Slithering in the White Nights

Sun is returning from its long sleep. These are the nights to be careful when it barely sets, lingering stubbornly around, threatening the night-dwellers with its radiance without a moment of rest.

We become bound indoors: draw heaviest of curtains, head to the basements, perhaps even journey to south where they still have proper nights even in the summer.

Unless one happens to be either extremely adventurous or inexcusably lazy, or a bit of both. Then you can rely on learning where and when the burning rays draw their blazing patterns and which parts of the terrace are safe for a few hours.

The white nights are warm, the light merely a soft haze instead of invading rays. The sensation — or perhaps the promise of danger in the silent air — makes even borrowed blood run faster in the cold veins, makes long cold limbs stretch and slither and bask in the shadow of the sun once more. Just for the summer.

The body suit is a part of an outfit by SAKIDE and the snake jewelry and shoes are by House of Rain, both available in World Goth Fair. The tattoo by Fallen Gods Inc. can be won in a gacha at Fantasy Gacha Carnival.

Scene: Home (Private)

Body: Skin: Pink Fuel – Doll V2 Vamp | Hair: MINA Hair – Selenia Materials | Eyes: IKON – Deadshine Eyes Crimson | Hands & Feet: Slink | Mesh Body: Maitreya | Tattoo: Fallen Gods Inc. – Deathcall, Mark of the Ouroboros Black*

Outfit: Body Suit: [ SAKIDE ] Merula Outfit* | Jewelry & Shoes: House of Rain – Save Your Serpent Bracelets, Necklace & Shoes (Slink High)*

Poses: Part of the Justine divan by ~Libertine~

The Goblin Queen

“More loots. That’s what it’s all about, you know, being a Queen. You get to choose first from everything’s that’s raided, stolen, scavenged and generally looted and pillaged all over.”

“See my helmet? From the leader of some fancy wing zooming folks …somewhere. If not a leader, at least an officer. At least it looks like it, yah? Freaking fanciest thing I’ve ever worn, had to have at least ten sticky-handed gobs kicked in the trenches for trying to claim it first, the ingrates.”

“The sword? From some barbarian fellow. Made a lot of noise, was practically naked, completely not poison-dart-proofed. ‘s heavy like seven hells, but it looks impressive!”

“The important thing is to make sure you have fancy boots, tallest helm and a lot of magic on your side. ‘s what they respect: big helmets and shiny footwear. ‘n some blood magic goes a loooong way.”

This post is befittingly about the Fantasy Faire Blogger Challenge: My New Shiny. Before this Faire I had never heard of LURE, Fallen Arms or Cole’s Corner, all of which are new shinies for me. I’m especially recommending catching the upcoming original music and particle show by ColeMarie Soleil, the creator of Cole’s Corner. The encore of her breathtakingly enchanting performance will take place in Ichi-go Ichi-e on Sunday, May 3rd at 12-2pm.

You can find Eclectica and Cole’s Corner in Ichi-go Ichi-e, Alegria Studio in Aurora, Spyralle and Wasabi Pills in Odyssey, *~*HopScotch*~* in Poppetsborough and LURE and Fallen Arms in Tangleshimmer Grove.

Scene: Tangleshimmer Grove by Searlait Nitschke at Fantasy Faire

Body: Skin: LURE – Desire Greenskin* | Eyes: IKON – Deadshine Eyes Crimson (Fiery) | Face Markings: *~*HopScotch*~* Warpaint Dotted & Vision* | Ears: Eclectica – Gargoyle Ears Beastly* | Hair: Wasabi Pills – Jay Licorice* | Hands: Slink

Outfit: Outfit: [ SAKIDE ] Tatsu Silk Purple* | Boots: ALEGRIA – Minerva Boots Light Gold* | Helmet & Vambraces: Spyralle – Wind Rider Coromell* | Sword: Fallen Arms – For the Living Sword (back sheath)* | Spell Effects & Companion: Cole’s Corner – Powder Puff Hand Dancers (bloody) & Gremlin Fae (purple/black)* 

Poses: Exposeur – Call the Shots 4 | Poise – Vogue 7 | c(Two Cats) Magical 4 

Gothulon Travel

“Explore the dark reaches of the universe! Come see the space bunnies of Fluffzoid 8!” That’s what the ad said. Absolutely irresistible. There was an adventure to be had! Space bunnies to see! No one said a thing about waiting in line. At least there were comfy gear chairs.

