Monochrome People

Posted on August 14, 2020 by

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I don’t really understand people who always wear black. Surely whenever they open their closet, the room gets darker. Maybe some of them went through a phase in which they thought they were being cool by denouncing colour from their wardrobe and sadly got stuck in it, because they gave themselves a lifelong fear of colour. Others might do it to give themselves a certain air of mystique. Usually those people are quite boring. I’m not saying that everyone who always wears black is boring, just the ones that think it makes them more interesting. Personally I’m a fan of colourful people. Iris Apfel comes to mind. If I were the kind of ridiculous person who inappropriately appropriates Native American culture by calling something or someone their spirit animal, then Iris would be it for me. If you’ve never heard off her, jump on Google, look her up and be prepared to get smacked in the face with an abundance of colour and charisma. I discovered her in a Netflix documentary some years ago on a sleepless night. I didn’t get enough sleep that night, but at least my mood was lifted.

Black and white combinations can be very stylish though and you can’t go far wrong with it. Apparently wearing a pop of colour with black cheapens the look, but I’m not sure I agree with that. Somewhere someone like the Miranda Priestly character from The Devil Wears Prada novel came up with that idea and now we’re all supposed to agree with it? Where’s the science? Anyhoo, I did go monochrome for once, with just a few gold touches in the bracelets and sunglasses. It looks quite sharp, don’t you think?

Credits

  • Lelutka Evolution Skyler mesh head
  • Legacy mesh body
  • Stray Dog Lorenzo skin for Lelutka + body applier for Legacy, both come with BOM layers
  • Billy Beaverhausen “Luke” shape for Lelutka Skyler & Legacy
  • Burley Otto hair & hat (that’s a bit of a blast from the past, Burley no longer has an inworld presence, but you can get a demo from Marketplace)
  • Stealthic hair base
  • IDTTY Body Shop Ancient Soul tattoo
  • Noche Kahlil tucked t-shirt
  • Noche Kahlil Kaleb chinos
  • Deadwool Chase sneakers
  • MIDNA Chuck bracelet
  • Z O O M Cezein glasses
  • Cordeaux Deserto pose
  • Shot at Puddle Church

You can never have too many…

Posted on August 12, 2020 by

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Whenever someone says that you can never have too many of a certain thing, I can’t help but think that you can have too many people that make blanket statements. I didn’t really need a new pair of jeans, but I’m part of Noche’s blog team, which gives me easy access to their new Hayden jeans. Of course this is Second Life™ and you don’t “really” need anything here. It’s all about wanting and I think that with their careful texturing, good detail and a snug shape-enhancing fit, there will be plenty of people who will want these jeans. To sweeten the deal they come with a belt, which is always a fun accessory to match your shoes.

The Noche Hayden jeans are showcased at the Equal10 event until September 5th and are rigged for Belleza Jake and the female and male Legacy Meshbody. As with most jeans in SL, you will have to check your tops to see what goes with them. Some shirts will be cutting through the jeans, but you can’t go wrong with a crop top, especially with the heat wave that’s hitting parts of Europe at this very moment. Somehow wearing a duffel coat in SL while one is boiling in real life, does not help to cool down at all.

Credits

  • Lelutka Evolution Skyler mesh head
  • Legacy mesh body
  • Stray Dog Lorenzo skin for Lelutka + body applier for Legacy, both come with BOM layers
  • Billy Beaverhausen “Luke” shape for Lelutka Skyler & Legacy
  • Facade Gojun tattoo (couldn’t find this particular tattoo in their store though)
  • Noche mesh nipples
  • You’ll find the Hayden jeans at Noche’s main store after Equal10 has ended
  • Thirst Crop V2 jersey
  • Deadwool Chase sneakers
  • Rezz Room Crouchy Cat companion (gacha)
  • Abuja man pose (including baseball cap) by Anna Poses currently at the TMD event (ends August 30th), pose was adjusted using Animare PLUS Pose & Animation System (I’m not a big fan of that system)
  • Shot at Puddle Church

Pleasing Aesthetic – Episode 7

Posted on August 8, 2020 by

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There still is no BOM update for the Niramyth Aesthetic meshbody (and head), but even if it had been updated it’s not like this would really increase skin options for this body. I imagine that most skins would be all over the place with nipple slips galore and more funky toe shadows than you can shake a gnarly fist at. If you look around in Marketplace all you’ll find is a hand full of fantasy skins for this body and some dodgy looking human skins.

