After Dark

TUNES

In the dawn
I wake up to find him gone
And the note
Says only “After dark”

[Tito & Tarantula]

 

Ok, to be fair – The pictures for this post were inspired a lot by “True Blood”. True Blood is an American dark fantasy horror television series produced and created by Alan Ball and based on “The Southern Vampire Mysteries”, a series of novels by Charlaine Harris.

I watched it alredy in the past but I always missed the 7th season and now I finally found it on sky – Hooray \o/!!! Maybe that is, why I was going for an After Dark feeling 😉

So, while I was watching on my second screen I styled up the amazing “Bianca” harness, made by Salt & Pepper. It originally was released for the Fetish Fair this year, but I am sure you will find it at the main store by now. That harness really hides nothing *grins* and shoes off all of your beauty to the one you like to play with *winks* – Red totally liked it, too! With the HUD you get 8 different leather and 5 different metal colors to play with. Certainly  went with black as it is my personal favorite color anyways. So even if I try sometimes to not use the black options, I can’t do anything against it, if it nevertheless happens 😉

Mostly I avoid showing my private parts to the public, but I did not want to cover the outfit with another piece of clothing. So when I saw the “No.Help” hairstyle from no.match, it was the perfect solution to my little personal problem. The hair covers the needed bits and still shows the awesome harness – mission achieved!

I was wearing boots for the shoot, but since they are mostly cut off I did do a closeup only for them. The “Kate Thigh High Boots”- made by [Gos] – are so super awesome, that they deserved a special spotlight still 😉 They really go up very high and I do LOVE that height for all short bodysuit or harness outfits. I personally see more sexiness in covered legs than just having them blank. That can be over-knee boots, stockings, socks or tights – anyways what I prefer it over having bare legs, except for swim-wear. The boots are made for all the popular mesh bodies (Maitreya, Slink & Belleza) and you get a lot of color options with 3 different HUD packs and you as well have the choice, if you would like a thin or a thick heel style with each of the HUDs (like you can see on the picture below) I only captured 5 different colors but you will have a total of 21 different colors to chose from.

As I mentioned in a post before, I was selected to be a LeLutka blogger and so you will have always a closeup for each post from now on. I am a LeLutka addicted anyways and I did not wear any other heads on my blog since the LeLutka bento heads came out. My main head I am wearing for my SL Wicca” character is the “Simone” bento head from LeLutka. That is the head I know best for now as I am working with it for a while with shapes and skins, but I will learn to work others as well – I already started practicing *grins* But I want to show as well how versatile one head can be with different shapes and skins too and so here is my close up for today – “Simone” in all her beauty with my main skin from “The Skinnery” and face mods from Izzies for freckles, pores, wrinkles and blemishes!

Clothing

Harness: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “Bianca Harness” (Maitreya)

Shoes: [Gos] – “Kate Thigh High Boots” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Blindfold: Luas – “Hurricane Blindfold”

Cuffs & Collar: [ abrasive ] – “Discipline Vinyl Collar & Cuffs”

Arm Cuffs: Gemini – “Sis Bracelets” (Maitreya)

Septum: -[TWC]- – “Gear Septum Silver”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Help”

Body & Tattoos

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Marks: .:Avanti:. – “Rope Marks Applier” (Maitreya Applier)

Poses & Props

Poses: Corpus – “Balcony Series”

Backdrop: CEBO – “BALCONY”

Bed: 22769 – “Love Shack Bed” (Gacha, Common)

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Nocturnal Secrets at the Laboratory

They mix some DNA, some skin and certain spray
You can watch it on a laser screen

[Dr. Stein – Helloween]

And again I have to quote 2 lines from the phenomenal band Helloween (yes it is spelled like that!) to start my post with… I have to admit “Dr. Stein” is one of my favorite songs by Helloween, even if they to have a lot of good ones 🙂

I do have the “First Aid” gacha set – made by Salt & Pepper – for a little while now and I was thinking all the time, what I could do with it. I saw many amazing posts in the typical latex, fetish style and thought, I have to do something different with that amazing set. As a side note… I LOVE the humor of Salt and if you take a look at the Epiphany Exclusive you will know why :p She made one of the infusion bags on the stands filled with coffee. THAT made my day. So often I was thinking about having coffee intravenously, when I was tired and had to work longer than expected 😉 I really do adore a good sense of humor!

Ok so now back again to the whole set and a freaky idea how to showcase it without having the designer murder me. It is true that I always try to pull things away from the usual look, not because I think I am special, more to see what can be done with it and how much I can stretch out my fantasy and creativity, without looking the focus on the item. I do like to see thinks in different way and discover new possibilities.

