Monday Meme: Flat Rodvik Linden

Strawberry likes to be silly, and by far this is one of the silliest and funnest memes she's come up with - buy her free cutout of Rodvik Linden and then take him around Second Life to show him things you think he might have missed. Sadly, she did not make a Strawberry cutout too, but perhaps she worried that we'd be trying to force-feed her jewelry. Hee hee. He's looking very dour, sadly, but it does inspire one to try to cheer him up.

I had been sim exploring, so I thought I would bring him to a new Indonisian sim called Yogyakarta Borobudur Indonesia that I had found, but he really didn't seem all that impressed; he didn't even want to climb the steps to check out the top - he said he cammed it and saw a hoochi girl there. I tried to explain about noobs, and prim counts, and windlight, and things like that, but I think he was tuning me out, because halfway through one of my sentences he asked if he could teleport a friend over. I said sure, of course - I mean it's Rodvik, right? - but that maybe he and his friend might like the beach better? So we headed on over and he teleported in, well....

So that was a little awkward. The beach was gorgeous, though, and I suggested we try windsaling or surfing on these massive huge waves you'd never find that reliably offline - Rodvik can hang ten, right? - but he really didn't seem interested. His new friend was kind of distracted, too, so I suggested we check out one of the more variable LEA sims - the Machinima Open Studio Project. They both said sure, but could a mutual friend come along. I was a little more worried, I mean... what if it was someone weird? I said fine, though, and his new friend met us there.

Um... yeah, I thought what you're thinking right now. I mean, how many of them are there? We went and checked some things out, though, and even took off our shoes and did a little wading, but now they were kind of...talking to each other, and before I even knew it...

I was beginning to feel just a leetle bit claustaphobic, but I didn't want the Rodviks to guess (what's the collective of Rodviks? A Rabble of Rodviks?), so I just headed to the shore and suggested maybe they take a ...a boat ride. Yeah, there in the back, a nice and pretty blue boat, and two of them could row, and it would be really nice, but they wanted to look at the farm nearby instead. We headed that way and... and...

I was starting to seriously feel a little creeped out - I mean he's a nice guy and all, but what's with all the cosplayers that keep showing up? So I said goodnight and headed for the exit, where we teleported in, so I could head home, but....

Guys, I'm not sure where I am. The Rodviks are saying I'm to be their special friend now, and bring them into 3D. I don't know what to do...

If you see them...

The trail of Rodviks in 2D...

Let someone know....

Credits:

Rodvik Linden:

Who knows? The ShadowRodvik Linden knows.

Deoridhe:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Fashionably Dead, Jupiter Ponytail
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Summer Mix ocean w/liner
Lipstick: Essences, Lipsticks Natural 1
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Butterfly
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Galatea Set
Outfit: Rabbit Kiss, Spirit Dance
Shoes: Dilly Dolls, Carlotta Oxfords Light

Poses: Glitterati

Location 1: Yogyakarta Borobudur Indonesia

Location 2: Salt Water

Location 3: LEA Machinema Open Studio Project

Light Settings: Phototools - Dorm Light 01 / Sim Default
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

SL Disney Bound – Week Eighteen: Alice

I'm totally out of order now, but this is a confusing couple of weeks so I'm sweeping back to pick up Alice as part of the Disneybound challenge. I went very teal with her clothing, which I think is true to the Disney version of her if not true of a lot of other versions.It's also an unusual set because usually I do two profile shots, two landscapes, and two squares, but this time one of the images lent itself so well to a wider landscape shot that I simply couldn't resist at all (you'll see it at the bottom; I love it so much). I actually don't use any eyelid prosthetics to achieve that kind of look because when my avatar is blinking I like it to reflect the eyeshadow she's wearing instead of tinted by me, so what I do instead is take advantage of a glitch effect with the Anypose System, whereby if you click through the different eye settings quickly enough, eventually you'll make your avatar close her (or his) eyes, at which point they remain that way until you clear the direction of the eyes. I've also made special versions of my usual eyelashes - one from Flugeln Brise and the other from SLink - both for "smile" settings, which means slightly narrower, and for "eye closed" settings, which means pretty much touching. The nice thing about the lashes is that they conceal that the blink is imperfect; that is that the eyes are just slightly open, at least on my avatar with her freakishly huge eyes, so if you go lashless it looks very creepy. At the other end, these awesome shoefeet are a recent release from Felicity which I really like - the curve of beads around the ankle is fantastic, as is the ruching across the top of the toes; busy without being overwhelming. The feet re included, tintable through an included HUD that can be edited using Second Life's basic color editing system, which makes it pretty easy.

I'm taking these pictures on the sims slated to close that are part of Calas Galadhon, a gorgeous sweeping line of sims which remind me strongly of a series of sims I ran across when I was but a noobly avatar and I didn't save landmarks. I'll be trying to hit a few of the others, but the entire set is closing in August and might not be open without a fee for a group, in which case I'll have some decisions to make. Like a lot of active people in Second Life, I am eternally battling the top limit of my groups; I actually gave up being an official blogger due to (in part) the need for it to take up two group slots instead of one, and I'm deeply grateful to the slate of creators who have their blogger groups set up through non-group based distribution systems. Calas Galadhon is gorgeous, though, and a fantastic place both to just hand out and enjoy, and to take pictures. Part of why they are considering closing to non-group members, though, is due to the bad behavior of avatars in Second Life - I encourage everyone who visits anywhere to be polite, enjoy, try to not impinge on the enjoyment of others, and treat our hosts with the respect and honor they deserve for creating such beauty and then sharing it with the world. Definitely seek out these gorgeous sims while they're open - there are only a few days until August when they close to be reworked. I particularly encourage you to look under the waves - unlike a lot of landscaping sims, the gorgeous effects remain in place below the waves as well - complete with wildlife.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Ohmai, Kun & Rose Posies (Hair Faire)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Summer Mix ocean w/liner
Lipstick: Essences, Lipstics Natural 1
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Butterfly
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Amalia
Necklace: Pink Fuel, Bottle Charm Necklace
Dress: Sweeter Than Candy, Nora Mesh Dress
Shoes: Felicity, Paige Stilettos - Teal

