The Engine Room – Part I

The Engine Room is open now for about a week and it has so many AMAZING designs and creations that I wasn’t able to put them in one picture, so be prepared for so more steampunk madness in the next days!

My first post is kinda centered around that super cool top from [ContraptioN] and the awesome cute Barn owls in the steampunk version from {-Maru Kado-}. There is 2 packs of owls and each all owls come in 2 different version – one ‘casual’ owl and one ‘steampunk’ owl with all the sweet gear and goggles. But when I was setting up my little scenery inside the amazing skyebox from Catacomb –ย  while I realized those amazing rich and detailed textures – I found so much more cute and superb made things that I really had to hold myself back from cluttering my picture with too much things! The super cute animesh cat from HEXtraordinary in a rezzable and a wearable version, the incredible textured furniture from 22769… if you are a steampunk fan or someone that loves some Victorian gear and vibes, you HAVE to take a look at the Engine Room – you have time until the 20th or October!

But the Engine Room not only has furniture, decor and animals, you can find some totally crazy clothing and accessories. Today I combined the “Enginieer’s Top” from [ContraptioN] and the “Knickerbocker” pants, socks and shoes from Hotdog. The cool “Plague Mask” was made by Static. I was trying a lot what I could wear as a head piece of hair with that mask and in the end i decided not to just put a hat on top, but wear the unisex, short “No.Shallow” hairstyle, which no.match released at MoM this month.

I do not want to write too much today, as the pictures should be the main focus for this mega awesome designs and creations and… I have to admit, I already work on my second part pictures and realized I will probably even have to have a 3rd Engine Room part *giggles*

Clothing

Top: [ContraptioN]ย  – “Engineer’s Top” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

Pants, Socks & Shoes: Hotdog – “Knickerbockers . plain” (Maitreya) – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

Accessories

Mask: ::Static:: – “Plague Mask – Caged” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

Nailpolish: DP – Koffin Nails – “Neo-Victorian Keys” (Maitreya Applier) – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

Upper Arm Cuffs: Overt – “Summoner Cuffs – Red” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Shallow” – NEW @ MoM // Sepetmber 2019

Body & Tattoos

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.4”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Poses, Props / Tools

Poses: Foxcity

Set:

Skybox: Catacomb – “The Bunker (With Base)” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

Owls: {-Maru Kado-} – “Barn Owl Set 01-10 (Decor)” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

Cat: HEXtraordinary – “Lord Bartleby Von Tinkleton Esq. – Wanderer (Rez)” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

Furniture:

22769 – “Salon Chair” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – “Salon Couch” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – “Queen Victoria Bust” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – “Tripod Telescope” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – “Gramophone” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – “Industrial Endtable” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – “Armillary Sphere” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – Cart Coffee Table – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – “Ashtray” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – “Box Of Cigars” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

::Static:: – “Woodburned Periodic Table – Warm”- NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

{C&C} – “Aether-Tech Moon Clock – Brass –ย NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

HILTED – “Knicknack Pets – Mean Honker” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

HILTED – “Knicknack Pets – Beep Boop” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

HILTED – “Knicknack Pets – Hop Hop” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

HILTED – “Knicknack Pets – Toot Toot” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

HILTED – “Knicknack Pets – Snooty Snoot” – NEW @ The Engine Room // Sepetmber/October 2019

22769 – “Vintage Camera” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Industrial Wine Rack” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Bike Figurine” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Drum Table” (Gacha, Common)

[ContraptioN] Decor: – “Eccentric’s Curios Auric Discindo”

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

The Ark – Animalish Moments

See the dark night has come down on us
The world is livin’ in its dream
But now we know that we can wake up from this sleep
And set out on the journey
Find a ship to take us on the way.

[Gerry Rafferty]

Today I would like to highlight an interesting event, that I didn’t see like that before. It is called “The Ark” and it is hosted by Palegirl Productions. Today sadly is the last day, but RL kept me so busy, that I wasn’t able top post earlier.

