Castle Ivana Part 4 - Meet Dubby Loon

 

Behind every SL creation is a builder.  While Madame Ivana Hanni is the owner and public face of Castle Ivana, she has a very talented partner who is responsible for creating the beautiful builds on Honey Isle, including the castle and its many rooms.  His name is Dubby Loon, and he has been with Ms. Hanni from the very start. Everything you see in the castle is from his ideas and designs.  Dubby has bended and twisted many a prim, broken down some designs to make them into others, and has shopped across the grid in search of the best furnishings and builds, all to create what you see here today, at Castle Ivana and the estate known as Honey Isle.

DUBBY LOON - TALENTED BUILDER AND CREATOR 

Dubby's time in SL goes back to the beginning. He remembers the pre-mesh time when all building took place in world using primitive objects.  The sandboxes here were full and people worked together and collaborated more on their creations because everything was done inworld.  It was more limited then, with prim counts and also what you could do with the basic prim shapes. Dubby says it was interesting to see what everyone did with these limitations. He told me about a legendary builder from these times by the name of Starax.  Dubby calls him a Prim Wizard. This particular avi is not in SL any longer, but Dubby had some of his creations in inventory.  Starax's creations were non-mesh and purely made of prims. My eyes were wide in fascination as Dubby displayed a Yak, made purely with primitive objects, and per Dubby, " tortured toruses and spheres."  Dubby explained, "This is from SL history. It only exists in some inventories, like mine."  It is unfortunate the Starax left SL so early.  Because of the high quality of his works, their rarity, and the fact that he apparently left SL, Starax is now something of a legend among builders.  There is a lot of speculation about whether he left SL or has gone on to become another AVI.  Nobody really knows, but he has left his mark!

DROWNED - BY STARAX STOTOSKY

Long after Starax left, along came Mesh. With the introduction of Mesh, building changed quite a bit in SL, according to Dubby. People are working in 3D programs outside of SL.  Collaboration is a bit lost due to this.  People are importing their mesh works into SL after completing them outside of the world.  Dubby agrees that mesh makes things much look better, and he likes how it looks now. Everything in Castle Ivana is built and created by Dubby.  He explains, "Now, I'm like a child... buying something here, and then destroying it, and rebuilding it in my own way."

As for the Castle, Dubby explains that it is now a combination of 7 or 8 builds. When Dubby and Ivana first set up the sim, Dubby bought the castle and the interior, and combined them.  Now, only the columns survive and everything else is different. In the first versions of the Castle, everything was done with prims, but now there is a lot of mesh added to the build as well.  

DUBBY DESCRIBES THE HISTORY OF HOW THE CASTLE CAME TOGETHER

Dubby next took me on a tour of some of the places he is especially proud of within the castle.  "Come to see the Forest and Cave," he invited.  "The forest is made with all sculpties. All landscaping here is prims and sculpties."   This means pre-mesh, for those who are new to building terms.  This is the "old" way of how things were built back before mesh.  Today, using prims and sculpties is considered dated, and often does not look as outstanding as mesh, but Dubby has great talent, and the forest was just as beautiful as any created using mesh today.  Dubby explained that many builder's tricks were used to twist prims and create the trees.  We strolled through his creation and he explained different things as we went along. "All the plants and stones are my work," he told me. "Lots of the textures, too."

THE FOREST

THE CAVE, COMPLETE WITH A WATERFALL

CABIN BUILT FROM PRIMS, AND FROM SCRATCH

Other rooms Dubby showed me included the Artist Apartment. "Although small," he said, "It has a story and an atmosphere. What is great now, about SL, is that you can make, and put, much more details. And details make story and atmosphere. You can do things with lighting to make it that way, and with texture."

ARTIST APARTMENT

Speaking of lighting, Dubby then teleported us to the Roman Bath.  "You must see the local lights," he explained. "Lighting can make all the difference."  I was instructed to set my sun position to midnight, and Dubby then demonstrated projection lighting to me, which is a way to use texture for light, like a movie projector.  It is basically a texture on a prim.  I was very impressed with the effects.

DUBBY DEMONSTRATING PROJECTION LIGHTING IN THE ROMAN BATH 

LOCAL LIGHTS ENHANCE THE ATMOSPHERE IN THE ROMAN BATH

In closing, Dubby explained he loves to explore and experiment and place creations here at Castle Ivana for people's enjoyment.  You can tell he truly loves his craft and takes great pride in the castle.  He is proud the establishment has been here for so long and is very glad to be a part of it.  

Castle Ivana Part 2 - The Exploration Begins

Castles are often seen as romantic, mysterious strongholds, seething with secrets. What hidden chambers or unknown passageways might they hold? What mysteries do they hide within? Castle Ivana invites all of these thoughts into one’s imagination. Situated on a lush tropical island known as Honey Isle, Castle Ivana overlooks the sea. It immediately draws you in. Castle Ivana isn’t like any other club in Second Life. As you pass through the large arched entranceway, your mind is already racing with curiosity.


As you enter, you find yourself in a large ballroom, complete with a welcome area, a stage with dance poles for slaves, large bar for customers and many R&R spots for socializing, relaxation and sexual interactions.


