How NOT to Make Friends in Second Life

In a world where demands for cybersex from random newbies happens all too often, it's easy to begin to think that only men are inclined to be rude to complete strangers in public. Heading over to a sale location that opened today, I was startled by the scroll of text of a group of four people nearby, primarily one of them who seemed to both be unable to read nametags, and also seemed unable to stop the flow of excrement from her mouth. This is an excerpt of the maybe ten minutes I was displeased enough to be in the same space as her.

[I’m An Asshole]: WAIT U FUCKING BITCH
[I’m An Asshole]: LOL 
[I’m An Asshole]: oo a fairy
[I’m An Asshole]: lick my clit
[I’m An Asshole]: LOL
[I’m An Asshole]: Why you leaving me

I moved closer heading into the store to look, and ignoring her since 1) I don't answer to "fairy" and 2) she seemed like a waste of time. This was quickly verified without me doing anything but looking at clothing nearby.

[I’m An Asshole]: Becauser that fairy bitch made me crash
[I’m An Asshole]: lol joke 
[Friend of an Asshole]: oh the one floatin outside
[I’m An Asshole]: i dont mean it i love her really
[Friend of an Asshole]: jks
[Friend of an Asshole]: LOL
[I’m An Asshole]: no i was joking she was cute
[Friend of an Asshole]: oh god
[Friend of an Asshole]: too much
[Friend of an Asshole]: LOL
[I’m An Asshole]: omg she is there
[I’m An Asshole]: lol
[I’m An Asshole]: Sorry fairy
[I’m An Asshole]: i didnt mean it

And then she walked into me, over and over again, until she and her little friends went away, because when you apologize to someone, apparently it shows how regretful you are by bumping into someone who is ignoring you.

Sometimes silence IS the answer.

A couple quick notes on my ensemble - the outfit is from a sale going on at Silent Sparrow right now of some of her older releases, which as far as I'm concerned stand up over time. The jewelry is a gorgeous set from Elemental, who has some up for 60$L every weekend (though not these this week, her jewelry is always worth a look!). The hair is a recent release from Secrets Hair and is a combination prim-and-mesh hair, which means that while the shoulder pieces are attached, and thus move with you, the updo and extra hairpieces are modifiable. I was able to fit them around my ears with the greatest of ease using "edit linked" and it really saved a gorgeous hairstyle for me!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Kosh, Lost Souls Eyeshadow
Lipstick: Croire, Glittery Gloss
Hair: Secrets, Sultry - Platinum
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Jewelry: Elemental, Butterfly Kisses
Dress: Silent Sparrow, Dominion Suite - azure
Shoes: G Field, Square-toe Shoes "Sophie"

Pose: Glitterati

Location: The Mystic Dream
Light Settings: TOR, BIG SUN Impires
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Forgotten Undies

I almost forgot about these undies, which I got ages ago from katat0nik during one of the special events - I don't remember which, now. I'm not showing off the frilly hip ruffles, but otherwise this is the set in all of its glory. I'm pretty sure you can still get them at the store, though, and you can definitely get these awesome shoes (I bought the fatpack). The corset (Aura) and hair (Exile) are both from the Fairy Tale Event, and when I saw those corsets I thought immediately of the undies I'd been planning to photograph for months - and a look was born. I adore the hair, though keep in mind if  you're photographing it that the larger, 'flying' pieces will cause alpha occlusion (hence the prim, Favole wings!). I adore the corset - which comes in a dizzying array of combinations that ended up stymieing me. I literally have no idea which to pick up; I may end up going back and just staring for a while! My one complaint is that like a lot of mesh things, it's a single side, so photographing form some angles isn't possible due to it looking like I've got holes in my body! I worked around it pretty easily, but I really wish more mesh designers would make their mesh with "tops" and "bottoms", which can prevent some of these problems.

