Under the Sea Expo: Sea Witch

The Under the Sea Expo has begun, which you probably know if you've been watching the feeds, and it is glorious. The one thing I missed during the Fantasy Faire was an undersea sim - even the watery ones were well above ground - and this expo is feeding that need in spades. There is also an awesome storyline hunt which I'll be covering more in depth soon, I promise. Many of my favorite stores are here, and even more stores I don't know but which blew me away from the beginning; even if you aren't usually a mer, this is an event not to be missed.

I made my big splash with this incredible mermaid set from Tarnished, one of several being sold at the Expo. It is prim, working around the mesh of the legs to form a single tail, and with an enormous fantail at the end. It moves beautifully, especially with the little hip fins, though there is the usual difficulties with working with alpha. I wonder sometimes if Second Life will ever address those - they can be truly troublesome. It comes with fingernails for the system hand, bright red talons suitable for ripping out the throats of even the most difficult sailor. In order to make myself suitable for the public gaze, I added this amazing top from The Muses' release for this Expo - you'll see more of it in the future, I promise. The long sleeves also come from The Muses; they are called gloves, but i can easily pair them with my usual SLink hands and they look simply stunning. The scale pattern along the arm (applied with a glove layer) fits so well with the Tarnished tail that it seems like they were made for each other.

To complete my transformation from mild mannered Faerie to vicious and alluring Siren, I leaned heavily on tattoos and cosmetics. I wanted to maintain the illusion that I could actually be under water, so everything but the tail and my hair was skin tight, and so I marked up my face and torso with some of the more theatrical releases from Nuuna, who is sublime for unusual and striking cosmetics. The lips are from my solid-color go to store, Adore & Abhor, a perfect dark red with a delicate curve. Finally, to fill out my shoulders and torso, I pulled out a tattoo released ages ago from Silentsparrow, which is a layered pattern of curls across the entire length of my body, though the leg ones are well covered by my scales. It actually has a color tintable layer, which I made a rich crimson to match the rest of my look. Finally, Wasabi Pills graciously offered up one of her hairs in Flaming Cherry to finish off the effect - a Siren bathed in blood was born.

As those of you who have been mer know, they offer a specific challenge when it comes to Animation Overiders and Poses because the legs have to remain together in order for the tail effect to be maintained (mesh tails sometimes have more leeway, but even they can be distorted by parted leg animations). For my AO, I dug deep into my inventory and pulled out a really fun one from Falln Angel Creations, which comes with each of his mermaids - he also has a more extensive AO for sale at his store. For static poses I did a quick run around the Marketplace, and while I ended up mostly using poses from Chisa Creation, Hopscotch has some lovely other ones made to go with a mesh tail, and some of the water poses from Glitterati (closing soon) worked beautifully as well.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Hawk2
Eyes: Nomine, Stained Eyes
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Face Tattoo: Nuuna, Warp
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Shreveport Lips
Chest Tattoo: Nuuna, Meta Red 70%
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Bikini: The Muses, Siren Red (Under the Sea Expo)
Torso Tattoo: Silentsparrow, Tenebrae Tendrils
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails: Orc Inc, Goth Nails
Mermaid: Tarnished, Fire Coral Mermaid (Under the Sea Expo)

Pose: Various

Location: Under the Sea Expo
Light Settings: TOR, Sunrise - Ultimate
Water Settings: NB, Turbud Reflections

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

SL Disney Bound – Week Thirteen: Mad Hatter

One pill makes you larger
And one pill makes you small
And the ones that mother gives you
Don't do anything at all
Go ask Alice when she’s ten feet tall

And if you go chasing rabbits
And you know you're going to fall
Tell them a hookah smoking caterpillar has given you the call
Call Alice when she was just small

I've never been much enamored of the Mad Hatter, but this look has pretty much changed my mind. Alternatively sly and wild, mischievous and twisted, the Mad Hatter embodies both danger and whimsey. Like my version of Snow White, the Mad Hatter I ended up creating for Disneybound this week is pulled together from a lot of different outfits to make a final effect that is completely overwhelming and awesome. From the tip top of my tophat from Falln Angel Creations, to the toe tip of my espadrilles from Duh!, I am a wild romp through sizes and tea and distortion. My hair is a very fun, yet relatively old style from Wasabi Pills which is simply perfect for the uneven quality of the Mad Hatter. Even working around the dangling hair bits in the front wasn't too much of a problem, a reminder of older days before the majority of long hair was rigged mesh.

When the men on the chess board
Get up and tell you where to go
And you just had some kind of mushroom
And your mind is moving slow
Go ask Alice I think she'll know

When logic and proportion
Have fallen sloppy dead
And the white knight is talking backwards
And the Red Queen's "Off with her head!"
Remember what the dormouse said

I didn't have a teal bow to mimic the one for Disney's Mad Hatter; instead I copied it using two sets of jewelry - the recent butterfly set from Earthstones, and an older ring set from Eolande. The butterfly set is actually color changing; it has about six stone types which can be applied to the butterflies, and perhaps even ten colors for the bead, and I really adore it. All of the rest of my look is pieced together from three different outfits from Silentsparrow, in shades of gold and green. I played around with a lot of different options, mixing and matching, until I hit this final combination, bringing together the gold shrug as a top layer, the mottle corset over a lace undershirt, and finally the longer moon and stars Lolita style skirt. The final effect is not at all Lolita, but is one I really, really like. Now... are you coming for tea, or not?

