Colour Challenge 48 - Tangelo

A tangelo is a fruit, a hybrid of a mandarine orange and a grapefruit. It is also an incredibly vivid orange and sounds enough like 'tango' to conjure images of dancing. I have been wanting to post pictures of my phoenix avatar ever since I got these ultra awesome mesh wings after the Fantasy Faire, and this post actually gave me the opportunity of spicing her up a bit so that I am rather wowed by the effect, if I do say so myself! Did I mention that orange, in particular the fiery oranges, is my favourite colour? Well I think this post shows it. 

I also found a fantastic photo and rp setting, and while I was taking my pictures a group of warriors were holding a mass battle in the amphitheatre behind me - I wonder if they guessed their tournament was blessed by the presence of a Phoenix? ;) - I would have taken all the pictures against the beautiful palace, but the sunlight fell the other way and the details came out much better turned around. Still, I have included one so you can see the palace, and all the camels lined up outside. 

I love the effect of my new AO with the wings and the silks, and I took a lot of pictures and decided to combine some of them in panels to show a sense of movement. These are really rather awesome silks because they have dense multiple flexi layers and move very sensually. I love the way good silks are exotic and alluring, but I also like being able to wear them on avatars which don't scream 'Gorean submissive', since I am something of a polar opposite! If anybody tried to capture my phoenix... well, they'd better be wearing asbestos body armour.

Oh, and... Katlien said I should put a warning on this post, in case I give anyone a heart attack ;) Which is a good time to point out you can't see my nipples. Honestly! They are covered with pasties as well as the jewel dangles. The texture just blends rather well... and appears to have an extremely good 3D effect. Seriously, the skin itself is incredibly detailed and I -had- to cover up the nipples, they were rather striking. In at least one picture I suppose they still are... oh well!

{..P..}  Desert Phoenix Dancing  {..P..}

{..P..}  Credits  {..P..}

Location: The Great Persian Empire ~ 'Immortals' combat sim

AX-001 Basically Girl AO and Juicy 'Divinely Naughty' Angel pose 6 (pics #1, 5, 6centre)

Calico Creations Hair ~ Amber Fire

House of Ruin {Rue} Gemstone Eyes ~ Quartz, Orange, Night

NikitaFride Skin ~ Plot series ~ Ambition

europa nyxus wings ~ phoenix (mesh)

Flame Elemental particles by Cephyroth Mavendorf (2 attachments only)

Tekeli-li Alluvium jewellery* (mesh)

Fallingwater Flowers rose

SilentSparrow pumpkin gutter glitter pasties

Misterious! Fire Silks bottom

SLink Jolie Pied Exotix clawed feet

The hair was my first purchased flexi hairstyle and I still love it, for the texture and colours.
*Please note: the jewellery set includes headpiece, necklace, bracelets and earrings. I copied and rearranged some of these to other parts of the body since I wasn't wearing much else!

Colour Challenge 47 - Barley Corn

Breaking the recent mould this week, I'm going back to a more conventionally pretty avatar with a colour which is basically in the gold range - my standard! I don't know why but I fancied wearing my fox for this one, which made me think of kitsune - the Japanese for 'fox'. I knew that the Japanese consider foxes to be very magical, spiritual animals but I did a bit of research and discovered that they are sacred to Inari, the kami of fertility, rice, agriculture, industry and worldly success. Foxes, agriculture, barley corn?! Fantastic coincidence! Not to mention that for some reason, kitsune are meant to be very fond of tofu. As a vegetarian I can relate to that, although we generally eat Quorn which is an indigenous English mushroom substitute for meat. 

Now Inari's messengers are pure white, which my fox isn't, but I decided I could go on a family visit to meet my sacred cousins - and I recalled a beautiful Japanese sim where I once bought a kimono and drank tea with friends. When I went back, the colours as well as the architecture were perfectly suited to my avatar, yet another happy coincidence, though by this time I have to say that so many coincidences were starting to seem, well - too coincidental to be a mere coincidence! I would add here that I got my fox in memory of my previous pet, Infalle, who left SL some time ago but has always remained a friend. So this post is in honour of her, and happy times! May Inari bring her success with her many creative talents.

