I'll paint you mornings of gold

A great deal of inference comes into play in virtual world interaction, and even in games with 3D NPC figures. Because they do not often show facial expression, or, if they do, it's either Uncanny Valley turf or not...quite...synched up with what's being said...a lot of what we go on are things our minds are thinking--how we think they sound, or how we think they look, or what emotion we think they're portraying.

That being said...



...there's a certain deer-in-the-headlights look I'm developing, and I can't decide if that's me reading into...well, me, or--genuinely what's happening with the way I'm choosing my avatar to pose, dress, behave...



Anyway, /Vae Victis\ is participating in the next Madpea hunt, "Cupid Catastrophe". This is a grid-wide hunt with a specific time limit--fifteen days, from the first of February to the fifteenth, with an interesting angle. The more hunt objects a hunter finds, the more "MadPoints" and prizes that hunter gets at the end.

As with other recent Madpea hunts, it's HUD-based--the basic "Cupid Chaser" gets a hunter the hunt HUD, and a "Fool's Flyswatter"--the better to flatten Cupids and hearts with, I guess?--while the "Cupid Conqueror" package gets the HUD, the Flyswatter, whatever "The Dominator 2020" item is, the "Heart Mobile" (I'm assuming car, not hanging thing) and the "Cupid Catastrophe" outfits.



And this is the "Eros" Gemmed Crown Halo that Grim made for the event, and this thing is GORGEOUS. I know, I know, I say that about a lot of accessories, but...this one really is. I have this Valentine's picture idea in my head now, for a skin I haven't worn often--the Elemental Golden Dust Diamond for 2018's Fallen God and Goddess contest from Fallen Gods. That could be really stellar.



I may post another run in that skin, even, if it comes out well. As an entry or on the Flickr.

And I'm thinking the lost-deer effect may not be what I'm putting out, in SL, but what I'm bringing in. There are days that are more...mass confused flailing? Than others?



So, remember what I said about this piece being gorgeous? This is it from the back, and this is the first headgear I've seen from /Vae Victis\ that had this kind of backing. What I mean by that is, I'm used to the front patterning--in this case, the horn strata of antlers--matching to the back, and...not here. Here, it's backed with the smooth, slightly rounded look one gets when metal accessories are hand-poured. Complete with the stamp detail that makers often press into still-cooling metal pieces. I am sheerly amazed.



All in all, this is a lovely piece, elegant and sweeping, and while there will be a slight charge, it's the charge of the game HUD from Madpea, not a charge for the piece itself.

[[Insert from the Editrix before posting: this was shot in the photo studio warehouse in Whispers Families, and I completely forgot to show the HUD. So I had to take one last shot, below, to show that off!]]



[[And there you go! Simple selections, but as shown here, highly variable. Good luck in the finding!]]

and now there's nothing left

This is gonna be just a catch-up entry. Still do those from time to time.

I mentioned not knowing what the price would be on the 'Astaroth' Cosmic glasses from /Vae Victis\? At the Warehouse sale is now open, and they'll run you L$360.

I kind of want everything in this image. Or at least everything from the decor. I could so live there.

What else...oh! I failed to mention Arkivet has a gifty at the Mystic Realms booth! This thing:



I think most folks I know understand what a boline is, but for those who don't--in more traditional forms of Wicca, the athame is used for ritual work only, and the boline for everything else--generally taking herb cuttings, etching symbols in candles, whatever. Some say the handle must be white, but that's not a universal.



I love the details on the blade, too--all the little nicks and metal indents that a working blade would have. A lot of care went into this.



Simple HUD, pretty basic, six colors for handle and six for moon blade. It just has the one pose, but the wondrous thing about both /Vae Victis\ and Arkivet as brands is they believe products should be modifiable. Pop more poses in? Grand. Tint it using the texture menu? Sure. Expand it to the size of a chair? I mean, if that's your thing, have at it.

Actually...hmm. Since I happen to be redecorating a skybox...



At this size, it's obviously not perfect. The handle looks strange, because it's meshed as one solid object, and I was more interested in creating a 'sittable' thing than making the handle un-distorted. That being said, though, at this size? Nine LI. Just nine!

So...yeah, if you want it, stop by Arkivet's booth in Mystic Realms! I think it's a free-for-everyone, but if it's a group gift at this point, I believe Arkivet's group is free to join.

So this turned into an actual entry after all. Who knew?

we're choosing the path between the stars

It's halo time!



No, seriously, because Arkivet, one of the the brands I joyfully cover, put out a new one, AND they have a new location for the one they put out in December! So let's gooooo!

I had this idea to find a frozen wasteland, or some sparse expanse of black rock, and...today's a "that's not happening" day. So, we are not dressed formally, and we are not where we wanted to be. We're doing it anyway.



I'm actually taking shots for this at the Darkness event.

The first thing you need to know about the Arkivet Anesidora Keybound Halo is it will pop your complexity up a TON. I'm already fairly high with the hair and the particular shoes--my normal running-around at events is between 54K and 80K, today I clock in at 96,121. Putting on the Animated version of the halo raised that to 105,718.