The eye tends to direct itself to two things at once upon entering the castle: The stage and the bar. The stage might have some very sensual activity going on when you enter, because the Castle Slaves often entertain the clients by doing pole dances there… This is a very seductive welcome for the men who frequent the establishment, and it gives them a chance to check out the Slaves, and decide who they desire. These ladies are very friendly and welcome you as you enter.



The bar sits directly across from the stage. There is no question it was created with male clients in mind. The dark wood and leather upholstery promotes images of smoking cigars and a scotch on the rocks. This is a bar for men who know what they want. Here, a man can have a strong drink, relax and watch the ladies dance, and expect to take what he wants when he is ready to take it.

And now it’s time to socialize a bit, perhaps flirt with a Slave, or talk with a fellow customer. A number of cozy sitting areas are scattered about, inviting intimate conversation and a little more, too.

As you traverse deeper into the castle, you will find a treasure trove of rooms. There are 21 rooms, each with a different theme. For example, the Modern Room is where they place the latest thing in SL. This could be a new sofa with fresh animations for threesomes or foursomes, or a new Master’s chair. Room themes vary anywhere from hardcore to romantic. There is something for every fetish and fantasy. The details within are spectacular, and no two rooms are alike.




Each room is actually a different skybox set somewhere on the Sim, and Ivana has made entry into each one seamless. If you have access to the rooms, you only need to click on the door and it opens. Then click again, and walk inside. You exit the same way. Only group members have access to the secrets within. Visitors may come and tour the castle, but you must be a member to have access.



There are too many rooms to cover individually right away, so I’ll give you brief brush of some of the ones I visited, but really, each room deserves its own blog article! The details and attention given to each one is bar non.


MODERN ROOM - Has all the lastest things in SL... come sample!

LATEX ROOM - Indulge your fetish in all things latex!

CLASSROOM - Would you like Ms. Ivana to be your student or your teacher?

WINTER SHACK - Baby, it's cold outside!

THE KIDNAP HUT - has a cage for bondage play with a special captive of your liking

RED VAULT ROOM - Much fun to be had here, complete with a secret vault full of special surprises and toys

What’s next?

You want to see more rooms you say? You’re still wondering what other toys are in the red vault room? You want to know how some of them work? So many questions!

There are many more secrets and rooms to come. my darlings. This is only your first taste of the Castle Ivana. We will be visiting many more rooms and exploring much more of this SIM in days to come. We can’t give away all of our surprises in just one little blog article can we? Until then, I will leave you to wonder who we will meet next, or what room will be explored… and what secrets are waiting for us next?

Castle Ivana Part 3 - Meet Kristina

The lovely Kristina Deschanel has many different activities in Second Life.  She plays many roles, and one is as a slave at Castle Ivana/ Kristina is owned by Ms. Ivana. You can often find her dancing in the castle ballroom with the other slaves, flirting with the VIPS and sharing her wonderful wit and warm persona with all. Before becoming a slave, Kristina had spent time at the castle and knew Ms. Ivana for over ten years.  She had spent time at the castle attending parties and enjoying the sim with friends.  About a year ago, Ms. Ivana asked Kristina to become a slave at the castle.  The castle is Kristina's place to to to relax.  She's a very busy lady! Kristina is also the Executive Technical Editor of SL Connoisseur Magazine, owned by Edvard Taurion.  SL Connoisseur Magazine is a monthly publication that covers parties, furniture, sims, models and other high quality adult content. In addition to working on the magazine, Kristina is also the owner of *KL* KiKi  Shop, which offers BDSM furniture, created by Kristina.  

KL * KiKi Shop

I asked Kristina if she has a favorite VIP at the Castle Ivana and she said she enjoys them all.  She says everyone is different, and each gives her a different experience, fun, and most importantly, sweet pleasures. 

Kristina finds the castle interior to be top notch. "We could talk about each part separately for hours, and we will never say everything," she explains. "Dance hall, terrace, garden, beach, all look beautiful, and a lot of hot and nice rooms with always new furniture and poses."

Sitting with Kristina in the modern room at Castle Ivana

I asked Kristina if she had a favorite room within Castle Ivana, particular one to play in with a VIP.  "Yes, of course," she answered. "I love the Summer Shack. It's a small house with a garden, and whirlpool inside, nice sofa and bed, and upstairs is a little dungeon." 

Summer Shack

Relaxing in the Summer Shack

Summer Shack Dungeon

Another favorite for Kristina is the Girl Apartment. She says, "I love it, and the kitchen, with a lot hot poses there."

Turning up the heat in the Girl Apartment

Also, the Artist Apartment. "One my favorites too, because it has a nice look and good toys, " Kristina explains.

A Quick Glimpse of the Artist Apartment

"Then Latex Room, Red Room, Bondage Room... Love them because of all the hot fetishes and the bondage toys," she says.

Kristina also mentioned the Modern Room, which she feels is probably the most popular. 

Playing in the Modern Room... These are the PG poses but there are way more playful ones... come see!

Towards the end of our interview, Kristina finished her thoughts with this, "I must say, I have not seen all the rooms, but every room can be a favorite. The castle has rooms for every role play  which you could ever think of... well, okay not all... but 90%, I am sure." 

I think she's right.

Castle Ivana Part 1 - Meet Ivana Hanni

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