Wednesday, February 29, 2012

I Can Haz Promoshunz - Technicolor Morticia

Bless My Pixel Heart

The newest dress from Dilly Dolls - Davina - is actually a remake of a pre-mesh dress she made which is perfectly suited to mesh. This version fit me much better than the original, actually, which I ended up resizing the corset of prim-by-prim; it took a long time! This time it was just a matter of finding which width fit me; I ended up going medium and medium at the corset and skirt, and large with the bodice - all rigged - and it fit my shape without any modifications! The sizes range from large to extra small - remember that length matches your avatar for rigged mesh, so it's just width you need to worry about. I love how the skirt bends with movements; it completely blows me away how fluid it looks. The only break is when I have a pose with the legs angled too differently - then it breaks and you have to be careful of the angle if you're snapping pictures. As you can see, I focused around pictures where the legs were more together because it doesn't "break" the base of the dress. The underneath is hollow inside, but with the invisible layer you're vanished from the breasts down, so there's nothing to flash.

Cool Evening

The texture of the dress is very shiny latex, and the curves are pure fetish. I particularly like the lacing up the back with the bow in the middle. In addition, every piece (including the eyelets) are individually tintable - I went for a full out rainbow fade, capping with teal at the bodice and eyelets and green lacings; a cool look with the warm beginning at the shoulders and higher. In honor of the brilliant, shameless brightness of the dress, I ended up at Pico Pico Life - which is made up of enormous, brightly-hued pixel figures all over the place. They're so enormous the textures are quite fuzzy up close, seeming more crisp and clear from a distance. I really love how brilliant and gorgeous it is, but the enormous figures made it hard to angle pictures!

Fading Through the Bars

I added some rainbow accents to the neck and eyes, pairing them with reds and oranges as well as the yellow-blond of my hair. It's a paltry show for warm colors, but I always preferred the cool ones anyway! The necklace is an old favorite from Earthstones, and the eyeshadow is from Damned and part of a huge set of rainbow eyeshadows which I adore. The hair is the newest group gift from D!va and I adore it so much! It's a series of upcurls festooned with flowers, all of them beautifully tucked in. I'm still wearing my new glasses from Air, and I had the great fun of someone commenting that she sought out their store because of seeing my glasses, even if she ended up picking up a different set. Yay, my first person who went to a store based on seeing my blog! Go Go Blogging Deo!

Bridge to Nowhere

( More pictures found here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Damned, Rainbow 1
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick: Ricielli - Rhea Special
Eyelashes 1: Flugeln Brise, 05-A Planty
Eyelashes 2: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Glasses: Air, Cresta
Hair: D!va, Diva2 - Cat's Eye (group gift)
Necklace: Earthstones, Nataliya
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, "Tiwi" Nestling Finger Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Dress: Dilly Doll, Davinia V2 (promotional item)

Pose: aDORKable

Location: Pico Pico Life
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT - Flyer
Water Settings: TOR, Placida brite

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Tuesday, February 28, 2012

Blood on Thin Ice

On Ice

Lately, I have been dwelling on the motivations and mindsets of people who gain pleasure from the suffering of others, who enjoy insulting others, trying to anger or hurt them. I've always found the motivations of griefers curious - I remember one time I was trying to do a photoshoot in China and a crowd of 4-6 people kept rezzing piles and piles of things over and over again, obscuring the beauty of the sim. I took some time to report them, but did not engage. Yesterday, I watched someone who has been stalking a few individuals and a store group for years due to some old offense come into chat, say things to upset people, and then even after he had been silenced stick around to watch. It seemed a waste of time to me, but obviously was not to him. Later that evening, I watched a group of people spread misinformation to each other, whipping up discontent with Linden Labs who responded hostility to any indication there might be a second point of view, however mildly put. After some discussion, growing more and more heated, I simply closed the group chat; I like the store, but endless complaining annoys me.

Standing Against the Wind

Today, I watched three people attempt to disrupt a philosophical discussion at a philosophy sim. This included claiming there would be a police state based on a school of philosophical thought; gross hyperbole if I've ever heard it. Multiple times in the discussion, irrelevant things like insulting psychology (and conflating Skinner behaviorism with the entirety of psychology) or even the gender of two of the discussioners (obviously I and the other female speaking up weren't "real" women) were brought up in an attempt to divert the conversation and upset the participants. A discussion did eventually occur vaguely on the topic, but the effort to ignore the insults and have a discussion instead of a series of pronouncement robbed the hour of much of its pleasure. It reminded me more strongly why I had left philosophy over a year ago; how bored I had become of series of "gotcha" traps, inaccurate use of logical fallacies, and bald pronouncements passing themselves off as discussion - not to mention the insulting dismissal of most people by several of the louder participants.

Do You See Me?

