now I know you need the dark just as much as the sun (part four)

(And continuing...from part three...)

[[Note from the Editrix pre-publishing--Em has totally lost the plot and has been sitting on these last two trying to find the pics, so she is now GIVING UP and providing two pics from Radio Free Darkmere's Christmas set at the Slippy Ship.]]



While pondering the sweater-dress selections at LeiMotiv, and listening to Sunday (1994) (Yes, that does seem to be the band's name.)



Pondering yet more winter candy sets from Simply Shelby, and listening to AURORA.

I look so irritated in these last two. Ah, well. Merry Crisis after all.



Might have maybe been getting overtired...



[[And have a couple extra pictures because I was so frustrated that I lost two entire links, I forgot what I was editing for.]]

All I know is, it's been a long, dark night, but hyperfocus--plus egg nog, Firefly episodes, fig-and-pecan topped Brie and coffee--saw us to the dawn. The sun has returned for another year. Happy Solstice.

now I know you need the dark just as much as the sun (part three)

(Continued from part two!)



[[Look it's almost four am in the morning on the 24th because I wanted to get these OUT already and your Editrix is FRIGGING TIRED and somehow your Editrix's non-working brain--that's not even self-deprecation at this point, it is BROKEN and I am having to work around SO MUCH just to stand upright--where the hell was I going with this...Damn it SEE that's what I'm talking about--I THINK this was LeiMotiv but it might have been Fancy Dancer and either way I'm missing BOTH store links AND the oh-so-precious soundtrack mention and AAAAGH! I will find it tomorrow, I swear, but this is Fancy Dancer...or LeiMotiv...or somewhere else GAAAAAAH--]]





While at Pearl Fashion, saw sparkly presents and forgot why I was there (SEEE??), and started running around crystal-hunting. ALYK was playing in the background.



Pondering pretty holiday dining chairs at LouChara while The Hellfreaks play in the background.



While at BlueMoon Enterprises, picking up a festive green silk tea gown, and listening to IMPERIAL AGE. (There are also two padded, painted fabric pumpkin trio freebies out, but I don't know how long they'll be there!)



And I was trying valiantly to restrain myself at LOVE, listening to Paris Paloma.

And we lurch onto part FOUR...because REASONS...

...but before we go, listen: I know I say I love the VaeV items I've blogged, and I do, but--and I'm saying this from the perspective of it being now, when I'm typing this bit, the 25ths, I have been wearing this thing for five days. I have literally changed to six or seven saved avatars, and a couple just piecemeal-making from folders, for five days. It's big, it's heavy, it doesn't work with everything...and I do not care. I love it. I love it so much.

So if you want one of your own? Skip on over to the Warehouse Sale and find the /Vae Victis\ booth.

NOW over to part four!

now I know you need the dark just as much as the sun (part two)

(Continuing from part one.)

So I learned something tonight--the sim Madame Noir is on disallows flight. Not a huge deal, just meant I couldn't take a pic next to Grim's runed monolith. (And yes, I don't care how often Blogger tells me I meant "ruined", no--I meant "runed".)



It was fine, though. I checked the position of the giant spider--thankfully, half a field away--so this was snapped after wandering the sales wall at Madame Noir and listening to CLAN OF XYMOX. (Didn't even know they were still together, but that's a new song! Or new to me, anyway.)



While debating between mirrors at Kiu, and listening to Grace Power.

[[Could not track down the shot I took at Kiu--no idea why. So I just shifted to the first "wintery" avatar I had saved.]]



While buying the string lights at Moon Amore, and listening to Tabitha Raines.

[[Note from Editrix, pre-publication: Could not track down, for the life of me, the picture I took from Moon Amore, either. Maybe I didn't? So, quick-change to something else, flip on the halo, and go. For all that it matters, I was listening to Sub Urban's "Cradles" and Madeline Goldstein's "1996 Expectations" while lining up the shot and then editing it into frame.

[[Oh! And I should also add--this image from Moon Amore features the HUD. I have zero idea if I've shown off all the combinations. There are seven options each for the disk (barely seen in most of these shots, behind my hair). the arch (I believe that's the main portion the blades and spires link to?), the quasi-Gothic architectural star, the spikes on the inner circle that rotate, and the blades (the flat daggers that are seen behind the trio of spires). Then the spires--the typical seven options of the rest, then eight additional jewel tones.

[[If I have any complaint, it's there--I'm not able to change all the parts to vibrant colors. But this is the most minor of quibbles--there are still a dizzying number of combinations!]]