The limitations don’t stop at the skin. I tried the body with mesh heads from Lelutka, Akeruka and Vista but in the end Catwa is the only creator who offers a special version of their mesh heads for the Aesthetic body. I go into more detail about combining a Catwa head with the Aesthetic body in Pleasing Aesthetic – Episode 1. Personally I feel this is the only acceptable combination, apart from using Aesthetic’s own head. I created a look with that earlier this year, which you can see in Pleasing Aesthetic – Episode 6. This time I kept things fairly simple for myself by mixing some previous looks to end up with a hunky redhead.

I wandered around at some events to see if there’s anything new in the Aesthetic size. It isn’t exactly an embarrassment of riches but not a desolate fashion desert either. From the current round of the TMD event (ends August 30th) I snatched the Julian denim shorts by Not So Bad. Then I swooshed over to Men Only Monthly (closes August 15th) and picked up the Draven shirt by Legal Insanity and the Ryan sneakers by Justice. Well will you look at that, we’ve got ourselves an easy peasy summer breezy outfit.

At Man Cave you can pick up the new “Open the jeans” Jeans by Invictus. The event is ending soon (August 11th), but as usual this item will pop up at the Invictus main store soon after. As the name suggests, these jeans come with a hud that lets you open them, showing off your underwear / bulge. Your avatar will even go through a little animation and you can give specific people access to it. Such fun! These jeans also have auto hide, which comes in handy for taking the stripping action a big step further.

While we’re going down the naughty lane, we might as well go in for a penny and very much in for a pound with the new SLUP swimwear by Guilty, also from Man Cave. I went for the most daring white wet version that leaves little to the imagination. This definitely isn’t for the faint-hearted. The Niramyth Aesthetic body has a strong base among the (gay) muscle worship audience and something tels me that, as long as there are creators making this kind of ridiculously scandalous items for it, this body won’t be totally disappearing from Second Life™ any time soon.

Credits

Shopping For David August 2020

Posted on July 31, 2020 by

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I’ve been feeling somewhat funky lately and after a couple of days without even starting up Second Life™, I’m easing back into things with a quick blog post for the NX-Nardcotix David mesh body.

In the previous three episodes of Shopping For David I experimented a little with skins and heads. This time I find myself returning to an old favourite with this body: the Catwa Stanley mesh head and Birth Drogo skin for catwa heads + their Omega applier for the body. I made the effort to have a look in Marketplace to see if perhaps I can get some new(ish) underwear for David, but I don’t think it will ever happen. There’s a bunch of speedos, all made with the same full-perm mesh item and there are some appliers, but when it comes to a nice pair of underpants, other than NX-Nardcotix‘s own Darrel underwear set, there’s nothing. I guess David is going commando most of the time.

Even a quickie with David takes some effort. As per usual, I found nothing new in his actual size and had to make do with other sizes. Guilty has a new jacket out at the Men Only Monthly event (ends August 15th) that looks a lot like their jacket I bought for my previous David blog post, but this time it has more embellishments. The advantage of this jacket being basically the same as the previous one, is that at least I was sure the Signature size was going to work for David. I wish I could say it’s a perfect fit, but I did notice a tiny bit of glitching at the inside of the wrist.
I really didn’t have the energy to go look for a new pair of jeans or chinos, so I simply went with something I knew was going to fit, i.e. the Legal Insanity Wrynn denims in the Enzo size with the leg muscles and butt size turned down to balance out the shape. For shoes I popped on the Cold Ash Chelsea boots. These come with a “cut” version that’s easier to put use with trousers.