This time it was not hard as I did know I want to do something that still has a clinic, hospital or medical science style, just not in the typical fetish way. It is not a secret, that I do have an addiction for steam punk, sci-fi and all kind of fantasy stuff, especially with a touch of creepy, funky elements. I was roaming through Marketplace again, to see whats new and to find some new things I could use to blog when I saw that amazing “Alien” movie/HR Giger inspired creature. The idea was born and the amazing “First Aid” gacha set from Salt & Pepper should have its very own special spotlight 🙂

The set contains – like a gacha set usually does – 5 different color versions (black, blue, green, red & white) of the lab coat, undies & pasties, gloves and cap as commons. As well commons are the 2 stands and a stethoscope.  The amazing dress and boots are the 2 rare items and as well have the 5 colors in a HUD. The 2 Syringes are the VIP gift (one bento to hold and one prop to rez), which you got when you spent 1000L$ on the machine. The whole outfit is made of latex and you can wear all parts layered as well, like you can see in the first picture, where I have the coat over the dress. I do love if you have gacha items, which you can wear single as well as a full outfit. In that way it never feels like loosing your money on a machine, to just have the one item that completes the outfit, while you can not wear anything without that one part! You always can wear everything what you win either as a full set or for a mix and match outfit. That makes gacha fun to play for me 🙂

All the medical equipment I used for the pictures I found on Marketplace as well and I linked the store in the credits below the post like usual. The Cryo Tank, Is a very special item to me. It was made by Gryphon Vendetta, owner and designer of Poseidon & UNGOD. He filled that amazing tank with super cool and creepy poses, which I do have to highlight in another post again. The tank was so perfect for my science experiment idea, that I just had to sneak it in as a prop.

It was so much fun to play with the whole set and like always it does hurt a little, to delete it. But I realized I cannot keep all my sets rezzed, as I will run out of prims really fast and can not build new sceneries *chuckles*. That enjoy as well and so it is a good compromise, to keep the pictures as a memory and let the actual sets go for  new ones!

Clothing

Outfit: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “First Aid” (Gacha, Maitreya)

Gloves: AE – “Natalie Opera Gloves” (Maitreya Applier)

Accessories

Glasses: CONVAIR – “Sunglasses Selena White”

Collar: .:Avanti:. – “Nayomi Collar”

Cuffs: [ abrasive ] – “Discipline Vinyl Wrist Cuffs”

Syringe: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “Syringe Bento Hold VIP” (Gacha, VIP Gift)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Commision”

Eyeshadow: Izzie’s – “Fae Eyeshadow” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: Izzie’s – “Fae Lipsgloss” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Poses & Props

Poses: Poseidon

Set:

Building: ~isil~ – “Surface Modular Habitat Pod”

Cryo Tank: Poseidon – “The Lab Tank”

Hospital Interieur: [P.0.E] – “Hospital Kit Masterpack Crate 1.1”

Stand 1: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “FA IV stand Blood” (Gacha, Common)

Stand 2: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “FA IV stand Sodium Chlorid” (Gacha, Common)

Stand 3: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “FA IV stand Coffee” (Gacha, Epiphany Excluisve)

Creature: QUTWORLD – “3D Xeno Raven”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Did you really think that would stop me?

Today I only wanted to do a teaser picture for our “Scratch Me Gloves” but in the end I had way to much fun playing with the look and poses and so I ended up doing pictures for a full post. I guess I am in a dark period again for doing pictures and I really do enjoy it. Before I get asked again… Yes I am ok and am feeling good. Just sometimes I do like my dark side and when it comes I have to let it out before it gets me completely 😉 Maybe that is my very own way to deal with such situations, but for me it works.

Again I have to say, for all my dark and scary visions  LOVE the poses from Poseidon. He has his very own way to make poses. Most of the time you can see it on pictures on the first view of the poses are from Gryphon Vendetta – owner and designer of Poseidon and UNGOD. The poses show motion, character and emotions and mostly they do have a strong attitude as well and are made for a certain purpose. You won’t find usual ‘standing’ poses at his store, which I do really enjoy. Each of his sets are an inspiration for pictures to me. He started a while ago to make props for his poses as well and lately he even started to make his own mesh, which I soon will have here on my blog as well – I already god some goodies 😉

When I styled up to just make a picture for our “Scratch Me Gloves”, which are for sale at the “Eclipse – October never dies!” event, I had one of those moments where the style kinda built up itself with each piece I put on and in the end it looked so cool that I thought it would be a shame not to post it *giggles* So here goes my result of having way too much fun again :p

Clothing

Outfit: Meva – “Sophie” (Maitreya)

Gloves: Wicca’s Originals – “Scratch me Gloves – Dark” (Maitreya – Bento) – NEW @ Eclipse – October never dies! // March 2019

Stockings: .:Avanti:. – “Harlot Stockings” (OMEGA Applier)

Shoes: UTOPIA@Design – “Rachel” (Maitreya) – NEW @ UBER // March/April 2019

Accessories

Collar: [CX] – “Hell’s Harbinger” (Maitreya)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Friend” – NEW @ Cosmopolitan Event // March 2019

Face Art: THIS IS WRONG – “Moloch Makeup” (LeLutka applier) – NEW @ Eclipse – October never dies! // March 2019

Lipstick: je suis… – “LeLutka ips no. 006” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoos

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Eyes: Clemmm – “Irritated Eyes Dark Grey”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Tattoo: THIS IS WRONG – “Molochy Tattoo” (Maitreya Applier) – NEW @ Eclipse – October never dies! // March 2019

Poses & Props

Poses: Poseidon

Backdrop: anxiety – “formaldehyde”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Waiting for you…

BDSM or Fetish… for many that instantly leads to perverts… but it isn’t about being pervert at all and many tried some things that will fall under this topic without even knowing or realizing!

I was thinking a long time about what it was, that pushed BDSM in the dark corner for so many people when they first hear about it. Probably it was the media and/or movie industry that did the most part to it, as you only read about cruelty, pain and forced actions and the typical backyard Domina that cracks the whip on some poor, nerdy, greasy and sleazy male in an inflated way of showing her power. To be honest, that is something I do not need or want to see either – but what ever floats your boat :p

But did you ever read about it in the newspaper when someone covered her/his partners eyes with a satin cloth or pinned his/her arm to the bed with her hands while kissing his/her body? Certainly not, as that doesn’t have the publicity impact of the first scenario I named above.

Lets see what Wikipedia says about BDSM:

BDSM is a variety of often erotic practices or roleplaying involving bondage, discipline, dominance and submission, sadomasochism, and other related interpersonal dynamics. Given the wide range of practices, some of which may be engaged in by people who do not consider themselves as practising BDSM, inclusion in the BDSM community or subculture is usually dependent upon self-identification and shared experience.

The BDSM initialism.

The term “BDSM” is first recorded in a Usenet posting from 1991, and is interpreted as a combination of the abbreviations B/D (Bondage and Discipline), D/s (Dominance and submission), and S/M (Sadism and Masochism). BDSM is now used as a catch-all phrase covering a wide range of activities, forms of interpersonal relationships, and distinct subcultures. BDSM communities generally welcome anyone with a non-normative streak who identifies with the community; this may include cross-dressers, body modification enthusiasts, animal roleplayers, rubber fetishists, and others.

Activities and relationships within a BDSM context are often characterized by the participants taking on complementary, but unequal roles; thus, the idea of informed consent of both the partners is essential. The terms “submissive” and “dominant” are often used to distinguish these roles: the dominant partner (“dom”) takes psychological control over the submissive (“sub”). The terms “top” and “bottom” are also used: the top is the instigator of an action while the bottom is the receiver of the action. The two sets of terms are subtly different: for example, someone may choose to act as bottom to another person, for example, by being whipped, purely recreationally, without any implication of being psychologically dominated by them, or a submissive may be ordered to massage their dominant partner. Despite the bottom performing the action and the top receiving they have not necessarily switched roles.

The abbreviations “sub” and “dom” are frequently used instead of “submissive” and “dominant”. Sometimes the female-specific terms “mistress”, “domme” or “dominatrix” are used to describe a dominant woman, instead of the gender-neutral term “dom”. Individuals who can change between top/dominant and bottom/submissive roles—whether from relationship to relationship or within a given relationship—are known as switches. The precise definition of roles and self-identification is a common subject of debate within the community.

[Wikipedia, 2019]

If you read the Wikipedia excerpt, you will think that sounds like everything and nothing, but that is exactly what it is! It can be everything and it can be just a tiny little thing and it doesn’t always involve pain or any “pervert” action. BDSM has so many different shades and fields that you would have a hard time to name them all and the same it is for Fetish… if you look at Wikipedia what it has to say about fetish… you even have to decide first in what way you wanna look at it as you get the choices Anthropological, Sexual, Arts and Business. If you google for the definition of Fetish you will find something like:  If someone has a fetish, they have an unusually strong liking or need for a particular object or activity.” or “If you say that someone has a fetish for doing something, you disapprove of the fact that they do it very often or enjoy it very much.” [Collins Dictionary]

According to that, Fetish doesn’t even have to be a sexual thing only! I have a friend, that cannot leave her home with having 2 different colored socks on. She is not menatlly ill or sick – that’s her fetish if you want to see it like that. Another of my friends has to have jeans from a certain brand since he is 20, he would never ever wear different jeans – that’s his fetish.

Certainly we use the word fetish in a sexual way as well, but what is wrong about wearing a blindfold in bed here and there and get seduced by someone? What is wrong by restricting movements a little bit, to get more intense feelings as long as both agree on it?

Maybe that is the issue for many as they think, a Dominant/Top can do everything what he wants to his submissive/bottom. But exactly that is the thing… they only can do as much as the submissive allows, if you follow the code called SSC – Safe, Sane & Consensual, which means that everything is based on safe activities, that all participants be of sufficiently sound/sane mind to consent, and that all participants do consent. It is mutual consent that makes a clear legal and ethical distinction between BDSM and such crimes as sexual assault or domestic violence.

What is pervert about something, that all the involved parties do like and if they do not bother or harm anyone or anything outside the partnership or group? I do not have an answer to that and that is why I do not call BDSM or Fetish pervert at all – there is other things in the world happening that we do hear and read in the news everyday, that fit way more to that term in my opinion.

All of us do have sexual dreams and desires and only some of us will be able to live their dreams. Maybe it is jealousy, if others do call those dreams and desires pervert, as they can and or do not want to live theirs, but even that is fine as I just said before – what ever floats your boat.

I do think it is great, if you can have a nibble of “forbidden” fruit and have some dreams or desires come true. Some of them may feel better as dreams, but you will never know if you did not try.My first fetish experience was, when one of my ex-boyfriends (I was 16, he was 18) tied my hands to the top of the bed with a satin scarf and caressed me slow and gently. It wasn’t harsh, it wasn’t painful, we did not even have sex in that moment – it just was a complete new experience for me. From that moment on I wanted to know more about it – fun part of that story… my ex-partner didn’t 😉

I am a strong woman, I worked/work in a men dominated world called music business, teach at a school and still I had the desire of D/s relationship for a long time – even before I really did look more into BDSM and Fetish, I loved the idea of a gentleman that opens the door, decides the menu when we go out for dinner and basically carries his girl “on his arms” (in German that is kinda a quote for if a girl is precious for his man). D/s doesn’t mean that the Top just shouts orders and the sub runs accomplishing that… I was told that is called “Army” *snickers*

Maybe I can say, in a D/s relation ship, to me it feels like the sub is a precious gift for the Top, that he handles with care, love and all his abilities, so that it doesn’t get hurt, damaged or broken physical or psychological.

Even the belletristic and the movie world started to change the view about BDSM and Fetish. While in the 70s/80s ‘The Story of O’ and ‘Venus in Fur’ were two of the most popular examples, in the 90s/2000s we have ‘Fifty Shades of Grey’, ‘Secretary’, ‘Crossfire’ or the ’80 Days’ series, which give a complete different view about the topic, even make it more presentable to the public. Maybe that helps to drag this kind of stories, movies, dreams and desires out of the dark corners, out of the dirty backyards and shadows that the past pushed them into. Maybe the world is more ready nowadays to allow those things to happen or at least accept, that they are happening without pointing a finger and calling it bad things only.

As we can see in Second Life, the BDSM and Fetish communities are huge and many enjoy things they maybe cannot do in real life for various reasons. It seems to be something that attracts a lot of people and still many of them need to hide it from their friends and family, which is sad in my view. If they do enjoy it so much, if it is part of them, it is part of the great person that all of them know. I am sure many would love to share their experiences with people close to them, many would love to show their collar they are wearing without being judged in a bad way. But they are still damned to hide that even in Second Life, for example in modeling, as they are still being avoided if they are connected to such “pervert” things. I am not saying they should run around, shouting it over the grid or bother each and everyone with their experiences or put titles above their heads – non of the people I know ever did that in real life either – but where is the problem, if they do have a PG sounding statement in their profiles about having a Master or Mistress, what is wrong with a picture on Flickr wearing a collar or cuffs? With all the non BDSM or Fetish looking porn and non artistic nude pictures on Flickr – seriously a artistic and classic looking lingerie picture being bound or blindfolded would matter??? I do dislike all the pictures where girls hold their pixel boobies into my face bluntly, for no other reason that clicks and likes, on Flickr way more than a tasteful Fetish picture…

I would love to hear your opinion about it – if you can or want to share yours, I will be happy if you put it in the comments 😉

Clothing

Outfit: [Sexy Princess] – “Tease” (Maitreya) – NEW @ Fetish Fair, February 2019

Boots: -KC- – “Aletheia Boots” (Maitreya)

Gloves: .:Avanti:. – “Tessa Gloves” (Maitreya Applier)

Stockings: Avi Candy – “Lace Black Seam [Licorice]” (Maitreya Applier)

Accessories

Collar: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Choker Piper 69” – NEW @ Fetish Fair, February 2019

Armlets: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Pyper 69”

Garters: NANIKA – “Alisa Garter” (Maitreya)  – NEW @ Fetish Fair, February 2019

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Cake”

Makeup: Zibska – “Noir Pack 06” (Maitreya Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Tattoo: [White~Widow] – “Inferno” (Maitreya Applier)

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Set:

[Ds] – “Peep-O-Rama Bondage Stage OMNI v.1.0 a” – NEW @ Fetish Fair, February 2019

22769 – “The Messy Book Shop” (Gacha, Rare)

22769 – “Big Bookshelf” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Small Bookshelf” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Worn Rug” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Side Table” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Bookstore Table Lamp” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Nestchair” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Pipes Shelf” (Gacha, VIP Reward)

22769 – “Row Of Books” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Tall Stack Of Books” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Cluster Of Books” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Repaired Chair” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Chair with Books” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Table With Books” (Gacha, Common)

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

It was one of those days again…

TUNES

Illusion

Being like you are, well, this is something else
Who would comprehend? But some that do lay claim
Divine purpose blesses them, that’s not what I believe
And it doesn’t matter anyway
A part of your soul ties you to the next world
Or maybe to the last but I’m still not sure
But what I do know is to us the world is different
As we are to the world, I guess you would know that
Please don’t go, I want you to stay
I’m begging you, please, please don’t leave here
I don’t want you to hate for all the hurt that you feel
The world is just illusion trying to change you
[VNV Nation]

It was one of those days again…
It was dark, cold and misty outside and sometimes it mirrors to my inner. I would not say I hate that days, they bring out a certain type of feeling and emotions and they make you think about yourself a lot more and as well different. Life taught me to not stay too long in that moments, but as well not try to skip them either. I need them as a part of me and if they happen, I just let them for a while. I have no idea if that makes sense – I hope it does and those who had those moments too, I thin you know what I am talking about.
If I am in Second Life on such days and try to style up a look, it does something to me and my looks. It takes me longer to finish a style and the thought s and emotions go way deeper than with a usual look. It is hard to explain as 90% about it is feelings and emotions and you know how hard those are to describe 😉

Usually on such days I start off with something I bought longer ago and never had the right mood to work on it.
Today it was the “Black Parade Uniform” from CUREMORE. I fell in love with that outfit ages ago and when CURELESS [+] had their sale I could not longer resist and got the fatpack. I adore the way how CURELESS [+] as well as Moon Amore do obviously cute and frilly outfits, but they all have kinda a morbid feeling to them still. The texture work and the mesh details are amazing. Initially I had something Circus like in mind, but the more I was looking at it, trying several things the vision changed. First I added the awesome “Kate Thigh High Boots” from [Gos], which they released at UBER. I am a high boots addicted so those super cool boots were a no-brainer :p, I could not miss them in my wardrobe.

As usual the boots come in all the popular mesh body sizes and with the 3 amazing HUDs from [Gos] – Boutique, Metallic and Blueberry. You do not only have a wide variety for the colors – Even for metals and sole you get several options. As if that would not be already enough, for the “Kate Thigh High Boots” you get the option to chose from a thick or thin heel as well (like shown in the picture above)!
I do not know why, but while I was staring at my pixels to think about what I could do all of a sudden, the “Black Widow” collar from DRD popped up in my mind. First I thought it wouldn’t fit, because the uniform already had such a high neck… but it turned out, that exactly that made it fit perfectly! Sometimes it is kinda fate I guess.
For the poses and props I immediately had an idea after I added the huge back collar. I had blogged some poses of the “Necromatic” pose gacha with the skeleton, but I as well had some violin poses seen in my folder and I had a feeling, those would fit perfectly. First I used the violin and the bow that the pose had included but with the brown violin I felt a little disturbed from my vision. When I started to look for a black violin on MP I remembered I had a black skull violin from Grollwerk like in forever – I have to admit it is an old prim violin and the store already seems to have closed down, but for a picture it would do it I thought and it did 😉
I wanted to wear such a little, cute hat that makes no sense, but looks good and so I had to find a special hair, which is close to the head and not too high at the top. Certainly I found one at no.match 🙂
I love the textures and the way how no.match does their hair. I rarely have alpha glitches even with longer hair and she has the perfect size as well if hair goes down over my chest. If you followed me for while you will know, that I use no,match hair a lot :p.
Now I only needed a special makeup to satisfy my mood. I recently had the honor of being chosen to do a makeup spread in the Eclipse Magazine for ALMA (HERE). That brought ALMA back to my plate – I have to admit I know them for a while but sometimes you forget about cool stores and the more happy I was when I discovered it again and found so many new cool makeups and face art. If you are looking for something out of the box, vibrant colors or really complete, extraordinary face art, ALMA is your place of desire.
Finally after hours I was happy with my look and it did mirror exactly what I was feeling while doing it. That does not happen too often I have to admit, but I do enjoy that immensely.
Then comes that next challenge… what to use as background or scenery?!? Nothing too colorful, nothing clean but as well nothing too dark and nothing too dirty… initially that always feels like a challenge I never can work out. Sometimes I even get frustrated if I can not find the right location or built the right scenery and then I just delete my whole look as on those special days, where I am in that special mood I do not want to make any compromises as they just feel wrong and take all of the depth from the picture. Thank God there is Ironwood Hills! Ironwood Hills has so many different corners and places, that I usually find what I am looking for if I wasn’t able to built something or get an idea of what I would like to have. This time it was the old, rotten theater from Marcus Inkpen, that they have rezzed out there near the landing spot. I just had to add my music items and some broken furniture and it looked exactly as I imagined it and … the best part… it did match my feelings!!! You really should explore Ironwood Hills and I swear you won’t discover all the little details and corners on one day 😉

Clothing

Outfit: CUREMORE – “Black Parade Uniform” (Maitreya)
Shoes: [Gos] – “Kate Thigh High Boots” (Maitreya) – NEW @ UBER
Tights: .::Nanika::. – “Alina Tights Black” (Maitreya Applier)

Accessories

Hat: *BOOM* – “The Baroness Hat”
Collar: .:Avanti:. – “Vexie Collar” (Rigged)
Back Collar: DRD – “Black Widow Collar – Frost”
Rings: [Since1975] – “NoMercy Rings” (Maitreya, Bento)
Nail Polish: {ZOZ} – “Time Reds Polish” (Maitreya Applier)
Instrument: [GW] – “Skull Violin” (Store Closed)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No. Comission”
Eyemakeup: ALMA – “Isola” (LeLutka Applier)
Face Art: ALMA – “Being Human” (LeLutka Applier)
Lipstick: Zibska – “Bussaba” (Maitreya Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”
Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”
Eyes: CURELESS [+] – “Seeres Eyes”
Skin: *YS&YS* – “Ginny Vamp Skin” (LeLutka & Maitreya Applier)
Tattoo: [White~Widow] – “Izo” (Maitreya Applier)

Poses & Props

Poses (incl. Stool): Le Poppycock – “Necromantic – The Oldest Song” & “Necromatic – Grim Anthem” (Bento, Gacha)

Note Stand: Fancy Decor – “Music Stand”

Notes: Nutmeg – “Old Music Sheets Floor” & “Old Music Sheets Standing”

Furniture 1: [ zerkalo ] – “Last Refuge – Dirty Matress – PG”

Furniture 2: DISORDERLY – “Overgrown Patio – Table & Chairs” + “Burried Treasure”

Location

Model & Photographer

A Nightout!

It was the hat!

I wanted to make a post with that cool hat and thought so long about, what I could do with it – Finally I had an idea!

I rarely based a style of a hat only, but this time the hat was too cool and I had to find something that goes with it without loosing the focus 😉 The cap was made by Peculiar Things for the last round of the Eclipse Event, but I am sure you can find it at the main store now. The “Burning Glory Cap” is available in 5 colors plus one limited color! I certainly had to use the black one…

The cap is a masterpiece of materials. It combines the shimmering gemstones with a more muted basic fabric and it reacts amazingly on SL lights!

The cool backdrop I got at Foxcity. I really do adore her poses and backdrops.

Speaking of backdrops… I have to admit I am addicted to backdrops, even if I add some things here and there to make them more “me”, but the much I love them, the more I am sad that you usually just use them once or twice at max, as it feels like you would bore your flickr followers, if you have the same backdrop over and over, even if they are uber cool. I love back drops even more if they have more than one room or different corners. That gives me the option to use them more than just 2 times 🙂

As well most backdrops are cool for editorials, like the Foxcity ones with the amazing lights and materials but if you really want to have a natural looking environment, I guess you need the skills to really built y scene yourself using all those amazing designs, that people make for environment and accessorizing places. I still learn how to make a cool scene and I really be grateful for the ready to shoot backdrops, so I think a good mixture of both will be the goal – at least for me, as I do like both and if I do not have to decide I am happy!

 

Outfit

Top & Pants: JF Design – “Dream” (Maitreya)

Shoes: {Livalle} – “Payne – Combat Boots” (Maitreya)

Stockings: .:Avanti:. – “Ripped Nylons” (Maitreya Applier)

Gloves: amias – “Ari black” (Maitreya, Bento)

Accessories

Cap: Peculiar Things – “Burning Glory Cap”

Collar: .:Avanti:. – “Nayomi Collar”

Earrings: Aurealis Jewellery – “Promesa Earrings” – NEW @ Dubai

Hair & Makeup

Hair: Opale – “Yunjin”

Makeup & Lipstick: Zibska – “Radi” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Tattoo: [White~Widow] – “Replicas” (Maitreya Applier)

Eyebrows: Bossie – “Nyx Eyebrows” (LeLutka Applier)

Poses & Props

Poses: FOXCITY – “Lucid” (Bento)

Backdrop: FOXCITY – “Photo Booth – Lit”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

 

Electric Blue

TUNES

I just freeze every time
You see through me
And it’s all over you
Electric Blue

[Icehouse]

It was time again for some futuristic ideas 😉 Some times I do like to give myself some challenges and today, I wanted to bring together the awesome “Aglaya Latex Cyber Collar” – made by A&Y – and the super cute “Frenchie Ankle Boots” from [Gos]. Latex collar and some rough cloth looking ankle boots with a shiny leather tip. I made it a challenge for me to combine 2 complete different fabrics and none of both should look out of place, or have more impact than the other – if that makes sense. I wanted them to shine together with each other and not compete against. I looked though my inventory to balance out the style. The first day I tried it I was nearly giving up as nothing seemed to work – I already was about to use the full “Aglaya” set from A&Y as it goes so perfectly together. But I already blogged the other parts a few times (I still do love them like mad), plus I did not want to throw my first challenge of the year so quickly 😉

I had to find the right balance and fabrics to put together my look. After a while I found a top, that played directly in my hands with those different fabrics and so I had hope again that this could work out nevertheless! The “Ellie Corset Top”, a collaboration of Azuchi and Vinyl. I do have that for a longer time and for today it was the perfect choice. The top has a matte fabric, while the corset has the perfect shiny look. For the arms I used one one arm some classic opera gloves, which I pimped with the cool “Pyper 69 Upper Arm” bracelet. On the other arm I went with the bento enabled “Nemesis Arms” from Wicca’s Wardrobe with the shiny metal plates. The latex skirt from United Colors and some Nylon stockings connected the upper with the bottom and the crazy “Medusa Cyber Hair”, as well from A&Y, combined with the “Disco Glasses from #187#gave the whole style a futuristic look. Since the look already is so full of details I decided to use a more simple background to get a more editorial looking picture.

Let’s see what mood I am in for the next post 😉

Outfit

Top: Azuchi+Vinyl – “Ellie Corset Top” (Maitreya)

Skirt: United Colors – “Jen Skirt” (Maitreya)

Left Arm: Wicca’s Wardrobe – “Nemesis Arms” (Maitreya, Bento)

Gloves (Right Arm): AE – “Natalie Opera Gloves” (OMEGA Applier)

Stockings: .:Avanti:. – “Harlot Stockings” (OMEGA Applier)

Shoes: [Gos] – “Frenchie Ankle Boots” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Collar: [A&Y] – Aglaya Latex Cyber Collar” (Maitreya)

Glasses: #187# – “Disco Glasses Black”

Upper Right Arm: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Pyper 69 Upper Arms”

Nails Right Hand: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Obsess Claws” (Maitreya, Bento)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: [A&Y] – “Medusa Cyber Hair 1”

Lipstick: Izzie’s – “Black Lips” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Tattoo: [White~Widow] – “Arctic” (Maitreya Applier)

Poses & Props

Backdrop: Foxcity – “Photo Booth – Limitless LTD EDT”

Poses: Foxcity, <EMOZIONE> & .::shi.s.poses::.

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

In the Evidence of its Brilliance

TUNES

Love controlled by time
Future lovers shine for eternity
In a world that’s free
Put away your past
That will never last
If you’re holding on to a dream that’s gone
I’m gonna tell you about love
Would you like to try?
In the evidence of its brilliance

[Madonna]

And again it was Madonna, the Queen of Pop herself, that inspired me for today’s pictures. I again saw the Confessions Tour Opener on youtube and I so wanted to capture that mood, colors and theme. It looked so cool with her and all the dancers dressed as ponies, her way to move and control them… just awesome.

I digged deep in my inventory and it was quite time consuming to find all the parts I wanted. I did not just want to have a fetish looking pony girl, I really wanted to capture that special mood of the video. I did not want to have a typical pony tail or one one of the ‘usual’ pony boots…

I was so happy when I discovered one of the amazing !dM gachas called “PonyPlay”. I picked the latex looking tail and as well the shiny latex boots with the hooves at the bottom. Those were exactly the base for what I was looking for. The cool outfit with the back-bound arms I found in my inventory in my Ghoul’s folder. It is an older outfit but for today’s post it was exactly what I wanted. The “Bondage Harness” was perfect, but since I am not a friend of having all the private parts completely exposed, I decided to add some cool latex pasties from CURELESS [+].

The poses and the right backdrop were quite a challenge too… I needed a certain light, several light sources and as well something that is not too crowded or busy. I tried with a plain black backdrop first and added some lights and projectors but it did not yet feel right. Then I remembered a background from Foxcity and some cool editorial poses from the same creator. With the neon lights it was perfect and while I played with some windlights I realized that this would be the perfect choice.

Madonna always was/is a great source of inspiration for me anyways if I was thinking about fashion or music. I am sure that will not be my last post that she inspired me too 😉

Outfit & Accessories

Outfit: {Ghoul} – “Juuzou Bondage Harness” (Maitreya Lara Exp)

Pasties: CURELESS [+] – “Sterile Pasties” (Maitreya, Group Gift)

Stockings: .:Avanti:. – “Noirette Stockings” (Maitreya Applier)

Shoes: !dM – “PonyPlay” (Maitreya, Gacha)

Tail: !dM – “PonyPlay” (Maitreya, Gacha)

Collar: #187# – “Leashed Collar”

Face Deco: +XAnSA+ – “JianDi Face Straps”

Gag: ::Axix:: – “Beloved Nocturnia Gag” (BoundBox October 2017)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match (Bangs Verion A) – “No.Cake”

Makeup: Zibska – “LTD Noir 13-24” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: Zibska – “Folia Lips” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.0”

Ears: ^^Swallow^^ – “Gauged Ears”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Face: Izzie’s – “Pores & Blemishes” (LeLutka Applier)

Tattoo: [White~Widow] – “Volver” (Maitreya Applier)

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Backdrop: Foxcity – “Photo Booth – Neon City Vol3 Black”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Cyberized

Recently I had the huge luck and pleasure to meet one of my dearest friends from SL in RL. I never would have thought of ever seeing her for real as she comes from Australia, the other half of the world!

We met in Bamberg, a romantic and amazing little city in Germany. She was on a little world trip and came to Germany on a river trip with a huge boat. The weather was amazing and so we could walk around and see a little bit of the historic buildings and then we sat down in the sun at a cafe and had some coffee and typical German drinks from our region. The feeling when I could hug her for real was indescribably amazing and priceless. She was exactly like I got to know her and it immediately felt so familiar and as I would know her my whole life. It was one of the rare moments, that showed me why it was worth sticking so long to SL as I never would have met her otherwise.

Sis, I know we are living so far apart, but I really, really wish I get another possibility to see and hug you again. After having that chance once, I do not want it to be the first and last time we did that! I hope you have a wonderful rest of your trip and come home safe!

I had to say that first before I start my regular post as I am so happy about that 😉

Today I was in a cyber mood again and I was waiting for so long to have a reason to buy that cool tentacles from [CX]. Being in SL for over 10 years, normally means you have a uncontrollable inventory – at least in my case. I do have so many things, even if I do not use them to much – or not at all – some of them have amazing memories to them and I simply can’t delete them. I do sort and as well clean it out, but no matter what I can’t make it below a certain number and even that number grows every year for some reason :p

That was why I did impose a rule on myself… “Never buy something you do not have an initial idea for, or that you do not use in a reasonable time frame!” Sometimes that is really hard as I see many things on events and in stores, that I do like immensely…

With that, I at least protect my inventory from exploding too much but, it still grows… just slower*giggles*

It did change my whole shopping habit a lot, as well it did change my view on some things. I used to buy lots of stuff and then I even forgot, that I got them. Sometimes I found things weeks and month after I got them and they already were dusty and old and I had still no idea what to use them for 🙁

Now I get excited again when I buy things, as I know I maybe waited a while before I found the inspiration for, or I was thinking hard to imagine what I could do with them. I do not know how to describe but things got more value to me again. It does make a difference if you just buy things because you want to have them, or if you buy things to actually use them. It did feel bad when things stayed unused and got deleted some when without not having them used at least once even if it is ‘only’ virtual goods. Someone worked to create them and it feels disrespectful to me for what ever reason.

What kind of a shopper you are? Do you think much about what you buy or do you just buy all you like?

Outfit & Accessories

Outfit: A&Y Cybernetics – “Aglaya Latex Cyber Corset” (Maitreya)

Gloves: A&Y Cybernetics – “Electra Cyber Gloves” (Maitreya)

Shoes: A&Y Cybernetics – “Aglaya Latex Cyber Boots” (Maitreya)

Heart: [Neurolab Inc.] – “Heart Reactor MK-6 V.2”

Tentacles: [CX] – “Sentinel Tentacles”

Mask: DRD – “Cybermask”

Collar: .:Avanti:. – “Nayomi Collar”

Nails: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Obsess Claws” (Maitreya, Bento)

Chin: [CX] – “Chin Pointer” (Group Gift)

Nose: [CX] – “Scarred Bridge” (Group Gift)

Nose Ring: [CX] – “Pierced Septum” (Group Gift)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.0”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Skin & Lekku: LURE – “Twi’Lek (blue)” (Maitreya/Omega Applier, Gacha, Rare)

Tattoo: LURE – “Upgrade Tattoo” (Maitreya Applier)

Face: LURE – “Survivor Pack Tattoo” (Omega Applier, Gacha, Common)

Eyes: CURELESS [+] – “Spookshow Eyes”

Poses & Props

LePoppycock, Fairey Poses & Foxcity

Location

Insilico

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Cheeky Bunny

I do not know what it is, but something changed in the past month for me when it comes to taking pictures. I worry about a lot of things, I never thought about before, I do like playing with lights, projectors and “no light” or “low light” windlight settings. The less light you have around you, the more control you get about the lights around you. In the past I first chose my windlight and then added one or two lights or projectors – lately I do it the other way round. I first set up my lights and then look for a windlight, that supports my idea. In the beginning it felt weird to set up out of the darkness, but it becomes better with each try. As well I discovered different desires, which I would like to have for my pictures and so I started a few new “learning projects”. I watched a lot of tutorials, practiced a lot and learned many new things.

One project that started – I tried to start that, since my vacation had begun – was to paint hair. I do have a graphic tablet forever but besides using it for textures I never touched it for pictures, as my mouse felt so much better with that. But try to paint hair with your mouse.. even if you really think you can control your mouse perfectly, but things like the pen pressure, I only get with the tablet. I forced myself to play with it and watched many tutorials. Slowly it starts working, but it really needs a lot of practice and I am not yet ready to show it off  more than a few strands of hair 😉

To not loose my motivation, I started to play with some ready made hair strands and wisps as well as hair brushes for Photoshop, as those as well helped me a lot to understand the basic hair drawing. When I found the strands from Rayne Morgan, I was completely speechless. I rarely saw such a well drawn hair in all it’s details and if you are willing to credit her work, she even offers a few free downloads on her Deviantart site (https://www.deviantart.com/raynemorgan).

There I found some interesting ready made hair as well for instant use. I always had wondered, how some photographers were able to paint or photograph hair and have such amazing results on Flickr. When I saw the website of Rayne Morgan… I immediately did know how a few did that 😉

It is really breathtaking how that hair can change a Second Life picture like it did for the closeup above. You get the hair as a PSD file. You are able to color and as well warp it, until it matches your Second Life snapshot. I could not resist, to even work on that one by adding some more wisps and paint some little strands myself. It is not the end of my hair-paint experiences, as I really want to archive painting my own hair completely one day, but I wanted to share the progress and as well the way of keeping up my motivation to do so 🙂

Outfit & Accessories

Outfit: //Ascend// – “Diora” (Maitreya) – NEW @ The Fetish Fair 2018 – 2nd Edition

Panty: .:Avanti:. – “Adara Panty” (Maitreya)

Shoes: UTOPIA@Design – “Jora” (Maitreya)

Hand & Rings: [Since1975] – “No Mercy Rings” (Maitreya, Bento)

Mask: FnH – “Bunny Mask”

Earrings: Elle Boutique – “Jaclyn Earring”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: Besom – “Piggy Bank”

Makeup: Zibska – “Radi Eyemakeup” (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: Izzie’s – “Metallic Lipsticks” (LeLutka Applier)

Hair for Closeup: Rayne Morgan

Head & Body

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.0”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Face: Izzie’s – “Pore & Blemishes” (LeLutka Applier)

Legs: Zibska – “Wild Thang” (Maitreya Applier) – NEW @ TheSecret Affair

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Set:

Couch: [Ds] – “Contempo Ladies Chaise” – NEW @ The Fetish Fair 2018 – 2nd Edition

Lamp: Trompe Loeil – “Wiggle Modern Light”

Statue: NOMAD – “Bright Headed Mannequin C”

Mirror: [Figure 8] – “Narcissus Mirror Silver”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin