The Fifth Element

Let’s try a new game and continue in the same vein as these kind-of-memes that are (more or less) popular among the blogosphere.

The deal is to propagate something within your environment by tagging other bloggers who will have to disseminate the same ‘something’ to other bloggers and so on with the hope that the whole blogosphere is eventually full of this ‘something’.

It is what we call in French a chaîne pyramidale ou chaîne de Ponzi (pyramidal scheme in English) which is likely to collapse before reaching its target, hence the qualification of fraud when applied to business ( pyramidal selling) or finance (pyramidal banking)

Let’s see if my own pyramidal chain will have long life…

The meme to disseminate

You take the fifth book (from the left or the right) on the fifth shelf (from top or from bottom) of your bookcase (if less than 5 shelves you go and buy a decent bookcase) and you find the fifth line of the fifth page from which you take the fifth word, that’s all.

In a second step you arrange the letters of this word vertically, so as each letter is the first letter of a verse, and you build a poem, an aphorism, whatever you like referring to Second Life.

Here is my first try with “The Usborne Book of World History” where I find at page 5 and line 5: “milk, wool and animals for carrying loads.”

The fifth word is “for” therefore my result is as follows:

Frightened of the griefers I often stay at home but sometimes
Overcoming my fear I dare to go shopping and buy
Ridiculous outfits that will stack in my inventory.

The way to disseminate the meme

You find five (5) people: three (3) you perfectly know and are likely to play the game with you, another one (1) who knows you but is unlikely to pay attention to your solicitation and a fifth element who does not know you at all, you mention all of them in your post and you inform the last two people that you have tagged them (no need for the first three, normally they should read your blog, shouldn’t they?)

Here is my selection :

3 persons I guess are likely to play the game: Lillie Yifu, Wangxiang Tuxing and Cyberloom.

1 person who is unlikely to play the game: Prokofy Neva.

The fifth element: Hatsue.

The rule of the game looks complicated? Normal, it’s part of the game.

It was on my fifth birthday that Papa put his hand on my shoulder and said, 'Remember, my son, if you ever need a helping hand, you'll find one at the end of your arm.'
Sam Levenson
(1911 - 1980)

World-wide Domme Shortage!

[for background to D/s see my article "Confessions of a loving Domme"]

An outsider looking at a D/s (Dominant/submissive) relationship would probably think that it was more desirable to be the Dominant, having a person who would do (within limits etc.) whatever they wanted. They would wonder why anybody ever wanted to be a submissive, at the beck and call of someone else. After all in RL, we are often frustrated by those we have to obey (bosses, teachers, politicians, etc.), why would we when we have complete choice (as one does in SL) ever want yet another boss?

Yet the facts are undeniable, in Second Life there are far more people who want to be submissives (subs) than those wishing to be Dominants - at least two submissives for each dominant. Unsurprisingly there are even fewer female dominants (Dommes). That means that there are quite a few lesbian subs looking for a match.

But the more interesting question is why should this be. Why do more so many actively seek a Mistress/Master in SL? Why are many more wishing to be controlled than to control? The short answer is that I don't know, but can speculate about some of the reasons. [in the below I will only talk about female D/s since this is all I have experience of]

The first (and to me most obvious) answer is that being a sub is more enjoyable than being a Domme - the intense buzz gained from being a submissive is better than that gained from being a Domme. The combination of fear, endorphins, sex and helplessness can produce an emotion (called by some "subspace") that is unrivaled in its intensity - joy, pleasure, peace, excitement and adrenaline all mixed up! The pleasures of Domming are more abstract and less immediate - creativity, control, energy, excitement and service. Many who have good submissive experiences seek it again (though there are plenty of bad submissive experiences as well).

The second possibility is that Domming takes a lot more effort and creativity. It just seems a lot easier to put oneself in someone else's power and wish them to create the experiences you want. If you are a sub you can *just* do what your Domme says and experience the results. Of course a good sub can be just as creative and active in a relationship, but it will not immediately fall apart if they are not. Whilst the Domme does *have* to take the lead and direct what happens (this is, after all, the essence).