Et voilà, I do believe we have something that could be called an outfit. The jacket includes a t-shirt and you can wear it with David, but for now I thought I’d show of a bit more skin. It’s still the middle of summer after all, something I’m very much reminded of every time my lunch break walk takes me along the lake on hot days and there’s lot’s of young people splashing in the water and the occasional sun worshipper baking themselves to a crisp. I never knew this kind of thing went on in my area of Stockholm, till I started working from home. This cloud has a silver lining. That sounds like a good note to end on.

Credits

What’s Eating TMP 21 (Athletic Meshbody)

Posted on July 25, 2020 by

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There actually is something new at The Shops / Meshbody / the people previously known as TMP. For male avatars, next to the good old Classic Meshbody and the newer Legacy Meshbody they now also have the Athletic Meshbody. Their blurb for this body is “Not too little, and not too much, but go from lean to ultra-mean. Discover the perfect amount of athletic enhancement for your aesthetic lifestyle.” Is it just me, or are they trying to win over old users of the Niramyth Aesthetic body with this play on words? I looked at a demo of the body, decided that the subtle difference between this Athletic version and the Legacy body wasn’t really worth getting it and then I went ahead and bought it anyway, because life is to freakin’ short.

While Meshbody claims that many items that have been rigged for the Legacy body will work on this new Athletic body, it soon became obvious to me that the slightly different legs ruin some shorts and underpants. Still, it’s not entirely hopeless. The Andre boxer briefs by Noche do just fine. I tried on Noche’s latest James thong and sadly that was a big no no. In short the message here is demo demo demo before you buy. It will be interesting to see if Meshbody will be able to push some designers so far as to rig items for this body. As I hear it, they haven’t even made a dev kit available for it yet. Let this be a reminder of why exactly these blog posts have the title “What’s Eating TMP?”. Meshbody’s marketing plan is… quirky. Then again, they’re not the only ones. Let’s not mention Exmachina. Doh! I guess I just did.
I’m using Birth’s skin for the Legacy body and everything seems to be were it’s supposed to be, so maybe no new skins will be needed for this body. Combined with the Lelutka skyler head and the new Damon skin by Birth for this mesh head the neck seam is one of the best (most invisible) you can hope for in SL. You’ll get the same result with the Legacy Meshbody and even the free Classic Meshbody is rather well behaved on that front.

If you’ve just spent a whopping L$5000 on the Athletic Meshbody, maybe you’re in for a bargain. Noche is taking part in the 60L$ Happy Weekend event right now with the Nick crop top. The single packs are L$60, and the fatpack is L$499 for a limited time only (Saturday 10 AM SLT – Sunday 11:59 SLT). This crop top comes with a hud that lets you add whatever graphic you like so you can really make it your own. Now has anyone seen my shorts?

While I’m on a Noche flow, I can mention that wearing their leather Jourdan hoodie (with or without shirt) with Kaleb chinos causes no issues with the Athletic Meshbody. The Chase sneakers by Deadwool were yet again a saviour when it came to finding suitable footwear. Their Legacy size does the trick here. This image was shot at the Endless 58-58N sim.

Conclusion: other that sharper defined abs I’m not seeing a big difference between the Legacy Meshbody and Athletic Meshbody. Feel free to comment if you don’t agree with this statement. I’m curious to see what the opinions are on this new body.

Credits

Clearing Out The Wardrobe – Episode 5

Posted on July 20, 2020 by

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This episode of Clearing Out The Wardrobe reminds me of a scene in Borat, in which the “hero” of the movie taunts a somewhat unfortunate villager with a song that goes “you will never get this, you will never get this”, to point out to the poor sod he’ll never have sex with Borat’s sister who proudly is the second best (or wast it third best?) prostitute of her town, with a trophy to show for it. But back to Second Life™ now. The old look I’m dusting off before I save it in the list of outfits to keep is no longer achievable in SL, if you don’t happen to have the skin in your inventory.

A long time ago, well long ago in SL time anyway, I bought A Swagbag that had a Stray Dog skin in it for the Signature Gianni head. Swagbag was a subscription box with items for male avatars only, organised by MadPea for some time. The skin never showed up at the Stray Dog store afterwards and I think right now there actually aren’t any skins at Stray Dog for the Gianni head. It’s a shame, because skin choices for this head are very limited and while I feel it’s not exactly the most sophisticated mesh head, I do think that with this Owen skin, the Gianni head has an endearing certain je ne sais quoi. He’s not so much conventionally handsome as attractive in some quirky way.

  • The Signature Gianni mesh body and mesh head are still available of course.
  • You can head over to Stray Dog, but you won’t find the Owen skin there. The Signature Gianni head does come with a BOM activator and you can test Stray Dog bom skins for the Lelutka and Catwa heads on Gianni, but I don’t think it will work. Evidently Stray Dog does still have a skin for the Gianni body.
  • I’ve jazzed things up a bit with Basic Mesh Ears by L’etre, the Raphael facial hair by Mister Razzor and mesh nipples by Noche.
  • The Avi Glam Solstice eyes sure are an improvement on the head’s own eyes.
  • The Obscura hair was one of the first styles at Stealthic, but it’s aged gracefully and I’ve always liked it the most on the Gianni head.
  • The Noche Jake belted shorts with the walkman from the Summer Vibes set at Thirst and the group gift flip flops by Dufaux make for a beach outfit that’s just a bit more interesting than just swim shorts or a pair of speedos. This guy is just listening to some groovy tunes while chillin’ on the beach.

And now I’m off to bed to dream about listening to groovy tunes and chilling on a beach… Knowing my luck it’ll start pissing down.

What’s Eating TMP 20 (Classic meshbody)

Posted on July 19, 2020 by

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The last time I did something with the Classic Meshbody from the people previously known as TMP (next they’ll just be a symbol like Prince), it was for an episode of the series I call “For a Little Less”. This time I’m not particularly counting pennies but the good news is that the Classic Meshbody is still free.

I’m using the Lelutka Guy head, which has been temporarily reduced from 5000 to L$3990 until further notice. The skin on the head is Maverick by Birth in skin tone #7 used with their matching body skin for the Legacy body which appears to be working just fine on the Classic Meshbody. These skins come with appliers and BOM layers. I have explained before how to use BOM with this body, but I think it can’t hurt to repeat it once more.

To activate BOM on the Classic Meshbody you click on the second symbol on the left of the body’s hud, opening the Style panel. In the top right corner just underneath “Style” you’ll see a symbol that looks like little sliders. Once you’ve clicked on that you’ll see an option to Apply BOM. Keep in mind that you should not be wearing an alpha layer if you’re going to use BOM. If you accidentally are still wearing an alpha layer, your body will either not show or turn red. There doesn’t seem to be an elegant way to return to the previous menu in the hud, but I find that unticking (or ticking) the box for “show old content” does the trick. You can adjust the skin tone of your nail beds with the third symbol from the left underneath “Style”.
To activate BOM on the Lelutka Guy head you simply click the BakeOnMesh button on the Essentials tab of the hud. I think that’s enough tutorial for now.
I also tested the appliers and these work fine, though the neck seam was more visible, but at least if you feel more comfortable with appliers you have the option. Just remember that in that case you will have to be wearing alpha layers to hide the system body and/or head.

Meshbody started giving away the Classic body when the corona crisis lock down went into effect and there was a bit of a call to arms for creators to make new content for it, but that didn’t really work out. Their Legacy body has gained a lot of support since its launch and we can’t expect creators to go through the pain of rigging their items for the older body if they suspect that most people have moved on to something new. Also, as the Classic Meshbody is free, it will be popular with newbies who often will be on the lookout for other freebies, so as a creator who tries to earn a living (or at least a supplementary income in these shitty times), it doesn’t make an awful lot of sense to invest time in rigging for this body. Anyhoo, all this means that you won’t find a lot of new stuff for the Classic Meshbody and you’ll have to test other sizes, hunt down older items that still look very acceptable today and mix something old with something new.

