Engine Room: Rusty Tears of the War Machine

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STORYLINE: The General of New Deco was haunted. No amount of awards, medals, or ribbons could chase away his waking nightmare. The war was still raging with no end in sight. Everywhere he looked, ghosts of soldiers with no voices and eyes stared back at him. Why were they haunting him? He had reached the limit of what the body and mind could endure. He just couldn't, ... kill anymore. Of course his superiors were disappointed, after all he was a brilliant tactician and beloved by his men too, so they offered him an early exit if he would just sign a simple contract. Unfortunately for him, having too much time to think did result in one more death, -- his. So it came as a shock when he awoke inside a monstrous thing of metal and gears. His will was no longer his, since he had inadvertently signed it away. He was programed to obey. There was no such thing as mercy for a War Machine. The tears of rust on his automaton face were the only clues to the screaming, blind ghost locked inside.

How awesome is the Art Deco theme items at this around of Engine Room? I felt very inspired, and this idea grew out of it. Here are items I used in the image from the event: The Metropolis tattoo really fired my imagination, I paired it with the older Rust skin are from Fallen Gods and between the layers added a white tint by XyR. The outfit is the beautifully made Fotsoldier Gambsion by Turb. It has a hud to change textures. It's also mod, so I could hide the sleeves to show the arms. The right arm is Eliavah's Manticore Arm with hud to change its textures. Its made for the girl avatars, but Female Legacy was a close fit with only a small poke on the backside of the upper arm. The Left arm is Wicca's Barclay that has male fits, and a texture hud. For fun, I added the Frankie Bolts by Haunt that include a bloody neck tattoo layer. It's an Engine Room Gift. The General is smoking the Selenes Vape by Aerth. It has many texture options too. 

On Him,
Outfit: TURB Footsoldier Gambison [Legacy M][mesh](Engine Room)(500L)
Right arm: Eliavah Manticore Mecha Arms [Legacy Female][mesh](Engine Room)(499L)
Left Arm: Wicca's Originals Barclay Hand Legacy(M)[mesh](Engine Room)(399L)
Gun: Val'More HuntRevolver - Prototype [mesh](Engine Room)(500L)
Neck Bolts: HAUNT Frankie Bolts [mesh](Engine Room)(Engine Room Gift)
Vape: AERTH Selenes Vape [mesh](Engine Room)(350L)
Helmet: Butanik83 Engineers Helmet [mesh](383L)
Pants: RIOT Birds of Prey pants black [mesh](gacha)
Eyemakeup: Tableau Vivant Vincent Make up Silver spry [BOM]
Tattoo: Fallen Gods METROPOLIS Rust Prototype, complete[mesh](Engine Room)(480L)
Tattoo: Clemmm Unkin Body Smear [BOM](333L)
Tattoo: [XyR] Skin Toner Overlay (Classic UV) (male) [BOM](gift)
Tattoo: VON RustTears6, RustTears4 [BOM]
Skin, eyes: Fallen Gods Materica male +FGInc.+ RUST [mesh](1200L)
Head: LeLUTKA Kane Evolution .2.5 [mesh](3990L)
Body: TheShops [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.0) [mesh](5000L)
Pose: p.o.s.e. gansta (49L)

Setting:
Fountain: Contraption Decor: Neudamm Deco Fountain *gold* [mesh](400L)
Mirror: CIRCA "REVIVAL" Art Deco Mirror Classic [mesh]

Fantasy Faire: The Hunt in Basset Town

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STORYLINE: Outside the dusty town of Basset was a sign that read, "Quarantine. Do Not enter." A Bounty Hunter known simply as D stopped and looked at it. A sickly person stumbled towards him. “You the Bounty Hunter? Half human, half monster killer?” D nodded and said nothing. “A suspicious looking fella came through last week, everyone he touched soon died. The rest of everyone is plum near dead or dying." He offered a burlap bag to D. “It's not much, but that’s everything we got. The whole town pitched in. So you can kill this thing, right?” D looked at his sad sunken face, then towards the town with many ghostly faces peeking out at him from their windows. “There's not much time left,” he said and without another word, rode off. A week had past before the Hunter returned. But everyone in Basset Town already knew he was successful. He was greeted with laughter and people running up to him, their cheeks now a more healthy color. "Don't celebrate too soon," he threw down the burlap bag and the head of the monster rolled out. “This fight is just beginning. The Unweaver is an evil seed that can take root and sprout again at anytime, anywhere. Be more careful and savor your lives.” And with that, he tipped his hat and rode out of town to the stunned silence of the townfolks.