{|} {|} {|}  Barley Corn  {|} {|} {|}

(I do apologise for the number of pictures in this post. I wanted to showcase as much of this beautiful location as possible, and I was really enjoying the way the avatar posed with her fan and long skirts - it was too hard to whittle down any further, though I'll have to make that decision for the Flickr group -- they only accept three!)

On pilgrimage to the shrine of Inari at "GiornoBrando"

Crossing the canal bridge

Feeding the pigeons by the statue of Jizo

(As a mother, I feel very warmly towards Jizo, who is the protector of young children.)

Passing under the Myoujin Torii (sacred gate)

Cleansing myself at the Chouzuya

Paying my respects (omairi) at the shrine

(The owner of this shrine has a roguish sense of humour. When I pulled the rope, a big ball fell on my head! I made a donation and another one fell on me! It had a present in it.)

Definitely a rogue. The kami of this shrine is not Inari - it is a PENGUIN!
I am tittering behind my fan.

Communing with my cousins on the root of the Shinboku, the sacred tree.

(Kitsune are profound tricksters and I feel sure they have something to do with that penguin...)

Peek-a-boo! On my way back, playing around a lantern

Just a pretty pose to show off my dress...

Enjoying tofu noodles for lunch

{|} {|} {|}  Credits  {|} {|} {|}

Location: Japanese Traditional Goods Shop "GiornoBrando"

Windlight: Bristol

DSD (Dark Spot Designs) avatar ~ Fennec (natural)

PurpleMoon Lara Gown in Gold

Mau's & Mej's Brethil hair & ornament (from Hair Fair 2007)

Essentia Lantern Hair Sticks

Shenlei Flasheart Art Nouveau Rose Fan (animated)

MC Designs Golden Eye Necklace (ltd edition)

L&E solar & lunar armbands

Abaddon Arts AX-001 Basically Girl AO

Resting Place Prize Gallery

I told you last week about the Sn@tch-Pulse-Nomine etc. horror game, the 'Resting Place', which incidentally is still going until the end of today so if you haven't yet been, NOW IS YOUR LAST CHANCE! 

Rudh and I made out with over 50 prizes (and we didn't find all of them!) but although I was assiduous in my hunt for swag, I have to say I was really there to soak up the atmosphere of the game itself. I wasn't expecting too much from the prizes so I was delighted to find some treasures among this hoard - and with only a couple of exceptions, all the prizes were quality items, if not necessarily my style. This post is by way of a 'thank you!' to all the people who made the game and contributed goodies ~ but even with no prizes, I would PAY to play this game again, it was so awesome. This event is one I will definitely never miss again.

Halloween Avatars, thanks to Sn@tch et al.

There was a lot to choose from and you know my penchant for creating avatars rather than outfits, so I put together my favourites from my Monty haul and managed to create THREE completely different looks! Please bear with me as there are a few photos in this post, to show things off - remember you can click on an image to see the photos alone in a slideshow, and I will break things up with item credits between the avatars.

~ The Witchling ~

I really love this outfit; I've never felt particularly inspired to dress up as a witch, I tend to favour the monsters on Halloween, but by the time I was done I really wished I'd had this creepy-cute avatar on October 31st. I combined several makeup layers and I love how the full-face tattoo from PMD softens the rather gory deathmask on the skin beneath, making it look much more like a Halloween face paint design. I just had to add the Halloween special jewellery from Stars!, which the designer very kindly let me purchase after the event, because all the seasonal sickness kept me from her store. And this Mad Hattery creation was perfect for the occasion, with a circling witch (she actually rotates around the hat) and incredibly creepy soundfile - the hat plays the refrain 'Come Little Children' from Hocus Pocus.

Obviously with an outfit like this I had to go trick-or-treating. So I added a scripted candy bucket from Schadenfreude (she does a new one each year, the pumpkin was last year's) which lifts up with the cute kiddy voiceover 'trick or treat!' What a cute little witch, most people would think on opening their door to this sight. Except...

... If you don't put candy in my bucket, I'ma stab out your eyes with my knife >:)

Or maybe your guts. Eyes could be too high to reach, as I am not the tallest avatar in SL but the size of this door makes me look like a child! Honestly what is it with house builders and proportion...            

