tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-45626572767161739682024-03-20T01:49:40.116-07:00~ Fledge's Fancies ~Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.comBlogger109125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-29923168892930652982014-11-25T16:19:00.003-08:002014-11-25T16:19:59.297-08:00Flight Rising - Dragons!A very dear friend has introduced me to the game Flight Rising, in which you basically collect dragons - by breeding (your own) or buying (other players') - and prettify them with custom art skins and trinkets. These are a kind of breedable but, unlike the SL breedables, they don't take up space you could better use for something else, and they don't cause lag, or cost an arm and a leg to feed. This kind of breedable I can get behind - even though they are only two dimensional and inanimate.<br />
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I thought I'd post up the dragons I have so far in my clan, as a record of its beginnings.<br />
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<b>LIGHT DRAGONS:</b> My clan is founded in the Flight of the Lightweaver (one of 11 elemental dragon deities); her symbol is in the background. </div>
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<b>Top left:</b> <i>MoteOfRadiance</i>, a Guardian dragon and the matriarch of the clan; my starting dragon, whose species and colouration I could specify (which is why she is gold).</div>
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<b>Top centre/right:</b> Mote's mate, <i>Maldaviant</i>, is a different species called Mirror (all dragons can interbreed). He is pictured here both in his natural colouring (right) and decked out in a custom skin and combat apparel which I purchased for him (centre). You only customise one starter dragon; then the game provides a mate entirely at random. We got Mal. He has a surprise up his sleeve. Look what happens if I bring out his third colour, which is hidden in the basic dragons like Mote and Mal, but expressed in genetic patterns you can breed for or apply with a magic scroll:-</div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;">Mal's third colour is magenta!</span></td></tr>
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<br />There is a way you can determine how a dragon would look before you go spending money to add genes which you might not like. Actually I think he is very handsome in his crackle coat! This does mean that a pink element is being passed on under the radar to his offspring, but I checked and none of his sons have inherited magenta - probably because Mote's hidden colour is avocado (I didn't choose this bit!) and the two genes are more likely to combine to make a variation on chocolate.<br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
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<b>Bottom row:</b> Mote and Mal have so far raised one clutch of eggs, all sons. Two take after their mother, one after their father; species characteristics do not mix, so you get either one or the other, depending on the rarity of each parent species. I named these fledgelings <i>WhisperingDune, OceanZephyr and Terroxor</i>. Note that their colouration is derived from that of their parents; offspring from this pair could have anything in the blue to green range, or yellow to brown, but could not (for example) be red or black.</div>
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<b>ARCANE DRAGONS:</b> My friend is very keen to help me get off to a good start, and has already gifted me with six dragons from her own clan, the Flight of the Arcanist. You might notice that my dragons' eyes are yellow, reflecting their Flight, while these dragons' eyes are pink. Actually the top right dragon has yellow eyes too, so my friend must have obtained him elsewhere, as all dragons bred in your clan share the eye colour of their representative Flight.</div>
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These dragons are gorgeous, displaying some of the rarer and much sought-after genetic patterns your starting dragons lack (although there is a way to bring them out later). Their names, incidentally, are mine.</div>
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<b>Top left:</b> <i>Tigraine</i> is a Wildclaw female with striking tiger stripes. I have also added custom accents, which are like a partial skin. Like Maldaviant, her accents are based on the semi-precious mineral Jasper; Flight Rising is currently celebrating the festival of the Earth element, and artistic players are encouraged to design themed skins to be sold at these festivals. Custom skins are not inherited; they are worn like body paint, but can be taken off and put on another dragon, or sold.</div>
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<b>Top centre:</b> <i>Maleficent</i> is a Guardian female with quite different colouring to Mote's, and also the additional characteristics of shimmering scales and wings, and a body decked in gemstones. These traits can be passed along to offspring but are rare and not often inherited unless both parents possess them.</div>
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<b>Top right:</b> <i>Iridian</i> is a male Wildclaw, also of the Light flight, also possessing the shimmer and gemstone genes. Iridian thinks he ought to be Mote's mate, not Maldaviant! Wildclaws are a much rarer species than Mirrors, and he has fancier genes to boot. Unfortunately for Iridian, I won't be breeding him much to Mote because he is not very likely to pass along any of his elite characteristics, and he would be better employed elsewhere.</div>
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<b>Bottom left:</b> <i>Rosalita</i>, another Wildclaw, is extremely pretty in pink; and she has the smoke trait, producing these lovely wavy swirls all over the dragon's body. If I breed Rosalita to Iridian, there is a small chance of producing gemstone babies, but they are more likely to inherit their mother's smoke pattern, as this is a more common gene. The offspring of this couple will display a range of sunrise colours in pinks and golds, very suitable for dragons of the Light! Iridian will just have to get over Mote and start appreciating this sweet dragoness. Possibly Mote had this in mind when she invited Rosalita to the lair...</div>
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<b>Bottom centre:</b> <i>Rilian</i>, still a hatchling, is named after the prince in CS Lewis' book 'The Silver Chair' because of his markings (known as crackle). Crackle and smoke have a similar rarity so if I breed him with Rosalita (when he's grown!) their offspring will be about 50/50 smoke and crackle patterned (never both in one dragon). Rilian is a Spiral dragon, which are very long, thin and loopy in flight, and extremely energetic. He is a fosterling, helping to cement bonds between the two clans.</div>
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<b>Bottom right:</b> <i>Umbraura</i>, a fancy way of saying Shadowgold, is another smoke dragon; this time the species is Couatl. Couatls and Wildclaws are both rare species, so if I breed Umbraura to Iridian I will get a roughly 50/50 mix of offspring in both species. If I breed her (or the Wildclaws) to the more common dragons, most offspring will take after the common parent.</div>
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You can see that I am already very into this game! Through judicious breeding, I hope to be able to produce my own unique dragons as gorgeous as the ones given to me, and then I can also sell or give them to other players. It is a very strong feature of the game that breeding is statistically determined, based on dragons' existing rather than random characteristics; a system which puts FarmVille to shame with its failed sheep breeding!</div>
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<b>~ : ~</b></div>
<br />Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-27734281340538371162014-11-22T18:22:00.000-08:002014-11-22T18:31:53.053-08:00Secret AffairI thought I would jump back in with this post so that, for once, an event is still going if anybody likes the look of what I bought!<br />
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<b><i>The Secret Affair</i></b> is not really so secret, since everybody blogs about it, but I don't follow blogs... However I do follow <b>Lassitude & Ennui</b>, who always seem to create something for the event, and naturally, after moseying along to get their item, I saw lots more shiny things I wanted - especially since the stalls are set out in a bewildering labyrinth of no conceivable order. It is always a beautifully designed and themed event though, with high quality and well priced goods, all of which tempts one to buy. This time, I bought over $L2000, and had to borrow against rental payments (which means putting my stipend into savings) because I have a hard and fast rule never to put extra money into SL - except for rent and very special, expensive purchases like dragons, or my castle. That slope is as treacherous as ice over hot coals.<br />
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The theme for November is Harvest Moon, which has prompted a very primal, fae and pagan theme guaranteed to whet my appetite. So, what did I buy? Well, for starters, the <b>AF</b> decorators' kit for the Maiden Tor stone circle which dominates the event site and is exclusive to the fair. It's based on an ancient stone monument from my own country, beautifully remade and very low prim, with an altar stone and a holy well - I don't currently have the space for it but will have to work it into a winter theme somehow. I also bought an absolutely awesome dragon skull helmet with several colour and texture options; a skirt; hair; two necklaces; and a pair of shoes.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6fvL9BHhhJMQEnJQ3d8h7-_RIxKAc_fhLJUgO5iu2VibtcCt8HQjGmsaj5WeQKvhv1YsdTt1h9tGWjT1XV0X0w7XuoMIBXcadGEvoAysYNb4Tvjxwdaq17lKCDswHP_xGvQBOAsPF2E/s1600/SecretAffair_full.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjF6fvL9BHhhJMQEnJQ3d8h7-_RIxKAc_fhLJUgO5iu2VibtcCt8HQjGmsaj5WeQKvhv1YsdTt1h9tGWjT1XV0X0w7XuoMIBXcadGEvoAysYNb4Tvjxwdaq17lKCDswHP_xGvQBOAsPF2E/s1600/SecretAffair_full.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Deer Friend. (Even though I suspect my skirt is made from their hides.)</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb_VJ99KIT6FjY-0bCZ5bL2QB_16eOyrmG9ieKFssAUFY9YIegTdV2IjF7QTNr0qJTrF5Qa9xugRqbEFl0phgtMq5y3nUB5L3uvgIYP5byj3-fiZJmExjGcl4fR7nO4T4fGpqht13OHE/s1600/SecretAffair_altar.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBb_VJ99KIT6FjY-0bCZ5bL2QB_16eOyrmG9ieKFssAUFY9YIegTdV2IjF7QTNr0qJTrF5Qa9xugRqbEFl0phgtMq5y3nUB5L3uvgIYP5byj3-fiZJmExjGcl4fR7nO4T4fGpqht13OHE/s1600/SecretAffair_altar.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Dancing on the Maiden Tor Altar.</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUSTFk5z67pWGmhTWI5i3HeLfI2eTjgrgRnecsnvJcVgpIaaBjdHv4RdokQbbDH2hxKcnBZ6kfdEf92kpn1tZbuCUfznBjctkjXoKMLxfH2vqdt2SUGIpU1Ezrkn4Yj0-XigT27GHAnM/s1600/SecretAffair_mask.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXUSTFk5z67pWGmhTWI5i3HeLfI2eTjgrgRnecsnvJcVgpIaaBjdHv4RdokQbbDH2hxKcnBZ6kfdEf92kpn1tZbuCUfznBjctkjXoKMLxfH2vqdt2SUGIpU1Ezrkn4Yj0-XigT27GHAnM/s1600/SecretAffair_mask.jpg" height="266" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Worshipping the Harvest Moon.</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: small;"><i>Dragon Torc Necklace</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg74ozSWGCrmEzYGJ9di_6xWrjQAirg690Nst_-LzfOqMFNgk3TsO17yValsCkLlvrQ8UQnBZwUv3ZoUc_UlHyS-RZzrl-h4iQBFasKMdN-GLdx4G7VmWzXE8AUn-TBOE8mLXvawP6LEY/s1600/SecretAffair_moon2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjg74ozSWGCrmEzYGJ9di_6xWrjQAirg690Nst_-LzfOqMFNgk3TsO17yValsCkLlvrQ8UQnBZwUv3ZoUc_UlHyS-RZzrl-h4iQBFasKMdN-GLdx4G7VmWzXE8AUn-TBOE8mLXvawP6LEY/s1600/SecretAffair_moon2.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Harvest Moon Necklace</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-size: small;">Golden Rams' Horn Booties!</span></i></td></tr>
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While perusing the fair, two very generous people dropped gifts on me, a pair of horns and the wings in the first two photos. There are, inevitably, a couple of gachas at the event - and you know my feelings on gachas, particularly ones like the <b>Junbug</b> gacha which requires you to put together a set of different items (to make a fairy outfit) - the odds being impossible unless you're swapping with a group of friends or in the gacha groups. So I didn't play them, and was incredibly lucky to be given the two items I would most appreciate! I suppose I looked like the right person to wear them, in this avatar.<br />
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I loved the shoes so much I made a fundamental error and did not check the details before purchase. Also because the demo was L$1 and paying for demos is a cheap stunt, especially with shoes, which usually only give you one foot! - and I've never yet encountered a pair of shoes that didn't fit. Until now, because of course they're for SLink MID feet, and I don't own any. Doh! Rather than pay another L$675 for the feet, I determined to overcome this obstacle with trickery. I messed about with my own shoe template, various foot alpha masks and a couple of tortured prims to fit over the ankles, hiding the slight gap left by said alpha, and am pretty satisfied with the result. Ironically, with the skirt alpha hiding the feet as most do, all you can see is my fake ankle prims, but at least I can wear the shoes! I have to say though, with the purchasable demo and the very tiny SLink sign on the vendor (you could just about see it said SLink, but the 'mid' part was illegible) I'm not impressed with whatever was going through the creator's head. It's almost as though they intended people to make this kind of mistake. The good thing is that if I had paid attention, I might not have bought them!<br />
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You know, looking at those necklaces, it occurs to me that L&E standards are slipping. They used to make some of the finest jewellery in SL, until they jumped on the mesh bandwagon. Now both necklaces are mesh, but you would think that the Harvest Moon, with all its intricate detail, was the L&E item - their past work has been that delicate, <i>in prim-work</i>. If they can't do better with mesh then why are they using it..? Oh well. I still like the torc - I've always wanted a proper dragon head torc! - and it was only L$99. I'm not saying it's bad; just that I expected better from L&E. They were once the hallmark of quality craftsmanship and now any number of creators are just as good, if not better. It's sort of sad to see, and I hope they pull themselves together. Meanwhile I shall start paying attention to The Forge!<br />
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~: Fair Purchases :~</h3>
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<a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ippos/67/23/2997">Landmark to The Secret Affair</a></div>
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<b>Aisling</b> <i>'Aslota'</i> dragon skull helmet<br />
<b>Entwined</b> <i>'Arya'</i> hair (sold in 5-colour packs)<br />
<b>Junbug</b> Fae Wings in ivory (gacha prize)<br />
<b>L&E</b> Dragon Torc in gold (they also have ravens)<br />
<b>The Forge</b> <i>'Harvest Moon'</i> necklace in gold<br />
<b>May's Soul</b> <i>'Harvest Moon'</i> tribal skirt<br />
<b>Azoury</b> <i>'Siggy'</i> booties (camel) for SLink mid feet<br />
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(All items, naturally, mesh. I'm starting to wonder if you can still buy anything in SL that isn't mesh.)<br />
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~: Also worn :~</h3>
<b>][.Ruin.][</b> Skin <i>'Lethean'</i>: WinterStoleTheDryad'sHeart (now <b>Devae</b>, skin from past event)<br />
<b>ContraptioN</b> Carnivorous Jaw<br />
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<b>~ :: ~</b></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-63998780978004487692014-09-29T11:36:00.000-07:002014-09-29T11:36:06.761-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Harpiya Knight<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is something of a landmark post, as it concludes my gifts and purchases for the merry month of May. I wrote most of this post about 6 weeks ago but then never got around to finishing, as I haven't been in SL much; there doesn't seem much point any more with nobody around to talk to; but I still have so much STUFF to blog! Or at least to stick up on Flickr. I might just do that from now on as there's a massive backlog to get through.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Snake Plisskin, Human Ambassador, with his assigned Protector <br />for diplomatic talks with the Harpy Nation</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm showcasing three things in this post, which I assembled into a little story scenario, of sorts, with the help of a friend to pose. Another friend, Jon Nielsen; the very person who got me into SL; had sent me two gifts. The first was a build of his own, <i>'Silk Road'</i>, a sumptuously decorated skybox in Arabian Nights style. It isn't yet available but will be sold by <b><a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Ratzenberger/123/154/501">Jon's Ancient Treasures</a>, </b>which will still have a prize up for the September Renaissance Hunt for one more day if your fancy is tickled! (Not the skybox, just to be clear.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Jon's second gift was a set of harpy attachment parts from <b>!deviousMind</b>, <i>'Harpiya'</i> Spirits of the Sky made for the February Fantasy Gacha Carnival, including wings, tail and birdleg boots. The textures of these make use of the new materials, which are a bit of a mystery to me, but they do make for some gorgeous effects under lighting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The third thing was a July purchase, the <b>PurpleMoon</b> mesh outfit <i>'The White Knight'</i> from the Month of Games event, which has beautiful flower piecework and a fine sword. This was the outfit which tempted me to the event, but as you know from a <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2014/08/for-hoard-white-queen.html">previous post</a>, I ended up with two Chess themed outfits! Although I had to leave the skirt off to show the harpy legs, I thought this dress was the perfect complement to both the Harpy warrior and the skybox.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small; text-align: start;"><i>The Ambassador's assigned Protector makes a grand entrance.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Diplomatic guests are not permitted weapons, nor bodyguards of their own choosing, but they need not fear for their safety while in Harpy territory. Harpy Knights live by a strict code of honour and are sworn to protect whomsoever they are assigned, without personal bias. Such a knight would fight to the death, even to protect a charge who abused his diplomatic status and turned against his hosts. Their dedication to their code is as unswerving as their ferocity, but there is a cautionary note. </span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><i>Fair but deadly.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is a chilling legend of a merchant trader who used his invitation to trespass into the Royal Quarters and steal a Harpy egg. His assigned Protector safe-guarded his passage all the way out of Harpy lands, shielding him from the furious onslaught of the Palace Guard, though she herself was sorely wounded in their flight. The robber, not knowing everything he should of Harpy ways, enjoyed the irony of the Knight's protection right to the border; where, the moment he stepped foot outside Harpy jurisdiction, and the remit of her code of honour, his former Protector turned upon him and rent him into bloody pieces for his betrayal. This was deemed a righteous action, even though the trader dropped the egg he carried and an unborn Princess of the Royal Line was killed in the name of vengeance.