Tag / The Crossroads

by Three Knots

Blink, and you could miss it….

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This month’s GENRE theme is Victorian!

There is always so much going on! If you’re not careful, you could miss stuff. For example, this month’s GENRE theme is Victorian! Genre is one of those events that has been going on for a few years and has had a few spikes and dips, but the last couple of months have been amazing. Last month was Viking, and I forgot to tell you about it, or I had too much other stuff to talk about, or my work schedule got out of hand (likely), so I didn’t get around to that. This time around, I promised myself I’d talk about Genre. I also haven’t got a chance to talk very much about what’s happening at Hairology this month, so I want to show you three different outfits in this post. Don’t worry: I do have an epic story post coming, hopefully tomorrow! But tonight is all about Fa-fa-fa-fa-fashion!

This dress is Senzafine‘s Zenobia gown, and her textures are really striking, no matter what colour you choose. I can never choose, so I tend to fatpack her gowns, but that’s because I have a hard time with, you know, choices.

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Here, you can see a glimpse of the bodice detailing.

Here, you can see the glimpse of the bodice detailing; I love the smocking on the front. The skin I’m wearing is another of the new offerings from 7 Deadly s{K}ins; Izara has really hit it out of the park for the SL Skin Fair, Mali. The skin is built around 7 Deadly s{K}ins’ new body appliers, and they are so easy to use. Mali is a Lelutka face applier. I kept Gwyneth a redhead for this post, because I love the red eyebrows on this skin. The freckles are also great.

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Stealthic hair from Hairology!

The hair here is Stealthic, for Hairology, which closes in a few days. The hairlines and textures on Stealthic‘s hair have been impressing me since I first discovered them at the 2015 Hair Fair, and this is one of my favourites to date: Cadence. This is Lelutka’s new Cate Bento mesh head, which is a little softer than the Simone. The ears are Swallow‘s Elf Ears High Definition, the eyes are from Mesange: the Bering eyes are available for a few more days at We ❤ Roleplay. I found the Earthstones Velvet Rose Choker at The Liaison Collaborative.

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Another great hair from Hairology!

This next outfit features another great hair from Hairology, Runaway’s Jasmin. The skin is another of 7 Deadly s{K}ins‘ releases for Skin Fair, Wednesday. These are the same eyes from Mesange: I just loved the purple colour with this dress, and I kept the rose choker on her as well.

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Beautiful furniture from Raindale adorns this set for the whole shoot.

Beautiful furniture from Raindale adorns this set for the whole shoot: these items are from the Birdside gacha. It was at the February Crossroads events, but you can find it at Raindale’s main store now. The gown is from BareRose, Tasha in purple. The gown comes in sections, and it’s beautifully shaped. it comes with boots, but here Gwyneth is wearing the Harriet Booties from Wicca’s Wardrobe, which are also available at Genre, along with the dress.

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No shoot featuring this dress would be complete without a picture of the amazing BOW.

No shoot featuring this dress would be complete without a picture of the amazing BOW. When I tried this dress on, the first thing I noticed was that I had a huge bow on mah butt! And I kind of love it!

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Not everything at Genre is formal Victorian.

Not everything at this month’s Genre is formal Victorian: this is Poeme‘s Neo-Victorian in Damasque, here worn with some black legging appliers and the Wicca’s Wardrobe boots.

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This is the new Catwa Lona head.

This is the new Catwa Lona head. One of my favourite styles from the March Hairology is from Iconic; this is Esme, and I’ve been wearing it around just casually for weeks now. This is a Lumae freckled applier for Catwa, Ella, also available at Skin Fair. The eyes are once again Mesange; these are the Capriccio Eyes, which you can get for a few more days at The Chapter 4. The necklace is from Empyrean Forge, Breccia.

So, yeah; not a lot of my usual scintillating content here, but do take a trip to Genre. You’ll be glad you did. And don’t forget to visit the Skin Fair before it closes!

No style cards for this post: everything’s in the text, and I’m kinda tired, and it’s Dyisi’s RL birthday, so I have to think of her right now. 🙂

by Three Knots

On a Misty Morning….

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Mm, coffee!