The design on the dress, because the treat bucket hides the head on the main picture. I wore the pants and sweater with the dress because on its own it looked a bit chilly for late October!

The full Sn@tch sweater outfit, without the mummy dress, so you can see what it looks like.

Resting Place Prize Credits:

Hopscotch 'Hell hath no fury' pose with knife (set of 5 poses)
Pin Me Down 'Vilde' face tattoo (white cracked effect + black stripes)
Adore&Abhor Orange Feral Eyeshadow
A Netherworld Moonshadow eyes ~ blood
A Netherworld crystal spider hairclip

Zanzibar creationZ Who's Your Mummy? dress (mesh)
Sn@tch Lady in Red sweater top & skinny jeans

Infamous Intern shoes (crocs!! tintable!! no alpha needed!!)

Other Credits:

Elikatira hair ~ Listen essentials (mesh)
[AR] LivingDeadGirl skin 1 (skull jaw)
The Mad Hattery 2011 Witches Hat

Stars! Spooktacular 2012 necklace & earrings
Lily's Touch Halloween bangles


Schadenfreude 2011 treat bucket
Schadenfreude Pointed Spiderweb Forearm Gloves (tintable)
Awesome Designs Tangerine Manicure Gloves (<3 multiple layers!)

Location: My ex next door neighbours at the Azure Islands residency sim where I lived up to Halloween. *deleted rant about why I moved, because this post is long enough*

~ The Demoness ~

By the pricking of my thumbs...

Something wicked this way comes!

Good job I laid down a pentagram in holy fire.

The bulk of this outfit is one prize, parts for a demon avatar in pulsing fiery orange, and though I have built up my own demons (they are a favoured avatar class of mine) I was really tickled with this one. For a start it has clutching skeletal hands for 'armour' which are something I've wanted as long as I've known my good friend Kage, the most stunning demoness in SL. Hers are white, mine are black, so now we contrast! I managed to capture a quick shot of us standing together. And then there's the fact that orange is my favourite colour. And the parts are just really great builds. The skin, eyes and tattoo just completed the look. -- I have just discovered that this demon would probably fit next week's colour (Tangelo) really well, but one thing I am not short of is oranges so I'll keep her here and make a new outfit.

Demonic besties <3

Resting Place Prize Credits:

Cyrious Bound Demon set ~ Halloween (horns, tail, hooves, hands, skeleton armour, collar)
Adore&Abhor 'Pulse' black skin
Gauze 'Demon ~ Greed' prim eyes with smoldering glow
Gauze Alagos eye tattoo (tintable eye ridges!!! these are AWESOME I can now haz dragon eyebrows on all my avies!)
Gauze 'Intensity ~ Infernos' full body tattoo
Savoir Faire pose ~ ghoulish01 (not the facial expression)
Nevermore cemetery archway

Other Credits:
Elikatira hair ~ Listen essentials (mesh)
XCite! Fangs
Lara's Facial Expression HUD
Snowbound Haunted Forest scene (from the Nature Hunt)
my pentagram (adapted from a Dragon Magick Wares build)

~ The Demon Hunter ~

If there are demons around, clearly we have to bring in a demon hunter! Of course I have one ready made on my alt account, none other than Dean Winchester (and he's the best of the best!) but the Winchesters can't be everywhere at once and they generally have enough on their plate. Besides, Resting Place needed its own hunter, rather than the poor medical assistant who got sent in to die (that's your role in the game, except you don't know about that last bit until it happens).

Is it me or is there too much blood here for a couple of cadavers..?
The place stinks of sweet metal. It's fresh.

Hard to hear if something's coming the way these lights
keep stuttering and buzzing...

And the machine going Bloop! I feel like something's watching though...
I'm keeping my eye on those chiller drawers.
(Shot taken artistically through the formaldehyde tank.)

