ECLIPSE Magazine December 2017

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Contents 22.

Through the Lens

88.

World of Roleplay

142.

Artist Highlight

56.

The Proust Spotlight

110.

Trending Now

150.

The Art Perspective

68.

Joy to the Virtual World

124.

At Home with Wendz

164.

Ask Noey

Zedekiah and Kess takes us through their lens on romantic winter dates.

We showcase Blogger & Vlogger Network member, Autumn Rose.

Persephone Vitrac explores some of the best winter activities for the holidays.

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Ahn Avion goes in depth and discovers “Convergence: The Lost City.”

The talented ECLIPSE stylists show us their favorite winter casual outfits.

Wendz Tempest shares some of her holiday favorites in home and garden.

From the WSL management company, we feature artist ARRA.

Oema is back with her monthly art review on “Art Project 3” at Blue Orange.

Noey Ivy London Flower offers the best advice on the grid for all your SL needs.

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ECLIPSE Magazine is dedicated to not only offering an aesthetically pleasing publication, but to also be considered a platform that offers rich and relevant content. Each month, we showcase residents and groups that have taken the concept of “your world, your imagination� to such great heights that they have impacted the culture and lifestyle of the Second Life community.

36.

Cover Story Mina Nakamura Cover Photographer Lessthen Zero

174. Violetility

Writer: Cajsa Lilliehook

ECLIPSE shines a spotlight on the talented Gwen Ferox and her brand Violetility.

190.

Voices from the Grid

212.

The Wayfarer

Each month ECLIPSE asks residents a question, see what they have to say.

Join the Wayfarer on a journey exploring the sim, Ash Falls.

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inspire

ed dreams/224/75/3002

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executive team

No

trouble dethly Publisher

Taylor Wassep

cajsa lilliehook

carley benazzi

jessyca teardrop

Creative Director

Lead Stylist

Copy Editor

Marketing Executive

the c

writers

photographers

Ahn Avion Cajsa Lilliehook oey Ivy London Flower Oema Persephone Vitrac Synful Aeon Wendz Tempest Xandrah Sciavo

Alex Avion Kess Crystal Kiana Jarman Lessthen Zero Persephone Vitrac Sungyoung Jang Taylor Wassep Tempest Rosca Wendz Tempest Wicca Merlin Xandrah Sciavo

models Caesar Langer Misoindite Romano Ombrebleue Winsmore Sienna Bellios Silly Avro

guest stylist & photographer Kess Crystal & Zedekiah

interested in advertising with eclipse? have an idea for a great story? looking to start a new career in second life? email trouble.dethlysl@gmail.com

contributors

If I’m being pervasively honest, I am writing this Publisher’s Note on the back of one of many printed drafts for my senior thesis. The general idea is that it won’t be the last thing I do, prior to publishing the magazine. They do have a saying about the best laid out plans…

My sincerest wish, as it was the previous year, is that 2017 is everything you aspired it to be. That the dreams you had were achieved, that the prospects you had were fulfilled and that the things you hoped for were realized. If they were not, then I raise my glass to you and your 2018. I find myself almost crippled this year, overwhelmed with a sense of nostalgia of things that have been, things that used to be and things that are no longer. In contrast to this feeling, I am also eager for this upcoming year for the changes, for the renewed confidence, for whatever the future will bring.

Regardless of my inner musings, I bid you all a happy and healthy holiday season.

This issue of ECLIPSE Magazine we feature the talented Mina Nakamura of MINA Hair on the cover. While the entirety of the publication may not be devoted to the holidays, be sure to check “Joy to the Virtual World” for some of the best winter activities for the season from new ECLIPSE writer Persephone Vitrac, “At Home with Wendz” for decoration inspiration from Home & Garden guru Wendz Tempest, “Through the Lens” with Zedekiah and Kess for romantic winter date ideas and “Voices from the Grid” where we ask residents to share the best gift they ever received. We have 13 features in total this edition, so I do hope you enjoy it!

Happy Readings and Happy Holidays!

letter from the publi

isher

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through the lens

kess crystal and zedekiah show us romantic winter dates. Photography by kess crystal and

s

d zedekiah.

Zedekiah Hair: Stealthic - Haunting Coat: GIOMEN - Trench Coat with Shirt Trousers: Deadwool - Brown with belt Kess Hair: Stealthic - Lithe Dress: Lybra - Ara (now at FaMESHEd) Stole: Foxes Photograph taken by Kess @ Holiday Trace

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Zedekiah Jacket: Lenox - Parka Black Shirt: Lenox - Plaid Shirt Pants: Deadwool - Broberry Jeans Kess Hair: RunAway - Sam (now at FaMESHed) Top: Aphorism - Bridget Sweater Pants: Aphorism - Bridget Flares (now at FaMESHed) Photograph taken by Kess @ I N S P I R E D Winter Resort

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Zedekiah Jacket: Lenox - Parka Black Shirt: Lenox - Plaid Shirt Pants: Deadwool - Broberry Jeans Kess Hair: RunAway - Sam (now at FaMESHed) Top: Aphorism - Bridget Sweater Pants: Aphorism - Bridget Flares (now at FaMESHed) Pose: RK Poses Photograph taken by Kess @ de*cid*u*ous Page 28 | ECLIPSE December 2017

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Zedekiah Hair: Stealthic - Haunting Top: Deadwool - Ernst Sweater Pants: Deadwool - Broberry jeans Gloves: Deadwool Kess Hair: Truth Top: Cynful - Candela Dress Pants: Cynful - Sadystika Flare Jeans Pose: Drunk Panda Photograph taken by Zedekiah @ de*cid*u*ous Page 30 | ECLIPSE December 2017

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Zedekiah Hair: Stealthic - Haunting Coat: GIOMEN - Trench Coat with Shirt Trousers: Deadwool - Brown with belt Kess Hair: Stealthic - Lithe Dress: Lybra - Ara (now at FaMESHEd) Stole: Foxes Pose: Drunk Panda Photograph taken by Zedekiah @ Luane’s World Page 32 | ECLIPSE December 2017

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Everyone is welcome, if you’re looking for jus Sponsor boards are available for 40 Winners are offered an interview

Apply HERE. Watch pre

st friends, romance, friends with benefits, etc.

00L$ a week to sponsor an episode. post-date to discuss how it went!

evious episodes HERE.

no bad hair days

written by cajsa lilliehook. photography by lessthen zero, taylor wassep & temp

pest rosca.

Photograph by Lessthen Zero

Photograph by Lessthen Zero Page 38 | ECLIPSE December 2017

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Hair brings one’s self-image into focus; it is vanity’s proving ground. Hair is terribly personal, a tangle of mysterious prejudices. ~Shana Alexander There is nothing quite like waking up, making breakfast, taking a shower, dressing, and then struggling to make your hair behave. No matter how well everything else goes, if your hair is stubborn and recalcitrant, your day is doomed, marked down forever as a Bad Hair Day. You might as well go back to bed and try again tomorrow.

Long ago and far away, the avatars of Second Life made their own hair using sliders and color pickers and every day was a Bad Hair Day.

Sometime in the Primitive Era, while our evolutionary ancestors still rubbed prim sticks together, hair was made with blocks, some rigid, some flexible. It was a major advancement from the era of sliders but still Bad Hair Days continued. Time marched on and the Sculptocene Era arrived, allowing more variety, but hair still defied physics. The current mesh era has nearly eliminated the Bad Hair Day phenomenon. Hair continues to evolve with hair research scientists experimenting with Bento hair and other ways of injecting movement into hair without the flyaway hazards of flexi prims.

One of those tireless hair scientists who works daily to save us from Bad Hair Days is Mina Nakamura with her eponymous store, Mina Hair. She joined Second Life in the Primitive ECLIPSE December 2017 | Page 41

MINA Hair - Molly Photographer & Stylist: Tempest Rosca

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Era in 2006, after seeing it mentioned on a television show. She was intrigued by the notion that everything in SL is created by users. As she explained, “Coming from a creative background I was immediately drawn to this world and logged in to see if I could contribute something.”