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Sea of Nurnen
Light Settings: Fairy blue (Paulina)
Water Settings: TOR, Subtleties

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 30 - Sweet Light

Sweet Light is a really cute color combination for the Twisted Color Challenge - a pale pink and a bright yellow together, like a spring evening. It took me ages to find something that worked; that particular shade of pale pink was unusual, and while I had some bright yellow it was harder to figure out how the two would go together. I started with these brilliantly bright shoes from Dilly Dolls, a recent release that goes with the SLink medium feet. They have a delicate ruffle along the edge and a fun and funky bow across the toe which I really liked. SLink only recently made creator packs so that other people could make shoes to fit her feet, but already it's massively increased the value of my delicate tosies, and the line from the leg to the ankle is pretty much seamless since these are the enhanced feet, which skin makers can make appliers for as well. My hair is another new release - this time from Underscore. It's a fantastic, full-bodied, free-flowing style in rigged mesh, with smooth curves which look good from every angle.

The dress is a gorgeous one from Lavanda Chic I've had in my inventory for an age which seemed simply meant for this - the pink and white are delicately formed and the collar lining is the exact bright yellow I needed for this color combination. It's also a fantastic fluffy style, with a full balloon skirt and enormous puffy sleeves; I fell in love with it the moment I saw it, and I'm so glad I finally found a theme that worked with it. Finally, the jewelry is an amazing release from Donna Flora, color changing gemstones with seahorses. The set comes with two earrings; I'm showing just the second ones, which are repetitions of the gem-carrying seahorses. Love Donna Flora the event has finally opened - you'll find a lot of fantastic things inspired by this truly unique creator there.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Underscore, Bad Medicine
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Butterflies
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Seahorse
Dress: Lavanda Chic, Dolly Dress
Shoes: Dilly Dolls, Ella Light Heels

Poses: Studio Sidhe

Location: Bay of Balfalas
Light Settings: Annyka's Soft Lavender
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Single Frame Story: Stream

The saying goes, "You never step in the same stream twice." Some of that is the stream changing as it moves - ironically not something that happens in the world of second life, where water is repeats of the same textures over and over again. The rest is how we change, though, from step to step to step.

I have a few things that are touchstones I return to over and over again, to see how I match up against them now. We know where we are in the context of where we were.

( Credits attached to the outfits here. )

SL Disney Bound – Week Nineteen: Aurora

Aurora is actually more often in the blue gown she's given, but it's the pink one which has taken over in the promotional materials - an interesting sort of commentary on women and princesses and changes over time right now. Princesses are huge right now in so many ways, and sometimes I think the femininity that girls and women are confronted with are less anything which allows for a clear reflection, and more a series of cracked funhouse mirrors. I approached Aurora as a Lolita - one of the interesting reflections of European culture through the assumptions and eyes of the Japanese, and then transmitted all over via fashion and style. Lolita is a highly feminine style, but contrary to the hypersexualization often assumed by people familiar with Nabokov's novel, Lolita is about being demure, reserved, and princess-like.

It is about returning to the old tropes of women as acted-upon prize but this time actively, creating the looks, packaging it to be shared, coming face to face with expectations and trying to come to terms with them. While some people experience being very sexual and aggressive as a source of power, other people find power in being reserved and cautious. At the end of the day, there really isn't a "right" answer, I don't think. Any choice a woman makes about herself, her actions, her appearance is open for discussion and debate by anyone going past, and no one will think anything of it; women as something to be vivisected and discussed is normal, even if it is a woman herself doing the vivisection on herself. The Personal is Political; everything we do as individuals is part of a greater web of expectations and interactions and has consequences we can't always see.

From top to bottom I embraced all that was bubblegum pink. I picked up this crown from Remarkable Oblivion ages ago, and I've tried to incorporate it into any number of looks without success, but finally on Aurora it really worked - and without me tinting it to Hel and gone. My only wish could have been for more colors - I am a rampant color lover, and so whenever there is anything I love in style as much as I love this, I want it in every possible color imaginable, including the odd ones like seafoam green. I totally cheated with the hair, though; LeLutka created a bunch of inspired by a company that shall remain nameless, and this one happens to be called Aurora. Handy, hmmm? I love the smooth, liquid movement of it, and how it curves and moves with every pose - even ones where one would expect to not move well. It is rigged, and there was some clipping into my dress, but it managed to look like tendrils and not Second Life being awful again.

My cosmetics are a mix of the old, from Mock, and the new, from a new-to-me store called Pink Acid that released these lipsticks at the Food Faire. The shading around the seam of the lips is very dark, but the shape of it is really fantastic and I adore the colors. The dress is a Genre release, with the theme being Lolita, from Adore & Abhor. It's the shame shape as one of their older releases, but now in a wide and gorgeous variety of sweet colors. It's also one of the few modest Lolita dresses I've seen lately - on Second Life, Lolita often has an air of sexuality about it, a sort of doll-like eroticism that is a divergence from it's roots in Japan. While I like the pairing of sweet and sensual, often I really like pure gentle kindness as well, the settled and secure power of a girl. Finally, on my feet is an old release from Lassitude & Ennui which I really adore. The bands over the cuffs are tintable to a number of different colors, which make them very versatile.

I took my pictures on Eryn Vorn, which is one of the sis of Calas Galadhon Park which will be disappearing come August. Swing by and enjoy it while you have the chance - it's truly gorgeous.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: LeLutka, Aurora Hair
Crown: Remarkable Oblivion, Once Upon a Crown
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Mock, Glitter Pop Eshadow in Neon Pink
Lipstick: Pink Acid, Popsicle Lip Gloss
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, Fruit Fatpack
Dress: Adore & Abhor, Valentine Lolita
Stockings: Vextra Messing, Opaque Stockings
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Doll ankle boots

Poses: Poise

Location: Eryn Vorn

Light Settings: Creepy Pyri
Water Settings: Phototools - Ship Light

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Single Frame Stories: Original

"Original and Deluxe Flavor"

It's always weird trying to figure out what is the "original" Deoridhe. Deoridhe Starr, my older alt, could be considered that, but I literally only played once and then abandoned the account - only to uncover it like an artifact a couple of years ago. This is not a pictures of Deoridhe Starr, though, but rather one of my first attempts at a profile picture on Deoridhe Quandry, before I knew pretty much anything about photography. What I find the most amazing is that everything has changed - including the shape, since I've tweaked it - and yet I think it's obvious from simply seeing this image that this is an older picture of the same avatar with the same aesthetic. I also really wish, now that we have cosmetics, that I had those eyes on a cosmetics layer, because I would wear the Hel out of them.