This bloody morgue skybox complete with furniture was the awesome double prize from Dragon Magick Wares, and an exact replica of one of the scenes in Resting Place - but without the medlab skeleton we joked about at the time. (He seems pleased to see you Fledge! - Don't tell me he has a boner :P ) I think I've made a fairly credible outfit - ok so in real life NOBODY would wear heels for a job like this, but in SL gravity is your friend and a nice sharp stiletto is a handy (or footsy?) tool.  Jewellery is also frowned on in the military but hey, I'm freelance, and honestly? If a zombie is coming after me to rip out my brains, snagging my piercings on something is pretty low down on my list of priorities. It's a shame the earrings don't show so well, the collar hides them a bit, they have cute little drops of blood at the points. I figure they are actually real syringes containing dead man's blood, a good defence against vampires, or so Dean tells me. The scissors are for using against mummies, of course! (Think about it ;) This outfit is pretty much a Sn@tch ensemble, and as fits the main designer of the game, there were a lot of prizes from this store (we got 12).

Resting Place Prize Credits:

Dragon Magick Wares Morgue with furnishings
Sakide Bloody zipped latex skirt
Sn@tch Skeletank
Sn@tch 'SciFi Halloween' Heavy Metal Jeans (came with a top)
Sn@tch After Hours makeup (smokey eyes-T)
Sn@tch Medusa posture collar (came with a skirt)
Sn@tch Nurse Ratchet earrings
Sn@tch Eternal Life & Full on face piercings

Other Credits:
H.I.M. Fashions Demon Hunter helmet, pack & posing gun (from Demonology Hunt '09)
W&Y Hair 30 (modded to fit helmet)
Damned skin ~ SCN07 White

Amacci eyes ~ 'Infinity' Brown ~ Image (recent group gift)
::69:: MilitaryBoots Forest (from before they became an exclusive hair store)

And to finish off the post: Rudh and I had a very weird conversation after I commented on her colour challenge this week and said maybe we got our macabre sides from our virtual (SL) mother. Thinking about all the things we attribute to Mommy Dearest, she sounds a lot like Alice from Resting Place! It could explain a few things -- why Rudh really liked Ellie's bedroom, covered in blood as it was, for one. Then it occurred to me that our mom was, if not actually a prostitute, certainly someone who liked the lads (she was a pooka; they are known for it) and that she and Rudh would fit the Ellie scenario eerily well. That made us wonder who I would match in the game - I have to say I did like the burning city, take out the charred corpses and the screaming and sirens and it would be very cosy and homelike! Maybe I was adopted and, due to my significant differences, never quite fit in, hence my running wild with gangs. Probably the rival gang didn't set the fire that killed my adopted parents - that was me, breathing flames to defend myself when they beat me, and the guilt is what gave me the nightmares. I survived because of my draconic immunity to flames. So how about that, Rudh and I have officially adopted two of the Resting Place inmates as our personae! I think that's got to be a flattering endorsement, don't you?

Colour Challenge 46 - Juniper

JUNIPER

This week's post was inspired - I could even say caused - by the utterly brilliant Resting Place: the seasonal horror game/event presented by Pulse-Sn@tch City-Nomine-Vapor and New Kadath. You still have until 18th November to go check it out, which I HIGHLY RECOMMEND, providing you are a fan of the horror genre - and I'm talking the psychologically disturbing, graphically blood curdling variety along the lines of Silent Hill (and this is the least graphic image I could find to illustrate my point, so my apologies if I've given anyone palpitations). Maybe don't click that unless you think you can probably handle it...

If however you are not a fan of the genre, worry not. My photoshoot was set in the game but not in any of the nightmare scenarios, which would have spoiled the anticipation for players. So it shouldn't be too frightening. I have Rudh to thank for alerting me to the fact that the free hospital scrubs given out to players were an exact colour match, as I'd been fretting over what I could use this week, but this post came together seamlessly - and I had a brilliant time, and spent an entire day, exploring the event with her. (I made this outfit afterwards.) 

I should add, the participating stores have hidden away lots of fantastic goodies as an extra incentive to visit, not that any was needed, and we made a pretty impressive haul though we didn't find everything - I'll hopefully get a chance to showcase my favourite items in my next post. I should also add that a decent computer/connection, mesh capability and sound  are a requisite for enjoying the game, so sorry to anyone on a dodgy old machine but Resting Place is probably not for you :( I'll add some more info and a landmark at the end of the post for those who might be interested.