You can find all kind of designs inspired by animals there, not limited to animals and decor itself *winks* I saw that dress – yes a dress – and even if I am not too much into dresses, the way it was designed caught my attention. I loved the way the cut-outs are done at the sides and especially the arms with the sleeves connected to the middle finger. I never saw such a design before.

If you know me, it was clear, that I could not do just a simple casual look with that dress, so I was thinking a long time what I could do with that. Suddenly I came across the “Fibrous” tattoo from Nefekalum Tattoos again and thought, that would be a great challenge to make an editorial look with that tattoo and the dress! Certainly Zibska had to be involved with that idea too and her “WildThang” leggings just perfectly matched the animal print the dress carried too ๐Ÿ™‚

I know the look will probably disturb many that are used to a more casual use of dresses, but that is my personal take on for that dress – even if it really took some time to find the right surrounding for it for my pictures ๐Ÿ˜‰

Clothing

Outfit: [NC] – “Gira Dress” (Maitreya) – NEW @ The Ark

Leggins: Zibska – “WildThang” (Maitreya Applier)

Shoes: [Gos] – “Barbara Sandals” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Belt: amias – “Fenna” (Maitreya, part of a whole outfit)

Collar: -SU! – “Lynexia” (Group Gift)

Glasses: -SU! – “The Shagi Glasses” (Group Gift)

Horns: glutz – “Ramifications Horns” – NEW @ The Ark

Piercing: *PKC* – Collar Lip Piercing” (LeLutka Simone, Bento)

Nails: [FORMANAILS] – “Mayra XXL” (Maitreya, Bento)

Rings: : CULT : – “Rou Rings Set” (Maitreya)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Water”

Face Art: Nefekalum Tattoos – “Fibrous” (Omega Applier – Head & Body)

Body & Tattoos

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.4”

Ears: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Ears Akasuna”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Tattoo: Nefekalum Tattoos – “Fibrous” (Omega Applier – Head & Body)

Poses, Props & Tools

Poses: Foxcity

Fontain: [FOURTH WALL] – “Minimalist Garden Fountain – Black”

Animals: Jinx – “Snow Cloud Gacha” (Commons) – NEW @ The Ark

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Creatures

TUNES

I fall
This is the end of you
Whispers are their weakness

Their weakness
Everyday I must practice
To fake this smile on my face
It’s all the rain that’s putting me to sleep

It’s all the rain that’s putting me to sleep
I’ll let the blood tell the truth tonight, this is my life’s work
11 tracks is not enough, to tell you how I’ve died inside
And love is lost like words

11 tracks is not enough
In spiders eyes a man becomes a fly
In prolonged silence, we all stand defiled
We fall in line with the atrophy of life

The calm before the storm is a defeating silence
I’ve given my all, to this valley of despair
We are the damned, the cursed and the broken
There’s so much more inside us

We are the lost, the sick and unspoken
There’s so much more inside us
I’m drowning in an ocean of the tears that I’ve cried
I tried to drown my sorrows

Instead they’re all drowning me
I tried to drown my sorrows
Instead they’re all drowning me

[Motionless in White – Creatures]

Clothing

Harness: Moon Elixir – “Valentina” (Belleza Freya)

Pasties: .ARISE. – Spiked Pasties / White Silver” (Belleza Freya)

Accessories

Collar & Mask: Zibska – “Maea”

Claws: A&A – “Ornate Flat Claws” (Belleza Freya, Bento) – NEW @ We โ™ฅ RP // September 2019

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No_Industry” – NEW @ The Liaison Collaborative // September 2019

Makeup: Zibska – “Maea” (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Eyes: -SU!- – “Aure Eyes” (Group Gift)

Ears: [Trap][Gauze] – “Djin Ears”

Body: Belleza – “Freya V5.2”

Skin: ~JJ~ – “Faceted Skins” (Omega Evolved Applier)

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Set:

E.V.E – “SUNNY SPELLS Vol.5 – Splashing Aurea STAR [A]”