Wearing this out about in the Forgotten City, I was really struck by the changes in myself in the last few years. When I first started in Second Life, I was extremely flesh-shy, and wore mostly longer skirts and higher neck outfits. The idea of going out in public in my underwear, much less photographing it, was unthinkable.I still am, by Second Life standards, quite prudish - but now I can wander around in my underwear for a while as I find the perfect place to take pictures without much thinking about it. Some of it is simply that by comparison I'm very demure; the standards for female clothing in Second Life often skirt barely there with an emphasis on bare. Others of it is that I've become more confident that I won't be bothered or harassed despite my clothing. And still more is that I've grown to like the effect of certain outfits, so lingering in them can be fun. Also, given my permanently single state in Second Life - if I didn't show you guys my underwear, no one would see it!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Solstice
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called - evergreen
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Cabaret
Hair: Exile, Lost in Wonderland (Fairy Tale Event)
Hairclip: Violet Voltaire, Starlene Yellow
Wings: Favole, Guardian
Necklace: Lolapop!, Los Muertos
Bracelets: Glow Studio, Ribbon and Pearls
Lingerie: katat0nik, Lovelace Lingerie - yellow / green
Corset: Aura, Grimm Corset - Muse (Fairy Tale Event)
Shoes: katat0nik, Candy Shoes

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Forgotten City
Light Settings: Places Les Legunas
Water Settings: Hidden Depths

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Happy Birthday, Second Life (Part 3)

Second Life's Birthday, and a few of the other art displays around - including some hunts which should qualify as art - got me thinking about my own taste and how I decide what to photograph. I was also struck by a recent SL Secrets about how a photostream full of pictures of a single avatar is really nothing more than ego-masturbation. This is not a new statement - I've seen a lot of indications in blogs where fashion is not central which comment on the piles of flickr streams and blogs which are iterations of the same avatar in different clothing. I can't deny that these sorts of statements don't hit home in a rather uncomfortable way, leaving me feeling defensive. Fashion and self-imagery is a centrally selfish impulse, and there's a large part of me who wants to present a person who is selfless, kind, and concerned only with the welfare of others. I also can't deny that I love dressing myself up and taking pictures in places - and that often my avatar is the most important thing in the frame.

The main exception to this is events with large builds - like all of these birthday pictures, or the pictures I took at the Fantasy Faire. Even at events that are fairly dark, like Rusted Development, I also tend to focus on the pretty and attractive rather than the disturbing, horrific, or shocking. That's part of why I had such fun taking pictures all over the Birthday party. Since it was general admission, the focus was on pretty, attractive, often naturalistic things instead of a bunch of zombies and bloody body parts. This makes me strange for someone with a gothic bent, but I really don't like the deader things in life (except for the sexy version of vampires); sometimes I can get a little into it, but mostly I get grossed out and want to hide in bed for a long while. A focus on the pretty instead of the meaningful and avante guard is often seen as shallow and superficial - focusing on the surface and the lighter things - but as my life has become full of more dark and sad things, as I've had people around me suffer and die, I've clung to the light, sweet, and superficial as if it were the buoy which can keep me above the waves when 'm too tired to swim.

I think there can be deepness in the light and cheerful, a profoundness in the bright and sparkling which might be difficult to see at first. I think there is value in a focus on kindness and co-operation. It's difficult to balance that with necessary feedback, though, when things are unjust - I don't believe injustice or prejudice could ever be beautiful, and so seeking ways to root prejudice out and burn it up is necessary. I think people often mistake lightness for rigidity, kindness for shallowness, and treat positivity as if it precludes any acceptance or even awareness of the dark, sad, painful things in life. Joy in the full knowledge of pain, in the knowledge of the shifting time leading inexorably to something different, has a tenor which is subtle but recognizable. While I understand intellectually the draw of the deformed, dessicated, and disgusting, my own desire is to quickly head in the other direction for the beautiful. It is also to be beautiful, in both appearance and deed, something which is much easier to accomplish on Second Life! The selfishness this encompasses is part of the dark side of beauty that I try to remain aware of without being overtaken by this - all things in moderation, after all.

( More pictures here. )

Happy Birthday, Second Life (Part 2)

The centerpiece of Second Life's Ninth birthday was an enormous stage called the Cake stage which straddled four sims. I originally thought it took up one sim, then I looked closer at the map and realized exactly how enormous it was. The style is pure, unadulterated 8 Bit, which I find so amazingly charming in a Second Life increasingly overtaken by the desire to be as realistic as possible. Each of those "tiny" 8 bit pixels is enormously huge - I wish now I'd gotten pictures of my avatar by some of these structures, just to give a sense of the sheer scale of it. The small pictures make it look diminutive and sweet, but in person I found that weird optical illusion you only find in prairies or the ocean - when I was moving it felt liek I was standing still because it was simply so huge.

