Tuesday, January 31, 2012

Little Maid

Arches

I love builds on a smaller scale - ones I can insinuate myself into. I also love a lot of shininess.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Coal & Red 2
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 05-A
Glasses: Air, Cresta
Lipstick: Mock, Mizu Lip Gloss - Mock Russian
Hair: D!va Hair, Maya - Cat's eye
Dress: Ambrosia, Maid Dress - Cafe Hunt Prize
Gloves: CKD, White Chantilly Lace Gloves
Bracelets: Ezura, Lolita Crown - Red Cuffs
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Shoes: G Field, Square-toe Shoes "Sophie" - red

Pose: EverGlow

Location: B & W Fuscia Nightfire
Light Settings: Places Bentham

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Monday, January 30, 2012

2012 Color Challenge: Week 5 - Patina

Drawn to You

I struggled a lot with Patina, and I don't think I'm the only one. I was all set for one other outfit, then it seemed to green, so I ended up with this - an outfit from De La Soul with multiple HUDs to allow me to mix and matched as much as my heart pleased, and with a tealy-color close enough to Patina to make me happy. Needless to say. though, none of what I'm wearing is actually called Patina.The top and bottom are prim-only clothing, no body textures at all, and are recolorable using a wide variety of HUDs - which makes for an incredible amount of customization and, in this case, patinazation!

I totally just made that word up.

I added the new De La Soul Glaive jewelry (I'm wearing a LOT of De La Soul today, I know!) set in to highlight it - which is also changable with a HUD. I had a lot of fun shifting around the colors to match, and found this shiny dark teal which almost was patinaish.

Totally just made that word up, too.

Butterfly Toes

I rounded it off with these awesome tippytoe feet from SLink - look, I managed to namedrop feet and show them, all in one post! I love these feet, so amazingly, with the curve and the arch of them - I've really fallen in love with the positive effect they have on finishing a barefooted look. Second Life feet are so pathetic and ugly, and these seem to be almost real - it's wonderful!

Also wonderful (how's that for a segue?) is this sim! It's a new build by Bryn Oh for the Avatar Games, and it takes many of the staples of her builds and makes them enormous! I look tiny and fairy-like in my full sized avatar; wait until you see me there in my mini faerie avatar!

Down to the Bones

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Ears: De La Soul, Glaive Ears
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Teal & Golds 2
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 05-A
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Flirt
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Kamiko Mesh Hair (Promotional Item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: De La Soul, Glaive Set (Promotional Item)
Dress: De La Soul, Gypsy Outfit (Promotional Item)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Feet: SLik, Jolie Pied Barefoot - Tiptoe (Promotional Item)

Poses: Pididdle

Location: LEA Games Sim
Light Settings: Places Bentham

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Sunday, January 29, 2012

.XIV Brings Glory

Turn in Time

I don't normally do a look based (almost) entirely off of a hunt, but this photoshoot may have changed my mind. If you love Lolita, you need to do the Cafe hunt - simple as that. I'm keeping easily 50% of what I found, which by my usual hunt standards is impressive (I usually keep or like 10-20% of a hunt), and several items are going to show up in future photoshoots because the quality is simply that high. You can see it in the layering of the bow in the back of this dress - solid bow shape plus a froth of lace make this cafe-style dress from MiuMin really stand out, especially as something you can get for free. The shoulders and sleeves have multiple prim attachments to make it flow smoothly, and the neckline is all kimono - seamlessly blending with the Lolita of the dress, and the froth of skirt flows smoothly and slowly, perfect for catching the air of a turn inside of a still frame. The corset includes an invisible layer - though if your waist is narrow enough you can get away without it - and adds a very natural curve which really finishes the look. The outfit also includes the matching headband and soft white stockings, but not the shoes.

