Deeper and darker grow the nights. The wind howls like some half-mad baying Manimal, and it sends a sudden shiver down everyone’s spines. Well, perhaps not the Ghouls’ spines. And the Botans have different kinds of spines entirely. ANYWAY, MOVING ON. Despite the spooky feeling in the air – or maybe because of it – there’s also a sense of celebration.
UPCOMING EVENTS: The Halloween celebration kicks off this Friday the 29th at Uncle Mutt (Nino Bollisima’s) Junk Shop, where he will be hosting Pumpkin Day. You can pick your own pumpkin from the patch for L$50, and play games of Greedy Greedy for Sharktooth Candy!
The events continue on Saturday as Wastelanders participate in the Hunt of the Living Dead. Invade other sims around the Grid as we search for the hidden sculpted brains, get free loot, and generally goof off. The more, the merrier! Gather up at 10:30am SLT at the Bunker in the Wastelands proper; we’ll march forth at 11! And come in your favorite Wastelands garb, so if the normals compliment us on our “costumes,” we can remind them that we’re like this every day.
Build up your bullets and stockpile your slugs, because War Zone returns to the Arena at Hambone Slash this Saturday at 3pm SLT! It’s a sim-wide group-on-group brawl for control of the irradiated Wastelands flag. The winning team will receive a heaping Victory Platter of goodies from food to weapons to ammo to medkits and more.
Halloween itself will be full of harrowing harmonies and eerie arias as the Atropine hosts an all-day festival of music in the Great Fissure. It begins at 1pm SLT with our own Giuseppe Spicoli, followed by Karu Seetan AKA Kurobe@r at 2pm and JR Wahrhaftig at 3. At 4pm, RedZone will play their gorgeous and haunting music live from their London studio. At 5pm, Aposiopesis Fullstop takes the stage, Rance Alva steps up at 6, and Gomi Mfume brings it all to a close at 7pm.
Don’t forget to keep an eye out for WL: Pumpkins! More likely than not, they’ll only be in season for a little while longer. If you can figure out the recipe, create your own Wastelands Jack-O-Lantern: celebrating that time-honored tradition of scooping out the insides of your enemy’s head and setting it on fire.
If the past few years are any indication, the Wastelands may also be visited by the fearsome and fiery Black Rider, and perhaps that mouldering trickster the Candy Ghoul. Be on your guard against their tricks and treats!
EVENTS HIGHLIGHTS: Fight Night took place once again at the dire Arena last Saturday – this time with an interesting twist. The new Arena Map Makers were set out, so the spectators and waiting participants alike could create their own custom maps between rounds. The creations this week ranged from spike-filled horrors to mischievous monster faces to meandering mazes, and others unsuitable for publication. When all the bloodshed was over, Dassina Andel took first, Tokiko Tigerpaw came away with second, and TheBlackCloud Oh took third!
An impromptu Movie Night was shown at the Drive-In at 5pm. This week’s fare was the 2007 comedy “Hot Rod.” Believing himself to be the son of a stuntman, slacker teen Rod Kimble tries to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, even his greatest exploits look more like “America’s Funniest Home Videos” fodder. Innocent to his own incompetence but seeking respect, Rod devises a plan to jump fifteen school buses in order to raise money for his ailing stepdad’s heart surgery – after which he promises to fight said stepfather to the death.
Thereafter, DJ Aposiopesis Fullstop played a set of loosely-associated music and an assortment of other tunes at a spot in North Yard.
Movie Night returned on Monday with a suitably spooky offering for Halloween week: the 1987 action/adventure comedy “Monster Squad.” The Wolfman, the Mummy, Frankenstein, and the Creature from the Black Lagoon have all joined forces under the leadership of Dracula, and seek to take control of a powerful amulet. Five horror-movie-loving kids are the only people who can stop evil from taking over the world.
ESTATE NEWS: Resident Vikki Placebo has created a gorgeously grungy new main page for the-wastelands.org! It has all the usual links to the Forum, Wiki, Land Store, and Press, but in a much more stylish design. Similarly, Neo has reworked the Forums and Wiki. It’s now easier to see new posts, access more information, check the latest pictures from the Flickr photo pool, and more. However, it’s still in the works, and some bugs and glitches are sure to be found. If you find anything that doesn’t work quite right, please bring it up in this forum thread.
In other news from the Forums, Neo plans to reformulate the weapons system of the Wastelands in the weeks ahead. If you’ve got some ideas on new weapons, or would like to put in a good word for the return of some old ones, or if you have any other ideas about ways to tweak or improve the system, speak up in this Forum thread!
The new-and-improved Wastelands Referral Program is still going strong. Inspire someone to buy Estate-owned land, get a hefty chunk of the selling cost! Check the link for full details.
RP NAME-DROPS: A couple of wild Botans have been glimpsed in the muck of Malady Bog. Past experiences have shown some Botans to kill on sight. While others are more sedate, the communication barriers can lead to very tricky situations.
