Hi Emilly,

Oh, hi! Another Pin was removed because the copyright holder didn't want their image out there? I get that. Happens a lot.

We recently removed a Pin from your "Art" for violation of our Community Guidelines on adult content.

...Wait, what?

We may limit the distribution of or remove explicit content. This includes:
Fetish imagery
Vivid sexual descriptions
Graphic depictions of sexual activity
Images of nudity where the poses, camera angles, or props suggest pornographic intent

I mean, that makes sense, I just can't think of a single Pin I put in that folder that had those things.

These rules apply to all Pins, including ones on your secret boards.

I...don't have any secret boards??

Please take some time to go through your Pins and remove any that may be in violation of our Community Guidelines, or we may take additional action on your account.

That sounds like a threat. There is nothing in the Art folder that was not rePinned from someone else. I have uploaded nothing personally.

I've uploaded personal photos to other boards. Steam. Words. Unhallows. But Art? No. All the Art pins were linked from other accounts, so why are you getting so harsh with me, Pinterest?

If you think we've made a mistake, you can submit an appeal within 7 days.

Nah, I'm fine.

Thanks,

Sure?

The Pinterest Team

I'm very confused.

So I went through my entire Art folder. The few--and they are very few--pieces in there that could possibly, in any wise, be counted as "nudes" show no sexual organs, no breasts, no sensual encounters. There's one of a couple bathers--they are nude, but the painting shows only their backs. There are two 'full frontal' pieces--both are women lifting their skin to reveal organs and bones. Nothing else. Absolutely nothing else. What gives?

I love that obsidian scalpels for surgery are still a thing.

And I've bought my candle this year at Fantasy Faire.



As I promised last year, this one was going to be for Alastair. It's the uppermost candle in that picture. It says:

Alastair Whybrow, irascible, loyal, and dear friend. You believed in me when I didn't believe in myself. You are missed.

Because...he is. Those important to us always are.

So. It's time, I think, to finally talk about Drear Fen.



So, years back I gave up my Linden home, because I heard there was an alternate program: find a 1024 parcel of mainland, and it's yours tier-free. I happily gave up my Linden home--which I never used anyway--and set to looking through the auction house.

And...years...go..by.

Finally, a dear friend says, well, I have some extra parcels in Cardew, you want one? Um...YES?!?



Inside, it's on the sparse side for furnishings, but--this is partially by design. Yes, I do have a limited number of prims, but I also wanted it to have something of an abandoned look.



There are little details here and there. I'm fond of them, but they'll change as the year progresses. I haven't decided yet if this is the permanent, year-round house, and then I'll put up a fancier house in October with more prims, or I'll take this build back and put down a creepier one in Cardew, but whatever it is I do, this IS going to be a year-round haunt.



Upstairs is where the dolls are. I realized how many I have, and this is not even a third of them. But they've been huddled in my inventory for far too long. It's the decent thing to do to let them out to play...



...and if you know where to look...you can find the stairs to the attic.

Nothing in this house, visually, will jump out at you. Some of the sound effects seem a bit loud, so I'll be working on adjusting them. But if that's going to unnerve people in bad ways, just turn your sounds off. At the least that will prevent the creepiest aural effect from going off--the refrain from the Banana Phone song, coming in from someone else's parcel in the distance...

But all are welcome. Someone may be in residence, or not. Enjoy.

Did you know you can now see the entire Book of Kells in digital form, online? This work has been foundational in terms of design for fabric, needle art, paintings, and calligraphy, and I'm beyond thrilled it's now out there in its entirety.

And look look look! Tannhäuser Gate's in the Sci Fi Con hunt! We're even the second listing. I'm so thrilled. And this is the prize Dejah made for the hunt:



It FLIIIIIES. And it's so gorgeous. I can't stop squeeing over how pretty it is.

Speaking of pretty...I...guess...welp, finally decided to hit Dollholic again.



This is...still way too twee for me.



Okay, Short Leash's "Purrfect Hideout" chair is cute. Won't lie. Petplay oriented, several different color options, cuddles up to adult--unfortunately only for couples. L$899.



