Prim Dolls

.XIV Brings Glory

2012-01-29T19:09:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

( 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

Year of the Dragon

2012-01-28T16:24:00.000-08:00

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.

( 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

The Littlest Deoridhe

2012-01-25T22:01:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

( 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

Deos in a Box

2012-01-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

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!).

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!

( 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

Color Challenge: Week 4 - Iron

2012-01-22T19:07:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

( 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

Artful Mourner

2012-01-20T23:55:00.000-08:00

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!).

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.

( 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

Color Challenge: Week 3 - Electric Indigo

2012-01-16T02:56:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

( 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

Irrational Seduction

2012-01-14T22:33:00.000-08:00

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

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.

( 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

Internal Battles

2012-01-12T22:08:00.000-08:00

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

Chiaroscuro

2012-01-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

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

Color Challenge: Week 2 - Coral

2012-01-08T19:13:00.000-08:00

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

Color Challenge: Week 1 - Champagne

2012-01-06T00:32:00.000-08:00

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.

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!

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

Momentary Kajira

2012-01-04T21:35:00.000-08:00

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.

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.

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.

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

Valkyries: Life and Death

2011-12-31T21:35:00.000-08:00

Violent Seduction is currently having her yearly 50% off sale, and it is awesome! These two dresses can be gotten for only 250$L, and I hope you agree they are worth every penny! It's a matching set, and the two dresses share many of the same characteristics - including headwings and backwings, the winged shoes, and the staffs. The "Life" version also has a delightful pearl crown included that I simply fell in love with. You can see "Life" on Deoridhe Starr, and "Death" on Deoridhe Quandry, though now both of me have both dresses since they're sold as a set. The headwings really remind me of Gaia Online, where they are one of the early donation item gifts (before they were monthly collectables!). The heels are pre-alpha, but everything included is modifiable (a real gem when I hit the torsos and needed to accomodate my rather sizable chest!), which means you can easily shrink the invisiprim and add a basic heel alpha. I actually didn't get to that yet on either of the Deoridhes, but it will take a fraction of a moment when I do - I ended up doing something similar on a lot of my pre-alpha shoes that were modify-ok. Besides the chest, the biggest pieces I ended up modifying were the armguards; since I'm short, my arms are correspondingly short and since my fat percentage is much higher, they are correspondingly large, so I ended up enlarging all the arm guards then shrinking the lengths of the three pieces involved and moving them together. Again, since the outfit was modify-ok, this was both possible and reasonably fast.

The hair is from the new Alice Project group gift, in the blond shade (her group gifts offer one of each of the standard hairshades plus some more rainbowlichous colors). On Deoridhe Starr I used the white tips and added some white streaks to make her a bit more angelic. She's also wearing the very sweet group gift skin from Curio, which has very delicate features and a sweetly pink mouth. Both Deoridhes have the same shape, so you can see the effect different skins have; in contrast to Deoridhe Starr, Deoridhe Quandry has wider and more defined, less pouty lips on her De La Soul skin and lipstick. One of the things I like about photographing Deoridhes together is how these skin contrasts can really clearly show up on the same shape. Deoridhe Quandry, as you can see, is using black tips and black streaks in her Alice Project hair - yes, both of them are in the group! Booyah! One added point on the hair - it is mesh, which means the pony tail is rigged to stay behind the shoulder no matter how the head moves, but the hair itself has no movement - which I know is a downside to a lot of people.

At this end of an old year and beginning of a new one, I'm really struck by how much the last year has taught me about high contrasts - about the dark and the light and how they are both evermoving and ever-entertwined. Like twin ouroboroses,they rise and fall with each day, each week, each month, and each year. Within every sour there is a core of sweet, and within every sweet there is a core of sour. The older I get, the more I find my loves and hates evermore tightly bound, my joys ever tempered by sadness and my sadness evertempered by joy. I find this contrast, this reality, to be one which suits me and on the whole leaves me content to stay on the wheel of time, within the bounds of the world with everyone.

May the new year bring you what you want and also what you deserve.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Quandry:
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: Alice Project, Sunye (group gift)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Dress & Shoes: Violent Seduction, Valkyrie - Death (Promotional Item)
Bloomers: Sn@tch, Bloomers - Black
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet

Starr:
Skin: Curio, Petal - Angel (group gift)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, 09-cup
Hair: Alice Project, Sunye (group gift)
Dress & Shoes: Violent Seduction, Valkyrie - Life
Bloomers: Sn@tch, Bloomers - White

Poses Quandry: aDORKable Poses
Poses Starr: Glitterati

Location: Fehu Isa Heimat der Asatru
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT Bright Blue Horizon
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Scarlett

2011-12-30T10:38:00.000-08:00

One of the downsides to being an inveterate hunter is the temptation to buy along the way.

I know that's what vendors hope for, but honestly with an inventory the size of mine, each new temptation just adds a little more on top of the pile! In this case, I'd been eyeing this dress for a rather long while when I came across it again during the Falln Angels Winter Hunt... and couldn't resist.

Damn you Az!!!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Lipstick: Mock, Mizu Venetian
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Hair: Calico Ingmann Creations, Isis 1
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Jewelry: G Field, Rusty Rose Set
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Amanda Gown - Red
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Talisman
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Lady Rose - Red

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Cape Elim
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Sailor Moon
Water Settings: TOR, Atomist

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

How NOT to Scam in Second Life

2011-12-25T19:02:00.000-08:00

I get hit on more often than I get attempted-scammed, and I don't get hit on often, so this gem on Christmas Day blew me out of the water. I've renamed our contestant today Idiot Scammer, but her user name actually did begin with an H (this becomes important later).

[16:38] [Idiot Scammer]: Hey Deo Really Sorry To ask this but , Can i just lend you 200 l$ please ? Promise i'll give you this Back Very very soon , It's really not in my habits to ask for money =S
[16:39] Deoridhe Quandry: Who are you, exactly?

At this point I open up my area scanner and find she's about 53 meters away from me in a fashion sim. She's over four years old, so she should know better. The name is not at all familiar.

[16:40] [Idiot Scammer]: I play the IA RP , We met There

Side note - I've been very reclusive in the rp, so I can count the people I've rped with on one hand and I'd remember most of their names - the rest would be familiar through my watching the group chat. This name was not at all familiar, and the Display Name was full of those weird characters that I'm inclined to remember. I then checked her profile, and she's not in any of the roleplaying groups. Also, we don't call it IA RP; the phrasing is definitely off and my scammer senses are tingling.

[16:40] [Idiot Scammer]: Sorry to ask
[16:40] [Idiot Scammer]: Really
[16:41] Deoridhe Quandry: That's odd. You seem to not be in any of the groups. Odd behavior for a roleplayer.
[16:42] [Idiot Scammer]: I hide those groups cause i'm a Fashion Blogger Too , I don't want people to judge me with this

She is, in fact, a fashion blogger - one of the tiny eyes & big frowny mouth set with the characteristic t-rex arms. I won't link, but suffice it to say I would have remembered the look even with as careless as I can be with paying attention to my surroundings. I'd snark on the blog, but since you can't see it that's kind of unfair.

[16:42] Deoridhe Quandry: Though that pause DID give you time to check my profile and come up with a more plausible lie to cover the fact you are 53 meters from me.
[16:42] Deoridhe Quandry: Right. What's my character in IA, since you remember me and I don't remember you?
[16:43] [Idiot Scammer]: You're mean !
[16:43] Deoridhe Quandry: You're lying.
[16:44] Deoridhe Quandry: That's a bit MORE mean.
[16:44] Deoridhe Quandry: Especially since you're trying to swindle me out of money by pretending I know you.
[16:44] [Idiot Scammer]: Anyways
[16:44] [Idiot Scammer]: I'm just Lending , You can add me in your contacts
[16:44] [Idiot Scammer]: Wasn't lying about that
[16:45] Deoridhe Quandry: Right. Shoo. Go try to swindle someone else.
[16:45] [Idiot Scammer]: =/

Since she insisted she wasn't lying, I went to check the group for the roleplay she supposedly knew me through - even if you have hidden your group in your profile, you still show up there. I prefer to give people the benefit of the doubt, even when their story sounds as rotten as month-old moose meat. Shockingly, she wasn't in the group.

[16:47] Deoridhe Quandry: Wow, FOUR H names in Amras Roleplay and none of them are you!

Oddly, she didn't have anything to say after that. Wonder why.

A few notes about the outfit, because several of the items deserve note. The katat0nik top and skirt are actually separate pieces and include a game card for the new Ozimal's Stamp Collection event. What event you ask me? The Pufflings Present Pursuit, says I. At 100$L and under each, they are a steal to get yourself some stamp cards. Also, don't be worried if your stamp card isn't full; once you've hit the last store, you are set. The skin is a special holiday makeup from De La Soul, available for only 99$L at her store for the holidays! The shoes are a delightful new design from Grim Bros, and the red set were actually in her midnight mania recently and may return soon again. The most awesome thing about them, though, is that the butterflies actually move!! It's like a little bit of Harumagari on my feet! Also, the poses were all Advent gifts from aDORKable poses; she still has a couple of hunts on, even if the Advent season is over, so go! Go! Go!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Beatrice - Barley (Caroling Makeup)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Sachiko Mesh Hair (Promotional Item)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Dress: katat0nik, Snow Day - Light Blue
Ring: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Grim Bros, Butterfly Love - turquoise

Pose: aDORKable Poses

Location: Old Europe Winter Village
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA Sleep Warm

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

I Can Haz Promoshunz: Anatomy of a Blogpost

2011-12-19T00:56:00.000-08:00

With I Can Haz Promishunz posts, it all begins with the blogger gifts, also known as the Promotional Items. There are a lot of terms for them, and attitudes range from "why should I give you free advertising" to "why should I give you free stuff" to everywhere in between. In my case, I'm grateful for the free gifts (which is why I think of them as gifts) but I am also aware of the unspoken - and sometimes spoken - expectations. In all honesty, even though I'm on the blogger side, I think the store owners have more to lose. They are offering out free items and there are a lot of people who seem to get into blogging so they can accumulate free things. I can't imagine trying to figure out who I can trust and what "trust" should look like when I give away free products. In the area of gifts, there are a few people who give me things where I know there is no expectation - where we have a relationship beyond and outside of our sometimes relationship as Store Owner and Blogger. I still sometimes blog their things, but I don't feel quite the same invisible strings of expectations as I do with Store Owners who I don't know.

I'll also be honest and say that the biggest downside of Blogging is these invisible strings, and my own desires to have Second Life be more about responding to my whims and desires than the demands and expectations of others. I know no relationship can exist without expectations, but sometimes I can find myself running from those expectations. That's part of why I started the I Can Haz Promoshunz series, in fact - to differentiate between the 'you have given me fantastic things and here are the ones I like along with some color commentary on them' and the 'I take pretty pictures and babble a while about whatever's on my mind' posts that are the mainstay of my blog.This post will be a little of each - an amalgam, if you will.

In between my other activities today, I get some gifts from a couple store owners I'm becoming friendly with; one is explicitly a blogger's pack, the other is more ambiguous. I hit the last midnight mania and teleport in a few alts who I think it will suit; I'm fairly confident it will lock without me bringing out the full force of my alt army. "Chores" taken care of, I hop back home to begin to plan out my outfit. Every ICHP post starts in the same folder - my "To Be Blogged" folder. In it I put things which are given to me, or things I have ideas for so that they're set apart. Every couple of months it becomes unruly, and I spend an afternoon opening old boxes, sorting through offerings, organizing and deleting. Things given specifically to me tend to rank a little higher than things which come through the blogger groups I'm in, but I try to do one Fashion in Pixel's post a month (if not a week).

I catch a midnight mania I wanted to hit and I swing by (too late), only to find the Store Owner there to switch out the lucky boards (Pinkmares is a totally generous store!). She turns many of the boards into question marks - briefly unleashing a swarm of clicks as people try to pick up what they hadn't managed to get yet. Even though I have "Do ICHP: Anatomy of a Blogpost Pictures tonight" on my brain, I get totally distracted as I wait to see what the new offerings are, all the while trying hard to not thing of the wave of unopened boxes waiting for me in my inventory. Timely I am not. Finally dragging myself away to lock down a midnight mania, I head for a friend's sim where I can rez objects that take up loads of prims - more than my tiny little house can support. Nothing like friends in high places (literally, in this case; we have islands in the sky).

Back home, I strip down to see if one of the review items (a set of skins and an outfit I'd been eying when the notice came through my inventory) suits me. The face is most critical, since I tend to wear fairly covering clothing, but I like to see the all over in case it will affect both whether I'll wear it and what I will wear it with. For example, I love wearing low-cut in the back things with De La Soul skins because there are little butt dimples and the cutest butt cleavage ever; highlighting the unique and fun aspects of a skin is part of what I enjoy. I rarely show skins because I don't like the change my shape, but Fallen Gods is one of my most likely exceptions, and it proves to be the second addition to my look (the first being my hair, which like I said in my last post I'm not taking off for a while) for the blogpost - as does the included, group gift tattoo. I simply adore the built-in iridescence; it's completely gorgeously tempting. The shadows continue the same theme beautifully while maintaining the illusion of translucence.

I set the included dress aside for another day, though, thinking I'd like to diversify to a different outfit and cover more ground in this blogpost since I do multiple pictures of the same outfit instead of single pictures of multiple outfits. Now the immovable pieces - hair (Wasabi Pills), ears (Illusions), wings (Fancy Fairy) - are all recolored to match the skin - in this case I go for a white shade for the hair and make the ears and wings match the skin tone as closely as I can using a tint. The hardest recolor is the ears; I shift to one of my recolorable ear sets so my usual set don't lose the tone of my usual skin, and select just the ear part so that the jewelry remains unchanged.This really sets the pallet for the rest of my look - I can either aim to match it with shades of white and blue, or I can try to make it "pop" in the current vernacular using orange shades, but whatever comes next will have to work with the base already in place.

So I'm back to my "To Be Blogged" folder in the clothing subfolder (I organize by type of thing so that I can find what I'm missing). I already have a backlog of boxes to open that I've tossed in here, but I focus on what's already open primarily. I'm tracking what wears well on me - where is there alpha occlusion and how much does it interfere? Does this work with the skin, the hair style, how I'm feeling today? If there is alpha occlusion (which is very common), is it something I can work with or will I be glaring at my legs through multiple layers for the rest of the night (note to designers - if you can put a slightly smaller layer of non-alpha but the same colored prims underneath, that can correct for a lot of the alpha occlusion; sometimes, if I like a dress enough, I even make one myself).

Tonight it's a wave of alpha layer options that leave me peering at the included picture and wondering how they managed to conceal; wishing the alpha was due to a transparency setting, so I could make a second, non-transparent level. After some more searching and some box opening, I finally find it! The first color I try on, blue, is to close to my skin color, but the second color is perfect, and so an outfit from SLC Couture joins the rest. I adore the texture - all those little flowers flowing smoothly over the pieces.

Fitting it is next; I'm a shorter, rounder avatar than most, and fashion tends to be made for the tall and the skinny, so fitting has become a necessary step when going through my inventory. I've become good at it, too; in this case, there's lower levels attached to the legs and an upper level for the skirt which require the most fitting. I take the top level off to fit the legs (temporarily confused since they're resizable through a script, not editing), then fit the top level (which is resizable through editing). Then I tilted the hairflower to fit my hair, which was simple as cake. I've sometimes fit outfits prim-by-prim if it were particularly complicated and worth it, but this is a relatively simple design, which makes things easy.

Likewise, selecting accessories - in this case an amethyst set from Elemental Earth Designs - was really fast I saw amethyst, tried it on, and it fit the overall mood perfectly. I love when outfits begin to come together like this; there's something magical about adding each element and seeing the cohesive and attractive whole. All I have left is selecting a pair of shoes, which most likely won't be seen. I have a whole folder from Duh! waiting to be tried on, and even though the chances of these shoes being seen are near nil, I put them on. Poor Duh! I need to do a shoe-focused shoot sometime soon. At the last minute, I remember the other gift I got earlier in the evening, and take a second look - finding a tiara from Eclectica which will go perfectly with my princess-pretty look. I actually had picked up the dawn version of the tiara, a lucky break for me since this pack includes the noon! And the noon is silver, which fits the coolness of the overall template. Recoloring it was a snap - it recolors on touch, and the purple, in a fit of synchronicity, is almost identical to the purple of my dress and shoes.

