Rainbows for Luna!

Luna started the color challenge - the first challenge I successfully followed for a whole year! Can you believe it? In thanks and appreciation, the suggestion was made to take pictures of rainbows for Luna and dedicate a post to our experiences and appreciation.

I love the idea of a challenge around colors because, in a lot of ways, it's a fairly low bar. I've been afraid of the Alphabet challenge because it seems a bit more of a challenge than I can afford - especially given my dearth of skins. Colors, on the other hand, rather come naturally to me and are adaptable from one thing to another. And, as many people know, rainbows are my particular love. (The dress is not publicly available, but single color versions of it with black trim instead of white are purchasable from Falln Angel Creations. The rainbow version is MINE ALL MINE, though!)

I love them because they are one of the only things where being different is not only possible, but required for the rainbow to function. So often people laud diversity in the abstract, then attempt to crush it in the actual because it shows up in the form of dissent, or argument, or disagreement. The best rainbows, though, are when the green is the best green it can be, and the blue is at it's most blue, and the red is so very red it takes your breath away. Each color has to be itself - orange must be it's very orangeness, and purple cannot escape from being so very purple - in order for the rainbow to even be a rainbow. If yellow were not yellow, the rainbow would no longer exist.

So often in the world, people try to make blue or green people into yellow or red ones; people say they want rainbows, then demand everyone conform to orange, or purple, or teal. Many times the words obscure the actions, making people think diversity is there when it's not, but in a rainbow, if orange were to become green, then everyone would notice right away!

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelashes 5A
Hair: Rezipsa Loc, Ellen - blond
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Wings: Falln Angel Creations, Deo Custom Wings
Dress: Falln Angel Creations, Deo Custom Gown
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Stockings: G Field, Button Socks - overknee offwhite
Shoes: De La Soul, Cavas Flats LoveFlowers

Poses: AO

Location: Slitheen
Light Settings:Midday

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Castle Arcanum

I've taken photos outside in Arcanum before, but it wasn't until the Peatonville Hunt that I realized how much inside there is! This is a small look at a couple of rooms - I was most taken by one of the mage rooms, with an entire window of amazing, glowing, gorgeous plants along one side. My favorite is definitely the musical box flower, though I think the stained glass flower reflects my clothing the most! My dress is a gorgeous new release from Dilly Dolls with a slightly retro-fifties feel to it; I'm really fond of the hint of animal print along the bust line and the hem of the dress - it takes an older design and makes it unique. It's released for the Vintage Faire and available in a variety of colors, though I'm really partial to this teal!

I paired it with a new hair from Tribal Soul; I'm not usually a "hat hair" kind of person, but this one was adorable, and the floofy hair really seemed to suit the sleeker, simple style of the hat. It's fully editable, so you can do things like tint the hat - like I did - to match an unusually colored dress. I added in a new release of eyeshadow from Adam n Eve (I'm getting so addicted to being able to change cosmetics - I can barely remember what it was like to be stuck with one makeup style!) and used the nude lips from my favorite De La Soul skin because the faint pink seemed to complement the vibrant teal I'm covered in. (On a side technical note, I'm trying linking to all the stores of the things I'm wearing - but it's a huge pain in the ass. Comment if you think it's worth it, or if I should let everyone use the search function, like the gods intended.)

One of the enjoyable and frustrating parts about Second Life - and life in general - is that there is so much going on and only a limited amount of time to react and a limited amount of attention to give. Life begins to be a series of priority lists - do I want to do this, or this? How can I combine multiple goals? Is that really worth my time to do? I spent that amount of time to do WHAT??? Trying to finish up one of those damn Sims Online challenges in a week, I found myself spending an hour waiting for different rooms to load and my desire to continue, to try, to even care was waning quickly. One of the mental fallacies people struggle with is the Sunk Cost Fallacy, and a lot of Facebook games seem to hinge on these. One side effect of Sunk Cost leveraging, though, is when the current challenge is severe enough and the current results are thin enough that it's worth not sinking more time and energy into it. I find the Sims Online rapidly moving into that along with Farmville; in both cases, the time spend doing things is increasingly not worth the reward - the mental space it needs to take up in my head is not worth the fun I get out of it.

