2012 Color Challenge: Week 8 - Dark Raspberry

I knew what I was going to wear for Dark Raspberry as soon as the color showed up. Blue Blood's pinks on her black always have a dark, rich hue that fit this week's color perfectly, and it's been a store I both love and haven't featured much recently, so I was really grateful for this chance to go dark and gothy with a pink twist! The gloves, which matched shockingly well, are from Bubble and somehow managed to be the same hue! The same with the hair - an old hunt prize from Diversity that also happens to be the only thing called "raspberry" in this whole look! It would be interesting to see what would happen if everyone was forced to use certain names for each of the colors, but until then we'll stumble through mixing and matching. Both my wings and the adorable wedges from katat0nik were tintable - and I tinted them to match! It took me a while to remember to shift the texture to white first, so it was easier! The bracelets are of my own design, but textured with gifts from a dear friend, Fortunas, whose Fortunas Creations is filled with gloriously gorgeous textures. He talked me through mixing and matching several different kinds, giving the jewelry added depth that I really enjoyed - even if it's only apparent up close! It was harder to find a place to take pictures - I ended up searching through pages and pages of possibility before settling on one of the displays at Musei di Roma Capital, based on interpretations of Poe's stories, and then tinting the scenes reddish using a combination of windlights and worn lights.

Several different things in concordance have gotten me thinking about the ties between people - both positive and negative - this week. Like the wire meshes which surround each of these displays, people are tied together by threads of expectation, desire, opinion, and hatred. Even indifference has it's own sort of thread - dull gray and nearly transparent. It is easy for people to spot their own webs of opinion and feeling surrounding them, but it is significantly harder to spot the webs around all of the people we interact with; no matter how well you know someone, you can still be ignorant of some of their hidden likes and dislikes, their secreted away feelings which they might only be willing to admit to themselves. When one is ignorant of those ties, it's easy to act as we will without taking others' thoughts into account. In the absence of information, focusing on our own thoughts and opinions is only logical.

The question is what happens when one learns of the thoughts and feelings of others - how much do we allow those ties to bend and twist our own opinions of the world. To what extent should the experiences of those we care for affect and change us? Too much and we become puppets on the whims and opinions of someone else, and more of our interior core is given away through love. Too little and we become hardened and inflexible, our senses of compassion and love sacrificed on the altar of self-determination. The trick is to find a level which is consistent with our integrity - to act with both compassion and in tune with our deepest values. I'm still ruminating over a few difficult challenges - where my value of beauty is truly being pressured by my value of compassion; nothing is being asked of me, but within me I feel the need to respond.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyelashes 1: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyelashes 2: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Coal & Magenta 1
Glasses: Air, Cresta
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Flirt
Hair: DH, Kiki - Raspberry
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Gloves: Bubble, Laced Corset - Pink
Dress: Blue Blood, Rebellious - Pink
Bracelets: Begendings, Bangles (textures by Fortunas)
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Heels: katat0nik, Aya Wedge

Poses: Striking Poses

Location: Musei di Roma Capital
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Sailor Moon
Water: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only