Similar to this web of judgement is some recent things within the worlds of fashion and blogging. On the one hand, I am not a huge fan of very deformed avatars - whether they tend to the abnormally tall and thin or the invisible unicorn and frowny face set. On the other hand I do worry, as I have said before, about the extensive history of women judging women as a means of keeping us from reaching our best potentials. Ironically, this includes critiquing other women for critiquing - complicated are the paths of re-imagining relationships. Echoes of people outright saying others should not blog, or should not put pictures of flickr disturb me, though - the only way people can learn is if they attempt and get back feedback, and some people less want to learn and more want to simply measure their experiences and record bright spots. In addition, other people have impaired computer capabilities - I, for example, do what I do on a laptop.

A Long Road

I suppose what I'm saying, in a long-winded manner - is that I've personally grown bored of spending much time or attention on denigrating or undermining other people. I find joy and pleasure in supporting other people, sharing experiences and cheering each other on, combining knowledge so that we all learn more and get a clearer picture of the world, and avidly following local dramas to see how people react because it's incredibly fascinating.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Mock, Fae-ry UnCertain Scarepia (group gift)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick: Mock, Mizu Lipgloss - Mock Russian
Eyelashes 1: Flugeln Brise, 05-A Planty
Eyelashes 2: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Glasses: Air, Cresta
Hair: Truth, Maggie (Mesh)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, "Tiwi" Nestling Finger Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Dress: Favole, Edged - Red (mesh)
Feet: Lassitude & Ennui, Flutter boots - cardinal (Back in Black event)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: On Thin Ice
Light Settings: Places Las Legunas
Water Settings: TOR, Placida brite

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Saturday, February 25, 2012

2012 Color Challenge: Week 9 - Dandelion

Mandelbrot

I had a lot of fun with dandelion - I even had a dandelion outfit outright - but I ended up dragging out another gorgeous set of silks from Sublime Shroud Kreations which matched the color chip better (my dandelion outfit was a much darker yellow, with more orange in it). I'm back in my usual De La Soul skin and eyes, too; my last picture set I was - for the first time in a long while - not wearing anything from De La Soul! Astonishing, isn't it? What always makes silks is, I think, the feet - and I'm wearing SLink's medium feet and they really set the whole thing off (I tried a rather unorthodox picture, which I think is kind of fun - if a little risque!). Picture taking itself was a bear, though; lag, lots of people, and another odd conversation which makes me wonder if I'm not just fundamentally out of step with the wider world.

Reaching Out?

Like it frequently does, it began with a complement of my avatar, but it took an odd turn toward the person contacting me saying people usually don't like him. I tend to take people at their word when they say things like that, and I said as much; his reason sort of blew me away, though - he thought people didn't like him because he was a feminized male (using the term sissy boy), essentially a transvestite.When I suggested that if he was sensitive to rejection he hang out with... other feminized males, and linked him to a group where the focus was around such, he went completely silent on me. I don't suppose I expected a parade, but I wouldn't have minded a thank you, or even some indication for why he was contacting me (his profile specified he thought "sissy boys" made the best kind of friends for women, which rather dismayed me; I tend to like my friends for being friends, not for filling some sort of slot as if they were interchangable). Reflecting on it, I am beginning to wonder if he wanted a negative reaction, and thus his plan of soliciting contacts from women who he assumed would dislike him, or if he was trying to tweak some sort of pity switch that simply doesn't work on me. So often, people seem to have expectations they are unwilling to share when they interact with me - it feels like there is this entire weight of expectations and I seem to always not fit them. It's odd... very odd.

On another social forum, I got a private message today which was essentially a "contact me or I'll unfriend you" sort of thing. I've had that happen a few times - on SL it was once framed as a "prove to me how awesome you are" thing - and my response has always been the same; I automatically unfriend them. Maybe I am just out of step with others!

Whirled Away

( 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 Planty
Eyelashes 2: *X*plosion, PrimLashes - tinted white
Glasses: Air, Cresta
Hair: Red Queen, No.11 - Scandinavia Blond
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Necklace: .la petite morte, Ribbon Choker - yellow
Bracelets: Digital Eyes, Plastic Bracelet - Yellow
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, "Tiwi" Nestling Finger Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Silks: Sublime Shroud Kreations, Tattered Silks - Citrine (promotional item)
Feet: SLink, Jolie Pied - Medium

Pose: HelaMiyo

Location: spirit - by claudia222 Jewell
Light Settings: Places Abracadabra2
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Friday, February 24, 2012

I Can Haz Promoshunz: Anatomy of a Blogpost Part Two

Music of the Day

In my last Anatomy of a Blogpost, I took you through selecting the outfit, starting from the skin and focusing on promotional items I've gotten through various sources. Now I want to take you through how I take my pictures - which is fairly different from most of what I see on the feeds. You can assume all the steps in the last post took place, just offscreen.