Thirdly and more deeply is the issue of responsibility and guilt. If you are a Domme you have the immediate responsibility for what happens - if something goes wrong and genuinely distresses the sub, it is you who has "done" it. If you are someone who is prone to or laden with guilt you might well avoid being a Domme - you may know that a sub wants you to do something 'bad' to them (indeed really begging you to) but you might have reflexes that make you *feel* guilty doing this all the same. If you are a sub you can just obey and be free from guilt as a result. Of course in a good and active relationship both sides take equal responsibility - communicating what they want and forgiving others if they make genuine mistakes.

Lastly, there is the possibility that many of those involved in D/s are 'unbalanced' in some way - submissives being the results of depressives with low self-esteem and Dommes being mini-psychopaths/narcissists who basically don't care about others. Whilst there are undoubtedly some narcissistic Dominants and depressive submissives, they are far from the majority among those I have met. Yes I meet a highly unrepresentative sample, but do meet quite a few of both.

Of course this is a small world we are talking about (those with D/s leanings) most people are neither or not significantly either D or s.

San Mauvaise

In search of Prokofy Neva's griefers, I find a hospital!

Depuis que je suis née, dans Second Life je veux dire, j'entends souvent parler des "griefers" mais je n'en ai jamais rencontrés./ Since I was born, in Second Life I mean, I often heard about "griefers" but I have never encountered one of them.

Le plus grand chasseur de griefers me paraissant être Prokofy Neva, qui semble être envahi par cette engeance dans son fief de Ravenglass, je décidai donc d'aller faire un tour là-bas./ The greatest griefer hunter appears to be Prokofy Neva, who seems to be invaded by this nasty bunch in his stronghold of Ravenglass, therefore, I decided to go take a look over there.

Après tout rien ne vaut l'expérience in vivo, plutôt que de rester sur sa faim en se contentant de lire des articles sur le sujet./ After all, nothing beats the in vivo experience, rather than remaining on its hunger simply by reading articles on the subject.

J’arrive donc à Ravenglass en utilisant le premier lien disponible dans Search (vous tapez Ravenglass et vous vous laisser guider) et le premier endroit sur lequel je butte est un grand bâtiment blanc sans porte ni fenêtre (désolée je n’ai pas fait de photo de l’extérieur, j’étais trop stressée)/ So I arrive at Ravenglass using the first link available in Search (you type Ravenglass and you let yourself be guided) and the first place I bump into is a large white building without doors nor windows (sorry I did not get a photo from the outside, I was too stressed)

Pour entrer j’utilise ma caméra et je clique sur un objet où je peux m’asseoir, et en un clin d’œil je suis à l’intérieur (en passant pendant quelques secondes par la case «coin du bas à gauche» comme souvent, mais il faut rester patient, ne pas s’énerver et tout rentre dans l’ordre)/ So as to enter I use my camera and I click on an item where I can sit down, and in an instant I am inside (passing for a few seconds by the box "at the bottom-left corner" as often, but one must remain patient and not lose their temper and everything toe the line)

Drôle d’endroit, je suis justement tombée sur quelque chose en accord avec ma nouvelle tenue de pirate.../ Funny place, I just came upon something in agreement with my new pirate suit...

En contrebas, un cadavre ; le signe du caducée me fait penser que je devrais me sentir mal./ More below, a corpse; the sign of caduceus makes me think that I should feel bad.



En fait je suis arrivée dans ce qui semble être la salle d’attente d’un hôpital, et je décide d’attendre (que faire d’autre dans une salle d’attente ?) perchée sur le frigo. Apparemment le cadavre s’est réveillé et m’a rejoint, mais il ne dira pas un mot, peut-être a-t’il cru que je faisais partie du décor ?/ In fact I arrived in what appears to be the waiting room of a hospital, and I decided to wait (what else in a waiting room?) perched on the refrigerator. Apparently the corpse woke up and joined me, but he did not say a word, did he perhaps thought that I was part of the décor?