Last call for the Fantasy Faire 2022! On May 11 at some point the Fairelands will disappear into the mists. Be sure to see and do everything you planned before the close!  This photo series is for my Mom, who had been undergoing surgeries, chemotherapy, and radiation for cancer for the past 6 months. Her treatment ends this week. I feel grateful to her doctors, medical science, American Cancer Society, and all the kind hearts who donate to make a difference. If we care, and love each other, great things are possible.

P.S. I love Vampire Hunter D. There was no way I would not try to do a homage to it thanks to the awesome outfit by Quills & Curiosities at Fantasy Faire. Vampire Hunter D was my introduction to anime back in the 90s.

On him, Bounty Hunter D:
Outfit: Quills & Curiosities - Hunter's Garb [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Basset Town)(500L)

Necklace: Quills & Curiosities - Hunter's Pendant [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Basset Town)(150L)

Hat: Quills & Curiosities - Hunter's Pendant [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Basset Town)(250L)
Wings, Tattoo: Forest Fantasy Store [FFS] Demon Bat [Bento][mesh](Fantasy Faire: Sylvuselah)(690L)
Monocle: ERG Bat Wing Monocle [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Basset Town)(100L)

Weapon: Val'More Ghostspear [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Atheneum)
Hair: barberyumyum L19(02) style1 [mesh](Collabor88)(288L)
Cape: DREAMCATCHER Vampire's cloak - unisex [mesh](199L)

Claws: L'Emporio&PL Oblio Vampire Claws male [mesh](350L)

Head: LeLUTKA lel EvoX KANE 3.1 [mesh](3990L)

Body: TheShops [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.0) [mesh](5000L)

On horse, Shadow:
Collar lamp: Static Bounty Hunter's Lantern [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Basset Town)(250L)
Tack: Blackthorn Stables Tack [BTS-TH] Blk/Slvr Baroque Tack (550L)
Horse: Teegle Teegle Horse avatar [mesh](3500L)

Thanks for your help, Fulli!

Engine Room: The Golden Express Bandit

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STORYLINE: Kurt Jameson, (formerly known as the Golden Express Bandit), lurched forward falling out of his chair. He had been fast asleep on his post outside the Dark Inventor’s door when the Clocktower Hotel violently shook. Danger! Danger! Danger! All around him were little mechanical sparrows sounding the alarm. He cursed under his breath and searched the wooden floor with his hands until at last he found what he needed. He quickly snapped the strange visor into place over the ruin of his face once more. As it hummed to life, he was able to see again. Without wasting more time, he grabbed his weapons and darted to the window to look outside. A dark ominous crack had formed across the sky, and from inside it, something impossibly bright fell to the ground with such a force the hotel shook again. He took a few steps back. Had the device malfunctioned? When his gaze returned outside, everything was normal. He shrugged and was about to leave when the crack reformed and the bright flaming object fell, but this time when it struck the ground it was so violent two brick buildings nearby fell. He gasped, “What the hell?”

On him, Golden Express Bandit, Kurt Jameson:
Top: Deadwool Malone working vest Legacy taupe[mesh](Engine Room)(390L)

Weapon: AiiZawa Songbird Claw Revolver w/ Grappling hook [mesh](Engine Room)(499L)

Weapon: Val'More Prototype Chainsaw V.2 Steampunk Sling [mesh](Engine Room)(400L)

Mask: Omise OctaScopes FaceArmor [mesh](Engine Room)(200L)

Hat: toksik Varmint Hat [mesh](Engine Room)(300L)

Holster: toksik Varmint Holster [mesh](Engine Room)(400L)

Pet: Rivendale Aether Birb Copper [Animesh](Engine Room)(250L)

Bracers: L'Emporio&PL Bullet Bracers LEGACY/Athletic [mesh](350L)

Pants: TheShops PANTS Legacy m Chinos (Sand)(bundled with mesh body)

Head: LeLUTKA lel EvoX KANE 3.1 [mesh](3990L)

Body: TheShops [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.0) [mesh](5000L)

Pose: sakupose+ yzk mens pose 4 hero2 (70L)

Setting:

Birdcage: Air Septem birdcage silver open [mesh](Engine Room)(300L)

Chair: Architect D'Arcy Steampunk Armchair black[mesh](Engine Room)(295L)

Table: Architect Porthole Coffee Table dark [mesh](Engine Room)(245L)

Hanging Plant: Architect Airship Plant [mesh](Engine Room)(275L)

Decanter: HEXtraordinary Kraken Decanter[mesh](Engine Room)(275L)

Skybox: TROPIX Vintage Room 01 [mesh](275L)

Thanks for your help, Aarya! 