I ended up straining my computer to the max for this pictures, and you can see how the landscape itself vanishes into pixels at the edges. This was a place where multiples upon multiples of people could meet at the edges, though when I finally got to exploring it the sims were nearly empty. Look at those adorable strawberries, resplendent in 8 Bit style. I adore the colors, the brightness, the sheer scale and impressiveness of what was built - and in a way it's the perfect symptom for SL9B, a celebration which came together at the last minute due to the desires of it's members, cobbling together an enormous number of disparate parts into a bright and cheerful whole, edged in with the darkness of critique and complaint which is inevitable with any large project.

I really want one of these candles. Does it come in rainbow?

( More pictures here. )

2012 Color Challenge: Week 26 - Rust

Rust was totally cake for me to set up - it's one of the standard colors at DV8 and I had picked up a ton of clothes at their store closing, so it was just a matter of picking the style and accessories. I ended up pairing in an old favorite from G Field that I also picked up on sale, though that was a long while ago. I'm glad to get a chance to show them off. The hair from Analog Dog is new, and my only complaint is that only two of them have the tintable weave sections. I haven't experimented yet with tinting the weave manually on other colors, but look forward to it. I love the effect of hair woven in, though, and i hope this isn't the only time that style comes into play. I took my pictures at one of the stages for Second Life's Ninth Birthday, and I really enjoyed it - like the Fantasy Faire, I wish these builds could last longer! They're so amazing. I have some more pictures to take and I'll do another post about them, but the chances to enjoy them are going down the tubes - so hurry~!

Volunteering as a Greeter got me thinking again about friending in Second Life, and how I determine who I want to be able to contact in the future, who I tolerate being able to contact me, and who I refuse. I had four friend requests over the greeter period, and I accepted two of them. All of them were new players - if not in time since creation than in experience.

One was completely new, 0 days; he actually didn't reply to any of my Greeter words - we got to talking when I asked him to put on pants (he had no bits, but was naked, and it was a G rated sim). I gave him my Newbie Kit and he explored it, asking me questions on and off. He was from IMVU, so I had to explain we could still talk in IMs as he went off exploring links and hopefully finding more clothing. After talking on and off for well over an hour, he offered friendship and I accepted. I don't expect to hear much from him; he had initiative - and that's largely why I accepted the friend request. In six months, if I haven't heard from him, I'll delete and not hear from him again.

A second was quite new and spent a good chunk of her time bouncing around the HUB where I was a Greeter - hoping in and out of chat range. We chatted in open chat, and I'll admit to being friendly, but the conversation was the sort you'd have in line at a store; it passes the time, it's enjoyable, but it isn't at all sustaining. When she offered friendship, I explained that I didn't friend people without getting to know them.

The third I ended up speaking too for quite some time, and I'm not sure she was actually new. Again, there was a sense of curiosity, an interest in how things worked, and shared knowledge. It was a brief conversation, but when she offered friendship I accepted. She seemed interesting, and I thought there might be more to her than I'd gotten to know in the single conversation.

The final one was today, and the only interaction which occurred when I wasn't working. While I was doing this photoshoot, I was approached by someone over a year old, but fairly obviously new given his look and clothing. I passed him a Newbie Kit, and he started asking questions - where am I from, what's my name, so on. Given his answers, he was obviously looking for extra-SL information (which I only give to close friends). I answered in SL only, since that's how I roll, and directed him to Search for his fairly standard interests. The combination of a lack of initiative and the offline questions right off the back guaranteed that when he asked to friend me I refused.

Friending is a personal thing, but it's interesting to see how much value I place on my own judgement of another person based on very brief conversations.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Cabaret
Hair: Analog Dog, Check mate weave
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Jewelry: G Field, Rusty Rose
Bustier: Mimikiri, Lolita Blush
Gloves and Stockings: DV8, NekoChan - Rust
Dress and shoes: DV8, Night Sprite - Rust

Poses: Glitterati

Location: SL9B: DJ Egypt Sim
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA Plum Sunset
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Happy Birthday, Second Life (Part 1)

I'm absurdly happy to have my picture be one of the many around Rue's display. This is a picture I took ages ago, but remains one of my favorites - I loved the effect of the dark gray skin with the bright flashes of color. Somewhat ironically, I ended up pulling that hair out again briefly today, for a reason I may share in the future. The whole look was a departure from my usual style, and yet looking at it now I think I still look undefinably like myself - maybe it's the shape?

