Ballet Bleu

Ever since I saw this barre from Stockholm & Llima at Romp (now available at her main store), I dreamed of how to do this picture set. The animations included several dances, each of them lovely, and the only question was how I was to create the most important thing - the mirror at the back of the practice room for this Prima Ballerina before the show. That took a little doing - and the shameless use of Whiskey Monday's Nothing Endure's But Change Sim, which was largely empty except for an enormous black tree (thanks Whiskey!). It also took combining Stockholm & Llima's barre with this amazing attic hideaway from Frogstar - a blessedly modify-ok structure that I stripped of it's outer casing in order to bend to my nefarious will. The final touch was using the mirror water setting but turning the Fog Density Exponent up to 10.0 so that the door and wall didn't show up at all. The final effect is of a quirky room with enormous windows and floor to ceiling mirrors along the entire back section of the wall. Up close, the illusion is perfect; from a distance, it looks something like this.

Both of the structures I irrevocably modified are lovely in and of their own right. The Ballet Barre Stockholm & Llima made is actually a BDSM tool as well as a lovely dance display - complete with ribbons coming from ceiling mounted brackets and the ability of a second person to take control. There are a variety of bondage animations, 14 M/f animations and 7 F/f animations. There are also some tinting options, and the entire barre is modify-ok, so the opportunities for customization are extensive. The Frogstar attic actually comes with a lovely surround set up for the lighting and large windows. It comes with three options - shabby clean, dirty, and bloody - and comes with and without baked lighting. I used the baked lighting and reinforced it with my windlight, which I think turned out well. It also comes in at only 9 land impact, which is stellar for a large skybox.

The other half of these pictures was initially inspired by the Zenith tutu and collar set, which I fell in love with on sight. It is the best mesh tutu I've seen to date, rigged well and with a charming and inventive style. I love the ribbon effect on the bodice, and the layers of skirt which each hang slightly separately. The collar is sold separately but matches perfectly, both in the heavy ruffles that stick out around my head (check out the open weave at the outer edges!) and in the gold balls rising up from the froth that echo the gold figures worked into the skirt. The collar is rigged to the head and shoulders, moving so that it continues to frame your head perfectly.

I wanted to keep the accessories simple and highlight the tutu, so the gold band on my Ploom hair, though instead of going for a simple bun, I went for dual poofs that add some interest both to the shape of my head and in terms of the gorgeous texture I chose (candy pack remains my favorite~!). The band is tintable, and I chose gold to continue the gold theme, and then reinforced it by selecting Sax Shepherd Designs' gold filigree wings instead of my usual butterfly solids - I think the effect is really striking! By far the hardest part of find were my pointe shoes. These lovely ones from *Etoile* which include the tintable foot, were the closest I found to traditional shoes; they are modify-ok, which meant I could select the pieces included in the shoe to tint it blue, and add a gold highlight in the small bow on the toe. As you can see below, the shape is perfect from the back and side, and since they fit on the ankle much like a boot does, there are no issues with the ankle moving in a distorted manner. Overall, I am thrilled with my first attempt at a Prima Ballerina - and I hope you all are, too!

Monday Meme: Second Life Made Me Learn

Strawberry asks what Second Life made us learn, and I think this is an awesome question that can be very difficult to answer for those of us who didn't branch out into new ground when we came to Second Life. I was drawn to Second Life by promises of fashion that were more than rewarded, stuck around for discussions of philosophy which went as poorly as they tend to with me, spent some time roleplaying - something I have done elsewhere but which is so much more immersive in Second Life - and now am back to something I started on in early days on the internet, having a website and writing about what I think. In a lot of ways, Second Life has caused me to re-tread over the old ground of my late 1990's Cybernothing (Nothing is Cooler Just Because It's Cyber) website, when I hand-coded everything, including the graphical menu I made by hand (do you guys remember when that was The Thing?). These days, blogger is so much simpler - it does most of the coding, and I just focus on coding my posts and maybe the occasional flourish on my About page.