Necrotize: The Dance of Death

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STORYLINE: Astronaut Purple was dozing off at his post on the Coms. It was sterile and empty in space. He missed strange things like bugs. He smiled thinking of his lazy summer childhood days back on Earth. When he stepped outside, insects would fly away. Living things were everywhere. His mind drifted to sinister buzz of the bug-zapper on his father’s back porch. And then, it turned into the hum of the spaceship. His eyes snapped open. He was not alone. That’s when he noticed a strange dark figure in the security cameras. Was he hallucinating? He rubbed his eyes and looked again. It was gone. Probably nothing. He sighed. Nothing exciting ever happened here. Suddenly the door hissed open. Standing there was a beautiful, deadly, and strangely seductive alien. He jumped from his chair, knocking it over, his heart racing. She moved towards him in an erotic motion, inviting him to a dance. He felt like moth to her flame. Its a dream, right? She touched his leg, and electric shock jolted up and down his body. He could see his own bones glow inside his legs. The zap boomed in his head, it was deafening. He felt like he was falling. Like a unexpected power outage, everything flickered to darkness. ... Surely this was a dream.

This image originally was inspired by Fantastical Notion's First Emissary avatar. It was unusual and interesting, and it grew into a ghost Astronaut. Then it took a twist into a deadly galactic dance between a Xenomorph and Astronaut. I couldn't find a location that worked for this image, so I switched to creating a background. More items shown on the "Ghostnaut" are the Val'More Machina legs. They are not rigged so I posed them for this image. For the face is the Conviction Mutant eyes, and TF mort veins. Contraption put two excellent items on discount at the event, animesh Powerjammer spine, and Grymmer vest. On a side note, The X-ray effect I created by breaking apart the Cureless Skeleton and adding props to spine, ribcage, and legs, and using the Body Outline by Euthanasia. On the Zenomorph is the awesome shiny and scary NCHRGX outfit by Human Glitch. The freaky demonic wings are by DarkendStare's R'Lyeh. The dark skin by Petrichor has cool details like red spots, I especially loves the spots around the ears, I have never seen that before. The super shiny & bumpy detail on the skin is the material shine by This Is Wrong. Her cyber eyes and glossy lips are by Suicidal Unborn.

Necrotize will be ending soon. All lovers of cyber, horror, and scifi be sure to not miss it. The setting for the event is SUPER cool, created in collboration by Contraption and CerberusXing. So many great items are there to inspire your cyber nights. Your handy guide here: https://secondlifesyndicate.com/events/syndicate-events/necrotize/

On him, the Ghostnaut:
Helmet, horns: Fantastical Notion Hands of the First Emissary [mesh](Necrotize)(900L)
Boots: Val'More Prototype - Machina Legs [mesh](Necrotize)(320L)
Eyes: Conviction Mutant Eyes Purple [mesh](Necrotize)(560L)

Makeup: TF Mort Veins [BOM](Necrotize)(275L)
Skeleton: Cureless Skeletal System Noir [mesh](249L)

Arms: Contraption SP1NDL Prosthetic arm [mesh](500L)

Chest: Contraption The Grymmer Vest [mesh](Necrotize)(350L)

Animesh: Contraption Power Jammer Spine [mesh](Necrotize)(375L)

Pants: Gabriel ::GB::Cyber Elysion Pants Belleza Silver, gacha [mesh](75L)

Skin: Tableau Vivant Noctis skin - Tone 01 [BOM]

Mesh head: Raven Bell  BJD Bento Head James // OMEGA-UV [mesh] (2000L)
Body: Euthanasia Signature Outline [mesh](250L)

Pose: Del May DM - Yin Yang (150L)