Next, I go to my blog and the various links I list along the side (yes, those are primarily for ME!). I have a section labeled "Locations and Events" and that is where I tend to start when looking for a locale to photograph in. My raison de blog is to combine looks and locations, and the second half is as vital as the first - a bad location can sink a photoshoot. Usually by this time I have a sense of the outfit and the feel I want to extent; sometimes this can be very specific which causes a problem (I have a real problem finding well-made futuristic cityscapes, for example). Often it's a look and feel I can achieve through posing and windlight settings, though, which makes my life a lot easier. In this case, I found a good spot through Honour's Post Menopausal View, but if I'm stymied at that point I'll go for the Destination Guide, and if that fails me I'll go to regular searches (a process impeded by the fact my webkit plugin refuses to work, and Second Life runs it's in browser search through... the web) and just hop around until I find what I want or give up - whichever comes first.

Reflections

Having found Chouchou as my photoshoot local, I go and let things rez. I'm often working with things in the background, so I might even walk around a bit to make things come into focus. While I'm waiting for things to rez, I pull together my "fashion" notecard - which is my way of tracking everything I'm wearing so I can list it all, and also my way of tracking which poses I'm using in a given picture. I'm also setting up my poseHUD, my eye and expressions HUD, and getting the lay of the land to figure out where I might want to settle myself for different types of pictures. For each photoshoot I try to plan one extreme closeup, one shoe shot, one shot form behind, one torso shot, and one full length shot, plus one wildcard of something which ends up appealing to me at the time. I usually take six pictures total, though now and then I'll take more and when trying to photograph an entire exhibit I ended up taking over thirty (that one sucked to track!). While I'm setting up I'm usually dealing with lag and sometimes dealing with difficulties from people around me, often dealing with group chats and the odd stranger IMing me to make conversation or ask for sex.Once I'm set up, as you can see below, my screen is somewhat constrained; the ANYPOSE facial HUD can be shrunk, but the PoseAnywhere HUD and Notecard I keep open the entire time.

HUD Shoe Shot

Having selected my first photography spot, I get into position and alt-click to focus my camera on myself. Once I'm settled, I start looking for a pose that will show off the outfit, my shape, and the background each to the best effect. For body poses, I'm looking for large and dramatic poses. For pictures from the back, I'm looking for something makes my back and details on what I'm wearing look good. For shoe pictures, I'm looking for an interesting combination of feet which aren't too far apart. I'm also tracking the background, what is of interest in it, what looks odd, what flatters the total picture and what doesn't look as good. I'm fond of movement in the background, so I'll often sit in a pose and wait a while for a look which really appeals to me - included repeated refreshes. In terms of the "final" version of the shoe pose above, I waited for the lighting of the waves to be interesting before I refreshed, thus capturing a set of three as you can see below. Obviously, I couldn't replicate that for the HUD picture I took above - I didn't even try - but you can see the difference in the look (and the cropping, which comes later) given on my waiting for the right moment.

Light's Flicker

Once I have the final pose, I angle myself to a view I like using the camera controller (you can also see it open on the pictures of my interface above). Sometimes I click something in the back, which resets my camera, and much cursing happens. Sometimes I'm lagging, and the camera controls are clumsy and difficult to get nuance through. In a more popular place, I might find people in the background or sitting on things I want to pose by (in this case, there was a woman sitting on the cage I took a picture by, and I ended up cropping someone else out of the background of that same picture). Once I'm set on Pose and Camera Angle, it's time to play the spot-the-error-game; I look for places where things aren't rezzed, places where shoulder ruffles cut through my arm, even where the angle on a wing looks odd. If possible, I edit and move the offending item (in one recent photoshoot, the entire torso prim of the dress is off my body by quite a lot, but because of the angle of the shot you can't tell and it corrected for a rather serious case of ruffle-through-the-shoulder); occasionally, if it's in the case of a sculpty not rezzing, I end up relogging to reset things. I set my eyes to either look at the viewer or off-camera somewhere. If hands look awkward, I'll use the ANYPOSE HUD to make them relaxed, or pointing, or fisted. Once I'm sure I've caught as much as I can, I rebake my textures (it makes a difference, seriously) and take the shot.

You Know That I Love You, Go On

You've gotten some close ups of the wonderful outfit I pulled together for this I Can Haz Promoshunz, let me wax a little rhapsodical as well. The hair is from one of my favorite hair creators, Wasabi Pills, and is part of her growing collection of rigged, mesh hair. I love these as long hair, and have to admit I'd find it difficult to pose with long hair which isn't rigged; it broadens out the use of poses so much when you don't have to constantly worry about placement of prims with long hair. As you can see between pictures, the hair looks like it's falling smoothly no matter how far my head is turned. The jewelry is a combination of I & 3 Fashion and Forsaken. The earrings are a slightly different shade of cyan, but I completely adore the matching rings and the butterfly-bottle necklace from I & 3 Fashion. The Bullet and Butterfly bracelets from Forsaken are something I love to pull out for a bit of an edge in my otherwise innocuous outfits - it's not obviously violent, but just slightly suggestive of the BFG I keep under my skirts.