Nothing wrong with that, we do pay for detail work--but it's something to be aware of.



(I don't remember if Arkivet has a booth at the Darkness event, but if you haven't gotten the lovely Fenrisulfr pelt boa from /Vae Victis\. it's still on sale here for L$500.)



There are six different places you can tint on this: the trim work, the body of the halo, the inset metalwork, the gems, the center chevrons, and the key diamonds. Each of those can be tinted a total of ten different shades. Make it all in one, or mix and match colors--entirely up to you.



It will be available at Abnormality when it opens February 2nd, so I'll update this then!



Now off to Mystic Realms, where both /Vae Victis\ and Arkivet have little booths. Currently there, you can find the Remph's Wheel halo. Right out of the box this is winter-wonderland joy, but it also has a tint hud, to recolor each of five sections, with eleven different options.



From the back is the only way you can really see the center gem, so here you go. And yes, I know this outfit has butt ghosties, shut up.



This one, you can get from the Arkivet booth for L$300!

Both have two different versions, animated and static. So there are options there two! Enjoy.

(One more thing I want to point out, since it reads as a HUD so got captured: porting in to Mystic Realms, you have a choice to accept, deny, or block their RP Experience. I don't plan to be involved, but I said yes because it's easiest, got set up to take pics, then had to go nap. When I came back to capture the shots for this run, it auto-attached the wee HUD.

(It's not terrible placement, and it is fairly inconspicuous, so I didn't bother with it. But it's another thing to be aware of if you port to the booths in the Realms.)

dream on, the moon is on the wane

There are times with extended illness where we try to hide it as much as possible. Keep things light, laugh it off, downplay it. Dress up for guests so they don't worry.

Other times we sink into it, and the inner becomes the outer in cracked reflection.



I'm at the House of the Crimson Wings, a mixed therian nation/Japanese haunted house, depending on which direction one goes. I've covered it before--I had to go back to 2019 to find the actual post--and now I'm wondering how it's changed, or if it has.



I'm also showing off another /Vae Victis\ product. These are the "Astaroth" Cosmic Glasses, and they have mastered the arch look with zero effort.



This is as close as my cam skills will let me get--the eyeglasses chain? If you look close, they're not chain links, they're eyes.



The house is whispering to me again. And this isn't really the outfit for pinks, but...the pinks must be shown! It's tradition at this point.



And if you just want to completely goth out? There's a black option for all pieces.



There are eleven shades for the lenses, and seven shades each for the other sections. I'm going to have to find more superlatives beyond "gorgeous" and "beautiful", but these really are. I love the eye detail on the chain, and the pen-nib bridge is so clever.



You can find these at the Warehouse event starting January 23rd for L$360!

nobody deserves to be called a curse, but if you're gonna insist, I'm happy to make it worse

A story of the Visitor...



She's frequently found on docks. Never the same one, usually by request, but at times she wanders on her own. You can find her through certain channels, if you know the right--or the wrong--people.



If you haven't reached out, however...if she finds you...'ware the Visitor. You have something to trade that she wants. She will have it.



Her promise is very simple: come with your item to trade; she will offer you payment according to the rarity of the item. You will survive the encounter.



Whether you survive long after...well, that's not her concern.



Trading with humans actually came fairly late to her. She's far more used to trading in areas where the normal humanoid rules don't apply.



But if you're careful, and you're courteous, you can trade for a thing you deeply want. Just be warned: she does not bargain. It is thing for thing, worth for worth...and you will never find her again if you play her false.

This is a truly lovely set. It's comprised of two parts, both can be worn independently: the /Vae Victis\ "Minerva" Hellebore Diadem, which I'm wearing in Fit 1 (of four), and the /Vae Victis\ "Minerva" Hellebore Veil, which I'm wearing also in Size 1 (of two). As shown in the last shot, there's an extensive HUD, with six colors for the diadem, fifteen colors for the large inset gem and the smaller decorative gems, a full twenty different shades for each flower, six colors for the stamen center, six colors for the stamen sections that ring the first part, and eleven shades for the diadem. Also seen in the shots: Dullahan's Wraithfire lantern, also from /Vae Victis\.

You can find this one at the Black Fair, January 15th to the end of the month. (Or if you don't port with a beacon, the booth is middle of the upper row, north. Get it now for L$380 before it hits the mainstore for a little more!

Also, heads up for any that missed the event, the Perchten horns, which remain glorious things of beauty, are now in the mainstore for L$450!

(Shots taken in various places on MadPea's Ghost Town. Environments used were Frio's Enslaved World by Frionil Fang, Lucky Conundrum's LS Slip To The Voidand Moonglow - Westerlund 2 Night by Loli Nori.)

they say you can't go home again, it's true, especially when your home burns down around you

I don't know why I'm not letting go of the holidays this year. My playlist is still carols and solstice favorites, and our wee frosted tree festooned with musical instruments is still up. Got me, why, it's just a comfort, and these days, I go with those.