While contemplating if Gearhaven needs a giant severed bunny head at NOMAD, and listening to Snow Wife.



While checking Moonlight Shadow's...uh...forest??..horns?? Those, um...don't look like tree roots...and listening to ILUKA.

And...that brings us to another five pictures, so off to part three!

now I know you need the dark just as much as the sun (part one)

There is a touch of sadness this Solstice. Casey Chaos has passed away at the age of 59.

I don't know if that's going to ring bells for anyone. I can tell you one of my favorite songs of his last band, AMEN, was "California's Bleeding". And wandering around YouTube after I heard, I found this lovely compilation video--not just Chaos fronting for SCUM, but also a clip of Kerrang's Hall of Fame awards celebration, which had Chaos introducing the recipient that year, Iggy Pop. Dear gods, that was seventeen years ago...

So, while I'm in the middle of figuring out how I want to blog six or seven previous /Vae Victis\ products, and realizing that since Grim made the "Krampusnacht" Caged bell for MadPea's Advent calendar (that was...day fourteen? I think?), he drops yet another thing coming up for the Warehouse Sale.



But hey, guess what I found at Belle Epoque for the Saturday Sale? Janire holding the Krampusnacht Bell from MadPea's Advent calendar. (I think they were day 14? That's another thing I haven't unpacked yet...)

To wit: The "Elohim" Bladed Halo.

So, what the hell, I took it shopping.



While listening to Sub Urban and pondering the sales wall at Candy Kitten.



While checking to see if I had the hairs on sale at Doe and listening to Jax.



While perusing the sales wall of .epoch.--dangerous, dangerous store--and listening to Lilith Max.



While trying to decide between the goth elf and the pine elf at Kiu, and listening [[I am wrong! Leaving the picture as is, but that was actually Atelier, not Kiu! I blame the hazy blur of Solstice-ing, but I do apologize.]]
>br /> And since I took a lot of pictures, we'll move on to part two!

got some feeling coming back

Well, this is going to give me nightmares. (Seriously, this is disturbing content. Not nudity, per se,, and not gore or violence, really...It's just skin-crawling, disturbing AI images. Be *warned*.)

Also, uh, hi again. I have about ten drafts waiting to be finished, that I planned to finish, and then the days ganged up on me again. Bah. If anything's not time-critical, I'll do my best to backdate, but only by a few days, not the month before, or the month before that--when I was supposed to pull my act together and toss them in as entries.

Anyway, soooo.....currently I'm at Harvest of Souls, which I still think of as a "newer" event? My brain thinks it started after SABBATH--or Ritual--but definitely not past Salem or...bah, what's the other name...I know it's not Trick or Treat Lane, because they've been around FOREEEVERRR...Gods, October's going to suck this year, EVERY event is planning on opening, it seems...



"You may ask yourself, 'Well, how did I get here?'"

Though that's not really my main question. I'm actually trying to avoid the main question, which circles around between "I haven't updated since WHEN?!?" and "If I'm going to stand around in world, by myself, for six hour stretches of time while I'm distracted to the point of getting nothing done in RL, either...am I really needed in world?" That one...I'm going to have to deal with at some point.

At some point. But not today.



"Little fish, big fish, swimming in the water..."

Today I'm at the event. I may do an entirely separate entry just walking around and capturing really fun landscaping. But I do look like I dressed for the booth, weirdly, and I hadn't seen it before porting to the event. What's actually in the booth, for sale, is /Vae Victis\' "Cernunnos" Monarch Antlers. It's now entirely redone mesh, all original work by Grimoire Hexem, and I'll get around to reviewing that hopefully soon!

[[Insert from the Editrix, sadly AFTER publishing--I am a complete FAILURE, I have forgotten how Vae Victis is spelled, oh, the horror and tragedy--but, err, the names have been fixed. My deepest apologies. When I'm more awake--the Editrixing is taking place late at night and one day forward...as is tradition...I'll check the keywords on other entries.]]

This is not going to be my usual exhaustive review. also. I know there are three places to change the color scheme, the jar itself, the trim along the jar edges, and the edges of the crack that the souls are trying, so very hard, to break through. Each can be tinted fourteen different tones, though I fully acknowledge that the booth's red light (along with the red facelight I'd forgotten I had on), means you're not getting that good a look at the options.



"I have my scars, you have yours..."