Google Hunting: One fun thing I have experienced, though, was learning about things in service to my blog posts. I like to talk about parts of clothing and styles when I can, but my knowledge base is fairly low. Likewise, my knowledge of history is fairly low. I had a ball during the 2013 Fashion/Relay for Life event when they based each sim off of a historical place, though, and put some effort into finding out about each and then writing both what I learned and my impression of the sims themselves. Likewise, with the 21 Shoe Event, I've had fun looking up parts of the shoe in order to make my commentary on them in particular more specific. For other styles of clothing, like what sometimes shows up at Genre, I've also looked up things like historical fashion - for example, during the Ancient Worlds month I looked into Egyptian, Greek, and Roman dress in order to contextualize the clothing made by Les Encantades and Luminary.

Self-Promotion: This is something I still struggle with on a couple of fronts, but I've definitely identified ways I feel comfortable seeking the attention of other people, like sending notecards and suchlike. Most recently I've been thinking about branding; overall I am a "Fashion" blog, but I also cover the arts, events, sims, hunts, and opinion - and I think it's the latter topics which set me apart from other blogs. I'm still thinking about ways of shifting the focus to that when a lot of the focus in the blogosphere in general bends us in a singular direction.

Organization: Especially with the advent of events, I've had to become extraordinarily organized (for me) in order to try to address things in a timely manner. Ironically, I suspect I'm more bothered by my tardiness than any of the individuals who kindly send me things to try out.

Perspective: I think all of the above challenges have driven me to define more clearly and completely my perspective on the world, as it exists exclusive to me. In this sense, this goes far beyond Second Life, but I can't ignore the powerful effect that writing these posts and maintaining this blog since 2011 has had on me.

It's been really interesting to think about the changes since I logged in on August 2008, and who knows what changes are yet to come!

( More Monday Meme's here. )
( More pictures here. )

Sunday Squee: Treet TV

The Sunday Squee is when I can talk about things that make me happy and excited. The main focus will be on different things people created, from books to movies to television shows to podcasts, and my effort will be to highlight less commonly known things as a way to share what I love. If you want to join in the Sunday Squee, please link back to me so I can enjoy what you love!

Treet TV is a resource within Second Life that is nearly unique - an actual television station with multiple shows covering a wide variety of topics. The one I watch the most is probably Designing Worlds, which most recently interviewed three photographers, but has a history of telling funny stories in New Babbage, interviews with artists and creators, and explorations of major events like Second Life's Birthday Party and Fantasy Faire. They used to film it live; now there's a live showing of the show that usually the participants attend in order to answer questions from the audience.

One of the funniest shows is the Giant Snail Races, where avatars dressed up as enormous snails go through mazes of increasing absurdity. There is a lot of being flung involved, and each of the snails is amazing in it's unique style. Currently, at LEA 4, there is an exhibit of different giant snails for all of us to enjoy. I love this celebration of eccentricity and silliness - surely something everyone needs in their lives.

For Hunters there is Happy Hunting, which covers all of the events across the grid and a lot of fun besides.

Sadly, most of the rest of the shows have vanished into the past, but they still exist on the Treet TV website if you want a window into the halcyon days of the past, all rosy colored. Many stores still open were covered by Angie Mornington on her show Fabulous Fashion, which ended in 2010, and I don't think the influences of Metaverse Arts can be understated, even though it ended in 2012. Whether you want some perspective on where we came form, or just to cheer on some Giant Snails. Treet TV is the place to go.

( More Sunday Squee here. )

Vaguely Rageful and Slightly Blue

I've been vaguely rageful and slightly blue lately, one of those challenging states where emotions exist less as discrete experiences and more as a miasma which tints everything just a little bit, but enough to add and edge to everything. It's very dissolution makes it difficult to pinpoint; it is like despair, but without despair's bite and hopelessness, fatalism without nihilism. It's not depression, but shares a zip code. However, there is a balm in the beautiful things of the world; a peace to be found in stepping into other peoples' worlds and other peoples' dreams. I think sometimes that's what brings me back to Second Life again and again - a chance to engage with the creations of other people which says so much more than any explanation could.

excerpt from Four Preludes On Playthings Of The Wind

by Carl Sandburg

'The past is a bucket of ashes.'