( More single frame stories here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Truth, Kasia
Flowers: Bliss Couture, Korin
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Damned, Rainbow
Lipstick: Mock, Everwinter Lip Jelle
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Butterflies
Dress: Senzafine, "Miette" Lolita Dress

Image of Me:
Hair: Sirena
Skin: Curio
Eyes: Tacky Star
Texture: Fortunas Designs

Pose: !bang, stand 178

Location: My Platform
Light Settings: AnaLutetia - studio

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 29 - Vamps Night

For Vamps Night, I got rather caught up in the orangey red of the challenge, and the silvery gray only exists as an afterthought, but I quite like the effect none the less. I have had a completely exhausting week, though; I tend to not go into my personal life much on here, as much as more immutable parts of myself like my opinions, but lets just say I have a relatively hard job with pretty complicated clients and three of them have gone into crisis in the past two weeks, and I kind of want to crawl into a hole and die. It doesn't help that I am not the most organized person in the world - more on that in a bit - so in addition to the world being complicated and a lot of things being very important, I keep tripping over my metaphorical untied shoe laces. I love being me, really. I've ended up scaling back a lot on online-type things, like my attempted return to roleplaying and any hope of blogging anything in a timely manner, and spending a lot of critical time staring into space and trying to match up glowing little crystals in lines because that is such a good use of my time. I love being me... really.

One of the things I have wanted to blog - and also the source of a silly story about how awesome I might be to be - is this fantastic hair from Discord Designs which is named ...dun dun DUN: Deoridhe. Yup, that's me, on a hair, me, shiny happy me with a hair that has her name on it, and it is awesome. I love the curly tendrilly bits, and how it seems to escape gravity, and I felt all wriggly and squeeingly about it for ages, so yeah - awesome, right?

Ok, now for super awesome story about how I suck - Kallisti Burns had dropped me a line showing me the awesomeness that was this hair (from Discord Designs), and letting me know that it would show up in my inventory when it was released because she is Just That Cool. And then Hair Faire opened (it was released at Hair Faire, by the way) and I searched my inventory, and no Discord Designs Deoridhe hair, and I went all, 'Well, she probably forgot, and I don't want to bug her 'cause she's busy and awesome and it might cut into hair making time, I'll just buy it,' and I waited for my chance to sneak into hair faire (wearing this without the hair, by the way - people loved me) and picked it up in blond figuring I'd get the fatpack later, or maybe she'd remember, or something, and then I looked in my (by then bloated and disorganized) objects folder to sort things and found... a box from her.

Yup, had it all along.

I love being me. Really.

I look fantastic. 8D

It's mostly the hair from Discord Designs, but I should take a moment to talk about the supporting cast. The bow and purse are a semi-matched set, both of them from katat0nik and sold at collabor88 for very reasonable prices. They are completely adorable and awesome, and as soon as I saw them I knew I wanted to wear them. I figure I'm using itty bitty bobby pins to hold it to my braids. The jewelry is a very old artifact of my inventory from Primalot (on hiatus) - like it was filed in a subfolder to sort later kind of old - and it's color change on touch with a ton of stone types and three metals. One bit of the "gray" of Vamps Night is the silvery metal of this awesome jewelry set. The other is the gray tines of my gorgeous wings from Deviance, which have been on my back since I bought them. I love my old fancy fairy wings, I really do, but I have wanted three dimensional wings for at least two years, and these are completely blowing me away. Every angle, every curve, is completely magical. I can't wait to see what else she makes - I will want it all forever and ever and ever and ever and.... etc...

Yes, I'm very gushy, I know. It's been that kind of week - sobs or hysterical laughter.

The lips are an older release from Adore & Abhor, and I really love how it cuts inside the lipline and makes a new shape for my face that way. The dress - which really is the meat of this look, is a recent release from Volstead that draws on Art Deco influences to make a clean line and a really fun bodice. I love the texturing along the front and the bottom edge, and the richness of the color. Finally, these really fun boots which I utterly failed to get a flattering picture of because - as seen from data above - I really suck, are from Dilly Dolls. They're mesh and unrigged, so I was able to scribble and scrabble and alter them to fit my unusually (for SL) large calves and short legs. All of her things are sold with handy color changing HUDs, which is really handy since you fit things once, and change for every outfit. Rock on, awesomeness. Rock on.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Discord Designs, Deoridhe (Squee~)
Bow: katat0nik, Dolly Vine Hair Bow
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeliner: De La Soul, Aestali Curly Lash
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Silent Star - Baroue Orange
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Primalot, Gravitation annulet
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, Glitterslash
Dress: Volstead, Deco
Purse: katat0nik, Woody Purse
Boots: Dilly Dolls, Julia Boots

Pose: Olive Juice

Location: Wizardhat Studios
Light Settings: Nacon's Test
Water Settings: Nacon's Lake Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Monday Meme: Intriguing Questions Meme

Strawberry has some intriguing questions for all of us which range all over the stratosphere - and I think I'm most amused by the fact she wrote the questions and refused to answer one of them.

1. How do you deal with criticism? It really depends on the kind of criticism and from whom. I respond very badly to non-specific, personally aimed criticism - I was once told that I wasn't the kind of person someone wanted associated with them and I took it.... very badly. I can take incredibly specific critique well, though - for example, I've been critiqued on the quality of my emotional response to a client and simply felt the desire to do better.


2. What’s the most infuriating thing other SL residents do? Second Life specific... is really hard. Most of the things people do which send me into a spitting tailspin of college vocabulary rant are things which happen offline and on equally. I've been working hard to stop judging people, and actually since I've been blogging the annoying people who try to pick me up I actually enjoy them, too. I think something which exasperates and annoys me, though, is when people try to distance themselves form their feelings or actions by pretending that there is a difference between what happens online and any possible offline repercussions or effects. A lot of the problem with calling Second Life a "game" is that it tends to inspire people to treat other people like NPCs in their own stories - this happens offline, too, but I think some of the kneejerk tics of online interaction exacerbate it. The people who spend their time trying to hurt others, or enjoying annoying others, or insulting others while pretending it says nothing about them as a person are deeply mistaken.


