Come Over for a Bite

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

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

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 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

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 deniability, 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

Sapphire

Sometimes the urge to throw a dart at the Second Life map and see what falls out is overwhelming. In this case it was closer to throwing a dart into the Destination Guide, though, and I ended up in a place I normally wouldn't go - and I'm so glad! I loved finding all the animals lurking about all over, including raccoons, egrets, and a monkey!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeshadow: Elymode, A Little Drama blue/yellow
Lipstick: Skinthesis, Liquid Heat - Twilight Apocalypse
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Vicky Hair - Golden (promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Bare Rose, Papilio Blue
Necklace: Little Boy Blue, Luxor Necklace
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Strap Shoes "Alex" - royal blue

Pose: HelaMiyo, Against a Wall 3

Location: Dreams & Desires
Light Settings: Places Imagine
Water:

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Watermelon Dreams and Candy Frosting

When I saw the new dresses from katat0nik - another designer to jump on the mesh bandwagon - I simply couldn't resist. It moves extremely well with my poses, and comes in four different sizes (I am wearing curvy, which is the second to biggest size). I had a ball using some of the more complex and curvy of my Long Awkward Poses to watch the mesh of the dress curve with it; it really added to the possibilities in my picture taking. The Primalot jewelry I'm wearing was a free gift, and I'll confess I would have never purchased it but I was very grateful for it being in my inventory as I tossed my way through it looking for options. I also added sakura hairflowers from Little Boy Blue - one of his newest releases - and shoes from Lassitude & Ennui.

Something about color really cheers me up! After putting on bright and shiny clothing, and pestering some friends to pay attention to me, I feel much more cheered up! I think Torley's amazing and shiny sim helped, too. Check out the cake in some of the more pictures!! He makes me wish I could afford a sim of my very own.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Cosmetics: De La Soul, Faerie Pastel
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear
Hair: House of Munster, Lola - pinks
Hair Flower: Little Boy Blue, Sakura Hair Flower
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: katat0nik, Hard Candy babydoll (mesh)
Jewelry: Primalot, Hortensia 2.0
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Skully Pumps

Poses: Long Awkward Pose

Location: Torley Island
Light Settings: TOR, FOGGY Rose Tinted

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

I Can Haz Promoshunz: Men Don't Make Passes

At women in glasses.

One of the things I am growing to love more and more about promotional gifts is the challenge of taking a bunch of things, many of them not things I would necessarily purchase on my own, and turning them into a cohesive and (I hope you agree) attractive look. The tattoo from v3 Tattoo is probably the farthest from my usual style, a cacophony of color and pattern it's a biker's daydream - and I though matching it with the pretty patterns of the Trendstyle dress (don't you see bikers and think pink?) made for an interesting contrast; biker chic meets uber girly.The detail of the tattoo is incredible and it comes in three shading types - dark, faded, and aged. The dress is the closest of the promotional items to my style, a frothy confection of swirls and I simply adore how the dual-color was arranged in both the bodice and the skirt. It comes in a plethora of other colors, but I'm terribly fond of the effect of pink and black together, so I couldn't resist.

The hair from Me. matched the more classy end of things, which was echoed in my retro glasses from {K}Rea. I actually had glasses like that once, only in blue and brown not black. I like the chunky styling of them, but they're very far form my usual look - like the Jacqui hair, which is short and sleek and very modern. The use of textures on the hair to add depth is really excellent, though as you can see there are issues with transparency. All of it is layered over the newest skin line from De La Soul, Aestali with the matching Aestalian for the males. I'm wearing a shade new to this release - Cream Rose - which is a reddened version of her longstanding cream shade. The list of things which come with this skin, including eyeliners and a wide variety of breast sizes, is incredible; my folder is simply brimming with Aestali goodness. It even comes with a complementary backpack with all the beauty supplies you could need in the pockets! A final note on the shoes, from Eclectica - they were a free gift through her group and I have to admit I've already splurged and bought the whole set. Between G Field and Eclectica I may not ever want for shoes again!

I've been doing a lot of show watching, and people watching, and reading, and I have a pain in my paw - like the lion with the thorn in the old story. People so often seem to default to mocking each other, wanting to hurt each other, wanting other people to be upset or suffer. To be sweet and kind is, often, to be a figure of fun, or mockery, or simply something to be ignored. It makes me wonder about myself, about my place in the world and the various social nets I'm linked into; the contrast between cynical and kind, between sweet and adult - can a person live there, encompass all of those things, and still relate to others? Still be of interest to others? Sometimes I feel like the backup friend - the person trotted out when those one would rather spend time with are gone;  more and more I'm wondering how much of those feelings are of my own making.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called Black
Eyecolor: Elymode, Magenta and Pink 1
Lipstick: Rue, Lip Service ~ Sweetlips
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear
Glasses: {K}Rea, Old Nerd Glasses (promotional item)
Hair: Me., Jacqui (promotional item)
Tattoo: v3 Tattoo, Oriental Express (promotional item)
Wings: ni.ju, Glow Dragon Wings LB Set B(4)
Dress: Trendstyle, Doll Endless Love pink (promotional item)
Bracelets: Amaris, Laced Cuff - black
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Anklet: Linc, Ruffled Cuff Black
Shoes: Eclectica, Hollywood Shoes - Elsie's Red (gift)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Heaven4D
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Rebranded Skies
Water: TOR, Maldives

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Color Challenge: Week Forty-seven - Khaki

Khaki Week was a challenge - largely because the only khaki I had was closer to a shade of light yellowish-green, so I cheated. Milk Tea is kind of the color of khaki, right? After dressing up in so many G Field ruffles, I felt like I needed an antique set of jewelry, and Little Boy Blue came through with Shilo's cameo; smokey blue always goes so well with brown, don't you think?