Developers - don't rely on Sunk Cost too much; when you hit the tipping point, the loss of interest is rapid.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyeliner: Adam n Eve, Hepsut
Eyeshadow: Adam n Eve, Glitz Groovy Greens G
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelashes 5A
Hair: Tribal Soul, Vodka - Platinum (Promotional Item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Jewelry: Eclectica, Pearl Mixables - Deco Redux
Dress: Dilly Dolls, Delilah - Teal (Promotional Item)
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Square-toe Shoes - Sophie

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Arcanum
Light Settings: TOR, MIDDAY Coral Reef

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

A Doll's Life

Mesh is a somewhat controversial thing in Second Life right now, both because it's not currently deforming in reaction to most aspects of peoples' shapes, and because a lot of people still use browsers you can't see mesh on. Full mesh avatars are even more controversial, because they can't work with system layers at all, which means that only full mesh or full prim clothing will work on full mesh avatars. I have a soft spot for Ball Jointed Dolls, though, and so when I heard about Doll Coco coming out with mesh Ball Jointed Dolls, I hurried over to check it out. Sadly, so far it doesn't work with any of my other mesh clothing (I tried it with a Dilly Doll's dress and the doll body stuck out unnaturally) but it does work with prim hair and my prim wings, as well as prim accessories like this Dilly Dolls packaging (post on newest Dilly Doll releases to follow, assuming I don't become completely distracted by something shiny). Have I mentioned I love the new trend in awesome item packaging? I have a folder labeled "cool packaging" that will be gradually showing up in my posts (assuming I don't become completely distracted by something shiny).

SOMETHING SHINY!!!!!

Oh, wait, what was I saying?

Oh, right. One of the nice things about the Doll Coco setup is that the body and one outfit is free, and the heads aren't too high priced for what they are (450$L). However, other mesh attachments, like this awesome dress I'm wearing, are on the high end of what I'm willing to spend on clothes at around (others are available for cheaper, but the dress I'm wearing is 750$L and other full-body outfits are in a comparable range, with the cheapest at 300$L). There also isn't a large selection in mesh clothing yet, though more is showing up including some separates. What this means is that in general, your doll may have one or two outfits (if you spend the linden) but for the moment the styles and colors you can wear are very restrictive - and I'm sure there are no few people who will find that a serious sticking point. One of my friends also found that her shape became somewhat "broken" when she moved between the mesh avatar and her regular shape - something else to keep in mind.

What non-mesh compatible browsers will see.

I know this sounds like a total downer, but really I found myself charmed by my doll, and I'm considering using it as the basis for a bunch of inventory-pictures of my group poses due to it being both highly stylized and yet still very attractive. The jointing is exquisite (not that you can see in my pictures) and the face and hand poses are completely charming. It really looks like a ball jointed doll in a way which skins on a regular avatar simply cannot. I'm sure as time goes on, more clothing will be made and perhaps a few more free outfits will round out the offerings and offer some variety in style and color. In addition, the new parameter distorter thingies being made might enable mesh clothing to be fittable over the Doll Coco mesh with some modifications of shape. We're still in the infancy of mesh, but the possibilities seem really exciting and I'm enjoying being on the cuttingish edge (even if it is hard on a girl's wallet!).

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Mesh Avatar: Doll CoCo, Body Snow
Mesh Head: Doll Coco, Alice
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Chloe Hair - Flaming Cherry
Dress: Doll Coco, Classic Dress - Floral Red
Doll: Dilly Dolls, Packaging

Location: Alchemy Immortalis
Light Settings: TOR, EUPHORIA low saturation

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Newbie Challenge II - A and I

I have something shameful to admit - I have an alt for every letter of the alphabet.

I know, I know, get over your giggles. I plead being addicted to lucky chairs; there is something very powerful about sitting at a board and systematically clicking through it until a question mark or a D finally show up! It's saved me a lot of time on all but the group-only boards where the groups cost money; otherwise I'm set; it's also saved a gathering of people groaning out about the fifth U in a row!

One of the fun side-effects of this has been trying to set up a variety of avatars with very little money - so the lot of them are perfect for Gogo's Newbie Challenge II (and you'll get to see one "look" from each over the course of however long it takes me to get through the alphabet!).  I'm starting at the beginning - with A (in purple) - who was actually a roleplaying alt and not a lucky chair alt. Doesn't she look amazing?

Deoridhe is rather an Aryan's wet dream, so I often try to go into completely different directions with alts - also it's more fun! A, by contrast, is meant to be Igbo (or at least Ghanese) and is in my head as my 'classy/stylish' alt. I try to dress her in semi-formal dress and modern casual, styles that Deoridhe tends to not wear and which don't look as good on her as on A's lanky frame. In my head she has a slight Caribbean accent from moving there later in life. She does bring up, for me, the question of how appropriate it is to go cross-cultural, especially when one is offline rather an Aryan's wet dream. Deoridhe is based off of my appearance - blond, blue, and pale; and while I try to not approach A with a stereotypical attitude, it's difficult to know how many stereotypes I've accumulated without noticing and then played out through her - thus disrespecting a whole lot of people who don't deserve that disrespect.

One of the things I decided when I made her, though, is that her hair would be as accurate as I could get in Second Life - so when I discovered this Discord Designs hair I was utterly in love. it's a complicated bit of braiding, and would require use of wire, but the end result is striking. Prior to this I had her in long braids, having been unable to find a shorter style I really liked and yet didn't look Asian or European in texture.Hair and African Americans seem to have a tumultuous history, so while I'm not sure the issues are applicable to a Ghanese woman, I'm aware of the dangers of sticking European-style hair in black on the head of a Ghanese woman and calling it a day.

A's skin is a new player gift from Tea Lane - an excellent shade of chocolatey brown; I very specifically wanted a dark shade, not one of the lighter ones, because you see many fewer avatars on Second Life with truly dark skin. I have my eye on some other brands, but this one fits under the 550$L limit! The eyes are courtesy of Little Boy Blue and are made to seem as if the entirety of the night sky are within your eyelids.There's even a prim addition which moves, as if the sky were slowly turning within your gaze. The dress is from Pixel Dolls and is one of the lower price choices that I really love. The texturing on it is divine, and while it's one of the older offerings, it still stands up against newer clothing. The shoes are cheapies from Glad Rags. I didn't add any cosmetics, but the skin came with a bit of shine to it which I think really suits the entire effect.

The entire look came to a grand total of 510$L, but I think it looks like a million bucks!

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Deoridhe (totally over 550$L):

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyeliner: Boom, Midas Touch Liner
Lipgloss: Mock, Bella Vetro Gloss
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ears - Fairy
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelashes 5A
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Ryoko Hair - Golden
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: katat0nik, Sweetness Dress - yellow
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Square-toe Shoes "Sophie" - yellow

A (510$L Total):

Skin: TL, Chocolate Skin (0$L - new player gift)
Eyes: Little Boy Blue, Eshu eyes (75$L)
Hair: Discord Designs, Gaijin (180$L)
Dress: PixelDolls, Porcelain (250$L)
Shoes: Glad Rags, Folden Boots Black (5$L)

Poses: Glitterati and Long Awkward Pose

Location: Point of Derivation
Light Settings: Purple
Water Settings: Glassy

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Pandamonium

I have a friend who loves Pandas. Pandas love bamboo. Bamboo and Pandas both show up in China. This photoshoot was totally obvious.

I've been reading a lot recently about identity, different ways one expresses identity, what being plugged into the internet means, etc... Largely, though, I'm trying to figure out what new blogging site I want to sign up with, or if I want to go back to my still existent Livejournal. Google is rapidly moving toward mandating Google+ with all their products, which means soon I won't have a blog, a video account, or an email account. Any suggestions would be appreciated - right now I'm looking closest at Wordpress, but am impeded by having made an account there and forgotten the password.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin, Ears: Draconic Kiss, Pandamonia Skin Set
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Vicky Hair - Iceburg
Headband: Silent Sparrow, Jolie Headband
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Draconic Kiss, Pandamonia Dress
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Bow Strap Shoes "Kate" - black

Pose: Glitterati, 061

Location: China
Light Settings: Places Wiccan

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Ahern

My initial account, in 2006, bypassed the "starting areas" of Second Life - the telehubs - which again are mostly unused these days since new players are sent to anywhere on the Destination Guide. When I rejoined in 2008, I was immediately dragged to Lolita Malls and Camping Chairs, again bypassing what seems to be a rite of passage for a lot of people in Second Life. I don't know if anything would have been different if in 2006 I had been directed somewhere instead of dumped in an empty place on the grid, dazed and confused. I suppose some of it might have depended on who I met, if I'd been directed somewhere; I found Ahern less than compelling, but at least there are people! And the view isn't bad, ne?

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Lipstick: Mock, Micare LipGlimmer - Mandarin Sparkle
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Yuna's Hair, Marie
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: Dilly Dolls, Adelle Stripey
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Ribbon Slingback Shoes - royal blue

Pose: Poise, Academy Kiera

Location: Ahern
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Hong Kong special

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

How Not to Pick Up a Chick in Second Life: Episode Six

Sometimes I think there's no way I'll be surprised by how rude or crass a stranger might be. While taking the above photograph, someone contacted me to show how wrong I am.