E.V.E – “SUNNY SPELLS Vol.5 – Splashing Aurea STAR [B]”

E.V.E – “SUNNY SPELLS Vol.5 – Splashing Aurea STAR [C]”

E.V.Eย –ย  “Ivy Tree [M02-No leaves] Silver”

E.V.E – “Ivy Bonsai {Silver}”

E.V.E – “Poison Rain Spikes Grass M01 {White}”

E.V.E – “Poison Rain Spikes Grass M01{Silver}”

E.V.E – “Poison Rain Spikes Grass M02 Fade {White-DelS}”

[FOURTH WALL] – “Mossy Rocks Pack” (Modified: blank white texture with original materials)

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

Imagine…

TUNES

You, you may say I’m a dreamer
But I’m not the only one
I hope someday you will join us
And the world will be as one

Imagine no possessions
I wonder if you can
No need for greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people
Living life in peace

[John Lennon]

Clothing

Top: neve – “Milla” (Maitreya)

Pants: Blueberry – “Pride Shorts” (Maitreya, SL16B Gift)

Shoes: [Gos] – “Emelie Sandals” (Maitreya) – NEW @ UBER // August 2019

Accessories

Legwraps: Storybook – “Savage – Brown” (Maitreya)

Necklace 1: Eudora3D – “Eithne Necklace Gold Materials”

Necklace 2: MG – “Leather Alexa Choker – Design 3”

Rings: Meva – “Bento Maitreya Rings Gold” (Maitreya, Bento)

Glasses: EarthStones – “The Yesterday”

Headpiece:ย DRD – “Vagabond – Flower Crown”

Bangles (l): DRD – “Chunky Bangles – Flower”

Bracelet (r): [ kunst ] – “Conrad Bracelet”

Piercing:ย  [ kunst ] – “Piercing #10” (Gacha, Common)

Septumn: [ kunst ] – “Anuket Septum Ring”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Weird” – NEW @ COSMOPOLITAN // August 12th, 2019

Makeup: Zibska โ€“ โ€œNoir Pack 06โ€ (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 โ€“ โ€œLondonโ€ (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Ears: CODEX – “Marley Ears”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Tattoo: ((Mister Razzor)) – “Dante” (Omega Applier)

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Set:

DRD – “The Stranded Pack Rat”

DRD – “Vagabond – Guitar” (Groupgift

DRD – “Post Apoc Camp Sitting Crates 1”

DRD – “GG – Catcher – One” (Groupgift

22769 ~ [bauwerk] – “Beertray Sidetable Green” (table made transparent to use ashtray and cigarettes)

Location

…:::Bartertown:::…

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

From little Seeds great Flowers grow…

โ€œShe limped, unaided around the house, like a bird with its wing broken. Tame, because it couldnโ€™t fly away. All her time was taken up with managing herself, working out new ways to do things. Being a different person in the world.โ€
[ Joan London, The Golden Age ]

I guess I never hadย  more opposite posts back to backย  than the last and today’s… maybe thats because my life at the moment is a little bit upside down and huge changes are about to come. I do have mixed feelings about it, as I did not really plan those, but sometimes you just get forced to make changes and you have to adapt the situation and make the best out of it for yourself.

But then, like I wrote yesterday… I always wanted the freedom to do what ever I want on my personal blog and so I hope you all don’t mind a black/silver against white/gold contrast ๐Ÿ˜‰

It was always something I thought a lot about. When I started modeling, we were taught, that we should find our personal style. Back then it was like either you are a casual person, a formal one, am avant garde one or one of those kind of styles that we all know. I never felt ‘home’ in one style genre only and so I started to call my personal style weird or crazy to at least have category if I was asked about. I do not know where all that comes from, but it is not only happening in Second Life. In real life I am a musician, but as well a teacher and I do give private lessons for instruments and songwriting and I do work for a record studio playing the bass sometimes, too. I never had the desire to have a nine-to-five job, more than that I even was scared about the thought to have to do the same every day in a certain time frame. Certainly it would be easier and you could plan your free-time better, but I guess I would miss something just having one job.