Night Light

The shoes, which have these adorable flower accents on top, are one of three made by .XIV, the same place where my pictures are taken. They're one of three tones, though all are fairly dark, and the quality level is as high as the decorative styling of the sim itself. These are actually the literal first prize of the hunt - so if you hunt these down, you will get started in style. The hair is from Ocello Sleep, and is an adorable froth of curls with a foodie twist. Yes, indeed, the toast is included in the look! The texture isn't my favorite - I have a tendency toward uber-realistic hair despite not being entirely uber-realistic myself - and I'm rarely a brunette, but I loved the accents of clips on the bangs. It's definitely built for a narrower head than mine (Deoridhe has a heart-shaped head), and you can't edit individual prims, but it is resizable and with a little work I made it work all right with my head (though it did make my head look all long!). I love the curls and toast, though, so I couldn't resist keeping it on for these pictures. The ears are from a store I actually know, ni.ju, and am growing more and more to love. They are adorably huge with comically oversized bows accented by strawberries. I may end up fluttering my eyelashes cutely at some skin makers to see if I can get matching skin, I like these so much. And they totally need a tail. And maybe a little strawberry in the mouth.

Am I getting a little demanding? Opps.

Even Look

The eyes and skin are also from this hunt - really, I got almost a full makeover from it, and that is impressive. The eyes are from Mariko Cafe, and though normally I'm not a fan of brown eyes, I completely fell in love with these. The lighting is translucent and clear, and the tone is a warm, rich brown which really makes me smile. The skin from Shiva is a warm almond with gorgeously undertoned shadows around the eyes and the cutest pink lip I've seen in a while. Any imperfections you can see are due to limitations of the shape, not the skin; from what I can see, it's really seamless. This close-up of this MiuMin dress shows some more of the details - the little ribbon, the tiny ruffles that are textured perfectly; have I mentioned how perfect this dress is? I'm also amazed at how much each item works together - considering they were from very different stores - the pinks and browns flow together beautifully for a truly stunning final look.

Today I had the fun, too, of being able to hunt with dear friends. It reminded me of the fun of chatting and bouncing between stores, sharing what we can find and just enjoying being with wonderful people - so thank you to my dear friends who make my Second Life worth living! You are true blessings.

Flights of Fancy

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Shiva, Maria 1 Skin - hunt
Eyes: Mariko Cafe, Coffe Eyes 02
Ears: ni.ju, Ichigo's Desert
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 05-A
Hair: Ocello Sleep, BRAKE ponpon
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: MiuMi, Cafe MiniKimono
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Shoes: .XIV, Anna's Flats - black

Poses: Glitterati

Location: .XIV
Light Settings: Places Annamaria

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Saturday, January 28, 2012

Year of the Dragon

Colorful

katat0nik seems determined to set the bar high for 2012, coming out of the gate running with this completely adorable Year of the Dragon dress. As a dragon, I highly approve! I accented it with some jewelry from Frop! that a friend of mine passed my way; who knew duckies and dragons would get along so swimmingly.I accented them with adorable boots from AMD, complete with little poofs hanging down from the fur. I really love cute boots, and the combination of short, flirty summer frocks with big stompy boots is one of my absolute favorites.

Boots!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears - Faery
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Solstice - sun
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 05-A
Lipstick: Mock, Micare LipGlimmer - Hypoxia
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Chloe Hair - Ash
Jewelry: Frop!, ducky set
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: katat0nik, Lunar Dragon Dress - yellow
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Shoes: AMD, Snuggies - White / Black

Poses: Striking Poses

Location: Lloyd
Light Settings: Places Annamaria

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Wednesday, January 25, 2012

The Littlest Deoridhe

Winged

I had the hardest time finding a place to take pictures, and so I ended up going through my encyclopedic links and history and ended up back at Bryn Oh & Company's collaborative release - The Path, which I was thrilled to see was still open.

One of the negative effects of being very, very small in Second Life is that most things are so huge that all sense of proportion or ability to settle oneself near things can be impaired. I had a ball taking pictures at various stores with little desk areas - and I may well do a swing through my favorite stores in another version of this avatar because I LOVE IT! - but for a full length and "official" set of pictures (instead of my first-in-a-while Flickr only hunting set) I wanted to go to some place more uniform; some place where I could experience the Littlest Deoridhe in a variety of aspects. Bryn's build for The Path is perfect for this - being full of little details - in a way her other builds  haven't been to me (Immersiva tends to be more sweeping except for these tiny little details, for example, and the Family setup was stark, angular, and huge). What I really wanted for a faerie world was something cluttered, though, and the initial study Bryn developed contains both clutter and starkness in delightful concordance.