On her, Xenomorph Female:

Skin: Petrichor :[P]:- Shadowlaz Femme Skin Sanguinna [mesh](Necrotize)(1149L)

Outfit: Human Glitch NCHRGX Bordo [mesh](Necrotize)(299L)

Boots: Human Glitch NCHRGX Boots [mesh](Necrotize)(399L)

Wings: darkendStare R'lyeh Wings [Black Blood] Right [mesh](Necrotize)(349L)

Helmet: ANA Trap Nova Helm Black [mesh](100L)

Claws: CerberusXing [CX] Salient Talons - Onyx BENTO (277L)

Tail: CerberusXing [CX] XenoPlug - Black [mesh](500L)

Materials: THIS IS WRONG Corrputed shine 3D (Necrotize)(399L)

Lips: Suicidal Unborn -SU!- Cyber Necromancer Lip Gloss -Genus- (Necrotize)(350L)

Eyes: Suicidal Unborn -SU!- Cyber Eyes -NECRO 3000X (Necrotize)(299L)

Head: GENUS Project Genus Head Strong Face GIFT001 v1.7 Mocap [mesh](group gift)

Body: Maitreya Mesh Body Lara [BOM] [mesh](2750L)

Stock:
Nebula: uxmal750ad Nebula Stock Image 2

Stars: NASA Hubble Space Telescope gallery

The Engine Room: Attack on Castle Noctem

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STORYLINE: In the frozen wastelands, far from humanity, sat Castle Noctem, the fortress of the Vampire Elders. It was the most precious real estate in all vampiredom for a simple reason that the nights were long, and in deep winter, the sun didn’t rise at all. Being so far removed from their food source was not a problem as most the ancients were asleep. They were guarded 24/7 by the elite Royal Guard. They were outfitted with the latest technology, their armor impervious to daylight. It would be foolish for anyone to dare attack such a heavily fortified castle. So it came as quite a shock when the sirens began to wail. 

Tonight at the Engine Room there will be party and halftime giveaway you won't want to miss! See you there at 2pm - 4pm SLT.

The image above is inspired by the cool Process of Elimination Tannhauser armor. It comes in fits for many mesh bodies, and even digigrade leg for furries too. The texture hud will allow you to switch out the colors to your own preference. Also shown in the badass Val'More Prototype Revolver. It includes fun hold animations like flipping the bullet up and down. It had texture hud for switching the glowing word on the front, metallic color, and if you want to show or hide the crossbow.

SURL You can see the Engine Room’s shopping catalog here: Shopping Guide.    

On Him, Commander Ashe:

Armor: Process of Elimination [P.0.E] Tannhauser, Gianni [mesh](Engine Room)(1900L)

Weapon, bullet, aniamtion: Val'More Prototype - Revolver, animated [mesh](Engine Room)(500L)

Cape: Curemore Star Gals Supreme Commander Cape (ULTRARARE), gacha [mesh](99L)

Hair: Air Kazura A01_Tail white [mesh](200L)

Pose: MGSIT-STORE Horror [mesh](420L)

Setting:

Castle, rocks: Death Row Bloodcroft Castle RARE, gacha [mesh](45L / full set 3750L)

Small rocks: FANATIK LOFOTEN Base [mesh](1500L)

Cliff: FANATIK SKELLIG Mountains [mesh](2000L)

Bush: Landscaping by Felix Mesh Bush Se 1 Li=3 Shape=5 Colors [mesh](195L)

Pine: Landscaping by Felix Mesh Seasons Pine-Fir Trees Set 7 Shape=1 Li [mesh](295L)

Hill: Landscaping by Felix Mesh Winter Hill Landscape 2 [mesh](250L)

Location:

Bloodlines North

The Strange Case of Dr Oliver Paynesworth

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Death Row Designs will be delivering another fun gacha and hunt for Halloween this year. The theme this time is Asylum. This is my entry to DRD's the "Join the Family" contest. I brought out one of my favorite asylum dwelling characters. Enjoy. Style Credits below the story.

The Strange Case of Dr Oliver Paynesworth 

(as told by the Admitting Nurse at the Rosewood Asylum)

It had been an ordinary day at the Rosewood Asylum when the town’s respected general practice doctor, Dr Oliver Paynesworth, strolled past me without a word, not even a Hello, and disappeared down the long of hall of Rosewood’s worst behaved residents, otherwise known as the "inmates." Of course I went to fetch him, since we don’t allow visitors to that wing of the asylum. 

