Otherworldly

The September round of We Love Role-Play continues to provide blogging material, this time in the shape of a new outfit from Noble Creations. Mama Erzule has a bit of a voodoo vibe going and consists of hat, top (jacket, bra and accessories all in one piece) and skirt. The set includes three colours (black, burgundy and beige) and comes with sizes for Belleza (Freya and Venus), Maitreya and Slink (Physique and Hourglass). It makes very nice use of materials, seen most clearly in the first picture where I used a light source since the room was so dark. The second shot is taken with a small amount of natural light, for a softer look. The very gothic room is from Death Row Designs and their first Shadow Box series. I really hope they do another because it was great fun.

Another post about my favourite event as well as one of my favourite designers, the Muses. And this time, Nephilaine has outdone herself with a gown closely inspired by a portrait of Anne of Cleves, who was Henry VIII’s fourth wife but survived both him and all his other wives. The red and gold version seen here is the original colour scheme, but the gown is also available in black and blue. As it covers the whole body, it is only made in a single fitmesh size, which falls quite close to bodies like Maitreya and Slink Physique.

I paired the gown with a hair from Fantavatar & Moonstruck which isn’t quite right for the period but suited it perfectly well. I then switched out our massive Iron Throne for a smaller throne from Dysfunctional Designs to complete the scene. I had also planned to show off some new banners from the Dreaming Thicket, but since I opted for such dark lighting, they barely show at all. I will have to get back to those!

When I browsed through the newly opened September round of We Love Role-Play, I was thrilled to find the new jewellery set from Bliensen + MaiTai. It is a beautiful replica of an actual Minoan pendant, showing two bees storing away a drop of honey. The actual Minoan piece is one of the most celebrated pieces of Minoan art, a beautiful example of their skill at working with gold. I saw it in the museum in Herakleion when I visited Crete (sadly ages ago!) and of course I bought a silver replica to take home. I really enjoy being able to get it in Second Life as well and I would love to see more historical replica jewellery!

Time for another video, this time to take a closer look at the animated chess set from Dutchie. The set includes a version where you sit on the floor and one where you sit at a table. It is the latter that is shown in the video and I talk a bit about how you may need to adjust the size of the table and chairs to work with the seated animations included in the chess set. Also featured in the video are a pair of new outfits from Caverna Obscura, a matching pair of Grecian/Roman tunics.

Time for another visit to Tia’s gorgeous Pompeii Bath House. This time, may I introduce Favorita, your lovely bath attendant? The gown with its…interesting options is another collaboration between Fallen Gods and Faida, which means a lot of texture and style options via the HUD. You can independently retexture (and each colour offers several texture variants) or hide the top, the corset and the skirt. The top can also be worn with one breast exposed, as shown in the second picture. And because you can hide separate parts, you can combine gowns of different colours by wearing two gowns and hiding different parts on each. Here, I am wearing black and purple.

I have been just a touch distracted this last week, since Elio and I got a chance to try a demo of Reigns: Game of Thrones which has proven completely addictive. As a result, I have barely had any time left for Second Life. But, as I did have some new releases to share with you, I’ve stopped my attempts at ruling the Seven Kingdoms successfully to bring you a look at some fresh new things from Senzafine, Wasabi and alaskametro.

The Maliana Fairy Gacha from the Plastik is gorgeous, intricate and huge. Collecting everything would take a lot of luck and persistence, but there are many cool individual pieces. What I am wearing here is actually far from all of it because there are a couple of different jewellery sets and I simply couldn’t fit it all in at once. If I had to pick a favourite piece, I would be hard pressed, though the two rare skins are very striking with their beautiful tattoos. The bento wings (which come with a HUD with a lot of pose and animation options) are also lovely and then there’s all the jewels! To see everything that is included as well as close-ups of each individual items, make sure to check out the Plastik’s site.

For naughty props and decor to suit a variety of tastes and styles, Roawenwood is great place. One of the latest releases is this dance & display cage, available at the Red Light District. I thought it provided a good opportunity to show off some recent releases from Voluptas Virtualis and Fallen Gods, as well as a gorgeous new hair by Stealthic which uses the same amazing curling textures as Somber.

A short while back, I featured the Ladies’ Crowns gacha from the Dreaming Thicket. Now there is a matching Lords’ Crowns gacha out at Enchantment, which is also where you will find the Prince Lawrence outfit from Noble Creations. I didn’t go for any frogs in this scene, but rather setup a scenario of a King in Waiting standing beside the throne, waiting his turn.

The roses on this harness from deviousMind gave me the idea of using the flowery wall decor from the Plastik as the backdrop. There’s a hardness to the roses on the harness, especially in black, that I think matches well with the metallic decor flowers. I also used a bit of metallic makeup from alaskametro and tried to play with the light on it in the closeup.

Ever wonder how the Frog Prince ended up cursed to be a frog in the first place? Perhaps there was a pretty witch whose heart he broke. And perhaps he wasn’t the first prince to do so either. You see, she was a bit of a romantic and couldn’t resist being charmed by handsome princes, but something would always go wrong. The prince would go on a quest and have forgotten all about the witch on his return. Sometimes, there’d be a princess involved. Whatever the cause, the witch’s heart would be broken again and soon enough there would be another addition to the pond in her garden. Over time, it got quite crowded there.

Big events are fun, but returning home with a bug of some kind is less entertaining. No apparent cold, but definitely a fever, and that’s been enough to make even a bit of blogging too tiring the last few days. However, I do have quite a few things I’d like to show off, including a brand-new skin from alaskametro and a couple of pieces from the current round of the Fetish Fair from Roawenwood and Voluptas Virtualis.

After a bit of a hiatus from vlogging, I finally had time to a video featuring two awesome recent releases: The Pompeii Bathhouse from Tia and the Gerard bento head from Vista. Fair warning, I was a bit out of practice and perhaps a bit too talkative, so the video may feature more rambling than usual. Not that don’t ramble in general, but you get the idea. You may skip ahead to the essentials. ;)

I do need to make some small corrections to what I said in the video regarding the Gerard head. It is currently on sale in the Vista mainstore for L$2000. It is the add-on facial hair that is available at the Mesh Body Addicts Fair. There is also a brand-new bundle (released today) of the head plus a full bento AO for L$3500.

Sometimes, it is a struggle to come up with a good idea that results in a pleasing image at the same time as it shows off the item(s) being blogged in a good way. Other times, the idea leaps into your head almost fully formed. That was the case when I opened the latest blogger pack from the Dreaming Thicket, the Ladies’ Crowns Gacha from the Fantasy Gacha Carnival. The idea that came to me was of a woman on a throne, wearing one crown but choosing from a selection of others, including some more “powerful” ones.

I am in the middle of packing for another trip, but I couldn’t resist putting together a shot with the Zumurrud Draped Hammock from Roawenwood and the rate set of accessories from the Nyx gacha by Voluptas Virtualis. I love the little tropical scene that the hammock and the plants included in the set creates and the icing on the cake is the gorgeous ship by Rustica in the background. The landscape is from Landscapes Unlimited, one of the Solid Sky Landscapes.