DAWN AFTER BATTLE

The battle was vicious and I broke my sword early in the evening. My blade was useless, I threw it aside and fought with magick. Even as sorceress and commander I barely survived.

All night long we fought for control of these stone walls and finally drove them up into the towers. The last few jumped from the parapets when it became clear that I would show them no mercy. As they fell they cursed me and this place.

After the battle was over and the remains cleared away, I threw open the gate and watched the sun rise from the front steps.

I have looked into the Stone of Vision and seen the farthest ends of this ancient kingdom, all the way to the shores of the sea. I shall rebuild it and enlarge its borders into the barbaric wilderness.

The throne is mine.

Hat: Hat Mechanic “Lilith” (also includes a crest, veils and eyes)
Coat: Angry Monkey “Coat of Wulfric” (also includes bracers)
Boots: Cats of a Feather “Minotaur Classic Casual Hooves”
Gloves and Bracelets: LouLou &Co. “Enigma”
Shirt: RFyre “Providence” (part of outfit)
Pants: Ibizarre “Leather Pants”
Skin: Curio “:GP: Acorn Defeat [Dark] Battle Royale-Shiner 2”
Eyes: Poetic Color “Night Rain”
Poses: Animazoo, ImpEle and Long Awkward Pose
Location: Angmar

Love,
Serene

p.s. I met the proprietor of "Cats of a Feather" on a random shopping trip when I noticed him sporting some fabulous cyber legs. He mainly makes cyber-neko things like legs and a few ears and tails, and these minotaur hooves seem to be a new direction. He says that the cyber hooves should be released in a week or two, in various metals. *grins* I love finding a new store. ... When I saw the hooves I thought of my collection of "Hat Mechanic" headgear. The only problem I have with Hat Mechanic stuffs is that it's hard to find other things that are sufficiently over-the-top to wear with them. :P

A BIRD IN BLADERUNNER CITY

In my dreams I can fly. I see myself able to climb with these wings up to the highest level of the City. The beautiful upper buildings seem to hover over the dirt below, daring gravity to have the hubris to pull them down. But inevitably I go back down to wander in the the streets below, the ones I know in real life. Perhaps I do not know enough about the shining buildings overhead to dream about them for long. I can't even imagine what they look like on the inside.

My bird self walks into the buildings on the ground level, claws clicking on the pavement.

I must have stared at this paper unicorn for several minutes. Where have I seen it before?

I didn't know that a dream could last long enough to explore a whole city. I wandered through its several levels, above and below, flying or walking on catwalks. Most of it was dark and lifeless, the public streets commercial, without any sign of warmth or friendship.

If this city has a redeeming point I suppose it must be the art. I found several collections: some landscapes placed openly behind gallery doors, more visceral works tucked into odd corners. It was fascinating, but hard to understand ... what does it mean? (There was a literal barrier here, placed between me and the paintings ... )

Below in the Underground, I found the art more streetwise. Now this I understand. This street artist painted beauty back into his life ... reclaiming the lost sky and sun, with a whimsical beach and even an umbrella to protect himself from sunburn. Gotta love the dark humor here.

Headgear: downdowndown “Yatsu-Me”
Artificial Legs: downdowndown “artificial legs”
Bag: Chabinns “Crow Feather Bag” (Designers United II)
Belt: Blitzed “Mechanic Belt”
Gloves: Plastik “Annamalie Gloves”
Shirt: Zenith “Tank Shirt” (brown)
Hair: Deviant Kitties “Uruha” (black)
Skin: Rockberry “Character Skin Lily” (adjustable lip tint)
Eyes: Poetic Color “Night Rain”
Poses: by Animazoo and VPoses
Location: Bladerunner City

Love,
Serene

p.s. Bladerunner City is a lovely homage to the film but on another level it is an ongoing artists' experiment. I look forward to seeing how it develops. The city is built three-dimensionally on several levels, similar to the worlds depicted in Bladerunner and The Fifth Element, several levels of wealth and technology, and layers of meaning. People are still arguing about the ambiguities and dilemmas presented in the film and the book that inspired it. Enjoy.

