1. Do you try and keep your avatar’s body proportionate and similar to the “average” proportions pictured above? – Acha’s original shape was no-mod (if you can believe it), and this one is a mod approximation done by Ellantha Larsson of Ellabella. It was such a relief to be able to modify my shape that I never really strove for average. Acha is me and I am Acha, only now I can shift Acha around a bit to accomodate mesh.
2. What do you dislike the most about the SL avatar mesh? – Nothing. I quite like mesh. It makes everything pretty and bendy.
3. Does it bother you when you see other avatars that are not proportionate at all? – I like weird avatars, the weirder the better. It shows that people are using their imaginations and not just attempting to be clones.
4. Even though this is a virtual world and people can be anything they want to be, do you feel when they are in human form, they should try to keep their proportions close to average? –Whatever for?

Thanks to Berry for throwing yet another Proportions Challenge!  I poked through the group and found my photo from last year.  Amazing how I *cough* haven’t bothered to change at all. Maybe bigger boobs? Hm.

The fake world is always so much more appealing when my body isn’t up for the real one. Isn’t that always the case? It’s so liberating to send my avatar off with a few movements of my fingers while my body aches to be free of the Rituximab in my veins. Anyway, not to be all morbid, but I just appreciate Second Life all the more for giving my imagination a place to play.

Today I’m playing with resolution. As in — JFC, Firestorm, would you stop crashing the second I crank my resolution up past 2400? Sigh. The rest of my outfit is like comfort food, the comforting beauty of creations from some of the people I adore in SL. I hope your weekends are marvelous! Back to bed for me.

And yes. I quoted some Vogon Poetry.

Hair: The Stringer Mausoleum Decaloop – smoke(5)
Makeup: Mock Harare Makeover (lip 2)
Skin: Plastik Aleria Nomad – plain
Bracelet: Lassitude & Ennui Opulence pearls
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui Nyrha sandals in black
Outfit: Lassitude & Ennui patience dress in black
Eyes: MIASNOW eyes – shine grey
Ears: Schadenfreude Mer-Elf Ears
Necklace: Schadenfreude Jerry’s Lament choker
Tattoo: Huz henna secret – black faded

I am beyond pleased to be one of the bloggers getting review copies from fashionably Dead, mostly because I wear a ton of Toast Bard’s stuff anyway. IN FACT, I’m not even wearing review copies of anything in this outfit, except that necklace that is hiding in the shirt. Yay fashionably Dead!

I am also wearing a little bunny plushie from ~silentsparrow~, brand new and in my favorite color.

Philosophical moment of the day: why is it so hard to juice fast when my stomach knows that eating will only worsten the effects of Rituximab allergies? Darn stomach. Maybe I’ll start reading thinspo Tumblrs. (Just kidding. Eat yer food, kids. Fasting is for the ill.)

Shoes: fashionably Dead (fD) Jellies – Black
Shirt: fashionably Dead (fD) tucked in T – white
Hair: fashionably Dead (fD) Saturday – Rainbow 2
Necklace: fashionably Dead (fD) Caterpi Home Necklace
Skin: fashionably Dead (fD) Bird Skin – Winter 6
Face tats: fashionably Dead (fD) Russia Tattoo
More tats: erratic koi tattoo
Bunneh: ~silentsparrow~ (sherbert) Mesh Plush Rabbit
Pants:: Milk Motion flowers highwaist pants (black)
Horns: Illusions Gazella horns
Nails: Mock Debbie Gibson nails

I like this Plastik outfit. I’ve been re-reading all of Anne McCaffrey’s Dragonriders of Pern books, and this outfit plus the little ~silentsparrow~ dragon reminds me of some kind of saucy dragonrider.

I am relearning all the things. How to use Gimp instead of Photoshop, how to use Firestorm instead of the Second Life main browser, how to wear mesh. Take a bit of time off, and nothing slows down! But here I am with shadows, a decent DPI, and cropped photos. Ah well, gotta restart somewhere.

Tail: Half-Deer blossom tail (hydrangea) from Arcade
Head guest: ~silentsparrow~ (silvery) luck dragon mesh plush
Skin: *Shai* song skin – Mei – bare CLV2
Horns: Illusions Runed Hornes: Aries
Hair Wasabi Pills claire mesh hair in licorice
Outfit: Plastik Roleplay / Arya outfit with the Furia dress, Corda necklace, Haila tattoo, Annamalie gloves, Odelia boots, and leggings
Makeup: Schadenfreude emperor vlinder, full
Eyes: Den-dou (vintage) violet
Ears: Schadenfreude mer-elf ears with ankhs and plugs
Lashes: Imabee miranda lashes

Sometimes, late at night on a high platform with no contact with anyone, human or furry or bot, I wonder why the hell I play Second Life. This thought usually comes after my sixth or seventh crash (Damn you, OSX), to the sound of my husband’s voice: “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over.” “True,” I usually growl back. “But this time I changed this one setting over here so maybe it won’t cra — damnit.”

At any rate, I figured out that my raison d’etre in Second Life is to look cute in other people’s creations. So as long as I keep enjoying doing that, I’ll put up with a little insanity.