Ladderpile

The eyes are gorgeous ones from Mythic - I went green but they're available in a ton of different colors, from clear and bright to natural. I paired it with a newish skin from Apple May Designs in tan; I really like the slightly darker tone with blond hair and bright green eyes. The lips on Catalina are really fantastic, as is the brow line, and I'm showing it here without any addition of cosmetics - this is the skin out of the box, so to speak. It comes with a set of eyelashes included that I'm not showing here, and in shades from vampiric pale to a caramelly brown. The dress is a fantastic one from siss boom that I have completely fell in love with. The skirt is very well textured - layered so that the translucent on top doesn't have alpha occlusions through the legs. The bodice line is a halter top that is really well placed, and the tone-line between the rich burgundy and the teal with pink roses is perfectly done. Gloves come with it and they have a ruffly top edge which I think really finish them off beautifully. From behind, there is a classy curve of a bow on a belt which offers some shape around the waistline. The second I put this dress on I knew I needed to blog it, and I also knew how hard it would be to find shoes to match. I finally settled on the tintable shoes from Alice Project, pairing cyan and pink to round it out in the end. I've talked up these shoes many times on this blog, and I continue to highly recommend them - both for the ability to tint them and the fact they come with five different heel choices, which really make them a valuable investment.

Relaxation on the Waves

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Apple May Designs, Catalina - Tan
Eyes: Mythic, Morgan - glade
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyelashes 2: *X*plosion, PrimLashes - tinted white
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Dragon Mesh Hair (promotional item)
Wings 1: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Jewelry: I <3 Fashion, Butterfly Set (promotional item)
Bracelets: Forsaken, Bullet with butterfly wings
Dress: siss boom, Dinner at 8 (promotional item)
Heels: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps - Vibrant Glossy

Poses: Apple Spice (promotional items)

Location: Chouchou
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Cheery cyan
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Wednesday, February 22, 2012

Echoes and Patterns

Ice In My Eyes

I doubt many people online know this, but I work with people who have persistent mental disorders; persistent meaning for a long time (the shortest is about six years, with no sign of it going away) and mental disorders meaning thought patterns and ways of approaching the world which are incongruous and impede the person's ability to navigate the world independently. Primarily, though, I work with people - people with problems, people who struggle, people who are very individual, which means in a given day I can move between friend, confidant, priest, mother, case manager, therapist, watcher, surrogate brain, diplomat, and quiet blob of human. Sometimes several at once.

Heart of a Flower

Some days I feel the priest part of it more than usual - days when I have clients walking the lines between life and death - walking that dark gray line of suffering where I spent so much time as a teenager. There is something in that darkness which draws me; I have been called bright and sparkling, warm and comforting; I can be volatile - but what people almost always see is the hot - frustrated, happy, angry, funny. I keep the cold to myself, the moments of pain and loneliness, the sea of tears cold as the northern ocean, the darkness which subsumed my life from ten to sixteen. But I remain comfortable there, whether alone or with someone else walking along that lonely spar of sand; I can walk the mordant seas, joke with death sitting across from me, wish for his loving embrace without wanting to die.

Emerging from Light into Darkness

One of the interpretations of being a priest or shaman is that the person can move between worlds, comfortable in life and death, in this world and the spirit world - and in my case in the worlds of sanity and insanity. There are days when I struggled to find my balance, but more and more I find the dance I play between worlds to be more and more invigorating, my balance set, my center found and sure.

Quothe the Raven

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Grey Skin
Eyes: Ruin, Elemental Snow: Ice 2 (VIP gift)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyelashes 2: *X*plosion, PrimLashes - tinted white
Eyeshadow: Adam n Eve, Winter Garden
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lipstick: Croire, Glittery Gloss
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Monique Mesh Hair (promotional item)
Wings 1: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Wings 2: Favole, Heaven's A Lie
Gloves: CCD, Melli Butterfly gloves
Bracelets: Kyccies, Hopeful Flower - pink diamonds
Necklace: G Field, Holiday Gift Flower Necklace (holiday gift)
Dress: G Field, Classic Dress "Julia" - black/white
Stockings: Heartsick, Divinity Lingerie - cornflower blue
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Heels: G Field, Bow Strap Shoes - white

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Empyreal Dreams
Light Settings: AnaLutetia - Avatar Opt - whiter

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Monday, February 20, 2012

Wrath of Lava

Window to Destiny

This Seven Sins dress (Wrath!) from Ezura is a very good example of combining mesh and prims to create a cohesive dress. While the body of the dress is mesh, and thus conforms more closely to the legs and torso, the skirt overlay is prim and flexi, so you have movement as you go. The ends result is a very natural one of a dark, heavy fabric that curves around your, well, curves, as well as a light, frothy mass of lace that flows behind you. I paired it up with these long gloves from Eclectica - and remain glad I splurged on a fatpack so I have all the colors! I have the bright red lips to match, too, which probably makes me closer to Lust than Wrath - but often the two of them come in concert.

Don't be afraid - my dragon will only bite a little.

