone can afford (or wants) to own a car.  Hence they can be rented (see your local city slave kennel or slave house) or there is public transportation (see your local tavern or longhouse).  
• Not everyone deserves to have a car.  Have you seen the way some folks drive?  Seriously....  Same goes for slaves.
• My car is a well kept, high performance, and expensive piece of machinery.  I don't want to trade it to drive your dirty Yugo for the night.  My slave is hot, sexy, intelligent, and knows how to bend in the furs in ways that might be illegal in some countries.  Why would I trade her for your one liner, ugly half sister slave (or FC) that hasn't showered in weeks and has an ass that looks like two bosks fighting?

I know I will likely leave many minds unchanged.  Too many just want to 'use' the slaves on Gor for their own pleasure (or abuse them, again for their own sick pleasure), but I wanted to make sure that my feelings on the subject were known.


As an afterward, here is my girl's blog.  It's very interesting reading and I recommend it highly.
Collared To His Will

Knowing your role in Gor

Recently I was at a discussion among SL Goreans and a subject was touched upon that I have very strong feelings about, namely 'Knowing one's role in Gor'.  Now, I'm not speaking of the simple roles of Free Man, Free Woman, or Slave, or even the slightly more complex ones of Torvie, Southerner, Taluna, or anything like that.  Those are the main roles in Gor, and you should know those very well as the rules and rights governing each of those main roles are what give us the 'big picture'.  What I am speaking of is known as 'caste' in the South, or your occupation.

For example, I play a Smith (with some training as a Rune Priest).  I have taken the time to learn about smithing in Medieval and Viking societies.  I have attended courses in the Gorean Campus, and in the Gorean University on the subject.  I have read about how copper pots are retinned, how hinges and nails were forged, how steel was made, how to properly brand a slave, and yes, how weapons were crafted.  Suffice it to say I have learned a great deal about the work of a smith, but far from everything.  I use that knowledge to deepen my RP and give it more richness and flavor.  When I collar a slave, it's not a simple "Blitz slaps a collar on the slut, slaps her on the ass and sends her on her way"....collaring and branding a new slave can take an hour or more in RP, and that is with my bond helping me.  Forging a weapon can take days of RP. 

So what sets my teeth on edge more than anything is some idiot coming on sim who labels himself a smith...but in reality doesn't know shit about doing the job other than 'Slap on the collar, now let's go drink...or fuck....or fight'.  Need to make a sword?  "Oh, I'll have that done in five minutes.  Let me go to my handy and unending supply of steel, toss it in the forge, pull it out, wack it a few times with a hammer and voila here is your sword with a side of daggers, and a collar for your next slut."


We expect so very much from our SLAVES.  We expect them to know how to serve, what side of their owner to kneel or stand on, how to do chores of all kinds and varieties, and how to be pleasing and sultry.  Shouldn't we expect as much or more from the FREE?  Shouldn't the free be held to a higher standard than they currently are?

I know the greens in Gor have a vigorous and healthy system for certifying physicians.  There are a number of schools, and even a green council.  I also know there has been some effort to have a school for metalworkers.  And there are many courses for scribes and slavers in places like Port Haifa, the Gorean University and the Gorean Campus.  But even without a formal course or school, you can teach yourself about your chosen occupation. Just ask yourself a few things:

1. Where would I get the raw materials to do my occupation?  A candle maker might need to keep bees or find someone who does in order to gather beeswax.  Contrary to popular belief, steel doesn't grow out of the ground.  Find out how to get iron and what it takes to make steel if you want to be a smith.
2. How would I need to refine or mix those raw materials? A baker doesn't just dump flour, eggs and milk into a bowl and toss it in an oven to get bread.  It needs to be mixed and then kneaded.  A carpenter would need to cut wood into lengths and sizes and then dry them properly (no trips to Home Depot!) before they could be used.
3. What kinds of tools would I need and where might I get them? A farmer needs a scythe, a plow, and many other tools.  A brewer needs large copper kettles to brew in and barrels to ferment in.  Think about what you need to do your work and seek out those other folks in RP to purchase or acquire those tools.
4. Where is the audience for what you are making?  Here is perhaps the most difficult part.  RP with people to find out their needs.  Find out what your neighbors need and want for their homes in RP.  Don't just sit on your ass in your shop and think people will come to you.  However, keep in mind that not every northern village can support a full time candy maker (Yes, I've actually seen this and always wondered how she made enough to support herself).  That kind of thing may work in the South where there are large cities that support many varieties of shops, but is unlikely to work well in the North.  