And, of course, we're only mentioning tangentially that having a migraine for a day and a half may have impaired some of my ability to brain and take pictures. Still. (This is not me asking for sympathy, either. My brain and I are not on speaking terms at the moment--it knows what it did--but that doesn't mean I'm trying to add stress and worry to anyone's plate. Yes, the Eternal Headache is still there, and why yes, the migraine was laying over it--but it doesn't matter. The headache is just that--mine.)



"Walk on water through the swamp..."

I can't even say for certain which color combos I used. My notes were scattershot. I did say this:

"The jar I'm holding, by the way, is one of the hunt prizes. Fourteen colors for the jar, fourteen for the trim, and fourteen for the broken edge that reveals trapped souls yearning to be free. Broken things can be very pretty, and this is, oh, so very pretty."

So yes, that's worth a mention. The Harvest of Souls event is having a scavenger hunt, of sorts. It requires a hud and tracking down and getting information from the residents of Hallow's End, where the Harvest of Souls can be found. Don't worry, there's only five town residents you need to talk to, and the hunt HUD is free, so why not take your chance to get hunt pretties? Including the soul jar.



"But what would you say if you were given one chance to say it?"

I remember this color set, though. This was me playing solely with hot pink and teal. Those are the vaporwave settings, apparently. And if you hadn't noticed (because I'm now noticing that in the pics, it's a bit hard to tell), this is another hand-held floaty thing. I have a soft spot for floaty things in general, and hand-held floating things specifically. So I'm overjoyed that it's their hunt prize.



"There's a red horse pawing at the door, in the hurricane of hands that I've ignored..."

So, that's the pitch. You want to see cool, innovative designs from some very cool, innovative designers? This is one of the places I'd suggest. Sure, I plan to go to Trick or Treat Lane when it opens, and of course I'm going to meander through the available October hunts...but I really liked the feel of this place. It's not "Boo, I'm a ghost, gotcha!" moments, it's not tons of blood and gore--it's, dare I say this, subtle. And comforting.



"Swallowing such sweet sorrow down..."

No, wait, I did forget one thing! Arkhive's back! Yes, Mesmer Macabre's personal brand has resurfaced, and this one hasn't gone to the bloggers yet, so I may have to count pennies. (It might not be sent my way anyway, because when Arkhive closed up, I left the group.) Either way, it is a lovely, lovely thing and I wannnts it. L$450 currently at the Harvest of Souls; likely more if you wait until it hits the mainstore!

And did I mention the antlers from /Vae Victus\ are L$500 at the event? Well, expect that in a future entry. I can say that Arkhive's spiffy staff will work with the spiffy staff AO from /Vae Victus\. Synchronicity is nice.

Now, if you'll excuse me, there's a river calling. If I catch a fallen autumn leaf, can I ride it all the way to Gearhaven? Let's find out!

remember to breathe

I last posted in MAY?! Void stars, I'm losing my grip.

(Also, I still maintain Christianity would be on the rise if they listened to Reefer Madness's take...but I digress.)

So, what's going on? I am deeply delinquent on reviews. Events are opening at speed. It's getting darker, and I've forgotten what sun feels like on my skin.



In the meantime, a lot of thinking goes on when there's thinking at all, with intermittent static and snippets of strange commercials. But I'll try to do better about updates.

If I can.

(Oh, and this may be the first year in more years than I want to think about...where I don't cover Hair Fair at all. I have a lovely windblown long hair from Truth, and a starkly impractical, but beautiful, headdress from Azoury...and I only have those because a friend dragged me through one sim. So...yeah. Not getting that done is going on the pile with all the other things I'm not getting done.)

race to slip into whatever fits you

I know. I KNOW. It's a problem. I get it. I think I've worn a hollow in my back from the amount of times Ive been kicking myself.

Also, you ever have one of those moments where you suddenly realize why your online aesthetic (and, occasionally, RL aesthetic) is the way it is?



Ohhhh. That explains some things.

For the rest...still working on some things in the background, and trying to muscle the brain into the slightly less well-worn tracks of "this is what we're dealing with now" instead of staying on the very well-worn tracks of "if the train's going, then we're going to be just fine".

Nobody ever said you couldn't lie to yourself.

Which leaves us with the image I created, to use...somewhere. Might as well be here.

Let me preface this by saying, I'm not Christian. I don't care if people are; if people aren't; if people discard the whole faith question entirely. "Live your life the best way you know how, and don't hurt people when you can avoid it" has been my daily struggle for years now.

But, there is a point where my tolerance ends.



If any reader recognizes the notecards this maker is including in all products sold, or the text over the angle on the draped cross shot (seriously--are we supposed to buy that whomever shot this, shot it on their knees? Or that we're on our knees looking up?) with more exhortations to repent--well, I did my best to anonymize. But I have a huge problem with this.