I have a new artist to hunt down when I have free time! This glorious creature makes 2D art you can sit in - something I'd been lamenting wanting for ages - and usually the art even moves~! It's a wonderful play on the 2D and 3D aspects of Second Life, adding in motion just to keep things interesting. I totally love it. She has a ton of pictures - more than I posed in, to be honest - and many of them equally charming and wonderful.

The white on white on white display led to me being very confused - and I have to admit I'm not entirely fond of builds where you can't see where you're going and it's easy to get lost. I loved the white on white effect, just not walking through some sort of same-colored maze. I did make it through without teleporting out in a huff, though - go me!

This build blew me away. I love Escher, I love fractals, and this take on the idea of metamorphosis (which is actually 3D - you can see hints of it on the sides) really made me happy. Pictures don't do it justice, seriously. I started at the HUB, which this was near, so it should be relatively easy to find. Remember to pause to let things rez!

( More pictures here. )

Untelevised Futures

I squeezed this shoot in between a bunch of other stuff - at Split Screen. The Future Will Not Be Televised is just what I like in a Second Life art display - interactive, surprising, changeable, and responsive to what I do, I felt like part of everything - and I gasped aloud when I fell through the floor! I highly recommend a thorough explore; it's really fun, if occasionally disturbing. The other Split Screen offering is just gorgeous; don't wear anything with alphas and you can watch yourself spinning through a kaleidoscope of colors; really, it's over the top!

The other point is a sadder one - and it has to do with the gorgeous dress I'm wearing, and why I now own it in every color. The creator of Nomine's computer went kaput, and her Second Life store is her main source of income. She's trying to accumulate enough money to buy a new one. A friend opened a fundraiser for her, or you can do what I did and go and buy some totally awesome clothing. This dress is available in several different colors and is completely gorgeous, as well as including both the horns and the shoes. You can see why we want to keep her as a creator in Second Life, right!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeliner: cheLLe, Cleo Called - Indigo
Lipstick: Mock, Micare LipGlimmer - Cosmic Viola
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Cookie Mesh Hair (promptional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Jewelry: Elemental Earth Designs, Kiowa Set ~ Amethyst
Dress (shoes included): Nomine, Ameno Gown Wysteria

Location: Split Screen: The Apocalypse Will Not Be Televised
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA Plum Sunset
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2012 Color Challenge: Week 25 - Unmellow Yellow

I don't have much to say about Unmellow Yellow; I like these pictures, but I'm not sure this is the best exploration of a color I've ever done. Today has been a lovely day, largely offline, and I'm feeling very sated and comfortable. I'm loving being little again, though, and I had great fun at Petite Avatar Kingdom trying out some of the cute little petite items. I particularly liked these cute little petal baths you could curl up in, or kick your feet in - it makes me feel as little as petites are supposed to be - something hard to bring across in pictures focused in on my teeny self. I can stand on a window shutter, though; I can bathe in pies and perk on the shoulder of men. I am a tiny, yellow, unmellow faerie!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Body: Skinthesis, Chalk Dualities (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Luminus Rainbow Eyes (promotional item)
Hair: Calico Ingmann Creations, Amber 1 (resized)
Jewelry: Elemental, Petite Tropical Earth (promotional items)
Outfit: G Field, Fairy Dress

Pose: In Situ

Location: Petite Avatar Kingdom
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Rebranded Skies

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Popsicle Faeries

I'm feeling a lot more cheerful, if you can't tell! There are still lots of events going on, so it's a bit overwhelming, but I'm trying to just keep up and hoping that my inventory won't explode! I love the bright, cheerful colors I found at this one store - and really I love how so many stores make a huge amount of fun, photogenic areas outside of their stores. Makes life easier for us photographers~! Two favorite things, Fifty Linden Fridays and Sanu, are both back! And combined together, they make a bright and cheerful faerie. I love the feedback loop between my online and offline selves - often how I'm feeling offline will reflect itself in my various avatars. Somehow that sort of self-expression almost always helps me, leaving me in a better frame of mind than before. I'm deeply grateful for this form of expression, this way of sharing little pieces of who I am.

I'm getting started on a new social network, Plurk, and feeling very weird about it. I do run across kind of fun links sometimes, and I can chatter about things endlessly, but I'm never sure what to say in Plurk and Twitter like situations. Often I aim for a smaller audience - subsets of specific friends - and that sort of in-group teasing just isn't in play. Maybe after I've used Plurk a while it will be less weird (I've only had it a few days) but who knows! On the positive side, I have a freaking awesome new set of dragons on one of my facebook games! Yay games~!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Boom, Eye Paint - watermelon
Lipstick: Mock, Micare LipGlimmer Santa Fe Gold
Snack: Sanu, Melon Popsicle (Free Hunt Gift)
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Alice Mesh Hair (Fifty Linden Fridays)
Wings: Epic, Fairy Sparkle Leaf Wings
Jewelry: Elemental, Audrey Set
Earrings 2: Pididdle, Bobble Gem Hearings (Stumblebum)
Dress: Purple Moon, Retro Dress + Swimsuit (Purple Moon Sale purchase)
Shoes: Slink, Ilena Sandals
Feet: SLink, Bare Feet Mesh

Poses: Glitterati

Location: KMADD Events
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Nostalgia
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Glass Battering Rams

I am an uber crankypants today, so I handle it in my usual manner - a little shopping for pretty things, some food, and finding a pretty place on Second Life to take pictures. I don't know how therapeutic distracting myself is; I whined a bunch at work, a little more to a friend, but it's hard for me to take my own pain seriously these days. Other people have it so much worse. Intellectually, I know that's a silly position to hold, but emotions don't operate intellectually; they have their own laws and rules. More and more I'm really considering trying to make something to express this emotional mass I have inside of me - it's bizarre curves and conflicting patterns. I'm not sure I'd even ever want to show it to anyone; I'm never sure I really want to be seen. Admired, loved, praised, cossetted - yes. Seen? Hmm.. that's trickier.

Vulnerability - allowing oneself to truly feel, to truly see and be seen - is always a tricky sort of thing. A person I usually admire said something recently about how defenses in a relationship are different from a filter. When you're defensive, you put up a wall which has to be raised and lowered. When you filter, it is an integral part of yourself which protects you but allows the good through, while filtering out the bad. My job is such a mix for me; my outside hobbies such a mix. There is so much I love, but so much which also hurts me. It's hard to deal with complex issues of racism and race while also dealing with psychosis; to balance being loving, gentle and kind with being firm. When I become to confident in my abilities, I worry. Is my level of honesty, is my confessing my own wrongs and headache and exhaustion with that dagger dance - does that help? Does that further the relationship, bring it into a balance where the other can learn how to live with other people and respect their feelings? Or is it me, unnecessarily bringing myself into the dynamic and making things worse?

So much of the world is really uncertain. I'm envious of people who have convictions where I don't, but I also have an inherent suspicion of convictions. So often, bad things are done int he name of convictions, and people use them as excuses to be cruel to other people - even me (I know! Shocker!). There is such pain in the world, threading its way through all the different media where people's edges meet; convictions often seem like battering rams made of glass - at once both fragile and destructive. I don't want to batter my way through anyone's china shop; I don't want to bring down your house of cards... but when my job is building a foundation near the cards, or under the cards, or somehow to reinforce the cards, what happens if I knock some of them down accidentally? When I have people's minds and souls in my hand, how can I rest easy?

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow and Lipstick: Mock, Aos Si Leaves Red
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Lipstick: Damned, Alice Lipstick
Hair: Purple Moon, Dew Hair
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Caverna Obscura, Moonlight Melody ~ Love
Feet: SLink, Bare Feet Mesh

Poses: Glitterati

Location: World's End Garden
Light Settings: TOR, HORROR Darkside Tales
Water Settings: TOR, Fantastruck

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

All Rights Reserved

I can't seem to comment, since I don't keep facebook logged in on this browser, I don't have a wordpress account, and the last bloody thing I want to do is make another account to try to remember the permissions, password, and associated email of - but Whiskey Shots has an interesting post on the Post of the Day situation with Second Life. Ages ago I had at least one picture lifted (see above).

I still don't really object to the whole thing, since I didn't much mind, but I'm greatly amused and annoyed that the Powers that Be at Second Life has decided the only option is to ask people to release their pictures on limited rights, instead of just contacting people and asking for one time permission. Much like the, "We'll blog for you, might change it, you can't use it elsewhere ever, and we won't pay for you," request for bloggers, this is the sort of thing which leaves a lot unspoken and all of the power in the hands of others.

So it looks like I won't be featured again any time soon.

Oh well.

2012 Color Challenge: Week 24: Raspberry Glace

Raspberry Glace seems like it would be a difficult color - and it is difficult to find it by name but it's relatively easy to find a smokey pinkish-purple by a million other names, and here's mine. It's one of my splurges, from when Nomine lowered their prices and I absolutely went wild in their Lolita section. I found a water and forest laden roleplaying sim and wandered around feeling cool and melancholy for a while. It's always amazing to me what a profound effect the windlight settings have on a sim. I can go from cheerful, to sad, to sweet, to frightening with only a few clicks of a button (in Firestorm, at least). Int his case, the melancholy plums and aubergines reminded me of that feeling you have when all you have to do is wait for someone's return - the mixture of melancholy from missing them and anger from being kept waiting has it's own distinctive, emotional feel that leaves an indelible impression.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Solstice Frost Purple
Eyeshadow 2: Adan N Eve, Dragon Tattoo
Lipstick 1: Skinthesis, Deep
Lipstick 2: Croire, Glittery Gloss - gold
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Anais Mesh (promotional items)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Nomine, Jailbait Catherine Dress
Stockings: Sleeping Koala, Cat Scratch Tights
Shoes: G Field, Flower Pumps "Eve"

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Ravenhurt and Surrounding Sims
Light Settings: EUPHORIA Plum Sunset
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Daytime Musings

Watching television that actually has commercials (why yes, Netflix rules my life), besides being struck that I will never spend any money on that idiotic and sexist axe whatever (no, boys, putting on guy perfume will not make mostly naked women appear magically, and having dandruff won't make them disappear rapture-style), I was really endlessly annoyed by the 4g commercials for some cell phone company or whatever. Brief recap - keeping up with the Jones style "comedy" where keeping up is now measured in miliseconds because their phone is just five seconds faster than yours~!!!! Hurry hurry, spend money, the miliseconds are wasting!!!

I hate this mindset. Games which start pushing it on me (hurry, you have 5 days to do ten million tasks getting ten million things~!!!) start losing me rather quickly. One of my recent complaints in Second Life is it feels like there isn't enough time for everything - and while that's partly my fault, I also think there are more hunts, events, etc... than there were a few years ago. I understand why things have to cycle through, but it's hard to go and see everything! Sometimes I really wish I could be paid to sit at home and explore; it feels like there is never enough time to see everything and give it the slow consideration it deserves.

Somewhat amusing side note - people on Second Life to discuss things often have astonishingly old and unattractive avatars. Artists almost always have something, well, artistic; it tends to be full of meaning, if not outright attractive. Like club people being prone to using gestures and bling, it seems almost as if appearance stratifies on Second Life the way it does offline, only in a profoundly different manner. I remain astonished, though, that people who have a deep appreciation for the power of words have such a low appreciation for the power of appearance. Sculpties, invisilayers, even prim shoes - it's like they pass an entire part of Second Life by without a murmur.

I already knew that blogs were appreciated by only a subset, but it always blows me away when other aspects of Second Life miss pockets of community. It's a reminder of how vast and disconnected Second Life really is, and a hint at how difficult it is to pull together these disparate threads into even a pattern, much less a whole of any kind.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Earrings: Duztarrz, Gem Earrings
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow 1: Mock, Gunpoweder Indifference
Eyeshadow 2: Mock, Pink Heart's Desire
Lipstick: Mock, Pomegranate Lips Jelle
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Claire Mesh (promotional items)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Vanilla C. Designs, Camee Black Pearl Necklace
Dress and Shoes: Vanilla C. Designs, Burgundy Flame Dress

Poses: Glitterati

Location: The Looking Glass
Light Settings: Places Cornfield
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Hard to Say Goodbye