I had a look around at TMD (event ends July 30th) and found this open jacket by Aitui in the TMP size. If you head over to Aitui’s main store, you’ll see they have plenty on offer in the old TMP size. Then I rummaged around in my inventory looking for a pair of trousers and settled on the Ascend Jack cargo pants, complete with hanging down suspenders. The Deadwool Chase sneakers are my go-to footwear for a casual outfit with the Classic Meshbody, as these shoes come in the TMP size and you don’t need to faff with unrigged shoes. I invested in the fatpack of these sneakers a long time ago and Deadwool has been keeping them up to date, adding versions for the Belleza Jake and Legacy body and they even added some colours… To be honest, I’m only finding this out now. Sometimes getting a redelivery in SL is almost as good as buying something new.

At the current round of Man Cave (event ends August 11th) you can find the Gavin jacket by Etham. This is another brand that has items in the TMP size. Actually, for this new jacket Etham even has gone as far as calling it the “Classic” size. You may want to have a look around at Etham’s main store for more items that support the Classic Meshbody.
If you’re looking for an excellent pair of ripped jeans, then I definitely can recommend the Holloway ripped jeans by Cold Ash. This is another example of a fashion item that has been around for a while in Second Life™ but that hasn’t lost it’s allure. I would even go as far as to say that if you enter a space wearing these jeans, people will feel a shift in the allurosphere. It’s a shame Cold Ash no longer supports the Classic body but they have a very respectable back catalogue.

This should have given you some (new) ideas for an old Classic. Have fun shopping!

Credits

  • Lelutka Guy mesh head.
  • Classic Meshbody, at the time of posting this is the slurl for the sim where you can pick up the free body. If you’re having no luck with this link, try the Legacy body store.
  • Birth Maverick skin for Lelutka Guy and Legacy mesh body. Birth face appliers and BOM layers include eye brows and browless version, several facial hair options and a hair base (alternative hair base used here). Their body skins include a range of body hair options.
  • Billy Beaverhausen Terence shape.
  • Renato hair base by Stray Dog at Man Cave till August 11th and at the Stray Dog main store after that.
  • Avi Glam Solstice eyes applied to the mesh eyes that come with the Lelutka Guy mesh head
  • Noche Metallic thong
  • Rezz Room Crouchy Cat companion (gacha)

Thong Song

Posted on July 13, 2020 by

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Take a dive into the history of the thong and you’ll come across some of popular culture’s greats such as Jerry Hall, Cher and Monica Lewinsky. That last one isn’t a pun. Lewinsky has been the bud of too many sexist jokes and an easy target for lazy comedians for way too long. Arguably, if we stay in presidential circles, Trump seems to be a very easy target too and I sometimes wish the late night shows would give it a rest… But I’m diverting here. Thongs! That’s the subject… Imagine Trump in a thong though! *shudders* Then again, sumo wrestlers wear them. Apparently the skimpy undergarment had it’s day in antiquity too, but in “modern” history it pops up in New York at the World’s Fair of 1939, when burlesque dancers were asked to cover up and clearly they did the bare minimum to accommodate the demands of the then mayor while still showing the maximum cheek. Good on them!

In Second Life™ there are several suppliers for this piece of butt floss, even for male avatars. Noche has a new one out at the current round of Equal10. I particularly like how the trim and main fabric of the James Thong can be textured individually. It’s rigged for the Belleza Jake and Legacy mesh bodies and has some naughty pulled aside options. Cheeky!

Credits (back view)

  • Belleza Jake mesh body
  • Birth body applier for Belleza
  • Lelutka Guy mesh head (not that you see much of it)
  • Dura B&G83 hair
  • Noche Armani mesh crop tank. The James thong will be at Equal10 until August 5th and at the Noche main store after that.
  • Billy Beaverhausen Gus shape for Lelutka Guy and Belleza Jake

Credits (front view)

  • Catwa Travis bento mesh head
  • Belleza Jake mesh body
  • Stray Dog Sven or Drake skin (there is some confusion about the name) for Catwa mesh heads + skin for the Belleza mesh body (BOM & appliers)
  • L’etrê basic mesh ears
  • Modulus Cole hair
  • Stealthic hair base
  • Gojun tattoo by Facade
  • I haven’t put this particular shape in Marketplace. Maybe I will in future.

Scarlet Creative Alaouite Skybox with some bits and bobs added to it and a Jian kitten.