Clawsafe

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Diadem: FakE, Dhalia Diadem
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyeglasses: Air, Cresta
Eyelashes 1: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyelashes 2: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyeshadow: Mock, Phoenician Sunset
Lipstick: Heartsick, Crimson Lips
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Sybille - Golden (promotional item)
Wings: Favole, Laced Phoenix
Gloves: Eclectica, Swoon - crimson
Necklace: Kyccie, Phoenix
Dress: Ezura, The Sins Set - Wrath (gift)
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Heels: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Isle of Wyrms
Light Settings: TOR, HORROR Asian Red

Water: Glassy
Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Sunday, February 19, 2012

2012 Color Challenge: Week 8 - Dark Raspberry

Stepping into Surgery

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.

Turned Inward

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.

Bending Below Wires

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.

The Mirror Cracked from Side to Side

( 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

Saturday, February 18, 2012

Choose Your Own

Spin on It

I got my first spam comment - I suppose that's a landmark of some sort. I was rather emo it wasn't anything more interesting, though, and now it's relegated to the dustbin - so no free advertizing for you, weird commenting person who speaks poor English!

Stopping for Directions

The last few days I've been playing offline, where rez time is negligible and primcounts are high. I'm in a sort of shiny place, now - a cleanish home, a snuggly kitty cat, tasty food and a comfortable bed. In the interest of keeping things that way, after food was cooked the dishes were done and things were wiped down; I think I can get used to this!

A Closer Look

I'm also wearing a gorgeous dress I've fallen in love with, from Ezura (where latex and lolita meet, you find Ezura), and some fantastic matching candy shoes from katat0nik (I got the fatpack, so I'm a click away from loads of colors). The Exile hair is from one of those events - the Crush one I think - and the eyeshadow is a fun new gift from Mock; I have to say, of all the groups I'm in, Mock gives out the most regular and amazing gifts. I've only been in the group half a month, and I know it's a keeper! You do have to pay for the privilege, though.

A Foot Above the Rest

 ( 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
Lipstick: Mock, Micare Lipglimmer - Dusted Contessa (group gift)
Hair: Exile, Domino - Hollywood
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: GaNKeD, Mermaid Set
Dress: Ezura, Dolly 04 - Blue
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Stockings: G Field, Button Socks
Heels: katat0nik, Kita - Candy Blue

Poses: Glitterati

Location: You Choose
Light Settings: Places Pathfinder
Water: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Sunday, February 12, 2012

2012 Color Challenge: Week 7 - Folly

Broken Prisons

Like most, I really struggled to find something sufficiently Folly-ish to suit for this week's color challenge - and after some frustration (and a sincere wish I'd already photographed my inventory) I ended up combining Wishbox and Silent Sparrow into something that at least approaches Folly, if not achieving it outright.

 ( 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
Lipstick: Mock, Red Hot Lipstain
Hair: Analog Dog, Bound - gold
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Shirt / Stockings: Wishbox, Charm Dress Ruby
Gloves: Silent Sparrow, Thorns Gown Gloves
Dress: Silent Sparrow, Luck Lucky Chair Prize
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Heels: katat0nik, Aya Wedge

Poses: Pididdle

Location: Hazardous
Light Settings: TOR, DUSK Patriotix
Water: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Saturday's Child Works Hard For Her Living

Thigh Into the Deep

I have always loved the beach and water out in the wild. It's hard to reproduce the ocean in second life, though; people use a variety of means, from sculpties to textures, to try to capture the in and out of the waves, the way in which something dark becomes something foaming and white, only to fade away into sand or dirt. There is something truly ephemeral about the sea, though - a combination of sound and smell with appearance which is impossible to fit inside of a screen. Oahu does its best to capture Hawaii, though, and I think it does a delightful job. I was particularly happy when I stumbled across a secluded beach with some calmer waves and a few rocks in the distance - my kind of hide away!

Flower Bower

I'm wearing three of my favorite stores in these pictures - the Dilly Dolls underwear (here reinvisioned as a bikini) I've been wearing all week I combined with tattoos from Silent Sparrow (one of a number of delightful rainbow accessories) and a new parasol from katat0nik (available at the Just a Crush event along with another set of underwear which I may take pictures in soon, since I bought the yellow and pink ones, though to be honest I'll enjoy wearing clothing after seven days in my undies!) along with katat0nik's amazing new shoes (mesh, but HUD recolorable so that you can mix and match colors to match any outfit; have I mentioned lately I love recoloring huds?). I added in my favorite rainbow cosmetics from De La Soul, and I was good to go. I've been really enjoying the bright mixture of colors this week, though I think seven days in a row of pictures is a but much for me; it'll be a while before I want to do a repeat of this!

Surfer Girl

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyelashes 1: Sauce, Sidewinder Lashes
Eyelashes 2: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Cosmetics: De La Soul, Faerie Pastel Lips
Hair: Amacci, Adena - honey blond
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Tattoos: Silent Sparrow, Fledermaus Tattoos - rainbow
Lingerie: Dilly Dolls, Renna's Weeklys (promotional item)
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Heels: katat0nik, Aya Wedge

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Oahu, Hawaii
Light Settings: Midday 1
Water: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Friday, February 10, 2012

Friday's Child is Loving and Giving

Library Day

My last good memory of my father was around my twelfth birthday. I was very into My Little Ponies as a child, and he had agreed to get me a special, much more expensive Pony Palace as my gift. I was near the tale end of the time when I would spend hours spinning stories of pony adventures; what stands out for me now, years later, is  how it was the last time we were really alone together. We ended up going to several different toy stores; at one of them I indicated we should just give up, but he was determined to get it for me - and it is that determination, that desire to bring me happiness that I cling to as my last good memory of my father. It's my reminder of a time when I was important enough for him to see.