I discovered him in the oddest place. He had taken the last room to the right and barricaded the door with the back of a chair so that I could not open it. I looked through the glass peephole and saw him, just sitting in the middle of the room on the floor with a vacant look in his eyes.

“Excuse me Dr Oliver, What are you doing? Is there something wrong?”

He didn’t look at me as he said in a hallow voice, “I am admitting myself. I am a danger to society. Please leave me alone.”

Alarmed, I fetched the director of the Institution. He spoke to the Doctor for some time before he came back out shaking his head. “Nurse, can you please check into this?” He had filled out a form to accept Dr Oliver and wrote that the Dr believed he could kill with a mere thought. He blamed himself for his fiancé’s death after she broke up their engagement. He wanted me to call her doctor to check if the story was true. 

Dr Oliver’s case turned out to be a sad example of the ravages of grief, most likely driven by intense regret that his last words to his fiancé were, "I hope you die." Turns out she had just discovered her diagnosis of terminal cancer and couldn’t bring herself to tell him, so she abruptly broke off their engagement without explanation. We figured after some grief counseling, and revealing the truth of why she ended their relationship, he would return to normal. But sadly, that’s not what happened.

One day we found him in a pool of blood. He had cut off his own legs with exceptional surgical skill. What he used, we have no clue, but it must have been a very large sharp blade. We searched high and low for this dangerous weapon but could never discover where he had hidden it. He was ranting on and on about offering his legs to Death in exchange for bringing his beloved back to life.

He had clearly taken a turn for the worse. 

We were able to stop the bleeding. Once he had recovered, we gave him a wheelchair and fitted him with new prosthetic legs. I think Dr Rosewood held hope he could save his old friend.

As the months passed, Dr Oliver would sit on the floor, not eating, or speaking…. Other "inmates" requested to be transferred away from his unsettling dark aura. Except one. She requested to be moved directly across from him. In truth, she was here because she was in so much pain her family couldn't care for her. She was often yelling across the hall, begging Dr Oliver to kill her. If he heard her, I don’t know. He was covered in dust by then. Cobwebs hung from his eyelashes too. I thought he was long dead and everyone was too scared to go in and check.

But he was not dead.

The morning on the 19th, I discovered front door of the Rosewood Asylum was open. No "inmates" escaped. No, instead they were all yelling, crying, and cowering their rooms. When I reached the last door on the right, it was open. Dr Oliver was gone. There was no sign of him. I checked across the hall and the lady was still locked inside her room. No one entered, but she was clearly dead. White as a sheet. And smiling.

It was creepy. We closed off that cursed wing of Rosewood. No one ever did see Dr Oliver Paynesworth again. The only clue we had as to what became of him was a note left on the floor.

Thank you for caring for me. 

It is time for me to go now. 

Please take good care of your health. 

Your time precious. Don’t waste it.

signed,

Dr Oliver Paynesworth, 

Reaper

 

On him, Dr Oliver:

Hair: A&Y CyberBunker Electric-rain hair - Male - pink [mesh](290L)
Top: Contraption Engineer's Top, male [mesh](500L)
Weapon: Val'More Prototype Project - Takizawa Sickle [mesh](380L)
Claws: Naberius Iron Eater Claws (Aether) Bento Jake, gacha [mesh](75L)
Legs: Contraption Classic Leg Prosthesis *gunmetal* [mesh](150L)
Coat: Curio Obscura Luxurious Fur Coat Black, gacha [mesh] (100L)
Glasses: ContraptioN The Tinkerer's Glasses, gacha [mesh]
Hat: Harm's Way Top Hat texture change [mesh] (99L)
Eyes: IKON Deadshine Eyes - Quicksilver [mesh](150L)
Skin, TMP Appliers: Fallen Gods Pure [xy] + Ivory(660L)
Head: TheMeshProject (BETA) Head(m) - Anime (Deluxe) [mesh](5000L)
Wheelchair, pose: Luna Rosarie L+R Bloody Rosarie wheelchair, gacha [mesh]

Setting:
Building: Madpeas Run Down Asylum, 159m x 80m footprint, 1100 li [mesh](975L)