It isn’t the first time that a chapter of the book of my life closes (sometimes I had to close them my self, too) and so I know if one closes another one will open. Just the time until that happens is sometimes a bit scary, as you never know what it will be. Usually those kind of “in-between” times only happen if you didn’t close the chapter yourself. Mostly they do happen, if you didn’t plan any changes and all of a sudden for no reason others decide to screw you over with lies and gossips that aren’t even true. First I tried to fight against that, but if you have 4 people gained up against you they can pretty much tell everything and being their own witnesses for their lies. First it dragged me down a lot and I was trying to find a way how I still could prove the truth, but the longer it did happen, the more I came to the point that it would be senseless. So I had to change my tactics and just make my peace with it and find new ways for myself. It would have been an unnecessary waste of power and time to keep on fighting in the end.

So I am looking forward to what will come. Things have come up to my mind already and now just need to grow and being developed more. That already feels much better than the time of uncertainty, where you have no clue what you are going to. Maybe that’s why I found parts of my creativity back, too and have fun taking pictures again even if they are a little bit weird *winks*

For now I will be on holidays and try to get some rest from all the past half a year crap. I know things will move on, as they always have and every time it happened, there was something new forย  me that I really enjoyed. Even if that sounds old and lame sometimes and in the middle of frustrating and depressing times you neither want to hear or see it – Life has so much to give and there always will be ways to find new perspectives. Recently I found a quote, first I read it was from Sigmund Freud, but when I looked it up, there wasn’t any prove for that and no one really knows where it came from, but it does fit so perfectly for now and I like it a lot. I even thought, if I should put it on a sign and place it at my desktop somewhere, so I can look at it if I get bad feelings about the whole situation again. Maybe it makes a great closing sentence for today’s post *grins*

“Before you diagnose yourself with depression or low self esteem, first make sure you are not, in fact, just surrounded by assholes.”

Clothing

Dress: CURELESS[+] – “Pygmalion’s Bride / M / Galatea Bridal Gown” (Maitreya, Gacha, Rare)

Gloves:ย CURELESS[+] – “Pygmalion’s Bride / M / Galatea Gloves” (Maitreya, Gacha, Rare)

Accessories

Collar: .Charm. – “Skai Collar” (Store closed)

Piercing: [CX] – “Bitten 2017”

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Arrest”

Eyeshadow 1: Nanika – “Gold Eyeshadow” (LeLutka Applier)

Eyeshadow 2: Zibska – “Lennie” (LeLutka Applier)

Face Art: Nanika – “Serena Gold” (Omega Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Legs:ย CURELESS[+] – “Pygmalion’s Bride / M / Galatea Legs / MARBLE” (Maitreya, Gacha, Common)

Ears: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Thauron Ears”

Eyes: .ARISE. – “Blind Eyes / Gold”

Skin: *YS&YS* – “Immortal Skin Applier” (LeLutka & Maitreya Applier)

Tattoo: Nanika – “Gold Sequins Mesh Body Applier” (Maitreya Applier)

Poses & Props

Poses: Poseidon

Set:

E.V.E Studio – “WHISPER Petals {Gold}”ย  (Gacha, Rare)

E.V.E Studio – “Apple Flower M01”

E.V.E Studio – “Apple Flower M02”

E.V.E Studio – “Golden Apple”

E.V.E Studio – “Flowers of the Golden Apple”

E.V.E Studio – “Petals Path A {Gold}”

E.V.E Studio – “Petals Path B {Gold}”

E.V.E Studio – “Dancing Petals Dystopia in Bronze/Gold”

Air – “Road sign type A stand_gold_CM”

Air – “Road sign type C_gold_CM”

Air – “Road sign type D_gold_CM”

Air – “Road sign type E_gold_CM”

Air – “Lost Bravery stand(gold)_CM”

Air – “Lost Brain stand(gold)_CM”

DISORDERLY. – “Enchanted Extras / Beast’s Library Papers”

Raindale – “Elnaril floor candle holder (light gold)”