So the best thing about being up in the actual morning is coffee. Or at least it is from my perspective. And building my own weird little world requires caffeine. Today I decided to give Gwyneth a bit of a casual look, because she’s working after all, and it’s not always practical to order your minions around while wearing ballgowns, right? This hair is new from Wasabi Pills: it’s the Bianca hair, and you can find it in a gacha at this month’s Chapter Four. The outfit is also a gacha, from the currently-running (and nearly done!) Kustom 9; it’s Zenith‘s Fur Scarf Sweater and Winter Leather Fur Boots. The Fur Scarf Sweater is a rare item, but all the sweaters are lovely, and they come with the cup of coffee and tintable hands that are easy to colour to whatever shade you want. The tattoos on Gwyneth’s legs and face are from Stardust, whose wonderful work I have only just discovered. The leg tattoo is called Ami, and the face tattoo (which you an see more clearly in the next photo) is Amelina. There is a matching body tattoo called Amelia that you can’t see in this photograph. They’re available as single purchases or as a fatpack at The Chapter 4.

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A little closer

If we come a little closer, you can see the hair, the face tattoo, the skin, and the fur scarf a little more clearly. First of all, the Wasabi Pills hair comes in two different styles: this is the one where both sides are tucked behind the ear. The other style has one side falling over the ear and one side tucked. I like the tucked style because it doesn’t interfere with Gwyneth’s ears. The ears are from Swallow; they’re the High Definition Elf Ears that were offered for the first time at Shiny Shabby a few months back. Once again, Gwyneth is in the Taryn Omega mesh head applier from The Plastik. I can’t say enough about how much I love this skin, so I’ll just shut up about it already, except to say that this is a darker colourway, Au Lait, and that my favourite part about it are the lips, which seem to capture the constantly-evolving Gwyneth Bento head shape perfectly. I’m wearing a lot of Mesange eyes recently; I think I’ve mentioned I like them because they’re Omega appliers (Genesis appliers as well) and I can’t be bothered with re-situating a different pair of mesh eyes every day! These are the Sekhmet Eyes, and they’re also at The Chapter 4 this month. As almost always, Gwyneth is in the Maitreya Lara mesh body, and this is the Catwa Catya Bento mesh head.

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More Book Forest details!

Here are some more book forest details We’ve moved a little deeper into the forest; you can see the Cerridwen’s Cauldron Fae Waystone from here as well as the Book Door, though it’s obscured by the mist that will probably cover everything in this space quite a lot of the time once it’s done. Well, in my windlight at least: I’m not going to put down mist because it makes the lag-beast happy! (In case you’re curious, the windlight is Alchemy Immortals Foggy Morning.) Next to Gwyneth is one of the lovely pieces from that amazing Storybook Gacha by BananaN that started this whole “Book Forest” thing. It’s the Scene 3 item. I love the tree with the little ladder. In the distance and partly obscured by trees, you can see one of the most beautiful bits of the Raindale Maplemoor Gacha, the Maplemoor Bridge. I’ll put up a more close-up photo of it once I get that side of the Book Forest detailed; for now imagine that the mist comes right up to the edge of the bridge and obscures everything beyond it. Luckily, the windlight does that pretty well! You can get all the beautiful Maplemoor items at this month’s The Crossroads event.

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Mist, and a lamppost.

I like the idea of the mist obscuring all areas of the sim platform that haven’t been built yet. It gives me both plausible deniability and the ability to procrastinate, as I have a lot of other projects coming due shortly and I won’t be able to get back to building for a week or so, probably. But of course, a good lamppost can see you through (or at least to the edge of) the mist, and this one is another one of the beautiful Raindale items, the Maplemoor Lantern. I love discovering new things in SL. The book paths, again, are from Una, part of the Book Road set, and the trees are The Little Branch‘s White Birch Cluster.

No style card today, as it’s all in the text; links appear above as necessary.

Spiffy photos taken with the indispensible aid of my LumiPro. I never build Book Forests without it!

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by Three Knots

Shaggy Cat Story

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Baby, take off your coat…

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Real slow….

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Baby, let down your hair…

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Just let it all hang down there….

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Baby, take off your dress…

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Yes, yes, yes….

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You can leave your CAT on…

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You can leave your CAT on…

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You can leave your CAT on!

With apologies to the monstrous and daunting songwriting talent of Randy Newman, of course. I changed only a few lines in the song, but I think it kinda works!

I don’t know what came over me: must be these Crazy and Cute Cat Slippers from Death Row Designs. They’re at The Crossroads. 