So that's the dressing half of my photoshoot! I hope you enjoyed it! Sometime int he future I'll have to share how I find a place to shoot and pose my shots, but I think this post is long enough already~!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Fallen Gods, Ice Crystals (Promotional Item)
Face Tattoo: Fallen Gods, GROM (Promotional Item)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Cherry Mesh Hair (Promotional Item)
Crown: Eclectica, Regency Tiara - noon (Promotional Item)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Jewelry: Elemental Earth Design, Kiowa Set - Amethyst (Promotional Item)
Dress: SLC Couture, Lovely Flower - Lilac (Promotional Item)
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Duh!, Mary Janes - Violet (Promotional Item)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Dimrill Dale
Light Settings: Places Astryls Wild
Water: TOR, Yung buk

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Lost in the Caves

2011-12-18T20:04:00.000-08:00

At some point in the past I got on Wasabi Pill's reviewer list - and I have to admit, almost every time I get a knew hair I'm in heaven. Occasionally she does a style which really isn't my style - sometimes that leads to fun outfits, and sometimes it leads to the depths of my inventory (I have a hard time tossing, since the quality is so high) in wait for some future time when it might be perfect for a new outfit or look. This time, though, it's liek she reached into my brain and pulled out the perfect Deoridhe style of all time. I put it on, intending just to take a look then switch into non-mesh hair so that I don't look like I have a box on my head to most people... and I was lost. It's soft, and bends slightly with me, and is such a striking silhouette that I'll be hard pressed to take it off for a while. This is the sort of style that mesh seems made for - the weight of the hair down at the bottom would pull the hair to stay in place, and so it does. It bends slightly with my body, as you can see in a number of these shots, and is just overall so amazing that... I've said I'm in love, haven't I? I even love the heavy bangs with their air of mystery!

The dress is an old impulse purchase from Tainted, a store I don't normally buy for (and that I couldn't find an landmark for the store), but I have to admit I find the look very striking even in dresses-with-tails are fairly common. The texturing is superb and stands up really well to close shots. The mini skirt has the usual butt-and-crotch flap, and that has the problems attendant in the design, but the stark patterning means that the texture-mixing which often occurs is not a problem at all. What I love most about this outfit, though - something which is not easily captured in pictures - is how it moves. The layers flow smoothly, the flex is enough for movement but not so much that it feels like gravity is gone, and the effect is lush and striking.It's gloveless and fairly simply along the neckline, so I added in some very old gloves from The Black Canary which really fit the formal punk style of the dress. I also added in a couple of necklaces from Eclectica, both very simple but curving designs which I think I got on a 60$L Weekend Deal. The crowning touch was something I love to do with short skirts - I added a pair of stockings with the garters showing (from Vextra Messing). I know garters are very old school, but I love the look when it's as painless as adding a layer on my clothes.

The location is one recommended in passing by someone on some blog, the reference of I promptly lost. The entire series of sims are part of Calas Galadhon, though I ended up in the caves on Mirromere, and they are absolutely gorgeously striking with panels of teleports regularly placed if you're looking for somewhere specific. I took these pictures along a very short set of caves by the waters, and I can tell you that even in the minutes after finishing I found half a dozen other gorgeous places to explore. I anticipate coming back here often.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Bubble. Electro Pop Eyeshadow 2
Eyelashes: Flufeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Carmen
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Cherry Mesh Hair (Promotional Items)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Jewelry: Eclectica, Victoriana Blue Agate
Dress: Tainted, Seven Deadly Sins - Sloth
Gloves: The Black Canary, Seri Corset Gloves
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: Vextra Messing, Opaque Stockings
Shoes:

Poses: pda

Location: Mirromere
Light Settings: Places Abracadabra
Water: TOR, Meridian Verde

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Transparent Glow

2011-12-16T21:07:00.000-08:00

I fell in love with this dress from katat0nik (I can't lie - I love most of what she does - but this is so sweetly sexy that it took my breath away!) and like the perfect synchronicity, the Alice Project released a new Alice-style mesh hair and put it on massive sale (500$L for all the colors!) for the space of the weekend.

So, total splurge and my new folder got no attention, but don't I look awesome?

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Coal & Red 2
Eyelashes: Flufeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Lipstick: L. Fauna, Red 1
Hair: Alice Project, Wonderland
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Dress: katat0nik, Blackheart Dress - red
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps - Vibrant Glossy

Poses: STaTUS

Location: The Looking Glass
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Hong Kong Planet
Water: TOR, Glaznost

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Feathers

2011-12-15T23:10:00.000-08:00

I watched the movie Heathers again last night. It's a very darkly comic movie with a high body count, and predated Columbine for quite some time. Its the sort of movie that I doubt could be made today, in a time when teenagers have, in fact, cut a bloody swath through their schools. Two things stood out for me on this watch through.

The first was the ubiquity of rape - the "bad" guys tried (and often succeeded) at raping (in the background of Veronica kneeing a man who tried to rape her, one of the Heathers was unsuccessfully trying to struggle free of the other man), the "good" guy did the same (as well as trying to push her to suicide/murder), and it really went unmarked that to be attractive and female meant being semi-regularly pinned against a flat surface as a much larger male tried to win his sexual assault beanies.

The second was how ineffectual the adults were. I'm on the other side of that divide, now, and I think what stood out the most was how much the teenagers didn't bother trying to say anything - simply showed their disgust and moved on with the business of living (or killing). The combination of fatalism and isolation - that really stood out to me.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Cosmetics: Style By Kira, Violet Fantasy Makeup 1
Eyelashes: Flufeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Chloe Hair - Golden
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Dress & Shoes: The Looking Glass, Crystal Feathers
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet

Pose: Adorkable Poses

Location: Pasquale
Light Settings: Default for Sim
Water: Default for Sim

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Ttly Gawthy

2011-12-14T19:58:00.000-08:00

One of the reasons I love hunts is because they lure me into trying on things, or even give me things I never knew I wanted. The key tattoo from Montagne Noire is a good example of the latter - I ended up pairing it with a key that really brought home the illusion - and I have to admit I'm totally in love with it. Most of the rest of my outfit is a series of hunt prizes from Lethe from a long-over hunt (I'm always late on these things - I admit it!) that I fell in love with as soon as I put it on! The corset is a combination of prim and texture which works together to make a seamless design. I love the secret finds in my inventory, waiting for me quietly until I have a chance to unearth and enjoy them.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Coal and Purple
Eyelashes: Flufeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Hair: LaLa Moon, Vamp Rose
Hair Flowers: Lethe, Gathering Memories Headress
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick: L Fauna, Black
Dress: Lethe, Gathering Memories Dress
Keyhole: Montagne Noire, Marionette keyhole
Key: Leo-NT, No Strings Hunt
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Lethe, Gathering Memories Shoes

Poses: Olive Juice

Location: Crimarizon
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT Brighter
Water: TOR, Glaznost

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

I Can Haz Promoshunz: Winter Wonderland

2011-12-12T00:37:00.001-08:00

The winter is a good time to get all bundled up and play with snowmen! Snowballs, warm toast with butter, and fleeing for your life - all of these things make the winter season into the glorious thing it is!

It was hard for me to find an outfit to go with this awesome Brrrrr mesh hair from Wasabi Pills - most of that folder has slinky, even if it's slinky with fur attached. Then I found this awesome dress from artMEfashion (I've been wearing their stuff a lot, I know!) which was frilly and came with these awesome tights and gloves. My upper arms and chest are still pretty bare (Eeee! Frostburn!) but I love the layers of ruffles and the dress actually comes in ankle-length and empire waist versions, still with frost-burny shoulders. The fur isn't the usual explosive, full bright fur on a lot of outfits - it's ruffly and looks like it's very, very soft.

The outfit actually started with the hair (which has been around the fashion feeds a while and is totally charming and comes with the scarf wrapped snugly around your neck) and the Anymore pillow I'm hugging made of TOAST! It's a smiley toast plushy that I simply adore! Then I filled in the boots, which are part of a whole series by Apple May Designs - they come with white or black fur in a bunch of different colors.

The skin is from Dulce Secrets and has a lovely face with subtle artistic cosmetics. The shading is subtle and feminine with the noses shaded to suite a small-nosed girl like me. It comes in a variety of shades, from very pale to quite dark; this is a tan toned skin, which is darker than my usual color. I finished off the whole flirty fur look with a set of poinsettia horns with snowflake accessories from Hal Hina - part of the special event at Petis Pas Village.

All in all, halfway through December I feel very festive - and the boots give me great traction when I'm running away from meese!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Dulce Secrets, Naemi Sangria Bikini (Promotional Item)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flufeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Brrree Mesh Hair (Promotional Item)
Antlers: Hal Hina, Reindeer - red
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Dress: artMEfashion, Xmas Dress (Promotional Item)
Plush: Anymore, Plush Toast Pillow (Promotional Item)
Jewelry: G Field, Rusty Rose
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Apple May Designs, Snuggies - Red / Black (Promotional Item)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Oh! Studio Mainstore
Light Settings: Places Annamarie

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Ballet and Tophats

2011-12-11T01:28:00.001-08:00

I am totally falling in love with the texturing of artMEfashion. This is the third outfit of hers I've put on, and I really like the patchworky, mottled styling of it. Previous skirts had a level of alpha layer mixing which made my teeth itch a little (I'm a sensitive soul), but this one is perfect. I especially like the little ruffles around the waist and I adore my mini tophat! Squee~! New shoes from Alice Project (500$L for a fatpack of 24 - I am in serious love) were highly modifiable enough that I could match the variegated colors of my dress - the heel has several options, and the heel, platform, shoe, and strap are all individually recolorable. It seriously brings out the obsessive matching side of my personality. I added the newest hair from Majika, complete with shiny lights, and finished it off with a set of rose jewelry from G Field for the perfect outfit.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Autumn - rust / golden
Eyelashes: Flufeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Hair: Magika, Safe with Christmas Lights
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick: Mock, Mizu Venetian Red
Dress: artMEfashion, Steampatch Dress - Red
Jewelry: G Field, Rusty Rose
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps - Vibrant Glossy

Poses: Just A Pose

Location: Kohime Foundation
Light Settings: TOR, DUSK - Siennarel

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Reflections

2011-12-07T23:00:00.001-08:00

I've been thinking a bit about identity and the internet - especially in regards to our reputation. I've been Deoridhe for a long time, and have a significant chunk of history behind me - I'm invested enough in the name that I have a bunch of Deoridhe's with different last names because yes, I am that much of a geek. I'm actually pretty comfortable with my reputation - even the less savory bits like the Gaia account made to mock me by one of the resident trolls (a badge of honor from my days as a moderator). I've even had a few of my Second Life conversations reproduced, and by and large I'm comfortable with most of what I say being passed around to different people.

I'm a bit of a spazz, and a lot of a vapid floozy, and I have a temper on me that I can sometimes ward off but which has a tendency to wash over everything. I'm idealistic and cynical by turns, and I have a tendency to get really snarky fast. I'm ok with people knowing that I sometimes have difficulty tracking people over multiple names (evidence of this is all over the recent drama) and that if a fight is over a few months I'm likely to have forgotten about it (except for some major fights, but I can seriously count those on one hand and often they don't actually count as fights). My work leaves me drained - something that picture taking really recovers me from. I sometimes have a tendency to stick my nose in, and I adore adore adore drama - even the ones I'm involved in (with a few notable exceptions).

The recent bruhaha with a former acquaintance being really upset when his thoughts on women became public-ish made me reflect on what I say, when, to whom, and how I would feel about it being reproduced. There are some things I think and say that I don't want to be general knowledge - but I'm generally pretty careful about who I talk to and usually what I don't want shared is the more personal, weird things which lurk in the Deoridhe-interior. My thoughts about other people, well honestly I expect those to become public sooner or later. I hold a few secrets, and I have a few guesses at secrets, and part of my job is being a sort of black hole into which experiences fall and occasionally get regurgitated as far from the form of their original source as they can be.

I'm not perfect, I'm a work in progress. I like to think I'm worthwhile as a friend, but I've had several people walk away shaking the dirt off of their feet. I've also walked away from people, and had to consider my reasons why. Reflecting on what amounts to six months of a slow-speed fight, I can't honestly say I'd do anything differently except hide the names of the women unfairly quoted by my ex-acquaintance. I am unsurprised he's unwilling to stand by his words, but it wasn't fair to them to simply be drive-bye victims of his dismissal.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Elymode, A Little Drama - Frost
Eyelashes: Flufeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Hair: Exile, Lady Versailles - Honey
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Lepore Red
Dress: Hal Hina, Chiffon Dress 03
Jewelry: Little Boy Blue, Clara Yule Jewelry
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Alice Project, Faelin Pumps - Vibrant Iridescent

Poses: Pffiou!

Location: Willowdale Estates
Light Settings: TOR, FOGGY Catastrophe
Water Settings: TOR, Coral Reef

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Past Events

2011-12-05T18:36:00.001-08:00

A short while ago - maybe a month or month and a half - I got IMed by someone throwing a fit over her name being on my blog. This was the first Second Life Convo I'd quoted, and before I started giving people imaginative nicknames, so I'd left all the avatar names as is. I honestly didn't remember her at all, and she was actually insulted by another person in the course of trying to educate me on how vapid and insipid some women are as a fun topic of conversation! You can read it here if you want to be up on the drama.

I tossed her valid request in the 'wish I'd thought of that' column, made the changes, IMed her to say I'd done so, and left his name intact since it honestly seemed like a dead issue. Tonight, I was shown just how wrong I was, and so he has now gotten a nickname as well being able to vent some of his spleen by lecturing me and kicking me from his totally awesome philosophy group! Man am I schooled. You can see what a childish person I am below, since I'm continuing to be childish (and share the drama!) in this post. Fair warning, everyone - if you go into an extended, sexist rant then bring it up five months later after calling me childish... well, truth in advertising and all that.

[18:12] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: You have been ejected from'Philosophy Group Without An Event For Months' by [Childish, Sexist AssholeJr.].
[18:12] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Deo, please don't be a child aboutminor disagreements. Thanks.
[18:12] Deoridhe Quandry: Minor disagreements?
[18:13] Deoridhe Quandry: I'm not the one defriending over apparently...nothing.
[18:16] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: That's why you were removed from thegroup, not because of our disagreement.
[18:16] Deoridhe Quandry: What was why?
[18:17] Deoridhe Quandry: Wait, nevermind. Honestly, I don't care. If you wantto be an infant, go for it.
[18:18] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Why-- getting friends involved in aminor dispute.
[18:18] Deoridhe Quandry: What friends? What minor dispute?
[18:19] Deoridhe Quandry: As far as I know, you and i haven't spoken formonths. I'm not sure who any of our shared friends are.
[18:20] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Who is [Name Redacted]?
[18:20] Deoridhe Quandry: Urm... I don't know?
[18:20] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: They specifically mentioned you.
[18:21] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: And some kind of dispute we had, andapparently me being some kind of a scumbag or something to that effect.
[18:21] Deoridhe Quandry: Um, what?
[18:21] Deoridhe Quandry: Who is this [Name Redacted]? I don't remember thatname at all.
[18:21] Deoridhe Quandry: What disagreement?
[18:21] Deoridhe Quandry: I don't even use scumbag as an insult.
[18:22] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Mhmm, interesting.
[18:22] Deoridhe Quandry: Who is this person and how am I supposed to knowthem?
[18:22] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: They sent me logs of our discussions.
[18:22] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Did you post it on your blog orsomething?
[18:23] Deoridhe Quandry: If you're also [Childish, Sexist Asshole], yes.
[18:23] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Very mature, Deo.
[18:24] Deoridhe Quandry shrugs. "You made claims about what we said. Iquoted the text. Not against the TOS, and I redacted the names of the peopleyou quoted to me as soon as it was requested."
[18:24] Deoridhe Quandry: Have a nice life. ^.^
[18:24] Deoridhe Quandry:http://primdolls.blogspot.com/2011/07/marked-as-spam.html
[18:24] Deoridhe Quandry: There, if you want to complain on my blog again. It'sa few months old.
[18:24] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Then why was a particular avatarmessaged directly?
[18:24] Deoridhe Quandry: You quoted her.
[18:25] Deoridhe Quandry: I redacted her name as soon as she requested it.
[18:25] Deoridhe Quandry: I'd redact yours too, if you ask nicely.
[18:25] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Why wouldn't have you? It would becommon decency.
[18:25] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: I don't really care to complain on yourblog, it's more about decency right now.
[18:25] Deoridhe Quandry: Ok, well her name is gone. Has been since shemessaged me.
[18:26] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: I don't write people's names into myblogs.
[18:26] Deoridhe Quandry: You can apologize to her for quoting her name if youwant to.
[18:26] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: So, she prolly googled her avatar name,came onto your journal, and saw that log.
[18:26] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Real mature, Deo.
[18:27] Deoridhe Quandry: I'm so sorry, Daddy! I won't do it again! Please sayI can still have ice cream!
[18:28] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: Mhmm. Redact the names.
[18:28] [Childish, Sexist Asshole Jr.]: ....
[18:29] Deoridhe Quandry: Now, since I'm so immature and awful, I'll save youthe trouble of having to deal with me ever again and block you! Bye.