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This last shot shows the effect of lighting on material textures in the wings, giving them a lovely rainbow iridescence.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: large;"><b>~ Outfit Credits ~</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>!deviousMind</b> Carnival of Wonders <i>'Harpiya' Spirits of the Sky</i> (from the Feb Fantasy Gacha </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Carnival) ~ wings, tail & bird legs or 'hooker boots' as the creator likes to call them!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>PurpleMoon</b> <i>'The White Knight'</i> dress from the July Month of Games Chess section, incorporating mesh skirt, top & sleeves, gauzy flexi drapes, sword, flowered face mask and belt flowers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Schadenfreude</b> <i>'A Doomed Flock'</i> bird skull jewellery from a past event (Taxidermia).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Grendel's Children</b> <i>'Harpy'</i> avatar head feathers (v.2) & skin, eyes & ears (v.3).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>ContraptioN</b> <i>'Carnivorous Jaw'</i> toothy smile.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Puppy</b> manicured claws (with wide range of colour options on HUD).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-17834456831523889522014-08-12T02:32:00.000-07:002014-08-12T02:32:23.203-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Ladybug, ladybug, fly away home...<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another of my '<i>Wheee</i> suddenly I have money, I can buy things I've wanted for ages!' return to SL purchases is this matched pair of necklaces by <b>Maxi Gossamer</b>, only available on the marketplace. The <a href="https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Necklace-Sybils-LadyBug-Amulet/4827360"><i>Sybil's Ladybug Amulet</i></a> comes in gold and silver with a range of scripted jewel variants, two pendant styles, and matching earrings. I saw somebody wearing it more than a year ago and although I keep a very long wish list, this was one of the few things that stood out in my memory without needing to consult it. I bought it quite early on, and took the photos back when I was modelling my Illusions antlers, but went on to post other things.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Forest spirit musing</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I love the play of shadows in SL but my computer really struggles to handle them so after this set of pictures I turned them off - or my PSU would probably have blown sooner! Still I love how this photo has turned out, you can't see the jewellery very well but it's a gorgeous, introspective pose and mysterious lighting that seems to weave a story around this woodland avatar. I have a fantastic book 'Yarrow' by Charles de Lint and this avatar reminds me somewhat of the mystical semi-deity in that story.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Roses and ladybugs</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A clearer shot of the necklaces (without shadows) which I complemented with a different pair of earrings so that I could show these too; they are <i>'yellow rose earrings'</i> by <b>Sebastian Dionysus</b>, who is the partner of Stars! Stargem Winkler, and has a store next door, so naturally I browsed a little; at first wondering why two competing jewellery stores were so closely situated!</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Maxi Gossamer</b> <i>'Sybil's Ladybug Amulet'</i> long & short chains</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Sebastian Dionysus</b> <i>'yellow rose earrings'</i></span></td></tr>
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<br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The avatar in these shots is my <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/colour-challenge-39-hunter-green.html">Hunter Green outfit from the 2012 colour challenge</a>, wearing <b>Illusions</b> <i>'Dreamcatcher: Rusa'</i> antlers and Effie hair.</span><br /><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-54618738465306104972014-08-11T12:12:00.000-07:002014-08-11T12:13:18.515-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Dancing with the Stars!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Or in <b>Stars!</b> jewellery <i>'Bouquet Blooms'</i> to be precise, which was the fabulous prize for the Tiptoe Through the Tulips hunt this May. I wasn't doing the hunt, but Stars! is one of my favourite jewellery stores so of course I got the notice for this one. The set comes with a necklace and 6 pairs of earrings, with different stones to match the different colours in the necklace, so I put on one sapphire and one topaz (blue for the dress, yellow for me ;)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6flsjWoCCz0BwKV794D-v1DmWKq3EzOqeUXDVv3n39y2UMGAIso6BDMHyJsstZPpUkeSYolPoojCXzZQosDTzqXBpimwgFUSK5QM9lw5yOmLD8QrR_FLdnlNQaCeV82464SzMfzbAXXs/s1600/jewellery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi6flsjWoCCz0BwKV794D-v1DmWKq3EzOqeUXDVv3n39y2UMGAIso6BDMHyJsstZPpUkeSYolPoojCXzZQosDTzqXBpimwgFUSK5QM9lw5yOmLD8QrR_FLdnlNQaCeV82464SzMfzbAXXs/s1600/jewellery.jpg" height="267" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Stars!</b> <i>Bouquet Blooms</i> jewellery</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After struggling with the Tiffany outfit, I didn't feel like taking too much extra effort to showcase what could easily just be a close-up shot of the jewels, but they were too colourful for the black and white. I decided to throw on a dress at random and see how it looked, and found this </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'Bluebird gown'</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, a </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Boudoir</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> group gift. Then I had a look through my Crazy Ass Hair Hunt files for something colourful and flowery, and instead found this </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">'Anemone'</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> hair by </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Nevermind</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> which matched the dress perfectly, and suddenly, with hardly any effort at all, I had a stunning outfit to really show off my jewels. I love when a post comes together like this, and I took the time to take a few photos and even put together a dance collage.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNi0oMh47Fp-Woc1aVvggX6raytfOn-thD7-Zdbd52LeOmdO0oaIhfK1n9kgz7hnHCdamRvG4Nj2OZgVTw6CuJ607U4Pvs-6RwWyXL-Dj8-72HniQEGCuAEvM4glXh_3K98Qwx01UmdiQ/s1600/swing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjNi0oMh47Fp-Woc1aVvggX6raytfOn-thD7-Zdbd52LeOmdO0oaIhfK1n9kgz7hnHCdamRvG4Nj2OZgVTw6CuJ607U4Pvs-6RwWyXL-Dj8-72HniQEGCuAEvM4glXh_3K98Qwx01UmdiQ/s1600/swing.jpg" height="320" width="273" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Perched prettily on my <b>We're CLOSED</b> log swing</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>ZOZ</b> Slink nail polish applier <i>'floral solids'</i> in 12 colours<br />(the dress comes with black gloves)</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCoKkX3qYS4Z_tHaexROCgpNOSe6tCqx81AcIZwvh3I-idZo9SL0okQwqsWPhHCRnWrxcd9ytatxDuH8gbmFiJBrNEqHsOzusRRRWSr_Sz1_byVgqs5LjtDhMQ6ZNZzFrhi9K2KC02s0k/s1600/dance.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCoKkX3qYS4Z_tHaexROCgpNOSe6tCqx81AcIZwvh3I-idZo9SL0okQwqsWPhHCRnWrxcd9ytatxDuH8gbmFiJBrNEqHsOzusRRRWSr_Sz1_byVgqs5LjtDhMQ6ZNZzFrhi9K2KC02s0k/s1600/dance.gif" height="300" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My favourite dance, <i>weloveyou-girl</i> from <b>Sinewave<br /><span style="font-size: large;">* Click to enlarge! *</span></b></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Additionally, while I'm doing a <b>Stars!</b> post, here is the <i>'Iridescence'</i> set in thunder - a gorgeous rainbow opal texture - which I purchased while I was tracking down the hunt prize. I should really have included this with the Tiffany post but I was having a trying day (the cat was sick all over child's bedroom floor and a plush toy, just as child didn't get himself to the toilet in time; it was one of those moments when you wonder just why you have either of them!) so I was rushing to post before I could settle down for what was left of the evening.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYnhNSRMlgU9VAKjdJLNgTXIC-F6Uo5EES315dvw3GWueQQQQ3La6Ina2MKlDPxfVXHbMZSpVDQQaEZBMWwM9oAh2Zepo6tZnHfbHkQJpwI94XpwKUeK73vlJEjvd63NImkPQHXQtb2c/s1600/Stars-Iridescence.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiYnhNSRMlgU9VAKjdJLNgTXIC-F6Uo5EES315dvw3GWueQQQQ3La6Ina2MKlDPxfVXHbMZSpVDQQaEZBMWwM9oAh2Zepo6tZnHfbHkQJpwI94XpwKUeK73vlJEjvd63NImkPQHXQtb2c/s1600/Stars-Iridescence.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Stars! </b><i>Iridescence</i> (thunder) with <b>Brii</b> <i>Tiffany</i> outfit</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is going to make much more sense on Flickr, because I will post it first!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-7964108019603033082014-08-10T13:56:00.000-07:002014-08-11T12:15:24.131-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Breakfast at Tiffany's<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This post showcases the outfit I got from <b>Brii Underground Wear</b> in the May <b>'Breakfast at Tiffany's'</b> hunt, as well as a mix of old and new, mesh and old style prims working in harmony. I don't take part in many hunts and I hadn't heard of this one, but a friend found this prize and I loved the jacket, so I just made the one stop. It was a well designed clue, for which I give Brii props! The designers tried to make things in theme with the well-known film starring Audrey Hepburn, and I tried to stick with it in my choice of accessories. The Brii outfit includes mesh jacket and skirt, hat, sunglasses and shoes, also some make up which I didn't use as it's completely wrong for my face shape.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A fountain, not an erupting volcano, shot against<br />[TOR] Sunrise - Eye of Mowron.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The fountain was made and gifted by a friend, Xixao, back in the earliest days of SL (we graduated together from Help Island) and although it's a little primmy, I still think it holds its own against all the newfangled mesh. I'm on a retro decorating mission at the moment, to prove that there are many things made in the early days of SL which withstand the test of time, and to defend my hoarding impulses. I have the prims to do it, now they aren't being hogged by my castle! The <i>'Butterfly Kiss'</i> chair is from the other end of the spectrum, a mesh design by another friend, still available at <b>Angelic Designs</b>.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9WbisoFCu271eW40ij5YxFNPJ9-BHl1ZsHSCgWOdj5DbBe-Tel85uxc5Zh_xvJIz7P7mxSVZWJXo7Qp2Tv6RzEh8F5JRnQkemAgQT6VNY1ZNRrNCW_DijbWfauSaXNsRYKJ67p6JrEM/s1600/Nacon'sNatural-8am.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjZ9WbisoFCu271eW40ij5YxFNPJ9-BHl1ZsHSCgWOdj5DbBe-Tel85uxc5Zh_xvJIz7P7mxSVZWJXo7Qp2Tv6RzEh8F5JRnQkemAgQT6VNY1ZNRrNCW_DijbWfauSaXNsRYKJ67p6JrEM/s1600/Nacon'sNatural-8am.jpg" height="298" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Breakfast by the lake (Nacon's Natural 8am sky)</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another <b>[AD]</b> design, I just purchased this <i>'Solas'</i> tall bistro set (tea things included); I've been looking for some pretty wrought iron garden furniture for I don't know how long and this seemed just perfect for breakfast by the lake, coming up on sale at an opportune moment as I got around to nearly the last of my May hoardings. The little pink bird perched on the other chair is by <b>HPMD</b>. My legs look pretty good in this shot, but if you look closely you can see some colour discrepancy between the legs and feet. The Tiffany shoes are very pretty but I'm afraid I have an axe to grind with shoe designers who don't provide for the full colour spectrum of skins. This is the palest the feet will go, and only 5 base skin colours were provided in the HUD, none of which were white. A white skin tone is <b>absolutely critical</b> for people who wear pale or exotic skins, if they are to match the feet, so I doubt these shoes will be seeing the light of day again. Somewhat amusing, given this gripe, is that the shoes have a typo so they are named peeptoe Hells!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoV48Y4yErALpaTdRODWoAMdA8Jcw3vCupPz7YN1ocWg-Zrdm0E-BXEbUvPsrPBWyhVeBSqVvJZlJXlUYrMCVgZyN2Jr6qqVNz0bddoMGIsORY1p1DACUJ4z0gCoZ_LO4u9Jv-85KJUdU/s1600/places-cromac-leaning.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgoV48Y4yErALpaTdRODWoAMdA8Jcw3vCupPz7YN1ocWg-Zrdm0E-BXEbUvPsrPBWyhVeBSqVvJZlJXlUYrMCVgZyN2Jr6qqVNz0bddoMGIsORY1p1DACUJ4z0gCoZ_LO4u9Jv-85KJUdU/s1600/places-cromac-leaning.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">bewildebeest 'Alma' jewellery, Free Speerit 'Elise' hair<br />and sky (lighting) Places - Cromac</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have got to say, I hate hair. It's an absolute pain in the **** when it comes to hats, and mesh is no good at all because you can't change it. After a great deal of dissatisfied inventory trawling and primping (modding all the bits which stick out), I rediscovered this rather charming style by </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Free Speerit</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, called <i>'Elise'</i>. I have no idea if the store is still around, as the hair is rather old, and pure default prim - not even any flexis! - but it worked a treat, I didn't even have to hide any stray locks, and the pinned up look suits Tiffany reasonably well. I need to find some more hair that works with hats, as I have so many and they are always hard to fit, though the toppers I get from TMH generally perch well enough on top.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Tiffany must wear diamonds, of course, so I put on this lovely filigree jewellery, <i>'Alma'</i> from a fabulous store, <b>.( bewildebeest ).</b> which sadly closed its doors some years ago despite her exquisite prim designs. I am using an <b>Amacci</b> skin, <i>'Oleana'</i> from a past Peace hunt, with <i>'Tribal'</i> make up and <i>'Ain't Me'</i> eyes from <b>DAMNED</b>.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-size: x-small;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">{ZOZ} 'Wild black gold' nail polish in Dalmation (SLink applier)</span></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Finally, a close-up shot to show off the Alma ring and my nails, sporting this gorgeous and exotic nail polish from <b>{ZOZ}</b> which I stumbled upon completely by accident as I nipped into the Relay For Life fashion event in June. There are 12 designs in the set, for hands and feet, in a variety of animal prints including some reptilian green scales! I got the SLink mesh nails, rather than the full hands, because I'm not quite ready to go full mesh on those; 'natural' hands look perfectly fine (compared to the feet...) and their flexibility is required for certain poses and animations. I know mesh looks smoother in photos but when people are moving around, I find it makes them look a bit like animated puppets, not to mention all the issues with clothing, so I'm not very keen on mesh body parts, apart from my feet (and hair of course, and the 'additions' like nails, fangs and tails!) I am sure I am starting to look quite thoroughly retro when I go out, though the amount of mesh hair and clothing I wear probably saves me from complete disgrace. Though I will say, all this mesh caused my computer to blow up - I had to get a new graphics card to handle it, and as it turned out, the PSU (power supply unit) was no longer up to the task. I logged on a couple of days ago and it went 'phttt' in clouds of smoke... Now I have a new PSU, cooling unit and larger, quieter case - all to maintain my shiny hoard and this blog!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-88095414851706397512014-08-01T03:55:00.000-07:002014-08-01T03:55:07.378-07:00For the HOARD! ~ White Queen<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This ALWAYS happens... One of my favourite stores had an outfit out for the Month of Games, which ended yesterday (sorry) - the triple theme was Chess, Clue (or as we call it in the UK, Cluedo, don't ask me why) and Candyland. Since when candy was a game genre I do not know, but there we are; or were.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The Month of Games Shopping Event</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It looked as though there were some pretty fun activities over the event, including a murder hunt in the Clue zone, which I'm sorry to have missed, but I was operating on my 'don't go until last minute then you won't be so tempted to buy stuff' principle - like THAT ever works! I did buy the outfit I went for, but I have an idea how to showcase that which I haven't got around to yet, so, later.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">What I ALSO bought was possibly the most expensive dress in my entire wardrobe, after spotting it on an ill-advised sweep of the vendor boards, and falling instantly in love. All the items in the Chess section were themed around the game, and I chose this <i>"Chess"</i> dress by <b>Son!a</b> in ivory, because I liked the gold accents, and that much pure white would have made me feel like a bride. It is a stunning dress, with a huge pouffe of chiffony, flexi train, a tintable fur stole, and fun but elegant attachments in the style of the chess rook, the castle.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmUgaRVlaQ1mgEC1c10pxRZ8C69nilQpO85PBfRKOKz6uEbVQwxC17qk82wtuQ_6goNsAPja1ulywimjPhk0EGEYZpLgD_1w50vODSeJ4YZ4KO7NfgXSRRX5J2KyiJqaW_fgWyUhJG-o/s1600/Snapshot_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgVmUgaRVlaQ1mgEC1c10pxRZ8C69nilQpO85PBfRKOKz6uEbVQwxC17qk82wtuQ_6goNsAPja1ulywimjPhk0EGEYZpLgD_1w50vODSeJ4YZ4KO7NfgXSRRX5J2KyiJqaW_fgWyUhJG-o/s1600/Snapshot_001.jpg" height="265" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Son!a</b> "Chess" dress with <b>Boudoir</b> "Chess Queen Battle"</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also bought this beautiful <i>"Chess Queen Battle"</i> table set by <b>Boudoir</b>, with linked chairs for the opposing players. The board animates on touch to play out part of a chess game - I couldn't see an endgame, but it moved so quickly, and I'm only a chess amateur, I could have missed something; I must get Nadir to look, my hubby being a bit of a chess whiz!</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have been showing my dress off to every friend who will spare me a minute, and Suzari here immediately put on hir <b>Illusions</b> <i>"Harlequin"</i> outfit and said I needed a jester, which was awesomely apt for playing my black opponent - Game On! I have no idea of Suzari's skill at chess but it's probably better than mine, so I'd likely lose, but that's OK because jesters have a work mandate to put royalty in its place ;)</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtr1vY2W6u-qelzIFBdWz2-hmkVxDuB9Edah2DNsNbiq-XQ9lhoYaTq8Th5HGpW4WFIw7QrrDn3F1nQ8f1IYwJEtxZXO5NYkPweWX77LCRzSkFyj_Bhq1yKmSomnmun_i_1slJtyTOqQ/s1600/Snapshot_003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvtr1vY2W6u-qelzIFBdWz2-hmkVxDuB9Edah2DNsNbiq-XQ9lhoYaTq8Th5HGpW4WFIw7QrrDn3F1nQ8f1IYwJEtxZXO5NYkPweWX77LCRzSkFyj_Bhq1yKmSomnmun_i_1slJtyTOqQ/s1600/Snapshot_003.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i><b>Bamboo</b> "Chess" nails (queens)</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Additionally, I picked up this fun set of SLink nail polish appliers by <b>Bamboo</b>, to accessorise. They come with little queens, knights or pawns, or you can have them in plain chessboard style, which I did for my feet.