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace Creamer
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Kiki
Hat: Falln Angel Creations, Mano De La Muerte Tophat
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Jewelry 1: Eolande, Stone Halo Necklace
Jewelry 2: Earthstones, Butterfly Set
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Hands: SLink, Enhanced Mesh Hands
Nails: Nine Inch Nails, Colorful
Shrug: Silentsparrow, Golden Sky
Undershirt and Garters: Silentsparrow, Vertnoir
Dress: Silentsparrow, Gutter Glitter
Socks: G Field, Button Socks
Shoes: Duh!, Women's Espadrilles

Poses: !bang

Location: Almost Wonderland
Light Settings: Incongruent Truths - modified
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Fantasy Faire: Lotus Valley Dream

Lotus Valley Dream is a complete and total gorgeous sim, where from the tiniest details to the largest structures is perfectly poised and balanced. It's Chinese themed, with delicate cranes walking around, and an enormous dragon swirling around a perfect lotus flower brimming with light. There are these lovely little gardens and contemplative spots here and there, as well as a major and impressive build in the middle. What I found most impressive is that it is just as lovely in detail and lit, as backlit and in silhouette - the default windlight of dark, purple, and gold really served as a gorgeous backdrop for the landscapes. Once more, I'm dressed in Fantasy Faire Donation items almost from head to toe, all of them really fun. My hair is from my old favorite Wasabi Pills, a great ear-curving style with a drippy from and back, available in both boobtastic rigged mesh, and mesh for our less endowed sisters. My skin is a gorgeous snakie release from Fallen Gods, the texturing fading from light to dark depending on where on the body, and available with several different face tints, including yellow and red.

My dress is another limited edition from Falln Angel Creations, a swirling and sparkly quasi-silks design with fun loops over the hips and a fantastic collar. I found this one very easy to fit, just a little resizing to fit from and back and I could swish my way out into the world. I added some gorgeous jewelry from Lemon Tea, a set of blown crystal bottles that almost vanished against a lighter skin but which show up gorgeously against this darker blue of my Fallen Gods skin. I added some nails from Musa, a celtic design with jewels on them, with recolorable nails in about ten colors; I rarely wear nails, but these were really fun and very easy to fit - they use a HUD based resize which means they're very inventory-friendly. Finally, I added these fantastic boots from Sakide, which have a Chinese Dragon motif near the top which I completely fell in love with. They're velvet platforms, which is really fun and different from all of my other thigh high boots.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Falln Gods, Draco Moonlight/Mithril  (Fantasy Faire Donation Item, promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow Mesh Eyes (promotional item)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Erika (Fantasy Faire Donation Item, promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Nails: Musa, Celtic Nails (Fantasy Faire Donation Item, promotional item)
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Satiya Dress (Fantasy Faire Donation Item, promotional item)
Jewelry: Lemon Tea, Elixir Jewelry (Fantasy Faire Donation Item)
Boots: Sakide, Appeal Velvet Boots (Fantasy Faire Donation Item)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Lotus Valley Dream
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Fantasy Faire: The Dragonspire

Ironically, The Dragonspire leads you downward into the depths, through a rabbit warren of stores to a central area, then down and under to a mysterious door leading to deep caves filled with mysterious crystals. The spire part is actually hidden on top behind vast rocks, but you have to really work to get up there and see the treasure which is worth a hundred peoples' lives to try to steal a single gem. Better to stay below the ground, far from where the dragon might see you and decide you look like hor d'oeuvres. I stuck to the lower chambers, feeling like a Petite even though I was a full sized avatar, aiming myself at giant crystals and snapping pictures as I went. I was guaranteed to match any of those crystals, too, in my absolutely gorgeous, completely rainbowtastic, fan-freaking amazing rainbow gown from Falln Angel Creations. This is not just a rainbow dress - it's a rainbow dress whose component parts cycle gently through the entire spectrum, giving you an everchanging panoply of rainbows and roses. The roses are of two parts, which means their middles change a hair before the edges, leaving you with some truly incredible combinations. I actually ended up taking the chest piece, shifting it around a little, and turning it into this really fun, rainbowtastic hairpiece as well; just call me the great modifyer. I'm also wearing color-changing boots, but unfortunately they're hidden under my voluminous skirts. Never fear, they will show up soon.