Since he doesn't want to complain on my blog, the only time his name will show up is when he comments (which he did on the first post in this chain of shame)! Whew, I'm sure shown.

Me, me, and me

2011-12-05T16:46:00.001-08:00

Sometimes, I just feel beside myself.

( Shared hair, Exile; Shared dress katat0nik; shared eyes De La Soul. )

Chairs!

2011-12-02T18:03:00.001-08:00

I'm not an art critic.

Which is to say, sometimes I can analyze, say, the effects different things might have in art, but when it comes to those gasps, those moments of ooh and ahh, or even just quantifying why I like Rembrandt's Lucretia better than, like, anything else in the whole world (that and Michelangelo's Pieta).

I gasped at some of the confluences of light and shape in this art piece, though. I think you might, too. Some of the fun is all the hidden sitting places - sit on random things and see what happens!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flufeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Sachiko - Mesh
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick:
Dress: Evldva, Lotus - Gilded Royal
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet

Poses: Alchemy Immortalis

Location: Shadowfield
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA Smokey Blue

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Winter Chill

2011-12-01T23:16:00.001-08:00

Sometimes I have fun just shaking my inventory and seeing what falls out - like this dress from Silent Sparrow that I bought... sometime! And fitted, and oohed over, which disappeared into he depths of my "teal" folder unphotographed. Somehow, I find the joy in plumbing the depths and emerging with treasures almost as enjoyable as lurking through pictures and picking out the ones I want!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flufeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Hair: Exile, Dragonfly - honey
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick: Mock, Micare LipGlimmer - Hypoxia
Jewelry: Primalot, Paradise Bird
Dress: Silent Sparrow, Moonchild - Wintermoon Suite
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Bow Strap Shoes - teal

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Shadowfield
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT Wuxia
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

I Can Haz Promoshunz: Beach Comber

2011-11-29T23:32:00.001-08:00

I wasn't quite ready to give up summer yet - as you can see from my selections of bright, colorful, and warm weather clothing. One of the nice things about Second Life is that even when it's icy outside, you can find a bright and sunny place and live out dreams of a deserted island in summer. At Retropolis, I found myself on a storm-driven ship nearly swallowed by giant tentacles, but that horrific image was quickly replaced with blue seas and warm golden sands (click on the genie to escape the storm!).

I've crammed a lot onto one little avatar, so I'm just going to start from the top and move down. The hat is a special creation from De La Soul that I have on good authority will be released as a group gift in December. The texture is an explosion of rainbow, and the band and feathers are both color changing! It is, aptly enough, named The Deo. You'd think I tortured Charlie until he made me rainbows, or something. Hee hee hee. The hair is a fantastic release from Me., and comes in a wide variety of colors with a base color and highlights. I paired a slightly darker blond with a lighter one, to reflect the sunkissed nature of my avatar! The skin is from Perception, which is a new-to-me store! It has a very interesting philosophy about skins - seasons based with Summer being this rosy tanned one I'm wearing now - and cosmetics - based on time of day, they allow a variety of styles for different levels of makeup, from simple designs meant for daytime wear to the full eyecolor of this evening look. The lipstick is on the skin, and the eyecolors come separately, which allows for a lot of mix and match.

I added some piercings to celebrate this very different, tanned look I built - from Acide!, which does some amazing designs. Each section of the piercing comes with it's own shadow. On the one hand, this adds a real verisimilitude. On the other hand, this made fitting them to my face took a while! I had to edit and rotate several of the shadows to lie appropriately on the curves of my face. I added a gorgeous little butterfly from Je taime to my collarbone instead of a necklace, and I really like the effect with the rest of my loose, relaxed look. The dress from Paris Metro really fit the mood perfectly, too - it's lose, and flowy, with a tail style skirt which would hang in the hair for several seconds, allowing for some really fun picture opportunities. The prim parts are modify-ok, which made fitting the sleeves to my shorter arms a snap; you just have to edit single prims if your arms are shorter and/or wider than the usual. I finished the whole look off with a pair of shoes I bought ages ago from SHOEnique. I got them literally because they were rainbow, and then this outfit showed me why I had kept them in my inventory - they look made for this!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Perception, Sara - Summer (Promotional Item)
Cosmetics: Perception, Evening Set 1b (Promotional Item)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Piercings: Acide!, Mel - Rouge (Promotional Item)
Hair: Me., Jacqui (Promotional Item)
Hat: De La Soul, Defora Basic - The Deo (Promotional Item)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Butterfly: Je taime, Sculpted an animated butterfly (Promotional Item)
Dress: Paris Metro, Artist Series - Betty Tureaud Gown (Promotional Item)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: SHOEnique, Flower Power Hippy Wedges

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Retropolis
Light Settings: Paulina, Fairy Blue
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

katat0nik Twins

2011-11-28T14:33:00.001-08:00

katat0nik is in the process of kicking my butt with her releases - so often, and so fantastic! I still have a dolly avatar pairing in the wings, but when I saw she did rainbows! Rainbows! My absolute favorite rainbows! Well, something in me snapped and I promptly outfitted both mes with different shades of her fantastic release. Deoridhe Quandry, my main, is in the black version, and Deoridhe Starr, my original abandoned avatar, is in the pink version. Both of the dresses, an additional purple version, the shoes, and a rainbow tattoo are all for sale at katat0nik. There's also a new cupcake dress which will probably take a while for me to do pictures because! katat0nik! She is kicking my butt with releases!

In honor of the dress, I tried to twin Deoridhe Quandry and Deoridhe Starr as much as possible while still reflecting some originality between them. Both of them are wearing sale-release hairs from Exile; Exile is in the process of removing some of it's older content, so there's three walls of hair that, despite being older, are still pretty fantastic. I decided that Deoridhe Starr is the human, paler version of Deoridhe Quandry, so she got all of the light blondes and Quandry got all of the dark blondes! Well, by all I mean eight hairs - but at 50$L a color set it still only set me back 400$L on each avatar. The stockings were part of a buy one, get one to share special from Vextra Fashion, which means future twinning will be much easier due to shared stockings! The shoes are also identical, the rainbow shoes from katat0nik which are clearly going to be a favorite of mine!

Now for the differences!

Quandry is wearing a skin from Apple May Designs, Kat, and I really like the delicate cosmetics on the base. It comes with a wide variety of eyebrows and some cleavage variations - yay! I'm wearing the Pale tone, but there are other darker ones of course. I also highlighted her rainbowness with a Rainbow Key from Souzou Eien. I bought it on massive sale, because I just happened to see the notice on the day of the sale, but it's still available for a shiny 100$L, so even off uber sale it's still a bargain!

Starr is wearing cute accessories from a Honey Kitty gatcha which I was able to pass to her. The bracelet is an adorable mixture of bright, colorful shapes and the ribbon, and part of why I had some to pass was I kept playing the gatcha to get them all! The hair ribbon matches the bow and I think it really sets off the rest of the outfit. I also bought my darling a set of Flugeln Brise's lashes - 09 instead of the 05 that Quandry usually wears.

Switching over to the new release of Firestorm brought it's own excitement to this picture series. I actually had to take the first picture twice because my water settings didn't work! Ugly teal, no response from Windlight, and it turned out even my Windlight appearance was wrong with the recommended version. There's a second version of Firestorm with older graphics somethings, though, and installing that cleanly fixed my problem - so if you're noticing graphics issues, try installing the other version!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Deoridhe Quandry:

Skin: Apple May Designs, Kat - Pale Nitro 3 (Promotional Item)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 05
Hair: Exile, Gossip Girl - sand
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Dress: katat0nik, Triple Dip Dress - black
Key: Souzou Eien, Rainbow Key
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: Vextra Fashion, Opaque Stockings - white
Shoes: katat0nik, Kita Mary Janes - Candy Rainbow
Poses: Long Awkward Pose

Deoridhe Starr:

Skin: Cupcakes, Charm - Snow
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 09
Hair: Exile, Gossip Girl - Ash
Hair Ribbon: Honey Kitty, Cutie Ribbon - Pink
Dress: katat0nik, Triple Dip Dress - pink
Bracelet: Honey Kitty, Cutie Ribbon Bracelet - Vanilla
Stockings: Vextra Fashion, Opaque Stockings - white
Shoes: katat0nik, Kita Mary Janes - Candy Rainbow
Poses: Glitterati

Location: INK Flagship Shop
Light Settings: TOR, FOGGY - Sad purple
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Fine Fae in Fur

2011-11-26T00:34:00.000-08:00

Sometimes, I'm really grateful for friends of friends. A dear friend bought me this mesh avatar of a kitty from Blue Galaxian, and I spent the day rubbing against people's ankles and nibbling ears! Like my doll mesh avatar, the clothing choices are limited, but it's definitely an awesome avatar and it is tintable (I tinted the undies, for example). I heard down the grapevine that clothing to fit it will be released soon, but I kind of had fun wandering around in these cute undies. The hair, from D!va, is a lucky board prize and is fantastically lovely. I had to increase it 30%, but then it fit perfectly!

I think this is my shortest credits ever!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Avatar: Blue Galaxian, Female Feline - Ghost
Hair: D!va, Eriko - Ruby
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Undies: Blue Galaxian, Female Knickers and Tanktop

Poses: Glitterati

Location: The Wilderness
Light Settings: Places Pathfinder
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

A Brief Rant Inspired by Netflix

2011-11-23T21:02:00.001-08:00

I love comedy shows. Adore them - especially standup.

I have one thing which kills an act for me - every time. I've reached the point where if I'm watching a show and this shows up, I stop it and mark it in some way so I know "don't watch again."

Generalizations about women.

Comedians and other assholes who do this - news flash! We're half the fucking population. No, we don't ALL try to trick you into being rude. No, we don't ALL set traps for you. We don't ALL shop for shoes for hours, or wear only pink, or nag you into cleaning. Some of us hate cleaning, even. We don't all hate porn, or hate sex, or set you up to fail. If you have a problem with your significant other because she's mean to you, TAKE IT THE FUCK UP WITH HER.

Leave the rest of HALF THE FUCKING PLANET aloooooooooooooo~ne.

[/end service announcement]

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Brrree Mesh Hair (Promotional Item)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Dress: artMefashion, Steampatch Gown Green
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Duh!, Snow Booties - Brown (Promotional Item)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Treptower Park
Light Settings: TOR, DUSK Vision of Something
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Brick House

2011-11-22T22:16:00.000-08:00

I often feel guilty for not being more involved in political things, social movements. Some days even tracking the news becomes too much for me, and I end up singing along with GlaDOS.

It's hard to know what the balance needs to be. How much soothing helps me pull myself together for the next day - how much knitting up the raveled edge of care do I need before I'm ready to handle the weight of the day; the dance of delusions and discombobulation; the balance between being a quasi-agent of the state and serving the needs of those at the corners of society.

I still sometimes feel guilty for sitting and taking pretty pictures, though.

And I don't know why or if I should.

And I'm not sure I'd believe anyone who told me one way or another.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Bubble, Electro Pop Eyeshadow 2
Eyelashes: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Lipstick Red3
Hair: Tribal Secrets, Helena - Platinum
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Amalia
Dress: Dilly Dolls, Astrid - Brown
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Dilly Dolls, Judy - Cherry Heels

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Villefranche sur Mer
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY - Cheery Cyan

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Peacock in the Aviary

2011-11-21T13:38:00.000-08:00

One of the fantastic things about Second Life is how theatrical the clothing can become - how unreal and non-normal. I was instantly struck by this new dress from Inga Wind - enough to overlook the alpha issues which are inherent in an outfit like this. At the wrong angle, this looks like mush, but at the right angle it's absolute magic. I adore the colors, too; I was tempted by the golden peacock, but the natural colors are so striking that I couldn't resist. When I found the albino peacock at Tropical Paradise Designs, it seemed too perfect to resist. My long, slick black legs come courtesy of SLink and are mesh - so for more than half the grid you'll look legless with a ball attached to one thigh. The peacock necklace from TERHO rounded it out, and I was able to match the coloring of the peacock with the shiny Wasabi Pills hair on my head - a newer release. I was also able to match the colors on my Eclectica gloves as well - the feathers version this time instead of the roses I was rocking before. There are pearls as well - have I mentioned lately I adore these gloves?

There is something alluring about how easy it is to look fantastic in Second Life - without the dust, grime, laundry, and mess of the offline world. There's no need to cook, no need to clean, dust never accumulates, and looking gorgeous is a matter of attaching a folder.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5-A
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Kimmy Hair - Golden (promotional item)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Necklace: TERHO, peaCOCKED Necklace
Dress: Inga Wind, Pavonine
Gloves: Eclectica, Little Black Pillbox Hat & Gloves - Feathers (Vintage Faire - promotional item)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: SLink, Tall Leather Boots

Poses: Long Awkward Pose

Location: Tropical Paradise Designs
Light Settings: Midday

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Vintage Roses

2011-11-20T16:15:00.001-08:00

Like a lot of people, I ended up taking a gander over at the Vintage Faire - not only for a view at some new things, but also as a chance to scout out stores and look for new names to add to my (admittedly long) list of stores to keep track of. I ended up spending more than I expected - but I always do! A couple of old favorites hit the top of the list; Eclectica is a longstanding favorite of mine, and ever since she sent out the pictures of the gloves and hat I have felt a deep longing for these gloves. I thought one pair might be enough (she has three styles) but I think I may be forced to go back for more. The roses have texture change, but like all of Eclectica's stuff (love it!) it's modify ok!

The dress is another old favorite - Icing. I have to admit, I dithered a bit on buying it (I have a lot of short black dresses with flowers on them), but the flutters at the side really change the silhouette a lot, making it more interesting than a lot of small black dresses, and I've a total weakness for an altered silhouette. The flowers cling to a number of places, which makes the dress itself work with a lot of poses. I echoed the color in my lipstick (I think it was a free gift) from Pixelated Designs - which is a new-to-me store.

The shoes were an awesome match to the hot pink from Dilly Dolls; they're not a style I usually buy, but I have to admit having tried them out I was really impressed. The skin on the feet have texturing on them, which can match it up nicely to the skin on your... well, skin. Fitting them was the usual annoyance, but I don't think I managed too badly! There's a little bit of a "rim" but at a distance you'd never see it. The texturing HUD includes safe spots for colors, so if you move between a few standard skintones, you can save them and easily revert whenever you want to. There are also some default colors - and I'm pretty sure they'll match up with Dilly Dolls's skin perfectly.You can also set custom toenail colors, though I have to admit I didn't play around with all of the HUD options - they were multitudinous.

The necklace finished off the look, and was to reinforce the paler pinks in my new favorite hat and gloves. It's an old necklace; I'm not sure when I got it, but it's one of the few things in my inventory from Bliensen + MaiTai and I really like it. I'm a total fan of the double strand, and while these aren't pearls, they look like a fancy sort of glass adornment. The hair is from Alice Project (store currently closed), another new-to-me store, and they're mesh - which means to most of the grid you're bald. To those who can see, though, they look completely awesome (and as you can see in several of my additional pictures, it curls with your body in an awesome way). There are these adorable curls at the top of the head, and the bottoms also have awesome curls, and I'm completely in love with it. The bangs are separate and come with one of the two hairstyles I picked up; I can't remember which. Fantastic effect, though.

I ended up going for pictures at the new RMK Gothic Mall. There's been a lot of buzz recently about Second Life malls being doomed by the marketplace; one thing I love about Second Life malls is how often they becomes beacons for beauty, places where the styles of the stores expand out into the landscape to make shopping a much more enjoyable thing.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5-A
Lipstick: Pixelated Designs, Audrey Semi Gloss (Vintage Faire Freebie)
Hair: Alice Project, Bonnie - Blonde (Vintage Faire)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Bliensen + MaiTai, Sakura Double
Dress: Icing, Orchid Delight (Vintage Faire)
Gloves: Eclectica, Little Black Pillbox Hat & Gloves - Roses (Vintage Faire)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Dilly Dolls, Beatrix Heels (Promotional Item)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: RMK Gothic
Light Settings: Midday

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

How NOT to pick up a Man in Second Life

2011-11-18T20:35:00.001-08:00

I got sent this by a fan of my "How NOT to..." series; the commentary at the end is so not mine. In fact, I have to admit I find this level of creepy somewhat unnerving; thankfully I've only had one person IM me with comments while I'm inside my house, and the new parcel settings can offer some privacy - but not when the parcel is largely set apart by being in the sky, rather than on a separate plot of it's own (something that many creators do).