Mechanical Future

I feel really blessed to have this faerie and all her G Field dresses (the dresses and legs are rigged, but the flower headpiece and wings (not shown) are prim). I don't know what I'm doing in Second Life, but the gods and creators are smiling at me because I ended up with both the faerie, elf, and demon bodies made in collaboration between Yabusaka and Fallen Gods, the glorious outfits made by Fallen Gods to go with them, and the fantastic Wasabi Pills hair for free - and the eyes are semi-self made using textures from De La Soul, and mid-photoshoot I ended up with some more !bang poses as a gift from the generous creator. It's nights like this where I feel how blessed I am - generosities stacked upon generosities allowing me to have spots of true beauty in my life. I don't think there are enough words to show my gratitude for getting given what I would have wanted to buy in its entirety, so I hope these pictures will convey that for me.

Tiny Whim

The avatar body is mesh - and I have it on excellent authority that it is hysterically funny to people who can't see mesh and looks like a bunch of balls and boxes moving around randomly - and much of the clothing is mesh as well, but prim accessories do work. It is also very, very small - coming up to about the knee of a standard avatar and even less for the uber tall ones.  Even compared to my base avatar - which is short in Second Life - I am tiny. To give you a sense of perspective, the Random Calliope "bracelet" on my wrist is actually the ring; the "belt" has been shrunk on the side and back slightly, but it started as a necklace, and the decoration around my neck was originally meant for the forehead. Necklaces can work around the waist with very few modifications, as can bracelets, and many a ring will find a new lease in life around the wrists of my growing army of Very Very Tiny Deoridhes. My one complaint - and believe me when I say it is a very little one - is that every little faerie has the same features; part of me would love to see my full sized avatar reduced down to this size simply because the effect would be glorious, but that is well beyond the easy capability of mesh as it stands and I love this avatar so much it's really a footnote.

My Sisters!

Fallen Gods has released three types of avatars based off of three styles of skin, and with all the expected superiority of tone and design. I started with the palest "elf" color and haven't yet played around with the custom tinting that seems to be possible. Elf also comes in two other tones, one darker and a bit grayer and the other darker and slightly warmer - these are effectively the "human" tone range of pale to tan. The "crystals" are the faerie forms, and come in blue, purple, and green - all base medium in tone to start with. The final "dracos" set are meant to be more demonic, and come in dark red, purple, and black. Each style of skin has a corresponding outfit to match - a robe and cape setup for the elves, wings and scanty earring based clothes for the faeries, and tightfitting bodysuits with bat-style wings for the demons.

Hitting the Books

I am wearing the dress that G Field made for this avatar, though, in unison with the delightful hair from Wasabi Pills. Right now there's just a single offering from each, but I remain hopeful that both will create more - I'm especially hoping for other of the mesh hairs from Wasabi Pills to be made, since some of them I adore so much, and I'd love to see them all miniaturized. If you go to the Yabusaka sim, you can also see mesh samples for making clothing for these avatars, and I'm really impressed to the extent to which they are a collaboration, and encouraging further collaboration. My other accessories - including the eyes - were pulled together myself out of my existing inventory, and I wanted to do this to show the inherent versatility of the avatar despite it being mesh and a very different shape from the base avatar (though no-copy jewelry will quickly become your bane, as it has become mine!).

The included eyes for the avatar don't quite show up well, and all attempts I made to use the system eye slots to add eyes met with failure, but I made static eyes using eyeball prims and a texture I wheedled out of De La Soul's creator, who has a history of giving in to wide eyes and a slightly quivering lower chin. The eyes on my avatar are simple 0.01 balls with a texture slapped on them, linked to a third 0.01 ball and attached to the chin; it took me less than ten minutes to make, and should be an example to any eye creators who want to get in on the game early - it really isn't difficult, and the texture changed not at all.