{anc} – “mannequin. MermaidPrincess(Adult)” (Gacha, Rare)

Model & Photographer

Wicca Merlin

I’m lost in a dream…

I’m lost in a dream, with a mind’s full of sadness,
I remember the good times, that we had in our madness,
Frozen tears with illusions of fire,
All of my life was filled with desire

[Axel Rudi Pell]

Sometimes you sit there, staring at your inventory and have no idea what you can do. You put on various outfits, dresses, pants, tops and nothing screams “Yes.. it’s me! Do something with me!” I am not saying, that all the stuff would be ugly or not nice… it all looks perfect and it is made amazingly, but just nothing touches you, nothing catches your eyes or heart.
There are moments in life where just nothing can grab your attention or drag your brain off some things that happen in your life. For me it was a RL situation, that really had tied up my brain and mind/mood completely. If you love your job and you put everything you have and can into it, if you even started a project and work on that for years and suddenly someone comes and tries to steal that from you and even get you kicked out from it, it really can go very deep and it does hurt like if someone rips out a part of yourself, throws it on the ground and tramples on it like crazy with a big grin in her/his face.

In exactly that mood I was nearly the whole past week and that was when this style grew over days, not knowing what I want to do. It did look like a bunch of things not belonging to each other on the first view for me, until I told my self to let it flow and see where it would be going. First I thought of a kind of fairy or “Galadriel” looking pictures in a fantasy environment. But while I was trying like an idiot I came across the amazing pictures of Alles Klaar (HERE). She has a lot of water based pictures, like her and her friends posing on water, having those amazing reflections. That reminded me of the never ending story if we could have real mirrors in Second Life (LINK). I did not want to download anything and I tried to remember how you could cheat on that fact with using mirror water (MIRROR WATER).

I do have no water available at my home at the moment, so I am very grateful, that – after a talk explaining my issue – Tour gave me the opportunity to use his sim for my experiments. While I was trying to fool with that water mirror effect, I realized, it isn’t what I wanted or my skills are not good enough to do what I had imagined. It was the first time, that I wasn’t alone while I tried to set up a scene. Tour was with me and we even had a voice conversation for some time while I was trying to find what I wanted to do. What really was fun, he as well did some snaps and we shared our visions about my project. That was quite interesting! I always thought I never could have somebody with me while doing this, but it even did inspire me somehow ๐Ÿ™‚ Thank you Tour for your generosity to let me experiment on your land and ruining your terraforming for me, because of my need for water!

The more pictures I shot, the more my vision changed and my mind could let go of my RL situation and I found my fun back in doing weird and crazy things. My feelings and emotions changed from weak, frustrated and depressed to stubborn, stronger and willing to fight my way out of my actual mood. I rarely had so different emotions on my pixel face during a shooting I have to admit, as I usually try to make an indicating series of pictures.

Again Second Life was kind of a therapy to escape from real life, but as well it did help to free my mind again and not being stuck inside a certain situation. I am not saying SecondLife is the best therapy you can find, I am just saying sometimes it helps to allay concerns or get your brain some relief ๐Ÿ˜‰

Believe me, after 12,5 years SL I know, that you need to step away from it sometimes or even shut it down for a while to solve RL problem… I hope you get the idea of what I was trying to say ๐Ÿ˜‰

Since I changed the point of my blog, not only being a fashion catalog, but as well being a part of me and both of my lifes, my pictures do matter for me. After I attended Visionaire classes (I sometimes still do), it as well felt right to do so. I am not saying, fashion only blogs are not cool, I just decided for myself that I wanted to have more than just that after so many years of blogging ๐Ÿ™‚

If you are one of those, that actually read the whole post, I would be happy if you would be brave enough to comment on it, or maybe even dare to tell about how or even if your SL does change your RL or any situations sometimes โ™ฅ

 