Seriously, people; give people some privacy when they're at home on their own ground.

Perver: Beautiful house.
Homeowner's reaction - *blink blink and goes to nearby avatars to find that Perver is 54 meters away. Cams. He is flying below the house platform.*
Homeowner: Thank you
Perver: Did you build it?
Homeowner: modded it from two different builds
Perver: Nice.
Perver: So you RP, correct?
Homeowner: on occasion, yes. but not on this avi
Perver: Ah.
Homeowner: This is my buisness account primarily.
Perver: I see...A rather dashing business man I must add.
Homeowner's Reaction - *Blink... Blink... squidges and fumbles for... some kind of.. response.*
Homeowner: man.. woman, I tend to flip depending on what make. XD but thanks?
Perver: Lol

*And then the Perver sticks around.. silent for about 30 minutes.. unmoving... while the Homeowner cannot just help but keep staring back... waiting for things to either get creepier.. or him to leave. Which he does. *

Ladies.. Gentlemen... generally speaking this is a breach of Common Sense Rule #1 on the internet. If you would not do this in RL, do not do it online. This is tantamount to climbing a tree across the street and using binoculars to look through someone's windows, then calling them to tell them they have a nice house and they look hot.
Real life, had this happened would have resulted in the cops being called and the Perver's ass going to jail. SL.. luckily we have things like estate bans and security orbs. (He was just outside of the range this Homeowner uses.)

Now... Homeowner would not mind this as much had his house not been over 1000 meters in the air! Had it been on ground level... that is another matter though could have still done without the creepy stalker hitting on.

REALLY, people.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Xplosion, Prim Lashes
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Bold Coal & Purple
Tattoo: Eternal Darkness, Harlequin Tears
Lipstick: Skinthesis, Liquid Heat - In Denial
Hair: Magika, Ren - blond
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Cipher, Lamia Dress - purple
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Cipher, Lamia Boots

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Haruno
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI - Metal Gear Solid

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Rainbows for Luna!

2011-11-15T23:09:00.001-08:00

Luna started the color challenge - the first challenge I successfully followed for a whole year! Can you believe it? In thanks and appreciation, the suggestion was made to take pictures of rainbows for Luna and dedicate a post to our experiences and appreciation.

I love the idea of a challenge around colors because, in a lot of ways, it's a fairly low bar. I've been afraid of the Alphabet challenge because it seems a bit more of a challenge than I can afford - especially given my dearth of skins. Colors, on the other hand, rather come naturally to me and are adaptable from one thing to another. And, as many people know, rainbows are my particular love. (The dress is not publicly available, but single color versions of it with black trim instead of white are purchasable from Falln Angel Creations. The rainbow version is MINE ALL MINE, though!)

I love them because they are one of the only things where being different is not only possible, but required for the rainbow to function. So often people laud diversity in the abstract, then attempt to crush it in the actual because it shows up in the form of dissent, or argument, or disagreement. The best rainbows, though, are when the green is the best green it can be, and the blue is at it's most blue, and the red is so very red it takes your breath away. Each color has to be itself - orange must be it's very orangeness, and purple cannot escape from being so very purple - in order for the rainbow to even be a rainbow. If yellow were not yellow, the rainbow would no longer exist.

So often in the world, people try to make blue or green people into yellow or red ones; people say they want rainbows, then demand everyone conform to orange, or purple, or teal. Many times the words obscure the actions, making people think diversity is there when it's not, but in a rainbow, if orange were to become green, then everyone would notice right away!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelashes 5A
Hair: Rezipsa Loc, Ellen - blond
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Wings: Falln Angel Creations, Deo Custom Wings
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Deo Custom Gown
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: G Field, Button Socks - overknee offwhite
Shoes: De La Soul, Cavas Flats LoveFlowers

Poses: AO

Location: Slitheen
Light Settings:Midday

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Castle Arcanum

2011-11-14T15:32:00.001-08:00

I've taken photos outside in Arcanum before, but it wasn't until the Peatonville Hunt that I realized how much inside there is! This is a small look at a couple of rooms - I was most taken by one of the mage rooms, with an entire window of amazing, glowing, gorgeous plants along one side. My favorite is definitely the musical box flower, though I think the stained glass flower reflects my clothing the most! My dress is a gorgeous new release from Dilly Dolls with a slightly retro-fifties feel to it; I'm really fond of the hint of animal print along the bust line and the hem of the dress - it takes an older design and makes it unique. It's released for the Vintage Faire and available in a variety of colors, though I'm really partial to this teal!

I paired it with a new hair from Tribal Soul; I'm not usually a "hat hair" kind of person, but this one was adorable, and the floofy hair really seemed to suit the sleeker, simple style of the hat. It's fully editable, so you can do things like tint the hat - like I did - to match an unusually colored dress. I added in a new release of eyeshadow from Adam n Eve (I'm getting so addicted to being able to change cosmetics - I can barely remember what it was like to be stuck with one makeup style!) and used the nude lips from my favorite De La Soul skin because the faint pink seemed to complement the vibrant teal I'm covered in. (On a side technical note, I'm trying linking to all the stores of the things I'm wearing - but it's a huge pain in the ass. Comment if you think it's worth it, or if I should let everyone use the search function, like the gods intended.)

One of the enjoyable and frustrating parts about Second Life - and life in general - is that there is so much going on and only a limited amount of time to react annd a limited amount of attention to give. Life begins to be a series of priority lists - do I want to do this, or this? How can I combine multiple goals? Is that really worth my time to do? I spent that amount of time to do WHAT??? Trying to finish up one of those damn Sims Online challenges in a week, I found myself spending an hour waiting for different rooms to load and my desire to continue, to try, to even care was waning quickly. One of the mental fallacies people struggle with is the Sunk Cost Fallacy, and a lot of Facebook games seem to hinge on these. One side effect of Sunk Cost leveraging, though, is when the current challenge is severe enough and the current results are thin enough that it's worth not sinking more time and energy into it. I find the Sims Online rapidly moving into that along with Farmville; in both cases, the time spend doing things is increasingly not worth the reward - the mental space it needs to take up in my head is not worth the fun I get out of it.

Developers - don't rely on Sunk Cost too much; when you hit the tipping point, the loss of interest is rapid.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Eyeshadow: Adam n Eve, Glitz Groovy Greens G
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelashes 5A
Hair: Tribal Soul, Vodka - Platinum (Promotional Item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Eclectica, Pearl Mixables - Deco Redux
Dress: Dilly Dolls, Delilah - Teal (Promotional Item)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Square-toe Shoes - Sophie

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Arcanum
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Coral Reef

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

A Doll's Life

2011-11-12T21:49:00.001-08:00

Mesh is a somewhat controversial thing in Second Life right now, both because it's not currently deforming in reaction to most aspects of peoples' shapes, and because a lot of people still use browsers you can't see mesh on. Full mesh avatars are even more controversial, because they can't work with system layers at all, which means that only full mesh or full prim clothing will work on full mesh avatars. I have a soft spot for Ball Jointed Dolls, though, and so when I heard about Doll Coco coming out with mesh Ball Jointed Dolls, I hurried over to check it out. Sadly, so far it doesn't work with any of my other mesh clothing (I tried it with a Dilly Doll's dress and the doll body stuck out unnaturally) but it does work with prim hair and my prim wings, as well as prim accessories like this Dilly Dolls packaging (post on newest Dilly Doll releases to follow, assuming I don't become completely distracted by something shiny). Have I mentioned I love the new trend in awesome item packaging? I have a folder labled "cool packaging" that will be gradually showing up in my posts (assuming I don't become completely distracted by something shiny).

SOMETHING SHINY!!!!!

Oh, wait, what was I saying?

Oh, right. One of the nice things about the Doll Coco setup is that the body and one outfit is free, and the heads aren't too high priced for what they are (450$L). However, other mesh attachments, like this awesome dress I'm wearing, are on the high end of what I'm willing to spend on clothes at around (others are available for cheaper, but the dress I'm wearing is 750$L and other full-body outfits are in a comparable range, with the cheapest at 300$L). There also isn't a large selection in mesh clothing yet, though more is showing up including some separates. What this means is that in general, your doll may have one or two outfits (if you spend the linden) but for the moment the styles and colors you can wear are very restrictive - and I'm sure there are no few people who will find that a serious sticking point. One of my friends also found that her shape became somewhat "broken" when she moved between the mesh avatar and her regular shape - something else to keep in mind.

What non-mesh compatible browsers will see.

I know this sounds like a total downer, but really I found myself charmed by my doll, and I'm considering using it as the basis for a bunch of inventory-pictures of my group poses due to it being both highly stylized and yet still very attractive. The jointing is exquisite (not that you can see in my pictures) and the face and hand poses are completely charming.It really looks like a ball jointed doll in a way which skins on a regular avatar simply cannot. I'm sure as time goes on, more clothing will be made and perhaps a few more free outfits will round out the offerings and offer some variety in style and color. In addition, the new parameter distorter thingies being made might enable mesh clothing to be fittable over the Doll Coco mesh with some modifications of shape. We're still in the infancy of mesh, but the possibilities seem really exciting and I'm enjoying being on the cuttingish edge (even if it is hard on a girl's wallet!).

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Mesh Avatar: Doll CoCo, Body Snow
Mesh Head: Doll Coco, Alice
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Chloe Hair - Flaming Cherry
Dress: Doll Coco, Classic Dress - Floral Red
Doll: Dilly Dolls, Packaging

Location: Alchemy Immortalis
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA low saturation

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Newbie Challenge II - A and I

2011-11-11T17:20:00.001-08:00

I have something shameful to admit - I have an alt for every letter of the alphabet.

I know, I know, get over your giggles. I plead being addicted to lucky chairs; there is something very powerful about sitting at a board and systematically clicking through it until a question mark or a D finally show up! It's saved me a lot of time on all but the group-only boards where the groups cost money; otherwise I'm set; it's also saved a gathering of people groaning out about the fifth U in a row!

One of the fun side-effects of this has been trying to set up a variety of avatars with very little money - so the lot of them are perfect for Gogo's Newbie Challenge II (and you'll get to see one "look" from each over the course of however long it takes me to get through the alphabet!). I'm starting at the beginning - with A (in purple) - who was actually a roleplaying alt and not a lucky chair alt. Doesn't she look amazing?

Deoridhe is rather an Aryan's wet dream, so I often try to go into completely different directions with alts - also it's more fun! A, by contrast, is meant to be Igbo (or at least Ghanese) and is in my head as my 'classy/stylish' alt. I try to dress her in semi-formal dress and modern casual, styles that Deoridhe tends to not wear and which don't look as good on her as on A's lanky frame. In my head she has a slight Caribbean accent from moving there later in life. She does bring up, for me, the question of how appropriate it is to go cross-cultural, especially when one is offline rather an Aryan's wet dream. Deoridhe is based off of my appearance - blond, blue, and pale; and while I try to not approach A with a stereotypical attitude, it's difficult to know how many stereotypes I've accumulated without noticing and then played out through her - thus disrespecting a whole lot of people who don't deserve that disrespect.

One of the things I decided when I made her, though, is that her hair would be as accurate as I could get in Second Life - so when I discovered this Discord Designs hair I was utterly in love. it's a complicated bit of braiding, and would require use of wire, but the end result is striking. Prior to this I had her in long braids, having been unable to find a shorter style I really liked and yet didn't look Asian or European in texture.Hair and African Americans seem to have a tumultuous history, so while I'm not sure the issues are applicable to a Ghanese woman, I'm aware of the dangers of sticking European-style hair in black on the head of a Ghanese woman and calling it a day.

A's skin is a new player gift from Tea Lane - an excellent shade of chocolatey brown; I very specifically wanted a dark shade, not one of the lighter ones, because you see many fewer avatars on Second Life with truly dark skin. I have my eye on some other brands, but this one fits under the 550$L limit! The eyes are courtesy of Little Boy Blue and are made to seem as if the entirity of the night sky are within your eyelids.There's even a prim addition which moves, as if the sky were slowly turning within your gaze. The dress is from Pixel Dolls and is one of the lower price choices that I really love. The texturing on it is divine, and while it's one of the older offerings, it still stands up against newer clothing. The shoes are cheapies from Glad Rags. I didn't add any cosmetics, but the skin came with a bit of shine to it which I think really suits the entire effect.

The entire look came to a grand total of 510$L, but I think it looks like a million bucks!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Deoridhe (totally over 550$L):

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyeliner: Boom, Midas Touch Liner
Lipgloss: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears - Fairy
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelashes 5A
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Ryoko Hair - Golden
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: katat0nik, Sweetness Dress - yellow
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Square-toe Shoes "Sophie" - yellow

A (510$L Total):

Skin: TL, Chocolate Skin (0$L - new player gift)
Eyes: Little Boy Blue, Eshu eyes (75$L)
Hair: Discord Designs, Gaijin (180$L)
Dress: PixelDolls, Porcelain (250$L)
Shoes: Glad Rags, Folden Boots Black (5$L)

Poses: Glitterati and Long Awkward Pose

Location: Point of Derivation
Light Settings: Purple
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Pandamonium

2011-11-10T00:04:00.000-08:00

I have a friend who loves Pandas. Pandas love bamboo. Bamboo and Pandas both show up in China. This photoshoot was totally obvious.

I've been reading a lot recently about identity, different ways one expresses identity, what being plugged into the internet means, etc... Largely, though, I'm trying to figure out what new blogging site I want to sign up with, or if I want to go back to my still existent Livejournal. Google is rapidly moving toward mandating Google+ with all their products, which means soon I won't have a blog, a video account, or an email account. Any suggestions would be appreciated - right now I'm looking closest at Wordpress, but am impeded by having made an account there and forgotten the password.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin, Ears: Draconic Kiss, Pandamonia Skin Set
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Vicky Hair - Iceburg
Headband: Silent Sparrow, Jolie Headband
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Draconic Kiss, Pandamonia Dress
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Bow Strap Shoes "Kate" - black

Pose: Glitterati, 061

Location: China
Light Settings: Places Wiccan

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Ahern

2011-11-09T00:49:00.000-08:00

My initial account, in 2006, bypassed the "starting areas" of Second Life - the telehubs - which again are mostly unused these days since new players are sent to anywhere on the Destination Guide. When I rejoined in 2008, I was immediately dragged to Lolita Malls and Camping Chairs, again bypassing what seems to be a rite of passage for a lot of people in Second Life. I don't know if anything would have been different if in 2006 I had been directed somewhere instead of dumped in an empty place on the grid, dazed and confused. I suppose some of it might have depended on who I met, if I'd been directed somewhere; I found Ahern less than compelling, but at least there are people! And the view isn't bad, ne?

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Lipstick: Mock, Micare LipGlimmer - Mandarin Sparkle
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Yuna's Hair, Marie
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Dilly Dolls, Adelle Stripey
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Ribbon Slingback Shoes - royal blue

Pose: Poise, Academy Kiera

Location: Ahern
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Hong Kong special

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

How Not to Pick Up a Chick in Second Life: Episode Six

2011-11-07T21:35:00.000-08:00

Sometimes I think there's no way I'll be surprised by how rude or crass a stranger might be. While taking the above photograph, someone contacted me to show how wrong I am.

[20:32] Complete Asshole "Rascal": hi you have flowers for nipples what do you have dowe south he he
[20:32] Deoridhe Quandry: Excuse me?
[20:33] Complete Asshole "Rascal": not sure wha tyou did but okay your excused

I think what bothers me most is that there's no effective way to counter this; to be female is to get, unsolicited, grossly sexual comments from strangers.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Lipmark: Adam n Eve, Lip Strip Heart Black
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Truth, Kalia
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Miel, Sen Necklace
Outfit: artMEfashion, Steampatch Bloomersuit Brown
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Short Lace Up Boots

Pose: Long Awkward Pose

Location: Peatonville Mystery
Light Settings: Lunar Morning

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Ghosts

2011-11-05T21:10:00.000-07:00

Sometimes, a theme is done around a store - in this case I tried to put on as many Favole things as I could and then went to town for pictures! I mixed in a collar from a different purchase time and threw in some bloody black wings to match the slashes on this dress - one of Favole's only piece of clothing! I'm also wearing Favole shoes, but they're hard to see under all the skirt (the skirt has fantastic movement - slightly slowed so it looks just a little eerie).