3. Which SL resident would you most like to have lunch with and why? Honestly, I'd love to have my close Second Life friends come by and hang out in person. I have no idea what would happen, and but I've had in mind meeting several of them for years now.


4. Who would you say is your “anti” role model? Someone who serves as a warning rather than an inspiration? I've been intrigued recently by the interviews of people who left Second Life about why they left and what they got out of it, because it seems to be a really clear case of people getting out of Second Life what they put into it. I don't think that happens with everything - there is inequality that is outside of individual control which can only be altered by collective action - but I think with a lot of things you often find yourself reflected back at you.  


5. What was something you used to enjoy, but was ruined for you? I have an on and off again love affair with roleplaying. When it's good, it can be really, really good, but when peoples' wants diverge, when peoples' natures come into conflict, it can get ugly quickly. I'm still a bit sad from losing a roleplay I really enjoyed that the two other people involved didn't enjoy nearly as much, and it's left me a bit wary and hesitant. 




6. What’s something you want to do that you’d be embarrassed to tell other people  I am really embarrassed by how mean I can be. I know there's a slew of people who know me who will be all ready to reassure me - and believe me I do enjoy taking people apart and pressuring them into doing what I want and I am damn good at it when I do it - but I also end up feeling very embarrassed and upset the next day. I like to think that reaction is a way to keep me from doing it all the time; most of the time being a psychological bully is a Horribly Bad Thing No One Should So, so questioning myself and being uncomfortable when I use those abilities keep me from doing it to get, say... a jelly donut.


7. What’s the oddest term of endearment you’ve ever used or that someone’s used for you? Honestly, people don't use terms of endearment for me often... I find it weird whenever someone who doesn't know me is familiar, giving me nicknames or using the short form of my name.


8. Have you ever fallen in love with another SL resident? No.


9. Describe a time/event in your slife that you’re nostalgic for. When the Falln Angel Creations chat was a friendly place for a lot of free-form roleplaying I really enjoyed it. Then a bunch of the fun people moved on, and when I'd try to start something people would respond in weirdly aggressive ways - like I'd set out a plate of cookies, say, and someone almost inevitably would take all of them and hiss at anyone else who wanted one, and it just stopped being fun. Another thing i would free-form is flooding the chat with food things and giving people marshmallows and stuff to float on - gross in reality, but fun in cartoon land, and someone once did a bunch of disgusting things in the "food" that just... stripped the fun. Now I'm a lot more quiet there; I guess I feel like I no longer have much to say.


10. What’s something sweet you’d like someone to do for you? People honestly already have; I had a couple of really awesome days of cool stuff, and I have a new hair named for me (Discord Designs is awesome) and so I'm kind of Second Life wriggly in general. Specifically, I'd love someone to find me a time machine so I could do more things; I always seem to be out of time. Or a jelly donut. I like donuts.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Cherry
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: MiaSnow, XP Eyes
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Shreveport Lips
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Lady
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails,
Dress: Blue Blood, Kawaii Doll
Boots: r2, Kneehigh Boots

Poses: Flowey

Location: Little Cat WestBlue
Light Settings:
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Blog the Beat #8: Gravity

Gravity by Sara Bareilles

Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.
No matter what I say or do
I’ll still feel you here ’til the moment I’m gone.

You hold me without touch.
You keep me without chains.
I never wanted anything so much
than to drown in your love and not feel your reign.

Set me free, leave me be.
I don’t want to fall another moment into your gravity.
Here I am and I stand so tall,
just the way I’m supposed to be.
But you’re on to me and all over me.

You loved me ’cause I’m fragile.
When I thought that I was strong.
But you touch me for a little while
and all my fragile strength is gone.

Set me free, leave me be.
I don’t want to fall another moment into your gravity.
Here I am and I stand so tall,
just the way I’m supposed to be.
But you’re on to me and all over me.

I live here on my knees as I try to make you see
that you’re everything I think I need here on the ground.
But you’re neither friend nor foe though I can’t seem to let you go.
The one thing that I still know is that you’re keeping me down.
You’re keeping me down, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
You’re on to me, on to me, and all over…

Something always brings me back to you.
It never takes too long.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Cherry
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: MiaSnow, XP Eyes
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Shreveport Lips
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Lady
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Sound of Music 1
Dress: Blue Blood, Kawaii Doll
Boots: r2, Kneehigh Boots

Pose: Exposeur, In Motion - Falling in Circles

Location: My Platform
Background: Fortunas Creations
Light Settings: Places Duskwood

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, layering

SL Disney Bound – Week Seventeen: Dumbo

I'm having a grumpy day, so it's been difficult to figure out what to type about Dumbo - which is a super cute movie but dated in some really kind of sad ways... but I love Dumbo, and his poor caged mom, and even the racist caricature birds. I have a lot of thoughts, and a lot of feelings, and none of them are really conducive to a bunch of chitter chatter in general; I've spent a lot of my day playing phone games and watching television shows and leaving my Second Life viewer on without saying much and pestering my cat for cuddles, and I'm hoping sometime in the next few hours after a shower and some sleep I might wake up less angry, less upset, less sad about the world in general and how little I can effect it. I hate hearing about people hurting and sad. I hate seeing people being selfish and cruel. I hate all of the suffering I can do nothing about, and there are days like it's a thorn in my paw that I have no hope of pulling out.

Sometimes I want to be small again, innocent again, young again, in a world before I understood all of the horrible things I know now. In the first grade I couldn't understand why the only black children in our class sat at a table instead of desks and never interacted with us, but now I know there was some fucked up racist shit going down; all I knew then was that their eyes were sad. And now I live in a world where even the best intentions can backfire, where racism and sexism and all the other bigotries wrap around each other like a Gordian knot - but the traditional answer to the riddle won't work. Instead we have to pick it apart piece by piece, like a million miles of hair snarled into a ball, and it's attached to all of us - though some of us have tenderer scalps than the rest. Today I wish I had some unsnarling spray, and treats to give to everyone with tears in their eyes, but it's a dream - I'm not the master untangler; I'm just someone else crying when our tangled lives hurt us.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Magika, Bliss
Headflowers: Charme, Rouge Rose -
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Virtual Insanity, Post Grey
Lipstick: Skinthesis, Liquid Heat Mercury
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Milk Motion, My pearl & feather necklace
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Yin Yang
Elephant: Schadenfreude, Stuffed Elephant
Dress: The Sea Hole, Nouveau Silk Dress

Pose: Glitterati

Location: India - Pakeeza
Light Settings: Phototools, Dead End
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Single Frame Stories: Pot

Years ago I had a vision of walking in a field full of wildflowers and reaching out to them, only to have their roots grow through my veins, sucking me up and reforming me out of their own stuff as it gradually grew more and more difficult for me to move, until I was an enormous tree reborn out of the flowers which had consumed me. it was an odd feeling, things moving through my veins which weren't blood, but not at all painful and I still carry the sense of that vision in my bones along with a deep sense of peace, of how I and my environment influence each other as I rebuild myself through my environment, through all of the flowers which live around and within and through me - they feed on me, and I on them.

I also really love puns, though, so now I am the Wrong Kind of Pot.

( More single frame stories. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Truth, Orchid
Headflowers 1: BP, Inner Tree blue
Headflowers 2: Panda Express, Head Sprout
Headflowers 3: !bang, Clover Shamrock
Headflowers 4: Sugar, Early Morning Sprout
Headflowers 5: Sugar, Sunny Blossom Sprout
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Boom, Mean Green Eye Paint
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Vera
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, USA
Dress: LeeZu, CoCo Dress
Black Roses: G Field, Rose Fairy
Shoes: G Field, Flower Pumps "Eve"

Tea Set: Schadenfreude, Tako Set (Arcade Prizes)

Pose: Flowey, all that happiness

Location: My Platform
Light Settings: Rot

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Americana in Flux

Flux returned after a very long haitus this month, just in time for a very country-specific holiday that is also oddly universal. July Forth as Independence day is very United States-centric, but many different countries have their own days of Independence - or even independence days layered over each other as their longstanding cultures remade themselves again and again. One thing often not spoken about Independence Day - the US one in particular though this is probably a valid shadow on other independence days - are those for whom it is the opposite, for whom it is the celebration of their murderers and destroyers, for whom "independence" is better recognized as "oppression."

I am an odd sort of US Patriot - overall I like the Constitution, though I recognize it as a flawed document made by flawed people who trumpeted liberty while owning slaves and living on land bought by the murder of those who had lived there before. I believe that to be a true Patriot one must not succor oneself with thoughts of US exceptionalism or perfection, but rather realize that some ideals were laid high for us in the early days and we are still far from recognizing many of them, but that is motivation to try harder and not to give up. I think we can do better, and I think honoring where we came from by trying to rectify the mistakes of the past and alter our actions in the present is a better way to live than pretending it didn't happen and we're all post-racial buddies.

Flux is an awesome time to rock the red, white, and blue though, and I think even the French might be willing to swing by for some Tricolor action. The only overtly US Flagish thing I'm wearing are these awesome boots from Momento Mori which I simply couldn't resist; I'm not normally a distressed style of person, but in this case it seemed very appropriate. They are gorgeously textured and really a lot of fun. The three-color stockings from Orc Inc underneath them are also available at Flux, and in addition to being a fantastic fit for anyone they have the added bonus of a SLink Enhanced System compatible food HUD, so you can show off your tinted toes in stocking feet if you want to. The dress, sadly, is not a Flux release, but it was an awesome release from Souzou Eien, and I really loved the drippy detail on the bodice. I also had lots of fun playing with the shadows between the layers - so~ awesome~. I sadly neglected a single frontal shot of this, though a mixture of distraction and enjoyment of these very fun balloons from Weather or Not which were also released at Flux - three options in one, and bobbing fun for the whole family.

My awesome headband with it's little hearts in bright colors is also a Flux release from Lark - and if I remember correctly was either free or extremely inexpensive. Well worth picking up, and I was able to match it up to the headband built into the new release from Wasabi Pills - having a headband already in place made matching it up a breeze, which is a tip I will definitely remember for the future. My awesome nails are one of a whole slew of them also from Orc Inc, and it was really hard to pick the one I liked best; there are even some blue and white and red and white in there for the Danes and Guatemalans among us. My jewelry again drives us into not-Fluxlandia but harkens to an event still in the building stages, the Love Donna Flora event. Casja released a report stating the money is already coming in, and also noting a change in venue for the Donna Flora main store. Hopefully this will ease Squinternet's days and demonstrate how dear she is to so many in Second Life.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Tanya
Hairband: Lark, Heart of America Headband (Flux)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Mock, Faerie Punque in Navy
Eyedecoration: White Widow, Asia
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, 13 Lips Blood
Lipgloss: Mock, Mizu Venetian Red
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Monia set
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, USA (Flux)
Dress: Souzou Eien, Kureji Loli Blue
Stockings: Orc Inc, Red Blue White (Flux)
Shoes: Momento Mori, Easy Rider Boots (Flux)

Poses: Weather or Not

Location: Flux
Light Settings: Places, Las Legunas
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 28 - Poppies Sky

Orange and Blue are fantastic complementary colors, and often really fun to pair up, and this set of bright, slightly dusty colors - Poppies Sky - are no different. I'm playing around more with coloring my wings from Deviance, and really enjoying the fact I can tint the veins and webbing separately - the effect is striking and powerful, I think. It's a little difficult to tint, since I wear them moving, but if you set the color n your selections first, then select face, and keep an eye on what the texture shown is, you can pretty quickly and easily tint your way through even with the wings moving. Like on the wings, I did a lot of mixing for this look; the hat and hair from Wasabi Pills hat the orange as a choice, but again I used select face to tint the two buttons - one a fantastic blue, and the other slightly more creme to match the secondary color on this necklace from Glow. I actually picked the necklace up thinking of this challenge, as the orange seemed to match it well and it was a unique, interesting piece of jewelry. One thing I love about Second Life is being able to accumulate a variety of unusual jewelry, and I added pieces from another set - a bracelet and ring - from Eclectica to balance out the orange at my fingertips - a fantastic glittery set from Orc Inc which I was glad to have an excuse to wear again.