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And here are just a few more pics:</span><div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvMN53Ps6HKa-LgVDqzwQF355h6dymCo2IuEkLZjuwRREF2rfHI7PIAHBZiqoHFfS6gKrFCIOQ9r_HxDP7VWn4WKzIPpTFdhrsbdr0i2-2G_8WSW490HGwpn7DBdph5hOHxa_Zk7vg28/s1600/Snapshot_004.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsvMN53Ps6HKa-LgVDqzwQF355h6dymCo2IuEkLZjuwRREF2rfHI7PIAHBZiqoHFfS6gKrFCIOQ9r_HxDP7VWn4WKzIPpTFdhrsbdr0i2-2G_8WSW490HGwpn7DBdph5hOHxa_Zk7vg28/s1600/Snapshot_004.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>White Queen vs Dark Jester</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnbWhlOBDS9dai618qlq_wK93n7BbUMtjde8Ysc5aqs1fV5X9mcKAUVTRzcf32U2Si43A3LyGQTEhCzLsOK1rie2vBlJ4jjhu_VGWW6s7-HIDnaV6XfpBKrK_vFYLsFixzwT3JbqBz4M/s1600/Snapshot_005.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTnbWhlOBDS9dai618qlq_wK93n7BbUMtjde8Ysc5aqs1fV5X9mcKAUVTRzcf32U2Si43A3LyGQTEhCzLsOK1rie2vBlJ4jjhu_VGWW6s7-HIDnaV6XfpBKrK_vFYLsFixzwT3JbqBz4M/s1600/Snapshot_005.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Alice, my dear, do you play?"</span></i></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eZsbM3-jV5Onv2ygKSSfMohfy7qqcCaOpbuvucsYOADzxRNeLkes5QDzcpQNunFwRl3p_BeWFRp6ypnU1KHaAdwxgw428aVf3zjpW2WPZENS6xP9aL5X93aCEgzHcVu-lNVVAsE5g5Y/s1600/Snapshot_006.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5eZsbM3-jV5Onv2ygKSSfMohfy7qqcCaOpbuvucsYOADzxRNeLkes5QDzcpQNunFwRl3p_BeWFRp6ypnU1KHaAdwxgw428aVf3zjpW2WPZENS6xP9aL5X93aCEgzHcVu-lNVVAsE5g5Y/s1600/Snapshot_006.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Sunrise</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Necklace: <i>"Dulce Gold"</i> by <b>Vintage Jewels </b>(just purchased; members only)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hair: <i>"Song"</i> in 'mad' pack by <b>!Lamb </b>for the June round of Collabor88</span><div>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Skin and make-up featured in previous post; they looked so good I didn't bother changing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Incidentally, Son!a wins a bunch of brownie points, because I was rather disappointed to find after purchase that the rook attachments were set at full-bright, and no-mod; and as I like to use natural lighting, and often wander about at night or in the darker windlight settings, full-bright can be as intrusive as neon. I sent an offline IM asking if she would mind resetting the textures and sending me a new copy and got them within a couple of hours - now there's service! I had been steeling myself for a snippy 'sorry, that's how I made it, like it or lump it' attitude but clearly Son!a values her customers. So now, the dress is perfect, definitely worth what I paid for it, and I suspect I may be wearing it quite a lot in between photo shoots. Obviously I like all the outfits I buy, but this one really feels 'me'. I probably ought to hunt out some shoes, I think I have just the pair from L&E...</span><div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">~ : ~</span></b></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-34160156797311233722014-07-30T02:09:00.000-07:002014-08-01T03:55:56.484-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Garden Party<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This post showcases <b>PurpleMoon</b> in a double set, as not only am I wearing the gorgeous group gift gown, <i>"Drew"</i> in Dreams of Chocolate (mesh), I just had to buy the jewellery that was modelled with it - <b>Lazuri</b> <i>"Fall Romance"</i>. This colour of dress is exclusive to the group gift (which is still available at the time of posting) but her styles are released in multiple colours. Lazuri seems to be a protégé brand as it is by a different designer but managed by PM, so her designs are recommended alongside various dresses (a cunning sale strategy!). The pearl drops on earrings and necklace have a choice of textures, but intriguingly show a different one on left and right, with lots of sparkling coloured gems to complement and up to 3 bracelets on each arm.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFOBCDzB8yoFy8pVjAtX5q1eEQ64BUWq96FuFONsjRVkRDb1fR0MRs_aSzvXA8YlrVPA3ATq06CAL0NEa-pfCPjySk78qRVUOTxnk-6AvCWeM-nvA6hZJARc2YIKRCTg-Gx3wYs3VsEc/s1600/DrewLazuri_standing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVFOBCDzB8yoFy8pVjAtX5q1eEQ64BUWq96FuFONsjRVkRDb1fR0MRs_aSzvXA8YlrVPA3ATq06CAL0NEa-pfCPjySk78qRVUOTxnk-6AvCWeM-nvA6hZJARc2YIKRCTg-Gx3wYs3VsEc/s1600/DrewLazuri_standing.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With the richness of the dress and jewels, I had to dress up a bit. I have an absolutely ridiculous number of hats, mostly by <b>The Mad Hattery</b>, but I never seem to wear them; so although it hides the hair a little, I decided to hat up for this shoot with the <i>"Forgotten Orchid" </i>topper. <b>TMH</b> hats are hugely creative and (I think) both elegant and entertaining at the same time; this one is made in the style of a greenhouse containing a potted orchid which is escaping out of the louvred roof!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The hair is <i>"Ophelia"</i> by <b>La Boheme</b>, made for the second Crazy Ass Hair Hunt, which I also wore for my <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/colour-challenge-27-cadmium-red.html">Vampire Burlesque Circus</a> post in the 2012 Colour Challenge. It has tiny metalled flowers in the back which you can see better in that post, and is colour change scripted, but also handily mod.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO8Wt9IQFVyaAlVBoWd2uZqTFRJua-PSLN_55j6CNzCnt2VPomHjovPyGsXdyO63qi9PXCps8g2HXV_WEnh38rJvf-TfziDNwoIOzZgXfBiM6vXDMWTg6tjWUvf1ASsKeZHIhBU3mync/s1600/DrewLazuri_seated.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnO8Wt9IQFVyaAlVBoWd2uZqTFRJua-PSLN_55j6CNzCnt2VPomHjovPyGsXdyO63qi9PXCps8g2HXV_WEnh38rJvf-TfziDNwoIOzZgXfBiM6vXDMWTg6tjWUvf1ASsKeZHIhBU3mync/s1600/DrewLazuri_seated.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Then I thought that a little something extra was needed and put on this fabulous </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">"Wrapped"</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> feather boa by </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Schadenfreude</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">. It comes in five body hugging pieces (arm and chest/spine attachments), has detailed flexi feathers, and is tintable (of course I chose the white version for maximum modification) so I matched it to the embroidery of the dress. No lady's outfit is complete without a wrap!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UxWqZwoM8hQ19qiKmrxSw6TTsPPffv_tX_UQbIHKfWaiO_wzvyvfKV9-J3sEujjr3gJTdk_5eYbf25STA7If4PpU_8vT3uXMtIy6Hy50ZOaQzASu2Pg9mM9t2s1CuVGOqt9ixyr46bw/s1600/DrewLazuri_close.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2UxWqZwoM8hQ19qiKmrxSw6TTsPPffv_tX_UQbIHKfWaiO_wzvyvfKV9-J3sEujjr3gJTdk_5eYbf25STA7If4PpU_8vT3uXMtIy6Hy50ZOaQzASu2Pg9mM9t2s1CuVGOqt9ixyr46bw/s1600/DrewLazuri_close.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn't want to swamp the delicate gold of the dress or jewellery with my customary gold skins, so I went with one of my <b>{Frick}</b> designs, <i>"Alt Geisha Tamarind"</i> in cream. I love the soft, painted look of her skins, all of which have beautifully designed make-up schemes; although they are more human than the scaled skins, the fantasy element suits my nature and adds variety, and I find that they stand up better to a range of lighting than some of the more photo-realistic skins on the market. <span style="font-size: x-small;">(Ha ha oops, just noticed I forgot to re-tint my feet!)</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This skin shows bright stars of orange behind the <i>"Travel"</i> petal make-up by <b>White~Widow </b>which seems to be turning into something of a staple. I also have on some contour blusher by <b>Dead Apples</b> and brass <i>"Sweet Lips"</i> by <b>KOSH</b>, along with the now habitual <b>ContraptioN</b> fangs. The eyes are <i>"Caesius"</i> in copper from the Aquamer collection by <b>Plastik</b>, which came with the gold skin from most of my previous posts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As a final mention, the chairs are from the <i>"Butterfly Kiss"</i> set by <b>Angelic Designs</b>, along with her <i>"Avalon"</i> antique sterling wine serving tray (purchased last weekend) on an Indian summer side table by <b>What Next</b>, with an apple tree by <b>ForestFloor Creations</b> and disappearing Cheshire Cat by <b>SHD</b>. Because I am always finding little incidental things in other bloggers' backdrops and wondering where they are from :)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Note that I am not using one of the chair animations, I am actually posing with one of a <b>Poseway</b> Fashion Model set exclusive to the Couturiers Docks, which was a completely accidental purchase - it was late, I was tired, I thought I was buying the jewellery on the ad model and failed to register the significance of the pose stand in front... lol oh well. One set of poses won't break the bank, and now I'm just trying to get my money's worth out of them!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-80920751090448505942014-07-21T13:38:00.001-07:002014-08-01T03:56:33.639-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Love is in the Details<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm back! I didn't go anywhere but I had a bit of an artistic block putting this outfit together, not helped by the disaster of SL chewing up and spitting out my castle, so I've been busy remodelling the place. It now has a waterfall grotto and a lot of alien plants, which are prime examples of how artistic people can be with raw tortured prims - from back in the day before mesh and sculpts (or even flexis!) - but also of how many prims they take up in your parcel allowance. My six Shiny Things exotic plants combine to 50 prims, so although I love them, I never really had the space for them until now. Opportunity out of crisis indeed!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have a lot of <b>Finesmith</b> jewellery, because her designs are fabulous, but mostly I go for things in the sales as her prices are also pretty fabulous; but she is a very generous as well as talented designer with frequent sales and hunts. I picked up a lovely pair of earrings on sale in May last year, spun from driftwood and cubic beads and little glass hearts; now, almost exactly a year later (remember I'm still blogging my May purchases - this is not a 'what's on sale right now' kind of blog!) I finally had the cash to buy necklace and bracelet to match. I didn't bother with the ring as I don't often wear them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also picked up the month's group gift from my favourite dress designer, <b>Purple Moon</b>, and decided it would set off the jewellery very well, but couldn't quite get the hair right. This morning I decided to catalogue (i.e. photograph) my Crazy Ass Hair Hunt prizes as there are so many, and they are so varied and outlandish, that there's really no other way of remembering what they are all like; and doing this, I found the perfect complement to the outfit, a style which is both striking and simple, setting off rather than outperforming the jewellery and adding to the classic elegance of the dress.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvyquaEB4hR6VugSq0u99zQkucZOLYRTg6GUcO3DClQvIpKDTwwnFBtu8_7jXgw_YAS-mkgERIeQzKA_SiYSLayDNumMUwE0Lxf3RQ03Vlv5MISL8mvn0FLsf83RUKVUTw3PCleRi-UM/s1600/Full-scene.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOvyquaEB4hR6VugSq0u99zQkucZOLYRTg6GUcO3DClQvIpKDTwwnFBtu8_7jXgw_YAS-mkgERIeQzKA_SiYSLayDNumMUwE0Lxf3RQ03Vlv5MISL8mvn0FLsf83RUKVUTw3PCleRi-UM/s1600/Full-scene.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">Scenery:</span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;"> [AD]</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"> <i>'Nerissa'</i> Forgotten Cascade and </span><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;">Fallingwater Cellardoor</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"> (Shiny Things) Crazy Tulip</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The tulips are the least exotic of the bunch, which include animated bug eaters, spore pushers and an odd sort of serpent vine with petalled maw - I'll show them in another post. The surrounding cave and other visible plants are all from <b>[Angelic Designs]</b> too. It's my Go-To store!</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCOyaDsXRchOscZNdJnQwdbeHEOpoii89yn4WjPQ7SPEvR_3u0RQCfpGN9JwWTfAoe0AXMojs-TAOzc6ULD0EhdpAUBHE8AErN_8l0CK_z7QCxClHa2GsZ-Fqe_SzRIX27dyzQ8K5c4Y/s1600/Closer.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQCOyaDsXRchOscZNdJnQwdbeHEOpoii89yn4WjPQ7SPEvR_3u0RQCfpGN9JwWTfAoe0AXMojs-TAOzc6ULD0EhdpAUBHE8AErN_8l0CK_z7QCxClHa2GsZ-Fqe_SzRIX27dyzQ8K5c4Y/s1600/Closer.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: medium;">PurpleMoon</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;"> <i>'Aria'</i> dress (mesh gown, flexi skirts).</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8v80LQD7H_OrhevGVTnwEOKwaWORiudlNstOqN-Jye1QXiHmfqfxIsrWwfbYyAOVba8KWQMiqWOONnqIa1gCc9WCOnzpeE4p05i5kL8uTrYsIufUpTwERcU54OjFIuK9RIt8AND3OE4/s1600/Watercurtain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgF8v80LQD7H_OrhevGVTnwEOKwaWORiudlNstOqN-Jye1QXiHmfqfxIsrWwfbYyAOVba8KWQMiqWOONnqIa1gCc9WCOnzpeE4p05i5kL8uTrYsIufUpTwERcU54OjFIuK9RIt8AND3OE4/s1600/Watercurtain.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Finesmith</b> <i>'Love is in the Details'</i> necklace with </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>'Love Doesn't Grow on Trees'</i> earrings and bracelet. <i>'Lady Saelanar'</i> hair </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">by <b>Sky Everett Designs</b> for CAHH 2010.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipr_yAI7p-p9_8epRl8-Lv_8QVii05CSiKLY0UzXmFBDuUx8GgyqIC3plz0gjPSGJgl-y5Eb90qCdTJxExQGFHYDHyG4OwjkKHXCDr7nWBTujU7O8p2CIrgq313o666QbWi7kLYzXcwxE/s1600/Jewellery.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEipr_yAI7p-p9_8epRl8-Lv_8QVii05CSiKLY0UzXmFBDuUx8GgyqIC3plz0gjPSGJgl-y5Eb90qCdTJxExQGFHYDHyG4OwjkKHXCDr7nWBTujU7O8p2CIrgq313o666QbWi7kLYzXcwxE/s1600/Jewellery.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: small;"><b>Al Vulo</b> <i>'Debbie'</i> Ohh Deer Chantilly (promo) skin <br />with <b>White~Widow</b> <i>'Petals'</i> face paint and <b>KOSH</b> <i>'Sweet Lips'</i>.</span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMKomNzOKLFWXWBlJkhLX3VaJOqPpeaTyOVrajH6k8OLUOksaMBlL507XrbiX4M5cEKgjablHG01mLEmqnWwsGeP_oe9eFk7oyDjl3SGcpXeZDoumZf5It9BqiCLoTyxWMkf0LFREYOU/s1600/Nails.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjdMKomNzOKLFWXWBlJkhLX3VaJOqPpeaTyOVrajH6k8OLUOksaMBlL507XrbiX4M5cEKgjablHG01mLEmqnWwsGeP_oe9eFk7oyDjl3SGcpXeZDoumZf5It9BqiCLoTyxWMkf0LFREYOU/s1600/Nails.gif" height="262" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Finesmith</b> <i>'Love Doesn't Grow on Trees'</i> bracelet and </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>'Illustrated'</i> SLink enhanced nail polish (purchased in June).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had to be artistic with this shot and cut it up a bit, because the thumb of my hand was partially obscured inside my hip, and somehow looked like I had been struck with a Withering curse; there was no way anyone short of a Photoshop genius was going to repair it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">No, really, look D:</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">My poor, withered thumb!</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is why a lot of people are buying mesh hands, but that just adds yet another nightmare of skin matching and position-tinkering each time I use a pose, and I've always liked how the default hands are done in SL, with a lot of animation potential. Too much mesh and we're all going to look like a clone army of shop window mannequins - if anything can be seen of us at all for the LOD lag! Don't get me wrong, I do love mesh - I own enough of it! - but it has its drawbacks. I think I'll stick with the default skeleton for a while yet, cursed thumbs and knobbly knees and elbows notwithstanding.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-39531297391110679242014-07-06T10:42:00.000-07:002014-07-06T10:42:32.637-07:00SL Ate My Castle ¬.¬<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There used to be a castle on this mound. I had to take it down. It's a fairly involved technical story which I'll explain after the photos - suffice it to say for now that SL glitched in a major way while I was trying to reduce prims, and ruined the build. It will take far too much effort to redo from scratch (which I will also explain below) and so I have torn down the whole castle, leaving just the mound. On the bright side, it has freed up 600 prims with which I think I will landscape, with various plants, water features and garden decorations. What is it they say about a crisis offering opportunity? I just know I don't have the heart right now to do it all over again, but I don't want to abandon the parcel as I have got it looking so pretty.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3C_JV5rKiiPKFhzMGsoBBaSifnZm04SPeRyzrM1qVnnmhGwFFc8e_lW17Xa8rYcdb9jagmPe4ErOVWgq-wItBn_3AQ0AaixtHhL3oEV2-ZvlUK_pzSk4GLRmMaJCa3cvDRZzzRmfC4eY/s1600/CASTLE-GONE_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3C_JV5rKiiPKFhzMGsoBBaSifnZm04SPeRyzrM1qVnnmhGwFFc8e_lW17Xa8rYcdb9jagmPe4ErOVWgq-wItBn_3AQ0AaixtHhL3oEV2-ZvlUK_pzSk4GLRmMaJCa3cvDRZzzRmfC4eY/s1600/CASTLE-GONE_001.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSzI_ckk1Gggu90wETd5qm2rUSP7QY2qAJCOGpMQ1AOXKO0qozH1LUHY_PHnK8MCIi6mPOjKQYmJxYLkWND61jW0f4B9Oegq1qxk7qwnLQKCWO1mWWKcel1T7epuMlPO3vRjYxevuXlTY/s1600/CASTLE-GONE_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgSzI_ckk1Gggu90wETd5qm2rUSP7QY2qAJCOGpMQ1AOXKO0qozH1LUHY_PHnK8MCIi6mPOjKQYmJxYLkWND61jW0f4B9Oegq1qxk7qwnLQKCWO1mWWKcel1T7epuMlPO3vRjYxevuXlTY/s1600/CASTLE-GONE_002.jpg" height="188" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you set the prim physics of certain system prims only (not sculpts or mesh) to convex hull, you can halve the land impact, which obviously in a build this large adds up to a good amount of spare prims you can reuse. I reckoned I could save at least 100 prims this way, which is well worth doing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first time I tried this was late at night, when I was tired, and inevitably goofed up; I fixed that problem and the next time, believe me, I took precautions and didn't make any mistakes. I first took a copy of each linkset of the castle into inventory, so that I could restore it if anything went wrong. I also edit-selected out all the sculpted parts I could detect in the linkset I was working on, because if you change sculpts to convex hull, this doubles their LI, and I am already maxed out on prim allowance. I needed to work with linksets rather than unlinking the whole castle, because it's a very complex and irregular build, and if you can't see the outlines of everything selected, you can't tell where half the prims are, or whether you've already modded them.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The first linkset I modified worked beautifully and I saved around 40 prims. Then lag, or general weekend contrariness, set in. Every prim I seemed to have selected was a simple box, yet changing the selected prims to convex hull switched the entire linkset, doubling the prim count. Trying it on a couple of identical delinked box prims, I couldn't for the life of me work out why one would halve and the other double. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then disaster really set in. I tried a different linkset, one not much larger, and again only chose the non-sculpted prims - but this time, the prim count went off the scale, at least above my spare parcel allowance, and the linkset was returned. No problem, I thought, I'll just restore the backup copy.</span><br />
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<a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HSK1c2wTk3E/U7mFEag8Q8I/AAAAAAAABg8/N-sSveN1jDo/s1600/restoration-wtf.PNG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-HSK1c2wTk3E/U7mFEag8Q8I/AAAAAAAABg8/N-sSveN1jDo/s1600/restoration-wtf.PNG" height="177" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And this happened. Why in the world would it try to rez the set at 0,0,0 coordinates when I was restoring to last position?! Well, I tried several times, from different locations on the parcel (just in case it had anything to do with MY position, which is doubtful) but there was no way it was going to work. I had a huge missing chunk of castle and no way to fix it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Why not reposition the set by hand, you may ask? Well, these aren't regular linksets, and it's by no means a linear build. A tower turret could be linked to half the ground floor and a window prim on the other side of the castle, with all kinds of pieces at different crazy angles to one another. Rezzing it any-old-how on the ground would result in a mismatch it would be almost impossible to line up - I had enough trouble doing that the night before and wasn't about to try it a second time. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So finally, why not try re-rezzing the entire castle again from scratch? Well, when I originally put it up, I made a lot of modifications. I removed quite a few prims, and to have the capacity for the full build, I would need to take up most if not all of the items I'd set out around the parcel, as the original castle is over 600 prims; and I would need to make sure I didn't position it over the top of something. Then I'd have to redecorate my bedroom all over again, which was a nightmare job of texture re-mapping. I just didn't have the heart to go to so much effort when I'd got things looking so pretty; and it's not as though I'd been indoors much, or had guests over.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So I demolished the entire castle down to the bare mound, and have decided to eschew buildings for now; I wanted more prims so I could put out pretty garden things, and now I have more than enough to work with. The castle may be one of the most expensive and longest coveted items in my inventory, but it was also one of the primmiest and now I can take advantage of its absence. Maybe some day I'll put it back. Now I have a new project, which is making a beautiful garden. SL, LL and huge builds be damned!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-10005364803358242142014-07-05T02:56:00.000-07:002014-07-06T07:10:15.002-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Gryphon<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You all know I love dragons most; but I have a secondary spot for gryphons in my heart. I think it's the combination of big cat and eagle, both beautiful, magnificent predators, coupled with my love of chimaeras. (A dolphin is also a beautiful, magnificent predator, but a half cat, half dolphin would... well okay, I had to go and google this and <a href="http://paizo.com/image/content/PathfinderBattles/20130503-SeaCat.jpg">I did find quite a fine fish specimen</a>, but I prefer the aerial mix.)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have found many fine dragon avatars on SL but for some reason, never until now did I find a satisfactory gryphon. They were all too cartoony or too chunky for my tastes. <b>Seawolf</b>, the makers of the sim-sized sculpt-prim dragons (I have one of the smaller versions) have done a gryphon, and done it proud. </span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Mw2uN6OTvjK3lsaFfdpYkM1eBk9aDLwnkM8l1tzXLk1jRepKgmf2xW_Cbr1Sz0w-EzvwcbpUNQytKm0z3hNukDt1Cm8PovOXI8TVnHHtgBGFIYvVTHbIbwPjpeOpm1jaQMKrTl1CbUI/s1600/flight.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi1Mw2uN6OTvjK3lsaFfdpYkM1eBk9aDLwnkM8l1tzXLk1jRepKgmf2xW_Cbr1Sz0w-EzvwcbpUNQytKm0z3hNukDt1Cm8PovOXI8TVnHHtgBGFIYvVTHbIbwPjpeOpm1jaQMKrTl1CbUI/s1600/flight.jpg" height="245" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Soaring: Seawolf Adult Gryphon v1.2 (L$2400)</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A friend had one and when I saw it, I just had to get it. The beast has interchangeable parts so you can make it the standard eagle-cat (as in the first two images), eagle-wolf or eagle-horse (hippogriff) or simply a normal big cat or wolf, with or without wings. It has very smooth, natural looking walk, run and flight motion and lots of small detail such as talkjaw, twitchy ears and idle scratching. It also has the most complex HUD I have ever seen, with several coat texture changes, eye, ear and muzzle shapes, a huge range of cool animations (chase tail, pounce, rear etc.), sounds, even hand positioning for a bipedal furry variant I didn't try out.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Nesting (nest included)</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7cJVaEsnj0ADdzViewz3EzmP6q_GmauvTh87ObEdaGBrplZQo8Io4zQHqROLKBkpGq5RJVh7P5ISiQBgvVezTyW1OkTeZnkyHVQFI_IWkHIB97Gt3LQmkPzLxlDQEA9CSoSNKnOGQNo/s1600/panther.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEim7cJVaEsnj0ADdzViewz3EzmP6q_GmauvTh87ObEdaGBrplZQo8Io4zQHqROLKBkpGq5RJVh7P5ISiQBgvVezTyW1OkTeZnkyHVQFI_IWkHIB97Gt3LQmkPzLxlDQEA9CSoSNKnOGQNo/s1600/panther.jpg" height="284" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Winged panther</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ53V10m9pH85GtK8oESK9Hb5YrigMzx7qipl3yDZvmjUIj2Pe7ef05v7E6wrzaeKcxYi8YEDk9ZVUylS8Gmf7gTWOBkCZd_JdS_r-MbPk0dXcNp62N3WSZIgs8Mwjl1XxHrip7iXjWBc/s1600/wolf.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ53V10m9pH85GtK8oESK9Hb5YrigMzx7qipl3yDZvmjUIj2Pe7ef05v7E6wrzaeKcxYi8YEDk9ZVUylS8Gmf7gTWOBkCZd_JdS_r-MbPk0dXcNp62N3WSZIgs8Mwjl1XxHrip7iXjWBc/s1600/wolf.jpg" height="270" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Wolf, drinking at neighbour's waterfall (land owned by a wolf pack...)</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It is gorgeous but it has a couple of issues. For one, every time you change between poses - standing to sitting or flying - the legs and wings switch out to a second set, with a script to turn the unused set invisible. This is standard practice with this kind of avatar, because you can't animate prims the way you can the default (human) SL skeleton. The problem with the gryphon is that it uses sculpts, and the load on my graphics card each time it switches is pretty intense; and I have a good computer. I get graphics lag - parts not switching out properly and leaving untidy feathers sticking out where they shouldn't be, or missing bits of limbs. I know it isn't the scripts because other observers see differently. This is obviously not ideal, but I haven't checked it since raising the LOD above 4, which might help; and it's possible I could do with a new fan for my graphics card. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A second, more minor issue is that every time I play the sounds, there is a distinctive button click before each vocalisation, which rather spoils the effect. Not sure what is causing that but I think it may be a recording artefact they missed. I need to do a bit more experimentation and then get in touch with the creators to see if they have any advice. But on the whole I am still very happy with my gryphon and the high, but fair, price I paid for it (nearly $10 real money). I just hope any update fixes come free..!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
<br />Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-68107182044361264992014-07-04T05:23:00.000-07:002014-07-04T05:23:02.029-07:00For the HOARD! +Half Deer+<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOExGtq1udYzCZnNdPXr6xkIE1_aPYDGXBcznqZJkT0ib_uoHjVPgrRhaDRCWKSLkOrymdBlP0xo0sIfP0fGBt35A5z8F2ZhZRtTqAUmpluS9NTBg7c7lGlK-g1E4Ek010lJItDt1M1MU/s1600/peaboat-seamonster_003.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiOExGtq1udYzCZnNdPXr6xkIE1_aPYDGXBcznqZJkT0ib_uoHjVPgrRhaDRCWKSLkOrymdBlP0xo0sIfP0fGBt35A5z8F2ZhZRtTqAUmpluS9NTBg7c7lGlK-g1E4Ek010lJItDt1M1MU/s1600/peaboat-seamonster_003.jpg" height="253" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>+Half Deer+ Two Peas in a Pod Boat & Baby Sea Monster</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My tranquil lily lake with peapod boat seating prop - the cushions inside are the peas! - and lake monster from <b>+Half Deer+</b>, waterlilies by <i>Grendel's Children</i> and <i>Forest Floor</i> trees. I have found a new store, and it's all Rudh's fault! ;) But as I get to have both a castle -and- a lake, I am very happy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So when I came back inworld, I had a little nosey around Rudh's place to see what they'd done with it. Which is how I found the new low-prim NR trees (the purple wisteria up by the castle gate and the trees in the next shot). And I also found the most ADORABLE little sheep, so I headed to the store, <b>+Half Deer+</b>, to get them. At first I thought they were from D-Lab (and I'm not the only one) because they have that same rounded, cartoony cuteness; so I think I can say with certainty that anyone who loves D-lab will also love <b>+Half Deer+</b>!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqXEpIfaEK0AFfXpi3BsskC2ieNlOy8Na00D1pi7a7TRYuxxB0k7iZaQP8d2exhsF-H2tvbV0E392xGlK_uL_ITTZ7GePSYpjnqpn-6VH9BpX5cz4C-L_m2C5hszKZLb0UzXDFNuReBM/s1600/Kerfluffles.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhKqXEpIfaEK0AFfXpi3BsskC2ieNlOy8Na00D1pi7a7TRYuxxB0k7iZaQP8d2exhsF-H2tvbV0E392xGlK_uL_ITTZ7GePSYpjnqpn-6VH9BpX5cz4C-L_m2C5hszKZLb0UzXDFNuReBM/s1600/Kerfluffles.jpg" height="188" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>+Half Deer+ <b>Kerfluffles</b> Ganache & Mr. Bubbles! <3 i=""></3></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Aren't they the cutest? Everybody who visits wants to eat the chocolate one D: He is no copy so they can keep their greedy paws off!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now, the sheep - actually called Kerfluffles - are in a gatcha. And yes, if you know my feelings on the subject, your eyebrows may be rising at this point. BUT! <b>+Half Deer+</b> does gatchas the <i>right</i> way. Firstly, everything in there is the same kind of thing - they are all sheep, not some random assorted mixture of animals, or (even worse) animals and lawn furniture - so that when you want a sheep you actually get a frog, or a deck chair, and give up in disgust. Secondly, because I'm not going to be wearing them, they don't have to match my outfits and colour schemes are irrelevant. And thirdly, there is no need to collect a set, you can have just a couple or an entire flock. These kinds of gatchas, I don't mind playing.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Which means I also nabbed a couple of sets of horns from another gatcha nearby. And was really lucky to win the rare set, though actually the Black Magic horns are more 'me'.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimk3g5j3K5iGgUDlzTAtX-CK2fOAzEQRdo7fg97ZJotv2cmfLM0pk_TXfhDQostsFZn_4KGD4ZXwb3B7Y1eBwhciQyXZmNEu04sOhLLo-EVfsSAwzZXzd1o0MQ_4W0DI2BrPWoEJE4Cnw/s1600/BlackMagic.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEimk3g5j3K5iGgUDlzTAtX-CK2fOAzEQRdo7fg97ZJotv2cmfLM0pk_TXfhDQostsFZn_4KGD4ZXwb3B7Y1eBwhciQyXZmNEu04sOhLLo-EVfsSAwzZXzd1o0MQ_4W0DI2BrPWoEJE4Cnw/s1600/BlackMagic.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>+Half Deer+ Aventine horns 'Black Magic'</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With <i>{Frick}</i> 'Belle Epoque' dress in brass; <i>Schadenfreude</i> 'August' half n half hair (with <i>Nikitafride</i> Carnivale hairbase); <i>TSM</i> Star Eyes; <i>::69::</i> OpenStar earrings and <i>FPI</i> Shining Gold Star necklace. And my <i>New Trails</i> tree for background detail.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-13yWpaBHKUPTCjgpUBv9C1inPPLQWJ77rbABDPjdLwsFRh_cl3JDYwKV16WDUBl7CnHoHpURjaDVfqsdlKY99Kiogfy6nkPBFaLOa0semglJwk_Az16Xmn3kZZLvHruJrrE3nHzb-A/s1600/SweetLolita.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhm-13yWpaBHKUPTCjgpUBv9C1inPPLQWJ77rbABDPjdLwsFRh_cl3JDYwKV16WDUBl7CnHoHpURjaDVfqsdlKY99Kiogfy6nkPBFaLOa0semglJwk_Az16Xmn3kZZLvHruJrrE3nHzb-A/s1600/SweetLolita.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>+Half Deer+ Aventine horns 'Sweet Lolita' (rare)<br />Kawaii star on left horn (inset)</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With <i>Hairoin</i> 'Pheasant Flower' Spectral (part tinted), a CHH3 hair prize; <i>Al Vulo</i> 'Debbie' skin (promotional version 'Ohh Deer Chantilly'); <i>FPI</i> Shining Gold Star earrings; <i>TL</i> Concord eyes; <i>White~Widow</i> 'Travel' eye makeup and <i>KOSH</i> 'Sweet Lips' in wine cream. Yes, those are my ContraptioN teeth sticking out, quite demure without the alpha mask.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Never have I put so much effort into assembling the best outfits to show off a couple of pairs of horns - gatcha horns to boot! Never mind finding the right hair, but in the Black Magic ensemble, I realised that I didn't have any kind of necklace to match the ::69:: earrings - quelle horreur! I had to do a quick Marketplace run and found this pretty star set by FootPaw Industries (necklace in first shot, earrings with the Lolita horns) which complement the stars on the horns themselves. Now I really just need a moddable, tintable hairbase I can use for those hairstyles which come without one; though PurpleMoon triumphed over Truth and Amacci to come up with one that was actually white and not just pale blonde.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMosxVDqckXqhs3NHma5GeTYdk8t9y-m-VjoD5FKZlS-v-YAT_H4bg4zFmdnSx1LPxBCJpjg2hVdJANmG7UcjOLMpBC20A-8YZLirxNZLDlrUqMgGBSYpOMYywQFf5LDxOyKDzlO2WnhA/s1600/HalfDeer-Savannah-necklaces.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgMosxVDqckXqhs3NHma5GeTYdk8t9y-m-VjoD5FKZlS-v-YAT_H4bg4zFmdnSx1LPxBCJpjg2hVdJANmG7UcjOLMpBC20A-8YZLirxNZLDlrUqMgGBSYpOMYywQFf5LDxOyKDzlO2WnhA/s1600/HalfDeer-Savannah-necklaces.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>+Half Deer+ Savannah Necklace [Giraffe] in natural & ebony</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">With my Hunter Green outfit from the Colour Challenge. My final purchase from <b>+Half Deer+</b>, and I had my eye on the lion necklaces too as you can imagine, but I decided that was enough for one day and beat a hasty retreat.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now do you see why stores are so dangerous for me? };=8)</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~ : ~</b></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-89187657377012285702014-06-28T02:28:00.000-07:002014-06-28T02:28:48.340-07:00Creepers. When RL and blogging collide.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndd3UwgSoODXg9zXT4tVGicexTIpYgx1b0vatv8KYnqHJcDDdvFo1hCNDu2D85OGY6GCPe_gVaXYqa6lHSxBno2wzy4YknMyNqpD6gYlLFxxtehVXr2QJ16hWDfI36b4B-rPqdTznP-U/s1600/Creeper-fashionshow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhndd3UwgSoODXg9zXT4tVGicexTIpYgx1b0vatv8KYnqHJcDDdvFo1hCNDu2D85OGY6GCPe_gVaXYqa6lHSxBno2wzy4YknMyNqpD6gYlLFxxtehVXr2QJ16hWDfI36b4B-rPqdTznP-U/s1600/Creeper-fashionshow.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Thatssss a very nice fashion show you have there...<br /><span style="font-size: large;">**BOOM!!!**</span></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have just realised that I didn't put any of my 2013 blog pics up on Flickr (like this one), and that I have somehow attracted a small following, including people I don't know, which is both gratifying and slightly scary. I am going to rectify the situation and repost some of last year's pics on Flickr. Now is also the time for me to re-evaluate what I'm doing with Flickr and this blog.</span><div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If you hadn't already realised, I'm totally clueless on the whole Flickr/Blogspot scene, not a fashionista or 'professional blogger', and have zero time or energy - what with caring for a small boy with Aspergers and ADHD while personally suffering from Fibromyalgia - to look outside my goldfish bubble-bowl of Shiny! Buy! Photo! Blog! Rinse & Repeat. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I honestly think it's some kind of displacement addiction, or possibly therapy, because for the last 6 years (ever since my son was born) we've been moving from house to house and the bulk of our belongings have been held in storage, so buying pretty things on SL has substituted the ability to wear jewellery, look around at pictures or ornaments, read books, or watch DVDs IRL. That is changing now, because we bought our own house (our very own, very first mortgage!) back in October, and now my fantastic dad has fixed up our loft (attic) so we can store stuff in it, and he has brought everything over, and the house currently looks something like a junkyard until we can get it all up into said loft on an electric hoist. Then the theory is that we'll unpack a couple of boxes a day, or week, until it's all sorted. My fantastic mum has just bought us a dishwasher - and I think whoever invented those things, indeed all large kitchen appliances, should receive the Nobel prize - so now I'll actually have some time and energy to spare for unpacking which previously would have been spent on washing up. I can only do so many things a day before crippling exhaustion sets in.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Anyway, what I'm trying to say is, I'm sorry I don't reciprocate very much by tracking your blogs/Flickr, though I do take a look when I can, and that I don't socialise. It's not because I don't care, or think your posts aren't worth the effort; quite the opposite! I just literally can't manage to do both. I had this problem with LiveJournal too, prior to finding SL, and abandoned the thing in the end because I couldn't see the point of writing if I couldn't maintain a circle of friends by reading their posts. I suspect the same is true of this blog, so my main goal is just to record the piles of stuff I inject into my hoard before they are swallowed up and lost to all but LL server memory (and to make pretty pictures). But writing about them is also a lot of work and Flickr is a lot easier in that regard, because there isn't really room to write, you just post pics! So I -might- move over to Flickr entirely. I'm not sure yet. I want to keep it for the best pics, rather than showcasing everything, and put links to fuller blogposts with all the credits, for those who are interested, or just so I know what I've got.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And in the meantime, I'm going to post some of my 2013 pictures up on Flickr because I rather suspect people are going there for the immediate visuals and that nobody ever reads all the verbal whitewash I put in this blog anyhow };=8) Go on, prove me wrong with a raft of comments!</span></div>