YouTube: Original Randy Newman recording of “You Can Leave Your Hat On”

Style Card:
Baby, take off your Coat: Rebel Hope, Charlize Mesh Coat, Red
Baby, take down your Hair: Truth, Ivana; Truth, Tyne
Baby, take off your Dress: Mimikri, JouJou Feather Trim Dress, Black
You can leave your CAT on: Death Row Designs, Crazy and Cute Cat Slippers (Available NOW at The Crossroads!)
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa, Catya Bento Mesh Head
Eyes: Mesange, Serendipity Eyes (Omega eye appliers)
Skin:  Pink Fuel, Sabine, Catwa Bento face applier in Porcelain (NEW at the Pink Fuel Main Store!)
Hands: Vista, Bento Prohands
Lingerie:
Top Half: Big, Beautiful Doll: Miriam Lingerie Set, Black
Stockings: F’N’Hawt: XHigh Net Stockings Cat
Nails: ZOZ, New Year’s Nails (Dark) (Available NOW at Cosmopolitan!)
Flying Cats: Half Deer: Winged Cats
Armchair: Death Row Designs, Soft Pink Moods Chair
Home Cloud, Moon, Stars: 8f8, Dreamer’s Cloudland
Cloud and ladder, extra small clouds, Infiniti, Stairway to Heaven

Spiffy photos taken with the indispensible aid of my LumiPro. I never make terrible song puns involving lots of flying cats without it!

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by Three Knots

Beginning a Book Forest

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Gwyneth:

I’m building a book forest. Yes, that’s right: a book forest. I got inspired by this gacha at The Guardians, the Storybook Gacha by BananaN. One of the rares is a Book Door! And I was thinking, what would you find if you walked through a Book Door? I’d come across this great set from Una, the Book Road, after I played an Una gacha at a past Fantasy Gacha Carnival, and I’ve been  meaning to use it and blog it every since, but life and my kitchen (don’t even ask!) and sickness got in the way, so it’s been on a shelf in my inventory for months now. I also have this great Book Tree from HarshLands that I’ve used in other places before and photographed on a couple of occasions.

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Building a Book Forest

Building a book forest, as it turns out, takes some time. I designated a portion of the sim platform to put it on and then began laying out paths. Now, I love to shop (tell us something we don’t know, Gwen!), and so when I got to check out some pre-release items that’ll be at The Crossroads, which opens today, 3 January, I discovered the magical work of Keira Raindale. Raindale has an absolutely gorgeous gacha coming out at The Crossroads, Maplemoor. It includes, among other gorgeous things which I’ll show you as I continue to build and photograph the Book Forest, the gorgeous lamp and wishing well you can see in this photograph.

So, what do you need, really, to build a Book Forest?

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You need a head full of stories.

You need a head full of stories, first of all. You must love, really love, story. I as a writer, blogger, songwriter, student, and investigator of all things mystical, love nothing better than a good story, and Gwyneth the character reflects this. Like me, her background is in literature and books; unlike me, her concentration is much more on poetry and high literature than mine is, though I have studied those bits and pieces and have read widely. Behind Gwyneth you can see both the Raindale Wishing Well and the HarshLands BookTree. Gwyneth’s skin is part of a stunning new set from The Plastik. Vae really hit this one out of the park, and this skin, Taryn, in colourway Creme, is available at The Plastik Main Store. The hair is Carrie, new at the Analog Dog Main Store.

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You need a good lamppost.

You need a good lamppost. Possibly several of them. Because there is never a place in the forest where you’ll feel alone if you have something to guide your steps along the Book Road. All of the bits of the Book Road, by the way, are from Una, as are the large books that ring the forest. The trees surrounding the books are the Mystical Birches from The Little Branch. I’ll include a style card below the post, but Gwyneth is wearing a stunning new gown from Junbug, Little Bird. You can pick up the gown at this month’s Fameshed event; this is the Ruby Silk, but it comes, as you’d expect from Junbug, in a fabulous array of colours. I fell in love with this crown at the recently-closed Winter Solstice in the Mystic Realms event; it’s by Muse, the Rose Brooch Crown. This one wasn’t available at the event; I hunted it down at the Muse Main Store.

So, let’s see. You need a head full of stories. You need a good lamppost.

And, oh, yes.

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You need to not be afraid of the dark.