ThEy'Re CoMiNg To TaKe Me AwAy HaHa! 8)

Here I am being offloaded from an ambulance before the celebrated Koszmar Institute for Sleep Research, where my guardians hope I may be cured of a debilitating affliction: night horrors so frequent and intense they have quite eroded my health and sanity.

I am wheeled onto the general ward by my faithful nurse, Katlien, the only person who has been able to stand my madness long enough for me to form an attachment. There cannot be many patients solicited by a green alien space cat so I am very proud of my helper, but I hope she doesn't frighten the other patients with her unusual appearance!

The ward is very strange and unwelcoming, and I don't have all my beloved knick-knacks around me. I find it even harder to fall asleep here, and when I do, the dreams are even more vivid and horrifying than before. Dr Krol is very nice but his therapy does not seem to be working, and before long, I am committed to a padded cell because they are afraid I will hurt myself with my thrashing.

The cell is even stranger than the hospital ward, and I have never felt so alone in my life. I wish Katlien were here. Or anybody to keep me company. What is that laughter..? Is there somebody in here with me..?

I can hear someone laughing but I can't see, because one night when the dreams were too terrifying, I scratched my eyes; that was just before they put me in here. I would scratch whoever is laughing at me but my hands are stuck somehow. Please, won't somebody come? Someone come to help me? I can't sleep, I'm too afraid, and I'm sure it's been more than a day since anybody came to feed me or see that I'm all right...

She came! My lovely Katlien! She has taken me to a wonderful, happy place where there are butterflies and rainbows and the sun is shining all day long, and we are having a picnic and listening to my favourite songs on the radio. *Hums* I'm just sitting watching flowers in the rain! I don't ever want to leave here, I don't ever want to wake up...

...

...

CREDITS

Location: Resting Place ~ the Koszmar Institute for Sleep Research

Resting Place scrubs by Ivey Deschanel of Sn@tch (given out in starter pack)

Bea's straitjacket by Unknown Redgrave (for convincing poses)

Wheelchair by Cubey Terra (available free at entrance)

Analog Dog ~ flexi wet-look metallic hair with bangs (from 2006! This was cutting edge when it was made, now only fit for an asylum inmate LOL how quickly builds and fashion change in SL - no offence to the creator!)

MaXeyes ~ cracked and stitched, with prim blood tears

Pixels skin ~ My Black Tears

Flexiprim droolie by Flinch Baxter

Lara's facial expression HUD by Aliasi Stonebender (have you ever seen anyone more in need of a cuddle?)

You can find out more about the game on their Facebook page or just visit the starting point landmarked above and pick up your instruction pack, HUD and togs. It is a fantastic adventure. But be warned. You may like it so much you never leave, muahaHAHAHAHAAA!

Note: The song I'm humming in that last picture, 'Flowers in the Rain' by the Move, from 1967, is one of my all time favourites. I first heard it on the film 'Children of the Corn' and it made a lasting impression - far more lasting than the film, oddly enough. Though perhaps being allowed to watch horror films at whatever tender age I must have been (made in 1984 so I was at least 12) explains something of my macabre mindset. Who knows?

Colour Challenge 45 - Bittersweet

Bloop!

OK so by now you all know my opinion of pink. And this pink - or group of pinks, because it's not the first to come up - in particular makes me think of blancmange. You know that sort of half jelly, half angel delight substance they used to feed us at school? (When I was at school, many moons ago and in the UK, at any rate. Others of you may have been luckier.) So you can probably tell already where my mind was heading. Though it's amusing that I should choose to represent Bittersweet with one of the sweetest things known.

Actually I'm pretty pleased with the resulting avatar and will definitely use it again - there is nothing funnier than a pudding wandering around SL - though I can't take all the credit, because the original (jelly) avatar was designed a long time ago by a friend. I just messed about with it to get the right kind of texture and colouration and added decorations. My son insists that it has two little bombs.

oOo Bittersweet: Where's Fledge II? oOo

Yeah it's pretty obvious where I am this time. But if you recall, the first 'Where's Fledge?' challenge had me hiding in (as) an inanimate object so I thought this would be a good sequel. 

