Fall in the Spring

It's such a strange thing, how seasons work. If you only view the world through a narrow lens, they are very straightforward. The second you widen your gaze, they become infinitely more complex. For example, one of the interesting stories of the Greeks is about Persephone - who as Kore was kidnapped into the Underworld by her Uncle Hades, who decided he wants her. As I learned the story, she was kidnapped in fall and that is why we have winter - Demeter causes the world to die until her brother-in-law returns her daughter to her - but in the original Greek cycle it happened in spring, and the burning dryness of the summer when nothing could grow and everything dried hollow was when Demeter removed her bounty. The whole myth was quietly re-imagined to fit a new environment, and the original turning of the year was left unremarked and unrealized for many who heard the story who lived in Northern Climes, where summer is growth and winter is death instead of vice versa. One of the side effects of a wider distribution of culture is that it has lost touch with on-the-ground experiences; there's an aspect of unreality which is part of universality - the more abstract we are, the farther we are from the blood and bone of life.

This look was inspired by a dress I fell in love with when I saw it on SL Freebie Hunters when they covered the Twisted Hunt, and so I had to have it. These days, I rarely do a full hunt, and so sites like SL Freebie Hunters do me a major service by sharing all of the different options so that I can pick and choose. It's based off of a well made template, complete with full interior texturing, and lacy edging. The texturing job Shoenique did was amazing; I adore the flame effects and layered levels of black, and I decided to go full on candle frame for the rest of the look. The stockings are also a freebie in the twisted hunt, this time from Witches & Rats. It comes with appliers for SLink feet, which I used, and Phat Azz appliers. I really love the stars and moons, and definitely need these in more colors. The rest of my look isn't free, but I think you'll find this amazing hair from Underscore is well worth the cost - especially with these beautiful flowers to tuck in. Both the hair and the flowers have color-changing HUDs, and they're editable so you're able to further tint them to match a look. My shoes, which are totally adorable, come from Has Been and are also both HUD tintable and manually tintable - I am loving this trend. I went with blue and white to represent the heart of the candle flame, where the fire is brightest. I shelled out for the light and dark fatpack, which means that I could mix and match dark and light shades. I'm really on fire this Spring, I think.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Underscore, Come Undone
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Lipstick: Adore & Abhor, Shreveport Lips
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands and Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands and Feet
Dress: Shoenique, On Fire (Twisted Hunt)
Stockings: Witches & Rats, Witchy Socks (Twisted Hunt)
Shoes: Has Been, Dizzy Peep Toe

Poses: Exposeur

Location: Havendale Village
Light Settings: TOR, DUSK Beachin'
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

I Can Haz Promoshunz: Beach Comber

I wasn't quite ready to give up summer yet - as you can see from my selections of bright, colorful, and warm weather clothing. One of the nice things about Second Life is that even when it's icy outside, you can find a bright and sunny place and live out dreams of a deserted island in summer. At Retropolis, I found myself on a storm-driven ship nearly swallowed by giant tentacles, but that horrific image was quickly replaced with blue seas and warm golden sands (click on the genie to escape the storm!).

I've crammed a lot onto one little avatar, so I'm just going to start from the top and move down. The hat is a special creation from De La Soul that I have on good authority will be released as a group gift in December. The texture is an explosion of rainbow, and the band and feathers are both color changing! It is, aptly enough, named The Deo. You'd think I tortured Charlie until he made me rainbows, or something. Hee hee hee. The hair is a fantastic release from Me., and comes in a wide variety of colors with a base color and highlights. I paired a slightly darker blond with a lighter one, to reflect the sunkissed nature of my avatar! The skin is from Perception, which is a new-to-me store! It has a very interesting philosophy about skins - seasons based with Summer being this rosy tanned one I'm wearing now - and cosmetics - based on time of day, they allow a variety of styles for different levels of makeup, from simple designs meant for daytime wear to the full eyecolor of this evening look. The lipstick is on the skin, and the eyecolors come separately, which allows for a lot of mix and match.

I added some piercings to celebrate this very different, tanned look I built - from Acide!, which does some amazing designs. Each section of the piercing comes with it's own shadow. On the one hand, this adds a real verisimilitude. On the other hand, this made fitting them to my face took a while! I had to edit and rotate several of the shadows to lie appropriately on the curves of my face. I added a gorgeous little butterfly from Je taime to my collarbone instead of a necklace, and I really like the effect with the rest of my loose, relaxed look. The dress from Paris Metro really fit the mood perfectly, too - it's lose, and flowy, with a tail style skirt which would hang in the hair for several seconds, allowing for some really fun picture opportunities. The prim parts are modify-ok, which made fitting the sleeves to my shorter arms a snap; you just have to edit single prims if your arms are shorter and/or wider than the usual. I finished the whole look off with a pair of shoes I bought ages ago from SHOEnique. I got them literally because they were rainbow, and then this outfit showed me why I had kept them in my inventory - they look made for this!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: Perception, Sara - Summer (Promotional Item)
Cosmetics: Perception, Evening Set 1b (Promotional Item)
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: *X*plosion, PrimLashes
Piercings: Acide!, Mel - Rouge (Promotional Item)
Hair: Me., Jacqui (Promotional Item)
Hat: De La Soul, Defora Basic - The Deo (Promotional Item)
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears
Butterfly: Je taime, Sculpted an animated butterfly (Promotional Item)
Dress: Paris Metro, Artist Series - Betty Tureaud Gown (Promotional Item)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: SHOEnique, Flower Power Hippy Wedges

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Retropolis
Light Settings: Paulina, Fairy Blue
Water Settings: Pond

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only