You need to not be afraid of the dark.

There’s more to come: I’m in love with my book forest, and I will show you all of it, once it’s done.

Style Card:
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa, Catya Bento Mesh Head
Hair: Analog Dog (natch!),  Carrie (NEW at the Analog Dog Main Store!)
Eyes: Mesange, Serendipity Eyes (Omega eye appliers)
Skin: The Plastik, Taryn in Creme (NEW at The Plastik Main Store!)
Hands: Vista, Bento Prohands
Nails: ZOZ, New Year’s Nails (Dark) (Available NOW at Cosmopolitan!)
Gown: Junbug, Little Bird (Available NOW at Fameshed!)
Crown: Muse, Rose Brooch Crown
Shoes (even though you can’t see ’em!): Illi, Rosalynn Heels

Scene:
Book Door: BananaN, Book Doorway, from the Storybook Gacha (Available NOW at The Guardians,!)
Book Road: Una, Book Road, Small
Flanking Books: Una, Book Road, Book 5, Book 6, Book 2
Lamppost: Raindale, Maplemoor Lantern, from the Maplemoor Gacha (Coming Soon to The Crossroads, which opens TODAY, 3 January 2017)
Wishing Well: Raindale, Maplemoor Well, from the Maplemoor Gacha (Coming Soon to The Crossroads, which opens TODAY, 3 January 2017)
Forked Tree: The Little Branch, Green Ash
Mushroom Circle: The Roawenwood, Tangleshimmer Grove Fairy Ring (Purple)
Book Tree: HarshLands, Book Tree
Grasses: all from Alirium, Puffy Grass and Downy Grass
Glowing Undergrowth: Cerridwen’s Cauldron, Gaia Undergrowth
Poses: An Lar, all from the Ava Series

Spiffy photos taken with the indispensible aid of my LumiPro. I never build Book Forests without it!

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by Three Knots

Getting Ready

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Gwyneth:

I love decorating. Always have. What I don’t like is the idea that I’m decorating maybe for people other than myself. The Atrium has to be a place where I can receive beings of all races and creeds, and it needs to have an appealing and comfortable atmosphere. I also need to be able to host visitors in the Atrium, so I’ve designated two of the rooms there as guest rooms for visiting folks.

I guess one of the guest rooms should have a more mortal feel to it, and I’ll make the other decidedly Fae. I’m not going to redecorate every damn room just because, say, a vamp or a demon drops by.

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One half of the room was easy enough!

One half of the room was easy enough! That genius at Fallen Gods made this couch. He calls it “Justine”, but I’m not sure if mine actually has a name. Anyway, lots of people can sit on it at once, and it has the plus of coming with many matching pillows and accessories, so it easily fills half a room.

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And of course, I had to get the place ready for Yule as well.

And of course, I had to get the place ready for Yule as well. I found the most amazing tree, created by a designer I’m only just getting to know, Dema Fairport. It’s a tree made out of books! I giggle in anticipation of what Nathaniel will say when I show it to him. She also designed this hearth, which gave me a perfect space to put in all those Fairytale Villains collectibles I picked ups. couple of years ago. And yes, the big box on the floor by the tree is for Nathaniel. I put in a formal dining table because I suspected I’d need one; Bran will be pleased. And of course I had to put the espresso machine in a place of honour, if only so that Nathaniel will have nightmares.

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All that magic is tiring!

All that magic is tiring! Well, for a moment or so. When I am back in my little grove, my energy replenishes more quickly than I thought it would, this being sort of Faerie-Light. In any case, I felt ready to do at least one of the bedrooms.

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Of course, my guests have got to have somewhere comfortable to sit…

Of course, my guests have got to have somewhere comfortable to sit, so I chose this bench from Death Row Designs, because it’s mundane with a bit of a Fae flair to it with the curtain and the sparkly lights and all.

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Here’s the rest of the guest suite!

Here’s the rest of the guest suite! Luckily for me, Death Row Designs makes the most gorgeous stuff, so I just picked up the whole set from them and there you have it!

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Of course, I had to test the bed….

Of course, I had to test the bed. It’s fluffy, yet firm and comfortable. I think my guests will like it very much.

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Whew! Now just one thing left to do.

Whew! Now just one thing left to do….

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Happy Holidays from Gwen Enchanted!

