The Blacklist is a bar that has existed in Second Life, in some form or another, for quite a while. Its last incarnation expired in July, when the old Dark City evaporated from Deviant. I never went to the bar in its heyday, only in it's waning moments. But, I hear, it was quite the hangout.
Three of my best friends and I decided to bring the club back, and rebuild a city around it. This is not a recreation of the original Blacklist. It is not a replication of the original Dark City. The build is our own...
It started with Hyang... who had the crazy idea to bring it back. Hyang mentioned this idea to me back in July... said we needed to talk to Bally... one of the builders and owners of the original Blacklist. Hyang was talking about the bar... not the city.
I mentioned the idea to Bally the next time I saw her. She started talking about building a city, building attractions, vendor spots, etc... and how the original Dark City grew from a tiny spot on the map to most of a sim...
Never did I imagine, in August, that Hyang, Bally, Lisa (another dear friend with connections to the original Blacklist) and I would embark on an adventure to build a new bar... and build a city around it.
With about $500 USD between us, we purchased a 16k parcel of land in Shaitan, bought a few building supplies, bought another 1k of land to bank its prims, and kept some money on account to pay tier fees until the city is self-sufficient.
Hyang and Lisa didn't want to build... they just wanted the excitement of something new. Bally and I got excited about the build... and expected a build time of 6 - 8 weeks.
We set to building on August 23... Bally and I, with Hyang looking on. We had a surprise visit from Darkchylde, the original builder of Dark City, who left SL some time ago, as we were laying the first prims.
Then I talked to my roomie, Hirundo. She's relatively new to building, like me... we do okay, given time. Then Viola came on board. Then I convinced Nedreck to join in... then Selena and Alysa. Ned contributed some Lindens, then Jo bought some land... the build progressed for 10 days, by which time all of the major structures were complete, most of the secondary structures were well on their way, and a process of optimizing the prims began in earnest.
I still can't believe what we've done in less than two weeks. The Blacklist, except for a few details, is complete. The city is 90% finished. Only detail work and prim shaving remains. And signing up some vendors. And holding a gigantic party...
Along the way, I've met some new friends... Viola, who I sorta knew before.. but not really... Selena, who seems to have a knack for building that she didn't really tell me about when I asked her to join us... Alysa, who has an adorable sense of humor and good building sense, as well... All new friends in an all new place.
Each of us brings something to the project... whether it be money, ideas, skills, or management ability. Only a few of us knew each other well at the start, yet we worked harmoniously. Each of us has friends who have visited. Those friends have brought friends. The old Blacklist group members are finding us... checking us out... our traffic is good, and we haven't even announced ourselves to the grid.
We have the Blacklist bar. We have a working cinema. We have a macabre doll factory... a liquor store, a chinese restaurant, a hobo village, a hotel, a working basketball court, and shops which echo in their emptiness (until we fill them).
I find that I'm happy in Second Life, again. I was in a rut. I would log in, not wanting to go back to the same old haunts. Don't get me wrong... I've met some good people at those places. And I still go back to them. But I have something else now. Something new and fresh. With new faces as well as old friends.
It's a paradigm shift. Once, I went to other people's places, and accepted a world as they wanted it to be. Now, I have a place where I can influence not only the game... but the playing field and the rules, as well. It's not a God thing, because I am but one member of a team. But this team has created a world, defined its shape and purpose, and made something good and exciting.
Welcome to the new Blacklist, Shaitan. Opening for business, sometime this month... (but stop in any time you like).
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