“Excuse me, sir, I would like to book an adventure trip to Fluffzoid 8. Yes, I’ll pay extra for guaranteed space bunny observation. Yes, I’ll pay extra for the camouflage cloak to get really close to them. Yes, I’ll pay extra for… what life insurance? They’re fluffy bunnies! Lepus galaxicus pythonae! Why would I… oh alright, if it’s mandatory.”

“Holotickets securely marked on the genetic display, it’s time for an adventure! The trip seems to take place in adorably archaic saucers of beam transport, guess it involves close experiences of the star systems on the way.”

“Now to prepare these elderberries as bait and all will be absolutely perfect!”

Gothulon Travel at Futurewave might or might not be able to send you to interesting locations, it all depends on the amount of imagination in your genetic compilation. It is fun to visit, regardless! In case you find yourself confused: it is not a shop, it’s an amusement location for hanging out and taking photos in.

A lot of Gothulon Travel is made out of items for sale in Futurewave, like the usb2 tree by 22769 ~ [bauwerk], gear chairs by NeverWish and small flying saucers by Bliensen + MaiTai. As for the traveler look, the eyes and makeup by Pin Me Down, face tattoo and modules by Spyralle, dress by [ SAKIDE ], boots by NeverWish, necklace by Chaos, Panic, and Disorder! and the helmet by Anachron are also all available in Futurewave.

Scene: Gothulan Travel – Futurewave, includes for example furniture from 22769 ~ [bauwerk] (usb2 tree), NeverWish (gear chair) and Bliensen + MaiTai (ufo on table) available in Futurewave, the little green aliens landed over from MishMish.

Body: Skin: Pink Fuel – Doll v2 Crystal Pure BlkBrow | Eyes: Pin Me Down – Mecha 3* | Liner & Lips: Pin Me Down – Tri & Metallic* | Hair: LOQ – Caffe Latte Jet Black | Face Tattoo & Decor: Spyralle – Astra Tattoo Green & Sensory Enhancement Module Astra*

Outfit: Dress: [ SAKIDE ] – Leyana Dress White XS* | Boots: NeverWish – Teal/White Wheel Boots* | Necklace: Chaos Panic & Disorder! – Neptune Nights Necklace* | Helmet: Anachron – Harmonic Helmet Glow Bubble*

Poses: N/A | Part of the chair. | Kirin – Nina Pose 4

After the Fall

Day 221, AF549. Woke up to the sounds outside. Screeching. Went to check. Dispersed the swarm, exterminated the stragglers and the stubborn. Light too harsh in mornings, why can’t they ruckus in the night?

Day 235, AF549. The right-side radar implant jams a little. I should have it checked the next time I leave the outpost. With the sunspot storms that’ll be another cycle and a half still. Better calibrate an emergency back-up, just in case.

Day 291, AF549. Performed the obligatory three-cycle scan-and-maintenance on the outer structures. It holds up well, not even a scratch from the screechers. Worth every exchange I did for it.

Day 301, AF549. The light is dimming. If I’m lucky, I might be able to get supplies quarter cycle early. If I’m not, this is just a herald of a new weather change. Or environment. Like that time the radiation rains hit the first time.

Day 336, AF549. Finished all my discs on The Boredom of the Past. I know, I know, worthless fiction, but it keeps me going. Just thinking of a world where everything is mundane and reliable and steady is a relief. Besides, the main clerk is just dreamy.

Almost everything in the whole scenario is from Futurewave. I turned the dress by [ SAKIDE ] and the chaps by .::Aftershok::. into a top and pants combination, although it creates some intriguing cuts in the process, since they really are chaps, not pants. The arm warmers by @->~ISD and the mask by .::Aftershok::. completed the selective covering. The radar eyes from *~By Snow* come with a HUD for selecting colours for everything, including the moving radar and the blips on it. The skin by Pink Fuel has an included layer for face glow amongst gazillion options and I’ll be playing with it more in posts where most of my face remains visible. The poses by {Rook} worked wonderfully with the ray guns by GALLACTIC and [bauwerk] is responsible for the most perfect post-apocalyptic safety outpost ever. The hair by Alice Project is available in The Thrift Shop.

Scene: Garden of Dreams – The Desert* | [bauwerk] – The Outpost*

Body: Skin: Pink Fuel – Sora Alabaster Green + Face Glow* | Eyes: ~*By Snow*~ Radar Eyes* | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Hair: Alice Project – Danyelle* | Hands & Feet: Slink | Nails: Beautiful Freak – Binary Nails*

Outfit: Dress: [ SAKIDE ] – Virtuality Dress* | Chaps: .::Aftershok::. – Titan* | Mask: .::Aftershok::. – Asunder Mask v.1 Green* | Arm Warmers: @->~ISD – DarkNet Warmers Green* | Ray Guns: GALLACTIC – Ray Gun Black/Grey* | Shoes: Renegade – Climbstra Platform Sandals Black

Poses: {Rook} G5 | G1 | G1 | G4

Not Quite Twins

Does it really matter if one prefers pastel glow and the other dragon scales? If one’s hair bounces in curly pigtails and the other goes for crimson red with black streaks?

Does the colour of the dress really matter? Black or white, red or purple. To a point it does: the covers reflect inner choices, decisions, preferences. Personality shows in palettes, poses, fabrics, styles. 

Once you go past the clothes, past the colours, past the surface, you’ll realize that there are more similarities than there are differences. Spices, flavors, nuances do not change the fact that in the larger scale of things we are all the same.

Sisters in different personality wrappings.

Almost everything here is from Gothmas by Gaslight. The skins by Fallen Gods Inc. (now complete with Slink appliers, huzzah!), the surroundings from *~by Nacht and the liner by Pin Me Down can be found in Cursed. The jewelry by Bliensen + MaiTai, shoes by .Enfant Terrible., gothbrellas by Pale Empress (gacha) and the dresses by [ SAKIDE ] are available in Sium.

Scene: *~by Nacht – Chalet d’If, Arch Swing (Winter), GxG Gacha Ultrarare Skelly Chair*

Body: Skin: Fallen Gods Inc. – Anemia Opal & Draco* | Hair: Alice Project – Mika & Bethany* | Eyes: IKON – Lucid Eyes Optimism & Utopia Eyes Dark Red | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Liner on Draco: Pin Me Down – Julie eyeliner 8* | Hands & Feet: Slink 

Outfit: Dress: [ SAKIDE ] – Silent Dress White & Black* | Shoes: .Enfant Terrible. – Wrapped Heels Skull Vio & Red Black* | Brooch & Earrings: Bliensen + MaiTai – Drusilla Bow Tie/Brooch & Pearl Earrings* | Parasols: Pale Empress – Lacey Gothbrella Purple & Black/Red RARE*

Poses: N/A | {Imeka~} – Katie Pose 1 & Reika Pose 8

Little Helper

I know it’s not yet December, that’s the whole point. Did you really think we bother checking on people then? Everyone expects us around that time. The point is to keep an eye on people around the year, not just for one month.

So, I hope you have tried your best to get to the right list this year. I assure you that the difference between rum bottles and pink oversized sweaters is very clear. The Little Helper Division always follows the rules. We know that if we don’t, there’ll be brown quilting in our future.

For your sake we better have very clear documents and proof on your general level of naughtiness. If we don’t you better hurry, dress in black and indulge in some gothic debaucheries right this moment. We have house appliances in storage if you don’t.

We don’t even have to check our list twice, because we happen to be sufficiently efficient the first time. You just watch out, because Sandy Claws is coming to town and Gothmas is just around the corner!

Gothmas by Gaslight is indeed just around the corner, opening December 15th. Blogger applications are still open if you are so inclined. (Black -is- a festive colour.) The boots and the corset are both by :{MV}: – boots available in Shoetopia and the corset in Genre. The hair and nails by Adoness can be purchased in The Thrift Shop. The feather pauldrons by Zibska are from The Men’s Department. The lipstick by Beautiful Freak is an extremely early teaser for Gothmas by Gaslight and not available yet.

