Otherworldly

At the December round of We Love Role-Play I came across a new and very promising creator. The brand is called Portal and they have just a few releases out so far but the focus on historical clothing captured my interest right away. Their item for WLRP is a classic medieval gown called Marguerite that is rigged for Belleza Freya, Legacy and Maitreya Lara. I hesitated a bit at first since there is only a HUD-driven fatpack available, though this makes sense since at least half the fun with this gown is how you can mix and match the six independently colourable areas (sleeves, pads, bodice, outer skirt, inner skirt and lace). The price point is a little higher than similar all-in-one options from brands like ContraptionN, but on the other hand it is a full gown. So, I picked it up.

The Ice and Fire event opens on April 3rd and of course I will be blogging it. Even though we’re already starting to get crazy busy now that the start of season 8 is less than two weeks away, I wouldn’t want to miss the opportunity to have fun drawing some inspiration from Westeros for a few posts. After all, I have bought all these castles and medieval buildings for a reason!

First up is a beautiful gown that is a collaboration between Faida and Velvet Whip together with one of a set of six pendants by Adam n Eve. For the background, I decided to setup my Iron Throne from Death Row Designs in the Dungan Castle by Fanatik. Not quite the Red Keep, but pretty good! I could have used some dragon skulls for the walls, though.

The September round of We Love Role-Play continues to provide blogging material, this time in the shape of a new outfit from Noble Creations. Mama Erzule has a bit of a voodoo vibe going and consists of hat, top (jacket, bra and accessories all in one piece) and skirt. The set includes three colours (black, burgundy and beige) and comes with sizes for Belleza (Freya and Venus), Maitreya and Slink (Physique and Hourglass). It makes very nice use of materials, seen most clearly in the first picture where I used a light source since the room was so dark. The second shot is taken with a small amount of natural light, for a softer look. The very gothic room is from Death Row Designs and their first Shadow Box series. I really hope they do another because it was great fun.

The first Shadow Box series from Death Row Designs has finally been completed with the release of the sixth box and of course I have an unboxing/reveal to share with you. If you have been following the series, you also know that not only do I have the new Light & Dark furniture sets to showcase but also the bonus Light & Dark houses where all your Shadow Box furniture can be displayed. I have been awaiting these bonus houses very eagerly and I can tell you right away that you will not be disappointed. This time around, I have included two extra still shots with the blog to show the exterior of the houses, but if you prefer to see them first in the video, you can go straight to it instead:

For sexy photos, I often opt for strong colours, like red or black. But here I took a liking to the contrast between the very naughty outfit from deviousMind with the pale ivory colour, which also is reflected in the decor of the room. It actually started with the mesh stockings from Salt & Pepper, since the colour I won from the gacha was this pale cream. I then picked the best match from the “Making You Blush” set by deviousMind (which is available in quite an array of colours, with each set containing to complimentary hues) and pondered where to shoot it. I remembered that I still had the bedroom from December’s Shadow Box setup, though the bed didn’t have any adult poses. Enter the laptop from Dutchie and all of a sudden I had my scene, which I then framed as voyeuristicly viewed through the window. More than enough for a blush, I think!

My apologies in advance for my voice in this video. A persistent cold is keeping my company since the holidays, which is anything but ideal when trying to do a video. However, since the fifth Shadow Box in the first series of six from Death Row Designs came out on January 1st, I didn’t want to wait too long before showing it to you. This time, I had to break out a large villa from Trompe Loeil to fit in both the Light and Dark kitchen sets that made up the fifth box.

To learn more about Shadow Box and how to subscribe, make sure to visit the DRD website linked above. And remember, if you get all six boxes in a series, you will get both a Light and a Dark bonus build. Just one more box to go now!

I have been way too busy the last few days but now I finally managed to make time for setting up and filming the fourth Shadow Box in the first series of six from Death Row Designs. Once again I opted for more of a reveal than an unboxing, since I felt it would not do the items justice to simply rez them out. And there were so many of them that I had to make use of four rooms in my Hartwick Manor from Apple Fall to display both the Light and the Dark version.

To learn more about Shadow Box and how to subscribe, make sure to visit the DRD website linked above. And remember, if you get all six boxes in a series, you will get both a Light and a Dark bonus build.

The third Shadow Box in the first series of six from Death Row Designs was released yesterday. As with the second one, I decided to more of a reveal than an unboxing, to show the items in a planned setup. I admit, the theme of this box threw me for a little loop at first, since it is not the kind of furnishings that I tend to use in Second Life. However, after rezzing everything out, I really took a liking to the Dark version in particular.

To learn more about Shadow Box and how to subscribe, make sure to visit the DRD website linked above. And remember, if you get all six boxes in a series, there is a bonus item at the end.

While I did not manage to win the massive castle from the Bloodcroft Castle Gacha by Death Row Designs, I did come away with some very nice furnishings that I decided to setup in my castle from Fanatik to make a cosy, gothic scene. The fireplace, in particular, is gorgeously detailed. Then I dressed up in the Claire gown from the Muses and took my place as the lady of the manor.

Bento attachments are a good excuse for another video to show them off in the best way. For example, the rares from the newest deviousMind gacha, where the movement created by animating bento bones adds another layer of realism. Well, maybe realism isn’t quite the right word when speaking of a succubus, but it certainly looks good either way! I also took the opportunity to show off some recently acquired companions from HEXtraordinary and Jian as well as a new skin by the Plastik and new hair by Analog Dog. The decor is a mix of Noble Creations and Death Row Designs.

The second Shadow Box from Death Row Designs was released earlier this week, once again presenting a Light and a Dark version of a similar set of decor items. Do note that it says “similar” and not “identical”; the idea with the Shadow Box is not simply to recolour and do some small tweaks to the dark versions—sometimes they can be substantially different, but still on the same basic theme.

As with the first one, I have a video to share, though this is more of a reveal than an unboxing as I really wanted to show the items arranged as I might use them rather than simply rezzed out at random. To learn more about Shadow Box and how to subscribe, make sure to visit the DRD website linked above. And remember, if you get all six boxes in a series, there is a bonus item at the end.

The latter half of May was eaten up by illness and scrambling to meet deadlines, so I am still behind on my reviews. But even though last month’s We Love Role-Play is over and the new one is just around the corner, I just had to combine a preview from Aisling from the new round with on my favourite items from the last round. After all, who can resist having their very own Iron Throne?

The sim of Dangarnon (built by Death Row Designs) portrays a fallen, darkness-claimed version of one of last years sims, the kingdom of Andolys. I dared to venture out into this dark city and found a little corner of reminders of its original glory.