And if this maker happens to notice this--hi, there. Happy you're happy and all, but getting the notecards and the cross photo in every single goddamn product box is draining to the extreme. Stop.

Because this? This is against your own friggin' religion, what is WRONG with you??

Think I'm kidding?

But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly. And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
~~Matthew 6:6-7, New King James Version

There are other passages, and there are some who say the four named "follower" chapters (plus the fifth, generally unacknowledged) are closer to fiction than "reality" (and...I'm sorry, that's just comedic gold there), and sure, there are points to be made. And I'm not even that fond of the New King James version, but what it lacks in congeniality, it usually makes up for with (at least fairly) unambiguous language at times.

This is why I make the distinction between Christianity and Churchianity. This is why I make the distinction between the faithful seeking fellowship, doing the best they can, and...well. EVERY SINGLE EVANGELICAL MORON OUT THERE. And yes, I did--and do--mean every single one, and a large segment of their congregations as well. If you're a preacher on stage, and you need a rock-arena level sound system so you can broadcast to the people one entire football field away from you--I'm talking to you. If you're a pastor who's exhorting your followers to buy you a private jet--I'm talking to you. If you're a mega-pastor who wants your congregation to front the bill for two, no, three, no, four private jets--I'm talking to you. If you're the guy onstage saying that "someone" should just round up all the gays and the transsexuals and put them in camps, or better yet, in graves, oh, you had best BELIEVE I'm talking to your ass.

And I have hit my limit. Do I like a lot of her designs? Yes. But they're all going into the trash, and from now, not going back to her store. If I have to make notes and buy the mesh templates and make my own to wear, I WILL DO THAT rather than deal with YOUR PUERILE BLEATING ON YOUR NEOPHYTE FAITH.

Or, to put it another way--if we're talking, and religion comes up, sure. Feel free to tell me. But if I'm just wandering through your store and you scream and tape a flyer on how cool Jesus is to my face--at the very least I'm walking out, if not walking away from the smoking hull of your firebombed parcel.

Done with it. Just done. Thank you for coming to my TED talk.

but isn't it nice when we're all afraid at the same time?

Waking in the wee hours to news of another death, and not even one of mine. Following it down in a winding spiral to a song from AFP. Ten minutes of beauty. Ten minutes of devastation. Five minutes of tears that I fought against shedding, because this loss, on top of other losses, too many deaths in this year already, and the year before, and the year before that...

everyone's too scared to open their eyes up
but everyone's too scared to close them

And what do I have to top that, really? A changed body, a changed brain, a changed perspective. Growing fearful where before I was--well, if not fearless, then certainly stoic, and still looking forward instead of back.



"And it's a ride," Amanda sings. "It's just a ride..." That it is. Life, experience, love, that's all it is. Partnering so we have someone's hand to hold, teetering at the crest. Sitting with family, created, acquired, growing, introducing them to the concept of safe fear, because we know it will help them process real fear, later.

Same principle behind horror media, really.

everyone's reading the rules of engagement
and everyone's starting to doubt them
everyone's reaching to put on a seatbelt
but this kind of ride comes without them

I'm remembering one episode of Mr. Roger's Neighborhood, where he came in from Outside, removing his work coat and his work shoes, exchanging them for his softer cardigan, slipping his feet into more comfortable sneakers, and preparing the lesson for the day. All the little routines viewers had become accustomed to--the door opening, his easy, guileless smile, the short walk down the short stairs. It was ritual, in a way, practiced to give his audience time to unwind with him, become open to his next words.



The episode I'm thinking of, though, is sadly one they no longer run in syndication. Because in this one, near the end of all the calm routines, when he raises the top of the aquarium to feed the fish--he finds one of the fish has passed. Floating belly-up, its small fins no longer moving, its gold-scaled body no longer swimming in idle loops around the tank.

And it's a small, quick moment, expressed in microcosm: his eyes subtly shifting, his shoulders tensing, then relaxing. Nothing a child viewer would catch, even, though rewatching that episode as an adult, I see the signs more clearly. Thrown--just for a moment, a handful of quick seconds--before he pulls back to teacher mode. Finding the best path to turn this into education, pitched in ways his viewers would best understand. And whatever the lesson was going to be, it was set aside for the lesson he had on hand: telling children across the country about what death is, what death really means. That it's nothing to fear; that it's okay to feel things about it. That our emotions, as children, sometimes feel very big, and very scary, but that that was okay, too. Death was just a thing that happened, to all of us. Death was a natural departure in this case, and accepting that was part of life, too.