If more people would do this, then I really feel that RP in Gor would be better.  There would be the hustle and bustle of every day life.  People would find RP because it would be all around them.  Perhaps that is a bit of a pipe dream...but it's one I will hold to.

I would make one last comment on this subject....and that is to actively engage your slaves in your chosen occupation.  By that I mean, don't just tell them to go out and do it for you, work with them, teach them the things you want them to do.  My bond is also my smith girl, helping me around the smithy as I work.  Not just sweeping the place up (hard to do in the North with mostly dirt floors), but with brandings, bringing me items I need, readying tools or implements she knows I will use.  Having that slave as yours should mean more than simply a furring companion...or a slut to bring you your drink.  In the North, everyone worked, or people starved.  And in the South, a slave owner still had to pay to feed their slave.  In neither case would they just leave them to sit and look pretty while the owner toiled away at an occupation.

Anyway, that's my two cents...I hope you found this post interesting.  Feel free to comment below, and I will try to post again soon.

Making outfit updates in SL - Tutorial

My gorgeous slave girl has asked me to give some instruction on how to easily update her outfits in SL...and before everyone starts ragging on her, this has actually been something I have been asked multiple times by many people.  I learned it myself back when the GM Meter was being updated almost weekly and all my outfits had to get the new meter.  Now since I only have seven or eight outfits, that's not a major deal.  Annoying, yes, but not a huge time sink.  My slave at the time though was a real clothes horse and had upwards of 20 or 30 outfits...and would have to spend the better part of a day updating them all with a new meter.  Since they were coming out at a rapid pace at that time, each new one reduced her to tears because she had a day's worth of updating to accomplish.  That's when I did a little research and found this function.  She was happy, I was happy, and now I am spreading the joy to you.  To do this short tutorial I am delving into my girl's inventory.  Guys...you should understand this is a dangerous and potentially mind numbing experience akin to delving into a woman's purse on earth.  Something not to be attempted by the faint of heart.

Let me preface this by stating that I am using Firestorm on a windows based machine (not a Mac), and I don't know how this works in other browsers.  I assume the function is in there, it just may not work exactly as it does in these instructions.

Gorgeous, isn't she?  Well she is all MINE...and for those of you who keep feeling her up or dive your face right in...all that creamy stuff you taste between her legs...well, I use her daily so you can guess where it came from.  If you enjoy that come see me inworld and we'll get you fitted for a collar, a cock cage, and a job as fluffer and clean up boy or girl.  But I digress (hey, I called my blog 'Ramblings' for a reason).

Anyway, she has been wearing one hair on all of her outfits and now would like to change them to this new hair.  I don't know what is it about women and hair...but they have so many...(maybe a subject for a different post).



So to start I pull up the inventory. and go to her OUTFITS folder.  Inside there is a folder for every outfit that has been set up.  And if you go into each folder you will see that there is a link for each item in the outfit.  This is where we are going to do the vast majority of our work.

Now I go into an outfit that needs the new hair (or meter, or whatever).  I find the link for the item I want to update and then by right clicking on it I get a drop down menu.  In that drop down you can see (highlighted in my example) a selection for Replace Links.

Now you should get a little popup for Replace Inventory Links.  As the Source it shows the item you wish replaced (in this case the hair my girl wants changed on all her outfits). Target is currently empty, and under that it tells you how many of that same exact link it found in your inventory (in this case it says 33 other links were found in her inventory for this hair).

Now what we have to do is find the new item you want to replace with.  In this case I right clicked my girl's hair, got the name and did a search in her inventory to pull up the "eXxEsS : CHOCOLAT A (Materials)" hair she wants to use.  By left clicking on the hair object in her inventory and HOLDING THE LEFT CLICK DOWN, I drag it to the Replace Inventory popup and drop it in the Target box.

At this point I simply hit the Start button and Firestorm does the rest of the work for me. If you look in your outfit again, you will now see that the old item is gone and has been replaced with the new.

That's pretty much it. You can check that it works properly by changing between outfits.  If you need more than one item changed (for example the GM meter needed both the HUD and the meter changed) just do the process again for the second item.

The importance of Freyr in SL Torvaldsland

So last time I wrote a little about myself...this time I thought I would share a little about my RP and life in SL.  I took a course in Rune Priests and was apprenticed to a very knowledgeable person for further training.  Following is an essay I wrote for that course.

    Much is written about the Gods Odin and Thor when it comes to religion and beliefs of the northern peoples.  Odin, of course, is the all father, chief of the gods.  Father, in fact, to many of the other gods and goddesses and is associated with things like royalty, knowledge, wisdom and healing.  Thor, one of Odin's sons, is often associated with strength, thunder and lightning, and battle.  Given the worldview of the typical Torvaldslander Jarl, one can see how these two gods might hold a preeminent place in their hearts.  After all, what Jarl doesn't want to be thought of as strong, great in battle, wise, and knowledgeable?