Sly Looks

He did other good things for me, but they were always tainted in some way - absent of his presence in a way that memory is not. My memories of my father effectively end four years later, when he made it much more difficult for me to visit him and nullified the custody arrangement my parents had since I was eight. In a way, that other memory has become a good one as well - viewed form now backwards - for in violating the agreement and making it more than clear he'd rather not see me, he gave me back my life, my happiness, my ability to feel joy. I was suicidally depressed until three months after the last time I visited him, and while artifacts of the depression - self hate, fat, reluctance to succeed - remain, I am now a healthier and happier person than I might have been if I kept stewing in the environment which made me want to end my life.

Sometimes the greatest gifts we are given are only apparent years later, in hindsight.

Leavings

A quick note on some of the clothing - Since Monday I've been taking pictures of Dilly Doll's Renna's Weeklys undies - which are each marked with a day of the week and cover a wide gamut of colors. Two more days, and we'll have reached the end! The boots are my latest find at a new-to-me store, Kcreations, which is a fetish store - so yes, those are horse shoes you see on the bottom! However, the boots are flly color changable, including tinting, are fully mesh, and cost only 500$L! You read that right - 500$L for completely tintable, mesh, thigh high boots! I'm really hoping Kcreations will come out with some heels and ballet boots in the thigh high version, and then I will be in hog heaven.

Do You Swing My Way?

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyelashes 1: Sauce, Sidewinder Lashes
Eyelashes 2: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyeshadow: cheLLe, Tropical - blue and green
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called Indigo
Lipstick: Mock, Micare LipGlimmer - Flirtatious
Hair: Calico Ingmann Creations, Calico - Light Violet
Headband: LaGyo, Peonies - aqua
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Earthstones, Jumoke Necklace - Larimar
Lingerie: Dilly Dolls, Renna's Weeklys (promotional item)
Bracelet 1: Easrthstones, Stne Bangles - Turquoise
Bracelet 2: Silk & Satyr, Cloisonne Bangle 3
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Heels: Kcreations, Pony Thighboot Leather

Poses: Magnifique

Location: Drowsy
Light Settings: Places Astryls Wild
Water: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Thursday, February 9, 2012

Thursday's Child has Far to Go

Dreaming in the Rain

I often feel like I have a long way to go.

The world I live in is a world of minutes and hours, a world marked and marred by productivity and regimentation all hidden behind a sunny smile and a demand that it all look effortless.

The world that lives within me is a world of timelessness and synchronicity, a world marked and marred by whimsy and imagination all hidden within as much as I can lay my hands on - from things to people to places, from the littlest to the greatest.

This is a world that relates badly to hours of work, to tasks within time limits, to paying bills and tracking money... to, in short, most of the things required for me to live in the world.

Ray

And so, I very often feel behind, off step, drowning in paper and mail, surrounded by mess and disorder, always dreaming of a different world with reflections of fantastical things winging above my head. Stupid errors I should have foreseen tangle around my ankles to trip me up, sending me stumbling over and wanting nothing more than to curl up and hide form the world for a while somewhere safe.

The closest I have to safe is my apartment, which is a sty right now but at least MY sty, and the magical world of Second Life. Oddly, today for a chunk of my picture taking I kept getting contacted by strangers - one going so far as to ask what I was DOING over there and stand nearby for fifteen minutes or so until finally shoving off. It reminded me strongly of the kind of men who tell women to "smile" on the street; a conviction that they deserve the attention and obedience of complete strangers.

In this case, I told him none of his business and escaped to Insomnium, where the contact was no less random but much more polite!


Reflection of a Clown

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyelashes 1: Sauce, Sidewinder Lashes
Eyelashes : *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Solstice - midnight blue
Lipstick: Damned, Alice Lipstick - Red 3
Hair: D!va, "Maya" - cat's eye
Corsets: Rosal, Klaus Velvet Corsets
Lingerie: Dilly Dolls, Renna's Weeklys (promotional item)
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Heels: Felicity, Bianca - July 4th Group Gift

Poses: Elymode

Location: Insomnium
Light Settings: TOR, HORROR Rancid Milk
Water: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Wednesday's Child is Full of Woe

Gateway

I've installed the latest Firestorm, but it added a pinkifying bug which is definitely making my life a whole lot more interesting - as well as sending me into the advanced menu every time I move between high and low graphics settings. Lag is still pretty bad, but I can move and function - though I really wish there was a more delicate way to control the view for setting pictures. I'm tired of 90% jumps when I try to move up and down looking at my avatar!