The eyeshadow and poses both come from the same store - a creation divide of intense proportions - Musa. There are a ton of eyeshadows being released, in single colors and fades both, with some really vibrant shades. They're very clean and bright, and the poses were a lot of fun. It's harder for me to review poses - by and large I love them all - but these seemed really nice, with some novel hand positions and, um... I'm all pretty and stuff? Something, something, I didn't even end up with my hand in my head much (I have proportional arms, which means for a lot of poses I end up with hands in faces). Look, pretty floaty hands. My hair is another from Wasabi Pills, and I really love the curls and wisps, and how well it fits my ears. *wiggles fingers* Jazzhands you've been entertained and now you want to buy things.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Candace (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow Mesh Eyes (promotional item)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Musa, Tarja 3
Mask: Illusions, Chickadee Mask
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Selene Mesh Hair (promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Calena Gown Rainbow
Shoes: Falln Angel Creations, Airlia Boots

Poses: Musa

Location: The Dragonspire
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Fantasy Faire: Titan's Hollow

Titan's Hollow is an absolutely amazing sim, and everyone should go and marvel.It's set up as a verdant valley with jewel-like buildings floating in the air above the water, with these stark, dark-leaved trees here and there, and I absolutely fell in love with it the second I landed - even if it wasn't the underwater environment I was originally seeking.It was an easy modification, though; I took off the fins I was trying to fit and put on this absolutely gorgeous gown from Falln Angel Creations, which is a Fantasy Faire exclusive release. I adore the sculpted roses swarming both over the bodice and at the hip, and the heavy fabric around the waist in an offset color. This is only one of many releases - I'll show off the remainder sometime soon, I promise. The skin I'm wearing is an astonishing new release from Plastik that came crammed with eyes, skin variations, and cosmetic additions. I ended up using the slightly reptilian face, but I also really liked the teardrop marks on the cheeks and I wish I could have combined them. Some of the eyes are in complementary colors, others in matching, and I ended up focusing on the latter for my look. A wide variety of colors are available from Plastik this Fantasy Faire - pretty much anything you can imagine - and I really recommend you swing by and take a look.

Pretty much the rest of my accessories, except for the ears and eyelashes, come from Bliensen + MaiTai, which I've already focused on once, but now I'm showing in the wild. You can see more the effect of the flexi-tendrils in my hair in these pictures, I think, and also how they change under different lights. I found as I wore the hair I got more and more used to it, almost not noticing that I have half an ocean in my locks. I ended up picking the shade of my Plastik skin to match my hair, and the forehead eye to also match my hair, and the dress... just because I really liked it. It's the sort of thing which happens when one has a folder full of things and starts mixing and matching and then gets distracted by a completely incredibly, gorgeous sim like Titan's Hollow. Seriously, go and check it out yourself - it is completely mind blowing.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Plastik, Arkasia - bras Kin (promotional item)
Eyes: Plastik, Bloodless - Gold (promotional item)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Hair: Bliensen + MaiTai, Undine (promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Calena Gown (FF Exclusive; promotional item)
Jewelry: Bliensen + MaiTai, Mine (promotional item)
Hands: SLink, Mesh Hands
Shoes: Bliensen + MaiTai, Pixie (promotional item)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Titans Hollow
Light Settings: Phototools - Horizon Building Light
Water Settings: Mirror Glass

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Monday Meme: What's in a Name?

’Tis but thy name that is my enemy;
Thou art thyself though, not a Montague.
What’s Montague? it is nor hand, nor foot,
Nor arm, nor face, nor any other part
Belonging to a man. O! be some other name:
What’s in a name? that which we call a rose
By any other name would smell as sweet;
So Romeo would, were he not Romeo call’d,
Retain that dear perfection which he owes
Without that title. Romeo, doff thy name;
And for that name, which is no part of thee,
Take all myself.

A lot of people forget that this speech comes in the context of Juliet not wanting the parentally-subsidized marriage at fourteen with Paris and seeing Romeo through a crowd as her escape from the prison being built around her. Both Romeo and Juliet are emotional, sensitive, impulsive creatures - Romeo literally begins the play lamenting his last lost love hours before falling for Juliet - and so in a way the idea that names are insignificant, that a rose would smell as sweet if it were called skunkweed, is basically flawed. The entire rest of the play gives lie to Juliet's words above, as the names Capulet and Montague destroy both of them as well as a significant chunk of collateral damage. Names, Shakespeare says, are important even when we wish they weren't.

1. What’s your SL name? Deoridhe Quandry (pronounced dthey-or-ee) 


2. What made you choose this name?
 
Deoridhe has been my name since around 1996, when it replaced the name I had "married" my then boyfriend on, Aesdana, which was my name for maybe six months. By then I was Asatru, and closest to Odin, but I was also drawn to the Irish language because it was part of my heritage, so I used an Irish/English dictionary to look up words I wanted to associate myself with. 'Deoiridhe' is on of the words in Irish for an outsider; I was looking for a word for wanderer but hadn't yet internalized what being a wanderer would mean in the Irish society of the time. I almost chose a word which was a grave insult in Irish, but luckily I reverse-checked all of my words and didn't want to be a traitor. Deoiridhe was the only word without the traitor implication. I dropped the second /i/ because in Unix your name needed to be only eight characters; now and then I consider picking up the /i/ again, since nine is a potent number for AsatruaR.