    However, what people tend to forget is that during the Viking age (which is where Torvald was drawn from to come to Gor) there was a third god, just as important as Odin and Thor.  This would be the God Freyr, twin brother to the Goddess Freya.  He was associated with prosperity, fertility, sunshine and fair weather.  In the Gylfaginning section of his Prose Edda, Snorri introduces Freyr as one of the major gods:

"Freyr is the most renowned of the Æsir; he rules over the rain and the shining of the sun, and therewithal the fruit of the earth; and it is good to call on him for fruitful seasons and peace. He governs also the prosperity of men."

    So from this we can take that when a Viking was praying for his fields to be blessed, he did so to Freyr.  When he asked for prosperity and peace, he did so to Freyr.  When his woman was looking to become pregnant, she asked the blessings of Freyr. In fact the association between Freyr and fertility is so strong that he was oft depicted with a large phallus...and sometimes ONLY as such.  For this fact alone, one would think the appeal to SL Torvaldslanders would be apparent.  Being wise, strong, knowledgeable and  victorious in battle is wonderful, and may well secure one's place in Valhalla, but without sons and daughters to ensure one's legacy and fertile fields to feed and support them, a Jarl is little more than a fighter who will be soon forgotten when he passes.  To think that Freyr would have been left behind when Torvald came to Gor would be about as foolish as thinking he forgot how to fight, how to make and drink mead or ale, or how to draw breath.

    In conclusion, what we need to remember is that while Second Life is simply a game, and Gor on SL is merely a way to bring some Role Play to our lives, the depth and quality of our Role Play is affected by a great many factors.  Being able to submerge ourselves to some extent into the worldview of the characters we play can give us motivations which lead to better role play.  Involving more of the religion of the north into our role play is a part of that, and that means involving more of the Gods than simply Odin and Thor.

Gylfaginning : http://www.sacred-texts.com/neu/pre/pre04.htm

The journey of a thousand pasangs starts with a single step...

As with every journey, this one begins simply...with a single step of creating my small corner of the blogosphere where I can set down my ideas, my thoughts, a complaint or two, and observations about SecondLife and being a Torvie in Gor.  I have never been much of one for keeping a diary, so I doubt I will make daily entries here, instead adding to this blog when I have something I want to get off my chest or record for posterity.  If others enjoy what I write, then so much the better and I invite you to comment.  If not, then there are many other blogs...please feel free to find one.

I guess I should introduce myself a bit.  I have been on SL since October of 2012.  About a week into SL I wandered into this place called 'Gor' and what I found there blew my mind.  You see up until then I had never heard of Gor (despite being an avid reader of Tolkien, Burroughs, Heinlein, Norton, McCaffrey, Clarke, Jordan, Weis & Hickman  and many, many others).  I found eager and beautiful slave girls willing to serve your every need (and I mean EVERY need), strong male characters, honor and excitement.  I'm a guy so of course I was thinking "Oh hell yes...sign me up!"  Ok, ok...I was also thinking a LOT with my cock...I was new to SL...cut me some slack!

So, I picked up the first Gor book...and immediately felt like someone was playing a rather cruel joke on me.  I mean look at the list of people I had been reading (and continue to read).  Masters of Sci Fi and Fantasy.  Whatever you think of Gor as a world or 'concept'...most everyone admits that John Norman is NOT a masterful writer.  I have read essays by my kids (when they were in 5th grade no less) which were easier to get through.  So taking a deep breath I slogged my way through the first book Tarnsman of Gor.  Needless to say, I looked beyond the writing and found that glorious story.  Fortunately for me, by the time I was about half way through the second book, Outlaw of Gor,  I found these audio recordings.  Needless to say I was saved!  Now I could listen to someone else stumble through the bad writing and just listen along and follow that story.

Then came Maurauders of Gor and changed the way I saw Gor yet again.  I fell in love and lust with Torvaldsland, it's people, it's bonds, it's way of life.  Being of Nordic heritage myself, I could find many things in the Torvies that I could identify with.  Blond hair, blue eyes, very tall, strong...essentially Vikings in Gor!  And did I mention BONDS?


Despite having lived in southern Gor for a long time (even having journeyed to the Plains of the Wagon people and as far as the Pani) I consider myself a Torvie and always will be!

Now you know a bit about me...  I hope you found it insightful...if not then all I can say is I will try to bring up more interesting topics in the future.