I live in a world of distractions, of different calls for my attention, of complications and pointless goals. Within the maze of the world I seek beauty, I seek meaning, I seek connection, I seek peace. I think in the seeking, though, I often loose track of that which I want most. It's times like that I have those sort of pathetic wishes, to have people pamper me and give me pretty things and tell me I'm wonderful. Silly things like that. So I dress up pretty, and put on jewelry that friends lovingly made, and take pretty pictures, and obsessively check my blog and flickr stats!

And do some dishes, pick up the floor, take out the trash, and go to bed to hope for better humours on the morrow.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De la Soul, Kei - Cream
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear
Hair: Illusory Hair, Kimmi - golden
Necklace: Little Boy Blue, Shilo Necklace
Dress: G Field, Classic Dress "Julia" - milk tea
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Boots: Wireflys, Tan Laceboot

Poses: Glitterati

Location: The Black Road
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA smokey blue sky
Water: TOR, Linear Puddles

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Jewelry Faire: Flippers Deep in Water

It was really fun, and a change, to leave the land and get into the depths for the final forth of the Jewelry Faire - Water. I ended up dragging out a couple of purchases from the Fantasy Faire (yes, it was six months ago - shaddup) - the Sakura Mermaid from Rose Princess and Evie's Closet's Lumina Nymph outfit (though I only used the top and the forehead jewel and the scales). Pearls were in great attendance as donation items at the faire, and I ended up combining them from Eclectica and Beloved; the Eclectica ones are on top, and the Beloved on the bottom - at least in the necklaces.

I'm also wearing something else from the past - the Deco belt from Eclectica; I rarely wear belts, but there seemed to be a call for one here right above the scales of my tail - and this is a gorgeous design. It's also modifiable; fitting it took barely thirty seconds, and I just had to make it a scooch bigger and nip it in at the sides.

I'm having a lot of fun with water effects - reflections, distortions, the different layers on which things can be seen. I also had the fun, with this set, or working off of animated rather than static poses. It's what I did a lot when a friend ran a club and I would take pictures of the dancers, only I was able to focus in on locations and the backgrounds were a lot more attractive (to be honest, most clubs look really, really ugly). It was fun seeing how the surface of the water and my moving avatar could intersect; I think I'll want to repeat the experimentation in the future. The intersection of layers, reflections, and movement fascinate me.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Kei - Cream
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Kiki Hair - golden
Necklace & bracelet 1: Eclectica, Pearl Mixables - Deco Redux
Necklace  & bracelet 2: Beloved Jewelry, Pearl and Ribbon
Belt: Eclectica, Deco Knot - dark gold (promotional item)
Mermaid: Rose Princess, Sakura Mermaid
Top: Evie's Closet, Lumina Nymph - Aerie Edition
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet

Pose: Various Mermaid AOs
Location: Jewelry Faire - Water
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Cheery Cyan
Water: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Jewelry Faire: Steps Leaving Flowers

I love the effect of "blowing out" the lighting to make things seem luminescent. It makes colors just jump out at you (I think the technical term is "pop") and that really works well with the glory that is Evie's Closet's Ariel flower bikini in rainbow. I have rather a thing for rainbows, as many people know, and this bikini was worth the extensive time I spent fitting it to my curves. It comes with two sizes, and I started with the smaller and moved the flowers out to cover (mostly), but there are also modesty covers included. The soleless sandals from Studio Sidhe actually seem to gleam in the light; I'm really enjoying the different bead variations; this one is brighter colored, though the others are antique and faded in hue - which is really lovely.

The necklace from Fairy Tail is a promotional at the Faire, which is lovely. It also comes in pink. I ended up pairing everything with lovely hair from BC322 with a matching butterfly on it. I had completely forgotten I got this hair until I was looking for something pixie-ish, and this seemed to fit the bill perfectly. So did these custom wings from Falln Angels with color changing roses. I had a lot of fun watching the colors changing, and trying to catch those moments when their hearts and outer petals were different.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De la Soul, Kei - Cream
Eyes: De La Soul, Roomee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5
Blush: H+K, cheeks 3
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear
Hair: BC322, Hana-Otome - D Golden
Wings: Falln Angel Creations, Rose Vine Wings Deo
Necklace: Fairy Tail, Jewelry Fair Gift (Jewelry Faire)
Bikini: Evie's Closet, Ariel - Rainbow
Bracelet: SC, Ceramic Bead (Jewelry Faire)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Foot Jewelry: Studio Sidhe, Soleless Sandals - Antique China (Jewelry Faire - promotional item)
Feet: SLink, Jolie Flat Bare
Poses: Glitterati

Location: Jewelry Faire - Earth
Light Settings: Alchemy Immortalis, Fog Lifting (made brighter)

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only