Today I'm at the Temple of Sound in Riki, to show you another group gift from /Vae Victis\, this time the "Marbas" Beast Pelt boa.

Straight out of the box, no adjustments, no tinting, and it's a perfect fit. Which is honestly impressive, because Grim's nineteen feet tall. I figured at the least it would be ankle-length.



There are eleven shades total--as is tradition, there's a capture of the HUD later--and I don't know if I can do them justice. I do know I want that floating house behind me.



I had never gone downstairs at the Temple, so...I decided to find out what was there. There's a pool there! And a nice bench to rest upon. And just enough shadow to drape around the deep crimson fur.



Maybe I'm not the only one clinging to holiday feelings--Persephone Phoenix, the owner and operator of the Temple of Sound, and the ski slope behind it, has scattered several holiday trees around her property. Each of them have some cats, open to all. (She had them under request for two per person, but of late I think she just wants them carted off, so she's lifted that restriction!) Some are actual freebies, priced at L$0; some are slightly fancier breeds at L$200, which is still a deal; one or two are marked at L$1000 (usually those are the really BIG cats).

There are some that are not priced at all, and I see this partially as her just missing a few, because she had a LOT of cats out, as well as a minor contemplation moment on wanting the unattainable. Either way, you could probably drop her a line and ask about specific ones and see what she'd like them priced at.

I thought the brilliant emerald would go with the tree best.



And of course I'm not going to ignore the traditional pink shades! I actually considered leaving this one out, because it clips through the couch and I didn't feel like that much editing? But then I thought again, because clipping is a part of life in SL, and this was the only time I actually noticed it happening!



And that was that, and now it's time to reconsider what we're putting inside Steam towers, now that they're remaining for a while! Definitely the small bar I found, absolutely, but should the Cthulhu drinks go out again? Because the table goes very well with the place--it's a giant gear, with a friendly brass octopus topper--but that means the table will be out, and people will drink from the server...and we'll have people dropping dead all over again. Such a bother.

Oh--did I mention? You can't buy this at the mainstore, but you can get it at the main store for joining the group. It's glorious enough to go for L$500, but no, just the small bookkeeping fee for group joining (I think it's L$10 at present?). Do go see.

{{Brief comment one day after posting from the Editrix: yes, I did notice here and there the fur clipping through my bosom. But nearly everything I own clips through my bosom. It's a hazard I've accustomed m'self to.}}

through the vapor, see the inside of her head

So. Most readers don't know (and there's no reason why you should; if you'd rather stay uninformed, skip to below the first pic), though a few know some of what's going on. I try not to make a huge deal of it, because everyone has their own problems. But, today is Day 136 of the Eternal Headache. I say this as someone who has had lifelong headaches, and migraines--this is more pain than both, and my ability to human is starting to become compromised.

It's not the greatest. And we still don't know why.

So, while we wait, I wander the grid, spend far too many Lindens, and review lovely things, because--why not?

Today I'm in Winter Daydreams, which is gorgeous in every crisp, winter way. And I'm showing off the Sacred Insignia Celestial Hair Pin from Arkivet.



Now, the first thing you need to know--this is not straight out of the box. There is one, count 'em one pin in the box. That pin can be modified and copied, yay, so I now have two positioned through the hair.



They're simple enough--one faceted gem, inset into a ring of metal, attached to a pin with metal wings. Each bit--the gem, the ring, the side wings, and the pin--can be tinted eleven different tones.



See? Variety.



And of course there's the traditional Byxian pink. You know, Alia Baroque's Flamingo skin might go well with the solid pink...



Seriously, if it weren't that I'm dressed to die in wind chill, I could live here. It's so pretty. And the pins are too. The all-gold (well, almost, it's actually a mix of red, gold and orange) effect is good too.

Anyway, it will be available at the Abstrakt Event, 15th January to 5th February, then available in the mainstore. I'll tell you what it's priced at when the event opens!

but I'll be there for you as the world falls down

New life goal: become bugzapper.

Meanwhile, this is what happens when Em tries to make things pretty.



I am hollow inside! Well, I knew that, but it's always weird seeing it. This was supposed to be a shot of the Manidae Treasure Pangolin earrings from Arkivet.



A shot that I thought worked, but upon pulling it into edit, realized it was a close shot, but it did not show the full earrings...



This is what lips look like from the inside!...and I only managed to give one of the pangolin earrings a little coat.



So I turned the camera to the other side. Tadaaa...missed it entirely. No pangolins in view.



And the only one I thought came out decent at all.

These were easy to adjust, but the photographer's skill, alas, she was not there.

You can pick them up at the Abstrakt event, which I only have the general landmark from, and no price, because--as I just found out, falling from the sky--they're not open until 15 January. But then they'll run until 5 February!

And Mesmer's original vendor art, 'cos she did SO much better than I did:



Nab 'em if you want 'em, but keep in mind, these are NOT exclusives, so they WILL be returning to the main store if you miss the event!
?