I actually quite loathe olives offline. The taste, the texture - ick ick! The color is fantastic, though; earthy and warm and green. Olives make me think of secret agents and my cousins, who love them and devour them raw.
The outfit I ended up in was complete happenstance. I'd been fluttering about in the Angelwing full outfit the day before, then switched to olive with the intention of taking off the Angelwing pieces after putting on my G Field olive dress and shoes. Then I realized the leaves matched perfectly, and an outfit was born!
The stockings balance out the red in the wings and hairpiece perfectly, and the green on the new Plastik skin I just got highlights the contrast of green and red beautifully without being too overstated. I think it manages the red/green line without becoming garish or Christmasy, which doesn't fit the mood of olive in my opinion. And, of course, I had to use Olive Juice Poses. I mean... DUH!
The place I went to I found through Honour's Post Menopausal View, which is a lovely blog for finding new areas to explore. I lit it using Torley's Gelatto lighting scheme, which I've used before. I really need to spend more time experimenting, though; I'd hoped to be able to mimic the red and green in the sky, but it didn't work out well.
Since my last big post, I've been doing thinking about getting review items (none of which are in this post) and covering events in Second Life. I'm friends with a number of store owners, and have begun talking to a few more in the wake of reviewing their items, and one issue which comes up is that of "false friends", that is, people who try to be friendly and ingratiate themselves simply in order to get free things.
One aspect of current US culture which I've been uncomfortable with for ages is that of "networking" - that is, using your social interactions with others as a means of getting ahead in business. I ran into it via my mother, whom I love dearly but who also kept chatting up my hopes and dreams and trying to hook me up with people to further those ends. It feels false to me, though; showing interest and sharing information not for the reason of wanting to become closer to someone, but rather out of a desire to further one's own ends. Like so many things, I had the discomfort long before I had the language for it - and even now I struggle with the language, since on the one hand this seems to often be a mutual thing, on the other hand it makes me profoundly uncomfortable.
I'll admit to the very human desire to have everything I want without paying for it. If I could have the entire G Field inventory, I'd do so cheerfully; I only don't due to financial considerations and a desire to own things form more than one store! The same with many other stores I'm fond of, including Angelwing, Falln Angel Creations, Blue Blood, katat0nik, Hal Hina, Silent Sparrow, etc...
Sometimes I feel guilty about not covering stores I love, too. During the challenge, I seem to keep coming back to the same stores even though I love items from other stores as well. I struggle with time, with focus, with a want to promote the stores of my friends and a want to subsume myself in pure style, ignoring all external and social considerations. It leaves me in a tangle in the end, unsure exactly how to act, what to chose, how to spend my time. It can be overwhelming, and sometimes dispiriting, this drive to connect combined with the greed I find within myself which I'm truly not so proud of.
I want attention. I want things. I want love. I also want them for my own sake, and not due to an exchange of skills or influences. I want to feel as if people would like me even if I were (more) annoying, (more) demanding, (more) entitled, (more) of a bitch.
And I want to be perfect - the best friend ever, that everyone would want to be near. I want recognition, only for my own talents, and yet to be recognized as somehow unique and fantastic when I don't believe - lets be honest here! - that I am.
I want to be judged worthy and wonderful without being judged.
I want to not be a commodity.
I'm not sure I have that choice in this world.
( All of the pictures here. )
Credits:
Eyes: Tacky Star, Pride
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Skin: Plastik, Amber - Sacrilege
Wings and Flowers: Angelwing, The Spring Fairy in Blue
Hair: Exile, Liv - sand
Dress: G Field, Classic Dress "Clea" - olive
Stockings: G Field, Ruffle Socks - red
Shoes: G Field, Bow Strap Shoes "Kate" - olive
Location: Heart of Dragons
Light Settings: [TOR], Gelatto
Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only
Lovely pics. And thank you for your openness and honesty. I know I feel the same way a lot of the time. *hugs*
ReplyDeleteI want to hug you and I promise I will try not to steal your shoes while doing it. Fantastic look and I'm certain you will be all of those things you want to be. You do have a choice. :-)
ReplyDeletevery real the comments that you make in this post... and I admire your honest and in some cases feel the exact same way... SL seems to be far too full of fakes at times! As for your outfit, it is once again... gorgeous!
ReplyDeleteLove your post. L share a lot of the same feelings. From Olive Juice poses to more profound concepts. But you express it much better than me!
ReplyDelete♥
Laura
Super cute look!
ReplyDeleteI hear ya on the social networking in US. I was in a sales job for years, and honestly, I always felt I sucked at sales,why? Because I just couldnt bring myself to be so fake and use others to get ahead. There is something so good about being honest and real. I know this to be fact, my customers, whom I respected kept coming back to me. =)
This is a darling ensemble! I think we all feel the things you have articulated in this post. Just know you are wonderful, period!
ReplyDeleteYou are all so sweet, I'm truly overwhelmed. Thank you for the kind words and the complements on my outfit, truly. ~<3
ReplyDeleteCuuuuute style!
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! You're so sweet.
ReplyDeletebeautiful pics and choice of outfit again ;-)
ReplyDeleteand ty for that interesting post ...
I think that 'networking'-stuff can be found everywhere , not just in the US, and it can kinda hit you (for good or for bad) even if you're not enforcing it yourself ...
and to be accepted, loved or respected for what I am or what I do (or do not do) seems to be the hardest part for me, as I actually often cannot really say what exactly makes me ... guess that's kinda lack of confidence ...
o.o ... I better stop before it gets totally inscrutable ... lol
*hugs*
Thank you, Mayala.
ReplyDeleteI've only really experienced things in the US, so I didn't want to generalize to other Western-style countries, but I think one aspect of the internet is that we, as identities, become commercialized.
I think the general feeling of being loved for how we behave instead of who we are is common, though.
Thank you, Mayala.
ReplyDeleteI think it is true it can be found elsewhere, especially as the internet spreads since this is a place where we are "on" even while we're ignoring it, through profiles, posts, tweets, etc... It opens us up for meeting more wonderful people, but it also opens us up for being judged bya wider and wider field of view.