ElfPyre Productions~Have you seen a Drude?

This one starts with a question.

What is a Drude?

Well, for the long answer, go here. Otherwise, it's a demon from German Mythology... part of the Wild Hunt... lives in dreams. Ohhhhh.... Wait a minute, Second Life is a dream, isn't it? And who can't say they've run into a demon or two, something from mythology or legend here in everyone's favorite shared virtual dreamworld?

It starts with the question because it started with the ears, actually. Elfpyre Productions' Daarc Dagger left me a little present and they are her 'Drude Ears'. These are really lovely, and the scripted color change feature allows you to match them with any of Daarc's newest skins. Oh? did I not mention the skins? Okay, well, I'll get to that in a second.

So I've got this hat. Gorgeous. See it in the top picture? Yah, really nice, isn't it? I got it from Cipher not too long ago and I've been playing with it on and off ever since. See, it needed ears. Hats and neko or elven ears can be a little weird sometimes. They ALWAYS cut through somewhere and sometimes it looks awesome while others not so much. I was doing ok, I mean, I've got these great neko ears from a bunch of different places, but I wasn't 100% on it. Not that I HAVE to have ears with the hat, I mean, just look at it, but sometimes I get a picture in my head and I just have to do something to get it out, which usually means hours spent attaching and detaching from my horribly disorganized inventory so I can see if it really works. Anyway, where we ended up is a pretty awesome place, I think, and my Cipher hat now has friends in my inventory.

Okay, tangent over. Back to the skins. 'Hard at work.' That's Daarc. Well, maybe not NOW, but that's probably just because she's just finished a massive redesign on some of her skins and I'm lucky enough to be able to share them with you. Daarc's bright, insane makeups have always been some of my faves in SL, and Elfpyre's updated hand drawn skins still feature her bizarre sensibilities. The shading on the bodies is really nicely done, with an almost animated feel to them. Daarc's skins aren't what you might call photorealistic, but I don't think that's the point. Elfpyre's skins and accessories play safely in the land of the fantastic, and they work there. Ok, 'safe' maybe isn't the right word, but there's a comfort there. These are fantastic skins for a fantasy world, and Daarc I think has created some really lovely additions to the dream.

Also also also, before I forget. I've been spending a lot of time at Groll Inn, Groll Greggan's gorgeous build in La Cuesta. It's really beautiful, and it reminds me of something like Arthur and the Invisibles or Labyrinth. There's a bit of Groll's sculpture behind me in the first pic, and the inn and island are both built so well.

You can visit Groll Inn here.
Worn:
ElfPyre Productions
MoonGlow=Taste the F*#$ing Rainbow!
RosePetal=Back Stab
DawnMist=Requiem for Ruina
Drude Ears

Dirty Lynx
Kashu Boa

.+*Cipher*+. Cylinder Hat [Belt]

Sn@tch~Slick Leggings

So it all started with the leggings.

It had to start with something, right? So basically, it came down to the fact that I just wanted to rawk something awful. Lots of coffee maybe. I don't know. Every once in a while I come onto SL with just WAYYY too much energy and I load the IPod with lots and lots of rawk. Then, naturally I attack my inventory, looking for just that right thing. Wow, look at that! Slick Leggings from Sn@tch and Ivey Deschanel. Awesome. Bring it on.

Hmmm... what else... well, okay, put on my Dark Drow skin from Snowflake, and of course THAT skin just goes so well with my neko ears and tail, which go awesome with the Kagami hairstyle (including cap) that I blogged the other day. Well, this outfit sort of builds itself, huh? Hmmm... what else? Ohhh, of course my fave belt at the moment which ALSO happens to be from Sn@tch, the Oblivion Bondage belt and then let's add the Evangeline choker and some bracers from Cipher. Hmmm, oh! Black Bolt halter from Renegade and let's go!!

Sn@tch's Slick leggings are just that, Slick. Slick sexy and slick cool. Love them, and ooo an excuse to put on my Dirty Ego shorts from Sn@tch too. Geez, there's actually a lot from there...

Ivey's new leggings are lovely, with some nice hand drawn details texturing the leather and zippers, and the prim flares are easy to mod.

So yah, Sn@tch rawks. Check it out.

Sn@tch Slick Leather Leggings and Oblivion Bondage Belt

[Renegade] Black Bolt Halter

Snowflake Skins Dark Drow

Sadistic Hacker Kagami (purple/black)

.+*Cipher*+. Strap Choker++Evangeline++ (black)

Sn@tch~Suburban Goth

Oh, Summer puts me in a mood.

Okay, so it's not 'officially' here, whatever that means (okay, I KNOW what that means, but just go with it.) The temperature's been rising, and the Sun decides to hang out a little longer every day. If Summer isn't exactly here yet, it's definitely phoning ahead.

On one hand, it does make me a little dizzy. Well, not dizzy dizzy, but sort of distracted. You know that feeling where it's like you're constantly 10 minutes behind everyone else? Yah, that's what I've got. Of course, the other hand part is that I just want to get up and go! It's that conditioned excitement that's followed you from school. Remember? (okay, so maybe not sooo long ago for me, but whatever, I know I'm right) Remember watching the clock on the wall of 8th period English with Mrs. Blah Blah? Ohhh, there's a party tonight... awesome let's go! Summer in suburbia.

That's the feeling. Maybe stop by Starbucks before we go over. Who's throwing the party? Oh! There's a band? Awesome! Punk rawk party this weekend!

Me? Oh, I'm gonna rock out with Sn@tch's Suburban Goth baggies. With red or white stitched bases, these primmy fun skater punk jeans are really cool. There's a pair of prim cargo pockets and awesome suspendors that hook right onto the belt. The attachments work really well together, and modding was so easy.

Also, I have to mention Renegade's Pitch Lunar tank. I've never blogged them before, but I've always had a huge selection of Renegade's tanks and tees, the designs and fabric textures are really awesome. I wear them a lot when I'm wearing, well, jus' my normal day to day SL self. If you haven't been there, check it out.

Anyway... Rawk!!

Sn@tch Suburban Goth

[Renegade] Pitch Lunar Tank

.+*Cipher*+. Strap Choker ++Brightness in the Dark++ (Black)

[Detour]Flux Sand Mix

[Curio] Lumine~Juxt

Grim Bros.~Injector Spine

Sometimes, SL is just a happy accident waiting to happen.

You'll be wandering around, minding your own business. Maybe shopping, maybe people watching... maybe you're just wasting time. You pass by a shop and something through the doorway catches your eye. Wow, you think, that's pretty cool. You pan up to see the shop name overhead. Ohhhh, I've heard of THAT before... so happy to have found it.

We don't have 500 satellite channels in Second Life with 24 hour commercials telling us where to shop and how to find the coolest stuff. Oh, sure, there's blogs and advertisements that you might run into to give you some thoughts and maybe an LM or something, but the system isn't nearly as big as it's First Life counterparts. So, we end up with a model of shopping that's as much exploration and education as it is an exchange.

It happens to me all the time. It happened to me last week actually, when I stumbled into Cutea Bennelli's Grim Bros. Grim Bros features some of the most bizarre, interesting and truly lovely victorian style steampunk cybernetic fashion in Second Life. Cutea's 'Injector' spine jumped out at me first... wow. Mebbe it's becuase of all the Wolverine trailers on the TV lately, all that metal and muscle pornography... Who knows, but this Grim Bro release is meticulously crafted and has a gorgeous chrome sheen. It's a beautiful accessory if you're looking for something a little more than just a cute pair of earrings to accessorize that post-apocalyptic ensemble you're putting together.

Worn

Grim Bros Injector Spine (Shine)

Belt/Gloves:
.+*Cipher*+. Rad type 2 belt
Gloves ++Martially++ Belted
Top:
[Gauze] Stained Halter Black
Hair:
[Detour] Flux Black
Skin
LionSkins Forbidden 3

.+*Cipher*+. Prayer Shrug and Zip Up Skirt

So it starts like this. I went to this shop with awesome prim jewelry I don't know how long ago. I don't even remember going there, right? So I'm hanging out with a friend of mine the other day and suddenly I'm like "wow, I really love that vest" or something. Not a direct quote, but you know, your friend shows up in something really hot and you MUST KNOW IMMEDIATELY where it came from.

Cipher, she says, I told you about it months ago. Hmmm, so I forgot about that I guess. Anyway, I apologize for the whole forgetting thing and then pop offline for whatever RL thing I had to do. So of course, whenever I get back online I decide to go check it out, I mean, the vest was REALLY COOL after all, right?

Wait a minute! There IS a .+*Cipher*+. LM in my inventory. How did that get there? Whoa, I've got jewelry from there already? Nothing, no recollection whatsoever. So, anyway, I TP over there and went a little nutz with my $L.

Okay, so really really nicely textured leather, we'll start with that. From the shrug jacket to the zip up leather skirt, there's a lovely muted texture that works nicely in any light. The chrome on the belt and the eyelets on the shrug collar are just gorgeous.

Now, as for the skirts, well, couple things there. First, I love them, the attention to detail on the zips and the leather are very nicely done. There's no glitch pants, so most skirts come with an underwear warning if you don't want to flash everyone the next time you're out clubbing. Skirts are a single attachment, so I did find that my AO would sometimes make my let cut through the sides sometimes, but the belt attachment did help cover that sometimes and it may not affect you depending on your AO. I did try playing with just some other glitch pants I had in my inventory to minimize it and that helped too. It's a minor annoyance from an otherwise gorgeous piece of design I'll totally forgive.

Anyway, if YOUR friend hasn't told you to visit .+*Cipher*+. yet, I'm telling you now. There's a lot of awesome primmy goodness to choose from.

Worn:

Skin: Tainted Innocence

Hair: [Detour] Placebo D. White Mix

Top: .+*Cipher*+. Shrugs Jacket ++Prayer++ Black

Skirt/Belt: .+*Cipher*+. ++Zip Up++ & ++Rad++ Type 2

Boots: [Gauze] Eclipse Boots