My original full name was: Deoridhe Faelis-Tiene and she was, is, and remains my Mary Sue with an overly complicated backstory. The different last names have come to represent different aspects of her, so Faelis-Tiene would be the oldest and original. Deoridhe Grimsdottir is who I identify with the most closely - the last name indication my relationship with Odin in his aspect as Grimnir, the masked one. A lot of people who know me as Quandry were shocked when I showed up as Grimsdottir because they didn't understand why I had a "new name," not knowing that me-as-Deoridhe predates the creation of Second Life. I selected the last name Quandry out of the ones there the week I signed up the second time because my friend liked it better than the other name I was tempted by, Constantine; the first time I signed onto Second Life I selected Starr because I like stars. I think Quandry fits me, as I'm rather strange and mercurial.




3. What’s your SL nickname, or what do most people call you? (if applicable) Most people call me Deo, pronounced either day-oh or dee-oh. I've had a few people call me Deor, and for a while I mispelled my name Deoridle and people called me day-oh-riddle, but Deo works.


4. What’s your SL display name? Why do you choose to have one? (if applicable) I don’t have one. I've considered switching to Deoridhe Grimsdottir, but it seems a little silly now.


5. Do you like your SL name? Love it.


6. If you could change your SL name, what would it be? I would like more Deoridhe's with different last names. I have six, but I would have liked a lot more. They're my little army of mes.


7. What’s the craziest/funniest SL name you’ve ever seen? I'm inordinately fond of all of the Wrigglesworth last names, with Pandora as my favorite. 


8. What’s the coolest (your favorite) SL name you’ve ever seen? Imnotgoing Sideways makes me giggle. I like any of the names which are puns, though; when I created my alphabet alts, I managed a few puns, like Under Highwater and Titillation Coy.

A few notes on my outfit, which is an amazing kimono from Falln Angel Creations that I found in his Spring Ostara hunt and attempted to style in a pale imitation of the seasonally driven kimono of the Geisha. I'm wearing an amazing skin from Flower & Willow, which specializes in looks for the Flower and Willow world where the Geisha shone at night. My gorgeous hair is from kisetsu, and I believe is for festivals but I may have mismatched a more formal Geisha style rather than something appropriate for my somewhat inept Maiko. The Maiko, who are learning to be Geisha, tend to be much more colorful and fluttery with elaborate items in their hair, while the mature Geisha is quieter and yet at the same time so much more skilled. I was aiming for a Maiko almost at the end of her training, squeezing the last bit of elaborate costuming out of the world before entering the more somber style of a full Geisha. I had planned to take pictures at somewhere I saw on my list of locations blogs but I lost the post; instead I ended up at Maruyama Hanamachi - Old Japan, and I consider myself the richer for finding this amazing sim.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Flower & Willow, Jnr Maiko Skin - Hairline
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusions, Seelie
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Silent Star - Baroque
Hair: kisetsu, Oshidori Hair
Kanzashi: Falln Angel Creations, April Kanzashi
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Kimono: Falln Angel Creations, Spring Green (Ostara Hunt Prize)
Hands: SLink, Mesh Hands
Nails: Adore & Abhor, Rhine & Rose

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Maruyama Hanamachi - Old Japan
Light Settings: Phototools - Dream Book  modified
Water Settings: Mirror Glass

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

50 Shades of Sexy: Intoxicate Me

This challenge was (heh) a challenge for me until I remembered Absinthe. I'm not a huge fan of dressing up with various alcohols, but somehow absinthe has eclipsed the normal scale of drink into something which inspires the most amazing fashions. I took a small detour for a while before I remembered I was supposed to be in lingerie, and then settled on this amazing set from Dilly Dolls from a twisted Hunt years ago. It was so old it came with those invisible blocks to clear out my feet instead of an invisible layer, but that was something fixed in a moment, and the rest of the set holds up very well despite the years! I stacked one of the two absinth sets from Falln Angel Creations on my head like a hat, tossed on some jewelry from Amorous on my wrists and around my neck, and dragged a very old monocle from Sanu out of the depths of my inventory to give the whole look that historical bent. The final touch was two of about half a million group gifts that Mockie gave us from her brand Mock - I almost wore out my fingers accepting them all! Every couple of months she goes on a gifting spree, and between that and the group clubhouse where you can try on things, there are a lot of advantages to being in her group!

In line with the words I wrote last week on Objectification, the simultaneously subversive and yet not quality of the 50 Shades of Sexy Challenge raised some comment on Shopping Cart Disco's SL Secrets. Using the word "whore," and followed up by a comment saying, "Being a slut/whore/skank/tramp/ect is not fashion style," I have to admit for a long moment I felt ashamed of the pictures I've taken so far. Anyone who has viewed my history of pictures knows I tend to vary my style quite a lot - everything from extremely demure Lolita styles to my new exploration of lingerie through this challenge. Dressing scantily seems to be more common than not, though, for several mostly-female subgroups on Second Life, though, and this fact has sometimes taken me up short.