[20:32] Complete Asshole "Rascal": hi you have flowers for nipples what do you have dowe south  he he
[20:32] Deoridhe Quandry: Excuse me?
[20:33] Complete Asshole "Rascal": not sure wha tyou did but okay your excused

I think what bothers me most is that there's no effective way to counter this; to be female is to get, unsolicited, grossly sexual comments from strangers.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Lipmark: Adam n Eve, Lip Strip Heart Black
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Truth, Kalia
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Necklace: Miel, Sen Necklace
Outfit: artMEfashion, Steampatch Bloomersuit Brown
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: G Field, Short Lace Up Boots

Pose: Long Awkward Pose

Location: Peatonville Mystery
Light Settings: Lunar Morning

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Ghosts

Sometimes, a theme is done around a store - in this case I tried to put on as many Favole things as I could and then went to town for pictures! I mixed in a collar from a different purchase time and threw in some bloody black wings to match the slashes on this dress - one of Favole's only piece of clothing! I'm also wearing Favole shoes, but they're hard to see under all the skirt (the skirt has fantastic movement - slightly slowed so it looks just a little eerie).

One note about Favole collars - some are resizable (either through scripts or editing) and some are not. I have a few I only wear with long hair because my neck is too thick for them; I think most people have narrower necks, though, so it shouldn't be a problem. The artistry on them is totally worth it, though; gorgeous designs.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Tattoo: Favole, My Fading Heart
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Bold coal red
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Lipstick: L. Fauna, Red 3
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Truth, Kalia - driftwood
Hat: Favole, Vepar
Wings: Favole, Megalomaniac
Collar: Favole, Prolific
Dress: Favole, Perdition
Gloves: Eclectica, Swoon - ebony
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Favole, Possession

Pose: Glitterati, 229

Location: Rackingham State Hospital
Light Settings: TOR, SCIFI Grimler gronchi

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only

Twelve Months of Color

It's been an amazing year, a lot of colors. I've learned a lot, but not strayed form my essential goal of taking pictures in the wilds of Second Life and presenting them as taken, no photoshop - just cropping.

I had an awful time trying to pick my fifteen favorite pictures, so I went instead with views - mostly. I ended up re-cropping a couple of them so I'd end up with a clear rectangle. Some of the highest viewed surprise me, or are not my favorites; others are ones I still really enjoy and like. I'm struck most of all by the sheer variety; some are subdued, others over-saturated; some are melancholy, others triumphant. In most of the highly viewed ones, I'm not actually looking out at anyone - which surprised me a lot. The clothing also varies a lot - from very scanty and skin revealing, to full coverage.

I'm on the fence about whether I'm going to pick up another challenge as I'm waiting for the Color Challenge Deux to begin in January; part of me will be grateful for not having a drive to post every week, and maybe turn some of that energy to clearing out my Promotional Folder. There are a few challenges going on which look fun, though - the alphabet one looks way too difficult, but there was an old prop challenge that looked fun. I also have some thoughts on doing group pictures, with me and my alts; doing some deliberately cultural pictures by hunting down traditional costumes from a lot of places (anyone know where I can get a dirndl?) and making shapes to match; I also have a vague thought of photographing my inventory to create an record and further sub-sort it for ease of finding what I'm looking for.

Looking back is a fantastic inspiration to look forward.

( More pictures here. )

Go Ask Alice

Many things which appear innocent from one angle, appear very dark and sinister from another. Watching shows on spree and serial killers, I'm struck by how often kink is brought into it, how often mother behavior is brought into it. Can we ever really know where the darkness in people comes from?

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 


Skin: De La Soul, Aestali - Cream Rose
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Bold coal blue
Eyes: De La Soul, RooMee Eyes - Rainbow
Eyelashes: Flugeln Brise, Eyelash 5A
Lipstick: Rozena, Baby Gloss Pink
Ears: Illusions, Mystic Ear - Fairy
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Orion Mesh Hair - Blond (Promotional Item)
Wings: Fancy Fairy, Azarelle
Dress: katat0nik, Malice v2
Ring 1: Alchemy Immortalis, Nestling Finger
Ring 2: Earthstones, Eternal Blossom Ring - Bouquet
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Skully Pumps - Teal

Poses: Glitterati

Location: Cheshire: Alice's Room
Light Settings: Abracadabra 2

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping only