she reapplies her lipstick, lights are flashin' red and blue

Okay, I really think this is kind of cheating--I mean, yes, I review things, but good gods, this is going for L$1,350 at the event--and knowing him, this is discounted from its full price, if and/or once it returns to the store. And while YES YES YES I do believe it is WORTH that price...I feel like I'm doing something underhanded for just having it delivered to review.

[[Insert from the Editrix, day of posting: I'm gonna go on with saying underhanded, because I totally missed the event window, by...a few weeks, I think. Dis bad, dis very bad. Em bad? Yiss, Em bad.]]

THAT HAVING BEEN SAID, I ALSO planned to do a whole big shebang with a (all right, for me, not necessarily for the ethereal beings that are Grim and Mesmer) properly divine avatar--and I may still, and post anything good from that run on my Flickr--but right now, I'm here, and this is what we get.



Saint Lisa Frank meets /Vae Victis\.

The other item at the booth is from Mosscore, and it's the Shepherd's Beacon staff. Which, I am told, works quite well with the AO. And I did pay full price for that one because we wanted it, oh yes we did, my preciousss...

Ah. Where were we?

There are some other things I want from this event before it closes, if I can manage that--like the Diviner's Drape from Nefekalum at the event--however, one thing at a time.



There are so many different options to tint the staff. I also added some chibi wings I've had since the Fifty Linden Fridays' Birthday Bash this last February--they're from Doe, so no idea if the Pemi wings are still available), and a body light from Krature.

And I can already tell I can't go into all the colors without going into a separate post.

There may be a separate post anyway, because I need to figure out capturing the best part--the stand that makes the staff slowly circle your avatar.

So expect a second post, and maybe even a third to go into Mosscore's staff!



Said HUD, so I can show you that at least.

Admittedly I may have fallen full-tilt into the bizarre, but there's a costume set BRII Fashions/V8 Underground has, called--with her usual, slightly glitchy titles in English, her second language--the "**CAITRIONA FEBAL PINK FELINE FANTASY COMPLET OUTFIT**". Pretty sure she meant Feral, there, but it includes the animesh tail and ears, the lace-up suit I'm not wearing, the BOM layer fishnet stockings (which I'm also not wearing) and the boots--for L$298.

[[Cue eyerolling from the Editrix--the boots seen here are NOT included in this outfit, but the boots seen when I mention Mosscore's staff for the first time ARE.]]


[[Insert from the Editrix again: This shot also includes the HUD, because I think otherwise this entry doesn't mention it. And dear gods, drunk on the details again.]]



[[ANOTHER Editrix insert, because I didn't mention this at ALL writing this up--the kneel is not included in the AO package. The back halo, however, is, and while the kneel is something I had in inventory, I still wanted to capture the green sparkles at the top of the event tower.]]

So, where were we? Right, Mosscore's Shepherd's Beacon staff, because it's been designed to work with the Hierophant AO.

Doe made the halo I decided on, the "Saturna" metal in twinkle--no idea where I got it, when I got it, as per my usual.



First, this is NOT the tall version. Yeah. Let that sink in. I know I'm short, but even so, damn.

So, I, uh...did a thing to show off a couple of the AO's bests moves, using the Mosscore staff. I'm at Equal10 now...well, under Equal10...and the music's from MC Quattro on Pixabay, royalty-free (but we'll see how that goes.)



Now, what I found out when I went home--the Shepherd's Beacon can be resized, but it's a delicate thing. If you're used to resizing, the best bet seems to be to click "Stretch both sides" on the menu boxes, and then edge it closer to where you want it. But then you'll have to realign how it fits within the hand.

So--not simple, per se, but possible.

Here's to October featuring more posts (and more shopping events, and oh gods, Shop 'n Hop opens on the fifth, and ALL THE HUNTS...*sobs*...

like puzzle pieces, and now we're here at a standstill

Additional Revenant explanation! Because why not?



First, someone's made art of my current state. Fantastic. And such a deal at two thousand Lindens.

Second, I really tried to make a pretty frame and turn these images out proper, and...the head is not having it at this point. I'm currently huddled around the jar of candied ginger eating rice cakes with cream cheese, because it has the best chance of staying down. Love this for me.



So, something I only noticed when I logged in today--as I mentioned in the previous entry, I changed zero settings, just captured it as is. It uses the standard ZHAO II framework, so you can edit the notecard inside and add in new poses, et cetera.



But this is the one I really wanted to track down. So, when I'm feeling better, I'm going to look at changing some of the times, but it's a very straightforward notecard. I would definitely make a copy if you're not used to working with interior scripting, but there is a handy help button on the HUD that will toss you a general ZHAO II help card.

Hope that clears up some things!

Have a shot of adorable Xiu blep:



And to tie this up, I can't even get the kids to behave when it's just trace shadows of their adult selves:



They are exceptionally stubborn. I blame the parents, really.

And that's all for this! Seeya!

you might make everyone happy but you're dead, just like me

Day 280 of the Eternal Headache has dawned, and I'm beginning to think I'm going to 'celebrate' a full year of this thing. Y a y . Ah, well.

To other things: have you ever had one of those feelings where you almost grasp the shape of something, but you're not sure how to execute it?

Well, I'm still there, but this is what I came up with for the moment.

I have a few zombie AO sets--some bought as one whole item, some that had a few poses and I added some of my own. I grabbed the one from RC Cluster (which is now an outlet/heavily discounted skybox store, as the actual RC main store no longer exists), and it's MUCH more in-your-face in its approach.



I'm currently at Deeproot Manor, it seemed appropriate. And I'm not going to show off all the moves of either of these, but this is a snippet of...I guess my main dead-thing default, at this point?

I like it. It's fun, it's unnerving, it goes over well at parties. But it is very extreme.



Now this one. This one is gloriously subtle, and I mean that as a compliment. It's like the difference between a ghost standing and screaming at you, versus slowly rising up from the floor and just...watching.

{{Note from the Editrix, post-publishing: All I did was unbox this and put it on. Which is why there's a fair bit of repeating moves. Took me a bit, because of tired and ow, to find the thing, but I finally did. I'll link to the next entry to explain that.}}



But there's something even better, that the video doesn't really go into, which is why I took three stills. The hand work.



Believe me, it looks better on Grim, he has these great spindly hands with spidery fingers, but even on me, there's just enough distortion in the animation of the fingers to visually imply claws. It's brilliant.



And that attention to detail, what the eye notices, but doesn't completely register, is why this is so good. There's a great little head-bobble, which is about the most obvious pose in this entire thing. The rest...I mean, it's ideal for haunted characters--wraiths, phantoms, spectres, anything that has a need to float. I have a wasp-winged Unseelie lass I pull on from time to time (it's the one seen here, with the horns), and I'm thinking the Revenant AO? Is going to be just perfect for her.

Finally, a note from Grimoire Hexem I want to pass on:

The animations in this AO were created by llweyndwell resident (the designer behind Aten-Ka), as a member of the Vae Victis team. Please contact him for inquiries.

It's available at the Warehouse event, specifically at the /Vae Victis\ booth. If you want to try a demo, that's at the booth too, or you can drop by the /Vae Victis\ main store. It's on discount, down to L$630. And the Warehouse will be open until the bir....I mean, the 18th. Go see it! And see what it can do to you!

The not-a-review of the 'Aza Emperia' Celestial Codex

[12:45] Azraiel DeZad (azraiel134): The impasse of undeath

Mood.

Got a notice from the event group today that Enchantment is still open--I'd forgotten they closed on June third. Gives me a bit of chance to figure out a reason to spend more than I really should on a few outfits.

How'ver, that's not why I bring it up.



I cannot, in good conscience, justify pulling this set to review. It's just too gorgeous, and I will not do it justice. What I will say is, interested netizens can find both the Celestial Codex, and the AO specially designed for it, at Enchantment until the event closes. The "Aza Emperia" Codex will run you L$500, and the "Aten Ka Celestial Animation Override" HUD will cost L$700. (Both from /Vae Victis\, naturally.) And those prices will only go up from here, so keep that in mind.

Still not why I bring it up. This is: I have pulled the "Revenant" Animation Override that just launched at the Warehouse event.



Yes, I know, it's not a smooth looping animation, it was just a short few-seconds capture. For smooth looping, you have to go to Grim's demonstration:



This is going to be a challenge to blog, but I think I can do it. It's far subtler than my zombie/haunt Frankencobble AO I've worked with for a while. I think I like it, though. A light air of dread...like the scent of dead roses in a graveyard. Pleasant, but unnerving.

Also, that thing behind the glass seen in the choppy gif? That's Xiu.



Yes, she is a chonk. (Me for size comparison, and yes, she outgrew me by day five.

Anyway, this one's an even better deal than the Celestial AO, at L$630. Find it at what I'm starting to think of as /Vae Victis\' permanent location at the Warehouse.

So I'll get to that in a couple days!

In the meantime, since I've managed to come down with something and I have reached the fever stage beyond the screen...I'm gonna go lie down for a bit.

can you help me to see it? because I want to believe in the magic

This is psychotically NSFW, but also hysterically funny and, in a rare bonus to the filthy-minded STEM community, just PACKED with information on geology, science, mineralization, pest control, and water systems! Just amazing.

In the meantime, I usually don't find storylines in .gifs (or memes), but apparently, I accidentally ran across one! And I must share. So here you go:



Near as I can figure, this is the first one? Everything else is maybe not in order of release, but made sense to me. More or less.



Same as the above, but with words...



And then...the painting inserts began.



Spreading love and bones everywhere!



And now pets!



And birds!



And back to people...



And finally, YOU! Now everyone's happy. And bones. And always remember--your skull is always smiling, underneath your skin.

(Apparently, there's even more of these joyous things, all done by an artist named Kiszkiloszki, and further oddity besides. I think I'm in love.)

Thirty-nine days until Hallowe'en!

I'm not sure what was your intention?

I was at the Pose Fair, of all places, when a short, distorted avatar started wandering about, complaining in voice that he couldn't find love. That he just wanted to be held, was that so much to ask? Then he came and stood next to me, perusing a static bellydance pose set in one of the shops. Still talking. I finally couldn't take it anymore and IMed him, which...in retrospect, was probably not bright.

[12:12] Emilly Orr: Dude, ask someone else. I charge.
[12:13] ForeignRufus: How much?

He wasn't serious, I could tell that. From his name, from his avatar, from the fact that he was less than a day old. But any port in a storm...or maybe I was just bored.

[12:13] ForeignRufus: Do you take v-bucks?
[12:13] Emilly Orr: L$2500 per half hour, L$4000 per full, and no.
[12:14] ForeignRufus: Damn, I like the sound of that

A prime case of "r/sarcasm".

[12:14] Emilly Orr: Really?

Not that text shows this, but this was also typed sarcastically, because he wasn't serious.

[12:15] ForeignRufus: Yes, so how does it work?
[12:15] Emilly Orr: Payment in advance. I can take you to my studio.
[12:15] ForeignRufus: How come I should trust that you wont just take my v-bucks and ruin?

Fairly sure he means "run" here.

[12:17] Emilly Orr: Why would I run? I honor all hires.

Even those from odd little troll avatars. And yes, this was the best picture I could get; the event was slightly lag-packed, but he never rezzed in. I'm fairly sure he was wearing pants, and of course the hat, but fairly sure he wasn't wearing anything else.

And no, only this one picture. I took one from the front, but...trust me, you don't want to know. It was...repellent.

[12:16] Emilly Orr: Okay, I need a term defined. What in the world are v-bucks? We deal in Lindens here.
[12:16] ForeignRufus: You play Madden'08?
[12:17] Emilly Orr: No.

So I looked it up. V-bucks are apparently the Fortnite currency? Never played Fortnite; the closest I've come to cooperative killing games was some pseudo-historical Roman game with destructible terrain features, and that so long ago I can't even remember the name. I'm not the PvP sort.

[12:17] ForeignRufus: Gotcha, so I have like a bunch of monies to spend, think you could tongue punch my meat ring?

That...is a line I've never heard before.

[12:18] Emilly Orr: Not sure my current bed offers rimming, but I could see what else I have.
[12:18] ForeignRufus: Please do, full list. Lemme know what animals you have in stock
[12:19] Emilly Orr: The House of Sakura does not offer bestiality. Though we do interact with furs happily.

It's true. The Duchess won't hire furs as Blossoms, but we're happy to have them as guests or patrons.

[12:19] Emilly Orr: If that's really something you want, there are sims for that.
[12:19] ForeignRufus: So like you cant gimme horse play, but you can gimme a dude in a furry suit? Thats [f**kin] lit fam
[12:19] ForeignRufus: yeet

So I figured the conversation was over, I'd just answer the last bit and be on my way...only, no, apparently.

[12:20] Emilly Orr: No, we don't have anyone non-human on staff currently.
[12:20] ForeignRufus: I follow you.... you dont have any ALIVE non-human staff.... Im cool with that

When...did I say that? I did not say that. What?

[12:21] Emilly Orr: No, no dead girls either.

Part of the problem, I think, is I was treating each statement seriously, and he clearly was not.

[12:22] ForeignRufus: Man... This blows

He wanted necrophilia?

[12:22] ForeignRufus: This is bad news bears
[12:23] Emilly Orr: SL, or the offer?
[12:25] ForeignRufus: What is SL?
[12:25] ForeignRufus: Sex lesbians?

Really? That's your best guess?

[12:25] Emilly Orr: You're in SL. Second Life?
[12:26] Emilly Orr: Second Life is the grid you're in.
[12:28] ForeignRufus: I thought I escaped the grid three years ago, [f**k]
[12:28] Emilly Orr: Mm, should have looked at the fine print.
[12:32] ForeignRufus: I feel super gay right now
[12:32] Emilly Orr: Hmm. We only have girls, but there are all-male sims.

He didn't say anything after that, not that I expected him to, but still. What sort of troll logs onto the grid only to be dissatisfied from go? Seriously, what is the point?

throw my heart out on the stones and I'm almost gone

This is going to be something I do not, as a rule, do--post a full transcript of someone else's video. But I think so many of the points are important, I really wanted to share this.

So to start, this is the spoken text from CreepShow Art's video, Why does everyone hate Vivziepop?

"Fine, I will talk about Hazbin Hotel and Vivziepop, but not because you told me to--actually, yeah, it's only because you guys told me to.

"Hey guys, it's Shannon, and I have been getting non-stop requests to talk about Hazbin Hotel, and Vivziepop, and just throw my thoughts out into the atmosphere. Which is fine, uh, that's what this channel is really for, me just haphazardly screaming my opinions into a void, and random people I don't know telling me that they agree, and I'm a queen, or that I'm a living trash heap that they despise. That's essentially what I do online.

This bit hit home hard for me. Because a lot of times this is exactly how I feel--I get passionate about things, I take several entries to fully explore and post them and get zero feedback. I post a toss-off "this is a weird avatar" thing, and I get people jumping on my head for being mean, or hating on whichever group they think that avatar blends in with, or in general being a baby-eating Satanist. (Yes, that's a quote. No, it's not from an SL comment. I have been called a baby-eating Satanist twice in RL. I remain baffled as to why.

"But there's only one heaping, ginormous issue with this: and that is the fact that I have no friggin' idea who the frig Vivziepop is, or was. (Actually, it's just 'is' because it's not like she's dead; I just don't know her, is what I'm saying.) I don't really know who she is, I don't know what she really does, I don't know anything about her, and I don't know her favorite color, and, like, all of that is basic information that I need to have to form a definite opinion on someone, and what they do and how they are.

"So basically, when I started getting requests to talk about her, when I started this journey that is this video, I was a blank [f**king} slate. And luckily for me, that did not last very long. You see, the internet has two, TWO, very large, differing opinions on Vivziepop. One, is that she is a crazy talented young artist, who's just trying to make her way in the world, and the other, is that she is the personification of a devil, she is a terrible, evil woman who will stop at NOTHING to destroy this world. Which is great, and awesome, and amazing, and completely and entirely unhelpful for me forming an opinion on her.

I agree. I'll note at this point that I had no idea who Vivziepop was, until I started doing idle Google searches whilst listening to Shannon speak. Turns out, about two years ago there was some underground buzz about a show featuring a hotel in Hell, and it looked quirky and fun and interesting, and then...well, TWO YEARS went by, everyone forgot! I didn't even know the pilot had finally launched until those side searches turned up. (The pilot aired on October 29th, by the way. So I likely wouldn't have noticed anyway because I was hip-deep in haunts then.)

"I also feel like that's the internet's opinion on everyone, by the way? Like, literally there is never anyone online tweeting about how they're neither here nor there for a person, that they think the person's fine, and it's okay. They're either full-on fan-camming that person, and saying stan Gerard Way for clear skin under-[f**king] tragedies, or they are posting three page long Twitter threads on every reason why this person is terrible, and anyone who likes them is terrible by default, and that they should DIE.

This. Oh, so very much this. It's actually been an ongoing trend for about the last five years--basic civility lessening, genial social discourse being replaced by screaming matches, the gradual, "they're on the other side so they're not like US, they're not HUMAN like we are!" thinking becoming ossified into steel-trap brains. But of late, it's become real obvious online, especially on Twitter, which has largely gone from cheery social interchange and international connection service, to toxic waste dump we have to put on the haz-mat gloves to venture into. And a lot of the reason for that is this obstinate, ossified mindset on every side. "This person is EVIL and BAD and kicks puppies out of orphanages, and thus is Satan and needs to die immediately, and if you support him at ALL you'll be next against the wall when the revolution comes." "This person is AMAZING and INCREDIBLE and made of good and win and thus has been touched by God and we are unworthy to touch her feet and if you say anything even SLIGHTLY out of bounds about her I will take a chainsaw to your face." It's too extreme. There's no middle ground left.

"It's like that thing where you go to Amazon and you're trying to buy a toaster so you can make--I almost explained to you what you would make in a toaster, but, like, toast, duh, you get it, my brains are fried, I'm sorry. But like, you want to buy a toaster on Amazon, and you go to the reviews, and there's one person who's like, 'FIVE stars, this toaster cured my depression, got me a husband, and I have sex with this toaster every night. Ten out of ten, fantastic lover, would recommend.' And then there's a one star review right under it, talking about how the toaster stole her husband, her kids are now calling the toaster Mom, and she hates the toaster. Ruined her life, would destroy if she could.

"Vivziepop is the toaster here. Vivziepop essentially is a little toaster strudel that everyone either fucking loves, or hates, and nobody is neutral, and I can't figure a diddly darn thing out. And I feel like honestly, that's just the internet, you see this kind of trend now, where if someone dislikes someone else, they are just the most problematic person in the world and they have, like, list upon list upon list on why this person should be canceled, and all it really amounts to is this person made a very human mistake a couple years ago. This person got angry, and did something that they probably now regret. It's like, great. And I'm not saying that no one online has ever done anything wrong, and no one online has ever [f**ked] up, and no one's allowed to not like people, that is not what I am saying. I know that people are flawed, and it's inevitable for something to happen to make other people not like them. I know that. Not everyone's gonna vibe on the same level with other people, and it's fine. That's a real thing. I've felt it before, you've [f**kin'] felt it before, you're lying if you haven't...We all just kind of wait around for a person we don't vibe with, or don't like, to give us a reason to not like them, and right when we do, we just kind of pounce on it, like cute little baby mice, eatin' [f**kin'] cheese. As they do.

The other thing I've noticed? A lot of people seem fairly stable, at least on the surface, and will come off as essentially rational sorts--until someone steps up and says a thing. And then it's chaos. Half will be in utter slavish support of X, half will be in utter frothing disregard of X, and the clashes have gotten violent. People have died. (Look up Heather Heyer. Or the innumerable incidents where swatting has resulted in injuries and deaths. The first was just because the yahoo behind the wheel wanted to hurt people more than he wanted to calm down, and the latter is generally because someone won an FPS game that person wanted to win. It's so...petty.)

"A great example of this, is take what happens with Sashly, literally every month or so. I am not a fan of Sashly, I don't know their content, I don't watch anything they've ever done. I wouldn't even say I know who they are. But I watch content of people who talk about her, and it's [f**king] WILD how people treat this literal child online. Like, there is a creator who is literally fourteen, who people want to call every name in the book, because she acts like a creator who is fourteen years old. She is FOURTEEN, and people are having post threads about why she is the worst person in the world, and I'm just sitting there like, that's a CHILD, guys!

"People often forget that pretty much until you were about twenty-five, your mind is in a constant state of flux, and you are constantly learning, and changing, and growing into yourself. People act like who are and what you posted when you were thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, like, that represents you for the entirety of your life. And that you're going to stand by it to the end of the world. And you aren't gonna be and act like a hormonal person who is being ravaged by puberty and how terrible that [sh*t] is. Literally, back when I was fourteen, I was writing a story, a full-on, thirty page story, about being in love with Gerard Way, and made up an entire life where me and Gerard were together, and yes, at some points, that story did get steamy. Now, some part of my very stupid teenage hormone-fueled brain knew that I shouldn't share that story with the world, because I would be made fun of until the cows come home, and also, you know, it's just embarrassing. I knew [if] people read that and were like, Shannon made that, it would be embarrassing for me. But I always feel like now, if I had made the mistake of uploading that to fanfiction.net, then that story would be used TODAY to expose me in some way. Like, my puberty fanfiction and fan art of me with an adult man (that I was in love with because I was a hormone addled teen going through puberty), that would be used to expose me as a [f**kin'] adult. Which is the STUPIDEST thing ever, like, some stupid thing I did when I was young is gonna be brought up as a reason to hate me now? Even though that story was written by a girl who just wanted to be liked by a guy with cute long hair?

Putting aside the fanfic angle--I think enough of us, me included, have written fanfic that we fully understand why it would be embarrassing to find, years later--let's just talk about the war between generations is heating up, too. I mean, there was always a divide, there always will be, but at this point, it's like literally screaming over a wall. "Okay boomer" versus "Millenials are lazy", and every generation in between.

"Even saying that, I feel like someone's gonna watch this video right now and be like, Shannon just admitted to making smut with a minor in it. Send! Her! To! The! Ranch! Like, I feel like that's gonna happen on this video. And you know what? Okay. The ranch has horses, I wanna pet a horse.

"People also have a tendency to overextend nowadays, when they talk negatively about people online, because where you would say before, oh, I don't like Viv because she made weird, not-safe-for-work art that made me uncomfortable when she was younger? Now you would say 'She clearly believes in bestiality and zoophilia, and she thinks that's all sanitary and good, and she DEFINITELY practices that in her real life, and if I see anyone talking about her positively in any way, shape or form, I'm gonna leave a [sh*tty] little Twitter reply saying that you support someone who would have sex with an animal', even though drawing that does not equate with that at all.

"After I got plenty of requests to make this video, I posted about this on Twitter, trying to get a real good feel, a little touch, about why people do not like her. Because I wanted to hear, straight from the horse's Twitter, why people rage against the machine that is Vivziepop. And most of the responses I got were fair, and neutral, and normal. And then the Fire Nation [f**kin'] attacked. And I got so many angry responses that I had to delete it. But I'm going to read you one of the more neutral ones explaining their side, and explaining why they don't like her. Back when she was nineteen, she made various images depicting pedophilic and zoophilic imagery. So let's start there. No, that is not the whole tweet, it's just part one, it's gonna take a while.

"First off, no, she didn't make any pedophilic imagery. She drew two characters, one of which was eighteen, the other of which was nineteen, meaning both characters were above the legal age of consent, and is in no way pedophilic. There's another drawing of an adult being creepy to a child character, but straight up, it seems like it was a dumb joke that she thought was funny at the time, and I know, look, that's exactly how she explained it. It was a dumb joke that she thought was funny. She doesn't think it's funny now. She regrets it. She apologized for it. If you're going to say that she is a pedophile, and hold her to a standard that a joke now makes it impossible to be a fan of hers, and a joke makes her that label, you better have the same energy when talking about Shane Dawson, or Tyler Oakley, or essentially all of 2007 YouTube creators, because they all were making those jokes.

Yeah, if animating furries is bestiality now, 60% of Second Life is going under.

"She also hired a known sexual abuser and accused abuser onto Hazbin Hotel. So, I don't know if this is supposed to be two separate people, or if she's saying that this person is both a known abuser, and an accused abuser, but those two kind of, you know, it doesn't work like that. But because there's only one person on the roster for the show that I know has been accused of abuse, I'm going to assume that that is what they meant. Which makes no sense, because she is stating in the same sentence that this person is also terrible, known, and there is proof of it, and everyone knows it, and it's a fact, and also that this person has only been accused of abuse. So which is it? Are you fighting that there's physical proof out there, that this person has done this? Are you saying he's only been accused of this?

"Actually, I know which one you're saying, seeing as there's only one person on the roster that's been accused of abuse, and there's no actual proof that it's happened, and it hasn't been proven beyond a reasonable doubt. And I've actually talked about this a lot in my time on YouTube, but just because someone was accused of doing something, just because someone stated that someone hurt them, that does not make it true. To say as much is to also say that no one has ever gone on the internet and lied, and that's incredibly short-sighted.

As she touches on below, I think it is incredibly important to validate victims' experiences, and to support them, but...as painful as it is to type...she's not wrong. Not all men are guilty, not all women are truthful, and if we believe in these monochromatic definitions, we lose a lot of depth in the eventual conversations.

"While it's really nice to say that you want to believe all victims, and you want to believe all women, that actually doesn't work in the real world. Because you are diminishing a woman's capacity to lie, and her agency to do so. You are actually saying women do not have the mental capacity to be dubious, and they do. Do we know if the person she hired (whose name I am NOT going to say, because I don't want to label him as an abuser, when I don't have any proof, other than accusations) is an abusive [pr*ck]? Conclusively, no, we don't. Do we know that he isn't one? No, we don't. But it's innocent until proven guilty, and because we can't say for sure, should we all collectively [sh*t] on someone who simply gave that person a job? No, we shouldn't. Let's continue.

"There have been several cases of her cyberbullying, and encouraging her fans and friends to bully others. Along with that, many see her to have a really rotten and immature attitude, especially when it comes to criticism, and the fact that she refuses any and all, and often paints any person who criticizes her as being haters, and on a few occasions, has gotten her fans and friends to harass people who try to give her critique and constructive criticism. Now, this, THIS is something I can actually understand. I am friends with a creator whose name is Miss Zi-Zi, who is a sincerely wonderful person, and a fantastic artist, and you should all go subscribe to her...She made videos critiquing Vivsie before, and in those videos, she of course made jokes, but she was incredibly insightful, and made a lot of constructive criticism. And when Vivsie saw it, she kind of snapped at her. Which is in her right to do, but it does come off as bratty and rude.

As Catu Draws pointed out in the comments to Shannon's video,

Say it with me. Criticism is NOT telling someone “I don’t like how you drew that.”
It’s “You could improve this drawing by doing...”

And they're absolutely right. But it does seem largely that Vivziepop, like Anne Rice before her, refuses any and all criticism at times. And maybe it's because it's being presented with the hostility of a thousand mongered rumors. I can't honestly tell. But it seems from what little I turned up, that even the most well-meaning phrasing gets kicked to the curb as fast as a "You suck, die" line.

"And I get it, when you are a creator, especially an art creator, you kind of set yourself up to be [sh*t] on by everyone, because they have eyes, and they want to tell you how terrible you are. So someone sees your art and decides they are going to tell you that is the worst thing that they've ever seen, and that you suck and everything you try to do. And it only gets worse the more popular you get. It can be frustrating because maybe they are talking about a piece that means a lot to you, and maybe you worked so [f**king] hard on it, you just wanted people to like it, and say that they like it. That [sh*t] is rough, and annoying, and sometimes you see it and you get a bit [b*tchy]. It happens. And people are fine for not liking her for that reason, because you have so much success, it comes off bratty if you [b*tch] at someone who simply criticized you. But this is the first real reason given for people not liking her that I think stands up. The first reason that actually works as an argument, versus everything else that was stated. And if I was given this argument only, as I was with various other comments, I wouldn't have made this video. If the majority of people who don't like Vivsie only commented on the fact that they find her to be a bit bratty and they don't like how she holds herself, then cool, awesome, great, we can vibe on that point.

"But don't lump in that she supports blackface, that she is racist, she is transphobic, she's made inappropriate art of minors, she supports men who abuse women, she's evil in every sense of the word--that to me doesn't fly. Because that's wildly, wildly overstepping. Now that, again, was not the only comment I got that painted Viv in a negative light. Oh, no no no no no no. That was probably one of the most well-written ones without telling me to kill myself, or that I'm supporting a child predator; that was one that, you know, didn't deliberately threaten my life in any sort of way, and I loved it. I love angry comments that make no sense, but literally me asking someone why they are hated, me asking about that, looking for clarity, that's enough to get someone to try to send [sh*t] on me. That's ridiculous. Oh, I literally just got one. Oh, my god, it's threatening, it's threatening my husband. Great. I would love to see you try to hurt my husband, you absolute moron. [F**king] Jesus Christ.

And by the same extension, if you find someone who's asked a question about why everyone is hating on X, don't answer them with death threats. That's severely uncool. And it makes you sound insane. Just answer them as politely as you can. They may GENUINELY not know what's up, and you could be the calm and rational voice they'll remember in years to come, who told the truth without threats, without condescension, without acid rancor.

Not exactly a case in point, but a sidewise corollary: dear friend of mine asked who PewDiePie was. And my jaw fell off. I knew my two choices in that moment were, are you stupid, everyone knows who PewDiePie is...and to answer him honestly with a brief series of comments. I chose the latter.

But I easily could have gone with the first. It is so, so very easy not to think before we speak. And yeah, it's also a pain to constantly monitor what emerges from our face holes, because sometimes talking is a lot like breathing and we forget we can actually control it.

"Well, let's continue, though, because as that comment did list a lot of reasons why people have issues with Vivsie, it didn't go over everything. There's also a thread on Twitter that talks about Viv and Hazbin Hotel, and comically censors the name, which is very strange to me. I don't know why you're doing that. And I was going to go through it point by point by point, but then a fantastic creator by the name of What the Cheick, I think is pronounced, I don't know, made a video the other week about it and it's fan-friggin-tastic. I have that video linked in the comments down below, and in the description down below, and I highly suggest you go check it out. But I did want to briefly touch upon the other claims that What the Cheick didn't go over in their video, and those are the claims that Hazbin Hotel is homophobic, racist and evil, because I've been seeing that quite a lot. I got a lot of comments saying that that's the case. Which is astounding, because there's literally two gay, female leads in a relationship, which was made clear at the beginning of the episode, and neither of them is putting up any sort of gay stereotype, and I just, I don't, I don't, I don't, I don't, guys, I just don't. If you haven't watched the show, it's about Charlie, the daughter of the devil, who is wanting to make a hotel that rehabilitates demons and sinners, because she is tired of angels coming down from heaven, and killing them every year. She wants to help the population of Hell be better, and earn their way into Heaven. And with the help of her girlfriend, Vaggie, I guess her name is, she sets upon doing it. So you have nice, well-meaning protagonist, who also likes to break out into song randomly, and has a really sunshiny disposition, despite the fact that she lives in literal Hell. That is a fun romp-a-roony of a cartoon, that has a great premise, and though I didn't really, like, I just think it's okay, I can see why people like it.

"And it's even more fun because in the world where this sunshiny protagonist is, in the world surrounding this girl, everyone's fucking terrible. Everyone else, except Vaggie I guess, because she seems like a genuinely pleasant and protective person, and is really cool, I don't know why she has an X on her eye, but whatever, she seems cool. So you have these two nice people, these two people you actually want to root for, in Hell, trying to make everyone who is bad and likes being bad better, that's [f**cking] great. But apparently, people didn't understand that it's set in Hell? And in order for a show like that to work, you have to make everyone in Hell be terrible people? Like apparently, that didn't cross anyone's mind, and they didn't realize that that would be a thing that would have to happen, because the moment that a character, someone who was set up to be a literal antagonist, who works as a news reporter in Hell, said that she doesn't touch the gays, everyone shit themselves. Everyone started screaming that that was homophobic, even though in my perception, that's, like, probably why she ended up in Hell? Like, it's not saying, look at this nice homophobic character, don't we love her? It's saying, look at this character who's in Hell, oh, she's homophobic? Makes sense, that's probably why she's in Hell.

I freely admit, I don't get this angle on the protests. Why do viewers expect demons to be good? Why do viewers expect Hell to be a pastoral nature reserve? It's like watching the show Lucifer and being shocked and horrified when he tempts someone. It's in the name.

"You know? Like, i-it's why she's an antagonist! I don't know how this joke went over peoples' [heads], and how they're interpreting it as, like, oh no, oh no, that's--she's a good character, and we sh--all are trying to root for her, right? And I, I'm, I don't, I don't, I don't know what got lost in the sauce, but boy, did it get lost. I, not kidding, I got a literal DM that Viv hates gay people because of this line, and I just, I just, I, I don't know what to do! I don't know how to explain what a joke is, better!

"There are also people commenting that Charlie's girlfriend Vaggie was a terrible person and is terrible representation because she was angry in the first episode? Even though, in my viewpoint, the show gave her a very good reason to be angry? And in that scene, at least to me, it doesn't show her in a negative light. Like, one character just ruined their chances of being taken seriously. He made them look terrible on live television, and instead of standing up for herself and what she believes in, Charlie just sat there and did nothing. So Vaggie stands up for her girlfriend. If anything, it shows her in a great light, and I related to that, because that's me.

Kind of me too, on both sides. I have trouble standing up for my own person a lot of the time, but come after someone I'm loyal to, and I go feral. Generally to everyone's detriment, including my own. But I get Vaggie's anger--she thinks Charlie's a bit of a soft touch, and she's insanely innocent considering who her father is, but she'll be damned again if anyone will hurt her and get away with it.

"Then, there's the character of Angel Dust, who is a gay porn star named after drugs, does drugs, and revels in violence. People are saying that he's bad gay representation because he's hyper-sexual, and also a demon. He acts like a demon.. He's hyper-sexual because he's a porn star. He's a bad person because he's in Hell and is a demon. Like, the show went out of its way to explain why this character acts that way, even though it didn't, it didn't have to, 'cause once again, literal demon. And literal Hell. And people are upset, and I'm, like, I don't know what you wanted from a literal demon in Hell, but if you wanted them to be a good person, I don't know why they would be in Hell! I just, I don't, I don't, I don't get it, I don't understand. It would make less sense if she wrote him as a nice, uwu, good boy, because he...is in...Hell. And therefore, his worst attributes, his worst tendencies, are going to be on full display. They're gonna be cranked up to eleven. She's not saying that all gay people are like this. She's literally having a gay couple be like the most nice representation on this show, this is nothing like that. I don't, I don't know, I feel like something got lost in the sauce, and people were like, this show about demons being in Hell is gonna have the best characters who are just uwu so good, and I'm, I'm confused, I'm confused at what people thought. Again, I think the show was just okay, I thought it was fine, I don't love it, I'm not worshipping the ground it walks on. But, like, those complaints just don't make any sense to me, and I'm...here. I don't know, whatever, let me know if you guys are going to be unsubscribing to me because this problematic hot take, that the show is just 'okay', Viv isn't a literal devil, and we should all just generally care less, a little bit, about everything, and maybe take a nap? That's my hot take--take a nap, before you tell me to kill myself again, guys.

I tend to agree about Angel Dust's character as well, namely because I've known people like that. Self-destructive to a fault, looking for the nearest exit with the shortest waiting line, zero concern for person or heart or mind that's in the way of that focused intensity towards oblivion...They're out there. They're usually broken, careless, and strangely charming, and it's a very bad combination. But Angel Dust, people should keep in mind, is not a representation of a gay man; he's the representation of a demon who happens to be gay. There's a HUUUGE difference between those two portrayals.

"Anyway, I hope you guys are having a genuinely nice day, I will see you in my next video. Good night."

And that's about it. I thought her words codified some thoughts in my own head that were refusing to cohere in any identifiable form for me. So there you go. Who the talk is about, in the end, really doesn't matter; what she says about how the internet as a whole treats that person--or any person who becomes even vaguely controversial--does. And as the internet in no small part is a reflection of the world we bring into it, it's also a reflection of how we are treating each other, on a daily basis. Just...step back. Take a breath. Think through what you want to say. Do you really want to say it to hurt the other person? Do you want to say it to hurt in that way?

Consider why you want to, before you do. Right or wrong won't matter ten years down the road from this argument, but your words, if they strike home and sink deep enough, will. So...treat them with respect, your words. Try to be conscious of what you say.

I'm trying to do the same. And we're all going to fail for a long time, working back from adversarial everything. But I think it's worth the struggle.

he fired off a few hot rounds right into the sorry crowd

Okay, so that one didn't really pan out, what else...how about the POLTERGIEST ON ELM STREET !! haunt? (Yes, all upper case, spelled wrong.) Their bio is...odd:

"TRICK OR TREAT !
my house got possessed by the internet ; whatever you do DONT FALL ASLEEP !
haunted house,halloween scary horror movies
lounge , hangout ,spooky,"

Okay, then...



Marquee outside a normal A-frame home. Vaguely animated zombie things wandering around. Really bad overexposed Chris Sarandon cutout. Yeah, um...my initial reaction is "no", but...let's go see.



Floating chair. Floating cards. Carrie-Ann watching...Elvira, maybe? It was hard to make out.

Hanging basket bed, check. Fluffy sheepskin rug, check. Mysterious column of red light for no discernable reason, check. TV's playing Nightmare on Elm Street. Of course. And there's a door in the middle of the room...because that makes sense.



Oh, that's just...tacky.

Also...

[16:45] Emilly screams HELPPP I'm trapped !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

No, I don't. Don't put words in my mouth.



There is way too much going on here. Sound too loud. Too many animated gifs. Stupid use of media on a prim. The whole thing is nonsensical.



And of course the door from the room of all the animated gifs opens into Gridworx' Overlook hallway set. Yeah, I'm done with this one.

I wouldn't recommend anyone go here, but...I guess if you really like being screamed at with sound and media, and otherwise, not a lot making much sense...feel free? Everyone else, just take my advice and avoid it entirely.

there is an answer to a question which I'm not as yet aware that I have asked

So someone working at Reddit saved one of the actual cancerous subreddits on the site, and I do not understand why. The owner of the subreddit wanted it dead. Let it die. It's past time that it just goes away.

And this is only a two-day chart at any given time, which makes me wish I'd captured it a week ago when I opened that link, because while the drop is significant now, it was scary a week ago. There will be an impact from the rise in Lindex fees, no hyperbole needed--it already has had an impact.

And the new She-Ra remake from Netflix has already drawn ire from some fans who should know better. (The two main complaints seem to be "We can't see her tits in that outfit", to which the overwhelming response online has been "She's supposed to be twelve in this, so sit down you sick sick man", and "Armor has to be built with the breasts, to which nearly everyone has been responding with pictures of Brienne of Tarth from Game of Thrones, whose armor--made to fit the actress, Gwendoline Christie--was historically accurate for English armor of the approximate time period.)

In other news, some randomness that amused from a profile:

him: hi
me: Hey
him: hru
me: I am good, how are you?
him: im ok i guess
him: are u a sub
me: sorry?

*Pause*

me: To be honest, the last time I checked I was not a foot-long sandwich.
me: 8D
him: lol
him: have u ever been collard
me: No, I am not a cabbage.
me: What is it with you and food?

and:

him: You are very sexy
me: ok...
him: sex
me: Not with you
him: ?
me: Is "No" less confusing?

and

him: Hello Sexy💋
him: how u doin? today sexy
me: I'm doing fine, thanks. How about yourself?
him: doin good ty
him: I can not take my eyes off you
him: Mmm ur avie lookin so hot
him: caressin ur sexy ass
him: ^^
[Kxxxxxxx Rxxxx] slaps the stupid out of you.

and

him: splendid ass
him: but the real question is
him: does it have an owner?
me: No. My ass is a free spirit.
him: nice
him: do i have to get a ticket to get close?
me: A ticket?
him: just kidng
him: i mean what do i need to taste your beautiful ass tonight?
me A miracle.

I'm too invested in being polite, obviously.

I keep on having this dream inside the static

Today, we're starting with En VOGUE, which can be found on the Brunette sim at Hair Fair.



This is "Lorelay", a twin-tail braided style, shown with the over-the-ear hair wisps. The color's not named, but it's a rich crimson-y red from the Dark Colors hud.



"Netty", a low wrapped bun, in a darkish blonde from the Dark Blondes hud.



This is "Ramona", shown in a copper-penny tone from the Diversity colors hud.



And "Rosalinda", shown in a coppery scarlet from the Dark Reds hud.

Not shown: "Dianne", because the actual hair demo didn't unpack with the rest of the huds.



This is "Hotline" from #Foxy, shown in the copper-orange fade from their Natural Ombres hud. No, the cap does not detach, but it does come with eleven colors and fourteen different patches, or a no-patch option, so...if you like ballcaps and long hair, this is your thing?



This is "Vixen", shown in a dark auburn from the Reds hud.

Not shown: "Zeke". #Foxy can be found on the Blonde sim at Hair Fair.



This is Argrace's "Mikage", with attached towel. I'm showing it in a sort of ash-brown tone on the towel, and Red 5 from the hud included.



This is "Shimizu", and it is a very specific hair. But, it's also a hair I haven't seen anything for, so if you need a hair with shampoo bubbles and a built-in animation? Argrace has you covered. Shown in Blacks 4.



This is "Suiu", and I'm sensing a theme. Shown in the pink towel wrap, and Coppers 2.



And this is "Yakumo", a short, tousled style shown in Light Browns 1.

I'm not going to get through everything this year, either. I'm just going to pick and choose the ones I really want to try. You can see the rest of the styles in designer photos on the Hair Fair blog.

I walk 47 miles of barbed wire

While this happened around Yule, originally, it's a perfect example of "This (or something like this) happens every night":

[3:22:30 AM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Bento forces your fingers to be splayed
[3:22:31 AM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: How...odd
[5:08:27 PM] Emilly Orr: But I do not want my finners to be splayed. I wear mesh hands so my finners will NOT be splayed.

This was before I had Bento anything, and I still don't have Bento for many things. But this seemed to be something to do with Bento rings, which...I don't understand why Bento-optimized animations would do that.

[5:08:40 PM] Emilly Orr: Also, I am full of woe and regrets. The coffee is almost gone.
[5:09:21 PM] Emilly Orr: Also also, for those that have Faceblech, and have an interest in 7 Deadly Skins, go to their page and enter and like the page for a chance to win a 10K store credit.

I'm leaving this in, because there's generally some sort of contest or hint or clue or something about their in-world store to do on their FB page.

[5:31:20 PM] Emilly Orr: So, today's gifts from Violetility are the "Kiss me" Mistletoe sign, which apparently will pair well with the "Pelvic Mistletoe".
[5:35:46 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: How odd. Like, what fingers get splayed? Non-bento rigged mesh hands?
Bento mesh hands? LL avatar? MY RL FINGERS?!?
[5:35:49 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Worst glitch.

Probably not your RL fingers, unless things have gone very very wrong.

[5:38:56 PM] Emilly Orr: I'm thinking, system avatar hands are splayed, but does that also mean Bento-rigged mesh hands will splay, too? And what about non-Bento-rigged ones? There are so many questions.
[5:39:22 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: I don't want my RL fingers constantly splayed.
[5:40:22 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: So does 7 Deadly Skins sell just skins? I forget if that's the one Fawkes was saying sells more than just skins.
[5:42:33 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: 7 is just skins
[5:43:10 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Alterego has a sister store that sells not skins
[5:42:50 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Right, that was the one.
[5:43:10 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Also, ll fingers

I forget, it's been so long--did he mean, he only has eleven fingers, or the Bento animation only splays eleven fingers??

[5:43:22 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Were my fingers splayed last night?
[5:43:44 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: When on the animation pose stand, yes
[5:43:54 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: But also for me when I put on the tail
[5:44:49 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Huh.
[5:44:53 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: No Bueno.
[5:46:09 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: May try again, see if others have that issue, but it is a major issue.
[5:46:19 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Si.

Suddenly occurs to me--this was around the holidays, so...has it been fixed yet? I don't know.

[5:47:00 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: [Fxxx], you have no avatar
[5:47:18 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx:
[5:47:26 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Where did it go?
[5:47:32 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: No idea
[5:47:38 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Also, are we talking about Skype avatars?
[5:48:41 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Yes
[5:48:54 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: I have one. It is a flame.
[5:49:10 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: [links picture of the avatar]
[5:49:11 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: You used to.
[5:49:19 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Phone Skype disagrees
[5:49:29 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Phone Skype is so broken.

Emi agrees.

[5:54:30 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: http://neil-gaiman.tumblr.com/post/18932682858/as-requested-by-too-many-people-making-the-last
[6:23:39 PM] Emilly Orr: Skins, makeup layers (system and Catwa, mainly), appliers for most of the major mesh body lines, and a well-developed male line of skins in addition to the female line

I was responding to the earlier question about what 7 Deadly Skins sells.

[6:24:48 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: I feel like I came to Alice Project as the gift was being changed
[6:27:23 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Ama. was going to have an advent, been cancelled due to illness.
[6:27:34 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: That's unfortunate.
[6:28:24 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: It 'tis.
[6:29:06 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Thinking more upon it, it seems like more an animation issue than a Bento one possibly.

Well, I do know that unless one specifically does animation work on hands, they always upload as fingers splayed, or at least used to. But Bento offers hand bones, so...?

[6:29:49 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: I mean, isn't it a bit of both? But maybe!
[6:29:58 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: If it's *only* the tail.
[6:30:04 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: I would need to try other Bento animations.
[6:30:25 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: No, because LL finger positions are only affected by animations, not rigging. Theoretically.

So it can't be a Bento-specific issue.

[6:31:06 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: So just animation issue. It's likely, and I'm theorizing here, a problem specifically with the animations included in that one tail.
[6:31:14 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Well, okay, let me rephrase. Bento Animations seem to, from the to be fair limited example, I didn't go in-depth to study it, auto splay the fingers, even though other animations tell them to do differently.
[6:31:41 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: But it is possible that for some reason, the hands were tagged to be animated when they shouldn't have been yes
[6:32:20 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: I suspect it's just the tail's animations, not Bento animations in general. Both of us need to do more testing to confirm either way though, yeah.
[6:32:31 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: The person that made the tail exclusively uses mesh avatars.

That's another good point. While I no longer make animations, and never really made them for sale unless I was putting that pose directly in an item of furniture that I also made, I made them using the standard system layer. Now I'm mostly mesh. Does that affect animations? Aren't animations still made using the basic system avatar rigging?

[6:33:12 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: That still means no bento for anyone who isn't.
[6:33:24 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Because I am wondering if it's even possible to not animate the hands.
[6:34:09 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: If I'm right it doesn't mean that at all. If you're right it does.
[6:34:36 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Well the issue is, I have a limited selection of things to test, but the ones I have tested all affect fingers.
[6:34:41 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: In different ways though!
[6:34:51 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: So it's likely, yes, just how they set the hands to be when uploading.
[6:35:10 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Which is, perhaps, the problem, and would still, yes if I'm right, mean no Bento for non-mesh hand users.

Hmm. That could be a problem, too.

[6:35:20 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Why?
[6:35:29 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Because it'll make the fingers act *stupid*.
[6:36:05 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: If one is okay with their hands being stuck in whatever pose the bento animation uploaded, cool, but meh.
[6:36:27 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: If it's affecting LL hands in different ways, then it's likely the people making the animations doing something wrong. There's quite likely a way to just make the hands act normal when uploading an animation that includes Bento bones.
[6:36:42 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Well, we will see! I'm hoping.
[6:38:28 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: So far, Aii's Tail, 10 Min tail, Fatewear's Cloak.

So a whole bunch of demos, effectively. I should follow up on this, ask him if it's still happening.

[6:38:38 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: All of them affect hand positions no matter what.
[6:39:07 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: What happens if you pull the animations out, and just play them?
[6:39:10 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Without wearing the item.
[6:39:51 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Same thing, it is the animation, no doubt.
[6:44:24 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Well, there's that, at least.

Yeah. It does confirm that it's an animation issue, not a Bento-specific issue.

[6:45:22 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: I mean, I think I haven't...STOP FLASHING FIRESTORM...or didn't properly explain it. The issue is what I thought it was when I first mentioned it. I still consider that a Bento bug, if for some reason the Bento animations will override hand animations with no way to stop that.
[6:53:24 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: And since I have mesh hands for Maitreya, the only 'problem' will be purely my male avatars that don't have gloves.
[6:57:00 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: But if it's just an animation issue, and not a Bento Rigging conflict issue (which you never proposed but I had assumed at first), then I don't get why it would force hands into specific situations. It seems you could just... not animate the hands. Bingo bango. I don't get how or why that would screw up! But it's possible it did, and since it will animate the hands no matter what, Bento animation creators have to choose what hand position to put an LL avatar's hands into for their product.
[6:57:05 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: I assume most will choose neutral.

Which means splayed fingers.

[6:58:23 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Apparently, you can't, at least, if you can, Bento may override that, due to needing higher priority, or becuse of a glitch. But it is an animation issue that does seem, at least slightly, related to Bento, or, at the very least, will become *much* more prevelant with Bento in a way it may not have been when it was a temp thing when wearing doll-huggers.
[7:02:47 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Doll huggers forced your hands into being in a certain animation?
[7:03:04 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: I don't know!
[7:03:10 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: I never looked/cared enough to test.
[7:03:13 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Now I sort of do.