Bag: Milk Motion My glitter tote bag white/green
Stockings: Schadenfreude Opaque sky white amortentia stockings
Shoes: Schadenfreude new romantics saddle shoes
Hair: Magika Pixie – color pack
Skin: Pink Fuel Harley (peach) Arcade 10
Necklace: Katat0nik Small Alice wonderland pendant from Arcade
Outfit: Katat0nik imaginative school girl outfit in lavender, with pencil and glasses
Eyes: Plastik light collection – zoom
Poses: Lolapop! Katat0nik

It’s an ungodly struggle to get Second Life to photo without crashing lately, so I think I’m gonna just go to the beach. Have a restful weekend!

Skin: Pink Fuel Arcade skin #10 Harley in Peach tone
Hair: Magika Layne (mirrored)
Dress: G413 Flashback dress from Grave
Necklace: Katat0nik wonderland pendant from the Arcade gatcha
Tattoo: Katat0nik sugar rush back tattoo
Eyes: Plastik Light Collection Zoom
Poses: Lolapop Katat0nik poses

I’m not sure whether it’s from living on the ground for a change (rather than in a skybox) or what, but I’ve been in a fey mood lately. Lucky for me, Evie’s Closet always has great Petite items, and all of them lend themselves to tineh little wings and cuteness. So here I am, cavorting about and being small, yep.

Outfit: Evie’s Closet Flora flower fairy (for petites) – Yellow
Wings: From the Evie’s Closet Eden fairy (for petites) set (the leg vine is from this set too)
Hair: Wasabi Pills Amandine petite mesh hair in jungle
Avatar: Mynerva petite in light drow

Well, see, first I bought a house, then I renovated, and then I moved into it, and then I unpacked… Therefore it’s been a while since I’ve set foot in this magical land of Second Life. When I did log in, I found myself packing and moving! All moments of irony aside, I had to admit that it’s 90% easier to move house in SL. No blisters, for one, except on my trackpad finger.

When I returned, I also found a store of lovely things waiting for me. The Arcade skin from Pink Fuel, this outfit from Ingenue, and hair from Lamb. Feels like coming home, yep…

(Ah, GOSHDARNIT, I just noticed the halo of alpha around my hair in the above shot. Internal swearing! Look below instead, at the pretty hair with no alpha halo. Mesh, you remind me of invisiprims, sometimes.)

Eyes: Mutsu pure black eyes
Earrings: Ellabella Rainbow Peace
Lip ring: Ellabella Sweetly Bount
Lashes: vintage
Tattoo: Katat0nik treat tattoo sleeves 3
Hair: Lamb These Days in milkshake
Skin: Pink Fuel Harley in peach shade, at the Arcade (skin #6)
Thing tattoo: Wicked Tattoos born evil
Wings: Wishbox dusk wings, group freebie
Shirt: Ingenue Fontaine in Sunshine
Skirt: Ingenue Sonia in Pique, in blush color
Boots: Lassitude & Ennui Phoebie boots in blush
Socks: Schadenfreude Thistle Luisa knee socks

Fade Lei of Ugly Duck has a habit of playing with people’s expectations. Sure she can do gorgeous, but she can also do quirky, because there’s a range of motion with those avatar sliders that most of us just don’t use. “Try on Tadpole,” she suggested to me gleefully.

I bought it without even looking at the demo.

“ACHA! What the heck, try on the demo first. You deserve what you just got,” Fade said, more or less.

So I put on Fade’s Tadpole shape and laughed and laughed… But after a while I realized that (a) I like it. It’s got a lot of personality. And (II), the face looks gorgeous in Fade’s Olive skin, with or without the squinty eye. Nice try, Fade. Nice try.

Shape: Ugly Duck Tadpole
Skin: Ugly Duck Olive
Shoes: Schadenfreude Classix Nouveaux New Romantics saddle shoe
Necklace: Bliensen + MaiTai Bouquet necklace for FFL
Shorts: Milk Motion: My wool high waist panty
Tights: Milk Motion: My floral tights
Hair: lamb faster pussycat in my little pony color
Tattoo: Wicked Tattoo Rise Above

It’s that time of the year where your fashion feed fills with porn — no wait, those are just all us fashion bloggers reviewing our loot from the Skin Fair! That’s right, in order to better show you what the skin looks like, we’re compelled to post all nekky and in sexy lingerie and stuff. (I secretly suspect we’re all just exhibitionists.)

I’m not even me in this photo. I’m wearing a gorgeous skinny-model-esque shape by Ugly Duck (called the Calf shape, Fade Lei’s professed favorite), and the new Ugly Duck Olive skin too. I’m kind of addicted to both. (By the way, I threatened to blog her shapes in demo form, because they look so cute and gollumy with the enormous hands and feet.) Go check it out at the Skin Fair!

Sitting next to me is a new mesh plushie from ~Silentsparrow~, keeping me company while my partner is busting her ass all day making mesh corsets and necklaces and stuff.

Shape: Ugly Duck Calf
Skin: Ugly Duck Olive (makeup/dark)
Hair: Lamb Black Magic in my little pony
Birdie: ~silentsparrow~ Chymri Mesh Plush Bird
Lingerie: Luxuria Caer lingerie set, vintage