It overwhelmed her at first. For her, as for everyone, there was so much to learn, to figure out how it all really worked.

She connected with other people from The Netherlands who were working on a project to create an SL version of her hometown, Groningen. She joined them and learned a lot about creating.

She remembers it fondly, “It was my first encounter of how wonderful the community sense in SL can be.”

While Nakamura experimented with creating a bit of everything, jewelry, skins, clothes, and hair, it was making hair that fascinated her. She likes a challenge and hair is challenging. “It seemed like the hardest thing to learn and make and that made it interesting for me.”

Her usual day is spent on her platform diligently styling hair, her modeling program running in the background while she uploads meshes to test them and then back and forth she goes from remodel, back to SL to test, and back and forth and back and forth until she is satisfied. After that, the texturing, boxing, and marketing take more time. But it’s not all work, as she says, “I always try to find some time to chat a bit with a few good SL friends I made over the time of years, they are very dear to me.”

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Nonetheless, like many creators, the time she used to spend in play is often spent on work. “I used to mingle a bit with other people in clubs where I found some dj’s who played great music but nowadays my RL situation changed and I find less time to do so. But whenever I can I go down and sit and chat with others or just listen to music.”

Nakamura suggests she may be a dull Second Lifer as her list of crazy SL activities is short, though she has dressed up as a rabbit. She spends too much time working to have time for watermelon rifles and penis pistols, preferring conversations with long-time friends.

Nakamura notes that hairmaking has evolved over the years. She enrolled in modelling courses to acquire the skills needed when the mesh revolution began, Hair-making has its special challenges as she clarified, “There are many things that I have to take into account because of all the different body’s and mesh heads out there, there is no standard size anymore. I try to make hair that fits all bodies and heads MINA Hair - Angel Photographer & Stylist: Taylor Wassep Page 44 | ECLIPSE December 2017

MINA Hair - Vivian Photographer & Stylist: Taylor Wassep ECLIPSE December 2017 | Page 45

but whenever a new grid I am hoping it w There are no mesh he me to download and for instance the mait clothes designers so I hair in-world on diffe almost impossible to them all. Luckily mos a feature where the s invisible so people ca Fitted hair made it po for most breast sizes.

Second Life has had on Nakamura’s first her rescue when he “This is very personal to share with you and of this amazing mag got separated with th it all changed. Until t of a hobby. I am a co means my kids are w week. At first it was v I only had a part-tim hard, every other wee skills for SL and it pai RL job, it provides me care of my kids and a give them. I am alwa when they need me. when they are with th very grateful of the e Life and of the trust m in me to make them s want to buy and wea

Nakamura works ha realistic textures and hallmark of her bran customers what sets MINA Hair - Romy Photographer & Stylist: Tempest Rosca Page 46 | ECLIPSE December 2017

mesh head hits the will fit the older hairs. eads available for d model around as treya body is for I need to test my erent heads. It’s o accommodate st heads do have scalp can be made an wear my hair. ossible to make hair .”

d a profound effect life, coming to er marriage ended. l but no problem d all the readers gazine, but when I he father of my kids then SL was more o-parent now, that with me every other very hard because me RL job. I studied ek to improve my id off, SL is now my e of all I need to take also in the time I can ays there for them I continue to work heir dad again. I am existence of Second my customers have something they ar.”

ard to create d they are the nd. Ask her s her apart MINA Hair - Harper Photographer & Stylist: Tempest Rosca ECLIPSE December 2017 | Page 47

from other creators and the majority will say her hair has realistic, beautiful textures. She looks to reality for inspiration as well, browsing pin boards such as Pinterest with occasional as-seen-on-the-street real life inspirations. Naming is a family affair and a real pleasure as she notes, “I always smile on when it comes to that. My 11 yo old daughter helps me with that. She wrote a whole list of names for me to pick out and I always do, she is amazing.�

While creators are the heart and soul of every Second Life brand, the most successful creators have a team and Mina is no exception.

Her customer service representative is Jalina Jae who has worked for her for several years. Keely Mistwood manages her bloggers, keeping track of their work and praising the posts that highlight Mina Hair.

Mina Hair has a web-based customer-service ticketing system that makes for easy and fast service, though of course, folks can also

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MINA Hair - Vivian Photographer & Stylist: Taylor Wassep

contact Jalina Jae in-world.

The web-site and its services immediately project an aura of professionalism and service that is impressive. It helps that Nakamura used to be a website designer though she noted she used a template since, as she put it, “Wordpress has great templates and it takes less time to make new content and be up to date on that so I figured I might as well not make a website myself so I have more time to create new hairs.�

Nakamura participates in about two or three events a month. She thinks a nice build is important, but emphasizes that it must be easy to see everything. Like other event shoppers, Nakamura is an experienced cam-shopper and knows that the build should take cam-shopping into consideration. As a creator, she appreciates open and easy communication with event owners and staff and thinks extensive coverage on social media and blogs is critical. She takes these into consideration when choosing events to participation in.

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When people make Second Life a full-time career, Linden Lab™ policies can have a big impact on their livelihood. For those who live outside the U.S., there are additional complications, though Nakamura does not think there is much to complain about. “Delays in payment is something I got used to, it’s not a simple process to make Euro’s out of Lindens. However, SL did improve on the time it took to transfer to Paypal lately. There are surcharges and taxes for us Dutchies.

Not to complain, because I feel very fortunate I can say SL is my RL job, but in the end it’s a lot of hours of work for the money we get in the end. And not only for us Dutch creators of course!”

One change she would make, if she had a magic wand, would be putting an end to copybotting.

“I don’t know how copybotters do it but I know it ruined some great designers and that makes me so so sad. It’s called Second Life, it is not a game, real people are involved.

SL should always be the provider of creative outlet like it has been for all these years and I am sure it will considering the time Linden Lab keeps investing in SL. I thank them!”

One thing Mina would like everyone to know about her is that she is who she is in both first and Second Life. In her words, “Mina is not a roleplaying character. I talk to people in SL exactly like I do in RL”

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Looking back on 2016, the best thing that happened to Nakamura was in her first life and she’s not going to tell. “It’s something beautiful but personal that happened to me in RL, it reflects positively on my SL, it inspires me to continue to improve myself on all levels and make more awesome hair!

AND being asked for the cover story of Eclipse!!! I feel very honored.” As to the future and 2017? She responds, “Oh gosh.. I hope I will continue to be able to make hair and improve my skills.

Depending on the time I will have I am going to try to learn how to make other items for Second Life and texture them really well!”

If past is prologue, then that is a certainty. Just as it’s certain there will be no Bad Hair Days at Mina Hair unless Nakamura decides to make one just for fun.

Teleport to her in-world store.

Check out her blog.

Follow her on social media: Flickr & Flickr Group Facebook & Facebook Page Plurk & Twitter

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Photograph by Lessthen Zero ECLIPSE December 2017 | Page 53

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the proust spotli

photography by autumn rose (candygu

The Proust Spotlight is our monthly feature where we highlight one of the many creative residents of Second Life®. Utilizing the Proust Questionnaire, whose namesake comes from the late 19th century French writer, we will offer a glimpse into what makes them tick.

ECLIPSE Magazine has teamed up with the Blogger & Vlogger Network, so each month the blogger we showcase on the Proust Spotlight is a group member. The group member we feature this month is the talented Autumn Rose (candygunpowder). When asked to share something about herself, she leaves us with a quote

by Nicole Lyons, “They say she is too much to handle, but when the moon pulls the tide and the wolves howl her name, blessed are the ones who have been taken by her wild.”

ght

unpowder).

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What is your ideal of perfect happiness?

Working towards something and achieving it. Dancing in the rain. Taking a road trip with the windows rolled down. Hallmark Christmas movies. Harry Potter.... And of course and perhaps most importantly, my chiweenie, Ladybug What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Probably answering these questions considering I’m really bad at these things XD If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be?

Assuming that it can be an animal, a Wolf. I think they are so majestic, beautiful and strong... and of course a bit dangerous.

What do you most value in your friends?