Yet again, though, there seems to be a fairly even mix between "this is babygirl/petplay gear, not Doll gear", "this could be at any fashion event in SL", and...things like this, the Shine platforms from PerveTTe. Don't get me wrong, these look nicely made, but my brain automatically assigns these as stripper heels, because RL, I've known a LOT of strippers for whom this height is the automatic default.

But what makes this doll gear? Adult women, sure. Babygirls, yeah, okay, fine, there's a lot of fetish shoe action, I get it. But doll? Has the doll community changed so much I no longer can recognize it?

Or does Dollholic mean not doll gear, but just--"Daddy's little dolly", in which case...all the DD/lg action makes sense, but...it's still disappointing.

This is evidence of how much going through this event depressed me--I didn't even bother to pull these into Gimp and throw frames around them.

I don't think I'm going to cover Dollholic past this.

Currently, Chronicles and Legends is running The Great Gatsby shopping event, and it's grand--any fans of the forties or dieselpunk can find items that, while from the 1920s-1930s, might work really well in their builds, too. But that's not the point of this entry.



Let's talk about %Percent, and Ms. Plato Novo instead.



I really liked this entire set. Even biting my nails, wondering how I'm going to save enough Lindens for Fantasy Faire upcoming, I really wanted this set. So, last night before I left, I made a splurge purchase--the Burled Wood side of three items (because I felt they'd go better in upcoming builds).



And, as much as I love copper, I decided to go with the brass table lamp and fan from the other side. I had decided against the chandelier--though, in going back to grab pictures for this image, I decided to pick that up as well--but what I really wanted was that mirror.



Yes, I know. Getting a mirror that actually "reflects" in Second Life requires photo editing. I get that. But look at it. It's so pretty.

But...there was a problem. This was the notecard I sent the maker:

Hello, Plato! I really wanted to buy the set tonight, but I'm getting an odd message from the mirror:

[21:18] %DeMille Wall Mirror (multi) *MESH* Vendor: Sorry Emilly Orr , it seems that I am missing the Materials Enabled.

I thought somehow, I was caught on decor, so I cammed in very close, made sure I was fixed clearly on the vendor, and:

[21:19] %DeMille Wall Mirror (multi) *MESH* Vendor: Sorry Emilly Orr , it seems that I am missing the Materials Enabled.

So...I have no idea what's going on? But whatever is is, cannot buy the mirror.

I'll check back, but please, get this fixed when you can? I know I'm not the only one who wants that gorgeous thing.

Thanks in advance,

Em

Now, all I expected was a note in return at some point, saying the vendor had been fixed. If I hadn't heard anything back, I would have checked back in a day or so. Instead...I got this:

[08:53] Plato Novo: (Saved Sun Apr 10 22:41:29 2022) Hello! Thank you for writing! I went and checked, and you were correct - the wall mirror vendor wasn't working correctly. Completely my fault, and I'm so sorry!
[08:53] Plato Novo: (Saved Sun Apr 10 22:41:56 2022) It refunded you each time you tried, but I'm sending you the item now. Please let me know if you have any questions, and thank you for letting me know! :)

And she sent me the mirror.

Friends. Just fixing the vendor would have been enough. And trust me, I do not expect to be handed gifts when something goes wrong. But if I may be so bold, this is exactly how an issue should be addressed, and it was a beautiful way to handle it on her end.

Designers of things are people, too, and people can make mistakes. Especially this time of year--and I noticed when grabbing her main store's link from her profile, and saw all the event groups she's in--when there can be multiple overlapping (or near overlapping) events. Always be polite, approach the issue with respect, do NOT yell, and be professional.

And nine times out of ten, you will get that same level of respect in return.

(And seriously, people? You could do worse than to wander her profile anyway--she has some great links. She's a fan of the Virtual Hotel Chelsea, which to this day is a great venue for fans of live music and live poetry, where people can also rent rooms to mingle with fellow Bohemian souls. She also co-owns Virtual Soho, which I've seen a bit of, and adore--I may never make it to New York, as the farthest I've ever been east in the US is Wyoming--but I adore tributes to the city that's made so deep an impact on so many.)

Kittens...I know, you all feel better when you're sick if you stay together, but...



...this is ridiculous. There's FIVE of you on that dock. And I'm fairly sure two of those AREN'T sick! Can you please stop fusing with each other??