One note about Favole collars - some are resizable (either through scripts or editing) and some are not. I have a few I only wear with long hair because my neck is too thick for them; I think most people have narrower necks, though, so it shouldn't be a problem. The artistry on them is totally worth it, though; gorgeous designs.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Tattoo: Favole, My Fading Heart
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Bold coal red
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Lipstick: L. Fauna, Red 3
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Truth, Kalia - driftwood
Hat: Favole, Vepar
Wings: Favole, Megalomaniac
Collar: Favole, Prolific
Dress: Favole, Perdition
Gloves: Eclectica, Swoon - ebony
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Favole, Possession

Pose: Glitterati, 229

Location: Rackingham State Hospital
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Grimler gronchi

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Twelve Months of Color

2011-11-05T18:22:00.000-07:00

It's been an amazing year, a lot of colors. I've learned a lot, but not strayed form my essential goal of taking pictures in the wilds of Second Life and presenting them as taken, no photoshop - just cropping.

I had an awful time trying to pick my fifteen favorite pictures, so I went instead with views - mostly. I ended up re-cropping a couple of them so I'd end up with a clear rectangle. Some of the highest viewed surprise me, or are not my favorites; others are ones I still really enjoy and like. I'm struck most of all by the sheer variety; some are subdued, others over-saturated; some are melancholy, others triumphant. In most of the highly viewed ones, I'm not actually looking out at anyone - which surprised me a lot. The clothing also varies a lot - from very scanty and skin revealing, to full coverage.

I'm on the fence about whether I'm going to pick up another challenge as I'm waiting for the Color Challenge Deux to begin in January; part of me will be grateful for not having a drive to post every week, and maybe turn some of that energy to clearing out my Promotional Folder. There are a few challenges going on which look fun, though - the alphabet one looks way too difficult, but there was an old prop challenge that looked fun. I also have some thoughts on doing group pictures, with me and my alts; doing some deliberately cultural pictures by hunting down traditional costumes from a lot of places (anyone know where I can get a dirndl?) and making shapes to match; I also have a vague thought of photographing my inventory to create an record and further sub-sort it for ease of finding what I'm looking for.

Looking back is a fantastic inspiration to look forward.

( More pictures here. )

Go Ask Alice

2011-11-03T23:58:00.000-07:00

Many things which appear innocent from one angle, appear very dark and sinister from another. Watching shows on spree and serial killers, I'm struck by how often kink is brought into it, how often mother behavior is brought into it. Can we ever really know where the darkness in people comes from?

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Bold coal blue
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Lipstick: Rozena, Baby Gloss Pink
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Orion Mesh Hair - Blond (Promotional Item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: katat0nik, Malice v2
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Skully Pumps - Teal

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Cheshire: Alice's Room
Light Settings: Abracadabra 2

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Hrive

2011-11-02T01:04:00.000-07:00

I'm showing a couple of promotional items this time - and I have to say I'm starting to feel like a Real Fashion Blogger! Both the eyes (from Les Fleurs du Mâle) and the outfit (from On A Lark) were gifts from store owners I have no prior relationship to, were not given through part of a bloggers group, and were not given as part of me being an "official blogger" for anything! Incredible, hmmm? I've been kind of bouncy since then, though it took me ages to finally unpack the eyes (would you believe they got hidden in another folder and I ended up having to hunt for them? Apparently, I clicked-and-dragged a bunch of stuff into a random folder; go me!). I suppose that makes me less than professional as a blogger... but at least I'm realistic about my weaknesses! The outfit is quite a recent one, though, and available for the next two weeks only at the Gorean Room. Well, I should say this color - the others are all available at the store On a Lark, but the blue one, called Ice, is special.

I'm not normally a Gor-type girl (I prefer my kink more safe, sane, and consensual), but I have to admit this outfit from On A Lark (obviously for Kajira in cold weather, since everything is form-fitting and the tops of my boobs are getting frost-bite) is really charming me. For those who don't know, women in Gor have limited spheres of influence which are clearly indicated by their clothing; Kajira - slaves - are required to wear form fitting and revealing clothing, even at the risk of reddened cheeks and frozen fingers. There's this whole thing with shoes, too, which I find very confusing! The longer skirt means that with the right face and chest covers a Free Woman could wear it, but the leggings and bond skirt are all Kajira and maybe... whatever poor wives are called (they aren't called wives; Gor is very term-specific).

I'm a bit short and plump by Second Life standards, so I had to do a certain amount of modding to make everything fit. It's modify ok, so I was able to shorted the bond skirt panels manually after I shrunk the entirety to hug my hips. Unlike the last On a Lark outfit I fitted, this one didn't require any individual prim-moving, which was good since the "fur" along the edges is all individual prims exquisitely placed. They don't stop you from shrinking it, but they do make it very high prim; entirely worth it in my opinion, though. Even if you are not toward Gor bent, I highly recommend picking this up (and I may actually swing by and sneak out a few other colors for myself when my Lindens balance right! There's a lovely moss green one I have my eye on).

On to the eyes! I'm usually very eye-faithful; rainbow eyes are such a treasure - but these are from a new-to-me store named Les Fleurs du Mâle. These are gorgeous eyes, though, and I took pictures of a small selection to give you some sense of the breadth of hues - though this isn't all of them by any means. They also come with a prim attachment which gives a charming sense of glow and sparkle. I adore the fact that several are dual color; I'm a huge fan of fades, and these are really well done, as you can see! A set of the gray are a promotional gift in the store, and the Succubus eyes (the lovely pink ones) are a midnight mania gift. My only wish could be for a set of rainbow eyes - they might tempt me away from my usual pair (don't tell Chelle)! I had to fit the prim sections a little - I think my head is oddly shaped! - but they add a bright shine to the eyes which I really like.

The sim I'm on is Falln Sanctuary, the home sim of a dear friend Azriel. He recently redid the Hrive (winter) area which has become a private, lovely two-level graveyard. Look for snow, and a series of gates leading up toward the lower graveyard. There are Hitodama floating around eerily, lighting up the frightening skeleton protecting the graves from all hostility. If you look off to one side, there's a path leading up from the general graves to a more private, gorgeously designed privater-graveyard which I really adore. You absolutely have to go check this out (then sneak down the hill to see the new swamp! Totally gorgeously creepy!).

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Chapping: Pididdle, Chapped Lips & Cheeks
Eyes: Les Fleurs du Mâle, Alive - Various (Promotional Items)
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Calico Ingmann Creations, Brenna - Platinum
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Outfit (includes shoes): On A Lark, Snug - Ice (Promotional Item)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Falln Sanctuary
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Rainbowtek

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Color Challenge: Week Fifty-two - Orange

2011-10-31T18:59:00.000-07:00

I got all dolled up in Halloween finery, much of it the result of gifts or hunts - but all of it available! The dress is the largest note - from Spyralle; it was a lovely gift as a thank you, but when I put it on, I new immediately it's what I wanted to wear for the final color of the Color Challenge - Orange. Made up of a combination of warm cinnamony-browns and rich pumpkin oranges, the fractal design that is Spyralle's signature forms a very flattering pattern on the torso. I barely had to fit the prim pieces at all - moved the skirt up a little, but anyone taller than my little fae self won't have to lift a finger. I paired it up with my newest favorite shoes from G Field in shiny orange that is perfect for this time of year.

I ended up settling on Octoberville as my picture-taking haven, celebrating the final day of October and seeking out all of the pumpkins before their carved up and made into soup! I'm not as fond of the buildings as I am of the pumpkin fields and trees; the former seems a bit off in the stonework and wood textures somehow, but taken at a distance and not as the main focus it works out. The little schoolhouse is charming, though, and I adore the pumpkin fields to get lost in, and the rolling curves of the landscape. There's some kind of hunt or mystery going on there, but I didn't manage to find out many details. I've been running around frantically trying to finish hunts before the deadline!

The skin is one of my hunt prizes, from Falln Angel Creations and the weekend Halloween hunt that has only a day to go. Azriel certainly doesn't make it easy on us, but each prize is an actual whole outfit, skin, or piece of furniture - so believe me, it's worth the work and the single Linden each brain costs! I put the skin on my accident - double clicking or something - and ended up really liking the effect; I'm normally not terribly cattish, but I might make a halfway decent calico, I think. Tinting my ears to match was a little bit of a challenge - maybe next time I should invest in some cat ears!

The jewelry is also a hunt prize, from Earthstones, though they were each fifty linden instead of free or one linden. There are some free prizes in the hunt, and the highest price is fifty - which most of them are. Like the Falln Hunt, it's a challenging hunt. I recommend wireframe and derender as two of your nearest and dearest friends. Like Falln's prizes, though, all of the Earthstones ones are well worth it; however, each prize is a mystery until you open them. I can tell you the color themes are purple, green, and orange - with orange predominating.

I'm feeling the chill of winter starting in now, and the desire to curl up and hide as the weather turns cooler, sipping my cocoa and dreaming time away. One of the nicest side effects of cooler weather is how my kitty likes to snuggle up against me when he naps, keeping my sides and lap warm. He likes my cocoa, too, but I don't let him have much; he does get some tasty tunafish when I make up my tunafish salad, and he has a real interest in ham which leads him to crawl all over me every time I make some noodles with ham (and I end up giving him large pieces - I'm such a bad mom). Halloween passes tonight; in Irish and Celtic tradition, it's the night when the veil between this world and that one is thinnest - when ghosts ride, and when the Wild Hunt begins to gather for it's winter scourge of the countryside.

I'm fonder of apple cider, pumpkin pie, and peppermint cocoa, though.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Falln Angel Creations, Feline Calico Feminine (1$L Hunt Prize)
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Pompon Hair - Rye (Review Copy)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Earthstones, Ti'ana Set (150$L in Hunt)
Dress: Spyralle, Candy Corn Fractal Frock (gift)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: Blacklace, Red Riding Hood Stockings
Shoes: G Field, Strap Shoes "Alex" Patent Leather - orange (gift)

Poses: Glitterati,

Location: Octoberville
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Cragelica

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

For Ro-chan

2011-10-25T02:43:00.000-07:00

Ro-chan is literally the reason I came to Second Life. We met on Gaia Online years ago, in the Religion and Morality forum, where I became quickly known for biting sarcasm, a sense of the absurd, and entirely too much time spent dressing up my little avatar. We're different in a lot of ways, but we've always gotten along, so when she lured me (back) to Second Life with promises of pretty clothing to dress my avatar with, I stumbled through the initial lag and getting used to moving around with her to guide me. She took me to my first shops, gave me 1000$L to spend (which felt like so much money!), helped me pick out my wings, my hair, and taught me about lucky chairs and camping chairs - on which I spent a lot of time in the coming months.

When I put on this outfit and tried to figure out where to take a picture, all I could think is that I looked like a pretty dolly - and so I ended up in Ro-chan's little cafe, where the sweets are, for an impromptu photoshoot that I want to dedicate to her.

Thanks for bringing me to Second Life, Ro-chan. I'm so very glad we're friends.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called Black
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Coal & Red 1 w/blush
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Pink 2
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Lo Momo, Spiranthes - Blond
Hair Flower: G Field, Rose Hairpin (suede) - pink
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Purple Moon, Roses - Vintage
Dress: Reale, Pink Romantique Dress
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: Kyo Couture, Socks No. 2 - Pink
Shoes: Dilly Dolls, Bastian Boots - White & White (rigged mesh boots)

Poses: Glitterati,

Location: Ro-chan's Cafe
Light Settings: Places Sand

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Color Challenge: Week Fifty-one - Cream

2011-10-24T01:19:00.000-07:00

Cream was actually easy for me - I have loads of it in my inventory - but the hard part was figuring out what to pair it with and how to accessorize. I ended up with blue highlights; my favorite bits have to be the necklace and bracelet, which I impulse-bought from Axiom in a different color and now am rapidly accumulating all the available colors. If only there were more colors! I adore the curve around the neck - it fits better than almost every necklace I've worn; it's definitely Little Boy Blue level of quality. The rings are two I've been wearing for a while - from Alchemy Immortalis and Earthstones. One is a Nesting ring; it's scripted to hold images in it of people you love. I'd had plans for the pictures in there, but as of now it's empty, waiting for a special someone. In a way, it's a promise to myself. The other is a tri-rose ring that was the first time I spent money on jewelry; I loved the colors, the symbolism of three roses, the purity of three.

The hair is from one of my newest, favorite hair stores - the .b sidebrand of Analog Dog - and is one of the dual hair designs that hit the grid a few months back. The shoulder pieces are separate from the hair, which allows them to remain in place even when the head moves. This is a glory for picture taking; often long hair really limits the poses in play and with dual-piece hair it widens the opportunities a lot. The flower bits are from a new-to-me store called BP; they're free gifts in the foyer of the store - look for little stacks of boxes. The dress is from Hal Hina and I own it in every color. It's a gorgeous little floof of a dress, all froth and flowers, and really seemed to fit the rest of the theme.

I love the ephemeral quality of the roses now at World's End - how they seem to mingle and intermix with each other. It's easy to get lost within them, to sink in, and amazingly they only somewhat seem to interfere with my wings - in a way which makes it seem like I'm always rising up out of the bushes - born out of them like a flower that then floats on the waves toward the horizon.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called Black
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Coal & Blue 2
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Neutral 3
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: .b, Tangled - Cornsilk
Flower Effects: BP, Inner Tree & New Spring 3
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Hal Hina, Flower Mini Dress - Cream
Gloves, MRS, Cream Mesh Gloves
Jewelry: Axiom, Transmigration of Souls
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: Vetra Messing, Sheer Stockings
Shoes: G Field, Flower Pumps "Eve" - cream

Pose: Glitterati

Location: World's End
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Cranche

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Pumpkins in the House of Grey Shadows

2011-10-23T02:25:00.000-07:00

Fall colors are so pretty and subdued; highlighted by a bit of pastel glow, and it just seems to invite curling up by a window with a warm cup of cocoa to enjoy the season. This dress from Evie's Closet - one of my favorite of her fairy-style dresses - is the perfect thing to wear when flitting around the carnival or playing nine pins with the stones. I ended up picking up a new hairstyle from Shag, too - it has the cutest little hairsticks in it; I'm really in love. It's full mod, so I was able to move bits of hair from out of my big fairy ears - always a plus! I accented my look with a set of bracelets from Spyralle which I really love - based off of fractals, the colors simply seem to glow - and they're on sale for the weekend, at least - for once I managed to post about a deal before it ended! I hope! It's in a lot of different colors, so go! Go! Jump on it!

I'm beginning to feel like a grown-up fashion blogger - one of the posts coming up will get into detail on that - but I still want to remember why I started doing this to begin with; to celebrate the beauty of Second Life, the beauty I can make through a combination of the creations of others - wafted high on the wings and winds of talented people.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called Black
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Autumn Leaf Mix
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Neutral 2
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Shag, Thai Me Up
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress, Stockings, Shoes: Evie's Closet, Eden - Fall Edition 2
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet

Pose: Glitterati, Pin up 2

Location: Pyri Funfair
Light Settings: Abracadabra2

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

How NOT to Please a Designer - Episode 2

2011-10-20T19:56:00.000-07:00

Strap yourselves in, ladies and gentlemen - this is a long one. Iadded some commentary along the way, and a few pretty pictures to break up the wall of text (credits for pictures available if you click through). I promise that though it starts slowly, the Entitled, Rude, andShocking is totally worth sticking through it. At least, I giggled a lot.

It started out innocuous enough - even polite. Friendly, chatty - whowould guess the gaping asshole depths that would soon envelope us?

[09:07] Inconsiderate Asshole: Hi miss :D
[09:08] Inconsiderate Asshole: I have a request for one of your skins
[09:08] Store Owner: Oh?
[09:08] Inconsiderate Asshole: I purchased the [Type Of] Avatar awhile ago
[09:08] Store Owner: Ah yes
[09:08] Inconsiderate Asshole: My friend wants that skin but she wants theblue to be purple
[09:08] Inconsiderate Asshole: Is it possible to change that?
[09:09] Inconsiderate Asshole: I am giving it as a gift to her
[09:09] Inconsiderate Asshole: She just wants the skin hehe
[09:10] Store Owner: Oh.. unfortunatly…. It isnt possible. The colors of thescales section was completely random for me. I wasn’t sure what color it wouldbe on what skin until I did it.
[09:10] Inconsiderate Asshole: Could you keep trying random combos until youget it :O
[09:10] Inconsiderate Asshole: I’ll pay anything
[09:11] Store Owner: Well the thing is, i set the scales to like..overlay and color burn and whatnot, and the skin color below dictated the colorof the scales. I’m sorry but I dont think I can get it to work. but letme try something else that might
[09:11] Inconsiderate Asshole: ok
[09:11] Inconsiderate Asshole: Her current skin is terrible, her breast lookall sunken in
[09:12] Inconsiderate Asshole: They look crushed
[09:12] Store Owner: Ew
[09:12] Inconsiderate Asshole: yeah
[09:12] Inconsiderate Asshole: So any purple skin would work
[09:12] Inconsiderate Asshole: We’d prefer black and purple
[09:12] Store Owner crosses fingers that this might work
[09:13] Store Owner: well shit
[09:13] Store Owner: It turned the whole thing purple.. BUT the scales XD
[09:13] Inconsiderate Asshole: Oh
[09:13] Inconsiderate Asshole: So
[09:13] Inconsiderate Asshole: Its like
[09:14] Inconsiderate Asshole: Blue and pirple
[09:14] Inconsiderate Asshole: purple
[09:14] Inconsiderate Asshole: Well we reallt need this and your skins aresome of the best I’ve seen in awhile

Here's where things start to get weird. For some reason, [InconsiderateAsshole] thought throwing in some random names might somehow change things.This attempt at extended nepotism was stymied by the simple fact that throwingout random names of several avatars the creator doesn't know... really won'taccomplish much. I won't ever say nepotism is bad, gods know I adore the giftsI get through nepotism, but if you're trying to invoke it via proxy try to makesure it's valid.

[09:14] Inconsiderate Asshole: Also
[09:14] Inconsiderate Asshole: I am friends with [Random Avatar 1]
[09:14] Inconsiderate Asshole: A friend of yours
[09:14] Inconsiderate Asshole: Or [Random Avatar 2 Misspelled]
[09:14] Store Owner: [Random Avatar 1]?
[09:15] Inconsiderate Asshole: [Random Avatar 2 Last Name]
[09:15] Inconsiderate Asshole: [Random Avatar 2]
[09:15] Store Owner: I don’t.. know that name O_O
[09:15] Inconsiderate Asshole: She said she knew you
[09:15] Inconsiderate Asshole: [Random Avatar 2]
[09:15] Second Life: Inventory item offered
[09:15] Store Owner: not off the top of my head but I am also fighting amajor headcold too lol
[09:15] Store Owner: the head is compromised XD
[09:15] Inconsiderate Asshole: Got ya
[09:15] Store Owner: but yeah thats what it looks like right now
[09:15] Inconsiderate Asshole: Is there a way to make the scales black then?
[09:16] Inconsiderate Asshole: oR DARK
[09:16] Store Owner: wait.. she LOVES purple right?
[09:16] Inconsiderate Asshole: Black/purple
[09:16] Store Owner: one second
[09:17] Store Owner: [url of image] what about that one?
[09:18] Inconsiderate Asshole: If the scales could be dark
[09:18] Inconsiderate Asshole: It’d work
[09:18] Store Owner: i can’t change the scales. Sorry
[09:18] Inconsiderate Asshole: Hmmm
[09:18] Store Owner: and wont attempt it the way I am right now.
[09:19] Inconsiderate Asshole: How did you color them before
[09:19] Inconsiderate Asshole: Just do that again
[09:19] Inconsiderate Asshole: I mean I’ll pay 3k
[09:19] Inconsiderate Asshole: Even
[09:19] Inconsiderate Asshole: And if you got blue
[09:20] Inconsiderate Asshole: You can get purple, blue is close to purple.
[09:20] Inconsiderate Asshole: I’d really love it if you could try
[09:21] Store Owner: Right now I am sick RL, and not taking comissions. I’msorry, but I can’t/won’t do it.

Here is where things start to go south. Note for customers - in the RealWorld people have things called Sick Days on which they don't work. They don'twork because sick people need to rest, and often do sub-par work if they try to work because they're sick. Badgeringpeople to work when they are sick is called being an asshole, especiallywhen the person has already been trying a few easy things without success - as in this case. Don'tbe an asshole.

[09:21] Inconsiderate Asshole: 10k?
[09:21] Inconsiderate Asshole: Hon I can pay anything
[09:21] Inconsiderate Asshole: I have 125k
[09:23] Inconsiderate Asshole: I am sorry your sick
[09:24] Inconsiderate Asshole: But you know I am a builder. And when a taskis hard I do it anyway even if I am sick. I get stuff done cause I want to makemy customers happy.

I will note that personally, I not only doubt this person is a storeowner, I doubt she has worked a job at all given her ignorance of sick days.The wild price offer changes are really not helping her cause, either; she'sgone from 3k to 10k to 125k in five minutes - not the sign of a healthybusiness mind.

[09:24] Store Owner: Would you be willing to pay the 125K for it? I wouldnever sell it to anyone else for that price, your friend would have acompletely custom avatar
[09:24] Inconsiderate Asshole: We just want the skim
[09:24] Inconsiderate Asshole: skin
[09:24] Store Owner: oh
[09:24] Inconsiderate Asshole: She has everything else
[09:25] Inconsiderate Asshole: She looks good besides the skin
[09:25] Inconsiderate Asshole: But as a builder I help my customer
[09:25] Inconsiderate Asshole: I get it done
[09:25] Inconsiderate Asshole: I do what they want
[09:25] Inconsiderate Asshole: I make what they want
[09:25] Inconsiderate Asshole: Or fix what they want me to fix
[09:25] Inconsiderate Asshole: Even if it is hard
[09:25] Inconsiderate Asshole: That is how people run a business
[09:26] Inconsiderate Asshole: Thats how people get money
[09:26] Inconsiderate Asshole: Thats how you stay in business and getcustomers to keep coming back to you
[09:26] Inconsiderate Asshole: If you would of done this no questions asked
[09:26] Inconsiderate Asshole: I;d of told my friends of you
[09:26] Inconsiderate Asshole: And they’d of bought your stuff
[09:26] Store Owner: I know this, but when you flat out have said that youdo not take comissions at the moment, and it is clearly posted in your profile,you have the right to decline comissions.

Some creators take commissions. Some don't. Some limit what they take.Owners having standards - having limits - is appropriate and part of being agood business owner (especially when the business is part-time, so the Ownerhas to prioritize an offline job). Trying to convince a person that theirlimits are wrong through a specious guilt trip is called being an asshole.Don't be an asshole.

[09:27] Inconsiderate Asshole: This isn’t hard though, you just need tochange it and it’ll randomly select a color right?

Note this is a gross misapplication of [Store Owner's] words. Setting colors for skins in particular is often not easy; if you have to change the hue too much, often you have to change several layers of hue to make it look good, and that requires the mental energy to discern what looks good and what doesn't. This is anything but easy!

[09:27] Inconsiderate Asshole: How about this… you do this I’ll build yousomething, anything you want.
[09:27] Store Owner: No
[09:28] Inconsiderate Asshole: Well then I’ll make sure nobody buys anythingfrom you again
[09:28] Inconsiderate Asshole: Terrible business
[09:30] Store Owner: One, you went from offering up 10 K… to 125K.. sayingyou would pay anything, SO I offered a fully custom only-she-would-have-itavatar, then you wanted just the skin. Then it changed from paying money forsomething to a trade and when i said no.. you threaten me. Have a nice day, Iam done talking to you about this.

This is called a sum up to cut short a growing tantrum (as we'll see below, trying to stop this tantrum is no easy thing!). What comes after the sum up is called ObjectLesson: How to Be an Asshole.

[09:31] Inconsiderate Asshole: You run a terrible business, you should dothis no questions asked. I will pay anything but 125 for one skin is bullshit,it is a rip off and your being unfair and rude.
[09:31] Inconsiderate Asshole: 125k*

Note that [Inconsiderate Asshole] has gone from offering 125K for oneskin, to saying that's a rip off. This rapidfire shifting of goalposts and the insults coupled with demands, as wellas the claim that the Owner is being unfair and rude, is called being an asshole.Continuing to contact someone after they say they are done talking aboutsomeone, especially with the escalating threats below, is called being athreatening asshole. Don't be an asshole.

[09:31] Inconsiderate Asshole: You won’t get customers with how you act
[09:31] Inconsiderate Asshole: Immaturelyu
[09:31] Inconsiderate Asshole: And selfish
[09:32] Inconsiderate Asshole: How you started a business is beyond me
[09:32] Inconsiderate Asshole: You act like your 5
[09:32] Inconsiderate Asshole: Suck it up, be an adult and help a customerwho is willing to pay.

Now, here is when the whole interaction goes completely off the rails. Inaddition to a small stream of insults, [Inconsiderate Asshole] escalates to tryingto start voice calls and offering teleports to [Store Owner] because [StoreOwner] is ignoring the insults.

[09:34] Second Life: [Teleport Offer] [Call]
[09:34] Inconsiderate Asshole: I will teleport you, do calls until you talkto me.
[09:35] Second Life: [Teleport Offer] [Call]
[09:37] Store Owner: Why are you trying to teleport me?
[09:38] Inconsiderate Asshole: Cause I want to talk to you
[09:39] Store Owner: You have tried that. I have tried explaining that Iwill not do a custom work for you. You kept pushing and when I got a bitfirmer, you threw a .. well tantrum and threatened me. Why under anything sanewould I want to teleport to where you are and talk about this further after Ihave already said I would not.

Now things become very strange - and I had to pause the first time I readthis because it seemed to come out of left field. Apparently, [InconsiderateAsshole] decided to cut and paste the discussion that preceded her contacting[Store Owner] after calling [Store Owner] Childish and Immature and claiming heruns a horrible business. At this point I'm beginning to get whiplash trying tokeep track as [Inconsiderate Asshole] alternates between attempts to inspirenepotism (via someone [Store Owner] doesn't remember!) and insults.

[09:39] Inconsiderate Asshole: [2011/09/11 23:11] Random Avatar 2:working out a personality like you described is a killer
[2011/09/11 23:12] Inconsiderate Asshole: Lol
[2011/09/11 23:12] Inconsiderate Asshole: XD
[2011/09/11 23:12] Inconsiderate Asshole: I have to go though hon
[2011/09/12 16:42] Random Avatar 2: i got bored and made a chubbehdemoness ;o
[2011/09/12 16:46] Random Avatar 2: AND!
[2011/09/12 16:46] Random Avatar 2: i took a look at the maker of thedemoness avi…and burst out laughing ;o it’s an old friend that made these xD
[2011/09/12 16:47] Inconsiderate Asshole: Ohhh

This is the end of [Inconsiderate Asshole]'s quote, for those trying tokeep track.

[09:40] Inconsiderate Asshole: She knows you
[09:40] Inconsiderate Asshole: She bought your avatar
[09:40] Inconsiderate Asshole: And apparently talked to you about scripts
[09:40] Inconsiderate Asshole: Or something.
[09:40] Inconsiderate Asshole: She is my friend and I am not having a fit,but I am angry that you could change the scales but won’t cause your lazy.
[09:40] Inconsiderate Asshole: When you could get 10k for one skin
[09:41] Inconsiderate Asshole: But you won’t cause your lazyness gets in theway

When someone says they are sick and aren't doing commissions, it isn'tlaziness - it's setting an appropriate boundary. People who insult othersbecause they have boundaries are assholes. Don't be an asshole.

[09:41] Inconsiderate Asshole: I don’t want a custom avatar we just want thebloody skin.
[09:41] Store Owner: You want a custom skin. and I am SICK not lazy.
[09:41] Inconsiderate Asshole: You have no clue how to run a business
[09:41] Inconsiderate Asshole: Oh your sick..
[09:41] Inconsiderate Asshole: Boo hoo.. thats a lame excuse hon
[09:42] Store Owner: I said I have a severe head cold. Oh hell.. goodbye
[09:42] Inconsiderate Asshole: Sorry your sick but that is no reason why youcan’t make it

At this point, when it became clear that [Inconsiderate Asshole] wasincapable of respecting the boundaries of another person, [Store Owner] mutedher. This is an appropriate use of muting, as well, and should have been theend of it. However... it is clear at this point that [Inconsiderate Asshole] istruly dedicated to being an asshole. Don't be [Inconsiderate Asshole].

[09:44] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: Look I am sorry it is [Third Name]
[09:44] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: [Inconsiderate Asshole]
[09:44] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: Could you do this when you feelbetter?
[09:44] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: I am -fine- with waiting
[09:44] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: I just want to know if you can do itsomething
[09:44] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: sometime*
[09:45] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: And sorry I get angry when peopledon’t help me

Read: When I don't get my way I throw a temper tantrum and speciously insult people.

[09:45] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: Really angry..
[09:46] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: I just want to know if you can do itsometime in the near future
[09:47] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: I am sorry
[09:48] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: Ms [Store Owner]?
[09:48] Second Life: [Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole] has given you thisnotecard:
Title: Ms [Store Owner], I am sorry
Contents: [BLANK]

[09:50] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: : /
[09:51] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: I just want you to help me sometime
[09:51] Alt of Inconsiderate Asshole: Doesn’t have to be now

Note the complete reversal, from insulting and threatening ("Youhave no clue how to run a business") to an almost embarrassing One-Eighty("I am fine with waiting"). At no point, however, did [InconsiderateAsshole] show any awareness that she was, in fact, harassing another persondespite having been muted and not getting any response when she moved to adifferent alt. This is called being an asshole. Don't be an asshole.

As a final note, [Store Owner] reported both accounts for Harassment, Defamation/Threatening Behavior, and Verbal Abuse. Hopefully, [Inconsiderate Asshole] will learn her lesson and be less of an asshole in the future.

Sum Up: Don't be an asshole.

Murky Days

2011-10-19T00:49:00.000-07:00

The tunic is a new release from De La Soul, and I have good information that a color will be available next Tuesday for 25$L Tuesday - total deal! It comes with a set of leggings I'm not wearing, and it'll hang longer on someone else - I ended up lifting the bottom of the tunic up to make it hit mid-thigh. The sleeves fit with no modification at all, and the collar was an easy drop - all of the prim pieces come fitted for men or women, which is a real blessing. There are also gloves, which give the outfit it's name - archer gloves for the twanging of bows.

It's hard to tell the difference between proper shame, and the tormenting we give ourselves in order to stop our growth and progression. Sometimes trying to figure it out seems like picking my way through murky waters, trying to avoid hidden undercurrents.

Or I'm just over-dramatizing.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Eyeshadow: Elymode, coal & purple
Lipstick: Mock, Micare - lip 2
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Shag, Thai Me Up - caramel
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Tunic: De La Soul, Archer Tunic - Brown & Berry (promotional gift)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: G Field, Ruffle Socks - plum
Boots: G Field, Open Boots "Vilda" - brown tinted

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Zain Ruins
Light Settings: Anna's Many Murders
Water Settings: TOR, You're In Luck

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

How Not To Ask A Stranger to Change Her Nature in Second Life

2011-10-17T21:52:00.000-07:00

So I'm in a public place in Second Life with easily fifteen to twenty other people, most of those within hearing range. And below me pops up a "Naughty & Nice Titler: Anyone may set Attention Seeker's title on /3".

I don't like those titlers, honestly. I find them annoying, spammy, and unnecessarily mechanical; the whole schtick of naughty and nice, the implication of something coy and sexual in places where it's really not appropriate, the demands placed on complete strangers in public, not to mention the spamming effect (and these often 'scold' people when it isn't reset as well). So I do what I usually do - I type "/3 I'm attention seeking". I was in a fairly good mood, so I didn't type in my actual usual, "I am an attention whore."

In open chat I hear:

[20:46] Attention Seeker: ~Thank yyouuuuuuu~
[20:46] Attention Seeker: for the title!!!!!
[20:46] Attention Seeker: Luv it
[20:46] Attention Seeker: Now mind yor own business

I honestly saw that as being the end of it. I never actually even looked at her, or opened her profile.
A little under an hour later, my IMs pop open; I'm leaving the timestamps in for a sense of the full effect. I initially assumed she was the guy hitting on me by comparing me to a Beer Garden picture (too boring to make it here), but it turned out I was wrong. Instead it was the attention seeker. objecting to me calling her.. attention seeking.

[21:25] Attention Seeker: Hi hi.... A bit earlier you gave me a title that was not very nice....... I was wondering if you would conseider being a bit more considerate of what you put into a titler.....
[21:26] Deoridhe Quandry: No. ^.^
[21:26] Attention Seeker: It really bummed me out what you put up there
[21:26] Deoridhe Quandry: You have a titler on, spamming people in public.
[21:26] Deoridhe Quandry: I could have been a lot more rude. ^.^
[21:27] Attention Seeker: I am sorry whenever I TP away from home I do not go into my inventory to remember to take off the titler
[21:27] Deoridhe Quandry shrugs. "Not my problem. You're wearing it in public."
[21:27] Attention Seeker: If you dont like it I would prefer you not put it ontop of my head
[21:27] Deoridhe Quandry: If you take it off, I can't put anything on top of your head. Now please go away.
[21:28] Attention Seeker: I was not doing anything to harm anyone else.... I was not even talking
[21:28] Attention Seeker: I do not appreciate such rudeness
[21:28] Deoridhe Quandry: You put on something allowing strangers to title you.
[21:28] Attention Seeker: I am not appreciative and I just wanted to let you know
[21:28] Deoridhe Quandry: I don't appreciate the rudness of you trying to guilt trip me. Please go away.

And she did.

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Eyeshadow: cheLLe, Tropical (Blue / Teal)
Lipstick:
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: !lamb, Wild Nothing
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Little Boy Blue, Luxo Necklace - small
Dress and Shoes: Falln Angel Creations, Hecate Dress Purple (with boots and broom)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet

Pose: In Situ

Location: .XIV Evanesce
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Rebranded Skies
Water Settings: TOR, Crosshatched Plans

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Science of Light

2011-10-17T17:10:00.000-07:00

There's definitely a theme with watery, flowery places. Most of them have at least once church,, at least one carousal, and probably a piano and/or cello. .XIV is a gorgeous place, though, with a high flying style and a delicate use of light to make everything seem to glow. I especially like the butterflies all over the place, especially those I could position myself strategically near and snap a picture. I have a soft-spot for butterflies.

The dress is a gorgeous group gift from The White Armory, which was released oh.... a while ago. This is why I mostly fail as a purely fashion blogger; things go into my inventory, come out later and get photographed, but trying to stick close to dates is always a bit of a trial to me! I much prefer something more spontaneous and fluid, something which responds to the moment and my mood rather than being brought in purely from the outside. I'm part of the group for The White Armory, and so I try to pick up the weekly group gift. I'm a very different shape from the standard - much shorter and much rounder - so a good chunk of what I pick up doesn't fit me. I'm always thrilled when I find one of her dresses I can wear, since they're gorgeous, and this one is particularly strikingly gorgeous. The sleeve caps are a perfect finish to an exquisite design, and I was able to fit it very easily since they were modify-ok. Go Go Modify-Ok!

The necklace is from Little Boy Blue, and it's one I've worn for loads of outfits because it had a perfect curve around the neck. It comes in short (worn above), long, and double strand - the last of which is what I usually wear the most. I love the shape of the beads combined with the spacers - it's completely unique.

There's something amazingly ephemeral which has been a guiding force in Second Life, but sometimes I wonder if it's not just that quality of ephemera which can make Second Life - and the internet in general - such a draw away from offline pursuits. It's so much more fun to dress up and pose myself in gorgeous areas than to do my dishes - and that's a real danger. Dishes need to be done, rooms need to be cleaned, clothing needs to be laundered - and having a world where none of that matters, where no dust ever accumulates, is alluring.The lure of places where there are prizes for everything - of positive feedback immediately upon every small action - is also alluring; sometimes it seems like all kinds of accomplishments pass unnoticed even by me, and I struggle to drive myself forward into action when I mostly just want to hide in a world of dreams.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Eyeshadow: cheLLe, Tropical (Blue / Teal)
Lipstick:
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Exile, Lady Versailles - Goldrush
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Little Boy Blue, Luxo Necklace - small
Dress: The White Armory, Moonlight Dance
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Ribbon Slingback Shoes - navy

Poses: Glitterati

Location: .XIV Evanesce
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Rebranded Skies
Water Settings: TOR, Crosshatched Plans

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Highlight / Lowlight

2011-10-17T01:05:00.000-07:00

The Path has opened up as a multilayered exploration of themes begun by one artist and then continued with others. I found myself entirely taken away by it; I ended up getting fascinated by the effect of a bright, posterizing windlight and took a few pictures, but I'm pretty sure I'll be back multiple times to explore around the variety and take some pictures that show off the view a bit more than these did.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Eyeshadow: cheLLe, Tropical (Yellow/Pink)
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Lipstick - Neutral 3
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Truth, Eden - golden
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Blue Blood, Dollheart Whitegoth Pink
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Flower Pumps "Eve"

Pose: Long Awkward Pose, Diva

Location: The Path - Bryn Oh's Room
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA air polution
Water Settings: TOR, Trandshan

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Color Challenge: Week Fifty - Mulberry

2011-10-14T23:12:00.000-07:00

We're coming to the end of the challenge, and I'm feeling a bit sad about it, to be honest. I ended up in a shiny, Mulberry dress and a scary, mulberry sim for Halloween. I'm not a big horror and gore fan, but Halloween seemed to call for it.

Ever been unable to think of a thing to say?

Yeah.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Lipstick - Pink 2
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Juliette Hair - Jellyfish
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Icing, Mulberry Cordial
Jewelry: Beloved, Pearls and Ribbons
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Knot Wedge - Pink

Pose: Glitterati, 109

Location: Mulberry Orphanage
Light Settings: TOR HORROR Rancid Milk
Water Settings: TOR Trandshan

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Family Drifts

2011-10-12T21:44:00.000-07:00

Bryn Oh has a new art display called Family Unit which I'm still grappling with in terms of how it relates to, well... family units. My own thoughts about family units are confused, mixed up between chosen and assigned families, and wanted and unwanted families. I'm not quick to call someone family, and in a way I'm all too familiar with the asymmetrical affection often found and displayed online - much like the asymmetrical affection between famous people and less famous ones. I've had cases where I felt very close to someone, where it turned out they could simply stop talking to me without much thinking about it, and even maintaining that speaking often wasn't important. Other times, I've had people assume a level of right to impede or influence my life when I think of them as little more than a vague acquaintance, if not a virtual stranger.

Offline, I have people who are genetically very close to me who I haven't spoken to in years, and people who I don't speak to often but when we do it's as if no time at all has passed, and people I speak to regularly.

Family is a confusing thing, but I'm glad I have it.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Lipstick - Red 2
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Secret Hair, Helena - Platinum
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Likka House, Faded Rose
Jewelry: G Field, Pearl Set "Blossom"
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Lady Rose - Offwhite

Pose: Glitterati, Long Hair 5

Location: Family Unit by Bryn Oh
Light Settings: TOR SCIFI Railingz 1
Water Settings: TOR Trandshan

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Dreams Come Alive

2011-10-10T15:29:00.000-07:00

Through the Lens of Dreams is a new sim put out by Madcow Cosmos and Lorin Tone, much in the style of Peaster's Castle - a rounded, organic curve to everything which is quite unique in my experience. The other thing, which quickly becomes apparent, is that the entire sim exists in a frozen flash of the fourth dimension - that is, as you move around the sim, you follow the various paths of different things which transform over time and yet exist simultaneously.

The images are at once sublime and thought-provoking - everything from walnuts which become ships to war between two races who part ways at the corner. From the ridiculous, to the charming, to the sobering - I found around every corner a moment of delight. There seem to be new things under every level and around every curve - even flying up into the sky there were new things seemingly created for delight alone. It's an incredibly complex build, and I am not exaggerating when I say pictures, any pictures, any number of pictures do not do it justice. Only by wandering around and watching how things shift into other things, see the sly little hints of humor, will you fully be able to appreciate what they've created.

( The outfit is an oldie but goodie from Blue Blood; normally I don't go for shorts outfits, but the curve of the short bottoms on this are absolutely delightfully charming. )

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

,Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Cole & Magenta
Lipstick: Mock, Micare LipGlimmer - Flirtatious Kobi
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Majika, Noise
Wreath: Evie's Closet, Wreath of Flowers
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Outfit: Blue Blood, Amelia - pink
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: Violent Seduction, Lingerie Masquarade
Shoes: G Field, Strap Shoes "Alex" - berry

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Through the Lens of Dreams
Light Settings: Places Cromac
Water Settings: TOR Pretty Placid

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Living Tree

2011-10-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

Fallen Gods has a photo contest of images in their skins, and I hunted through my inventory and lurked in the store for a bit, and emerged as... well... a tree.

There are things. They are growing on me!

I supplemented with a little Falln Angels Creations and emerged suitable for G Rated Sims.

Now I have to decide which to put in...

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Avatar: Fallen Gods, Arborial Sapling
Eyes: Fallen Gods, Glowing Eyes - Teal
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Ryoko Hai - Grass (tinted)
Necklace: Fallen Gods, Elemental Choker
Stone Markings: Fallen Gods, Opalescence tattoo
Hand Markings: Fallen Gods, Elemental Glowing Electric
Wings: Falln Angel Creations, Vines Wings Aqua
Silks: Falln Angel Creations, Bibelot Silks - aqua
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet

Pose: Glitterati, 104

Location: Cadair Braeden
Light Settings: Places Pathfinder
Water Settings: TOR, Glaznost

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

A Warm, Cubby Glow

2011-10-08T23:21:00.000-07:00

I love running across things randomly that you had been looking for and had been unable to find; this hair from 69 falls under that purview. Though I had some problem fitting it (damn you, no-mod hair!), a hairbase covered over some of the gaps and I adore the scarf detailing woven through the hair. The dress from katat0nik is no longer available, but Cubby dresses in pink and orange are at 4.44.444 until the event passes!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Adam n Eve Skins, Ariadne - Cool Orchid (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eye Shadow:
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: 69, Olivia 03 - Gold Blonde
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: katat0nik, Cubby Dress - sky/white
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Square-toe Shoes "Sophia" - white

Pose: Glitterati, Long Hair 3 - 9

Location: Elonia
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Wild Palms
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Color Challenge: Week Fourty-nine - Wenge

2011-10-07T23:33:00.000-07:00

Wenge honestly makes me think of the word whinge - best defined as the word used by upper class Brits to make their whining sound somehow categorically different from the whining of everyone else. In honor of this thoroughly fascinating word, permit me a moment to whinge - despite my neither being upper class nor British.

The gorgeous headpiece I'm wearing almost wasn't. I remembered seeing it, or something like it, on one of the fashion feeds as a deal, but I hadn't picked it up for several reasons, including that I don't often wear skulls. When I was putting together this outfit, I felt the desperate need for a small skull with some kind of black thing behind it; I remembered the skull as vaguely bird-like. I went to the first place for searching for things in Second Life - the marketplace - and was frustrated by the fact you can't search within subcategories.

After six 96-item pages of accessories and about five searches with additional keywords to try to narrow the field, I started asking in groups - one fashion-oriented and the other goth-oriented. No dice. I went back through about two months worth of discount reviews. No dice. Finally, I did a broad search through a search engine, found a mention of this on one of the blogs along with it being a 1$L deal at some event. It even included the store name - Ripe. Yahtzee! Plugged Ripe into inner-SL search (I prefer to purchase in sim if I can, so the Linden-tax isn't applied). Three places popped up - teleported to each.... no ...dice? Went back to the blog post - the person had included the creator name! Yahtzee! Opened up the profile, looked in picks... no dice. Looked in classifieds. No dice. Checked webpage.... and it led me back to the marketplace.

WTF, Second Life?

On a more pleasant note, I'm decked out in clothing from one of my favorite people, jewelry from the second, and a skin from the third, which makes me a very happy Deoridhe. The dress is from Falln Angel Creations and it was one of my dresses in my "photograph before sorting" folder - that lives in my inventory and accumulates clothes. I've been trying to go there first when I'm looking for things to wear because, well, it would be nice if things in there got sorted! The jewelry is from Little Boy Blue, and was part of a massive Linden-drop into his random vendors last Halloween. If we're lucky (unlucky?) he'll put them out again and I'll be even poorer this year! As it is, I managed to accumulate most of the Sugar Skull set, and I adore it so much! It reminded me of these awesome set of horns from Rue, that were from a Sugar Skull Hunt a couple years back - I'm delighted to have a chance to wear them again. The skin is my usual lovely one from De La Soul, and this time I tinted my Illusions ears to match a bit more closely.

The eyeliner is my usual Adam n Eve Hepsut, and I've paired it with one of Elymode's hunt specials - autumn eyeshadow. I'm really enjoying her fades of color for eyeshadow, especially since I can often match them up to my outfit or mood. The lipstick from L.Fauna is another new favorite. I was drawn to it when I saw it at the 50 Linden Friday special, but I'm definitely planning to go back for some more lipstick. The colors are sublime, and the match to my lip line is perfect, even though it's a completely different maker. Finally, I have to take a moment for a word about the new hair from Calico Ingmann Creations. I love the curves and style of it (there's also a version with longer hair) and I had a ball playing with the streak colors - I made the streak white then manually recolored the hair to match my Sugar Skull Accessories.

I ended up back on Immersiva, which has to be one of my favorite regular haunts. Ms. Oh brought the skeletons and dandilions she had at Anna's Many Murders and festoon them across a mountainous scene with some bones thrown in to make things interesting. The black box with it's changing, glowing interior has also reprised here from another show, and the tower from Daughter of Gears is still in place to climb up. My only wish might be for some ways to sit on top of the different dandelions - but then I always like to insinuate myself into the drama created by other people.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eye Shadow: Elymode, Autumn Leaf Mix
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Red 3
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Horns: Ruin, Horned S.E. Sugar Skull Shaman - Ivory
Hair: Calico Ingmann Creations, Genevieve 1
Hair Skull: Ripe, Elegant Raven Skull Hat - black
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace 2: Little Boy Blue, Sugar Skull Set
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Fellice Dress - brown
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Skully Pumps - black

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Immersiva
Light Settings: London 2026
Water Settings: TOR, Eyeballin'

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Beside Myself

2011-10-07T00:25:00.000-07:00

Recently, I managed to recover the password of my original Deoridhe account, made almost two years before my main one. This brings up an interesting thing for me in terms of self-identity; I have made other Deoridhe's (one placeholder when lastnames went, and the others because I really liked the last names) but they never felt quite like "me" in the way that Deoridhe Starr does, even while I'm logged on Deoridhe Quandry.

This may get confusing, fast.

I had an amusing time of trying to get some of the same lucky board things on both accounts - teleporting each other around to different Ds to double up on the goodness. Finally, I decided I needed to do a photoshoot - largely with the things from the stores already crowding the grid with delightful Halloween outfits. The hair on Quandry was a sort of sideways lucky board find; I saw a girl wearing it while I was stalking a lucky board, and found a new and awesome hair store - Heart Softens - one of a long list of largely Japanese stores which I'm utterly enamored with despite not having the foggiest idea what they're saying. Luckily, Lindens speak universally in Second Life.

Honey Kitty and +NK+ are two more lovely stores that I'm totally in love with. I shamelessly stalked the +NK+ lucky board, collecting the dresses on both of them - but Starr, being the poor alt without much money or history - is the one showing it off. On Quandry is one of the newest Honey Kitty dresses which gave me the cards from the Fall Stamp Event that outfitted poor Starr with her bouncy, cheerful AO - which you obviously can't see, but which I've been really enjoying. My one big purchase on Starr was her shoes - I totally splurged to get her the "Alex" shoes from G Field which were just released. With the straps having multiple options, it was really a fantastic investment for matching to future outfits and well worth picking up the fat pack!

It was fun juxtaposing Starr and Quandry in pictures, both with the same shape, but with different skins and hair. The style is the same, the personality the same, but doubled up somehow. Starr is perhaps a bit looser, due to her being mostly equipped with freebies, but I rather like the effect of myself times two. That's one interesting thing about virtual existences - you can have them meet up with each other, and while you are inhabiting both, you also are both. With most of my alternate accounts, different facets of my personality emerge - some sweeter, some kinder, some more frisky, some sad and gloomy. Deoridhe is always closest to myself; my Mary Sue when I roleplay and my analog for myself when I'm not in character. In the past I've had Deoiridhe and Deoridhe at once, but never before have two Deoridhe's met.

I think we'll get along.

Credits:

Deoridhe Quandry:
Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eye Shadow: De La Soul, Simple Rainbow
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Lepore Red
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Heart Softens, Macy - Honey
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Honey Kitty, Cards of Cutie - orange
Stockings: Honey Kitty, Diamond Tights - black and gold
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Strap Shoes "Alex" - suede rust

Deoridhe Starr:
Skin: Cupcakes, Snow - Red Brows
Lipstick: Cupcakes, Charm Snow-Gloss-Violet
Hair: +NK+, Kitten Hair Limited Color
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Kira Grande Wings
Dress: +NK+, Witch
Shoes: G Field, Strap Shoes "Alex" - patent orange

Poses: Glitterati and Long Awkward Pose

Location: The Dare!
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Railingz
Water Settings: TOR, Freak-A-Dermia

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Language Connects and Divides

2011-10-02T23:20:00.000-07:00

*Trigger warning for the use of a racial slur near the end.

One of my favorite TED talks is by Erin McKean about lexicography, language, and dictionaries. One of the points she makes is that due to the dictionary's limited size, people have long made arbitrary choices about what words are "real" and what words are not. I have no argument with her rationals, and I love watching her talk about language with such enthusiasm, but having watched people talk for a long time, and been both inside of and outside of groups, I have an additional perspective on the reasons for determinism in language - that is, of why people want to police language.

The word Shibboleth is used in a story about differentiating between groups; if you pronounce shibboleth one way, you are in this group, and if you pronounce it another way, you are in a different group. Shibboleth as a noun has come to indicate some use of language which determines what group or groups a person belongs to; it indicates the use of language as a gatekeeper.

When I was first a case manager, I had an office mate with one very obvious difference from me, and likely a host of less obvious differences; we were different races. I am white, and she is black. Otherwise, our backgrounds seemed similar - both middle class, both with a background in psychology - and by and large our language use reflected those similarities. I will never forget her once telling me a story about her friends, though, and referencing in passing that something was very 'phat.' This was a couple of years before the word hit the media (and near as I can tell ceased to be used within any subcultures) and I was baffled by hearing it as an adjective - assuming she meant fat. She said a funny thing, then, when I expressed my confusion: "I forgot you weren't one of us."

The interaction stuck with me because it suggested something very fluid about group inclusion and exclusion. I don't think I'm overstating to say that "phat" as an adjective came out of a specific black subculture, spread within that subculture, spread to the media, and then went out of use - thus following the life cycle of any shibboleth which becomes generalized. However, my friend's inclusion of myself in her group, as one of 'us', despite my not being black nor part of the subculture phat seemed to move within (which was Hip Hop, I believe) suggests that inclusion is often less about concrete characteristics, and more about relationships.

By contrast, my high school best friend once passively allowed me to be excluded from a group she was involved with due to a feeling that she was unable to invite me in, despite technically being part of the group. It also said something about our relationship as well, and her view of me, that my being excluded by her new circle of friends was understandable and reasonable, instead of a deal breaker for her. Once again, the line of inclusion and exclusion went not along the lines of concrete characteristics (we were all white, middle class, and geeky) but rather the relationships in play and who is willing to fight for the presence of those they have relationships with to be included.

Some of the words people often want excluded from dictionaries are slurs. The reasoning is usually one of distaste - the words are "bad" words and thus shouldn't be included - but I wonder sometimes if it isn't because slurs are a more effective shibboleth when they are undefined. The use of nigger (This is a hard word for me to type, which says more about my colorblind white liberal upbringing than the word itself) by US black comedians was complicated because the relationship of black people to the word nigger was much more complicated than the relationship of white people. Early comedy often drew lines between the "good" black people and the "ignorant" niggers - replicating within the US media black culture (to differentiate from the non-media driven cultures - keep in mind it was white people writing the checks, often, so to claim this use is solely black is ignoring reality) the same dichotomy between so called good black people and so called bad black people.

Later comedy is closer to what is called reclaiming - that is using a slur as a positive word in order to partially remove the power it has. One critical piece of that is that the slur has to be used positively in order to be reclaimed (no, white gay men, using bitch to refer to other men is not reclaiming, it's expanding the slur with an additional misogynistic sprinkles). Nigga, usually spelled that way, was a term of fellowship and friendship between black men, but still carried a lot of it's negative connotation on non-black lips and could be a shibboleth both indicating when the relationships between blacks and not-blacks was strong enough for the term to use, and also an indication of when a white person was trying to hard to be included as if they were not white.

The final pieces I've seen, from my limited view as a white woman, was the use of nigger and the negative characteristics that come with it in a complicated and complex way, primarily by Dave Chapelle (who ended up leaving the media in part because the unexpected trend among whites was to normalize using nigger, instead of unnpacking the complicated role the word still plays between white and black people). His short skit, "The Nigger Family" was about a white family with the last name of Nigger in the Fifties. The humor came from the instinctive reaction to negative characteristics historically applied to black people and slaves being applied to an average white family in the fifties. My favorite part was near the end, when Chapelle as the milk man (literally delivering whiteness and dressed in white) comes into the kitchen; he cheerfully insults the family, saying things like, 'I know better than to get in between a Nigger and his pork,' and getting perfectly placid responses from the family because nigger simply holds no sting when applied to white people. His glee as the leveling of the ground, though - at the right to point out that characteristics traditionally used as indications blacks were inferior also exist for whites (who doesn't like chicken, watermelon, and strawberry soda?) - is absolutely engaging. That skit in particular walks right along a fault line which I feel within US culture, one which makes me laugh but also makes me uncomfortable.

Words carry power; those who deny this frequently also object to being insulted which is a particularly immediate indication of hypocrisy. Part of the power of words, though, is how we use them and how intentional we are in our use of them. The people who came up to Chapelle when he was out with his family and used the word nigger because they thought his thoughtful skits had provided permission profoundly misunderstood the case, as did everyone who asks the question, 'Why is it ok when one of THEM uses it?' Language, the words one uses, who is using the words, and the relationships between people can be incredibly fraught with emotions, which is a powerful force behind wanting to police language. I am, in fact, one of those police in general discourse; I speak up when slurs are used, object when I believe I see racist or sexist speech - however thoughtless. I don't, however, want to remove slurs from a dictionary, nor do I think they are "bad" words per se. The negative thing is the attitudes and beliefs which go along with the words, not the words themselves, and those attitudes and beliefs need to be challenged no matter how many times the words used change.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee - Rainbow
Eye Shadow: De La Soul, Simple Rainbow
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Lepore Red
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Chloe Hair - Crystal Blue
Jewelry: Kyccie's, Sweetheart Set - Amethyst
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: katat0nik, Cubby Dress - pink/white
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Dilly Dolls, Bastian Birthday Boots

Pose: Glitterati

Location: Dragonfly
Light Settings: Places Wiccan
Water Settings: Placida brite

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Color Challenge: Week Fourty-eight - Moss

2011-10-02T02:00:00.000-07:00

Moss Week was surprisingly easy, though I'm not sure all of the "moss" colors quite match! They have a similar olivey hue, though, so I suppose they'll do. I got the sense of being cool and chill and all covered over with moss when I put on these colors. I've always liked the darker shades of green; they seem so cool and remind me of spring, when the colors are as bright as possible and the skies are a brilliant shade of blue. The wilder sections of The Looking Glass were perfect for pictures, and I ended up finding a gorgeous crystal cave behind the vines concealing the entrance.

It's interesting to compare the different mosses. Grix is the palest - a green bandaid on my nose in the color of moss, but sort of a greyish pale moss that might be found near lichen. They almost exactly match the pale green pearls in the necklace from Eclectica, set in silver which makes them seem to glow. These lovely boots from G Field are slightly darker and duller in shade; they match the hue of sun-touched moss near the edges of shade. The ribbed tights from Sn@tch are only slightly darker and keep that sheen of dullness to them which leaves them in line with the boots. The dress from DV8, by contrast, is a darker yet richer color, like the moss found along the edge of cold streams in the springtime - rich and vibrant in hue with shadows nearing black. The eyeshadow is olive, but contains all the darker hues in it, and my moss eyes from Miriel finish the look out in almost continuous named colors (I'm only lacking moss colored hair, substituting in Magika's green hair instead).

It's amazing how much similarity can be found across a broad spectrum of stores and styles. DV8 and Sn@tch are on the gritty, urban side of things, while Eclectica tends toward stylized and sleek, with a touch of whimsy from Grix. Many of these stores are long time favorites that I wear over and over again, but some - like Grix - are entirely new to me. The cosmetics from De La Soul, by the way, are on sale right now at the 25 Linden Tuesdays Fete that's going on until this upcoming Tuesday.

I'm playing a secondary game, now, called Glitch. It has fun details, like you milk butterflies and then shake the milk to make butterfly butter (the world needs more butterfly butter), get grain by squeezing chickens, and get eggs from egg trees. It's one giant world that everyone plays in, and according to the creators our actions can change the world itself - making it more complex and broader. In a lot of ways, it reminds me of a simpler version of Second Life; in Glitch you're working off of pre-set options and in Second Life the imagination and skill are the limit, but in both of them the world made is shaped by the people within it. We decide if we seek beauty or ugliness. We decide if the world is one of kindness or cruelty. We shape the world and build it up between us like a glittering span of imagination and creation that reflects the best and worst of humanity all in one.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyebrows: De La Soul, Aestali Tintable Brows
Eyes: Miriel, Mossy Rock
Eye Shadow: De La Soul, Gemini Makeup - Olive Roots
Bandaid: Grix, Opps - Moss
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Magika, Luxury - Wild Green
Jewelry: Eclectica, Spring Pearls - Moss
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: DV8, Danse Macabre - Moss
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: Sn@tch, Ribbed nit Tights - Moss
Shoes: G Field, Short Lace-Up Boots - Moss

Poses: Glitterati

Location: The Looking Glass
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA - Natural High
Water Settings: TOR, Meridian verde

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Come Over for a Bite

2011-09-29T00:27:00.001-07:00

Somehow, the original Twilight Zone television shows are still incredibly creepy despite having no special effects and emerging from our black and white past.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Eye Shadow: Souzou Eien, Fairy Eyes - Lavender
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Pink II 3
Bites: Fallen Gods, Fangbangers Delight - Messy
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Truth, Kalia - driftwood
Necklace: Ticky Tacky, Sweet Dreams - Sleepwalking
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Ho wear, Lady Annabell - purple
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Strap Shoes "Alex"

Pose: Glitterati, 118

Location: New Gothika
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT Nocturne

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Suggestive

2011-09-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

Bloggers who sent IMs and Notecards at the right time got to go into the 25L Tuesday Fall Fete a bit early, and I took advantage of that to not only pick up a few things without devastating my pocketbook, and I ran across this outfit from Sweet Poison - a sort of very brief camisk style thing - and couldn't resist despite it being well, well, well out of my comfort zone. The outfit is entirely prim, which means rather a lot of me was hanging out in the breeze. Thankfully, the sim was nearly empty, and if anyone was camming to uncomfortable places they didn't mention it to me, so I got the pictures taken and fled! I do love it, though, from the whimsy of the flowers in both sets of cleavage, to the tiny ruffles with aspirations to become a skirt. I managed to stay under X-Rated, but only by the clever use of angles, or in this case a handy lily pad. This is likely the most skin you'll see on me in a long while, so enjoy!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Double Frappe Marked Copper (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: De la Soul, Wooby (promotional item)
Hair: Discord Designs, Ruin - Onyx
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Outfit: Sweet Poison, Wishes - purple
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet

Poses: Glitterati

Location: 25L Tuesdays Fall Fete
Light Settings: Places Pathfinder

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Lost in a Jungle of Magic

2011-09-26T21:47:00.000-07:00

The 25L Tuesday Fall Fete, celebrating a two years of 25 Linden goodness on every Tuesday, is opening on - wait for it - TUESDAY! The store owners have come out in force to offer up inexpensive treasures and a healthy example of their full price store items. I'll have some more things to show you (I went shopping!) but first I wanted to show off my fantastic new duds from De La Soul - including a special version of her Aestali and Aestalian skins called Marked Copper! For the fae inclined, they come with matching ears with a new 'tipped' style which I really like. I've never done dual colored ears before, but I may be converted.

De La Soul's new tunics are out, too, including this one in aqua. I love the patterning at the cuffs, and these are unisex - included are prim parts sized for the guys, and everything is modify ok anyway, so fitting is a breeze. I ended up shrinking my tunic quite a bit, as it was more 'dress' than 'tunic', and it only took me a few minutes. I'm also showing off her new backpacks - in this case the scribe backpack though there are bunches of others - decorated with all the tools of my trade. Next to this one, I think the cook one is my favorite, which a frying pan hanging off of one side!

The hair is an awesome new-ish one from Tribal Soul and Secrets Hair, and I really love it - from the flower details along the top, to a fantastic set of beading in the bun at the back (look below). It fit like a dream, and I am particularly fond of the cute little curls on either side of my face, right in front of my ears.

These leather and buckly leg warmers are also for De La Soul, and like the rest are up for 25$L for 25$L Tuesday in grand style! I wore them over a set of digi-legs from De La Soul's daemon style, but they can be worn with regular shoes as well.

The sim I'm on is showing a temporary display from Soror Nishi. I had wanted to catch one of her in-world shows for a long time (she's mostly moved to another grid), so when I read on her blog that she was going to be showing not one but TWO sets of her amazing, other-wordly plants I made solid plans to get there as soon as possible. And take pictures. She totally did not disappoint, but I'm being quite honest when I say my pictures do not do it justice. Most of her plants are semi-transparent or outright transparent, which gives everything an imprecise and vague feeling that I love. The textures she uses are unique, and amazing, and witht he transparency they can layer over each other creating new colors where they cross. Some of the plants let loose with spoors of colors making fuzzy straight lines that cross over each other as well, making layers of boxes with open ends. The effect is amazing, and mesmerizing, and making windlight changes will just improve it for you! Go go go now!

I've been thinking a lot today about experiences, and how our knowledge in one area can make us dismissive of people with different areas of knowledge - sometimes rightly, but other times wrongly, and always with the risk of being rude. My brother told me the story once of a girl he met at college doing her laundry for the first time, as she'd never needed to at home. He was drawn to the laundry room by the smell of grinding gears and her dismay; she had packed the laundry machine so tightly with laundry that it literally couldn't move, much less let any water in to wash things. This experience, he said as he told us of it, gave him a new appreciation for our mom insisting we took part in doing chores.

I had a friend, also, who once cooked us a dinner but who didn't know a lot about cooking. He wanted to do a beef fry up, and purchased stew meat, since it was already cut small; for those who don't know, stew meat is the cheapest, stringiest cuts and is meant to be boiled for a minimum of three or four hours. Luckily, he asked me before he cooked with garlic, as he had assumed a clove was the bulb, and not the individual, smaller piece. And I have gratitude toward my mom for teaching me to cook, and some of the basics in the kitchen, even though I still have a lot to learn.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose Marked Copper (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: De la Soul, Wooby - Tipped Ear (promotional item)
Hair: Secrets Hair, Spring - Dirty Blond (promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: De La Soul, Celtic Tunic - Aqua (promotional item)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Panties: katat0nik, Holiday panties
Stockings: Kyri Style, No 2 Chocolate
Leg Warmers: De La Soul, DigiLegwarmers Belted (promotional item)
Hooves: De La Soul, Deamon Digi Legs (promotional item)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Imparafacile Island
Light Settings: Surreal Brazil

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Pin Up Against the Blackboard

2011-09-26T01:46:00.000-07:00

My style tends toward the child-like and the young, and never has that been more obvious than in this school uniform I picked up to get one of the cards for the Choice 2011 event going on right now. This isn't Lolita, which is a more innocent and covered style, but rather an erotic expression of the traditional school uniform (traditional for other people's traditions, not mine; I never wore a school uniform). Viewed objectively, the idea that school uniforms could be eroticized - given that most of those wearing them are under eighteen - should be horrifying. I can't deny, however, that my response was not horror, but rather a long hunt to find a school to take some pin up pictures in.

There is a tension between innocence and debauchery, but another aspect of it is a subtle sort of submission; the innocent is to be pursued, tracked, and captured; the innocent can't be blamed for anything that happens; the innocent can respond with passion without shame because the innocent doesn't know shame should be felt as a cost to passion. Plausible denialability, all wrapped up in a short skirt and a tie.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called Indigo
Blush: H+K, cheeks03
Lipstick: Ag, Stained Face - Cherry Tart
Food: Hanauta, Taiyai eat
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear
Hair: Exile, Voodoo - Goldrush
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Edelweiss, Elsie - red
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Panties: katat0nik, Holiday panties
Stockings: Kuri Style, 64 Socks
Shoes: G Field, Strap Shoes "Alex"

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Seiai gakuin
Light Settings: TOR, HORROR Castle vain

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only