THE HAUNTED COAST

"Thou wast all that to me, love,
For which my soul did pine,
A green isle in the sea, love,
A fountain and a shrine,
All wreathed with fairy fruits and flowers,
And all the flowers were mine. ...

Ah, dream too bright to last!
Thou starry Hope that didst arise
But to be overcast!" ... [1]

Quoting these lines of morbid poetry, they say she went to walk, disregarding all protestations of the unsuitability of the weather. Indeed it was a dark and stormy night, but the sleety showering rain could not keep her within doors.

A tradesman saw her standing soaking wet at the cliffside as he hurried for the hostel gate. He merely shrugged. "Nutter" he muttered.


She never returned but they say she still walks the hostel halls.

Outfit: PixelDolls “Timepiece 001”
Boots: Coco “Riding Boots”
Ring: Alchemy Immortalis “Wytlesey Solitaire Signet” (texture change)
Hair: Diversity “Elysia”
Skin: IC Skins “.:RIO:. Gia . Avant Garde - Red”
Eyes: Poetic Color “Night Rain”
Poses: Animazoo, Long Awkward Pose, S2
Location: Empress and Hierophant

Love,
Serene

[1] excerpted from "To One in Paradise" by Edgar Allen Poe

p.s. Depending on my mood, sometimes I like Poe. Sometimes he just irritates me. I compare him to Austen, whose heroines collide with the tragedies in their lives without being defeated. Much more sensible.

AUTUMN SO BRIEF

autumn so brief
to winter falls

last leaf descends
year's ending calls


Time passes quickly. Use some of it for Love.

Scarf: Kunstkammer “Comfy Cozy Scarves” Harvest (texture change)
Bodysuit: mijn.t “Pepe is my Cat Bodysuit” Purple (also includes turtleneck)
Skirt: Maitreya “HighSkirt” Chocolate
Socks: C’est la Vie “socks argyle purple”
Shoes: Duh “Women’s Cowboy Boots” Brown
Hair: Deviant Kitties “Callie” Coal (texture change headband)
Skin: Curio “:GP: Acorn [Dark] Breeze-Sepia 2”
Eyes: Poetic Color “Night Rain”
Poses: by ImpEle and Animazoo
Location: iTutu “Forest Skybox” and “Fallen Tree Chair”

Love,
Serene

UNDER THE SEA

Who knows what lives under the sea? ... Could be anything down there.

Like most of Tekeli-li's creations, the Helmet and Pauldrons are scripted to change colors on the metals and gems. Fabulous.

Helmet: Tekeli-li “Kraken” Helmet
Armor: Tekeli’li “Dagon” Split Pauldrons (also includes Pauldrons with Cape)
Skin: The Stringer Mausoleum “Deep Skins-C4-Shangra Mer”
Eyes: Poetic Color “Night Rain”

Love,
Serene

THE DANGEROUS DEEP

The other day, I went Snorkeling out of a little motorboat some distance away from shore. After some hours I relaxed. Finally grudgingly I began to think about going back to the boat and heading for shore. In spite of wearing a t-shirt, the back of my neck and calves were starting to feel hot and tight from sunburn.

Just as I was turning around, mentally mumbling, something flashed by me in the water and frightened me. It was big, passing so close I could feel the hairs on my arms stand on end. I thought there weren't supposed to be sharks in this water! Before I could get a real look at it, it disappeared into some sea weeds.

Took a minute to pick up my jaw off the sand and then swam around the outside of the seaweed bed and peer in. I didn't have the nerve to go in.


Avatar: Grendel’s Children “Deep Sea Siren (Female Purple)”

Love,
Serene

MENTAL HEALTH MOMENT

Some days don't you need to just take a mental health moment? I think I'll just close my eyes and sit here a while. Actually bunnies make pretty good therapists I've found.