And that’s send a happy Yule greeting to all of you! My beautiful tree, my beautiful hearth, the most important gift all wrapped up and others to follow.

Style Card:
Body: Maitreya
Head: Catwa, Destiny
Hair: Emo-Tions, Avril (Available NOW at Hairology!)
Ears: Mandala, Steking Ears, Season 5
Eyes: Mesange, Kelpie Eyes (Omega appliers)
Skin: Avenge, Arwen Elf Skin (Catwa Head Applier, Maitreya Body Appliers, in Tone Ivory) (Available NOW at  Winter Solstice in the Mystic Realms)
Clothes: Wicca’s Wardrobe, Lilly, Winter Dreams (Available NOW at  Winter Solstice in the Mystic Realms!)
Crown: Aisha, Holly Crown, Black and Gold (Available NOW at We❤ RP)
Jewellery: Empyrean Forge, Wassail Necklace (Available NOW at Winter Solstice in the Mystic Realms!)
Shoes: Violetility, Fairy Heels

The Scene:
Couch: Fallen Gods, Justine
Fireplace: {e}lusive designs  (Available NOW at The Liaison Collaborative!)
Book Tree: {e}lusive designs, Book Tree (Available NOW at The Liaison Collaborative!)
Fairy Collectibles: Ohmai, Fairytale Villains Collection
The Rose Curtain: Half Deer, Fairy Curtain
The Skybox: Spellbound, Atrium Skybox
Skein: Jian, Christmas Cats, Grey Kitten
Urðr: Pixicat, Sphynx Cat Sitting
Guest Bedroom Furnishings: Death Row Designs, Bed and Breakfast Set, Bed and Breakfast Bench. (Bench Available NOW at The Liaison Collaborative!) (B&B Set Available at NOW at The Crossroads!)

Spiffy photos taken with the indispensible aid of my LumiPro. I never decorate for Yule without it!

 

by Three Knots

All Other Things Being Equal…

Sometimes, a great use of colour can make something plain appear extraordinary.

My return to full-time work in the Real World has left little time for blogging, and for this I’m sorry. Much of my SL time is slated for the Visionaire course, which I heartily recommend if you have a burning desire to improve your SL photography and learn many amazing and cool things about taking photographs in Second Life.

Even though I am not around as much for roleplaying or blogging, the Second Life timeline marches on! Which means that yesterday, the 4th of November, there was a brand-new round of We

Evangeline Miles, the marvel who has captured and enraptured us all with her designs at Evie’s Closet for many years now, has taken a relatively simple dress and made of it a colour feast.

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And the thing is, Evie can make *brown* look good.

And the thing is, Evie can make brown look good. I paired the Anghared dress in brown with Wasabi Pills’ recent Fifty Linden Fridays release of the lovely Dakota braid and added something also fairly recent from The Plastik, the Hallow choker, which make me think of last spring’s trip to Glastonbury.  This pose is from Bauhaus Movement, from their The Way You Like It series.

On the left, we have the purple colour with Wasabi Pills’ Nahia hair, recently released at The Crossroads event. On the right, you can see the red colour; here Gwyneth is wearing Monso‘s Momo updo, new at Fameshed this month. Both poses are from an lar, the Citrine Series, also available at this month’s We .

Here are the grey and blue colours. Gwyneth in grey is wearing No Match No Word; in blue, she’s in Tukinowaguma‘s Edfeldt, which you can still pick up at The Liaison Collaborative. The pose on the left is from an lar‘s Ava series, available at the new Coven event, and on the right, the pose is from !bang, one of the Ice Queen poses.

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Finally, here’s the pink colour.

Finally, here’s the pink colour. Hair and jewellery are from Emo-tions, the Arosa set, which includes the tiara and necklace pictured here. The hair is also available at this month’s We , as is the pose, which again is from the an lar Citrine series.

In all these photos, Gwyneth is wearing the Maitreya mesh body, the Catwa Destiny head, the Mandala Steking Season 5 Ears, SLink Pointe feet, ChicChica Fairy shoes, and my favourite new DeeTaleZ Catwa applier evah, Gwendoline! Because, duh; I’ll buy anything named “Gwen”. The background structure is Exposeur‘s Stone Arch, which I’ve had for absolutely ages.

Spiffy photos taken with the indispensible aid of my LumiPro. I never write straight-up fashion blog posts about a single dress at We