I remember in particular meeting a woman wearing what amounted to loosely woven mesh who attempted to point me to the store and give me her physics layer so that I could improve my look; in a world where women are valued by our appearance of being available for sex, wearing a lot of clothing can be seriously discomforting. However, I'm more discomforted by being scantily clad - which is part of why I took part in this; being sexually objectified is inevitable when one is female, however Second Life offers and chance and a place to explore the ramifications of that, what it feels like, how we objectify or subjectify ourselves, and the relationship between semi-nudity and personality which subverts the idea of alluring women being blank slates for the sexual desires of others.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 04-A
Glass: Sanu, Scribble Monocle
Eyeshadow: Mock, Party All Night / Indifferent Bitter Lime (Group Gift)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick: Mock, Sarah Jane's Bloody Lips (Group Gift)
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Sachiko (promotional item)
Tray: Fallen Angel Creations, Absinthe Set Tray
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Hands: SLink, Mesh Hands
Jewelry: Amorous, Antiquarian Absinthe
Outfit: Dilly Dolls, Absynth Adorea (Past Twisted Hunt prize)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Green Fairy Cabaret
Light Settings: AnaLutetia - Studio Lights

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2012 Color Challenge: Week 50 - Gold

Gold is always a tricky thing to reproduce without the actual metal (and the ability to make things actually glimmer), but I don't think I did half bad.It is perhaps a little yellow for gold, but it was hard to find golds that weren't on the yellow side but still had a yellow hue - a lot were much more brown and dark. The dress is an awesome lucky chair prize from Indigo Oddities - the set she has up now are different, but equally awesome. I particularly like the snowflake detailing in the skirt, especially since they matched the awesome new shoes from katat0nik with snowflakes all over the socks! The ribbon along the top of the socks is totally cute, too, and if you look up close there are tiny white hearts all along the top ruffle. Seriously squeetastic! I matched it with this hugely puffy hair from Wasabi Pills; it has a slightly retro feel which I thought matched the outfit very well. The ribbon around the head is color changing with a HUD, and while it cuts into my ears a little, judicious angling manages that well.

The accessories were all pulled from a search for gold. Firstly, I finally got to use the awesome hair ornaments from Bliss Couture. I picked them up on a whim, but haven't found a look they worked with, so I was glad this one came along. I like how they poof up and weave into the existing ribbon on the Wasabi Pills hair. When I saw the bento box from Falln Angel Creations, I new immediately I had to include it. In addition to being totally cute and matching my hair ornaments, they also drop the cutest snacks all around when I have rezzing rights - snacks which anyone around can buy if they want! Finally, I added a cute jewelry set from Dark Mouse, a sort of mixed together style in the lighter shades of the dress. The cosmetics are hard to see due to the lighting, but I wanted a golden lip and so I layered a yellow gloss from Mock over a darker matte from Damned, and I think the effect was pretty spectacular. Finally, for the lighting shade I kept the red-yellow-blue tints from earlier pictures, and I think the hints of blue here and there keep the yellow from becoming too overpowering or cloying! Let me know what you think, though.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Eyelashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Glow, Crazy eye shadow
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick 1: Damned, Alice Lipstick Yellow
Lipstick 2: Mock, Lucir Lipcolor Narcissus
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Inchigo Mesh Hair - Golden (promotional item)
Flowers: Bliss Couture, Korin Hat - Gold
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Hands: SLink, Mesh Hands
Bracelet: Kyccie's Creations, Hopeful Flower Gold
Jewelry: Dark Mouse, Found Things Gold
Dress: Indigo Oddities, Nefarious Noel Gold
Bag: Falln Angel Creations, Bento Box Golden (rezzes buyable food)
Shoes: katat0nik, Snowflake T-strap Wedges

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Tiramisu Cafe
Light Settings: TOR, FOGGY Southern Delite
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Advent Gifts

The Advent season is a time of cheer in Second Life, particularly in the hands of generous creators! I have mixed feelings about Advent simply because I'm a forgetful fae and having to do something every day is pretty much designed to trip me up! So far I'm doing pretty well, though; almost everything I'm wearing is an Advent prize I've gotten over the past eight days, though all muddled up and needless to say not available anymore. The dress is from Falln Angel Creations, and is one of the many free things available at the store; there's an advent tree along with additional lucky prizes under the tree nearby and a free gift every time you enter the store as well! The glasses and horns are fun gifts from 22769, one of the more confusingly named stores, but definitely a generous creator. I'm particularly fond of the horns, with their flickering candles giving off light. The cosmetics on my eyes are from Elymode, and there are also outfits in the offing - a picture above the Advent prizes shows ranges of prizes to tempt you. The amazing hair with red and green highlights are from Alice Project, and she's releasing a new hair a day with the special coloring, which is really fun! Finally, the necklace and ring are from Ginza, and I really have loved a lot of the other jewelry releases already, so I'm looking forward to blessings in the days to come.

SL Blogger Support has a sweet list of Advent Prizes, some of which don't start until the twelve days before Christmas. I don't know o anyone who is actually together enough to show off all of the prizes every day, but personally I identify the stores I really like the products of and then swing around them every day! Other stores I've been going to include Adorkable Poses, Swayland, Hopscotch, and Dark Moon Creations - all of them have really awesome prizes. I meant to use some of the poses, but I utterly forgot until after the pictures were taken (remember what I said about forgetful?). I'm having fun hunting out wintery sims and posing in inappropriate clothing all over them, though! A lot of places have decorated, though I always wonder if it's completely weird for people on the southern half of the planet, where it's summer right now.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De la Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Glasses: 22769, X-Mas Glasses - fir green (Advent Prize)
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Eyelashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Holiday Liner and Shadow - gold (Advent Prize)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Lipstick: L. Fauna, Red 1
Lipgloss: Mock, Mizu Venetian Red
Hair: Alice Project, Hyori Christmas (Advent Prize)
Horns: 22769, X-Mas Aries Horns (Advent Prize)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Hands: SLink, Mesh Hands
Necklace: Ginza, Dove necklace (Advent Prize)
Ring: Ginza, Bird ring (Advent Prize)
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Amrita Gown (Advent Prize)
Shoes: G Field, Slingback Shoes

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Incendia Outdoors
Light Settings: Paulina, Fairy Dark Blue
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Freebie Central: Falln Angel Creations Brains Hunt

Every fall, Falln Angel Creations does a massive Halloween Hunt - and this year is no exception. Going until November 2 at 3AM SLT, and encompassing both of Falln's two sims (The Main Store and the Sanitarium), fifty brains have been removed from Azriel's loyal Angels and hidden all over - on the floor, on walls, even sneaking up the ceiling on spiders' backs. It is a massive undertaking to find them, but sometimes if you're lucky you can go to Falln's Facebook page and find hints as to where some of them are hiding. Each prize is a single Linden, and here's the astonishing thing - each prize is one full item from Falln's stock. My dress? one of the prizes. My hair? A prize along with three siblings. My skin? A prize. My ears? A prize. In fact, everything you see except for my eyes are a prize in this astonishing hunt. There are fifty brains hidden all over with clothing, animations, even furniture and decorations, all over two sims - this is a hunt not to be missed!

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Falln Angel Creations, Persephone Dark Feminine (1$L Hunt Prize)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Falln Angel Creations, Elf Ears - Eless (1$L Hunt Prize)
Hair: Falln Angel Creations, Tantarra - BrightBlue (1$L Hunt Prize) 
Wings: Falln Angel Creations, Bugs Wings - Orange (1$L Hunt Prize) 
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Harumi Gown - Orange(1$L Hunt Prize)
 
Poses: Glitterati

Location: Falln Angel Creations: Sanitarium
Light Settings: Places Abracadabra3
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Closing Sadness

A few months back, two of Falln Angel Creations' sims closed, and we all were very sad. Now another one is on the chopping block - this time his home sim of Sanctuary, a charming flow of seasons into other seasons with houses tucked here and there in among the decorations. I'm starting my photography in the swamp, one of the later additions to the sim, but I'm going to do my best to sneak around to different areas for the purposes of photography before it starts to disappear later this week. Falln also has a hunt coming up at the end of the month; his hunts are among the most generous on Second Life - usually 30-50 items, all priced a linden and all full items form his stores. Swing by and take advantage of the beauty while it's still here, and dream of some day when it might be back again.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyelashes 2: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyeshadow: Virtual Insanity, Fairy - Grass
Lipstick: Mock, Glasside Lip - Flame Pea
Hair: Secrets Hair, Lila - Plantinum
Wings: Illusions, Chibi Angel Wings
Dress: Sublime Shroud Kreations, Ashura the Witch
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands (New Release)
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Phoebe Mesh Laced Boots

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Falln Sanctuary
Light Settings: TOR, NIGHT Bright Blue Horizon
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Prarie Latex

One of the things which can be fun about Second Life is the juxtaposition of very dissimilar things - like my shiny, latex dress from Falln Angel Creations and the down home country views at Noweeta Grassland. There's no way a shiny latex dress, laced down to forever and flipping slipperily in the wind would work in an actual prairie, but in Second Life there is neither heat nor sweat nor little midges to make a photoshoot unbearable. I love the layering of textures, though, and the distant vistas stretching out and concealing the water around the edges, making this less an island and more in line with a prairie. It's a dry, arid place with little pools of water - one tiny lake and a small forest hung with balloons by the house. I found it through the Destination Guide, which I must say is getting a lot fuller recently, which can be very helpful for finding curious places in Second Life. Unfortunately, as of the last Firestorm update my slplugin is acting up again (it always does; I'm never sure what fixes it) so I can only access the destination guide outside of Second Life, rather than inside of it. Otherwise, I'm finding the latest Firestorm a lovely thing, as always, though I haven't yet tried to turn on shadows and see if I still crash!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De la Soul, RooMee Rainbow
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Souzou Eien, Fairy Eyes Ocean (Lucky Board Prize)
Lipstick: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss - Apple Blossom
Hair: Clawtooth, Wildflower (Collabor88)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle Wings
Jewelry: Earthstones, Shells & Pearls (Collabor88)
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Auria Outfit - Aqua (50$L Sale)
Shoes: Falln Angel Creations, Ambrosia Boots - Aqua

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Noweeta Grassland
Light Settings: Places Las Legunas
Water Settings:

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Crying to take Pictures

This photoshoot has been a royal pain to take. After several days of effortless pictures - which resulted in a slew of blogposts - this one completely hung me out to dry. There's a mesh body glitch where your eyeballs become enlarged, covering up the area around them and looking very strange - I had that in all these pictures, hence no closeup. It was so incredibly frustrating! I finally just took these pictures and called it a day. Luckily, even if I don't look my best, the stuff I'm wearing is unparalleled in cool.