Reflections Upon Reflections

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Avatar: Fallen Gods and Yabusaka, Petites
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Orion Petite Mesh Hair - golden
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle (shrunk)
"Bracelet" and "Necklace": Random Calliope, Slither
"Belt": De La Soul, Glaive Choker
Dress and Accessories: G Field, Fairy Dress - purple

Poses: !bang

Location: The Path
Light Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Monday, January 23, 2012

Deos in a Box

Trapped

The DeoLoli dress is finally for sale!!! I mentioned it in an older post, but it took a while to get the display pictures taken, and it's finally out! There's also a version as a gift in the De La Soul store group (I believe there's a group fee). I know I'm totally biased, since this dress was both inspired by me and named after me, but I really love it. It comes in a huge number of colors, so many Charlie's usual display wasn't big enough and there are a couple of colors leaning against the display, and is remarkably inexpensive for a dress that includes not only sculpted sleeves but also matching bloomers - only 350$L with the full fatpack at 3500$L (a significant savings, since there are fourteen colors included!). As a first foray into dresses, I have to admit to being blown out of the water by the combination of textures and prims; Charlie is really beginning to hit his stride in making clothing even while keeping up his skinmaking (and I hear rumors of mesh avatars in his future!).

Knickers

This is the second time I've seen someone else literally inside of my shape, and I have to admit the effect is always a fascinating one - different from my other versions of Deoridhe (who all share a shape) because I know behind that form there is a not-me. Both Charlie and Azriel brought their own view of me into play when they took my shape, and I found that glimpse into the me-in-their-heads to be both flattering and fun. It's not often the version of you in someone else's head can stand in front of you - or even pose with you!

The Long View

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Dresses: De La Soul, LoliDeo (new release)
Skins: De La Soul
Hair (Deoridhe): Truth
Hair (Charlie): Exile
Shoes (Deoridhe): G Field
Shoes (Charlie): Lynx
Poses: Glitterati

Sunday, January 22, 2012

2012 Color Challenge: Week 4 - Iron

I'm da bomb

Iron week led to me wearing very little called iron, but rather shades of gray which remind me of iron. Here's another set of silks from Sublime Shroud Kreations, which shares a store with De La Soul (the maker of my skin and eyes), and I think it's my favorite of the ones Aydryan has made - I love the shine on the jewels and the light feathering on the side, as well as the three tiered skirt with dual colors. This is the Black Royal color, with a dusky blue highlighting. There's some gorgeous texturing on the bottom - and texturing is where Sublime Shroud Kreations really shines. The silks also come with a collar, but I substituted two other necklaces I'll highlight below. This also comes with a male top, which you can see at the store, and the whole silks set (all of Sublime Shroud Kreations's silks) is unisex. I paired in a set of Amaris' laced cuffs, which match the iron gray of the silks perfectly. For future silks, it might be fun to see more arm accessories - in dancing, the arms are often an attention getter, and I can imagine the shine of jewels on them really having a powerful effect.

One addition to this outfit which - if I did my work right - should seem seamless are the feet. These are the third version of SLink's Jolie feet, an in addition to being easy to fit and shade to match, they add true verisimilitude to my avatar, and finish out the silks seamlessly. They're shaded gorgeously; I particularly like the touch that the bottoms are shaded with the rim around the bottom of the feet being darker and slightly red - which makes it look like where you keep most of your weight; gorgeous detailed touch. With an additional HUD you get complete control over the colors of the toenails, but in my case I found a dark gray and stuck with it.

Whatchu Looking At?

The hair is a mesh from Alice Project that I got as a group gift; her group gifts give you one of each shade of blond, red, brown, and black - this is the blond, a grayer shade than I usually chose (I'm a golden blonde girl), but perfect for this look. I paired  it with dark ends, which make it look like my hair has been dipped in iron. The necklace on top is from Violet Voltaire, and the only thing labelled "iron" in my entire outfit. The second necklace is an old favorite from Little Boy Blue, a gorgeous mottled stone of iron gray and black, with a dark curve around the neck which echoes the other curves in my silks. I finished the look with a pale blue glitter from Croire on the lip - picking up the color in the jewels - and a hairflower from Wildo. The former is part of a gatcha prize, though you can buy the fatpack; the latter was inexpensive due to Wildo's closing sale - and I highly recommend you swing by if you like flowers in your hair.