My cosmetics are a combination of Elymode for the eyes, with blue lids and gold around the eye, and Mock in a orangy-brown for my lips. I'm unsure if I would have wanted more blue, but I have to admit the all orange around the eyes is a very warm, soft look. My dress is a fantastic release from Rebel Hope in an interesting cut, showing off the arms and legs instead of the breasts and butt, with fantastic texturing to show the ripples and pulls of fabric which Second Life can't duplicate in form. Finally, my shoes are an amazing recent release from SLink and allowed me to mix and match textures so that I could again pair up blue and orange to fantastic effect. They fit over the medium feet SLink releases, so I could match my toes to my nails easily. I spent a long while futzing with shadows and depth of field taking these pictures, and while I'm still a novice, I spent much of it crowing about how much I adored both. I didn't realize how unpolished my pictures looked until I saw them with shadows falling naturally, and the background fuzzing out slightly in response to focus, and it's like rediscovering photography in Second Life all over again.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Lumi 2
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Blue & Gold
Lipstick: Mock, Caramel Lip Jelle
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Necklace: Glow, Scarf Style Necklace
Bracelet & Ring: Eclectica, Rococco Cobalt
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, Glitterslash
Dress: Rebel Hope, Angela
Shoes: SLink, Tri-Color Wedges (worn with her medium feet)

Pose: flowy

Location: nostos deer
Light Settings: Places, Las Legunas
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Monday Meme: The Haunted Meme

Strawberry asks us all: What are you afraid of? What are you haunted by? Share some of your fears and if you can, create an image depicting one of them. Don’t forget to leave your link in the comments!

I could have gone all complicated for this image, trying to set something in world, but that would be way too difficult... so instead I played around a bit with photoshop and... here is the result. I have no idea if it's cheating or not... and I still don't know how I feel about it, but I rather like the image.

My biggest fear is that my worst thoughts about myself are actually true, and it's only a matter of time before everyone notices and I never have another friend again. My second worst fear is I will die alone and unloved. My third fear is that this is it, I will never find a man to share my life with - and it will be all of my fault. I'm also afraid of dying in pain - not dying, but the in pain part. I'm afraid of no one liking me, of being fundamentally unlikable, of being too mean, of being too kind, of making bad judgements. Having had a client die, I continue to dread a client dying via suicide on my watch - but it's less of a fear because I know it must happen someday.

Blog the Beat #7: Angel Eyes

Angel Eyes by Love & Theft

She likes whiskey with her water
She starts dancing when the stars come out
She ain’t your typical preacher’s daughter
She’ll leave you dreamin’ yeah there ain’t no doubtThere’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
She’s a little bit of heaven with a wild side
Got a rebel heart a country mile wide
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
A little bit of devil in her angel eyes

 Saturday night she’s rockin’ out by the bonfire
Flirting from that tail gate and crankin’ up the dial
Come Sunday mornin’ she’ll be singing with the choir
Drivin’ me crazy with that kiss me smile

There’s a little bit of devil in those angel eyes
She’s a little bit of heaven with a wild side
Got a rebel heart a country mile wide
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes

And I can’t stop wonderin’ what it would feel like, to hold her all night
She’s got that something, that sexy innocence, she must be heaven sent

There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
She’s a little bit of heaven with a wild side
Got a rebel heart a country mile wide
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes

There’s a little bit of devil in those angel eyes
She’s a little bit of heaven with a wild side
Got a rebel heart a country mile wide
There’s a little bit of devil in her angel eyes
There’s a little bit of devil in her
In those angel, in those angel eyes

 ( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul

Eyeshadow: White Widow

Hair: Wasabi Pills

Wings: Deviance

Twisted Color Challenge: Week 27 - Cabbage Patch Forest

I went out looking for the Cabbage Patch Forest and ended up stumbling across an awesome free photo studio, put together by the creator behind Souzen Eien, called Captured Moments. I found out about it a few weeks ago, but it wasn't until today I finally had enough time to play around with all of the different poses, and I completely had a ball. There is one level of standard pose stands with different backgrounds, and then two levels - two - of an astonishing array of in situ pose objects, including a martini glass, a birdcage, and a box with different leans for awesome shadow work (all show in this post). In addition, there's a gorgeous outside garden area perfect for shadows. This is really worth any photographer going past and exploring; while there are several things I own, there are so many more I don't, and I really enjoyed a chance to bounce from one to another playing around with different effects and poses in a way I rarely do.

My green lovers outfit is a fantastic combination of things, and I think I hit the color mark more closely than I have recently. The dress is a semi-recent release from Jane that I have been wanting to show off for a while, and I really love it. The double layer skirt is novel and different, and my only wish would be to have it in more colors - at three colors per style, I was crying even while I was loving it. I suppose it's really wonderful when you're only complaint is "more please?" I paired it with this gorgeous necklace from Donna Flora, made up of a variety of flowers and then the twisting curl of vines. The necklace and earrings are sold separately from the ring and bracelet, but all of them are tintable with a single HUD, which is really space saving for my poor inventory. My cosmetics are a mix of two favorites - the thick liquid eyeshadow of MiaSnow and the light gloss from Mock. I especially like Mock's glosses because you can layer them over other things and really give a new edge to an old lipstick. Finally, my awesome shoes, shown with awesome shadows below, are the newest release from Felicity. I particularly like the ruffle along the back of the foot for this shoe; the foot is included, and it's tintable with a manually tintable HUD, which makes matching a breeze.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Eep, Hair 016
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: MiaSnow, dark 3 green
Lipstick: Mock, Lucir Lipcolor Dandy Lion
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Vera
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Izzie's, Metallic Nails
Dress: Jane, Carolina Dress
Shoes: Felicity, Paige Stilettos

Pose: various

Location: Captured Moments
Light Settings: TOR, HORROR Land rising
Water Settings: Nacon's Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Blog the Beat #6: Into the Ocean

This was a difficult song for me to relate to for this challenge - in terms of the gender conflicts inherent in the story, but I - like many people - know what it feels like to want to jump off of whatever vehicle we happen to be on, leaping away from expectations, restrictions, limitations, and responsibilities. I've always thought that one would just find oneself more solidly then, though - reflected through the eyes of a thousand new people. After all, isn't that just what Second Life offers us? A chance to jettison everything we are, including our appearance, except that which makes us who we are, our personality. While a different nature can be imitated for a while, I think that in the end the truth always rises to the top. Many people object to the number of people who enter into Second Life as a gender other than their own, even more than just about any other change, but I think there are advantages to shucking our appearance of gender and seeing what new prejudices and assumptions cling to us; the opinions of others can teach us so much. 

Into the Ocean by Blue October

I’m just a normal boy
That sank when I fell overboard
My ship would leave the country
But I’d rather swim ashore

Without a life vest I’d be stuck again
Wish I was much more masculine
Maybe then I could learn to swim
Like ‘fourteen miles away’

Now floating up and down
I spin, colliding into sound
Like whales beneath me diving down
I’m sinking to the bottom of my
Everything that freaks me out
The lighthouse beam has just run out
I’m cold as cold as cold can be 

be

I want to swim away but don’t know how
Sometimes it feels just like I’m falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion… yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now…come down
Let the rain come down

Where is the coastguard
I keep looking each direction
For a spotlight, give me something
I need something for protection
Maybe flotsam junk will do just fine
the jetsam sunk, I’m left behind
I’m treading for my life believe me
(How can I keep up this breathing)

Not knowing how to think
I scream aloud, begin to sink
My legs and arms are broken down
With envy for the solid ground
I’m reaching for the life within me
How can one man stop his ending
I thought of just your face
Relaxed, and floated into space

I want to swim away but don’t know how
Sometimes it feels just like I’m falling in the ocean
Let the waves up take me down
Let the hurricane set in motion… yeah
Let the rain of what I feel right now…come down
Let the rain come down
Let the rain come down

Now waking to the sun
I calculate what I had done
Like jumping from the bow (yeah)
Just to prove that I knew how (yeah)
It’s midnight’s late reminder of
The loss of her, the one I love
My will to quickly end it all
Set front row in my need to fall

Into the ocean, end it all

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: The Stringer Mausoleum, Tenta - Seaweed
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Beautiful Freak, Sand & Sea Expo Hunt Gift
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Galatea Set
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Izzie's, Metallic Nails
Shirt: Evie's Closet, Under the Sea Hunt Prize
Tail: Tarnished, Teal Seafoam Mermaid

Pose: Chisa Creations, Mermaid 03

Location: Cerridwen's Cauldron
Light Settings: TOR, HORROR Land rising
Water Settings: Nacon's Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

SL Disney Bound – Week Sixteen: Drizella & Anastasia

It's another couples set, and these are always a challenge for me - it tends to be one of my alts, and this time, for Drizella and Anastasia, I ended up going really over the top. This is definitely not casual wear, but it might work for a fancy dinner... maybe? I think both of the Evil Stepsisters would have crowed over the hair and the clothing, so I admit I'm enjoying it quite a bit. The hardest part was finding inexpensive skin and cosmetics for my poor alt, Placebo, who ended up trying on a few different ones before I settled on a recent free release from Curious Kitties. It's a really cute style inspired by watermelon - I love the little dots on the cheek like watermelon seeds. Quandry is wearing my usual skin from De La Soul, but I dressed it up with a bright eyeshadow from Virtual Insanity, and a gorgeous lip from Adore & Abhor. Both of them are wearing hair from Curio Obscura, part of one of her amazing releases for Arcade. I really love the different styles, though I struggled a little with hairlines on Placebo. I loved the masses of curls, though, and it fit the character so well, so how could I resist?

The Jewelry deserves a special note - they're releases from Donna Flora, who we recently learned through Casja Lilliehook has been getting more ill with her Cancer, and she hasn't been able to make things in Second Life, which means her income is down, which is making things harder for her. The Love Donna Flora event is a chance to enjoy her gorgeous jewelry and rally around to support her as she battles cancer some more. I have always loved her jewelry, it's so unique, but I tended to wait for special outfits to go and look for something to suit; when I was putting together these over-the-top looks I decided to swing by and see if anything fit, and found what I wanted almost immediately. She also makes lovely clothing, some of it with matching jewelry for people who struggle to put together looks. There will be an event later this month, but for now an easy way to help out is to go and indulge in some of her unique, beautiful jewelry. The dresses - different color versions of the same style - are also something special, as I picked them up in the closing sale for Bliss Couture. There are a lot of unique, extravagant dresses for sale for not much linden, perfect to match up with one of Donna Flora's exemplary sets of jewelry. I had such fun with this - even the slow bits with dual logging and using shadows - I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Deoridhe Quandry:

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Curio Obscura, Stackable Hair - Rococco Rolls
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Virtual Insanity, Fairy Neon
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Lips Fire Red
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Harlow
Dress: Bliss Couture, Gravios

Poses: !bang

Deoridhe Placebo:

Skin: Curious Kitties, Azil Peach Skin - Chilled Watermelon
Hair: Curio Obscura, Stackable Hair - Spirals Galore
Eyes: De La Soul, Mesh Eye Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, 09 Cup of Heart
Wings: Deviance, Titania Mesh Fairy Wings
Jewelry: Donna Flora, Ester
Dress: Bliss Couture, Gravios

Poses : Glitterati

Location: <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Selidor/234/135/21">Selidor</a>
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Second Life's 10th Birthday Celebration

I didn't get to see nearly as much of Second Life's 10th Birthday Celebration as I hoped; my time was taken up by a panoply of other things, other demands on my time and attention, and a surfeit of time to simply explore and enjoy, as well as a desire to linger and take pictures whenever I found something fun - which meant wandering around took a lot longer than it might have otherwise. Definitely, the highlight I saw was the Behemoth, which was an allegorical tale of Second Life with a solid roleplaying aspect created by Loki Elliot. There were a few hiccups with the HUD which worked it, but otherwise it was truly amazing and a lot of fun in a very small space. I really hope he does more along this vein in Second Life - maybe hooking up with MadPea? I'd love to see a few different, financially solvent gaming groups set up, though; that's hard to accomplish in Second Life.