Clearing Out The Wardrobe – Episode 4

Posted on July 12, 2020 by

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Second Life™ never has been a fully immersive experience for me compared to how some people are able to live their virtual life, but that’s fine. Where other more typical multiplayer games give you only some opportunity to colour outside the lines, SL is a veritable Picasso. To be clear, I’m talking about the art, not the person. Picasso was a misogynist cruel man… but he gave us cubism though! Anyhoo, while the possibilities in SL aren’t endless, they are bound by very few rules and that’s one of the things that really attract me to this virtual kaleidoscopic multitude. I enjoy tinkering with my avatar and pottering about in virtual homes. Of late I have been taking a meandering trip down memory lane by going through my list of outfits. I found an oldie but a goody with the Deadwool Dandy suit from back in the day when I occasionally still dabbled with the system head. The suit has been around for donkey’s years. For those of you who are less familiar with farmyard animal expressions, it means quite a long time. The plus point of this suit is that it was very well made and it stood the test of time. The downside is that it wasn’t rigged for mesh bodies, so you’re stuck with the standard sizes and limited possibilities of what you can do with your shape to alter the fit. Nevertheless I still felt inspired to give this look an update and keep it.

The suits’ small size is the best option for the look I’m going for this time. Some of the shape settings impact the look of the suit, like body thickness, body fat, neck thickness, shoulders and hip width. Many shape settings will have no impact, so I’m more or less allowing the suit to dictate my shape and I’m going for a slightly less athletic look, though he still looks quite fit if you ask me. I’m using the Belleza body 2.0 with original hands and the Catwa Daniel head. There is some minor glitching at the shirt collar when my avi moves his head/neck, so if you’re looking for perfection you should go with a newer suit that was rigged for your specific body. The main message I’m trying to get across here, is that it can be fun to dust of some of your older inventory. Something you haven’t used in a while and that hasn’t aged too badly, may almost feel like something new. Who knows, maybe it’ll stir up some memories that have a bit more meaning to you.

Credits

  • Catwa Daniel bento mesh head
  • Belleza Jake mesh body
  • Birth Evan applier or BOM skin for Catwa. This skin includes options for eyebrows, facial hair and hair base. Body applier available separately at Birth.
  • No Shirt Sherlock Vermeer eyes, gray. I’m using the system eyes here. To do that I added the rigged Catwa eyes that come with the Daniel head and pushed the BOM button in the HUD for this head (you find it in the Skin/Ears tab) and then the eyes magically appear.
  • Billy Beaverhausen Tom Shape for Catwa Daniel mesh head and Belleza Jake mesh body. Note that for this blog post I adjusted my shape and obviously styled the head differently. The Tom shape was my starting point.
  • Stealthic Narcotic hair
  • L’etrê Basic Mesh Ears
  • Deadwool Dandy suit, socks and shoes
  • Rebellion Savant specs

Noche and Tylie collab

Posted on July 6, 2020 by

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I just got wind of a collaboration between Noche and Tylie for an outfit at Fameshed. Noche created the Robinson baseball pants with socks and Tylie created the matching Ruth shirt. It’s nice to see people work together like this in Second Life™, especially as mixing and matching pieces to make outfits isn’t as effortless as one might expect it to be. As entertaining as this virtual world can be, it definitely has a few small frustrations. There’s another way to look at this though. Arguably Second Life™ has no set goals or scores so from that point of view it isn’t a game. It makes up for that by having a challenging learning curve and giving you a sense of accomplishment if you’re able to create a certain look. Maybe if everything was too easy, it would become boring. Still, it’s nice to catch a break every now and again. All I had to find to finish this outfit was a pair of shoes, a baseball cap and a bat.

Is there a baseball themed sim somewhere in Second Life™? A search didn’t give me any good results. I doubt it would be very functional, but it should be possible to create a stadium and get the vibe right. Oh well, I guess I’ll end up in the locker room again. Looks like we’re sharing with the visiting team 😉

Credits Billy

Credits Visitor

Backdrop: Paparazzi – Old School Locker Room – BACKDROP – pink, Thirst

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