Me too! I'll look through what I have for dolls and/or toy-hugging animations.

[7:03:25 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: I imagine it would be intentional though, with them.
[7:03:32 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Splayed hands would look weird while hugging a doll.
[7:03:54 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Hugs tend to make hands move in controlled fashions, so making sure they animate a specific way would be fine.
[7:07:38 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Well, then it'd go back to "Bento animations are going to make this issue more obvious/annoying"
[7:08:07 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: But, so long as they don't use the Splayed position, it won't be *too* bad, like the Aii tail's animations did.
[7:08:50 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Hopefully it will be fine enough until we can all upgrade to mesh avatars, anyway.
[7:08:51 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: If that ever happens.

Yeah, really.

[7:09:22 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: I'm feeling unless you can accept No-Mod or accept not great looking/supported Avs, it won't.
[7:09:41 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Unless one of us gets really good at Modeling suddenly
[7:11:02 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: I can't accept no-mod. I teeter between not great but decent looking avatars and just uninstalling SL, on my acceptability scale.
[7:12:06 PM] Fxxxxx Axxxx: Yeah, I can't blame you, just ugh at the market.
[9:20:02 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: http://screenrant.com/gotham-city-sirens-megan-fox-poison-ivy/
[9:20:06 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Oh goodness, I hope not.
[9:42:38 PM] Pxxxx Nxxx: eh. after suicide squad, how much worse could Megan make things?
[9:47:06 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Well, she won't redeem it.
[9:47:19 PM] xXxxXxX Rxxxxxxx: Also, not a redhead.
[9:47:35 PM] Pxxxx Nxxx: those don't exist

Redheads? Bite your tongue, we do too exist.

there's an SOS, I'm calling out

I've had a problem for a while with finding a solid, dependable ankle lock. I had one, from Mesh Agency^*, and it worked without fail, but on the last update of Firestorm, it stopped working. So I picked up some others, intending to find one that worked consistently with the burlesque chairs we use at Sakura, which are from Henmations.

^* (Technically, it was sold by [BREATHE] on the MP; I can't find it now, but that's because Mesh Agency specifically says buyers are not to sell it as an independent item, only with shoes, so...that may be why I can't track it down at this point.)

So, last night, friend of mine needed a live body to bed-test. This was over at Newcastle, so off we went, and I noticed that many of the poses really broke my ankles. And the default I'd been running with, from *BoSH*, totally didn't fix it, even after several resets. So in desperation, I started at the top of my folder of ankle locks and as it turned out, the one from Diamond worked like a charm. Yay.

But it got me thinking--why is this happening? It's far from the first time I've noticed; in fact, it's been a couple months, at least. This shouldn't be a big problem because the script for any ankle lock seems pretty simple, doesn't it?

Anyway, had a conversation with someone from Meli Imako's group about the problem. I'm not the only one to notice.

[12:38] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: ty, so i might not be failing it's the script itself. i tested the anim in world by itself and it worked... i'm sitting here thinking damn near ten years building experience and i'm being bested by this thing
[12:38] Emilly Orr: Right.
[12:38] Emilly Orr: there is something IN the script currently, and I don't know enough about scripting to find it.
[12:39] Emilly Orr: But either LL broke a facet of their programming language, or different items are now interacting with other items in non-expected ways. Maybe it's a priority setting?
[12:40] Emilly Orr: Like, last night, testing a bed for sale at Newcastle, I noticed my ankles broke, and I was wearing the BoSH ankle lock. Wouldn't work even after reset.
[12:40] Emilly Orr: Took it off and put on the Diamond ankle lock, which hasn't worked on ANYTHING else, and it worked. So I have no clue.

I didn't think to capture pics at the time, but I went back by myself for a quick before-and-after. This is without the Diamond ankle lock:



This is the before pic, with me wearing the *BoSH* ankle HUD. And this one:



is my ankle after application of the Diamond ankle HUD.

[12:42] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: i just bought his $1 to test and i noticed it was working mostly but faded and my AO started taking it over. so i thought well maybe if it's in the shoe it'll work better so i got the builder edition and then my meli hud didn't work and it wasent working iether
[12:42] Emilly Orr: See? It's a bug, somewhere, but it's elusive.
[12:42] Emilly Orr: If you figure it out, announce it somewhere, it's been a headache for a while!
[12:44] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: i was honestly thinking it was bosh, i have never fully been happy with his scripts. he was the first hud i used years ago but when he went to the 1 script version for mesh something about it i didn't like
[12:45] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: it might be easier to figure out if the scripts wernt no mod... i understand why they are but it means no one can look at them to figure it out
[12:45] Emilly Orr: Hmm.
[12:45] Emilly Orr: That's something.
[12:45] Emilly Orr: A moddable ankle lock script.
[12:46] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: i would think all it has to be is a play anim script to work
[12:48] Emilly Orr: Okay: http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/AnkleLock
[12:48] Emilly Orr: They mention it was recently updated.
[12:58] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: you click on the link to the updated project and it comes up as an error. or did i miss something

Nope. It 404s (without actually 404-ing.)

[12:59] Emilly Orr: Damn.
[13:00] Emilly Orr: That may be part of the problem.
[13:00] Emilly Orr: Now it's a puzzle!
[13:03] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: i wonder if boch would be able to help. i have talked to him a few times... he tries to mansplane things though
[13:06] Emilly Orr: Ugh. But maybe, it's worth the ask, at least.
[13:12] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: well, he's online and says he's checking
[13:14] Emilly Orr: Interesting. I wonder if he's noticed anything.
[13:14] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: he says he's checking the script sorce and it'll be a few
[13:19] BBxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: he gave me a new script to try, let you know in a few
[13:19] Emilly Orr: Keen
[13:30] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: took a while for the AO to cycle through to an animation that twists the ankle but.... still no dice
[13:30] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: [sent a picture link, picture below]

[13:33] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: said he has to look in to it deeper and refunded me
[13:44] Emilly Orr: Went afk for coffee
[13:45] Emilly Orr: I'm not going to sweat a Linden, but that he sees a problem, too, that's interesting
[13:45] Emilly Orr: Huh. Standing? I've never had problems standing. That's deeply odd.
[13:48] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: well i'm not even sweating the 99 i spent for the builder edition... i have wasted more than that on things that wont work for me lol
[13:50] Emilly Orr: So true
[13:51] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: oy i need some Tylenol now lol, i posted the result to meli's grp if anyone pays attention lol
[13:52] Emilly Orr: Maybe someone will
[13:52] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: you want me to update once he gets done with the script?
[13:53] Bxxxxxxxxx Sxxxx: he said it should be a few hours but it might be longer
[13:54] Emilly Orr: Sure!

She hasn't gotten back to me yet, I'm probably going to IM her and ask in a day or so. But something else has occurred to me--maybe it's not that the Lindens broke something, but that Firestorm broke something on their update? We're both on Firestorm, so...is that the answer? Who do we ask then?

It's still a puzzle. The mystery abounds.