It's just a ride. And we've got the choice to get off any time that we like...



It is the great equalizer, after all. The commonality of death. The universal experience we'll all have at some point.

Right?

everyone's trying to stay on the side
where the water's just boiling more slowly
frogs in a pot, well that's one thing I've got
at least some of the frogs in here know me

It's not a comforting song. It wavers, ever so slightly, an off-balance calliope, making music for whomever's listening in the shadows...or maybe for the shadows themselves. Her voice breaks at times, the pain in the chords palpable.

And it's not the first time I've heard it, I've had this album, There Will Be No Intermission, for years now. But reading on her latest loss, while listening to this song...it sank deeper this morning. The lightest touch of midnight's chill gracing air already warming, the beginning days of May already lurching towards summer's thick, leaden heat, and I'm reminded yet again of the cyclical nature of loss.

I want you to think of me sitting and singing beside you
the chain pulls us up and we know that we're all gonna dive

And stupidly, pointlessly, thinking on my own. Because it's not in the same league, is it? I'm alive. The world hasn't done me in, yet. That's acres away from mourning an entire person. And yet...ringing the changes. Because there *have* been changes. Six hundred and fifty-plus days, now, with the headache that never leaves me. I'm less sure, now, on the other side of that. Less brave on the other side of that. Definitely, after these months, cascading through a year and still going, less stable on the other side of that...

Possibly more stubborn. But at this point stubbornness is a feature, not a bug.

But we all go down, yes, and we all go down...and see what the ride's made us into, this time.

I want you to think of me sitting and singing beside you
I wish we could meet all the people who got left behind
the ride is so loud it can make you think no one is listening
but isn't it nice when we all can cry at the same time?

But what else do we have, really? What choice do we have? Isolate, or integrate; pull back or push forward. Strengthen our relationships, or let them slip away.

and as we switch from side to side
everything is gonna be just fine
everyone you love is gonna die...

Yeah. Whether you believe in heaven, or reincarnation, in nothingness or continuation, this is all we have. This, right here, right now. Ride's gonna stop sometime, so until then, we make the best of the ups and downs, the scary descents and the link-by-link ennui of elevation. And we can make the choice to be happy in those around us, knowing that they're in the same place, in cars ahead or cars behind. Maybe we'll walk out with them hand in hand. Maybe we'll never see them again.

It's up to us to do the good in the world that we can, because everyone's just trying to hang on for the next drop.

the alternative's nothingness
might as well give it a try...

What have we got to lose, after all? It's just a ride.

movers sulk like gravediggers, while you hug at the door

"Is this AI trying to learn?"

This also strikes me as AI work (and there is mild nudity, so potentially NSFW), but the song is moody, and atmospheric, and the animation is at the least fascinating to watch.

(Bit on Kiki Rockwell in general, because I hadn't heard her before--this article was written in January of this year, so she's relatively new, and from New Zealand.)



So! The 'Atropa' Parasite Flower, another iteration of an earlier work. It needed to be covered. [[Insert from the Editrix: I am being *very honest* in dating...sort of...in that the Necropolis Aether Salon occurred on 18 October, I started seriously working on this entry ten days later, on 28 October...but it's getting dated November 5th for final publishing.]]

It's a new library site, as well. No idea why, though it could have something to do with the current absence of the Baron, but--overall, it seems a much more warm, comforting space.



And yes, that is the Chartes Cathedral labyrinth in the library. I don't know if it's always there, or if that was an addition for the Salon on the Necropolis, as understood through a few eras. Either way, it's a lovely thing to see in a library.



And Sir Edward definitely was in his element for this one, comparing various cities of the Victorian and Edwardian eras, how they dealt with body disposal as a whole, as well as side jaunts into places like the Paris Catacombs and the Sedlec Ossuary in Kutná Hora, Czech Republic.



Basically, I wanted to attend--not only because I wanted to hear the Necropolis Salon, but because I thought it would be a good way to capture some still pics of me wearing the Atropa flower.



So as seen in the first pic for this entry, there are fourteen different options for the metals, fourteen for the petals, and I think seventeen different options for the vines?

If I'm counting correctly.



It was a pretty piece before, without the trailing vines, but there's something...extra...added with that addition.



I like it, though. I can easily see this being an oft-used accessory.