These awesome boots are a new release from Vanilla C. Designs; they're mesh and completely awesome - down to details like the zipper up the back. The heel is tall but well formed into the sole of the shoe, and I love how the boots are slightly but not extremely pointed. I have fairly fat calves and was able to fit into the S/M set, but as always with mesh - try the demos first! My outfit is a gorgeous dress from Fallen Angel Creations. It's a tabard style robe with long, swoopy sleeves also tabard cut, and comes in a huge variety of colors. I couldn't resist it in teal, even with a plunging neckline that makes me blush! I put some stockings from PixelDolls underneath, which matched the color perfectly, but it can also be worn bare for an even more revealing look.

My hair is a very fun updo from Tribal Soul Designs, complete with a long flexy ponytail. Since there's a significant prim part to the hair, it stays up and poofy more effectively than flexi alone, and I was easily able to modify it around my new and shiny, yet space-taking-up ears. I love the little wisps in front of the ears! Details like that really make an updo look. The jewelry is a repeat from Elemental, this time with the matching bracelets. Don't those look amazing? There is also a matching hairpiece. I ran out to pick up this in teal after showing it off in blue - and I think I own several more colors. I have more to show off from her, but it'll take my shape cooperating! I finished off the look with this awesome lip shade released from A. E. Meth from the special ice cream event last month at Motif.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

 Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose (promotional item)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Seelie Ears
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Mock, Heterochromia eShadow for Blue and Green
Lipstick: A. E. Meth, Matte Lip Tints - Slushie
Hair: Tribal Soul, Kahl - Platinum
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Elemental, Audrey Set - Teal
Outfit: Falln Angel Creations, Tittli Dress - Black Aqua
Stockings: PixelDolls, Leggings Teal Lace Webbing
Heels: VC Designs, M-001 Black Leather Boots - mesh (promotional item)

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Neva River
Light Settings: TOR, SUNSET Blue Inspiration
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2012 Fantasy Faire: Shadow's Claw

Shadow's Claw is, in many ways, the most realistic of the sims. No giant sandstorms, no enormous plants or buildings made of butterflies. It's a barren, rocky place covered in pine trees and topped with an enormous castle ridged with dragons.Ships have been broken against it's rocky shoals and dragons roost on it's roofs in wooden finery. There isn't snow, but the whole sim has the breath of icy days just behind us, a warm season not yet begun. You have to be careful of the law, to, as being caged and left to the elements seems a common punishment.

It's a perfect place to keep your down for a while until you're ready to take off in summer - and this new skin from Fallen Gods, called Feathers, is a perfect blend of anthropomorphic and birdlike. The copper in particular looks statuesque, shapes carved into solid metal and gleaming slightly as I move through the light. I added Falln Angel Creations' Owl gown, leaving the cloak and collar off so you can see the feathered textures across my chest. I really want to do something with even less clothing, though; the texturing is so amazing, it's difficult to show it off as it deserves.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Fallen Gods, Feathers - HAWK flame (promotional item, Fantasy Faire Donation)
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH (promotional item)
Ears: Illusion, Mystic Fairy Ears
Eyelashes: *X*plosion, Prim Lashes
Wings: Favole, Laced Phoenix
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Owl Gown (promotional item, Fantasy Faire Donation)
Boots: SLink, Tall Leather Thigh Boots

Poses: Long Awkward Pose

Location: Shadow's Claw sponsored by T R I D E N T
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Baskaholic
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2012 Fantasy Faire: Falln Angel Creations

I have the great pleasure of showing off all of Falln Angel Creations' exclusive items for Fantasy Faire, and Azriel really pulled out all the stops this year. His first outfit seems like it was made for me - it's RAINBOW! A set of rainbow silks is a really amazing thing, and these also have a velvety texture and a beautiful pattern on them. They come with two bikinis - one set black, and the other white. They can be mixed and matched, as you see in the middle. There's also a scarf that hangs over the back. All of the outfits are modify-ok, which means if things are a little too long it's easy to shorten them up. I found it fit mostly out of the box, though; I just needed to make the hips a little narrower. If you love this style, there are many other silks in a wide variety of colors available.

The Mianoa robes are one of my favorites;I own this outfit in orange, and featured it on my blog. The combinations of colors is really striking, and if you're prone to being a wandering ghost to terrify the grid you really can't do much better - whether your of a fiery nature or more icy.. Like most filmy outfits, you will have to deal with alpha occlusion errors, but the layering of levels seems to balance it out nicely and I didn't have too much difficulty snapping these pictures (everything is unedited - this is how it looked in Second Life). I adore the corset style on this outfit in particular - I love the dark tone and the curve of cloth around the waist; it makes me enormously happy. This is a bit of a more complicated fit for me, since I'm a round fae, but I think most body types will find it fits easily out of the box.