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">~ : ~</b></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-1234214067007307422014-06-26T14:34:00.001-07:002014-08-01T04:00:07.842-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Finesmith ~ Bathing Beauty I<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">More <b>Finesmith</b>, this one 'Danit', a mesh swimsuit in yellow with a texture change jewellery set to go with it; again using my new gold merrow avatar (because, seaside!). Not really much to say for this post, just pictures of me enjoying myself in the sun - and I have to say, I am LOVING how good my feet look now in all these shots :D The teeth could fit a little better though - I think when I changed shapes to fit the suit, there was a slight misalignment. I'll have to check the shape I wore for those and see what to tweak.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykY_ij2oNC86TnrW-vkh51BKBHZoksTpsEvGc11xNHwO8tuhYjF3iUwjY6RaabHlb_oRbkeGH2xiq_5hpjZtM9CyTaLyM5V45V290jsZwQK6jIq03VAKvx6RCzqtjGFbjRSh9tsBhU6o/s1600/watersports.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhykY_ij2oNC86TnrW-vkh51BKBHZoksTpsEvGc11xNHwO8tuhYjF3iUwjY6RaabHlb_oRbkeGH2xiq_5hpjZtM9CyTaLyM5V45V290jsZwQK6jIq03VAKvx6RCzqtjGFbjRSh9tsBhU6o/s1600/watersports.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Wheeeee!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Leaping into a rubber ring floaty at my neighbours' on the Foxkin Estates. They buzzed my castle in an army helicopter when I first arrived, but I haven't seen hide nor hair of them since. Maybe I can entice them out by playing on their parcel *g*.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QVZIp6xO1KOEEy2d0X6H_cPGFocnnxBvykpgrsB3HUHIPwPKnmombvI5d6L2364qBLhfRZmGZPr-5FSxGZLWKqbkKFyRaTLW4pVZt4haTSmBulGcoRcoHTCDhSXZP7FgKscpNC4VKhs/s1600/full-shot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi_QVZIp6xO1KOEEy2d0X6H_cPGFocnnxBvykpgrsB3HUHIPwPKnmombvI5d6L2364qBLhfRZmGZPr-5FSxGZLWKqbkKFyRaTLW4pVZt4haTSmBulGcoRcoHTCDhSXZP7FgKscpNC4VKhs/s1600/full-shot.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Lookit dat pout!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have these surfboards too, from <b>What Next</b>, great low-prim beach props. <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sim%20Style/90/66/23">The beach is at Envious,</a> a shopping sim I found through Implings (of all places!) and not Finesmith.</span></div>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Formal beach attire. Dragons wear jewellery</i> everywhere.</span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The jewellery looks great with a little glow (menu driven) and you can choose from a variety of different gem colours.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMSKSx8yTF4xqA7KJzx6AaAYJNSk8fTPVchZ39bwURofNCo6h3JDWxEuiErsRasFwgFdkpGJPXPGIU6LbcEp6IXdoxSHqX4XgwKqir84kljmQg2W234uA3owOp7IvQDtOaD0ojjbhrto/s1600/sunbathing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbMSKSx8yTF4xqA7KJzx6AaAYJNSk8fTPVchZ39bwURofNCo6h3JDWxEuiErsRasFwgFdkpGJPXPGIU6LbcEp6IXdoxSHqX4XgwKqir84kljmQg2W234uA3owOp7IvQDtOaD0ojjbhrto/s1600/sunbathing.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Chillin' in the sunshine.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Continuing to look good in a side shot lying down; I noticed some animations on loungers (elsewhere) were pushing my abdomen up and out of the mesh, which was not pretty, and with a suit in this style you couldn't alpha it out. Wearers of split-front mesh, beware of awkward animations!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">If I sound less than usually enthusiastic in this post, it's because I didn't realise the jewellery was colour-change and so I bought this set for the yellow jewels; there was another swimsuit I would have preferred, had I known, although yellow is pretty too. And it wasn't very expensive. It certainly looks good on me!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-39585635224132031572014-06-24T15:19:00.000-07:002014-08-01T04:00:21.036-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Finesmith ~ Top to Toe<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Going back to early May purchases, and a pair of mesh boots from <b>Finesmith</b> which I'd been pining over since they first came out (they can now only be found on the marketplace). I also ventured into the store after some pieces to complete a jewellery set, and inevitably came away with a couple more items than I had intended, including the Bar Tiara already shown on my teeth post - and taking pride of (second) place on my new Flickr icon. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Boots are generally worn with trousers, an unusual form of dress for me, so I had to play around to get an outfit I was happy with. I just happened to be wearing an avatar I made for the Colour Challenge as I tried the boots on, and continued to tinker until it was transformed; same species, but a wilder, sassier, more modern look. And a colour change. Don't ask how I fit those big clawed feet into the boots...</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATmSvkdC4HOcGKcBW-ZMb2YjeJOiBRqi_ifj7hPDInoQg0YRwzzA8RjxINGxeCezM5BlqvoyYjAKK-SyE-txz1o66_hTuN2Vf7uUEKjBwAzoLGMTuoHjANeT4gp6PSeqN2Q4PaC5fBMQ/s1600/finesmith-merrow.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhATmSvkdC4HOcGKcBW-ZMb2YjeJOiBRqi_ifj7hPDInoQg0YRwzzA8RjxINGxeCezM5BlqvoyYjAKK-SyE-txz1o66_hTuN2Vf7uUEKjBwAzoLGMTuoHjANeT4gp6PSeqN2Q4PaC5fBMQ/s1600/finesmith-merrow.jpg" height="320" width="229" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Merrow ~ Spring Fresh</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Finesmith</i></b> 'Fresh' Boots (spring)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Finesmith</i></b> 'Lika' Porphyra jewellery</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Silky drape top by <b><i>Lillith Anatine</i></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This gorgeous mesh top was made by my friend Lily. It is tintable, and makes use of the new materials texturing so that you can set it to shine with different coloured highlights. It is a backless halter-top so there is plenty of room for wings, spines or other spinal adornments.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Additional Items:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b><i>BySnow</i></b> Sea Sprite skin (starfish) with anglerfish lure & body spines</span><br />
<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>Rue</i></b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> Horn'd/Diver: Zexmenia</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>*TSM*</i></b> Laurel of Water (pearls) & Swansong S.E. Elemental Earth eyes</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Schadenfreude</i></b> Mer-Elf ears</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>ContraptioN</i></b> Carnivorous Jaw</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Grendel's Children</i></b> Uthgolian Dragon head fins</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Sweet Antidote</i></b> makeup 'deep blue sea' (gold)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Livid</i></b> Nosferatu's (sculpted) claws; store gift</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>Diva Designs</i></b> gold trim jeans (from 2007)</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My own belly claw-ring</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b><i>L&E</i></b> solar & lunar armbands</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-25180039005370523442014-06-22T14:46:00.000-07:002014-08-01T04:01:05.645-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Ode to Cernunnos<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I like masks. And skulls. And horns. And antlers. (Those who know me, know this well.) And so these recent additions to my hoard go well together.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwKVbPay6pPpv4RUAfsn12Vq_3RIZRB5Z6XVzWcF42f_K_UPmjbyHldNc3IyOwa8qs7XeZM36V6qbLY3Wl-9NAt8cTY95EOlZqfT-JsIlkOn5NlxKaIRn_OiODWAaftwJ0a5pMAxq1KQ/s1600/Eikthirnir_MaskAntlers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhLwKVbPay6pPpv4RUAfsn12Vq_3RIZRB5Z6XVzWcF42f_K_UPmjbyHldNc3IyOwa8qs7XeZM36V6qbLY3Wl-9NAt8cTY95EOlZqfT-JsIlkOn5NlxKaIRn_OiODWAaftwJ0a5pMAxq1KQ/s1600/Eikthirnir_MaskAntlers.jpg" height="274" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Illusions <b>'Eikthirnir'</b> Deer Skull Mask & Antlers</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">A truly gorgeous piece in two parts, mesh with multiple textures to choose from and tintable pattern layers over the top (which I made to glow a tiny bit). I just... I... <i>wow</i>. Pictured using the windlight setting from the previous <b>Illusions</b> sim, Carnivale (she moved in May). It's basically just a re-tint of the atmospheric RGB settings. <a href="http://masklady.blogspot.co.uk/2013/12/eikthirnir_4.html">I found this piece on Siyu's blog</a>. The name belongs to the Norse stag who nibbled at the branches of the great tree of life, Yggdrasil, and means 'Old Thorny'. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For this shot I used</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> my first Colour Challenge outfit, </span><a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2012/01/lunas-colour-challenge-2012-champagne.html" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Champagne</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, but with different hair that wouldn't get in the way.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Illusions Dreamcatcher <b>'Rusa' </b>Antlers</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Another <b>Illusions</b> antler set, one piece this time but you can toggle the dreamcatcher netting and feathers on or off, and again, there are lots of textures. The feathers and dangling strings are flexi. I'm wearing it with my <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2012/09/colour-challenge-39-hunter-green.html">Hunter Green outfit</a> from the Colour Challenge, because this outfit suits a shaman, as does the dreamcatcher. In that post, I told the story of how I was challenged by, and eventually befriended, a unicorn; he came home with me, and features in <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/for-hoard-gnice-gnashers.html">my recent teeth post</a>, and can be glimpsed here in the background as he frolics in my wildflower meadow.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieA9if-xwMEF2q4Gv_UqayqtYs9CSBucIiMuS3zea1l14fhD6poWzAw6rt1XNcdVL8g4UAAVRziT_r_9AAm1d6bxdjshNbP5yG816z4dKULVH5Y0MZPC9jdlE8doXsIGdxRvJDsywBXNs/s1600/WaltonsMask-PurpleMoon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEieA9if-xwMEF2q4Gv_UqayqtYs9CSBucIiMuS3zea1l14fhD6poWzAw6rt1XNcdVL8g4UAAVRziT_r_9AAm1d6bxdjshNbP5yG816z4dKULVH5Y0MZPC9jdlE8doXsIGdxRvJDsywBXNs/s1600/WaltonsMask-PurpleMoon.jpg" height="254" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>ContraptioN <b>'Walton's Mask'</b></i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This was one of those items I'd been eyeing up for a while but never quite had the Lindens to spend on. I grabbed it along with the teeth when I was visiting <b>ContraptioN</b>, ostensibly to get the music box I mentioned in my <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2014/06/dragon-castle-revival-summer-2014.html">Castle post</a>. Stores are <i>very dangerous</i> places for me! Here I'm wearing it with the <b>PurpleMoon</b> outfit 'La Mort Douce', a Halloween special from some years ago, and the jewellery set 'Selva in the Moonlight', also by <b>PurpleMoon</b>, picked up on Friday from the Fashion For Life event which I scurried through on the last day, holding blinkers firmly to my eyes. (That wasn't all I got, but I'll blog the other items later.)</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYJJgldQLw0EAUh82UHa92ZvmfJYG3L9GmHr3_IYP5EA3II2E0HvXSwWc7fx5eh8Or6L1wrevffYb87HDdAqaxbs4fviFhguzkEUYv4J7YM4ddBeJPeOcUq4BfLP2ivluASRPmbQogkQ/s1600/WaltonsMask-PurpleMoon-close.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgBYJJgldQLw0EAUh82UHa92ZvmfJYG3L9GmHr3_IYP5EA3II2E0HvXSwWc7fx5eh8Or6L1wrevffYb87HDdAqaxbs4fviFhguzkEUYv4J7YM4ddBeJPeOcUq4BfLP2ivluASRPmbQogkQ/s1600/WaltonsMask-PurpleMoon-close.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Walton's Mask & Selva Jewellery in close-up</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The mask reminds me of the beaked leather head-dresses worn by plague doctors in the Middle Ages, with beautiful metallic scroll-work. He sells them in a range of different colours; naturally I chose gold. The hair was an archaeological find from my inventory; <b>Deadkitties</b> 'Krabat' (the men's prize; I have a large head!) from the 2009 (!) 'Fairytales' Macabre Hunt. It has lots of colour change feathers stuck in it. My gold skin, as in the previous posts, is 'Aquamer-Andri' from <b>The Plastik</b>, one of the best golden (and scaly) skins I have come across, and a gift from the Devil himself :o No really, my friend who role-plays Lucifer, but is in reality a sweetheart. The tree behind me is from <b>Forest Floor Creations</b>; I use both hers and Nadine Reverie's trees on my parcel as they are beautiful and realistic but low prim. My pose is from </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Juicy</b>, angel </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">ready for take-off.</span><br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Implings <b>'Dark Guardian' </b>Statue</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I spotted this handsome fellow while popping in for an item or two in the sales over the weekend at <b>Implings</b> and Angelic Designs (I'll blog the rest later). There are some things which just scream 'You need me!' and this was one of them. He is mesh, stands 3m tall and takes up only 16 prims, at an astonishingly low price (no he wasn't on sale). He stands guarding the entrance to the cave below my castle, a cave which houses a very special waterfall, hiding the Holy Grail itself (something I made for a fun hunt to celebrate when I first bought my castle). </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Although Amy (of Implings) has named him dark, I think of him much more as a nature spirit than a demon, a forest deity like Herne or Pan. Not gentle; he is holding the severed spine and (hidden behind me) skull of some hapless hunter or trapper who has provoked his wrath; but nor is he evil, for he embodies and protects the natural world, which humanity is always inclined to despoil. You can just about see the yellow of a tiny fairy creature nestling in a knothole on his right breast (not part of the statue; it's another recent purchase I will blog later) to show his protective nature. As a horned forest god, my dark guardian stands as patron to a large proportion of my avatars, and to my RL environmental leanings.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ : ~</b></span></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-25639520558909444102014-06-22T03:01:00.000-07:002014-08-01T04:01:22.687-07:00For the HOARD! ~ FEETS!!!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I am, at long last, the proud and very happy possessor of a pair of <b>SLink mesh enhancement feet</b> with claw and pawpad addon :D Messing up the purchase timescale somewhat, I only just bought these - but they fit well in a series of bodyparts posts, and are something I have had high on my shopping radar for a long time. When I was last in SL over a year ago, SLink had mesh feet for humans but had not updated the Exotix range to have the enhancement nail polish HUD capability - I don't really know why - so I held off from buying them, as they are expensive and I was pretty happy with my sculpty feet. But now they have been updated and are fully compatible with other creator brands, so I can haz matching hand and foot nail polish. Yay!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwf_HxqElun-yabRAwrBVdFYv9i2sHuNX2S8PkSD0Du8z_zuxetFw_iNfzbKriyzRRZdHY_OQ2jWR5MUrrqwBFc8l_FKOduA4yYSJ84_nq78SB84qOKRlSjELoMUZFgJVkniodrUh5hv0/s1600/FEETS_Mesh_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhwf_HxqElun-yabRAwrBVdFYv9i2sHuNX2S8PkSD0Du8z_zuxetFw_iNfzbKriyzRRZdHY_OQ2jWR5MUrrqwBFc8l_FKOduA4yYSJ84_nq78SB84qOKRlSjELoMUZFgJVkniodrUh5hv0/s1600/FEETS_Mesh_001.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>See how good they look! Sleek and smooth and pretty!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Pictured on my new, low prim mesh log swing from We're CLOSED and wearing a ZOZ nail polish for SLink enhancement hands and feet :) I nipped into Fashion for Life on the very last day, to pick up the PurpleMoon exclusive outfit, and had a bit of a wander around; I was happily ignoring all the stores until I stumbled on the nail polishes. I'll showcase them properly when I put up my PM Time Traveller.</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjlVTRjZPixrRv1BjFHeT0-b09yxviO6ASv7_JN5xJFRxRXu-q33td-YcPGscdf37YenRp3-kiBlZ5Faj3NbjcnqQFh_5-M3KmhsOeUOFudYZX2svbjrzrUeWKV6SDS9ce1PCfwDubCg/s1600/FEETS_Mesh_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgAjlVTRjZPixrRv1BjFHeT0-b09yxviO6ASv7_JN5xJFRxRXu-q33td-YcPGscdf37YenRp3-kiBlZ5Faj3NbjcnqQFh_5-M3KmhsOeUOFudYZX2svbjrzrUeWKV6SDS9ce1PCfwDubCg/s1600/FEETS_Mesh_002.jpg" height="224" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>With the cute little pawpads!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Yes I know, the swing pose is bending one ankle a little awkwardly, not the fault of the feet! They are a little tricky to set up, especially when - like me - you have an unusually coloured skin, but I am used to fiddling around with colour sliders, and although it wasn't stated anywhere in the instructions, I discovered that these feet have the same /13 skin RGB chat command as the sculpts. The HUD doesn't have any custom save slots but with the chat command, you can easily keep a notecard of presets to use, so I'll only have to tint them once for each skin. You also have to turn the custom nails off before adding the clawpads, or the two nail sets clash, and I had to put on a tiny bit of weight (!) before the feet fit perfectly; but once all these things are sorted, the feet are good to go.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also made a couple of simple anklets to hide the texture seam where the feet meet the shin. You can't really avoid a slight discrepancy here, as the feet and skin use different textures and no amount of colour matching will be exact, but since SL is SLink crazy, a lot of skin designers offer a skin matching HUD that links with the feet, so humans with popular skins can probably get a seamless join. So popular are the SLink feet, many shoe designers have taken to making open shoes to fit various models of the feet - though most of them, being heels, require the raised 'mid' or 'high' feet, and I bought 'flat' because these feet are for when I'm not wearing shoes (duh!) and my nicest shoes all have fake feet inside anyway. </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I also didn't bother with the textured sock as it didn't counter the join, but these could be good for strongly patterned skins, where some alpha layering gradually merges into the skin tone.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>:: Sculpted Exotix Feet for Comparison ::</b></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6tDHqWyAdRkJ1O5OYp728M3IaumR84XGbkFSB4HQN9TFuW-AGUQQPGCOYum5UEAYxM0O0LzS8p3JZjGOzrf6lx3urkYgSnBl204rG_OVHqzvH7YIpAWpnA_cDkD7Wj04dQuzqI0RbvM/s1600/FEETS_Sculpt_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJ6tDHqWyAdRkJ1O5OYp728M3IaumR84XGbkFSB4HQN9TFuW-AGUQQPGCOYum5UEAYxM0O0LzS8p3JZjGOzrf6lx3urkYgSnBl204rG_OVHqzvH7YIpAWpnA_cDkD7Wj04dQuzqI0RbvM/s1600/FEETS_Sculpt_001.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rbAwMLXTUVlqDDl0c8agDSwdXNQIuoa83k-16pwNoV_d9SkOUcYDJZD1O6Cy3FcnoJ_lMW6ZbGIpLxNiTQl8delOUuAjlD7LhnXhku3k7kIOJMpRJJuQDyXEfeBMMZjCg6YhuOkOpm8/s1600/FEETS_Sculpt_002.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_rbAwMLXTUVlqDDl0c8agDSwdXNQIuoa83k-16pwNoV_d9SkOUcYDJZD1O6Cy3FcnoJ_lMW6ZbGIpLxNiTQl8delOUuAjlD7LhnXhku3k7kIOJMpRJJuQDyXEfeBMMZjCg6YhuOkOpm8/s1600/FEETS_Sculpt_002.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="text-align: start;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I wore these for a long time and was very happy with them; but the top of the foot bulges rather untidily above the ankle, and the toes look a bit as though they were re-attached after an unpleasant accident involving a scythe. They look great underneath though! Also of course they didn't have enhancement nail polish like the mesh range, so I couldn't use a range of nail polishes, only the basic incorporated colours. And of course they are about a million times better looking than the default bodyshape feet, below. Ugh, creepy mutant monstrosities :( What WERE LL thinking?!</span></span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKKDb92Nbjg4UemzveM5VoSlCM9cb4cojA91IX6qRzoTTOtt8xVFMOzrJVPtIufDJuPf1wv_FYza043s3vU3C4geMwgNWHw7pLCkpnNH57gvM59e4vh4C89wXGedDV8pax1vUpeeheeM/s1600/FEETS_Natural_001.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgcKKDb92Nbjg4UemzveM5VoSlCM9cb4cojA91IX6qRzoTTOtt8xVFMOzrJVPtIufDJuPf1wv_FYza043s3vU3C4geMwgNWHw7pLCkpnNH57gvM59e4vh4C89wXGedDV8pax1vUpeeheeM/s1600/FEETS_Natural_001.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Poor naked feets... thank goodness for alpha masks!</i></span></td></tr>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">~ :: ~</span></b></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-84872179188207809582014-06-19T14:50:00.000-07:002014-08-01T04:01:38.042-07:00For the HOARD! ~ Gnice Gnashers!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">After my hiatus there were a few things on my shopping wishlist (an ever expanding and unfulfillable Grail, with items still on it from 2006) that I remembered vividly enough to look up, hoping they would still be available. My ContraptioN musical box was one such. Inevitably, as I browsed around the store, I discovered More New Things I wanted. Believe it or not, I don't actually like shopping. I find too many things I want to buy, and can't, and this is frustrating. Usually I will go after what I want in advance, having seen it somewhere else or on a group notice, and will attempt not to window shop. But after a year's absence, one can't not look around at all the new goodies one's favourite creators have come up with...</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So it turns out that ContraptioN has made a slightly different version of the Shark Grin, a toothsome smile I used in my <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2012/03/colour-challenge-week-13-tea-green.html">Tea Green post</a> for the colour challenge. The Shark Grin is great but... a bit much for daily use. The Carnivorous Jaw is more adjustable and has better alpha masks, so that it can be quite subtle, until you get really close...</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNifyWDc7HuLIkbK8frW5Ps16g9MJOh7vqeMdodNdnFRRmGS_rzmDxq6kooAxMq9ZJ7BGhKAoicluE6mkRuBw_MW2LEbSkqPwxzjo88PtfIXIN6krhTapShRC_RmbMegyRcPY3Hl35rhw/s1600/earlanddragon.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhNifyWDc7HuLIkbK8frW5Ps16g9MJOh7vqeMdodNdnFRRmGS_rzmDxq6kooAxMq9ZJ7BGhKAoicluE6mkRuBw_MW2LEbSkqPwxzjo88PtfIXIN6krhTapShRC_RmbMegyRcPY3Hl35rhw/s1600/earlanddragon.jpg" height="285" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>See? My unicorn still likes me!</i></span></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlydZ5QfHz6bbW4TrD14iQE8QbHmfZT3JTMiOZLtnkwQC3KWdFEnLh3hxHWcNg0VeUEV3kaVOdBqmRXJCh5boWyeagabLME1NcwwjFq2GJUUp5Shx2DIgSFc2DT_Hzm0_cOvM5rOeoQpM/s1600/nicesmile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlydZ5QfHz6bbW4TrD14iQE8QbHmfZT3JTMiOZLtnkwQC3KWdFEnLh3hxHWcNg0VeUEV3kaVOdBqmRXJCh5boWyeagabLME1NcwwjFq2GJUUp5Shx2DIgSFc2DT_Hzm0_cOvM5rOeoQpM/s1600/nicesmile.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Without all the windlight, for a clearer shot.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">... Or of course if you smile. And then this happens. I had to promise my 6 year old that I wouldn't do it again *eg*.</span></div>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkV-dG2Zj7OyOXn9oyg311Sc0UhWlE_ff6JV-iA8hFmi88zN-_dSrP0DJ0VxjzivjTGGN-UFfER_yOy2lrT1ivSIfqbawY-rnzK-q03tWk6O9im3Ir8kBujMQyqVMqGCvVoIxQcz-Jro/s1600/luvverlygnashers.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjnkV-dG2Zj7OyOXn9oyg311Sc0UhWlE_ff6JV-iA8hFmi88zN-_dSrP0DJ0VxjzivjTGGN-UFfER_yOy2lrT1ivSIfqbawY-rnzK-q03tWk6O9im3Ir8kBujMQyqVMqGCvVoIxQcz-Jro/s1600/luvverlygnashers.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Smile! It's dinner time!</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Also wearing the Finesmith 'Bar' Tiara in champagne which is another recent purchase. I get a lot of jewellery from Finesmith and will be blogging more later.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I really love the polished wet sheen to these teeth, it makes them look very realistic. They are mesh, but come in 3 movable sections, so you can fit the upper and lower dentures better, and there is also a tongue and palate so you can laugh without having a hollow head. There are a couple of other 'expressions' which - for me personally - don't look quite so good as 'subtle' and 'smile', also a bloody just-fed look; and if you don't wear the alpha mask at all, the teeth fit so well that just two fangs stick out like a vampire's, and don't look at all out of the ordinary (for SL). I have to say these are my all-time favourite teeth and I will be wearing them pretty much constantly; goodbye to my old and much-loved XCite fangs! Well I might keep those for the actual vampire avatars. A dragon needs a whole set of nasty, sharp, pointy teeth..!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-68239634910996147412014-06-18T14:22:00.002-07:002014-08-01T04:01:55.225-07:00For the HOARD! ~ One Tail to Rule Them All!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I've been in-world again more than a month already and I have been so busy I haven't got around to posting up my new purchases - but purchases there have been a-plenty, as I have a LL subscription and the pocket money stacked up during my absence! I had two choices; I could cash out the money and regain my entire sub for the year - or I could go on a major shopping spree.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">... MUAHAHAHAHAHA! 8D</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Well really, what would you expect? ;) The very first thing I bought, I wanted the instant I met AutumnFox, the Foxkin Rentals estate manager, to sort out setting up my land. She had an awesome new tail; admittedly more furry than dragon, but a demi-fae (I'm half phouka) has many tricks up its *ahem*... trousers!</span><br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6lxG08wwazW1FWcIdycKhPYbptNGhEt5lWRnB-3xwSX5hyphenhyphennvb6gIUTNewU8GM7vwwFWXtsglsRsQisilNINzDZaYXBLeXY6NxEMtsntav8PpucUAV91gNg2nQhtVKIxCZaNt3sqRLHwg/s1600/wideshot.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6lxG08wwazW1FWcIdycKhPYbptNGhEt5lWRnB-3xwSX5hyphenhyphennvb6gIUTNewU8GM7vwwFWXtsglsRsQisilNINzDZaYXBLeXY6NxEMtsntav8PpucUAV91gNg2nQhtVKIxCZaNt3sqRLHwg/s1600/wideshot.jpg" height="251" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><i><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One Tail to Rule Them All!</span></i></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The <a href="https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/NV-Fluffy-Tail/4788653">NV Fluffy Tail, by Nadi Vemo</a> (the title joke is hers) is an animated, shape shifting, texturable mesh tail. It is hugely customisable, with a very user-friendly HUD and toggleable script settings for use in high lag areas. It can be cat-like, fox-like, bunny-like or - the style I immediately went for - raptor-like! Bearing in mind that raptors are now known to have been feathered, so their tails were (are) plumed. I am going to ask if she could make a no-fluff option in a future update, so you could have a naked tail with all the animation for the true scalies. I have tried to do the tail justice in my photographs, but really it has to be seen live for the incredible, smooth animation to be appreciated, and there is a video link on the marketplace which will show you this and run through the different tail shapes, if you are interested.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">For now, here is a stop-motion array of stills, attempting to show the varied motion and fluidity of the tail. It is set against the beautiful yellow roses of my <a href="http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Dark%20Passions/128/100/421">[Angelic Designs]</a> Quiet Moments Garden Arbor, which actually features more flower types and colours than a garden catalogue so would suit all tastes. I am wearing the outfit I used for my <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2012/12/colour-challenge-50-gold.html">Colour Challenge 50: Gold</a> post, without the jewellery.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">And finally, another set I just couldn't resist putting up, though please be warned, this image is rather large when you click on it (1600 x 565) as I have a wide-screen monitor.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-15065612845244346182014-06-12T16:36:00.001-07:002014-07-06T06:49:24.419-07:00Dragon Castle Revival - Summer 2014!<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I said in my previous post, I am back! - and the first thing I had to do was find land to rent to put out my castle. The lady I rented from last year has sadly packed up and left, so I searched and searched among the reasonable-rate parcels, trying to find one where my castle would be accepted. The problem, as I found with my first landlord, is that the building is quite tall - nearly, but not quite, as long as one side of a 4096 sqm plot, if you include the turrets - and so it does tend to dominate a smaller parcel and its neighbours. However much I would love to, I really cannot afford a larger parcel, but happily I thought of Foxkin Rentals, which have been around since forever - I met one of my best friends there many years ago (and as it turns out, I had forgotten, she is still on their admin list) - and are furry and dragon friendly; so I was quite hopeful they at least would appreciate my castle. I double-checked with the estate manager and she loved it! So I moved right on in. Although I do say so myself, I think my castle is a scenic asset to the island, and doesn't overpower the neighbours at all. </span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ojIcfJFdEfs9_w7aZJwz5xQsPgVuNdJ4Qrja1TBGFynMoFf9SUMfUnToIE5C-qm2G8kwhe0YxoEJFh552wPJ9xSqTic4sHoFnJUvsvCAhA1Ag8Z5-KUlDuJkIMD7z9MbLZnKIfZtbYI/s1600/castle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi4ojIcfJFdEfs9_w7aZJwz5xQsPgVuNdJ4Qrja1TBGFynMoFf9SUMfUnToIE5C-qm2G8kwhe0YxoEJFh552wPJ9xSqTic4sHoFnJUvsvCAhA1Ag8Z5-KUlDuJkIMD7z9MbLZnKIfZtbYI/s1600/castle.jpg" height="267" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Note that the boundary to my parcel is very close to the castle itself, you can see the left boundary dike running between the trees. I put the castle as far back on the plot as possible, with a sheer drop to the water (sim edge) behind, but it runs all the way up to the edge of the little lake you can see at the front here.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>[The Dragon's Castle by TheMaxx Dragonash]</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpzdIDemeN56TllY-RYtLpxZGT9YSAMVk-ydUN1jfJorWR3zCT6S2tVZK9I11O07wh-BMVOxThDnJ_-0OmRvD0VBXz8szIBI6upZBhHv7R0MQQO49OGcmsxprcrXMQdUg-zKRffsVpfE/s1600/castle-goldsky-square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOpzdIDemeN56TllY-RYtLpxZGT9YSAMVk-ydUN1jfJorWR3zCT6S2tVZK9I11O07wh-BMVOxThDnJ_-0OmRvD0VBXz8szIBI6upZBhHv7R0MQQO49OGcmsxprcrXMQdUg-zKRffsVpfE/s1600/castle-goldsky-square.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here is a view from the other side, with windlight atmospheric settings changed to give this beautiful golden light, a simple toggling of the RGB settings just as you would tint a texture.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguEY95tEWMoIqnIxRPRo5tyjygBRSo-dU8Tym1FxBjnHzC4LF93ikSR1vKfKTXwtDUclbLIzZAV1Q9dKYQMlvCtVYa3fUuJbZEHhpmrTSIeDJ5V4NvYm_wcIkjgQLYfcyTnP9BAKd8IE/s1600/bedroom-original.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjguEY95tEWMoIqnIxRPRo5tyjygBRSo-dU8Tym1FxBjnHzC4LF93ikSR1vKfKTXwtDUclbLIzZAV1Q9dKYQMlvCtVYa3fUuJbZEHhpmrTSIeDJ5V4NvYm_wcIkjgQLYfcyTnP9BAKd8IE/s1600/bedroom-original.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I haven't changed too much of the original build, but the top room - my bedroom - is the exception. This is the original decor. Fine if you like skulls, and I'm not generally averse, but it's a bit dingy and attic-dungeonesque. And this picture is artificially brightened.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So, a bit of texture re-application and some furnishings and voila! A bright, welcoming room fit for a dragon queen to sleep in. I've cammed to the left a bit with this shot, to show the bookshelf; you can just see the door out onto the roof-space, which I retextured as with the rest of the room. My bed - and a dragon tapestry - are up against the big stone 'chimney' where the dragon throne used to be.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>[Bed, shelves & rug from Concrete Flowers] </i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Moving down a floor, we come to the main hall of the castle, a large open area good for dancing or feasting (the banqueting table to the right produces a magnificent 3 course meal of temp-rezzed prims) or simply cuddling up by the fire to chat with friends. I haven't changed any of the original structural textures (the dragon painting is mine) but I did do a bit of spring cleaning, dusting and polishing to brighten the place up a bit. (Original textures were dulled with a grey tint.) Behind the camera is a little alcove, below:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>[Angelic Designs M'Lady Dining Table; Relic 'Warsong Collection' Lovers' Chair]</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dr99qmjPw6-LOLLJm_OoI0WjCi09l-tfZnVDgEl047HabnQO5rJjuztSYejbjsJmLwdwj2HC1HxDMADOkrkbEVwOUjDwFBwU8tkZKvTLlSxrw-q-fGolfpn11yuD3RpLu6DSMFChOAU/s1600/dragonthrone.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi5dr99qmjPw6-LOLLJm_OoI0WjCi09l-tfZnVDgEl047HabnQO5rJjuztSYejbjsJmLwdwj2HC1HxDMADOkrkbEVwOUjDwFBwU8tkZKvTLlSxrw-q-fGolfpn11yuD3RpLu6DSMFChOAU/s1600/dragonthrone.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Where I put the dragon throne, somewhat modified, particularly the statue, which I love but is very primmy. I tore it down to a few essential parts, and now it is more a dragon abstract than a life-like statue, but still makes quite a statement - especially now it is situated in the main room of the castle. I don't really understand why it was hidden away upstairs before, in the dusty attic!</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1RLJWPnxe1W053Ldvk06xNQIW4ID7z1UGzx_75zzX_UXMpXYuwigIjUr9ubWY5TzLfeKVgbcfz02pK_mF7Y0yFKvavwTkhF7WNlsXyVtjXAl7YA3Ktn5Th_jj-q1Nc0Zxyrcql2Ohe9c/s1600/Vitrail-tree.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg1RLJWPnxe1W053Ldvk06xNQIW4ID7z1UGzx_75zzX_UXMpXYuwigIjUr9ubWY5TzLfeKVgbcfz02pK_mF7Y0yFKvavwTkhF7WNlsXyVtjXAl7YA3Ktn5Th_jj-q1Nc0Zxyrcql2Ohe9c/s1600/Vitrail-tree.jpg" height="265" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Exiting the big double doors at the end of the main hall, you come to this sort of vestibule which isn't really large enough to use as a proper room, but needed something to give it purpose. So I put a tree in it. Well it's clearly a delicate tree, being all snuggled up in a wool cosy, and doubtless benefits from being inside. I think I was influenced by the painted tree in Ghormenghast; indeed the whole castle has something of a Ghormenghast feel to it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>[New Trails lighted tree with knitted veil]</i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Past the tree-room is a long gallery which of course now houses my finest works of art. I couldn't really get a camera angle to do it justice and there are far more than the two paintings shown here. This shot also shows one of my recent purchases, tucked into a corner - a music box from ContraptioN, which plays a haunting melody; the Cordwainer's Son; composed originally and exclusively for this piece. I find when I listen to it, I can't easily break away, it is so mesmerising. It was one of the first things I bought after settling my castle, and I was so glad to find the store still had it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>[MiaSnow bookcase with rats; 19MC armchairs; ContraptioN music box]</i></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMHM7_tqvGNswPQx5bxgnjAAyuTG9sNZ1puYlw8wPMsu6LaeeQKqUIgPrPWM2c18nAv8IoCqacFx9F-NWaixbBPNei9usAlAVT3BD-GhwJ5bv3OTIt_refdwJpd0oWWWoa2rrM1UnVjI/s1600/hoardpile.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgiMHM7_tqvGNswPQx5bxgnjAAyuTG9sNZ1puYlw8wPMsu6LaeeQKqUIgPrPWM2c18nAv8IoCqacFx9F-NWaixbBPNei9usAlAVT3BD-GhwJ5bv3OTIt_refdwJpd0oWWWoa2rrM1UnVjI/s1600/hoardpile.jpg" height="188" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Out down a steep staircase and into the guard-room, I suppose, containing the front and rear portcullised gates. I have put my dragon-bed here, a comfortable nest of gold coins fused together by heat into one solid mass (so thieves needn't get too excited). You can see a shaft of sunlight coming through a skylight just above camera, in fact a textured prim which I left here; I removed all the others, along with a few oddments such as window frames and candles, to save prims. I think windlight makes such effects redundant now.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYUKlh8TPc6c14T-8Zcb1QJvEt9LVAea93CrC5-H1hd4tKV4DAo4T2XAKRLi1Y6Jd0zAtHOW7PzXYguWA-pGUO6eATNL2zsdIg30TKBYw2gMR81M3FrSAOCgas7bnzKtf5eD2bm7ndXg/s1600/bathroom.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEirYUKlh8TPc6c14T-8Zcb1QJvEt9LVAea93CrC5-H1hd4tKV4DAo4T2XAKRLi1Y6Jd0zAtHOW7PzXYguWA-pGUO6eATNL2zsdIg30TKBYw2gMR81M3FrSAOCgas7bnzKtf5eD2bm7ndXg/s1600/bathroom.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">The 'ground' floor bailey of the castle - in fact it is perched on a rocky escarpment so not at parcel ground level - has both a stable and a fountain. Naturally a dragon cannot fit in a humanoid bath tub, so I have made the fountain area into my bathroom, with the addition of some pretty candles, bubble-bath and floating lilies. Seen through the intruding branches of the wisteria bush outside (you can see that in the first photograph) which make an appealing, fragrant curtain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I haven't done anything with the stables, this is how they come. They house my unicorn, Earl, who is currently preferring the summer weather out in the meadow (pics to come).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have made the castle very homely but for the first time I made a really big effort on the grounds; with such success that I have been spending all my time outside! I will post photos of the castle environs next, to showcase some of the (many) things I have bought since my return. This concludes the post for the castle interior - rather long, but I wanted to show it off for those who cannot visit.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><br /></span>Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-90988983433103903022014-06-01T10:04:00.000-07:002014-06-01T10:04:42.608-07:00Second Life Meme: 20 Questions on What's It All About?<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Hello everyone, I'm baaaaaaack in Second Life after an 11 month hiatus :o I honestly didn't realise I'd been away so long. I was missing friends, and my hoard, and my castle though, so I snuck back in last week ;)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Before I start posting the pretty again, I saw this question meme on my SLister Rudh's blog and I thought it would be a good way to reintroduce myself - and perhaps even surprise a few friends! The meme is based on the sort of questions you tend to exchange when first meeting someone in SL - at least that's the theory, I've always found first questions running along the lines of 'Wow you look awesome, where can I get that?' - and the astute among you may, like me, notice that there are in fact only 18 questions. I don't know why, but we'll run with it. My goodness but this took longer than I expected, and is rather a long interview! I like how these questions really made me think though, and some of my answers were revealing even to myself, so even if nobody else reads this, it was worth doing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">20 (18) Questions: What It's All About for Me!</span></h3>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"When and how did you discover Second Life?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I'm 8 years old now, having started back in 2006 - the venerable days before mesh, sculpts, or even flexis! You would not believe the hair and skirts back then... I'm actually a couple of months older than my profile suggests, as I first joined SL with a roleplay character, without the shadow of a clue what I was getting into. My RP partner found it and suggested we move there for some extra dimensionality to our purely chat-based exchanges. Unfortunately for him, although SL was just as great for the RP as he had suggested, I quickly realised its potential for other things. I made a new paid account, for myself, made lots of new friends, and was soon spending more time on SL as Fledge than as Shep (more about him later). We had a bit of a falling out over that, but we're friends again now, I am glad to say - and as I owe my entire SL existence to him, I just want to say a big 'thank you!' to Shep's twin, Jon*. I'm sorry the RP didn't work out, but you got a better deal in the end, I'd say ;)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>*Yes, we both played the same character, and there is a HUGE volume of backstory to that. We called it Mirrorverse. One of them, and I forget which now, got stuck in a parallel dimension and either decided to stay, or couldn't find out how to leave. It was probably mine, and all that silly dragon's fault!</i></span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Did you know about virtual worlds before or was this your first experience with them?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">How does one define a 'virtual world'? I'm pretty sure SL was the first of its type, and I'd never heard of it before Jon introduced me. But computer games, just like fiction in novels or films or on TV, place the user into a tightly defined alternative environment - each with its own unique paradigm - so in a sense </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">any game is a virtual world, and I have played them ever since I was a kid and my mum brought home her school's Acorn computer with educational games to play over the holidays. Ahh, fond memories of Granny's Garden... </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But the first virtual social platform </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I ever encountered was back in my uni days when I played on a chat-based MUD </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(multi-user dungeon)</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> my (now) husband helped to program - before the world wide web even existed! (No I'm not </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">that</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> old, shut up!) </span><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After I graduated (in 1995... really, shut up ;) I joined a social and roleplaying community of fellow dragons on Alfandria (a .net forum) where we would create our own worlds purely through text based chat; and after that, the MMORPG </span><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">(massively multiplayer online role-playing game)</i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> world of Everquest, which was a sort of precursor to World of Warcraft. It was hugely enjoyable but by this time I was heavily involved with the fanfiction community (which is how I got into roleplay) and so I diverged into SL rather than MMORPG gaming. SL is more similar in concept to RP forums than to games, though like the latter it has rich graphic content, because you have no set goals or path of experience; you make your own entertainment, just as in real life. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ironically, my husband started playing WoW around the same time I found SL, and it has taken me nearly until now to get into WoW myself. At first I was too absorbed in SL, then I had a baby to occupy every waking moment of my time. Now, I somehow have to find the time to juggle them both - along with now 6 year old child who is well into computer games himself!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Has Second Life met your expectations?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I didn't really have any expectations when I started, but I would say that it regularly exceeds whatever expectations I have come to form. There really is almost no limit to what you can do on SL, the programming, resources and creative genius of its residents are constantly evolving, and I am continually coming across places, builds, people and events which blow my mind. This is what keeps me coming back.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"If you could teleport back to the first ten minutes of your avatar’s slife, what would you tell yourself?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">This is a hard one to answer, as I don't have any regrets and I believe the present is built upon all of one's experiences, so to change them with foreknowledge could be dangerous. I suppose I would deal with myself the way I treat any newbie whom I meet; I would be helpful, encouraging, patient, and treat myself to a few free goodies. My formative months in SL were filled with the kindness of strangers in this manner, several of whom became (and still are) fast friends. I suppose I also ought to tell myself not to sweat the inevitable downs as the ups make it all worthwhile, but who listens to sage advice like that? ;)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"How long did it take you to master avatar flying and driving vehicles in-world?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Avatar flying, really not that long, as I was already familiar with computer games and the varied controls you use to get around in those (sometimes also by flying). Vehicles are something else. The SL physics system makes getting about like driving a tank, while drunk. I have one very memorable and hilarious experience of giving a friend a ride on my saddled horse avatar (saddles are basically vehicles) - unlike dragon flight, which is difficult enough, cantering around at ground level is distinctly hazardous. I ended up dragging my poor rider through bushes, fences and innocent picnickers, laughing so hard I lost the slight control I'd had in the first place. I may be 8 years old but I'm still not very proficient with vehicles, and when I bought the Metallicar for my alt, (now) Dean Winchester of Supernatural, I managed to drive it up a tree! I am very proud of myself for managing to take it around a Linden race track last year, though I wouldn't have broken any speed records, but when I repeated the feat with a passenger, I managed to crash it into a bridge! And so, neatly, to the next question...</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Do you have a mystery alt?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">It's not really a mystery, to my friends, but as I said in Q1, I actually started SL on a different account, which I have kept as an alt ever since. He began life as an incarnation of Major John Sheppard from the scifi TV show Stargate: Atlantis. I stopped playing with him when his twin and I parted ways, but when I got hooked on the series Supernatural a year or so later, I just had to make Dean Winchester, even if I had nobody to RP with. My alt has therefore transformed from a galaxy-hopping military flyboy into a moody monster hunter who hates flying. Oh and I have another alt which I don't do much with, but she stands for my hubbie (who never has and likely never will set foot in SL). She represents his main WoW character, so she's a bear, and we are partnered.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Is your SL avatar a reflection of you, or someone you wished you could be?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Now there's a question for the psychiatrist's couch! *g* I have an RP alt so it goes without saying that my main is the real me, at least personality-wise. Like most furries and scalies in SL, I embody myself outwardly the way I identify myself, which is impossible IRL. Although I'm actually a dragon, however, and very proud of my Trueform which I put together out of two different Isle of Wyrms dragon avatars, I also discovered in SL a hidden penchant for dressing up which never really manifested even as a child. Aside from possessing a set of off-the-shelf avatars that would do justice to any SFF props department, I love dresses, shoes, jewellery, skins, hair, and all the non-human additional body parts like horns, wings and tails. You can't use these on a large, prim, quadrupedal avatar (I did mod a crown to my head, and it has gone no-copy as a result; something to do with the scripts) and although you could use most of them on a humanoid dragon, I never found one which really felt like 'me'; and you still couldn't use hair, skins or shoes! (Hair? On a reptilian species? I know people do, but it always looks distinctly odd to me.) So I suppose, like most people, my SL avatar is the fantasy me, looking as I wish without the encumbrances of RL matter and physics; I wouldn't want to be this way for real, as I'd be a total freak - unless we could all set free our inner selves, the way the citizens of the Polity are able to in Neal Asher's excellent scifi books.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My SLister and I actually coined a bit of a backstory to explain both my more-than-usually humanoid appearance and how we could be related. We share a Fae mother, a shape-shifting Phouka, who had one child by a dragon and another by a mortal human. Rudh is therefore half-fae and I'm half-fae, half-dragon, and got the shape-shifting bug in spades. We both inherited something of our mother's Unseelie character, expressed in our tendency to dress up as the Undead more often than just around Hallowe'en! *g*</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My shape is my own, by the way. I made it when I first started this account (having had some, not quite so successful, practice with Shep) and I'm very proud of it. I have hardly changed it in all 8 years; originally it was my RL height, and for the longest time, I stubbornly refused to adapt, even though the majority of SL avatars are giants by comparison (go on, check - you can easily make a ruler out of a single prim - most people probably don't even realise how ridiculously tall they are!) and my dragon Trueform is similarly small by the common standard, using only the Wyrmlings, though I am not in any sense a Wyrmling by seniority - who says dragons have to be so big?! Anyway, eventually I gave up in frustration at having to alter so many skirts so they wouldn't drag under the ground, and increased my height a little. I suppose with mesh I could go back now, but it doesn't really make much difference. I'm still small next to most of my friends, and I'm used to it.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Is there an individual you met in SL that inspired you in your RL? How?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I have an enormous amount of admiration and respect for the creators in SL; I did try building early on, before sculpts put system prims onto the back shelf, but I wasn't very good at it and decided to confine my efforts to modding other people's stuff. I am a shameless consumer, stuffing my inventory with other people's works of art. I couldn't fill a sim with all my things, let alone my little 4080 sqm rented parcel! We are all influenced by our friends and heroes, but I can't think of anyone who has consciously inspired me to be different than I am; I don't have the skill to aspire to be like those I most admire, and I am too independent to follow the dictates of fashion or social conformity. Besides, the things I do in SL are just impossible IRL, due to the constraints of realism, time and money.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Do you feel it is easier to create stronger bonds/relationships with people you meet inworld as opposed to the real world?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think the answer to this has to be yes, since my closest friends are all from SL (though I met a few before, they were still online friendships, and they subsequently came to SL where I have interacted with them the most). I have met a few of my best friends IRL but we don't get to hang out much, we all live too far apart (most in other countries!) so we have kept in touch by chat and email and Facebook when we haven't managed to cross paths in SL.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't really know why this should be the case, except that SL has two advantages over RL for forming friendships. Firstly, it is easier to find shared activities you both enjoy; and secondly, there is a much larger pool of people, from all over the world, whom you are likely to meet. You can attend a dance class IRL, for example, but only once a week, and only the same, select few people will attend. (I'm discounting clubs as they are more for finding boy/girlfriends than platonic friends.) In SL, you can go dancing every night, at a different venue, and the noise doesn't preclude you from striking up a conversation, as you can conduct that in private IM. And of course there are many more events and activities, all free, all only a teleport click away, and attended by a wider range of people than you are ever likely to bump into on the high street, unless you live in a big city. So it's not really surprising that such a social platform facilitates friendships; and while not all of them last, just as in RL, you are bound to find a few of those 'golden friends, precious and rare'.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">There is a third factor at work, which is unique to SL, something all SL residents have probably experienced. Time seems to work differently inworld, probably because it's so easy to jump about from one activity to another, so that you can experience a lifetime of shared enjoyment with friends in just a few months or years, without all the boring in-between bits of getting there and saving up the money and having to find somewhere to eat and so on. SL is, or can be, concentrated, minute-to-minute fun and freedom; and it's those shared memories which help to cement the bonds of friendship. It's no different to real life, it's just far more accessible.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"Did you ever imagine or believe people could fall in love with someone they never met before Second Life?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Actually, one of my husband's friends at uni met a girl through a MUD. They were in different countries, but they fell in love and got married, and this was all before the world wide web! My SLister, subsequently, has found and married her man in SL, and now lives with him abroad. Several of my friends have established long-term, loving relationships with SL partners they may not even have met IRL. Love is like friendship; it takes seed in shared similarities, and doesn't necessarily require a physical connection; though I do believe that it's harder to maintain close bonds without any RL contact at all. Fortunately for me, I met my man at college, and have never had to go looking for a partner, either online or off.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"How has your perspective of dating changed (or not) since you started playing second life?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I think the previous two questions answer this one, but I don't have too much direct experience. I did engage in a couple of flirtatious, roleplay romances - at the time, I was so used to roleplaying, I just transferred it to my own 'character' without really considering the consequences. It soon became obvious that things were becoming too realistic to be roleplay, and I called off the relationships before things went too far, since I was (and am) happily married with no intention of cheating. I think the lesson for us all to heed is that whether roleplaying or not, all characters on SL belong to real, living people with feelings and desires, and we can grow close without meaning to or realising. Dating is a serious business, not a game, and those who go into it without serious intentions are liable to end up hurting someone.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"How has your perspective of employment changed (or not) since you started playing second life?"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">SL has always been a platform for fun for me, and there is no way I want to be tied down with responsibilities. You can manage very well with very little money, and it's only if you want to afford a large plot of land that you have to start thinking of serious finance. There are some, a very few, people who manage to make enough money in SL to fund themselves IRL; most make just enough to pay for a sim and the resources they need to work in SL. I think the majority of creators are working mainly out of love for their craft. Of course, there are wonderful things around every corner, and while some of the best things are free, many are not; if, like me, you find it impossible to resist the lure of the pretty, you either have to find the finances IRL or get a SL job. I am very thankful that I can balance comfortably on minimal expenditure; my account is old enough that I make my sub fees back in L$ pocket money each week, and except for the occasional high-expense purchase - and parcel rental - I don't have to buy Lindens. In my whole 8 years, I have only put in extra money for a handful of items: my castle, Dean's car, a gift for Rudh, a set of monster skins. If I had to work to pay for these things, I wouldn't enjoy SL any more. I wouldn't have the time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="color: #e69138;">"Name three things in both your lives that overlap each other significantly."</span></span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My friends. My interests, but that's self-evident; a love of fantasy and dragons isn't going to be confined to just one area of my life, as though neatly packaged away in a box I can tuck back on its shelf when I press the little X in the corner of the screen. And, erm, I'm struggling. Nope, can't think of a third thing. I go to SL to do things I can't IRL, it's an escapist world of entertainment - wait, is this blog one of them? I'm writing it IRL but it's mostly about SL, and I know I have a couple of non-SL readers so yay! That's #3 :)</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"If you could live your life more immersively in a virtual world, would you? (Kind of like the Matrix)"</span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">At first I thought this question meant would you exchange RL for living in a virtual world full-time, and that could surely only apply to the most desolate and bed-ridden - I admit that at times when pain and exhaustion from my condition are driving me crazy, I could wish for a total escape from real life's downside, but virtual worlds can't offer some of the best experiences in life - physical contact being the most important, but also the sights, sounds and scents of the things around us, especially nature, which even the best graphics and most ingenious creators can't reproduce.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Then I thought perhaps the question just meant, if you could experience SL in a full-surround, sensory environment, would you? And my answer would be, heck yes! I'll pass on going too realistic though. There are plenty of scifi stories to demonstrate how easily one could become lost to the virtual, if it were immersive enough, to the detriment of one's physical body. Some addicts even find that now, playing on computers longer than is healthy for them. And currently, I can't even play with headphones unless my son is in bed, as it switches you off too much to what's going on around you and hampers RL interaction. One thing I do find is how easy it is to lose track of time, when doing anything on the computer, not just playing games. I'm sure this effect would be even greater in a fully immersive world, and you'd need some kind of alarm system to forcibly pull you out!