This was an exclusive release for Hallow Manor, which opened October 13th and closed November 1st. Now, it's in the mainstore, and if you want a direct beacon to the accessories wall, then click this. It's L$400, post-event.

Also, apparently it's Second Life Annual Cleanup Week. So, uh...go do that, I guess.

and you better start swimmin', or you'll sink like a stone

for the times they are a-changin'...

Yeah. Sometimes it do be like that.

come gather ’round, people
wherever you roam
and admit that the waters
around you have grown...

August 28th, 2023, fell on a Monday, at least in the northern hemisphere. Monday was also family dinner at the mansion. The family knew it was the anniversary. It was...an uneven night, not unsurprisingly. How does one celebrate having an unending tension headache for a full solar year?

I'm the one on the end with the moths.

and accept it that soon
you’ll be drenched to the bone
if your time to you is worth savin’...

Dinner also featured a spritely vintage from Darkmere, and I was grateful for it.

I think even virtual wine goes to my head occasionally. I wasn't exactly effervescent, but I did seem more...open is not the word? Fluid, mayhap. Confessional. Something.

the line, it is drawn
the curse, it is cast
the slow one now
will later be fast

So, it's been a year, and what have we learned? I beyond the glass may have Celiac's, and if not, then a fairly unstable version of gluten intolerance. No one knows why the headache persists. Half my doctors are treating me as if I am diabetic, and the other half aren't--and meanwhile, my pursuit for a diagnosis of SOME kind keeps driving off the cliff, the latest being my (new resident) doctor's confidence in the latest A1C being "fine" (even with some other symptoms and readings in other tests).

Let's not forget that in the course of one month (with blood tests at either end) I went from some issues we needed to work on to HOLY FARKING DUCKLINGS YOU HAVE THIRD-STAGE KIDNEY DISEASE...which, by the way, disappeared with the next blood test...



Oh, and my neurologist's officially thrown me away, because there's "nothing neurological" she can fix. But if I develop something...something that's not migraines, headache, nerve pain, and a kicky little tremor, apparently...she says I should feel free to call her.

Sure. Let me just make a note about that....how does the 32nd of February next year work for you?

But that...admittedly, adapting to that led to some very dark days.

Witness this was supposed to be shot, and framed, and written, and posted, on the 28th...and I slipped a couple days due to sudden depression slogging through the mire.

as the present now
will later be past
the order is rapidly fadin'...

Stone-home truth, here: I started wondering what was the point. Now, no one call in wellness checks, guys, I am not in danger, believe me. But there was some staring into the abyss, namely...Should I still keep counting? Should I stop? If I stop, what do I replace it with? If I keep counting, when does it become another obsession? When do I get to pick up the threads of my life and get back to reality, fractured as it was?

And the deep, midnight-in-sealed-crypts dark question: is this the new baseline, and I just have to suck it up from here?

So, yeah. Took a couple days to catch up with everything.

and the first one now
will later be last
for the times they are a-changin'...

If nothing else, I have the garden. It keeps me occupied when I have spare non-hurty time. I stay in touch with friends and loves as I can. It's not a terrible life. I may have to ask Aiko where she gets her running-in-circles animation from, because I bet it would be mad frenetic on a Dinkie.

I will admit, it is a struggle some days NOT to go huge (like, giant thorn vines huge, mysterious earth portals that fling folks in a random direction huge), but so far I'm constraining things. I'm working on changing out all the no-copy flora (and the non-seasonal flora), so it will be easier to change from season to season...

...because WHY YES I have noticed the lack of seasons on the land and I miss it, and that, at least, I can start pushing out in Tannhauser and Gearhaven.

For the rest of it...well, I am a very stubborn muffin. I may be bruised, battered, staggering and broken, and it may take me longer to stand up...but I intend to keep standing up for some time yet. This weekend I may spend more time with the offworld partners, and idly make new things out of old things while we watch the next episode of Mentopolis on Dropout. (I am still convinced that Hank Green is just playing himself in that season...or, at least, Hank Green if he was bright red, in a weird 40s noir mystery, and of his hands were bigger than his head...but otherwise, yeah, that's my working theory.)

And life will move on, as is the way of such things. And I'll get back to product reviews soon, because I do like them, first, and second, for baffling reasons they haven't slapped my wrist for going past some event times, so if nothing else, they're building up unswerving brand loyalty from me. It helps that I adore Grim and Mesmer to death, too, it must be said.

But now it's late, and it's been a long day, some of it spent dashing between transport and clinic doors with ice-cold rain in between, so I suppose this is as 'done' as it gets, right now. G'night.