Je me demande ce que peut bien vouloir dire « Médecine interactive » mais il n’y a personne pour me donner le moindre renseignement./I wonder what may well mean "Interactive medicine ," but there is no one to give me any information.


La tête de mort au dessus de «Médecine interactive» devrait pourtant me guider, ce doit être un indice./ The skull above "Interactive medicine" ought to guide me, it should be a clue.


En ayant assez d’attendre je visite les lieux ; la première salle que j’inspecte me permet d’effectuer un auto-examen gynécologique, j’attends les résultats qui devraient me parvenir par IM./ Being tired of waiting, I visit the place; the first room I inspect allows me to perform a self-gynecological examination, I am waiting for the results, which should reach me by IM.


Tout cela m’ayant fatiguée quelque peu, je m’accorde quelques instants de repos, mais il n’y a personne pour m’apporter un plateau repas./ All this somewhat tired me, I give me a few moments of rest, but there is no one to bring me a dinner tray.


J’essaye de trouver un endroit plus chaleureux pour décompresser davantage, ce n’est pas gagné.../ I am trying to find a warmer place to relax more, it's not a done deal...


Je continue ma visite et constate que l’on peut même acheter sa poudre de perlimpinpin./ I continue my visit and find that one can even buy his universal remedy.


Puis je me dis qu’un check-up complet pour voir si je suis en bon état de marche, une sorte de révision des 1000 heures passées dans Second Life, ça ne peut pas me faire de mal et je commence fort, avec le scanner (quand il faut il faut)/Then I tell myself that a full check-up to see if I am in good working condition, a kind of revision of 1000 hours spent in Second Life, it could not hurt me and I started strong, with the scanner (when it is necessary you must do it)


Et j’enchaine avec la mesure du poids à l’aide d’une balance qui me semble venir du siècle dernier (le XXème of course)/ And I move on with the measure of weight with a scale that seems to come from the last century (the twentieth of course)
Le résultat de ce test étant classé confidentiel, je ne peux vous en dévoiler le contenu./ The result of this test is classified confidential, I cannot reveal its content..


Curieuse de savoir à qui appartient tout ce bazar je consulte un objet ; le nom ne me parait pas très engageant pour un directeur de clinique…/ Curious to know who owns this bazaar I consult an object, the name does not seem to me very engaging for a medical director...
Prokofy n’admet pas les griefers sur son territoire, mais il accepte les Detritus.../ Prokofy does not admit griefers on his territory, but he accepts Detritus...
Cependant, en regardant la définition de detritus dans WordReference.com je m’aperçois qu’il peut s’agir de détritus de médecine, alors…/ However, looking at the definition of detritus in WordReference.com I realize it may be detritus of medicine, then...


Je parviens ensuite à m’extirper de cet endroit lugubre (même tout blanc, ça peut être lugubre) et je me hisse au sommet du phare voisin pour écouter un peu de musique (coordonnées de l’endroit dans la photo, je vous gâte)/ Then I succeed in escaping from this dismal place (even white, it can be gloomy), and I climb on top of the adjacent lighthouse to listen to some music (coordinates of the location in the photo, I spoil you)


J’en profite pour admirer les espaces infinis de Ravenglass (en fait c’est ma «draw distance» réglée à 64 mètres qui m’empêche de voir plus loin)/ I take this opportunity to admire the infinite spaces of Ravenglass (actually it's my "draw distance" set at 64 metres which prevents me from seeing farther)


Je me sens un peu enfermée ici, mais au moins j’ai la paix, aucun griefer à l’horizon, il faudra que je me montre patiente./ I feel somewhat stuck here, but at least I have peace, no griefer in view, I will have to be patient.

Patiente je l’ai été, non ? À l’hôpital./ Patient I have been, eh? At the hospital.

The art of medicine consists in amusing the patient while nature cures the disease.
Voltaire
French author, humanist, rationalist, & satirist (1694 - 1778)