I ended up at Tableau for the picture taking - focusing on the gray and dusty aspects rather than the more bright and colorful aspects of the town. The entire sim is surrounded by a mountainous wall which forms the perfect backdrop for pictures; slightly blue, the way landscapes in the distance tint blue, but tone in line with the rest of the sim so it's difficult to tell where sim ends and edge begins. A lot of times, single islands edge themselves with ocean, but in the case of Tableau this would make no sense - part of the point is that it's remote and inaccessible. And radioactive.

Drop the Bomb

One thing which struck me, thinking about the dystopic future of Tableau, was how familiar and frightening some of the images seemed - focused on Nuclear War, which was the bugaboo of my childhood, and yet, despite North Korea, seems so distant now. The fears of my adulthood are closer to fears of police states and being watched and tracked; of being trapped into one identity - fears which reflect the world I see growing around me, but which are far less easy to capture in images. I am Deoridhe in a deep, profound, and long-lasting way; this identity has served me well for fifteen years, and I see a world in which increasingly people will want to claim that because I used Deoridhe instead of a name on a formal document somewhere, that I deserve less credit or right to exist on the internet. My reasons for having a separate online identity are complex, but though some have faded over time the majority of them are still in place. This blog being on Google property underlies my inherent vulnerability as an individual - Google is gradually pulling the rug out from under pseudonymous people like myself, and it's only a matter of time before I have to find a new place to lay my head.

Range

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Damned, Rainbow 1
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipgloss: Croire, Glittery Gloss - blueberry (gatcha prize)
Hair: Alice Project, Amiya (group gift)
Hairflowers: Wildo, Juliet - black (closing sale)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Necklace 1: Violet Voltaire, Eternity Necklace - Iron / Onyx
Necklace 2: Little Boy Blue, Kota Necklace
Silks: Sublime Shroud Kreations, Zorra Silks - Black Royal (promotional item)
Bracelets: Amaris, Laced Cuffs - Grey
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Feet: SLink, Jolie Pied Barefoot (promotional item)

Poses: Adorkable Poses

Location: Tableau
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA Natural High

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Friday, January 20, 2012

Artful Mourner

Glance from the Ankles

I've been having fun with mesh - Jane has a slew of clothing; my only sadness is that my belly and breasts are so large that the dress doesn't reflect them at all - and some of the Jane dresses I can't wear because they're cut low enough that they slice off a bit of my breasts. One fun thing about mesh is that you can pull a double strap - bra and dress! Slightly trashy, very fun. I paired this chevron dress with a new, medieval style hair from a new-to-me store Fantavatar which has a bunch of medieval styles (yes I picked up three. Yes my inventory is huge. Yes I... shaddup!).

Sparkles From On High

On the sad side, a huge folder in my inventory - the one with all my meeroo nests and horse bundles, all of my photography supplies, many of the things I use regularly, and all my roleplaying things ...they are gone. I have a ticket open with Linden Labs and it might be recoverable, maybe, but in the mean time I'm resigning myself to rebuilding a lot of things, and simply giving up on others.

A moment of silence for my possibly lost inventory.

Mourning

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Damned, Rainbow 1
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Santa Fe
Hair: Fantavatar, Medieval Style 003 - Blond
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Jewelry: Earthstones, Nataliya Set
Lingerie: katat0nik, Holiday Bra and Panties - red
Dress: Jane, Tank Dress - Chevron Delicious
Bracelets: Silent Sparrow, Batty Chapiteau Wristbands
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: Vextra Fashion, Sheer stockings - red
Shoes: G Field, Bow Strap Shoes "Kate" - red