Clothing
Dress: Moon Elixir – “Fenris” (Maitreya
Accessories
Collar: ((LovelyAlien)) – “Amaranthine – Necklace – Silver”
Headpiece: -Elemental- – “Feronica Circlet”
Claws: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Thunderstrike Claws” (Maitreya, Bento)
Rings: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Thunderstrike Rings” (Maitreya, Bento)
Horns: :[P]: – “Kratus Horns”
Bracelets & Anklets: E.V.E – “Scorpion Spikes” (Maitreya)
Armlets: Gemini – “Sis Bracelets” (Maitreya)
Hair & Makeup
Hair: no.match – “No. Gain” – NEW @ Tres Chic
Makeup: Zibska – “Rowan” (LeLutka Applier)
Body & Tattoo
Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”
Eyes: ANATOMY – “Angel Eyes – Silver”
Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”
Skin: YS&YS – “Ginny Zafiro” (LeLutka/Maitreya Applier)
Tattoo (Arms): [White~Widow] –ย  “Ran” (Maitreya Applier)
Tattoo (Legs): [White~Widow] – “Okja” (Maitreya Applier)
Poses & Props
Poses: Poseidon
Set:
Statue White Girl: E.V.E – “Rapunzel in Evie White Tower”
Statue Steampunk Guy: R.O.T – “”Illusion Light Blue”
Statue Couple: R.O.T – “Soska Metallic”
Brushwood: E.V.E – “Rosina’s Undergowth M01”
Sphere: E.V.E – “Cubic Dreams {White Glow/Black}”
Heart: E.V.E – “Frosted Hearts Silver M1”
Model & Photographer

“Wait for me at 8 o’clock” he said…

“Alone in the room, she impatiently waited
No aphrodisiac could have kept her sedated
Quietly, he entered, his scent filled the room
He knew her lust for him, would be her doom…”
[Dorinda Duclos]

Today I was in a little bit of a fetish mood and wanted to play a little bit *grins*

The “Aida” head from LeLutka, had such cute, but as well smart touch for me, that I came across the idea of a girl waiting for her Master coming home. I read many novels and books about BDSM and submission. Many of them had the situation in them, about a girl being at home waiting for her Master’s return (from work or what ever). Even in the Fifty Shades of Grey fairytale, he wants her to wait kneeling at the door of the playroom when he enters. That kind of situation I had in mind when I was taking todays pictures.

I did not want to do a mainstream nude or lingerie picture and when I found the “Leonie” dress from amias, I could not resist to use that one and pimp it a little bit with the “Collar of O” And the “Dandy Harness” from Salt & Pepper.

Today I would love to talk a little bit about shapes. I had a talk with a dear friend lately and she creates shapes. During my modeling times, I have to admit I never was wearing pre-made shapes.ย  I learned in several model schools, that the shape/face is the models trademark and somehow that is true. I come from a time in SL where we not even yet dreamed of sculpts or mesh or other body parts than the system body Second Life gave us. So we had to learn how to make our own unique shape and be able to change and twist it if needed for clothing, skins or accessories. When the first generation of sculpted body parts came out or even more when the first generation of bento heads came out – the static ones – it was quite a problem as all of a sudden we could not anymore work on our faces more than having different skins to make them look at least a bit different from others that bought the same head. When the next generation of the bento heads came out we all were kinda relieved as we now had at least a little bot of our freedom back to customize our facial shape again a little more due new bones.

While I always made my shapes myself as a model, I learned how handy pre-made shapes can be when I have to to vendors and teasers for the store or if I am showcasing different heads. If you go out and ask people about their shapes, most will snort and tell you, they won’t be up for sale as they made them their own. If you ask others where they bought their shapes they will tell you what kind of a loss of money it would be, as you can make your own shape. But maybe sometimes you do not feel to sit down and make your own shape? Or you tried and they end up looking always the same and you want to look different? Or they do not feel comfortable with what they did because they do have trouble with finding the right proportions? There is various reasons why people try ready made shapes and there is nothing wrong with it. Most of the shapes I know are even modifiable and you can use them as a base to create your own, having a rough idea for the basic numbers of a direction you like.

So, today I am wearing one of WrenNoir Cerise’s shapes. The “Alba” shape from {wren”s nest} was made for the “Aida” head from LeLutka. Most of the shapes nowadays are based on one specific heads, as you can really get funny looks if you do the wrong thing to a shape for a certain head. I sometimes tried for fun to wear shapes made for LeLutka on LAQ heads what really looks incredible funny. Wren usually has more than one shape in her packs – she provides for example a ‘proportional’ one, a ‘slightly curvy’ and a ‘tall & slender’ and if you get lucky sometimes even a ‘BONUS Candy Size’ which is a little smaller and I do love exactly those ๐Ÿ™‚ With the “Alba” shape I was lucky, there was a ‘candy size’ one in there. As well you will find different eyebrow shapes in the pack and as well a style-card. The style card might be useful, if you would like to copy the exact look of the vendor picture, because even skins do matter and not every skin will make the shape and/or the head look the same. For this post I did not work on the shape at all, so what you see is exact the one I pulled from the pack, but as I mentioned before, you can modify them!

Next time you get asked, where you have your shape from or if you would know a place where good shapes are sold… don’t drag them down by only saying they should make their own… give them a chance to learn from ready made shapes or just being lazy and still look good ๐Ÿ˜‰

Clothing

Outfit: amias – “Leonie” (Maitreya)

Shoes: Blueberry – “Cupcake Boots – Sharp Heels” (Maitreya)

Accessories

Collar: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “Collar of O” (Maitreya)

Harness: Salt & Pepper (S&P) – “Dandy Harness” (Miitreya, Gacha, Rare)

Nails: FORMANAILS – “Wedding” (Maitreya, Bento)

Hair & Makeup

Hair: no.match – “No.Click”

Makeup: Zibska โ€“ โ€œNoir Pack 06โ€ (LeLutka Applier)

Lipstick: alaskametro<3 โ€“ Londonโ€ (LeLutka Applier)

Body & Tattoos

Head: LeLutka – “Aida 3.3”

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Shape: {wren’s nest} – “Alba Proportional – LeLutka Aida Bento Head”

Skin: alaskametro<3 – “Sunny” (LeLutka/Omega Applier)

Eyes: LeLutka – “Eyes.Korina 3.3”

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Couch:ย 22769 – “Chesterfield Couch Black”

Table: DRD – “Bondage Sidetable Dark”

Glass:ย 22769 – “Martini” (Gacha, Common)

Sculpture 1:ย 22769 – “The Hidden”

Sculpture 2:ย 22769 – “Bronze Flamingo Figurines” (Gacha, Common)

Toys: BackBone – “Toy Rack”

Whip:ย 22769 – “Leather Whip”

Wallart: 22769 – “Metal Wallart” (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 ๐Ÿ™‚

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 ๐Ÿ˜‰ 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 ๐Ÿ™‚

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.ย  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 ๐Ÿ™‚

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 forย  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

Jackie Skellington – A Tribute to Tim Burton

I’ve always been addicted to Tim Burton movies. Anyways if it was Beetlejuice, Edward Scissorhands, Sleepy Hollow or Sweeney Todd I do love them all and I saw them and all the others more than once! But I do love the most the “A Nightmare before Christmas” and the “Corpse Bride”. When I saw “A Nightmare before Christmas” the first time I instantly fell in love with Jack Skellington. I even had merchandising stuffs for my study equipment, bed linen and other stuffs in my room like poster and such. I do not why that clicked so bad but it did ๐Ÿ˜‰ So I was so surprised when I was at CURELESS [+] and saw the Christmas Nightmare gacha – How I could miss that one?!? Certainly I had to have that no need to mention I never saw a more cool version for a female counter part of Jack Skellington.

It is hard to explain sometimes that you are not in a bad or dangerous mood if you do dark pictures. I know it might be more common to do colorful country side pictures in SL, but I discover more and more that SL has a dark, artistic fashion corner as well and the more I try the more I really do love it. When I was trained as a model or blogger in the past, people did not approve my styles or pictures to much – not because they were bad quality, more because they were not norm or mainstream conform. Back in the days when I started it was important to have at least more than 50% mainstream and RL fashion trends covered somehow, but the longer I was blogging the more I developed a feeling away from deadline duties and so called “rules” to follow. I wanted more freedom to express myself, to experiment with more than just fashion and I was sick and tired of all the same pictures over and over, without soul but only fashion information stuffed.

So I asked to be released off my blogger duties years ago and left blogger or sponsor groups, to have a fresh start and re-invent myself and my blogging/photography. For quite a while I did pictures without any sponsored designs and not for the purpose of design showcase only. I have to admit at that time it was needed to develop my picture skills and as well my blogging abilities. I thought a lot about what I felt and what I want to express, which I never did that intensive before. Before it was all about how many sponsors I can combine without looking like a clown, but still satisfy as many people and designers as I can with every post I did. It wasn’t bad all the time, but it is a different motivation and focus. Over the past 10 years of blogging, there was times where my pictures changed lightly, but most of the time they were sponsor focused only. After some time you feel a kinda burn out syndrome and past fun turns into work only.. and that killed my motivation at some point. I needed “fresh thoughts” if that makes sense. Pulling back was the right thing for me to do. For the past 1,5 years I started again to apply or take on sponsors/blogger duties, but not as many as I had before. I tried to not have just fashion pictures, I challenged myself to combine fashion with artsy touches and as well with feelings and emotions and sometimes even with a story behind the pictures. That as well made the decision easy, to not have one picture and a style card only, but to have a little picture series and sometimes a little story behind them, too.

I really got a whole new, different point of view about my blogging and the pictures. I still try to do showcases for designers and present their creations in the best light, but as well I try to bring my own twist and emotions – sometimes a little art as well – into the whole process ๐Ÿ™‚ It brought back the fun for SL blogging and SL photography to me again and that I guess is all that matters… at least for me ๐Ÿ˜‰

Clothing

Outfit: CURELESS [+] – “Christmas Nightmare / Skeleton Suit” (Maitreya, Gacha, Rare)

Shoes: CURELESS [+] – “Christmas Nightmare / Spiral Plats / Black” (Maitreya, Gacha, Common)

Socks: CURELESS [+] – “Christmas Nightmare / Vamp Stockings / Black” (Maitreya, Gacha, Common)

Accessories

Animal: CURELESS [+] – “Christmas Nightmare /Ghost Puppy / White” (Gacha, Common)

Nails: [CX] – “Essential Dirty Claws” (Maitreya, Bento, Group Gift)

Hair & Makeup

Hair & Hat: no.match – “No.Scary”

Faceart: CURELESS [+] – “Psychopomp Face” (OMEGA Applier)

Body & Tattoo

Head: LeLutka – “Simone 3.3”

Teeth: LeLutka – “Beast Teeth 1.1”

Eyes: Clemmm – “I’m Tired / Black – Regular” (tinted darker)

Body: Maitreya – “Lara 4.1”

Skin: YS&YS – “Immortal Skin” (Maitreya & LeLutka Applier)

Ears: .:E.A.Studio:. – “Thauron”

Poses & Props

Poses: Foxcity

Set:

:CP: – “Burton Tea Chair Striped”

:CP: – “Burton Rug”

:CP: – “Burton Tea Table”

:CP: – “Burton Tea Chandelier”

:CP: – “Burton Tea Cake Plate”

:CP: – “Burton Art – Arched Cat”

:CP: – “Burton Art – Pumpkin”

:CP: – “Burton Art – Hoot”

22769 – “Tentacle Wallart” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Limp Bookshelf Left” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Limp Bookshelf Right” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Tims Teddy Bear” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Tims Plant Black And White” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “This is Halloween” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Twisted Candle Holder” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Tea with Tim” (Gacha, Common)

22769 – “Jester Console” (Gacha, Common)

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 ๐Ÿ˜‰ 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 visionsย  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 ๐Ÿ˜‰

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