I really wish they would leave the Birthday sims up for a full month - especially now that the creativity is so broad and incredible. No one is phoning in these displays, and it's a shame they have to vanish so soon before even a tenth of them can be explored fully. I'm really feeling the Lack Of Time this year - along with a desire to slow down and not rush through things as much, to linger and let slower thoughts bubble to the surface. We haven't made a world for ourselves with a lot of breathing room, either online or offline. I really enjoyed what I saw, though, and seeing a little piece of me show up again in the Birthday Celebration was really fun.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Hair: Wasabi Pills
Skin: De La Soul
Wings: Fancy Fairy
Necklace: I forget, but I think I got it at Collobor88
Dress: Schadenfreude
Boots: Schadenfreude

Monday Meme: Meet My Friend Challenge

Strawberry brings us another meme, the Meet My Friend Challenge, inspiring us all to photograph and interview a good friend and sharing them with the world - or at least the Second Life portion of it. I've not done much photography of anyone but myself, so this was a real challenge for me - both in finding a friend who was free for picture taking and interviewing, the whole process of photographing someone other than myself, and the issues which occur when you're fighting with two connections and two accounts. 

I had a chance to spend some time with Charlie on his sim, where we both roleplay, Isle of Amras. He's built a lot of it, organized a bunch more using things which he has purchased, and made a fantastic sim for us to enjoy. He also makes and sells clothing, skins, eyes, buildings, and furniture in his store, De La Soul. 

Deoridhe: So, how long have you been in Second Life?

Charlie: Five years, give or take, in February.

Deoridhe: How did you learn about Second Life? 

Charlie: A friend on IMVU actually got it, showed me how to sign up for it and everything, brought me into Second Life, gave me a few minutes to get used to my avatar, then took me to the GYC. So, from day one, the second person I met on Second Life had a tail butt plug in, and a ball gag. And I have to say - the guy, he was a decent guy; he just happened to have a ball gag, and a butt plug tail, at a gay, furry club in Second Life. We had a conversation when my friend up and left me there - he teleported me there, and he left me there.

Charlie: He told me later he hooked up with someone.

Charlie: The first thing I noticed about the art at the GYC - oh, this is really nice art. The second thing - oh, this is furry art. The third thing - oh, this is furry porn... The first thing I notice when I see art is whether it's good, well drawn art. I was oblivious to it being porn; it is like the third or the fourth thing that registers after all the artistic stuff. 

Charlie: [laughing] Are you sure you want this on your blog?

Deoridhe: YES. Just clarify, what's the GYC.

Charlie: The Gay Yiff Club.

Deoridhe: So, with this being your first experience - what made you stay?

Charlie: I was cracking up - I was dying. I'm standing here talking to this guy with the ball gag, and this leather harness, and we're actually having a conversation about how I came from IMVU to here, and he was actually explaining to me how to cam around and stuff, and watching this horse prance by. It was so surreal, I had to go back and make sure I wasn't hallucinating or something.

Charlie: When I joined Second Life, I was very naive and sheltered even if I was open minded, so I'm not sure I actually knew whether that was a tail or not. I was very naive back then - Second Life has opened my eyes to BDSM and other sexual stuff.

Deoridhe: It really shows how Second Life broadens peoples' horizons.

Charlie: Yeah, and most people outside of Second Life - when they've heard of Second Life, they've heard its this bad, really perverted place. That's what everyone has seemed to hear. And that's the first thing I faced - not just the sexual side, but the furry sexual side, which gets very over the top. After that first experience, I just had to come back and see if I remembered it right, since the first time I was there for maybe an hour or two hours.

Deoridhe: What do you do in Second Life?

Charlie: You know that Deo.

Deoridhe: I know, but the people who read my blog don't, so this is a leading question to ask you things I already know.

Charlie: What do I do in SL? I stand there staring off at nothing for hours on end, and then finally make something. I'll be online all day, dicking around and not doing anything, and then eeeeeeeh, making something.

Deoridhe: Fine. So you have a store, and you roleplay...

Charlie: Asking me to describe my store, and my business, and suddenly my brain just stops working and it's like, you can't even remember your name things. Do I have a store? [sarcasm] No, I don't have a store.

Deoridhe: What do you love about Second Life?

Charlie: You can create or be anything. It's so much more advanced than IMVU. I was making stuff there, and then I came to SL and I spent all this time learning how to do those things on Second Life - in between stripping - that I had done on IMVU; you know, making skins, manipulating prims - that was the big one. Within just a couple of months of joining Second Life, I opened up my store, because I already pretty much had what I needed to make stuff in Second Life. I did skins, and then I did the ears, and then tails... it was learning, like anything else.

Deoridhe: What don't you like about Second Life?

Charlie: The sense of entitlement some people seem to get from it. If we're going to be completely honest, it's the entitlement people seem to have just because they're in Second Life. There are some customers who do things to creators and store owners in Second Life that they wouldn't dream of doing to a store owner in real life. That's one of my big pet peeves - I mean yes, it is a game, I hate to say that, but this is also a business.

Deoridhe: What has Second Life taught you?

Charlie: I've learned a whole lot of the technical aspects of things - learning blender and that kind of thing - but open-mindedness on a personal level is a big thing. When I first came to Second Life I was very naive. Back then I would have been shocked by a wedding that had BDSM aspects, and now I was a groomsman in one. Definitely open mindedness, opening the eyes.

Deoridhe: What are your  plans for the future in Second Life?

Charlie: To just keep plugging along, hopefully expand the horizons with the business and, hopefully get it to at least pay for a portion of my real life needs, since I don't have a job right now. I NEED TO MAKE MORE STUFF!

Deoridhe: Where can we find you, on and off the grid?

Charlie: I've mostly left Plurk, but you can find me at my Flickr account. I'm usually on Isle of Amras when I'm logged into Second Life.

Deoridhe: Is there anything you want to share about yourself?

Charlie: I'm an introvert. [laughs]

( More pictures here. )