Anyone who lived through the eighties should recognize this outfit from the movie Labyrinth - only remade in shades of red and black instead of the white and cream in the movie. This is a men's outfit, but all I had to do to fit it was to reform the ruffles on the chest. it comes with the boots and the necklace - both also in the style of the movie. As you can see the boots are a touch too large, but I rather liked the effect; like I stole into Jareth's closet and went wandering around in his clothes. I particularly like the cloak in this outfit - it really looks raggedy and rough.

Not to be undone by Sarah's clothing, Azriel made this awesome dress for women to match the Owl Outfit - complete with the amazing feathered collar. If you clook closely, you can see the collar isn't quite fitted perfectly; I'm going to need to sit with it a while to move feathers around to fit my tinier neck. It looks amazing to me, though - the rich texture off the shoulders, the matching roughness of the skirt. I see matching up my boyalt with Deoridhe in concordant outfits for some future pictures; I really think these outfits would look very striking together; if you aren't as fond of red, both are available in an enormous amount of other colors at Falln Angel Creations' Main Store.

Sanaka is another outfit I've featured before, and is another dear favorite of mine. I love the skirt, and the amazing arm and leg bands. In this case, Azriel took single colored petals and re-imagined them as a fade. I love the combination of gold tips with the cooler inner petal colors and the slightest hint of red at the heart. It's really an amazingly striking, and I hung out in it for a while once I was done with pictures, just to enjoy. The only thing which would have made me happier, was if the petals were RAINBOW!

Next faire, Az! Next faire.

( All pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow MESH
Eyeshadow: Damned, Rainbow 2 II
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelases 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick: Mock, Opal Lipcolor Dark Kiss
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Shiki Mesh Hair (promotional item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Outfit: Falln Angel Creations promotional items
Feet: SLink, Women's Natural Barefeet - rigged mesh

Poses: Glitterati

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, mixing, and reorganizing

Orange Poppies

This photoshoot was a long time in coming - effectively a week! - but I think I've finally figured out the problems and mostly solved them, thanks to Phoenix's excellent troubleshooting guide. Three small changes to my system, and my lag is less than half and I can easily move between windows again. Go go documentation! I underestimated the wonderful stress relief picture taking is for me, though; this week has been a torment of not being able to create pretty pictures, and I'm entirely thrilled to be back to my old self. The dress I'm wearing was part of a total impulse look together as I was sorting my inventory - which is immense I'll note. I finished Falln Angel Creations' Ostara hunt recently and had been sorting through it, and this was one of the prizes - can you believe it was only a single linden? I think for the next hunt I'll try to do some pictures earlier on; far too few people were hunting this Spring, and I can only guess people haven't heard it's going on. In any case, I have this dress in pink, but I love it in orange as well, and when I found the fantastic orange poppies in Crommhold I knew I needed to take a picture with me and them, as if I'd just burst forth from one of them to full size.

The hair is a fantastic new release from Analog Dog, which is becoming one of my standard hair stores. I love the uniqueness of the style in particular, the combination of braid and curls to make a truly unique hairstyle. I paired up eyeshadow from Mock and lipstick from L Fauna for the facial look; Mock had this great release of incredibly bright eyeshadows that really capture the spirit of the whole look, and I love L Fauna's lips for their bright shades and delicate curve. My little dolly is a gatcha prize from katat0nik, a milk doll! She just recently released necklaces, too, which means I'll be back to obsessively putting money in a little machine and hearing GLaDOS dispensing my product. If you're on my friendslist and you're on when I'm indulging, you may end up with a few of my extras - earlier this week I was passing off balloons and milk dolls to a half dozen people. Finally, no fairy is complete without her cute bare feet, and SLink does my favorite feet of all; I could even tint the toenails orange to match my dress!

I reconnected with some old friends recently, and I'm really thrilled that I'm fondly remembered and had a warm welcome. I also have apologies to make to two other friends, but I'm struggling with the words. I think it's hard to make amends even when you're really aware of how profoundly you screwed up; there's always the fear that it's simply not enough! I'm determined, though. I've been thinking of this for months, and I need to act before April ends. I have a lot of things to do before April ends, in fact; things which will hopefully shift my balance a bit away from online and toward offline. My review at work has left me feeling energized and positive, and I'm determined to use that energy for the very best purposes to move myself toward the futures I want to have within my grasp.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee - rainbow (mesh, promotional item)
Eyelashes 1: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A Planty
Eyeshadow: Mock, Faerie Punque in Lime
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Lipstick: L.Fauna, Orange
Glasses: Air, Cresta
Hair: Analog Dog, Evoke - blonde
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Sanaka Dress - orange
Doll: katat0nik, Strawberry Milk - orange
Feet: SLink, Jolie Pied V3 Medium

Pose: Long Awkward Pose

Location: Crommhold
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY - Vintage Village
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only