Two Stars

Linden Labs is now offering a chance for people to write articles, submit them with no more than four pictures and without any advertizing in them, about Second Life, to be edited by Linden staff and published, maybe - but you can't reproduce it anyway, because they want exclusive rights. Which means, if I take the time to write an article it may not only never see the light of day, but even if it doesn't I can't publish it here. I wouldn't mind the advertizing - gods know I love knowing people are reading these posts - but Linden Labs is asking a little too much for a little too little. When I had one of my pictures linked by then it drove very few people to look at the rest of my flickr, and given I'd only be mentioned in a shot bio that they might publish at the end... yeah, totally not worth it.

Spread

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Horns: Ruin, S. E. Sugar Skull Shaman - Nile (hunt prize)
Eyelashes 1: Sauce, Sidewinder Lashes
Eyelashes : *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyeshadow: Elymode, A Little Drama - Blue & Gold
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called Indgo
Lipstick: Croire, Glittery Gloss - sugarplum (gatcha prize)
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Reptilia Hair - Jellyfish (promotional item)
Necklace: Lolapop!, Los Muertos Necklace - Yellow (hunt gift)
Lingerie: Dilly Dolls, Renna's Weeklys (promotional item)
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Heels: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps - Vibrant Iridescent

Poses: Studio Sidhe

Location: Kukulkan
Light Settings: TOR, DUSK Sepia'd

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Tuesday's Child is Full of Grace

BLAAAAARGH STUPID BROWSER

One of the biggest difficulties with taking pictures "in the wild" so to speak, is the sheer number of builds that far outstripe the size of an avatar. Finding angles where both I and the surroundings can be seen is no easy feat - and one very promising place was left in my rearview mirror because I simply couldn't easily insinuate myself into any pictures of any of the things - they were all too far apart! Add in the difficulties of standing half a meter above sculpties, and it's enough to make a photographer pull her hair out! One of the joys of taking pictures in the wild is the unpredictability - and I suppose this is just of a piece with it all; when you step outside of your own space, you can no longer control everything but things can also become so much more rich - at that edge where you and I meet.

( I was somehow missing my eyelids, which is a very frustrating thing. Big, ugly, bug-eyed Deoridhe. I've reinstalled the latest firestorm - twice - managing to pick up a make-everything-pink glitch, and my eyes are still missing both lids. Have this picture of my butt; the only way there's going to be any grace tonight is if I finally just snap this picture and call it a night - so here I am in my "changing room". Enjoy!  )

Credits:


Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Eyelashes 1: Sauce, Sidewinder Lashes
Eyelashes : *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Green & Sky
Eyeliner: Boom, Midas Touch
Lipstick: Mock, Micare Lipglimmer - Hypoxia
Hair: Truth, Kalia - driftwood (with flower)
Jewelry: Eclectica, Nouveau Rose - moss
Lingerie: Dilly Dolls, Renna's Weeklys (promotional item)
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Stockings: G Field, Button Socks - green
Boots: Dilly Dolls, Bastian Boots

Pose: Studio Sidhe, Artsy 2

Location: Spring Azure
Light Settings: AnaLutetia - AvatarOpt - whiter

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only 

Monday, February 6, 2012

Monday's Child is Fair of Face

But...

I'm stepping back a bit into philosophy; it's not entirely a pleasant thing. Some of it is interesting - gets me thinking - but I didn't miss the people with their ever-repeated agendas, or the subtle one-upsmanship which so often seems to filter through philosophy - where people are not co-operatively exploring a topic, but rather trying to prove one is smarter than another. What I hate most is how I get caught up in it; I start out with the best intentions, and then three posts in my hackles are going up and my snideness is coming out, and I don't like myself very much.

I'm not sure there is a place for the kinds of discussions I want... a place where we share what we know, add our information, build something greater than ourselves. Now and then I touch it at work, mulling over a case with my co-workers and trying to build the care that my clients deserve, all of us joined together toward a positive goal. Looks like I answered my own question!

Maybe the problem is that so many of these discussions occur in a vacuum, without a positive focus - they become negative and reductive. There is a quality of self-reference which weakens intellect; divorce too far from the practical results of one's actions, one can become lost in ones own navel and lose sight of the world outside.

I could be bound up inside a nutshell and count myself King of infinite space... were it not that I have bad dreams. ~Shakespeare

Rainbow Tentacles

The undies and shoes are a new release from Dilly Dolls - the latter come with a full color pack for 400$L (yes, I did splurge on the whole thing!) and allow you to tint the shoes and straps separately; the former come with one for each day, and yes you will be seeing them again. I thought it might be fun to do a look matching each set on the day in question (It's barely Monday, but lets say it counts).