There are a lot of stores closing right now - and while my inventory isn't glad of it for happy reasons, I'm not glad of it for sad and worried reasons; it seems like the long-term viability of stores has started to go down, and that's always a worrying thing, even if the economy predicts it. The latest announcement of a close is Vanilla C. Designs, and awesome store with black and crimson clothes and a really striking store design. When I saw the pipes in the floor I decided I had to do pictures here before it escaped me. DV8 is another major store closing, though the creators sight personal rather than economic reasons. I've also been adding a lot of Aleida to my inventory - a store I knew nothing about before getting the notice it was closing. On the one hand, I'm grateful for the flurry of additions to my inventory that I've really been enjoying, but on the other hand it's always hard to see things end and not know what might be rising up to take their place.

Thanks for all your lovely things, store designers!

Quick, everyone - RUSH THE STORES!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: Croire, Glittery Gloss - tangy
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Claire Mesh (promotional item)
Hairflower: Purangi Designs, Hair Lily - Tiger
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
JNecklace: Falln Angel Creations, Poison Necklace - Arsenic
Dress: artME Fashion, Springball Velvet Rose
Shoes: G Field, Ribbon Slingback Shoes

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Vanilla C. Designs  - closing sale until late June
Light Settings: Places Cornfield
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Finding My Way

I've been doing a lot of thinking recently about what I blog and why. Recent posts about building your blog, and why certain blogs are really popular got me thinking about my relatively lower read and response rate - but I despite the fact that I cover fashion sometimes, I really don't want to become a fashion blogger. I don't really do reviews - I do closer to art pictures, or attempts at art pictures at least. I have a 'voice,' but it's mostly pedantic and reflective. I have a whole lot of things I like to do, though. Art. Discussions. Hunts. Breedables. Fashion. Events. Roleplaying. Not so much the clubs, and I've never actually gotten into a romantic relationship in Second Life, but otherwise I think I've covered a whole lot of the gamut. If I narrowed down my focus, I might be able to get more people to respond or build a name - but that's also less likely since at this point Second Life has a lot of major blogs all ready; a lot of the field is covered. Also, I would have to limit down my focus, center in on things I might not be as interested in. I do like sharing knowledge and information, though, which is somewhat my favorite part of doing fashion posts - check out this awesome store is a totally fun game. The only other problem is that I really need to cut back my spending - not that I won't actually have enough new clothes to wear for, like, the next year or two; it's just hard to see awesome new stuff I like and not pick it up. However, as a couple of store sales recently have shown me, sometimes waiting is really a good idea.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Cosmetics: Mock, Acceptable in the 80s
Hair: Tekeli-li, Hathor - Iceanic (CHH3 Hunt)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Elemental, Butterfly Kisses (promotional item)
Dress: DV8, Sonora Gown - Ocean (50$L Closing Sale)
Shoes: DV8, Steam Vixen, Soot

Pose: Glitterati

Location: Booshtopia - There's a fun mini-quest going on there until June 10th!
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT That Spells Moon 1
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2012 Color Challenge: Week 22 - Pistachio

This is a very old Pistachio dress from Wretched Dollies - the first I ever bought from her, in fact. For a long while I was in her group, though I haven't been for a while; in the delicate balance of groups, hers fell by the wayside at some point and I've not had the chance to re-add in a while. I've been planning to spread out groups between some of my alts, turn one of the other Deoridhes into my main promotional blogging alt. We'll see what I manage to clear out, then. I love this dress, though, even though it's far below the quality of her recent releases and creations - it reminds me of my early days in Second Life, of when the world seemed both endless and incomprehensible. Long before I even thought of blogging, when I got dressed up to go to philosophy discussions, before I'd even thought of roleplaying. It reminds me of a sweeter time, when I was out of touch with the drama of the broader Second Life sphere, early on in hunts and before midnight manias existed. I don't really pine for those days - nostalgia doesn't have an enormous hold on me - but I find the memories warming nonetheless.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: cheLLe, Mix and Match - Green and Pink
Lipstick: Damned, Alice Lipstick - Green
Hair: Exile, Lady Versailles
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Eclectica, Victoriana - Jade
Dress: Wretched Dollies, Pistachio Floral Dress
Shoes: G Field, Long Cuff Boots "Will"

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Grotto Art Space
Light Settings: Places Duskwood
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only