Pose: Glitterati

Location: LEA 6 - 'Where I found my Ivory Tower Surrounded by a Huxleyan World, Which Turned out to be an Orwellian World'
Light Settings: Places Astryls Wild
Water Settings: TOR, Glaznost

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Monday, January 16, 2012

2012 Color Challenge: Week 3 - Electric Indigo

Sprouting Strange Bits

Electric Indigo was a fun color to do. I immediately knew I wanted to use a Blue Blood dress - her colors are always so vibrant against the rich blacks of her designs that the electric is completely obvious and totally gorgeous. This is one of the many fatpacks lingering in my inventory that I opened just to pull out this dress - and even not remembering which is which (you don't want to know what my inventory looks like; I have piles of unopened boxes) and - unsurprisingly - I completely adored what it looked like. Like all of her dresses, the fabric layers are on every level, and surprisingly only the skirt is prim! All of that detailing on the neck and wrists - all drawn by Ghanima of Blue Blood and all gorgeous. The stockings are also included, and I adore the richness of the color which you can clearly see in these pictures.

Spilling Outward

I paired up up the dress with a pair of gorgeous, winged boots from Favole with lacing up the back. One thing I like about Favole's shoes is they really are unique as well as being strikingly gothic! The only other accessory this time, beside the usual suspects, is a hat from VC Designs that I totally expect I got on a hunt of some sort in the past. Sometimes I think I really should mark things better so I could tell you where they came from! It's totally cute, though, isn't it? With a little bit of lace on the front and some flowers along the brim. Really, the dress doesn't need much embellishment, though, so I kept it simple.

What's That Smell?

We're taking a running step off into unique and terrifying colors for this year, which really makes me happy. As everyone who knows me at all knows that brilliant and bright colors are my favorite - I love the bright, the implausible, the as-close-to-a-rainbow-as-possible. I tried to highlight and offset this brightness, but I was really frustrated no only by some new problems between my browser and second life (slplugin not working? Can I strangle someone now?), but with my desire for something I couldn't find in Second Life but that I suspected must be somewhere! A neon, modern, digital world. All of the futuristic sims I found were emphasizing the dirty dystopias of the future, and lacked the clean, metallic glow I was seeking. So I ended up in the wild again - which I suppose is where faeries belong, but still. Frustrating.

Highlights

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Hair: Heart Softens Natu - Honey Blond
Hat: VC Designs, Dress Hat Amethyst
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Dress: Blue Blood, Carmina - purple
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Favole, Lilith

Poses: Dare

Location: Dark Muse Forest
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT That Spells Moon 1
Water Settings: Claira

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Irrational Seduction

 ( One more day on the sale at Violent Seduction!! Half off - only once a year! Hurry to take advantage! )

Wildflowers

Gifts are a funny thing.

In my job, I often have clients trying to give me things - and ethically I can only accept the smallest and least financially valuable things, so it often ends up being little things like tea and maybe a piece of cake. Today, one of my more reserved clients gave me not only some slice, processed meat but also half a soda, and all the way through eating it (whut, it was good!) I thought about the weight gifts play, how gifts shift the social and fiscal relationships between people,and the weirdness of the therapeutic relationship - which is simultaneously a matter of fiscal exchange (I get paid for it) and social currency (I legitimately have affection and empathy for my clients). This plays into the similar mix in second life, where bloggers who blog fashion both can have fiscal exchanges (we often get things for free that we would otherwise have to pay for) and social ties (I am often friends with store owners who I blog).

One of the more interesting books I read recently was Predictably Irrational, which talks about the different ways we respond to social and financial issues - and that as soon as a market or money mentality is introduced, the social ties take a backseat and may even be destroyed. Gifts are a rather gray area, mostly in the area of social but some may become perfunctory - which can lead to more of a market mentality. Social ties are stronger and more resilient, but they demand more of both sides - a basic level of respect which needs to be held between those and which allows for open communication and flexibility.

Aren't They Cute?

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Bold coal & blue
Eyeliner: Idiosyncrasy, Eyeliner 6
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Santa Fe
Hair: D!va, Nanako - Cat's Eye
Dress & Ears: Violent Seduction, (promotional item)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: G Field, Ruffle Socks - white
Shoes: G Field, Ribbon Slingbacks - cobalt blue

Pose: HelaMiyo

Location: Rural New England
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA smokey blue
Water Settings: Claira

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Thursday, January 12, 2012

Internal Battles

There's a Run in my Stocking?

The recent Violent Seduction sale has been totally filling out Starr's inventory - I splurged on matching outfits for her and Deoridhe, and Muse has to be one of my favorite. It is a mix of tops and bottoms - a corset setup, a lolita skirt and ruched skirt, and even a long ball gown you can wear alone or pair up with other skirts for new styling action.

Of course, lag induced a bit of a temper in both Deoridhes and they were sniping and picking at each other for the entire photoshoot! Starr kept teasing Quandry about her stockings, and Quandry kept making fun of Starr's hair, and by the end of it I think they were ready to get into something when I called the whole thing off and went to bed!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Both Deoridhes: Violent Seduction, Muse
Deoridhe Starr's Animations: Magnifique
Deoridhe Quandry's Animations: Elymode

Location: Sugar Palace
Photographer: Deoridhe Quandry
Post-Processing: Cropping Only

Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Chiaroscuro

Dream a Little Dream

It is difficult to make changes - too often we make a huge change and the entire world changes for a millisecond, and then we collapse back into the original pattern.

The trick to changes - the little secret - is to make little changes; changes so small you barely notice. Easy to maintain changes that require only the slightest amount of effort. Then you stick with the change; every day just doing it anyway, in and out, even when that little voice inside says 'It doesn't matter, go ahead and skip tonight...' and then when time passes and it becomes habit...

then you make another little change.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Blue & ky
Eyeliner: Idiosyncrasy, Eyeliner 6
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Santa Fe
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Nichole (Promotional Item)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Dress: The White Armory, Royal Sapphira Gown
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Ribbon Slingback Shoes- navy

Pose: Striking Poses

Location: Cadenza
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT Nocturne
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Sunday, January 8, 2012

2012 Color Challenge: Week 2 - Coral

Dance

I had loads of coral in my inventory for this week, which was about the only way in which it was easy! Changes while I was out of town has led to a drastically lowered bandwidth, and I've been suffering for it! Anything online takes ages, and half the time I seem to time out. Until my extended bandwidth kicks in, which I hope will be soon, I'm afraid there won't be as many pictures from me; I can't express how long it takes when every minor movement comes with buckets of lag! Very sad and disconcerting, and it's leaving me terribly cross.

So to counter it, I piled on the coral and found my way to a charming under-water reef for pictures. I didn't find quite so much coral, sadly; if anyone knows a really well done Coral Reef in Second Life, I'd love to hear about it!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: ABS, Pink & Coral
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss
Hair: Nushru, Jasmine - Coral
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Jewelry: Eclectica, Victoriana - coral
Dress: Has Been, Wendy Dress - Coral
Fish: Seven Seas, Banded Coral Shrimp
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Flower Pumps "Eve" - coral

Location: SolAria
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDY Cheery Cyan
Water Settings: Second Plague

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Friday, January 6, 2012

2012 Color Challenge: Week 1 - Champagne

Once, a long time ago, I teased a creator friend of mine that he should learn to make dresses so he could make me things. He's primarily a skin creator, had a shirt and a pair of jeans to his name, and so I largely meant it as a tease - a joke - one of my humorous references to how much better the world would be if it revolved around me.

A few days ago, he asked for my shape. I didn't ask why - it seemed like he wanted to surprise me with something.

Yesterday, he surprised me with this.

Exploration

This is a sneak preview of the LoliDeo dress, the first dress in the De La Soul repertoire. It's static prims, but the shape moves amazingly well with my movements - and as anyone who has seen my AO would say, I move a lot! He even included the sweetest set of matching bloomers (perfect guard against panty-checkers!) I've ever seen. Look at those ruffles! Look at the amazing neckline practically made for over-busted Lolis like myself! And when you get a chance to buy this in-world (it's coming soon!) make sure to check out the view from below - there's a surprise there!

On The Shore

This is my first champagne picture for the color challenge for 2012! I hope you like my toast!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Hair: Truth, Miku - macaroon
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Jewelry: Eclectica, Wright - champagne
Dress: De La Soul, LoliDeo - Toast
Stockings: Sn@tch, Candy Stockings
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps

Poses: !bang

Location: Aear, Lux Aeterna
Light Settings: Places Abracadabra2
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Momentary Kajira

Did You Call me?

I'm not a big Gor fan; to be honest, though I am fond of a few people into Gor, I find the world itself deeply disturbing. I am a huge fan of silks, though, and my friend at Sublime Shroud Creations has been bitten by the silk making bug - my inventory is reaping the rewards. This is his first set, and they constitute one of the only times I've ever flown about the grid with my boobs hanging out; not something I'll necessarily make a practice of, but the silks themselves are gorgeous - just be careful where you wear them! They come with male and female chest pieces in addition to the rest, making them fully unisex. They are sized for male avatars, though, so be aware you might need to resize a few things if you're a woman! I mostly moved things around and found they fit very well, but I am on the plump side. The silks are full of flowing movement, though - I became really fond of the calf-flutters which moved as I flew about finding new places to take pictures. The cape of silks down the back also moves gorgeously, both in dace and travel. This is the first of a bunch of new releases from SSK, though, and as a breakout silks set completely blew me away.

Snowflake

I ended up pairing the silks with a new skin design from De La Soul. Intent on gradually skinning the entire alphabet (that sounded a little wrong...) Chelle is following up her Aestali set with a new, more defined Beatrice skin and it's matching Beaux design for males Much more defined than Aestali, I've found Beatrix in Barley to be sublime for photoshoots because of the crisp shadows on the face. I'm wearing the Dragon 2012 skin, which has been released as a hunt gift, but the cosmetics on the face as part of the skin are obscured by a combination of eyes from Elymode and lips from Mock to a fantastic effect. I'd actually been set up to take pictures in my Aestali rig, which is my usual skin, when Chelle passed me this Hunt skin, and when I saw how it made the lips seem even richer, and the wonderful effect of the purple around the eyes, I knew I had to keep the cosmetics even though it partly hides the fantastic scale texturing around the eyes and the delicate eyeliner that are part of the skin.

Uuuuuum...

The jewelry is also from De La Soul, a collar and set of bangles - the latter of which are wonderful for hiding ankle and wrist seams if you take advantage of existing mesh and prim hand and feet attachments. I did pull out my SLink feet again, though it took a while to match the new skintone (Barley is slightly darker and much greyer than my usual peachy-rose Aestali skin) the feet still add significantly to bare footed me wandering around the grid. I'm still eyeing and considering her mesh version, which have the advantage of moving and flexing with poses, but for now my flat-footed prim feet will have to do! The final surprise of the look is my sudden brunette phase, inspired by a hunt prize hair from Favole - who I more know for their delightful shoes and wings and collars. It's a swept updo, and I really enjoyed the spray of flowers in the back.

Arrival

I ended up taking pictures in an Adult Gor sim called Ironhall, to be respectful of the fact that whenever I moved my nipples were flashed to everyone, and unlike the last Gor sim I took pictures in, this time I didn't get an IM telling me faeries don't belong in Gor. I think the "observer" tag helped with that, but the place I had been didn't have an observer tag! It's an absolutely gorgeous sim, so I encourage you to take a look even if Gor is not your cup of tea, as it isn't mine. You might want to wear more clothing, though!

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

 Skin: De La Soul, Beatrice - Barley 2012 Dragon (Promotional item)
Eyeshadow: Elymode, A Little Drama
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Hair: Favole, Nuit
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick: Mock, Micare Lipglimmer - Flirtatious Kobi
Jewelry: De La Soul, Glaive Set - Copper
Silks: Sublime Shroud Kreations, Xithanen Sunset Silks
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Feet: Slink, Jolie Pied - Flat bare

Poses: Olive Juice

Location: Ironhall
Light Settings: Places District8
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only