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"How do you think behavior changes for people if they’re inworld vs in real world? Why do you think that is?" </span></h4>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">People can't physically hurt you in SL, and they don't know who you are to call the police or a lawyer. That makes it much easier for people to act like jerks, with no consequences. I don't think everyone behaves this way; but those who are inclined to be jerks or bullies IRL will find SL a playground for their antisocial behaviour. There's also a tendency, ironic since those engaging in it are themselves playing virtual characters, for people to forget that they are interacting with real people who have feelings that can be hurt. Then again, RL is full of enough insensitivity, maybe that's just people, in and out of SL. To counterbalance the trolls, there are also plenty of kind and generous people, who go out of their way to be nice rather than unpleasant. I suspect, on the whole, that people don't behave too much differently inworld than they do IRL, although John Gabriel's (from Penny-Arcade) <a href="http://www.penny-arcade.com/comic/2004/03/19">Greater Internet F***wad Theory</a> probably still applies; less in changing people's essential personality than by allowing them to be less inhibited in their rudeness than they can be face-to-face. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">One kind of behaviour that always astonishes me, as someone who strives to look unusual and unique, is how many people fail to understand why others would want to look 'different'. It's Second Life! Its very existence is the potential and opportunity for doing things differently, for being 'all you can be' rather than all the real world allows. Vanishingly few people on SL make avatars identical to their RL selves; even the most 'normal', human avatars on SL are as beautiful as their players can make them, striving to approach ideals, whether personal or fashionable, they cannot - or would not - meet IRL. I think anyone who comes to a platform like this and fails to appreciate the imagination and effort others have gone to, however strange they may seem to your personal tastes, and worse, calls them out on it, is singularly narrow minded, hypocritical and pathetic. And missing out on the best SL can offer.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">"How has second life consumerism changed your perception of spending habits, the value of money, the need to be “bleeding edge” with fashion?"</span></h4>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I don't think any of my perceptions have changed; but the great thing about SL is that things are more affordable than IRL. This is because once a designer has created the blueprint, there is no further effort involved in making more; and there are fewer resources required than for material goods, again just what is needed (sculpt maps, textures, scripts, out-world design programs) for the initial design. I can shop in SL and buy all kinds of frivolous, luxury items just because they are pretty, which is something I can't do IRL; and maybe it fills that hole which some people do by maxing out their credit cards. I do limit myself though, only buying what I can afford; occasionally I borrow from friends but I always pay them back within the next week or so, and only on a very few occasions have I wanted something so expensive I've had to buy Lindens to get it (my castle; Dean's car; a set of Hallowe'en skins at a time when non-human skins were not so common as they are now). As for fashion - I've never cared about that, either IRL or in SL, I just buy what I like and dress how I like; though I am much more flamboyant in SL, as my purse and my avatar can carry it off!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #e69138;">"Name three skills you attribute to having learned or honed in second life alone."</span></h4>
Seriously, except for scripters and builders, how many skills can one learn from SL? I enjoy photography, and have probably improved my skills in that area, but it's not exclusive to SL. I can build a little, though I'm much better at tinkering, modding other people's items to suit me, and I've learned how to mess about with texture settings to get them to match up on adjacent prims, but I'm still pretty much an amateur. The one thing which I have gained from SL, which carries over to RL, is an appreciation for colour, after the blogging challenge I took part in over 2012. I have always tended to ignore my less favourite colours, and particularly ones I didn't like, but the challenge showed me that I can make fantastic outfits with any hue. Two of my least favourite colours turned into two of my favourite challenge outfits, <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/colour-challenge-24-raspberry-glace.html">pink</a> and <a href="http://fledhyris.blogspot.co.uk/2012/06/colour-challenge-23-pistachio.html">pistachio</a>! I would never have believed, before 2012, that I could like that colour... and though I still won't deliberately choose it for myself, I can now appreciate it in another person's colour scheme.</div>
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<span style="color: #e69138;">"If your grand kids googled your Second Life Avatar’s name, would they be intrigued, disgusted, proud or something else?"</span></h4>
I would hope they would be intrigued, and I'd also hope they would admire my Colour Challenge outfits, which were a lot of effort, albeit fun to make. I certainly have no reason to keep my avatar secret, and my 6 year old son has seen plenty of her. In fact he sometimes objects to things I do with her, such as setting her on fire as a Phoenix, or the full smile of my new scary set of teeth. I do have a bit of a dark side and have been known to make a few avatars more at home in Hallowe'en than Christmas Land ;) - I'd be careful of my grand-kids' sensitivities before showing them those, but there's nothing to object to in principle!<br />
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So there you have it, nearly 20 questions all about me and the personal whys and wherefores of my Second Life. Thank you for reading this far, I know I'm not very succinct but the questions really made me think! I'll try to keep things (much) shorter for the pretty posts to follow.<br />
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<b><span style="color: #e69138;">~xxx~</span></b></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-47736743939753389382014-03-13T15:56:00.000-07:002014-03-13T15:56:36.602-07:00EGadopts - March<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I forgot all about these but eeeh I got a little gold dragon out of the last batch! And a cute little flower... thing which reminds me of Plants vs Zombies. And a fat pink squirrel. And a pickle! Missed the Feb batch but here are the March eggs, due to hatch on April Fool's Day (that should be interesting...)</span><br />
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<a href="http://egadopts.com/" target="_blank" title="Adopted from EGadopts"><img alt="Adopted from EGadopts" border="0" height="115" src="http://egeg.gy/7nLSU.png" width="100" /><img alt="Adopted from EGadopts" border="0" height="115" src="http://egeg.gy/DcAMr.png" width="100" /><img alt="Adopted from EGadopts" border="0" height="115" src="http://egeg.gy/U7efp.png" width="100" /><img alt="Adopted from EGadopts" border="0" height="115" src="http://egeg.gy/XKkzQ.png" width="100" /></a>Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-43581693212039129772014-01-26T05:44:00.001-08:002014-01-26T05:45:02.523-08:00EGadopts - January<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Get your own at <a href="http://egadopts.com/">EGadopts</a>!</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><a href="http://egadopts.com/" target="_blank" title="Adopted from EGadopts"><img alt="Adopted from EGadopts" border="0" height="115" src="http://egeg.gs/1dhx0Hy" width="100" /><img alt="Adopted from EGadopts" border="0" height="115" src="http://egeg.gs/1izLj1r" width="100" /><img alt="Adopted from EGadopts" border="0" height="115" src="http://egeg.gs/KnIXEM" width="100" /><img alt="Adopted from EGadopts" border="0" height="115" src="http://egeg.gs/1crVVag" width="100" /></a></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I had some of the 2006 egg critters on my LJ but their hosting site went AWOL and they lost all the files. I shall start again and see what happens with this batch :)</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Eggs due to hatch February 01.</span>Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-83198167370093993322014-01-18T03:52:00.000-08:002014-01-18T04:00:27.857-08:00The Four Elements<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">My Little Ponies(TM) aren't the only dolls you can create on the <a href="http://www.dolldivine.com/">Doll Divine</a> website. Actually I'm really psyched because I just found one called Dark Fairy that is TOTALLY up my style alley, so expect some more posts after this! The site has hundreds of 'games', all similar in that you dress up the 'dolls' to your personal and (pretty nearly) unique creative choice with the options available, but widely differing in theme, content, artistic style etc. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Recently I had a go with the <a href="http://www.dolldivine.com/four-elements-scene-maker.php">Four Elements scene maker</a>, because I love ideas based around the magical elements. Even though they aren't scientific, they resonate within my imagination, conjuring images of wild, pagan gods, demons and spirits, dragons and faerie. I started (somewhat inevitably) by making a Fire spirit; she was somewhat aggressive, because the Fire choices tend to lean that way, but I determined to make a gentle and aggressive spirit for each Element, to embody various archetypal personalities and show how each element can have both beneficial and harmful aspects. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Here are my results; you can also <a href="http://www.dolldivine.com/galleries/Fledhyris">visit my gallery</a> on the Doll Divine website to see other creations, from other games. There, the Four Elements dolls stand alone, but here I matched them up so I'd only be loading four images to blogspot. That's why the images have different internal borders, which if I'd planned things properly from the start I would have changed, but it was an evolutionary process. Sorry about the background colour to the descriptions. I copy/pasted them from the site, and there doesn't seem to be a 'remove background highlight' option, only changing the colour - which still won't blend into the blog.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>~ FIRE ~</b></span></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Spirit of Delight ~ Spirit of Vengeance</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"><b>DELIGHT:</b> The kind face of fire, this is the deity of fun, beauty and sensuality - the patron of all parties, festivals and playtime. She is the harbinger of excitement, generosity and good cheer; and sympathy for those who overdo things just a little too much.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px;"><b>VENGEANCE:</b> The fiery spirit of vengeful wrath, this volcanic deity can be summoned to give one strength against one's enemies and to aid in retribution - whether just or unjust. Fire doesn't care - fire just burns!</span></div>
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<b>~ EARTH ~</b></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Spirit of Joy ~ Spirit of Avarice</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"><b>JOY:</b> This earth deity represents spring, new life, hope and well-being. She is often honoured as a kind of Lady Luck, benefiting new ventures, especially in matters of the heart. She is the patron deity of dancing.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"><b>AVARICE:</b> This is the deity of precious gems and minerals beneath the earth. She is a jealous guardian of her wealth and traps miners in cave-ins; her wrath is the source of earthquakes. She incites avarice among those who plunder her treasures, causing war and spoiling the enjoyment of riches.</span></div>
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<b>~ WATER ~</b></h3>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Spirit of Tranquillity ~ Spirit of Malice</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"><b>TRANQUILLITY:</b> This gentle water deity is called upon to help soothe the afflicted, calm turbulent weather, and bring peace to any kind of conflict. She brings rest and harmony, helping people to resolve their problems calmly and wisely.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"><b>MALICE:</b> This is the malign spirit of stagnant water, of fell swamps and choking weed. Her tendrils of malice can insinuate themselves into the noblest of souls and she is always looking to corrupt, whispering sly, wicked thoughts in the shadows.</span></div>
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<b>~ AIR ~</b></h3>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8u5pZcKmBeMCgeeC2tuxvZBDZJy53iMjBrwZjp7AULcBTZa0mBziXl-dF1NO5UNPdKX6EtgPgaBA9RKkSprKcsAiHbP6FDNHtxOP5AGu5yNkj21q9-XOSa2lCsRH4q5JF_HWknfuYl34/s1600/AIR.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh8u5pZcKmBeMCgeeC2tuxvZBDZJy53iMjBrwZjp7AULcBTZa0mBziXl-dF1NO5UNPdKX6EtgPgaBA9RKkSprKcsAiHbP6FDNHtxOP5AGu5yNkj21q9-XOSa2lCsRH4q5JF_HWknfuYl34/s1600/AIR.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><i>Spirit of Grace ~ Spirit of Fury</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"><b>GRACE:</b> This airy spirit is the embodiment of grace, beauty and gentleness, so light she can dance upon the clouds. She is the goddess of twilight stars, jasmine and spring breezes, butterfly wings and soft laughter; ephemeral and lovely.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: #444444; color: white; font-family: Verdana, Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12px; text-align: start;"><b>FURY:</b> This tempestuous spirit is behind all rash, hasty, passionate decisions and flashes of violent temper; but she also empowers the ferocity of protection, quick thinking in a crisis, and flamboyant skill. Neither fully benevolent nor benign, she is a double-edged sword, riskily invoked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">You can see by the position of the matched dolls that you start with a basic body template for each element that cannot be changed. You could use one element to make another, but it would be trickier as the options tend to be themed; for example you won't find any fiery motifs in the water element, and the hair colours tend towards the blue/green rather than the red/yellow spectrum. You can change a huge variety of other things though, from clothing, hairstyles and facial expression to accessories, highlighting and backgrounds, and add minute final touches by dragging and dropping tiny beads and flowers to create delicate jewellery. My Avarice doll has 50 hand-positioned jewels! That's why I wasn't about to go back and redo them just to match the border motifs. Overall, I think my favourite doll is Grace; though Vengeance would make an unmistakeable Fledge avatar in Second Life.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">~ * ~</span></div>
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Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4562657276716173968.post-29818672685003870502014-01-03T11:25:00.000-08:002014-01-18T03:52:58.221-08:00The Bakery Lane Posse<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">So... I've been playing with the pony creator some more. I made my own pony gang, based around tasty desserts, starting with the ponified version of Strawberry Shortcake. (Amazing how an idle moment can blossom into a full-grown project...) The group are a bit older than the Mane Six, more older teenagers/young adults - a bit like the Mystery Club in Scooby Doo, because they are amateur detectives off the clock. Points to anyone who spots the clue/pun in the name. Their official work is at the largest baked goods manufactory in Equestria, McVitie-Coltbury on Bakery Lane, Sugarville.</span><br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHt9P39X5_76K65BReHymELiX4C1JqZavkctQdJwp7EJ4pzOcA2TrQFYxYQzw2WgYzBqlla5l34muoWnFjLc-1WOorcpwVGjFnN7D8nkBtnqrZmLUj81-FgtEpad7eWpmgv3TMo0vVw8E/s1600/gang-mulgore.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgHt9P39X5_76K65BReHymELiX4C1JqZavkctQdJwp7EJ4pzOcA2TrQFYxYQzw2WgYzBqlla5l34muoWnFjLc-1WOorcpwVGjFnN7D8nkBtnqrZmLUj81-FgtEpad7eWpmgv3TMo0vVw8E/s320/gang-mulgore.jpg" height="199" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">I also made this picture into <a href="http://www.jigsawplanet.com/?rc=play&pid=3c48ee8c733d">an online jigsaw puzzle</a> which anyone should be able to try (you don't need an account).</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">Members of the Bakery Lane Posse:-</span></h3>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Strawberry Shortcake</b> - the leader and the inspiration for most of the group's activities, she is a sweet but quite serious and dedicated unicorn. You can see her in her customary posture, searching for clues in the grassland of Mulgore. (Probably they are on one of those annoying 'find X of this plant' quests.) Her bakery job is chief taste tester, a skill which prompts her to believe she is good at unravelling clues the way she can unravel flavours.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Lemonzest Cheesecake</b> - a graceful, artistic soul, she is very demure and often seems wrapped up in herself, but she has a way of disarming ponies the group wishes to question and holds the role of Chief Interrogator and Suspect Handler. At the bakery, she designs the cake decorations, and devises new flavour combinations for Strawberry and Cointreau to try out.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Keylime Pie</b> - Lemonzest's twin brother, laid back and outgoing where she is shy and retiring. He doesn't really have any good detective skills but is called on when the group needs physical back-up or heavy lifting. His job at the bakery is supervising the production lines, a demanding and time-sensitive task for which magical lifting comes in very handy.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><b>Blueberry Muffin</b> - a happy go lucky farm pony, with an emphasis on 'lucky' - although she often exasperates Strawberry with her messing around, her random inquisitiveness seems to turn up a lot of clues. She is the fruit sourcer for the bakery, going to all the farms in Equestria to choose the very best. She is a good friend of Applejack's, with whose farm the bakery has a standing account.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Cointreau Truffle</b> - this plump little pony is actually the most intelligent member of the group and the one who solves the most puzzles, though she is happy to take a back-seat and follow the others' direction, being more of a follower than a leader. Her specialty at the bakery is recipe planning, making her in essence the head chef, though she is modest about her role.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>Raspberry Pavlova</b> - zebra pegasi are known for being rash, unpredictable and hot-headed, and Raspberry is all these things and sometimes a bit caustic and liable to tread on hooves. But she is brave and loyal and the go-to pony when daring-do is in the wind. A team of Raspberry backed up by Keylime is a force few can reckon with. Raspberry's role at the bakery is staff supervision, and Strawberry counts on her to keep the group together when morale or motivation lapse.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Banoffee Pie</b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> - this little guy lives for gadgets and is always inventing new tools, a bit like Q in the James Bond films. Banoffee's gizmos have a high tendency not to work, but the others humour him because he's fun to have around, and good at solving logic puzzles. Banoffee is the chief technical advisor at the bakery, where his inventions work a lot more often than the ones he creates for detective work!</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br /></span>Fledgehttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04100617333940629980noreply@blogger.com0