Okay some moments take longer than others.


Shirt and Hoodie: End “Knit Hoodie” (includes t-shirt)
Pants: Sey “Soft Jeans”
Shoes: House of Curios “Bolts Sneakers”
Hair: booN “ZGO223 Hair”
Eyes: Poetic Color “Night Rain”
Skin: Curio “:GP: Acorn [Dark] Lovely-High Tea 1”
Location: HappyMood

Love,
Serene

p.s. Thanks for bearing with me. Dad had his sinuses cauterized, I had to buy a new laptop, and then Dad cracked his kneecap. I may be driving him around quite a bit to run his errands. *sigh*

THE HALLOWEEN SPIRIT 4/4: best laid plans

Well you know what they say about the best laid plans. I had Halloween laid out: On Friday October 30, finish up the halloween decorating, carve pumpkin with my daughter, last touches to costumes. In the evening, I would attend the Illusions Ball in costume, then swing by the Loco Pocos Trick or Treating and a couple of haunted houses after she went to sleep. I saved them for the end of the month because for me, it's more fun that way. On Halloween it would be all RL cause, well, I do have a Life.

Here's what really happened: on Thursday my Dad dropped by in the afternoon, and we had fun with my daughter a while. This put a pinch in my shopping plans, but I figured I could make it up later. Walmart is open 24 hours. He stayed till about 7:30 and got up to go home before dark. He doesn't see very well in the dark for driving. A minute later he came back with a bloody hanky at his face. He's been having bad nosebleeds that won't stop, and had a couple visits to the Emergency Room already that week. It was getting dark and I figured he shouldn't drive with one hand pinching his nose with the other, so I took him to the hospital. Carrying sleeping toddler, bag of baby essentials, coats etc., we wait there for forty-five minutes to see the doctor. By then the gushing blood miraculously stopped, so I took him home. The next day he had early surgery, and I picked him up afterward because he couldn't drive home after the anesthesia. Took him back to my house to keep an eye on him for a couple of hours but he looked OK, so I ran around trying to do Halloween decorations. Forget about carving a jack-o-lantern or pumpkin pies. I made Dad and daughter lunch instead. Run through the day and evening like a madwoman, no time for the Illusions Ball.

On Halloween Sara and I had so much fun getting ready and in the afternoon she went trick-or-treating with her Daddy while I stayed home to terrorize all the kids in the neighborhood in my witch costume. Finally late at night, after they came home she slipped into a sugar coma, and my husband was vegetating in front of the television. I turned on the computer and tried to salvage a few of my Second Life plans. I had two hours, so I ran over to Loco Pocos and Bloodmoon Manor.

Well, I had planned to wear the Loco Pocos Skeleton Avatar and the Orange KatatOnik Dollie Dress. It was late and I was the only one there.

I really did like this haunted house. This one was, well, the grossest. The Art Maze Haunted House was great fun too: it had puzzles and pieces you had to find, and some very nice treat bags all over the house to find too. I intended to show you some of their prizes too but, you know what they say about plans ... :)

This was the one place in the house that made me jump. There were all kinds of gross abbatoir sights, bloodspatter etc. that doesn't rattle me, but this guy startled me as he suddenly popped out of the wall. Sweet.

Oh, yeah I was wearing (still):
Skin: The Plastik (from their Halloween Gift)
Hair: Calico Ingmann Creations "Luna"
Jacket: DeLa “Short Jacket Bette”
Corset/Shorts: from Cupcakes "Brocade Dress Halloween" (i think 75L?)
Pants: Adam and Eve "Catwalk Leather Pants" (0n underwear layer)
Skirt: Silentsparrow "Gutter Glitter"
Socks: Miel "Lo Refurbished Socks" (100L at the Dock)
Shoes: Ducknipple "Harry"

Love,
Serene