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Hair Flowers: G Field, Rose Hairpin - mint
Eyelashes 1: Sauce, Sidewinder Lashes
Eyelashes : *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Coal & Teal 2
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Gardsman
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Yumi Hair (promotional item)
Wings: Favole, Guardian
Necklace: Periquita, Alien Gold Necklace B
Lingerie: Dilly Dolls, Renna's Weeklys (promotional item)
Bracelets: Spyralle, Glass Bangle "Quandary"
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger Talisman
Stockings: KC, No. 2 - mustard
Shoes: Dilly Dolls, Espy Wedges - orange

Pose: Magnifique

Location: Dilly Dolls - Flagship Store
Light Settings: Places Crucible

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Sunday, February 5, 2012

Mardi Gras in New Toulouse

Masque

Most of you probably don't know this, but I started on Second Life participating in various philosophy events. Philosophy is not often associated with fashion, but I was also very interested in style and appearance and spent a good amount of time dressing myself up. This was in rather sharp contrast to a lot of the other people, who tended to have basic skins and very basic clothing, often several years out of date, and who usually wore the same clothing. I didn't try to make a big deal of it, but I discovered how noticed it was when one of the men made a point of my dress - characterizing it as attempts to attract men, and solely that. I often feel like the outside being stylish and carefully put together tends to make people assume the inside is rather vapid - and being a blond (most of the time, obviously I'm not here) probably doesn't help.

My personal philosophy centers aesthetics as a high value - less out of choice, and more because over time I've noticed that part of how I determine something is moral includes whether it is also aesthetic. It is moral to show grace toward other people, and patience, and kindness, but it also creates beauty in the spaces between people - where you and I meet - and I value that beauty as an integral part of morality. I also think beauty has value of its own to bring about peace of mind, encourage attention and care, and simply make a world in which it is worth living and loving. Although modern US culture degrades beauty, art, and creativity as unnecessary and vapid - I consider it both central and critically important.

A Jester on Bourbon Street

Speaking of beauty, the first Flux event is going on and the theme is Mardi Gras. I've never done much with Mardi Gras, but I have to admit I really enjoy the combinations of colors - purple, green, and gold make for gorgeous contrast. The hair is a recent Wasabi Pills release, an over the shoulder pony tail which I'm wearing in a bright shade of green. It's mesh, which means head positioning is a lot easier but the people who might be able to see it are fewer. The Cross Cosmetics from Nuuna were a purchase at 4.44.444 a few months back - something I grabbed on impulse, thinking it might be neat to layer in different cosmetic effect in the future - and it turned out to really pull my look together.

The L.Fauna purple lipstick is a perfect match for the other colors, and placing it over the cross of yellow really made a striking contrast. I layered on top the eyeliner from Adore and Abhor, which is available at the Flux event. They're set up to obscure the eyebrows in favor of blocked in black, and while usually I don't aim for such a theatrical effect, I have to admit I love it here. I also love the mask from Frooti with it's feathers, perfect for a masqued ball, which came with a number of poses. Sadly, none of them were easy masque-in-front-of-the-face poses, but I did what I could! I also added in an adorable beaded and feathered necklace from Forsaken. I'd love some bracelets and anklets to match - they would be so fun!

Legs All the Way to the Ground

The dress from katat0nik is really the central point, though. It comes in three different colors - this is the traditional Mardi Gras colors, but there is a pink based one which would be sweet for Easter, and a red one which seems very Queen of Hearts. it comes with these cute little hand cloves I layered over long white gloves, as well as the adorable little Jester Crown. The staff in my hand is a separate purchase, but it can color change to match each of the different dresses. The dresses also come with three different skirts. The one you see has a masque on it hanging form a chain - all of which is three dimensional sculpting which gives it a truly lifelike effect - like it was sewn on. The second skirt is a bare panel. The third skirt is a transparent one, perfect for a sexy little look and to show off the cute panties with their bow-topped garters.

I finished the whole look with these wonderful Alice Project shoes which are tintable in a wide variety of colors - platform, heel, shoe, and strap all separate in their tinting (and with a huge number of heel options, from platform to the spike heel you see above). I also added in these very inexpensive stockings from Eclectic Firefly in place of the ones included with katat0nik's dress; I love the faded diamonds and the confusing mix of diamonds which make it look multi-layered and ease over that tricky ankle line with aplomb. My only complaint, and it is a small one, is that the socks go only to the ankles and the underwear adds up tot he waist; I would love thigh highs to go with my cute little garters, and they would have made the stockings even more useful in a variety of Mardi Gras outfits.

Banners for Mardi Gras

( 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 Bise, 05-A Planty
Eyelashes : *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyeliner: Ador & Abhor, Checks Face Paint
Facial Cosmetics: Nuuna, BodyCoss Makeup - yellow
Lipstick: L. Fauna, Lipstick - Purple
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Taleen Mesh Hair - Grass
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Forsaken, Feathered Harlot Beads
Dress: katat0nik, Jester Dress - Purple
Gloves: Swan Lake Gown Gloves
Mask: Frooti, Mardi Gras Mak
Staff: katat0nik, Jester Staff
Ring 1: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring
Ring 2: Alchemy Immortais, Nestling Finger Talisman
Stockings: Eclectic Firefly, Mardi Gras Leggings
Shoes: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps

Poses: Frooti, Carnival Masquerade

Location: New Toulouse
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT That Spells Moon 3

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only