1

The woman named To-morrow
sits with a hairpin in her teeth
and takes her time
and does her hair the way she wants it
and fastens at last the last braid and coil
and puts the hairpin where it belongs
and turns and drawls: Well, what of it?
My grandmother, Yesterday, is gone.
What of it? Let the dead be dead.

21 Shoe Fountain

This is just a small preview of the shoes that will be available for only 24 hours on the 21st of February for the 21 Shoe Event. Each come in a set of two and there is a wonderful mix of style, color, and variety between all of the stores I've seen so far!

Simple Pleasures

It's very undemocratic of me... but I! Love! Sekrits!

Genre: Dark Summoner

Genre's theme is the Dark Arts this round, and the inspiration covers a lot of ground - from traditional practices of Tarot and Demonology to popular fiction. It also gave me a chance to get in touch with shadow!Deo, who lurks in the places least seen and comes out... well, best to leave those considerations unspoken. My face is made up of a combination of things; layered underneath is the base tattoo from Spyralle, meant to go with a variety of forehead decorations - foreheads were popular this month! It's a webwork design you'll see more of in future posts, but I liked the effect of the lacy edges under my mask, an incredible creation from Eclectica. It's formed and textured like leather, ridged and edged very realistically with simple, smooth curling horns coming from the temples. I love the texturing on this in particular, from the gleam of the eyes to how each section captures the light. It looks sharp and wild, yet still retains it's mask-like quality, which I really appreciate. My jewelry is also from Eclectica, but isn't a release at Genre, and after this round of Genre is over, the mask will join the rest of Eclectica's creations at her store.

My dress is from Wimey, and manages to somehow be both adorable and menacing - a Wimey special, in my experience. I am a sucker for outfits with snakes on them, and this one does not disappoint - with a python lovingly hugging waist and breast both. The snake part is textured with a dappled metallic effect, like beaten metal, while the corset top and skirt both have the heavy, thick quality of leather. I particularly like the embossed pattern on the bodice and how the bottom v of the bodice is more heavily creased, as if the wearer has sat a lot in it. The effect is a wearable garment, even though it's all leather. I added on some flash nails from Vengeful Threads, a field of red trees on a black background - certainly appropriate for the overall look and very slick. My shoes, in contrast, look like they were decoupaged from old Tarot cards - a fun and misty effect from Sense-able Fashions. The shoe shape itself is simple, a perfect base for the overlaying of brightly colored cards to really be shown at their best.

The final touch to my demonic fashion is a curse from BluPrintz - swirling flames which can be connected by a series of particles to form stars of different numbers of points - from three to twelve. The options for colors are immense - there is a way to change both colors of the flames as well as the color of the links; I went with a dull, bloody red for the star, and left the points as bright orange and red flames. In addition to flames swirling behind, there is a second set included which swirls around the body perpendicular to it - rather like the magical effects of anime, or what happened last week when I summoned that... oh, well... nevermind. It's not important.It's definitely critical to make it to Genre before ...whatever happened last week catches up with us, though - remember, salt and circles, and try to make sure what you summon isn't on the same side of the barrier as you are.

Monday Meme: Have You Ever ... in Second Life?

Strawberry brings us a light and cheerful meme this week - a fun game of Have You Ever for Second Life. I love these kinds of questions - and I'm adding a few of my own at the end for anyone who feels frisky to try on for size!

1. Have you ever owned a sim in Second Life? – No


2. Have you ever created content in Second Life? – Depends on what you mean; I made houses and fountains and my own photography lights, but I've never sold anything.


3. Have you ever driven a vehicle in Second Life? – Yes, though I'm pretty bad at it. For a while a friend had a multi-level sim with roads and I practiced on the curves. I kind of miss the sim design for that alone!


4. Have you ever gone sky diving in Second Life? – Yes, I did at one of the LEA sims, though I prefer free-falling.


5. Have you ever played a sport in Second Life? – Nope


6. Have you ever gone clubbing in Second Life? – Sometimes; there was a period of time I went every Friday, and for a while I hosted at a friend's bar.


7. Have you ever fangirled/fanboyed someone in Second Life? – Very quietly. Sometimes they talk to me!!! One of my first objects of fangirling, katat0nik, is a friend now, which is kind of awesome.


8. Have you ever taken a picture of your avatar in water in Second Life? – Tons of times. I love playing with the reflections and lights.


9. Have you ever taken a picture of a sunset in Second Life? – Tons of times, though it's harder to make clothes show up well under a sunset!


10. Have you ever taken a nude picture of your avatar in Second Life? – Only from behind, and only once; I actually prefer being more covered than not!




11. Have you ever dated in Second Life? – Nope, unless you could In Character, in which case only once and he simultaneously proposed marriage to me while cheating on me with someone else.
12. Have you ever had or attended a wedding in Second Life? – Never on both; I've known a few people who got married, but I wasn't invited to weddings.


13. Have you ever drank, smoked or taken drugs in Second Life? – Smoked and drank, yes. I don't think I've done drugs.


14. Have you ever engaged in sexual activity in Second Life? – Oh yeah. For a while, I was IC specializing in threesomes (Deoridhe ICly has never been in a relationship where she wasn't the third).


15. Have you ever been to Bukkake Bliss in Second Life? – Nope.


16. Have you ever been to Sensual Stoneworks? - On an alt, yes.


17. Have you ever felt emotionally moved by something in Second Life? - Absolutely!


18. Have you ever griefed in Second Life? - No, but I've been on site for a griefing a few times.


19. Have you ever made art in Second Life? - Not really - just taken pictures.


20. Have you ever made a home in Second Life? - Yes, I have a Premium Home.

( More favorites here. )

Sunday Squee: Mercedes Lackey's 500 Kingdoms Series

The Sunday Squee is when I can talk about things that make me happy and excited. The main focus will be on different things people created, from books to movies to television shows to podcasts, and my effort will be to highlight less commonly known things as a way to share what I love. If you want to join in the Sunday Squee, please link back to me so I can enjoy what you love!

I have been a fan of Mercedes Lackey literally since I was a teenager, picking up one of her first series out of order and on a whim in the halcyon days of a hazy past. In the last ten years or so she's started two new series, both inspired by and a critique of fairy tales. The one I'm focusing on today, the stories of the 500 Kingdoms, starts with The Fairy Godmother and wends its way through fairytale and myth both (the second book, One Good Knight, revolves mainly around the story of Andromeda) building up a complicated, interwoven series of stories. My two favorite stories are the third and fifth, Fortune's Fool and The Sleeping Beauty.

It's from the Russian-inspired Fortune's Fool that the inspiration for my dress came today - drawing in figures like Baba Yaga, the tales of poor Ivan, and even the Koschey the Deathless (who first appeared many books earlier) and combining in the slightest touch of further climes - Japan and the Arabian Deserts in particular - Fortune's Fool is a romp form beginning to end and includes one of my favorite romantic relationships of all time. If you love fairytales and mythologies, I cannot recommend this series enough. If you love adventure, magic, and happy endings, these will bring a lot of light to your life. I return to these books time and again when life seemed dark and difficult, and they never fail to brighten my day and my spirits.

Fit for a Princess: Born of Snow

Fit for a Princess is about halfway through, and there are still lovely wintery and love related glitz and glamour for all of the most discerning princesses. My gorgeous gown is from Evie's Closet, and is one of my favorite styles from her - a sumptuous ballgown with silver accents. I'm an enormous fan of the tight corset sleeve down the forearm, shooting out of it's puffy clouds of white, and the textured quilting of the bodice with it's tiny center dots. The alpha layer is also well down, skimming low enough that my decolletage is perfect even from above.  Many other colors are available at Evie's Closet, but I love the white for it's simplicity. I paired it with a simple, purple-stoned snowflake necklace from Krystal, available in her gacha. I've been playing a few rounds each time I run into it and amassed quite a collection of jewelry. I liked the little touch of color against the pure white of my gown, and I reinforced that with incredibly bright hair from Ploom - in an incandescent combination of teal and purple - and a rich, dark lip from Pink Fuel. The nice thing about a large, simple gown is that it allows for significantly more variety in accessories - letting the accessories take center stage and acting as a canvas that is rendered all the more lovely by the contrast of negative space.

These really fun, quirky poses are all from Fashiowl - each with it's own fitting prop. I love how they inspire to sillyness - from me singing into the "cute princess" popsicle, to blowing kisses across the snow. They come in a box that is it's own pose-with-prop, a fantastic arm owl. The final pose, shown below, is from a previous Fit for a Princess event, and is available at their main store. All of them are fun and interesting - both the poses and the props. I love the idea of little images on blackboards, each one a different fun or flirty message going out to anyone watching. Fashiowl specializes in emotive poses with props, from cheerful divers with cameras, to princesses kissing a hundred frogs in search of that elusive prince. Definitely check out not only the four popsicle poses on sale at Fit for a Princess, but also their wide variety of poses at their main store! I selected Cadenza as a spot for my pictures because if it's use of white and light colors, which would allow me to keep the bright hair and lips the central focus of my look and show off both through these various playful poses.

Friday the Thirteenth

Friday the Thirteenth was my Grandmother's lucky day.

I lost her a few years ago, and it's still taken me some time to adjust. She wasn't a pleasant, affectionate woman in general, so it is less for the interpersonal loss that I grieve, but more for the family shift as the generation before mine suddenly became the ruling generation of our family, with all that entails. I like to think of my Grandmother being with my Grandfather, though. She was far too bloody minded to follow him quickly, and I think she felt his loss far more keenly than any of us could have.

My Grandmother came to the US on a Friday the Thirteenth when she was four years old, traveling with her mother to catch up with a father who had left them both behind in Denmark. Neither of those Great Grandparents were good people; my Great Grandmother was cruel and manipulative, and my Great Grandfather was physically abusive. My Grandmother decided when she was young that she would never marry, not wanting a relationship like she grew up in the care of, but my Grandfather managed to change her mind - and in many ways the choices my Grandmother made saved our family. She ended the abuse of her Father in a single generation; my Mother and Uncle grew up loved and cherished, not abused. For that alone she deserves high praise.

My Grandfather's parents more than made up for my Grandmother's parents, and in many ways my Grandmother blossomed in the light of their and my Grandfather's love. My Great Grandfather had a birthday only two days after Christmas, and it was my Grandmother who baked him his first birthday cake. When other members of the family had similar birthdays, she made sure they would never feel the neglect my Great Grandfather received. When my Grandmother's parents told her she would have no help from them if my Grandfather left her, his parents vowed that she would always have a home with them - and that openness and love offered my Grandmother an oasis in a world of pain. She was always dutiful toward her parents, but I think she felt their lack of care strongly and it bent her life in ways I can only guess at.

Tomorrow is a day dedicated to romantic love, and in the light of that I like to think of my Grandmother and Grandfather, who found in each other the love of a lifetime. May similar love be found in the lives of all who loved them. I love you and miss you, Grandma and Grandpa.

From the Past

One of the fun things about going through an inventory is finding old things you wish you'd had time to blog earlier!

Genre: Surprise Party

I'm squeezing in one last Genre post - this time doing my best to show off some of the decorative items which are available through the end of today. My outfit - this confection of balloons somehow attached to my body, is from DeviousMind and is a great deal of fun! It comes with a ton of appliers for different bodies - L.inc, Belleza Venus, and Lolas Tango - some textured pieces to cover the critical pieces, and different versions of the bustle as well as particle ribbons for the hand which kick in when one moves. It's enormous fun for a burlesque outfit or similar style event, which is what inspired me to pull out the Bliensen + MaiTai party cake, which is set up for a dancer hopping out of it and performing for the crowd! It comes with two hiding locations, plus several "pop out of the cake" events (singing, clapping), and several more dances. It also delivers accessories for each appropriate step, like a microphone for singing to the crowd, and even a cake top hat! I'm definitely keeping this in my inventory for someone's surprise party, or even as a club crowd pleaser.

Once I got started, I couldn't help but fill in the rest of the room. First I pulled out banners and star lights from Spyralle, all of them brightly decorated with Spyralle's signature bright patterns. They are editable, with the banners flexi on large boxes which means they can be resized to fit different areas of the house and made either fullbright or not. I absolutely adore the colors and brightness they bring to the party! In one corner I set up a table with party accessories in red and green from Bauwerk. This is one of my first times interacting with their creations, and they really are lovely. The accessories can all be mixed and matched as you wish, and I love the random combination of the cups and letters spelling out "Happy Birthday."

This set could also work well for Christmas, being the proper hues, and it's all copy-ok, meaning you can fill a wall with chairs to park the pizza on, like I did. The pizza is from Lost Junction, and is nicely textured. It includes full pies and single pieces on plates, which I was able to set down here and there as if this were a snapshot in the middle of a party. They also put out a gift of pizza slice nails for everyone who nibbles when nervous! And finally, tucked off to one side I placed a sideboard from Frogstar, all set up for sending invitations and wrapping gifts. This would be a charming addition to any living room, indicating one is the type of householder who is always at the ready - I particularly liked the touch of blackboard squares to write the contents of drawers on, and may end up stealing that idea for offline drawers.

Upstairs, I set up the perfect little nest for a little girl. Hanging overhead is a lovely runner of cloth from Paper Moon, available with and without tassels and including simple wooden beams for hanging from ceilings. Under it I placed this gorgeous trundle bed from Noctis, it's blankets and pillows texture-change between four colors which can be mixed and matched. It's also available with the trundle pulled out or pushed in, and there's a lovely set of accessories to be fitted on top and into the built-in shelving. This is perfect for a guest room, or even the bed in a loft. Finally, tucked between the bed and the window I put a lovely children's tea set from Distorted Dreams, the tablecloth a lovely mix of blues. The tea set can come either attached or not, and there is an additional tea cup for drinking as one feeds ones teddy bears the best imaginary tea! There's less than twenty-four hours left before the Genre Celebration ends, but I hope you have a chance to swing by and pick up what catches your eyes - be it the perfect party outfit, or some fun furniture for entertaining.

Fit for a Princess: Rose Angel

This amazing, ankle-length gown in contrasting colors with a metallic sheen is a new release for Fit for a Princess from Greymoon. I've had the pleasure of watching this store mature through time, and this dress is one of the best yet. It is hard to pick a favorite aspect, but I'll pick a few and wax rhapsodic. Firstly, there is the silhouette - a high necked gown with a cutout along the back. I love how it brings us almost all the way to fully covered, only to bring in some sex appeal from the back. That combined with the three quarter length sleeves and the cross-cut colors truly make this an amazing, interesting gown. Secondly, there is the rigging and folds. The skirt is beautifully designed with enormous, rounded folds that move gracefully with a variety of poses. The quality of fabric is most evident here, something heavy and glossy that will buckle heavily under it's own weight. Thirdly, there is the texturing. I love the interlocking diamonds and how varying their shades is used to set apart areas without making it too blocky - the golden hues on this red gown are particularly fine. The gloss is simply amazing, and made pictures a lot of fun to light; you can see how the reflections really sell the contrast between gown and skin, one mostly matte while the other is high gloss. Greymoon has really outdone herself with this gown, and left me hopeful for future wonders.

I paired it with delicate jewelry set from Krystal, also released at Fit for a Princess. Perfect for Valentines, these gold hearts are set with perfect diamonds set within lovely swirls that frame a second, internal heart with a single, teardrop jewel. I love her jewelry and these are particularly fine - different thicknesses of gold wire adding to the verisimilitude. I love how simple the chain is as well - just a band - and I was able to increase the size of the necklace to fit well over the high collar of my gown.

My other favorite accessories for this look aren't from Fit for a Princess, but they are lovely none-the-less. The crown I'm wearing is a Gacha Mania prize from Modern Couture - one of about five, of which I landed two. I love the style, the delicate branches, the well-formed roses, and the dangling gems. The colors are lovely, and I had fun placing it so that the metal wires fitted into the braids of my gorgeous Wasabi Pills hair from Love is in the Air - it forms a heart in the back! The biggest addition to this look are these amazing wings from Remarkable Oblivion which have taken over the grid, however. I love the perfectly formed and enormous roses a lot, but even better is the streamer-style of the wings, which make them at once decorative and intriguing. Wing tops and roses are set to catch the light like metal, but the feathers themselves are more dully textured, like leather or felt, which offers up a fascinating contrast under light. The also fit well, with the main part of the wing slightly curved; with a little angling I was able to set each wing into my shoulder blade so that it was seamless. They are a striking addition to any look, adding both drama and class to the mix.

Monday Meme: Milestones

It took Strawberry a while to figure out what to write for today's Monday Meme - and I can understand why! Milestones are big things, but they are also intensely personal - a number of my biggest milestones would mean nothing to anyone else. I like the idea of marking them, though, both because it gives a standard for how far we've come, and because it offers up what we value most truly.

My first milestone as a blogger was when someone I didn't know first started sending me things to blog. I have always purchased more items than anything, and never applied to be an official blogger for anyone or anything, mostly because I viewed myself more as an art photographer than a fashion one. One thing I did do was send notices to people when I "featured" them, meaning when I wrote about them in a blog post. Knowing how thrilled I felt whenever anyone acknowledged my work, I thought they might feel the same (and indeed, I've ended up with a number of friendships through these outreaches).

One day, though, a sample of hair that said "blogger pack" was in my inventory - unasked for. It was a store I had blogged before - one I had blogged rather a lot - and I was both floored and amazed. Wasabi Pills became the first creator who offered me a change for full access to her hair, and I've faithfully blogged her for years, always adoring the changing styles and the chance to try out all the colors, even if I ended up gravitating to golden regularly. I was there for the first days of mesh, through petite avatars and beyond, and for everything from pigtails to butt-length tresses.

In time, I've become grateful in particular for having on hand styles I might not have otherwise tried, finding they pushed me into new avenues and added to my creativity. The interplay between avatar, creator, and landscape is what I'm really trying to capture in my blog, and Wasabi Pills has helped to shape how I blog today. I was truly lucky to have such a generous person send me things, and it set the tenor for most of my relationships with creators even when we didn't end up on each others' friends lists!

( More Monday Memes here. )
( All Wasabi Pills blogs here. )
( All Wasabi Pills Images here. )

MadPea Game: Buried

MadPea's Buried Hunt began the first of February and continues until March 31st. Like usual for my MadPea Hunt Guides, my commentary is in italics, most of the text from the HUD is in plain text, and text from a mysterious party is in bold to differentiate from "our" thoughts. For people who can't hear audio, the spoken words are always reproduced in local chat - a blessing. My hints for each puzzle will remain somewhat generalized with the images taken up close to the hidden objects, but they will almost always be made clear through the whole of the guide if you follow along carefully.

In terms of things I think you should know - the storyline gets very twisted and there is one instance of graphic gore. The end is more positive than negative, however, and I think most people would enjoy it greatly.