I knew just where I could find a giant table to pose on, but I had a little trouble getting there until a helpful estate admin helped me find my way. Possibly they don't like to hand out landmarks to just anybody; it's a bit of an exotic location, reserved for activities that most people reading this blog would NOT be interested in. Trust me. I only know about it myself from having been over with friends, not in a roleplay capacity. Honest! A simple pudding doesn't understand such things!

Just to demonstrate that I am a RAINBOW pudding, gradually changing shades, and presumably flavours. This effect took a bit of modding. There's not a lot more we can do with photo shots here. I'm a pudding. On a plate. I will resist writing out the popular children's rhyme.*

Incidentally, this was a very brave photo shoot for me to undertake. Sitting on a macro-fur dining table, as a dessert, with the group tag *Cream Freak* (from picking up the whipped cream topping, which is actually a box) - well what do you think is likely to happen?? I can envisage two scenarios, or possibly, even more horrendous, a combination. None of them are comfortable or PG viewing. On the other hand, it's entirely possible that any living being in the room would overlook me as, ironically, a table full of food is the best possible camouflage for a pudding, and most people don't come here to eat - food. Anyway, it wasn't put to the test as thankfully nobody came in and the fox in the photo is a primatar.

oOo Credits oOo

Location: Macro Room at Ryu Valley
**WARNING** normal sized avatars are likely to be eaten, inserted or at the very least poked. Visit at your own risk. It's fun if nobody is around to take an interest in you! (Or, depending on your definition of fun, if there is...)

Jelly Avatar by Pamagester Darracq
Whipped Cream Cherry cream topping (actually the store box design)
Sparklers by Xenon Linden
Plate by me

Also while shooting this, came across a fun comic about cake turtles which bears some relevance to the situation:

All you slavering macrofurs beware, my puddin' is rich!

*Okay I couldn't resist.

Jelly on a plate,

Jelly on a plate,

Wibble wobble

Wibble wobble

Jelly on a plate!

Colour Challenge 44 - Charcoal

Missing the Halloween colour post by a week, I had it done in time but then I caught my son's cold and I've been pretty ill and not online much. Didn't get to do much for Halloween itself either though I have extended the rent on my old parcel for a week to enjoy the decorations I put up - I moved mid-October and decorated my castle, but still had back-rent on the previous location so it was a good opportunity to indulge my macabre side!

I could only think of one grey outfit for this colour, but while I was looking through accessories and wondering what kind of avatar I should make, I found a lot of spider hair in the CAHH hunt folders and that inspired me. My Spider Woman avatar is one of my stock-in-trade golden-oldies but I knew I hadn't brought her out for this challenge yet - so what more appropriate time than Halloween? I was joined by the lovely Katlien just in time to assist with the photoshoot and storyline, so I bring you:

Little Miss Muffet ^^o;;o^^ A Seasonal Tale

Little Miss Muffet

Sat on a tuffet

Eating some curds and whey

Along came a spider

Who sat down beside her

And frightened Miss Muffet away!

I suppose the moral of this story is, don't sit down to eat your lunch in a spooky, spider infested greenhouse? Especially not when you are a maid, and spiders have good cause for revenge for all the webs you have dusted away! 

I suggested the spider could have had the curds hurled in her face instead but Katlien didn't want to be so rude. Incidentally I know she's sitting on a bench, not a tuffet; which for those who don't know, is another name for a pouffe or hassock - a low, padded stool with no (visible) feet.

^^o;;o^^ Credits ^^o;;o^^

Location: Angelic Designs Halloween Market (now over) @ Implings Victorian Mansion greenhouse (available for purchase)


Grendels Children Dark Arak avatar
and spider shoulder pet 
Bare@Rose Tartan DarkIce outfit
Gala skin ~ Halloween Widow
Saturnine Dreams spider eyes ~ charcoal
DarkerSide Spider Attack hair from CAHH2 (tinted)
Schadenfreude Widowed Fey ears
Schadenfreude Arachnophobia I ring
OpenCollar spider collar
ni.ju tintable claws
Xcite fangs