thought she was fragile like a flower, but she's fragile like a bomb (part one)

It has become painfully clear, if that's not too on the nose, that I am not as effective in a great many things as I used to be. 295 days into the Eternal Headache, with no end in sight--with it never getting better, but it occasionally getting worse. And it's starting to feel like that set off a chain reaction effect of cascade failures, which I get a front-row seat at experiencing.

Lucky me.

So, this year is going to be...different. I'm still going to cover (some of) the styles, but unless I really like the brand, if the brand didn't include a picture first, I'm not going to cover them. Jury's still out whether I'll track down the links for anything I do decide to cover, when they're not already in the demo box.

Am I resentful about this? At times, incredibly. Do I hate the fact that energy runs out completely in a strange, draining rush, at wholly random times? Absolutely. Have we reached the shaking-fists-at-the-uncaring-sky stage? Yeah, probably two hundred days ago, even.

So. Hair stuph.



We're starting with KMH, on the Streaks region. Their F231 take on the razor bob is fairly standard from the front, but it's interesting from the back--a series of leveled chops from crown to ends. I'm showing it in a shade from the Colorful Color Pack, because the two-tone shading made the razor work pop.



Next up is ONE Creations, with Kiana, a styled combination of scarf wrap and dreadlocs. There's a nice amount of wrap options--I chose the red--and twelve hair shades total on the HUD--I picked the bottom row left, the mid-grey. Seemed to go well with the dead-girl look.

You can find ONE on the Brunette region.

And I was going to do a third, but...that's all for my energy levels just now, so...I'll get back to that later.

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.

I've been trying for so long to sing you the right song

The Anesidora Keybound halo is now out at Arkivet's main store as well as the Marketplace--also where I just learned some of the prior brand's "Java#" releases can be found. Do I need more Teegle skins? No. Do I plan to get them at some point? Why, yes.

And look! Look look look!



I freely admit, I don't have one-hundredth of the talent that some of their bloggers do. So I never expect to get noticed for my work, and that's okay--really and truly. But someone tall, thin and demonic mentioned it, and so I had to go see. And I got the honorable mention! I'm so pleased.

Then...several months later, LONG past February...

This is now old. March 1st it was dated, and I'm fairly sure I copied the Halo info out earlier, two months back, and sent it out in another entry...and then didn't delete this. So--it's a bit of a clip entry now.

First, this bit from a freebie group:

[15:26] SiN-1 (synthetikangel): In memory of Paloma from from Free Dove to keep her SL Dream alive they now have Paloma Plaza open with free gifts with free group (Free Dove style) Gallii (173,38,33)

So...there's that, at least.

Second, telling everyone about the gift at We Love Roleplay from /Vae Victis\ now!



This is meant to go with the "Themis" Judgement Hammer, which is now out at We Love Roleplay on a 25% discount for the run of the event. So you can pick it up for only L$450!

I happened to be at Olive's main store, when I realized I hadn't taken these shots yet. So clearly, the horns are meant to go with giant bunnies. Or something.

And right out of the box I can tell: this is the wrong hair for these. No space buns for Themis. Still, I think I can make them work.



Okay, confirmed--even edged back and tilted, they REALLY don't like buns. Best I can do for now, because weirdly I think they're perfect for the current hair (amusingly, Olive's "Usagi" hair from an old gacha, in all the spring greens) and the skin (which is also old, but also amusingly might still be purchaseable from the last 25LTuesday offer of the Chronicles on the sale board.



(I checked; they are still available, though by the time ZombEm found the second brain cell to clack together, it was the Tuesday following.) Took this just outside by the fountain in Chronicles, which yes, is also the name of the sim.
[[Note from the Editrix, pre-publishing: Did I say the Tuesday following? It's Friday now. Brane broken, plz halp.]]

Also, it appears the giant bunnies are not sittable. Em haz a sad.



I think Vein 2 and 4 are the outer colorable veins, and the inner are 1 and 3. And this is pretty much trompe l'oeil--I'm "laying" about a meter above the back of one of the bunnies.



While we're here, have a gander at the HUD: these horns offer eleven different options for the horns, and then eleven options for each colorable vein! Very nifty.



Then I got inexplicably tired [[Editrix insert: remember, I wrote this bit back on March 1st, it's now March 18th]]--and honestly, that's been one of the most frustrating things of the eternal headache, is the sudden energy loss--so left SL to have a nap, which led into dinner, which led into me logging in later and going, "Oh, right, I didn't finish this shoot". So here I am at Ballade and Poeme's sim, for the following two.

If you join the We Love Roleplay group (which is free), these curled horns can be yours for ten Lindens. And hey, while you're there, the "Themis" Judgement Hammer can also be yours for L$450, at the /Vae Victis\ booth!



And sun seems to be going down, so I guess this is the end.

It helps that I'm deeply into horns--I'm afraid to count how many I have, even, and I've divided them into four categoriees in the fantasy folder--lights, darks, constructs and seasonal--and each of those folders has sub-folders for ram/goat horns, antlers, and demonic.

Any housekeeping left...well, I'm actually very supportive of this decision. Will it help, though? Who knows. If nothing else it might make the Marketplace easier to navigate.

Oh, and Enchantment's new round, Dark Academia, has opened, and Vae Victis' offerings there: the 'Aza Empyrea' Cosmic Codex for L$500, the AO to go with it for L$700, and the Gothic Frames for L$75.

(I am going to cover ONE of those, but it may be the gothic architectural frames--I'm trying to figure out how the hell I'd do the Codex proud.

Also! The "Minerva" Hellebore Diadem will be on sale at Vae Victis' main store for L$99, btw. This weekend only!

And now I think that's it, so...see ya!

if I'm past reversing, minds will keep rehearsing

All right, take two, this time actually from Frostweald: the 'Dionysus' petal Chalice from Arkivet.



Straight out of the box, it's already gothically pretty--jet black with purple flower petals.



There are fourteen different liquid options. This is the second to last one from row two.



There's a dark blue option on the Liquid section of the HUD, so I went with that--made the Chalice silver, the upper and mid petals blue, and the lower petals silver.



Of course there's an option for pinks--which I did on every option but the middle petals, and I tinted those purple.



This, I was thinking, would be a perfect mead tone, but...it looks more like mulled cider, or tawny port. Still, it goes well with the gold and orange tinting options.

Keep in mind this is just a held object--if you want a drinking animation, it's moddable so you can add one. That will change the hand position, though, so keep that in mind.


Of course there's a red option. For your necessary blood draughts.



And of course, winter white.

I forgot to snap a pic of the HUD for this one, and for the last entry--sorry, trying to rush these out, I fergit things.

There are five areas for tinting--twelve individual shades, and a dark metal/light metal option below each one, and as I mentioned, fourteen different liquids available. You'll find Arkivet on the Nysaris sim at Fantasy Faire, and the Chalice is going for L$250 on a 100% donation vendor for SLRFL.

raveling softly while you speak in time

Whoa. Okay, Arkivet, this is gonna take a little work...and relocating.

And...then I got pulled to Dahlia house, for the Monday noon unboxing. I was planning to go to Frostweald, at Fantasy Faire, but...this will work too.



So, welcome to Dahlia house, that's Justine behind me. This is with them resized significantly, and moved a tad forward, and using the silver and blue options from the tinting HUD.



There's a couple different ways to make this match the winter holiday of your choice--the one I went with was green horns, which turns into a lovely dark sage tone on them, red highlights, and red drapes. The wombat behind me is Justine's.



You can also remove both the highlights on the markings, and the cloth draping the antlers. This is the purple, and it's also a lovely hue over the horns.

I think the lemon-yellow wombat is Dowayne Ekaterina's...



The colors don't really go with the outfit, but I think they look pretty nifty together.



I wasn't going to show off the black, because it really is midnight-in-the-middle-of-the-ocean levels of dark? But I think I can show it with the markings active, which for fun, I've made pink.



And this one is showing the white option, which makes it look very close kin to aged bone, and I set the options for gold on the rest.

There are ten options for the antlers, for the markings, and for the drapes, and as I mentioned, you can take off the highlights for the markings, and the drapes, at will.

You can find these at Abnormality, when it opens on May 7th. I'll try and update the price for them then!

[17:40] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): But, for now, this is exit stage left, carrying a bird for some reason. At least it's not pursued by a bear.

See you at Abnormality!

right in your space, I just walk through your door, but I'm still so far away

The oddity of SL:

[23:40] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Yeah, I have no idea how I combined Em's original measurements, and spacing on the RL face, and got Emilia Clarke.

Nevertheless, still in winter, dreaming of spring, so let's talk the redo of the Pillar of Inun from /Vae Victis\.



Out comes the pouty elven glitch, because this set used to lack EvoX support, and now it has. So this is "Automa" in Gold, for mesh bodies with EvoX heads. Now, application is seamless and precisely in place--before, with the earlier set I had, I had to juggle layers until I hit the right combination that would texture Maitreya body, system head. I will grant, this IS easier.



This is "Dium" in Abyssal--it's the same pattern, but this time the gorget is textured in magma tones of burnt rock and laval flow.



This is "Huld" in Purple, and so far, I know this is going to be one of my favorites from this set. Stark metal blacks and charcoals, with details picked out in ultraviolet tones.


This is "Invi" in Delirium, with a close-up of the side patterning, and how far the gorget rises to the lower cheeks.



This one, "Le'er" in Crystal, really goes with the background I chose for these pictures, which, as it happens, is somewhere in the Fairelands Junction. Serves me right for thinking the Junction had a solid port-in point.



And finally, the "Vitii" in Blood.

There are--in the fatpack--thirteen different shades for the EvoX update, and two "bonus" shades additionally, which are not rigged for EvoX (as shown above, the "Bris" in Delirium which amused me greatly. The other bonus shade is "Tene".)

As it's an update of an existing product, it's at the mainstore, and you can make it your very own for L$450!

give me hope, help me cope, with this heavy load

The more things change, the more they break the same. It took the better part of two and a half hours to bash some kind of functionality into the Kaya head. And in the end, what we have is...not me.



And I am beginning to believe it just never will be me, and...why is everything so hard?



So, welcome Not-Me to the cast of characters, the rest of which are usually me, because I wanted a functional EvoX head to put EvoX layered things onto.



And if she does nothing else, pouty elven bitch that she is, she can at least stand around and get made up. It's ridiculous.

Something I sent to an otherlove when I finally gave up on making her look any better--or worse:

[15:41] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): Gods, when did I log in...around one? And it's now...now...and I have JUST finished finding an outfit and bashing a mesh head into at least surface-usable condition, and...now I'm exhausted.
[15:42] Emilly Shatner-Orr (emilly.orr): I hate this, I love you, I'll see what I can do with things this evening, and I'm off for a nap.

All I wanted to do is review EvoX layers for things. Why is it this stupidly difficult?

and now you use confession as the proof

SL is in a strange, strange place. From the [Sweet Slave] chat (non-anonymized for both convenience and because it's short):

[16:00] PantherCat (panthercat2): hi, is there anything you can buy here with teh credit except the Naima fatpack? even the singles of items are not purchasable
[16:00] Calsey Lefèvre (ymirjaw): right click, select menu
[16:00] Jo Wolf (johnwolf79): no idea, sorry
[16:01] PantherCat (panthercat2): Yes Ive ben doing that and I am familiar with how the credit and menus work at Sweet Slave, it just seems the items you can buy are less and less
[16:01] Calsey Lefèvre (ymirjaw): i didnt have an issue with it.
[16:02] Calsey Lefèvre (ymirjaw): hope some one can help you
[16:02] PantherCat (panthercat2): what did you buy with the credit Calsey?

Seems simple, right? Why am I quoting this?

Because I wasn't in the group.



See what's odd about that? It's a group chat window. But there's no profile icon.

So I clicked one of the names, Calsey's, as it turns out, and pulled open the actual group profile:



Clearly, I have not joined this group.

What's going on?