Scene: Studio Skye – Enchanted Tree Tunnel

Body: Skin: Jalwa – Jezebel Vamp Black Brow* | Eyes: Adoness – Bestia Eyes Werewolf* | Liner&Shadow: Beautiful Freak – Obake Makeup Black* | Lipstick: Beautiful Freak – Bad Candy Blood Red Lower* | Hair & Shaved Hairbase: Adoness – Andromeda Scarlet* | Hands: Slink – Avatar Enhancement Hands Elegant | Blender (makes hands black): Orc Inc – Blender Coal* | Nails: Adoness – Slink Enhancement Fingernails Queen Cathrine*

Outfit: Top: GALLACTIC – Element Solid Black* | Pants: GALLACTIC – Earthfall Grey* | Corset: :{MV}: – Dominion Corset Vitae | Boots: :{MV}: – Derezzed Boots Vitae | Shoulder Feathers: Zibska – Keallach Pauldrons* | Collar: SAKIDE – Attitude Collar Red* | Earring: Zibska – Tess*

Poses: !bang – Mini Series – Overcome 2 | HopScotch – Short Tempered 4 | aDORKable Poses – Love Gun II GroundSit2

What If?

It is the night for dark secrets, mysteries and myths. It is time for imagination to dwell in all the frightful spots at the back of your head, indulge in the startles, channel your mundane concerns into the fear of unknown and improbable, with that faint little voice within asking ‘what if?’ 

It is time for delicious treats, delicious thoughts. Make your fears tangible, taste them on the tip of your tongue, reach for more, find ways to combat them by becoming one yourself.

Take comfort in the knowledge that soon the visitation will be over and everything will be back to safe normalcy: all the monsters will be back under your bed or in your closet, haunting you only in the moments of your weakness.

But for now, tonight: dance with demons, inhale the fear, let the quiet what-if whisper grow into a roar: What if it is all true? Why couldn’t it be? After all, This Is Halloween.

The skirt by SAKIDE is a part of a special Obscure Dress in her Halloween House, the horns by Cerridwen’s Cauldron can be won in a gacha, the eyes by Pin Me Down are available in Flux, and the posture collar and necklace by [The Forge] are from Horrorfest. The bloodstained hair colour dye HUD by Alice Project is a part of her Halloween Massacre Specials: if you haven’t yet visited, go grab a free bloodstained hairdo, today is the last day!

Scene: Garden of Dreams – The Tomb*

Body: Skin: +Nuuna+ – B&W Ninja | Eyes: Pin Me Down – Vibrant Eyes Red* | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Eye makeup lines: +Nuuna+ – Ara Black & Eyeliner | Face Tattoo: Fallen Gods Inc. – Dead Man’s Grin | Hair: Alice Project – Steph w Bloodstained HUD* | Hands: Slink – Avatar Enhancement Hands Elegant1 | Hand Blender (makes them black) & Nail Polish: Orc Inc* | Horns: Cerridwen’s Cauldron – Wyrm Horns

Outfit: Skirt: SAKIDE – Obscure Skirt Blood* | Top: World’s End Garden – Romance Le Noir | Collar: [The Forge] – Battelina Posture Collar* | Necklace: [The Forge] – Battelina Ultra Rare Silver* 

Poses: N/A | Orc Inc – Claws 3 | Exposeur – Back to Black 6

Even Papercranes Dream of Flying

Stuck in a mobile, twirling slowly around the same routine every moment of their lives from the creation to destruction: same motion, same string tying them in place with no escape, with no ability to escape.

Yet they feel the call of the sky, long for freedom so much they could taste it if they had mouths, know what it would feel like to spread their wings and fly. Know and dream.

For if they were not meant to fly, why would they have wings?

The dress by SAKIDE, the papercranes by Vespertine and the nail appliers by Orc Inc are all from Love Donna Flora event. The hair and roses by Ohmai can be purchased in her booth at Hair Fair. The necklace by HANDverk is available in the current round of Zodiac.

Scene: Forest (mostly): Studio Skye – Enchanted Forest | Papercranes: Vespertine – Papercrane Mobile Baroque & Mix Static

Body: Skin: Essences – Noodles Light Rose 02 Brunette | Hair & Roses: !Ohmai – Kun & Rosie Posies | Eyes: Poetic Colors – Cosmic Dream | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Hands: Slink – Mesh Hands (av) Casual | Nails: Orc Inc – Pastel Shimmer

Outfit: Dress: [SAKIDE] – Lace Bonbon Dress* | Necklace: [HANDverk] – Lion Tail Necklace Bright* | Ring: Mandala – Motsumame Ring Red/Gold

Poses & Held Cranes: Vespertine – Papercrane Wearable Props

The Night Flight

There’s a feeling of depth in the sky when it darkens. It reaches down, covers the world, becomes a more tangible part of it. Gone is the illusion of distance, of the various shades dancing on the edges of blue covering the heights above us: during the night sky is all around us.

The night makes it all a part of the same in our mindscapes, closes all distances, brings everything within touch range. It hides the sharp lines of logic and reality from our eyes and lures out the other senses, invites imagination, becomes a sensation instead of a sight.

Enough so that if you look up to the calling depths around and above, you could almost believe that all it takes is letting go and diving upwards. For the sky is just another sea.

The feather hat and accompanying accessories by Zibska are available in The Gallery Gift Shop. The Concubine dress by [ SAKIDE ] can be found in World Goth Fair Port Seraphine. The skin by +Nuuna+ and makeup by Beautiful Freak can be purchased from World Goth Fair Cursed. Speaking of World Goth Fair, it will close 12 hours later than originally intended since it opened 12 hours late: you have time to goth-shop until noon SLT on June 1.

Body: Skin: +Nuuna+ Khalida Skin 1 Goth | Eyes: Repulse – Cyborg v3 Eyes Violet | Makeup: Beautiful Freak – Nierika Eye Makeup Black* | Hair:  Lamb. – Cities In Dust Milk | Wings: [europa] – Nyxus wings Magpie

Outfit: Dress: [ SAKIDE ] – Concubine Dress White* | Head Accessories: Zibska – Loon Zeyphr & Zeyphr Orbit*

Poses: Exposeur – Spinning 2 | Orc Inc – Vamp 3

Black and White

Sometimes they are both red. Every story has at least two sides to it and often one is painted black, the other white. Fairytales do this, many books and movies do this, presenting the side that the main character is not on in simplistic unlikeable hues. One can always recognize a more realistic story from having more than two sides, none of them truly evil or good, but with more developed agendas of their own.

Despite all this we all enjoy a story with clear cut division. We were raised on fairytales, with heroes and villains, with arch-enemies worth an epic struggle. There are many such pairings in fantasy, but one of the more popular ones in recent years has been vampires and werewolves. Both traditionally evil, simply different viewpoints to their supernatural existences. Vampires tend to at least pretend to be urban, civilized, cultured and decadent. Werewolves are seen to represent nature, uncontrolled passions, rage and brutality.  Maybe that is why they have been so popular lately: a step away from black and white, both dancing in their own shades of grey, always ready to be covered in red.

No matter which side of the red you favor, both skins by Fallen Gods Inc. are currently available in the We Love Role-play event and you can locate the werewolf’s scale pauldrons by [HANDverk] in there as well. Both outfits are new releases by [ SAKIDE ] and both hairdos are by Alice Project, the vampire’s curls can be found in the current round of FaMESHed.

Vampire: Skin: Fallen Gods Inc. – Ghost xx War SB* | Hair: Alice Project – Serena* | Eyes: Repulse – Mystic Eyes Red | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Lipstick: M.O.C.K. Cosmetics – Sarah Jane’s Bloody Lipcolor | Blood: A Netherworld – Mmmm Blood! | Outfit: [ SAKIDE ] – Prima Outfit & Voulez-vous Corset* | Necklace: [HANDverk] Pearl Necklace Black/Silver*

Werewolf: Skin: Fallen Gods Inc. – Fur xx Red/beast runner* | Hair: Alice Project – Sari* | Eyes: Repulse – Lacerated v2 Green | Lashes: Redgrave – 39 – Luscious | Outfit: [ SAKIDE ] – Lush Top Black, Lush Leather Shorts & Appeal Boots Black* | Pauldrons: [HANDverk] Scale Pauldrons Black Small*

Poses: aDORKable Poses – Melancholy 4&4M | Exposeur – Call the Shots 3&3M