I’m going to answer this in reference to my best friend, Otter (ZacharyArens) I value how much he truly knows me. I discovered this one night after I found something out in my real life that was upsetting. I told two of my closest friends (one who has known me much longer than Otter) their response was something that a stranger might have said. Otter however understood exactly what I was feeling even before I did. He might not know every superficial detail of my daily life, but he knows the raw insides of my mind and what makes me me.

Which historical figure do you most identify with?

Peter Pan What is your motto?

Never give up Connect with Autumn on her Blog and Flickr.

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joy to the virtual w

written by Persephone Vitrac (alexis1oreily). photography by Persephone Vitrac (alex

world

xis1oreily).

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It’s the most wonderful time of the year! As the year’s end approaches, so too come shorter days and cooler weather.

Holidays and the winter solstice draw nearer, as does the shopping season.

It’s the time of the year when people like to get together with their loved ones, spend time with their friends, indulge in traditions, play in snow, and of course, give gifts.

Ask ten people about the meaning of Christmas and you will receive ten different answers. For some of us it is about hot cocoa, roaring fires, and hanging stockings. For others, it’s the thrill of shopping, the hunt for a sale and the perfect gift. And for some, this season is about vacation, snow covered hills, and the thrill of the shred.

Like anywhere else, there are a variety of different ways to spend your holiday season within Second Life®, and whether it be alone or with those closest to you, you’re sure to be able to find the perfect Winter activity.

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Having opened to the public on November 25th, Tannenbaum is a pop-up sim, as well as home to a holiday-themed market open only a short time each year.

With well over a hundred vendors, there’s definitely something there for everyone.

The Holiday Market features a fantastic array of amazing designers and seasonal products, designed for and premiering at the event.

Factor in the option to buy items as gifts and it is the place to get presents for friends or pick up that item you’ve been wanting. For those of you who haven’t already run out for a Christmas tree to light up your home, Tannenbaum is also the place for you. In their Christmas Tree Lot, you can purchase a tree and pick up a selection of ornaments, lights, garland, and even puppies to bring your Christmas tree to life from the gachas.

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A premier sim featuring all the gachas you could ever want, The Arcade is back for another round! Snag those rare and ultra rare gachas you’ve been hunting and pick up gifts for everyone on your Christmas list. The machines will be addicting, but it’s an excellent excuse to spread your gacha cheer. This gacha affair features over fifty designers and creators from all over the Second Life grid. With such diverse options, find the gacha gift that you’ve been looking for, guaranteed.

For something a little more interactive, The Forest-Winter Wonderland park is everything the name implies and more. A family-friendly environment, the park is a

magical winter paradise with breathtaking visuals. Little elves dot the landscape, helping Santa prepare for the upcoming Christmas night. A frozen lake serves as the perfect spot for a family outing or a date on skates with a cozy cafe nearby to warm up inside. Visitors are welcome to take a train ride to visit each area of the sim or to ride the chairlift up to Santa’s workshop for photos. Then, why not ski or sled down the snow covered mountain?

The Forest offers even more than that though. As a community sim, cabins are also available for rent, allowing families or couples to have their own little frozen wonderland this season.

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[I N S P I R E D] Win more relaxing wo a less busy atmos by a trio of friends Dereham (raizan.fi Shi Juan (macxim Duckie Pops (cand with a passion for and bringing hap residents of Secon beautiful build pe the stillness of a la evening. With woo scattered about a breathtaking view the perfect place winter escapade o as a photo backdr the sim offers sled hot chocolate bar a bar for drinks as also a cinema whi the train found on

Holiday Trace is an wonderful winter with a focus on ac photography back Trace really looks and Ives Christma and festive in a wa unique to the sim place to go for na winter photo, whe skating alone on t a pair cuddled up sleigh. Rezz rights by joining the free Trace Rezzers’ and get started setting

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nter Resort is a onderland with sphere. Created s [Raizan Fieldfield), Yosh muss.zsun) and dyharlequin)] r seasons, design, ppiness to the nd Life, it is a erfectly capturing ate winter odland animals and an absolutely w, the Resort is for a intimate or simply to use rop. In addition, dding, skiing, a r, an ice rink, and s well. There is ich is located at n the sim.

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Still looking for something more? What about a hunt? On it’s 10th incarnation, the Peace on Earth hunt is a holiday exclusive hunt with over 290 stores participating. Originally founded by Sequoia Nightfire, the hunt features a custom landing point, a small wintery space utilizing some of the Designers’ items. This is the place to get the latest copy of the hunt list, donate to the hunt, or just snap a few playful photos.

With so many participating brands, there is no doubt that you will find this ten-year-old hunt a huge challenge and you’re guaranteed to find something you enjoy.

If you prefer, a little story in your holiday celebrations, MadPea’s Magical Christmas Hunt for Enchanted Toys might be just the thing.

A two-week event, the hunt tells a story of finding and capturing toys to return to Santa.

Completing this task earns hunters fantastic prizes and achievements as well as brings them to visit gorgeous locations on the grid. The hunt begins on the 14th of December when these toys become alive on the grid. In addition to finding those toys, hunters also earn points that can be exchanged for exclusive, seasonal prizes.

Another great and unique feature of this hunt are the special hidden chimneys which deliver instant prizes. This hunt is something unique and you don’t want to miss it!

At the end of the day, this season is about many things. It is about giving and love, peace and joy— and we all hope to spend it filled with bliss and good cheer. It’s not in the bells, lights, and tinsel we put away at the end of the month or anything that you can buy with Lindens™. It is the good we do for others and for ourselves so, however you spend your holiday season, remember what its true meaning is to you.

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the world of role

this month we feature “Convergence: The Lost City.” written by ahn avion. photography by a

play

alex avion.

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Humanity is the central figure of recent Earth history, spanning back thousands of years. Capable of great evil, great compassion, great destruction and great innovation, all of the supernatural races either come directly from humanity being transformed in some way, or have some need that humans fulfill. To this end, almost every race has a vested interest in keeping humanity from dwindling or going extinct, since their own lives are dependent upon humans.

Convergence: The Lost City began its story in the year 2021, but after an awkward start, the sim’s timeline revives in the year 2024 following a disease that turned people into cannibalistic psychopaths.

The city is multi-dimensional in a variety of ways. Not only are there 13 different races, but the city resides on different levels of the sim. The whole lower area, sim level, is considered outside of the city, a mostly lawless part of town.

Convergence: The Lost City covers two sims. A map of the city can be seen here.

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The sim came to fruition due to a lack of options elsewhere. Moloch (zekkiel.zerundi), the sim owner explains, “At the time there weren’t a lot of Modern Fantasy sims, and it’s my favorite genre.

I think a large portion of our original staff came from a Modern Fantasy sim called Fallen and we were looking for something with a similar feel. I consider it Modern Fantasy because it takes place in fairly modern times (only five years in the future) and because it focuses a lot on modern humans and fantasy races such as vampires, fae, mages, centaurs, merfolk, etc. But you definitely could call it a dystopia as well, just depends on how you look at it.

Convergence sort of covers a lot of aspects. Modern Fantasy, Post-Apoc, Sci-Fi, even Steampunk.”

Most of the staff, especially faction leaders, help with the building. There are about 30 staff members, and about 12 faction leaders. “Usually I just ask them on our Discord, “Anyone interested in helping to build X” and then we work on it until it works for us,” says Moloch.

Convergence: The Lost City will soon celebrate its three year anniversary. Though this is the second iteration of the sim, the original version ran for a few months before a year long hiatus, only to come back stronger and more successful.

Moloch reflects, “I think we took a lot of lessons from what worked in CV1 and what didn’t work.

What didn’t work was that we didn’t really have set races. We let people build their races and come up with customized backgrounds of whatever sort, but we liked allowing people to have a great deal of creativity, so when writing the races and lore, we tried to work in places where the lore is not set in stone.

More “hearsay” and “legend” than “this happened” or “that happened”. We also really wanted to build a community, so we started first with that aspect -- how to make it a place people felt accepted and at home, able to find what they want instead of just what we think people should want in RP.”

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The disease, D13, is the building block of Convergence: The Lost City, but not in an apocalyptic sense. Quite the opposite. While D13 turns some people into zombielike creatures, others may be turned into criminal psychopathic masterminds. At the beginning of the story, the disease is released, and everyone starts killing each other, but the various supernatural groups that rely on humans in their own way such as food, breeding stock, companions, or worshipers just to name a few, soon realize that something needs to be done to protect humans and their humanity for the betterment of all.

Leaders from each of the non-human races gather to create a body known was The Consortium in an effort to save humanity. In the midst of this, the island of Convergence shows up from nowhere, and has a natural protection against the disease. And so the tale begins.

What makes Convergence different isn’t so much the builds—those are amazing too!—but the people. Moloch expands on that saying, “Well, IC-wise (In Character) I think that the players like that there’s a lot of customization.

We have dozens of magics, powers, skills, etc. so no two characters are alike. I think they also like that we really Page 96 | ECLIPSE December 2017

focus on making their actions have impact. I’ve been to so many RP sims where the leadership is just the owner and his cronies. But I try to make it a point that neither I, nor my partner, is in charge of any of the factions (though he did lead one for a while), and that everyone has the possibility of getting involved in something right from the start. It’s important, too, that people feel included right from the start so we have incentives for RPing with new players and including them in their events and stories. Though really we don’t even have to. The players have really embraced the whole community feel.”

The races include celestials, cyborgs, fae, human, mages, mutants, robots, shifters, sylvani, underkin, vampires, wraiths, and yokai. Many of the races have their own area in the city where they dwell. Though a character may be killed, consensually of course, death isn’t always final.

There is the option of becoming a wraith or vampire, or even the chance of resurrection via powerful magics. The latter is rare, but it has happened. There is also healing magic and fleshcrafting magic that help out with a lot of types of wounds and gruesome accidents.

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The Night Market is the place to be for the popular monthly cage fights and where more illicit things are sold. The tunnels and subterranean tunnels of the city are an endless maze to those not seasoned to its paths and perils. Vagrants roam every main corridor.

Cutthroats and mercenaries are a common sight the closer one gets to the Sprawl and the shouts of commerce from Purveyors hocking their wares. The Sprawl is a constant buzz of activity, heavily watched by Enforcers both marked by the signature red armbands or hidden in plain sight of NPC (Non Played Characters) and PC (Played Characters) alike.

The Sylvani camp is “veiled�, and can not be seen or found without the aid of someone in the Sylvani faction. Even if you have been here before, you will not be able to find it again. It is warded against Elementals, Fae and Blight [a plant disease, especially one caused by fungi such as mildews, rusts, and smuts].

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unconsciousness unless the violence stops.

The Night Market and the Sylvani camp are just two of the many places available for roleplay in the combined sims. What really makes it intriguing are the characters. Moloch’s main character is a vampire from Sparta who works as the head of security for the vampire faction. Moloch also has a mutant character, an angel, a blind demon, and a psychiatrist.

Alexandra Nevermind (devereaubeauregard) has been with the sim since March. He originally came after wandering aimlessly from a medieval roleplay had shut down. He tried other sims of a similar style, but nothing stuck so he thought to give something modern a shot, and the sim had come highly recommended. Alexandra describes his character as, “a boisterous Lamia [a halfman, half-serpentine sort of beast race hybrid] whose appearance is really the only thing louder than he is. Often has a flair for the dramatic, and a little too cocksure for his own good, though, he’d insist it was earned. He’s a prominent man with a history in politics and entrepreneurship that ECLIPSE December 2017 | Page 99

made his way here, clawing his way gradually up the social ladder until he took ownership of the local nightclub and the Underkin faction that runs it. Extremely irreverent and chaotic, he doesn’t care so much for social norms and laws, so long as the ends justify the means. Has a terrible habit of showing up to both work and important meetings in drag, insisting when you’re good enough at what you do, it doesn’t really matter how you look. More than likely has been punched more times than he can count.” Alexandra Nevermind is his drag name.

In Convergence, the Underkin as a whole are dependent upon humans for reproduction purposes, as they were rendered incapable of mating with one another after an incident known as the Red Haze, an act of biological warfare cast upon them by the Fae which not only rendered them partially sterile, but eradicated 75% of their population. Lamia are the more charismatic and socially adept of the Underkin races, so they were usually responsible for going to the surface to acquire humans, usually by luring them in some way. Though, now, slavery is forbidden among their kind, they do allow humans to join their society as equals.

I also asked Riley Vaduva (brilliantnoble) about her character. “I actually have a really cool story progression at this sim. My character, whose now named Riley Vaduva, actually started out as a human nearly two year ago. Her name was Laura and she ended up dying in a sim plot (by my choice, of course!) I ended up turning her into a Yurei Wraith which are basically wraiths that come back in order to protect someone or a group of people. She came back for love, love of a person (who is Raziel) and love of a group called the Razors. Now she’s the Underboss in our awesome mafia group and gets to be really spooky all the time.” Riley Page 100 | ECLIPSE December 2017

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has been playing in the sim for nearly two years on the recommendation of her real life best friend who had heard about it from another friend they used to roleplay with in another sim. Word of mouth is a powerful ally!

There are a lot of aspects that stand out to Riley when asked what she likes about the sim. “The people here make up a really great, diverse community that actually care about each other which seems almost rare these days.

The stories the Storytellers and Faction Leaders weave for us are always engaging.

I can remember the first Storyteller event I went to. I’ve never experienced that before and it’s been something that’s stuck with my character. We always get to be the heroes (or the villains) in our own way and that’s a really unique thing. A lot of RP sims I’ve seen seem to focus on the story in the sense that you are only along for the ride.

Convergence makes you really, really feel like you’re important to the story.”

To learn more about Convergence: The Lost City, visit the website. To submit a character application, you must first register on the homepage of the site.

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Trending now

the talented eclipse models show us their best winter casual outfits. photography by Temp

pest rosca.

Caesar Langer Top: Ascend - Uptown Pea Coat Pants: Ascend - Classic Cargos w/ Suspenders Boots: Gos - Docs V2 8 Hole Hat: Hats World - Flat Cap Gloves: L’Emporio - Fingerless Gloves

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Misoindite Romano Hair- [monso] My Hair - Robin /Light Blonde Outfit: *COCO* - HalternecBodysuit Outfit: *COCO* - MilitaryCoat Outfit: :: PM :: - Patched Jeans Shoes: Vale Koer - Bella Suede Boots Accessories: Meva - Skyline Bento Ring Page 114 | ECLIPSE December 2017

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Ombrebleue Winsmore Hair: Argrace - Flat cap / Kinoto Dress: Coco - Nordic Jacket: Coco - PufferJacket Shoes & Socks : Prey - Nikki

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Sienna Bellios Coat: GIZ SEORN - Cozy Layered Coat W Tartan Jeans: Izzie’s - Twinnie Jeggings Appliers Boots: NYU - Ankle Buckle Platform Hair: Foxy - Lovesick Jewelry: Earthstones - Pearl Snowman Earrings Antler’s: Blacklace~ Laya ECLIPSE December 2017 | Page 119

Silly Avro Hair: Truth - Irenka Turtle Neck: Sweet Tea - Turtle Neck Basics Coat: Mossu x Genesis Lab - Total Glam Fur Coat Skirt: Baiastice - Floky Highwaisted Skirt Tights: Izzie’s - Cozy Tights Boots: Empire - Laurel Rings: Yummy - Serena Rings

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at home with wendz

this month we showcase holiday happenings. written by wendz tem

mpest. photography by wendz tempest.

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As another holiday season draws near, it’s often second nature to grab the tubs of decorations and slap your decor up in the usual places. This year why not explore the vast resource that is the Second Life® holiday shopping experience and spice up your traditional pieces with something unique?

The Laurel Ridge by Galland Homes, is one of the more popular builds of the year, making its debut in last month’s Fameshed event.

This quintessential home is not your average log cabin, as its first floor plan includes a great room with adjoining open spaces for dining and entertaining.

The Laurel Master suite is also located in the first floor with a separate master bath that could be transformed to a private closet or office.

Its second story includes

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two large bedrooms on opposite sides of an open balcony which also overlooks the great room.

As great rooms go, the Laurel Ridge boasts large picturesque open bay windows that begs for a full window treatment. Long vertical panels in festive green and red gives the room added height. This will give the room a great foundation to start filling with holiday decor.

Christmas trees can serve as both centerpiece and additional indoor foliage.

Jian by Kalia Firelyte has designed an exclusive Christmas Tree for 2017 for Fameshed’s December Event with a decorated and plain version. The texture options for this tree include several versions that are great for indoor and outdoor use.

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The month of December in Second Life also is a time when holiday shopping events are in full force with stalls full of seasonal knick knacks in all shapes and forms.

The Tannenbaum Holiday Market is an annual event that kicked off the day after Thanksgiving and includes a Tree Ornament Gacha Market that is one of a kind. Our Laurel Ridge Christmas Tree features embellished ornaments from several designers this year, as well as helpings from past Tannenbaum events.

A few of our favorite holiday vignettes in this issue features O.M.E.N.’s latest release, Christmas Morning, a set of cuddly plushies, gift boxes, sleds and a couple of new friendly puggy faces. The wooden sleds can be smartly doubled for a make-shift coffee table or drink tray.

Repurposing holiday decor can give new life to favorite pieces so think twice before setting aside the old and forgotten.

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Fireplace mantels are traditionally the focal point of any Christmas themed room and image.

Who can resist the draw of a warm fire and festive hearth?

We’ve placed several new pieces from What Next to set off this area of the room including the December Potted Poinsettias and Holiday Nutcracker, both of which are currently available at What Next’s main store location.

Evergreen garlands from 22769’s Winter Market Gacha Collection are available at the Liaison Collaborative’s current event and a welcoming gift for the holly jolly man who’s name is Saint Nick.

Creating a holiday haven can be a fun filled experience with all of the wonderful happenings happening in Second Life.

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Decor: OMEN - Christmas Morning Puppy Beige Decor: OMEN - Christmas Morning Puppy White Decor: OMEN - Christmas Morning Sleds Wood Decor: Sari-Sari - Traditional Christmas Deer Cookies Decor: Sari-Sari - Traditional Christmas Blocks Decor: Dahlia - Festive Hot Cocoa Green Decor: RH House Design - Holiday Cafe Shoes Ornaments Decor: RH House Design - Holiday Cafe Cookie Set Decor: Tiny Shop - Fur Tree Decor: Homestead - Plaid Tree Skirt

Chair: Newchurch - Mission Prairie Chair Table: Plastik - Laiha Side Table Tree: Jian - Christmas Tree 2017 Decorated Decor: Hextraordinary - Vintage Ceramic Christmas Tree Plant: What Next - December Potted Poinsettia Decor: OMEN - Christmas Morning Reindeer Plushie Decor: Sari-Sari - Traditional Christmas Vintage Tin Trees Page 138 | ECLIPSE December 2017

Decor: Acorn - Xmas Light Sign Decor: OMEN - Christmas Morning Gift Boxes Decor: Action - Holly Jolly Griswold Advent Decor: Dahlia - Seasonal Candy Set Decor: Dahlia - Seasonal Chocolates Set Decor: ChiMia - Yule Candelbra Brass Decor: Fancy Decor - Tree Beads

Build: Laurel Ridge - Galland Homes Tree: Cube Republic - Douglas Fir Tree: Botanical - Douglas Fir Plant: Archi-Tect - Winter Bush Berries Decor: Dust Bunny - String Lights Decor: Dust Bunny - Merry Christmas Sign Decor: Le PoppyCock - Together Wreath Decor: Sari-Sari - Santa Mailbox Decor: Apple Fall - Orsett Single Lantern Decor: Dust Bunny - Lighted Female Deer Decor: Dust Bunny - Lighted Baby Deer Decor: Dust Bunny - Lighted Male Deer Decor: Snuggles - Ratten Christmas Bauble Tower

Decor: Botanical - Douglas Fir Christmas Tree Decor: Lost Junction - Nested Snow Ornament Decor: Lost Junction - Nested Deerie Ornament Decor: Lost Junction - Santa Ornament Decor: 22769 Bauwerk - Gingerbread Heart Decor: Dust Bunny - Winter Decor Lighted Sphere Decor: Chicchica - Ornament #9 Decor: Dahlia - Finola Noel Tree Topper Decor: Dahlia - Finola Tree lights Decor: Fancy Decor - Tree Ribbon Decor: Fancy Decor - Tree Beads

Decor: What Next - Holiday Nutcracker Drummer Decor: Sari-Sari - Traditional Christmas Greetings Sign Decor: Fashionably Dead - Gift Winter Tree Large Snow Decor: Fashionably Dead - Gift Winter Tree Small Snow Decor: What Next - Holiday Nutcracker Trumpet Decor: What Next - December Welcome Mat Decor: Sari-Sari - Traditional Christmas Reindeer Decor: Fashionably Dead - Gift Winter Tree Small Bare Decor: Snuggles - Christmas Sled Red

Decor: Sway’s - Christmas Stocking Elf Decor: Sway’s - Christmas Stocking Traditional Decor: MudHoney - Larson Stocking Holder Decor: ChicChica - Ornament #1 Decor: Sari-Sari - Traditional Christmas Angel Candles Decor: Fancy Decor - Baroque Winter Landscape Decor: 22769 Bauwerk - Garland Decor: Acorn - Santa Stand Decor: Can’t Even - Winterscape in Gold

Decor: Dust Bunny - Winter Decor Peppermint Green Decor: Dust Bunny - Winter Decor Peppermint Cane Red Plant: Hanaya - Ball Topiary with Lights and Bow Decor: Commoner - Tabletop Tinsel Tree Decor: RH Design House - Holiday Cafe Candy Display Table: Newchurch - Tile Top Spindle Cocktail Table ECLIPSE December 2017 | Page 139

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artist highlight

photography by taylo

or wassep.

ARRA is one of the many talented live artists with Whispering Sands Live Promotions, having recently joined them within the past month.

Her time as a Second Life musician began simply when someone told her about it. She decided to investigate further, and that is how her career began. She shares, “I used to do a lot of gigs before then I decided to stop it for awhile and focus on my family.”

Having performed in many shows, it is difficult for her to pinpoint her all time favorite. She does point out that she loves when, “I can see that the crowd is having fun and love my music.” Upon further thought of the question posed, she is able to pinpoint an exact show, “One of my favorite performances was when I was able to perform with my real life husband Meeshy.”

These are her top 5 favorite songs to sing: I Have Nothing by Whitney Houston Born this Way by Lady Gaga Pretty Girl Rock by Keri Hilson It’s All Coming Back by Meatloaf Chiquitita by Abba While she and her husband have been singing in Second Life for a few months, she thoroughly enjoys being able to entertain the listeners with their music. Sometimes even doing duets, and her favorite artist is Whitney Houston. She can be found at SolarWinds every Friday at 10PM SLT. For a sample of her musical talent, click here.

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Toxie’s Top Five Songs to Sing “Am I The One” by Beth Hart (Favorite Blues Singer) “Bilingual” by Jose Nunez (Favorite Adult Tune) “She Used To Be Mine” by Sara Bareilles (Her life soundtrack) “Possum Kingdom” by The Toadies (Loves the rock vibe) “Imagine” by John Lennon (Reminds her of SL)

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the art perspective

Oema sheds insight on “Art Project 3” at Blue Orange. W

Written by Oema. Photography by Oema.

During November I had the pleasure of visiting the art exhibition “Art Project 3” which is currently open at the Blue Orange in Second Life®. On the occasion of my visit, I met Ini (In Inaka), the art curator. She showed me around the artists’ exhibitions, noting that the gallery, as it is currently, will run for several months.

One of the most fascinating and simultaneously disturbing is (detail) art gallery, its setting reminiscent of a subway.

The arrival point lands the visitor at a subway platform, a feature that, at first, made me believe that they have the wrong locations.

In fact, we realizes almost immediately it was an “artistic corridor” in front of us that leads to a “living room” with a retro twist, where music and art find their shared home.

In fact, the Blue Orange is a gallery which is home to several exciting musical events, together with art on display, creating an exciting atmosphere.

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The exhibiting artists are in order: Aicha-Tubal Amiot, Gitu Aura, Rebeca Bashly, Chibbchichi, Jadeyu Fhang, NicoleX Moonwall, Nevereux, Bryn Oh, Xirana Oximoxi, and Theda Tammas.

We can explore both 2D and 3D art enriched with scripts that help to create surreal effects. Blue Orange also made good use of projectors, with the environment set to a very dark WindLight.

There are four spaces dedicated to artistic exposure: just off the living room (club) there is “the corner of art” that houses the Rebeca Bashly sculptures, the art of Ini (In Inaka) and “Mindgames” edited by Gitu Aura is NicoleX Moonwall. Above the club, we find a hall that houses the art of JadeYu Fhang and next to it we can explore “Alchemy” by Nevereux.

The second angle of art is accessible by subway immediately outside the club and hosts “Waiting Box” by Theda Tammas.

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Among the sculptures that most impressed me is “Done” by Rebeca Bashly. It looks like a woman who exudes a “rejection” towards Life, to the whole world about them. A deep malaise, a discomfort so strong as to suggest psychological problems. The “Done” statue reminds me of the importance of accepting events and reality because what we do not accept overwhelms us.

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“Mindgames” by Gitu Au Moonwall is an art insta instinctively liked. The in very subjective, the boa of images arranged on r mind a “game.”

The 2D work by Inaka is color and expression to accompany the various

ura and NicoleX allation that I nterpretation of it is ard, which is the basis regular cubes, calls to

s an attempt to give the moods that moments of our day.

In all three, “Mood1”, “Mood2” and “Mood3”. I liked the idea and how Inaka In developed it to achieve her purpose.

Walking along the corridor accessible from the Art Corner home to artists just described, you come to the installation of the artist Nevereux.

At the entrance, an inscription warns visitord who are sensitive to light, who could be made uncomfortable visiting the installation.

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Nevereux has created a work that wants to engage the viewer making it part of the scene. In fact, you will note, in the vicinity of the autumn leaves that circle, a written “sit.” It indicates that one of the leaves do not move you can sit to see each part of the scene. For simplicity, moving the mouse close to the static leaves, you will notice that it changes icon next to the leaf that contains the animation. Some arrows on the floor invite visitors to walk in the corridor of orange lights.

Once at the end, turning you can admire beautiful pictures taken by Nevereux.

Above Nevereaux’s installation , we can see three other exciting art spaces: one is even Nevereux, which confirms his passion for lights and buttons for playing images.

The other two areas are “Waiting box” by Theda Thammas and installing Chibbchichi.

The Theda Thammas box seems to be the “anguish box”, a metaphor for situations that “imprison” or limit our reality.

Chibbchichi’s colors and her ability to represent a sim like a miniature, as if it were built with Lego, is intriguing.

On the same display surface, you can appreciate the Xirana images, dark, abstract and very communicative.

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Another interesting facet is the art of Jadeyu Fhang. The central theme seems to be the cobwebs that trap the human being and from which he tries to escape.

Again I see an essential metaphor for Life.

The last artistic set I visited was by Aicha Tubal-Amiot. The vibrancy of the colors and forms of the disorder make his art instantly recognizable. Like the best artists, Aicha has a very defined style that I have admired for a long time.

As for Bryn Oh, this artist is not present with her works, but with photographs taken by visitors of her exhibitions. They decorate the hallway near the subway.

The exhibiting artists at the Blue and Orange represent many different styles together. Each of them conveys feelings and profoundly different messages, enriching the Gallery of essential meanings.

For added convenience, and to be sure that the player does not lose any artistic angle, I put the Landmark individual exhibition spaces.

Blue Orange Landmarks: Art Corner Train Station, JadeYu Fhang, Photos by Bryn Oh Installations, Theda, Never and Chib, Xirana Oximoxi, Aicha Tubal Amiot, Rebeca Bashly & Nicolex and Gitu.

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ask noey: the advice guru

send your questions to noey here, and it might be in our next issue. written by noey ivy london f

flower. photography by wicca merlin.

Dear Noey, I have been in an SL relationship with my girlfriend for nearly two years and I am deeply in love. She keeps encouraging me to move several states away to be with her and start a new life. The problem is that I grew up where I live now and have deep ties to family, friends, and the community. Moving to be with her would mean I would be a 9-hour drive from everyone and everything I know. She is becoming increasingly frustrated that I have not yet made a decision, and I fear that if I do not decide soon I might lose the love of my life. What should I do?

Signed, Confused Connor Dear Confused Connor, Does your girlfriend have strong family ties where she is?

A well paid stable job? You are going to have to discuss with her and come up with a real plan. Something I have learned, with age, is that as I have gotten older picking up and moving for my life...was really up to me. I just made a state move myself. Leaving behind family and friends and an environment I knew and felt comfortable with. It was a decision that was not made over night and a decision that was not made because I was forced to. This decision has to be natural. It has to feel right in your gut. Family is very important to me as well. I sat down and spoke with them about the decision I was going to be making. I weighed the pros and cons.

I financially planned everything out to see if it made sense money wise. And then I prayed on it. The move ended up happening and it has worked out. But that’s because it was planned. It was a choice that was not made out of haste. Your girlfriend needs to understand that if she is not willing to make the move herself, that she cant expect you just to get up and move a few states over the next day. She should want you to make a wise decision...that’s the adult thing to do, specially if you want things to work out between you two. Jobs and finances play a huge role in this. And when money is super tight, and you are struggling, relationships really struggle. Sometimes ending before things can even smooth out. So sit and really have a heart to heart talk with her. Let her know you want this to work out and you want to be with her, but its a decision that has to be made wisely. Good luck!

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Dear Noey, My partner is pushing me to do the whole pregnantin-sl thing with a prim baby and the tummy talker. I don’t want to do that and want to just go ahead and adopt an avatar. Everytime we talk about it, it ends up in this big fight and he gets angry. Twice he has said if I won’t do this for him, there’s no point in us being together. I feel like I should give in and just get the pregnancy hud, but I am so turned off by the entire idea that I never go through with it. How do we resolve this huge difference in our relationship?

Signed, Reluctant Rita Dear Reluctant Rita, This is an interesting situation. It sounds like, to me, that your partner may have some issues stemming from something in RL that may be making him feel this way about a baby that is representing a real infant.

At least with adopting a child avatar there’s another person behind that role-playing a child for you. If you are not comfortable doing this, he should understand that and not want to force you into playing along with something that you are not into. Honestly that just builds animosity and creates walls in a relationship. It kind of reminds me of real life situations in cases where one partner wants to have a child naturally and the other wants to adopt. Its so important to really listen and know what each others wants and needs are. Because if you two dont, it will really affect your relationship.

Sit and talk to him, find out how long he wants you to wear this hud and EVERYTHING it entails. If its not for a very long time, then maybe its something you can be comfortable with doing for his happiness. But it is very important that he knows your boundaries, to be fair. Relationships take two people with different views and emotions. It should never be about one person. If he wants to end it with you just because you dont want to wear a pregnancy hud, then he may need a little bit of a reality check. But the same may go for you as well.

Its just a hud after all...right? Have that talk and really think about your options and your love for him. Then go with that gut of yours!

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Dear Noey, I am really into this guy I met on SL. We talk all the time and he makes me feel so good about myself. I just think he’s perfect for me. He likes me too and would like to pursue and SL relationship. The problem is that he is happily married in RL, and I have never been one for an SL-only type of relationship. I am uncomfortable feeling like I am enabling someone to cheat on their spouse. I adore everything about him. But I can’t shake this nagging feeling that I am doing the wrong thing by giving him that type of attention. Please help!

Signed, Harriet the Homewrecker Dear Harriet the Homewrecker, Such a sticky situation...One of those things I think most people face in this game whether its intended or not. This place is all about making relationships and sometimes lines get fuzzy. It sounds like to me, you have already made your decision. If you get this nagging feeling, then you dont do it. It would be changing who you are at the core and that morality factor that makes you who you are. Be fair to yourself and your feelings.

Stick with your gut, it will never do you wrong. He might just have to be another friend for the books. You got this :)

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spotlight: violeti

designer spotlight on gwen ferox and her brand. written by synful aeon. photography by tayl

ility

lor wassep.

Owner of Violetility: Gwen Ferox

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Gwen Ferox (Violetile) once heard about Second Life® while working as a videographer at a wedding but it wasn’t until a few years later she moved in real life and was reminded of it on a new-to-the-area forum.

Someone on the forum talked passionately about the creative community and she decided to give it a shot.

Already skilled at graphic design, it was natural for Gwen to apply those skills to her creative endeavors in Second Life. At first, she did logos and little customizations for her roleplay avatars. A few friends she met through roleplaying encouraged her into doing more with her skills such as commissions and starting a business. In 2011 she started doing personal projects but it wasn’t until 2013 that Gwen started sharing her products on Marketplace™ under the name Violetility. Most of her earliest creations were items like scars or sculpty armor textures. The oldest item currently in her store is the Tiefling Skin, a red fantasy skin she made for one

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of her characters in the now closed roleplay sim called Mystara. Her first original mesh creation was the squid hat that was a gift for the store’s fourth anniversary.

“I often make the joke that Blender is a game where the goal is to see how long you can play before uninstalling and/ or crying, and that was my relationship with it for years,” explained Gwen. In late 2015, determined to finally conquer, she started attempting to make her store logo in mesh.

A few months later the squid hats were created. Through dedication and perseverance, Gwen started creating mesh items. ”My advice to those starting learning to build mesh is to celebrate every little victory. Meshing can be extremely frustrating and difficult to learn, and in the early stages, you will see a lot more struggle than success. It’s so easy to set the bar too high or unfairly compare yourself to others when you’re starting out, so it’s really important to recognize your own personal growth. I’d say I’m still learning two years later,” said Gwen.

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Family, friends, bloggers, and events push Gwen to think creatively to put her own spin on a theme for new items. Sometimes simply searching Marketplace and finding out what she wants doesn’t exist yet fuels her with ideas to create new items. She usually shares her idea for the item with a small group brainstorming on it before she has a solid idea for pursuing in Blender.

Pinterest is also a valuable tool for references so she can see what needs to be done to add elements of realism. ”It’s helpful to see the pieces that make up a functioning latch if I’m modeling a door. Often, I’ll find myself starting over or even changing directions completely after I’ve started. I have to be sure to adapt ideas to my style and capabilities, which sometimes leads to alterations to play off parts that are coming out stronger.

Once the model is complete, I bake lighting onto base textures and then work on texture detail. Lastly comes the testing of textures and materials, a final check of all details and any necessary scripting work,” explained Gwen.

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Due to growing up in a household where digital creativity was considered asinine she became her own worst critic without positive guidance. So invitations to events and collaboration with other designers are very meaningful to Violetile. It encourages her when people see the quality of her work and enjoy it. ”When I started pursuing creating more seriously, I set what I thought was a pipe dream of getting into We <3 Role-Play and ROMP. When that happened, I was so elated.

Working with both events has been more than a pleasure,” said Gwen. With each event having its own style, expectation, and theme it challenges her to create for a new specific event on its terms, interact with a new group of designers, event staff, and to present her store to a new group of shoppers. Violetility is currently in ROMP, The Seasons Story, and We <3 Role-Play. Recently, Violetilty has joined

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Fantasy Gacha Carnival, Kurenai, The Fantasy Collective, The Secret Affair, and Whimsical. In December she will be participating in her first round of the Bound Box, and will be in her first round of Blush in January.

There are a variety of items in Violetility such as clothes, skins, decor, shoes and furniture and that is due to the many events Gwen enters. She thinks it’s great when a designer can get away from their specialty to try to create new things and expand their skills.

Clothes have been the hardest item for her to make as she starts out by modeling the mesh, then making sure it’s compatible with other items, then the mesh has to be adjusted to fit different body and lastly it needs to be rigged. This is why there aren’t many clothing items in her store yet.

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Violetility: Stawberry Cake Couch Model: Taylor Wassep Page 184 | ECLIPSE December 2017

She enjoys furniture and decor the most and will be directing the majority of her attention toward that in the future.

That doesn’t mean she will be limiting herself though. ”I’m most excited to get to a place where I feel my rigging skills are worthy of some fashion releases. I’ve also been working on a seahorse mer tail for the while that I hope to team up with an animator to finish,” said Gwen.

“I love that Second Life opens up so many new opportunities. It brings people together who might never have otherwise met and allows people to do things they wouldn’t or couldn’t otherwise. For example, I once reached out to help a lost “noob” and ended up happily married to him in real life. The chances of us even meeting, let alone feeling comfortable approaching one another, would have been so slim without a platform like Second Life. I’ve met so many amazing people and heard so many emotional stories, so I’d say the people are what I love most,” explained Gwen.

When she gets free time she enjoys roleplaying at Mischief Managed, exploring new places, particularly interactive holiday sims, hanging out at music clubs or visiting art galleries.

Second Life has presented many creative outlets for Gwen and much more has yet to be seen.

Teleport to Violetility’s in-world store.

Check out their Marketplace.

Follow them on social media: Facebook, Flickr and Plurk.

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Violetility: DIY Bench, Waste Table, Mowbray Desk, Lingerie Chair and Luna Heels Model: Taylor Wassep Page 186 | ECLIPSE December 2017

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Voices from the g

Voices From the Grid is a monthly survey of opinions and ideas of Second LifeÂŽ residents on the salient issues of the day.

For this issue, ECLIPSE Magazine invited residents to share the best gift they ever received in either world.

grid

Photograph by provided Clary Congrejo

by Freya Cromwell.

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stefania giano

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tefania Giano has been in Secondlife for 10 years now. She had started many different projects from Wedding business, to running a roleplay sim for three years. She took a two year break when her father became ill to care for him until he passed. Upon her return, she started her photography hobby.

Loving to visit sims, decorating homes and in fashion. Just under a year ago she finally decided to start her blog “Tomorrows Secret”, which is something she really enjoys. She also enjoys listening to music, or going dancing with friends.

I thought long about this question, and keep coming back to the same answer.

The gift of “Life” is definitely the best gift I had ever received. Just before coming to Second Life for the first time, I had a simple outpatient knee surgery from an injury while working out at the gym. This surgery then lead into developing DVT (Deep Vein Thrombosis/Blood Clots) and several Pulmonary Embolisms, which put me into cardiac arrest, twice that day. Between the paramedics performing CPR the entire trip to the hospital, and the ER doctor also continuing, it was a miracle I had survived. Because of the severity they had implanted a filter to help catch any additional clots I might have received, and was slowly able to recover over that next year. The experience really changed me completely. Realizing life is so short, and to never worry about the little stuff. I felt I had truly been given a second chance at life. However, just two months ago, I was given the same gift again, when I was rushed to the hospital in an ambulance due to severe pain and the inability to walk. After a couple days of many tests, they realized I had blood clots again, this time an extremely severe case that covered my entire right leg up to my abdomen. Luckily I had that filter implanted, which is what saved my life.

After two surgeries and still ongoing medical treatment, I am finally able to walk again (slowly) but healing and recovering. Having that first “gift” was amazing, but receiving it again, is a true blessing. This time being part of the Second Life community, I truly was surprised at how wonderful people were, supportive, and the real friendships that have crossed over into my RL offering support and strength. I valued my friendships before, but now even more, cherishing each and every one of them. I am grateful for Second Life, as in an unexpected way it has brought me happiness, strength and long lasting friendships!

Check out her Flickr, Facebook and blog.

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christa thespian-echos

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hrista Thespian-Echos is a mother of two twin girls, she’s always running around trying to wrangle them up. That or trying to get her youngest daughter’s (on her big avie) kids to calm down as well. She runs her blog and promotes it with her plurk timeline. She’s also the blogger/store manager for the accessories and furniture store ChiMia, and they also have a plurk account that she’ll replurk so other people can see what’s new. She’ll put her links to everything in her plurk profile.

Hmm, the best gift I have ever been given. That is a tough one I’ve gotten so many gifts that each one is special to me so to pick just one is hard. Though if I really had to pick only one it was back when me and my sl/rl love were apart in our separate states, he flew in and had Christmas with me and my family. We hadn’t been together for that long and it was just such an amazing thing that he was able to fly out and come and spend the Holidays with us. I had just said goodbye to him in July and I was missing him very much so I was excited that he was coming out again. I got him something special to for that year, I got him a claddagh ring like I have, of course the person that he is told me the wrong ring size so I got him one that was bigger than I meant to...hehe. I know he got me something that year to but what it was I couldn’t tell ya..haha! I was just so happy to have him and to snuggle with him and decorating our real life christmas tree with my family. He also came to midnight mass with us as we go every year since I was born. So we had to find him some nice church clothes before he was allowed to go because that’s how my mom likes it...We kind of gave him a gift to as it seemed that he never had lobster before he came to spend Christmas with my family. Every year on Christmas Eve we have seafood so like shrimp, lobster, and crab and apparently he has never had lobster even though he’s from New Hampshire. So we as a family got him a gift of lobster that year. For me that was the best Christmas getting to see my love and walk outside and just spend Christmas with him was the best present I could ever want.

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Photograph provided by Gidge Uriza.

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gidge uriza

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idge is a Fashion Blogger at Itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Only Fashion where she features the fashion choices and adventures of ditzy but sweet Gidge Uriza who is endlessly buying pets and new kitchen items for her home. She blogs with Cajsa Lilliehook and their work can be found here. Her photos can also be viewed on Flickr . Her blog features fashion editorial as well as personal narrative.

I have been very lucky to have been given a lot of very lovely things over the years, filled with love and thoughtfulness and it would be difficult to separate them into which one is most important or BEST. I thought I would keep it pixel Gidge related however and I have two. One being the Dusbtunny Tree houses I was given as a gift during Arcade of 2015. My mother was dying in RL, and Cajsa gifted them to me knowing I was so very sad at that time. It might sound silly but getting those silly rare items, and filling them - making a new SL home was a diversion I needed, a time I was able to spend not grieving and I needed it so much. It was truly wonderful.

The other item I would like to mention also has an SL cross over and itâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s a book I was given. My SL friends, having long since become my RL friends despite our distances, once collected for me a lot of sayings that I had shared from my very precocious RL daughter when she was a toddler. They created a book with photos of her funniest sayings, and it was sent to me for my birthday. I still have it, and cry remembering not only the little toddling baby who said such funny things, but the REAL friends I made in SL who had it created for me.

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Photograph provided by Draetia Resident.

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draetia resident

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raetia Resident joined Second Life almost 4 years ago, encouraged from a friend to explore this crazy wonderful world. She later became a blogger, a reporter for VSN Magazine and a Photographer for Everlasting Love Weddings. She found some real good friends in this platform and now can talk to people that can understand her and share with her crazy funny moments. Never she has thoguht about being a blogger but SL made her passion for photography burn bright an now, each day she experiments with setting and angles to get the best and to improve herself.

So I’ve been asked what is the best gift I ever received, it’s a tough question! I’ve to say it!

The best one was a Blueray Film: Sinister. It isn’t for the movie itself - even though i love it - but is about the backstory: The person gifting this movie was - and still is - my boyfriend of that time, it was the first xmas gift from him and he decided to gift me the first movie we ever talked about together in our first conversation with some friends. Now I look at that film with a warm heart knowing that someone thought about something so sweet to do.

The beauty of a gift is inside the feelings and how much a person cares for you, not how many money it costs or how rare it is. Everyone can buy everything, nobody can buy true feelings.

Check out her Flickr and blog.

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Photograph provided by Wayne Rhys.

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wayne rhys

ayne Rhys (Declan Rumsford) grew up formulating a lot of their middle school and high school identity around Second Life before dropping off the grid in 2013. They spent years away from the world as they continued to pursue their own art education and career in real life before making their recent return in Summer 2017. Since arriving, they’ve taken up fashion blogging and utilizing photography and blogging as ways to write about and process their real life experiences. For Wayne, this is a beginning to a larger journey of reconnection and understanding their self and their experiences by reflecting on them by merging real life and second life conversations.

The best gift I’ve ever received is being able to foster community and find a sense of belonging. It’s not a physical gift but it definitely manifests itself in real ways.

Finding community came with discovering myself in college (as I’m sure it does for many people). I was lucky enough to find people, genuine and lovely people, who came from similar places of coming from a lower income background and a family household of immigrants, two aspects of my identity very important to me. Finding these communities was a gift because of the way I was able to release pain and emotions I had been afraid of releasing to people who hadn’t known where I had come from. The most invigorating thing about finding community is the power you find in your voice and the solidarity, love, and support you share with others.

Finding community in Second Life is something that I continuously struggle with as I’m still relatively new to being back to Second Life (even though I have years of experience under my belt from my past) but it’s also something I find myself feeling come easier day after day. I think Second Life has the exciting power and ability to connect humans from opposite ends of the world who have more in common than they think and supplies them with the ability to foster communities in their own way. And with that comes voice, support, and conversation around incredibly important ideas that should be shared, talked about, and lifted up.

Check out his Flickr and blog.

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Photograph provided by Ivyana Szondi.

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ivyana szondi

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vyana Szondi has been a proud resident of Second Life for over ten years.

She works as a Model and Stylist. Some of Ivyana’s achievements include being crowned MISS SL 2016, the Face of Livglam in 2014, and featured in the Proust Spotlight. Blogging and Photography. are a few of Ivyana’s passions in Second Life. Taking part in exhibits for places such as The Ballywick Gallery. As a blogger, Ivyana is sponsored by several brands whom she adores.

A few years ago, my personal computer stopped working. Money was tight and I wasn’t able to buy a new one. Out of the kindest of their hearts, my Second Life sister and her sweet husband sent me a laptop. She always believed in me and wanted to make sure I always had a creative outlet. It was one of the sweetest moments in both lives. I could never thank her enough for her care and generosity.

Check out her Flickr, Facebook, Twitter and blog.

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Photograph provided by Alexandra Nevermind.

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ALEXANDRA NEVERMIND

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lexandra Nevermind is a relatively new face to Second Life, joining up in December of 2016. Far from new from various MMOs and virtual worlds, she eventually decided to come try Second Life for a different platform for roleplay and creativity. What she didn’t expect was for the creativity to take hold as much as it did. After a few months of discovering and wandering in the photography and blogging communities, she finally decided to put her own take on it. Now Alexandra uses photography as a way to promote and share avant garde and drag inspired styles all over the grid.

It’s really difficult to pick the greatest gift I’ve ever received. Part of that feels like I’m having to pick my own child. I would say that some of the most noteworthy things I have received have hardly been anything of monetary worth or physical wonder; it’s the things that strike the greatest meaning or come with the best stories.

I would say that the most meaningful gift I’ve ever been given was a single coin.

It was a Danish Kroner, which, if you haven’t seen one, is a peculiar coin in and of itself. The person who gave it to me was a man who I met by chance on an evening. While I was the droll, boring sort who usually stayed put, he worked on cruise ships, and had traveled much of the world. He lived for the moment, and encouraged me to do the same. One evening, I was sick, and I couldn’t go out, so we sat around, discussing what our passions were.

I remember talking about how I desired to go into IT, but I felt like it might quell my creative flame, one I was too afraid to take hold of. That night, when he gave me the coin, he told me about what lead to his success. It was rarely the knowledge, skills or experience. Those were a dime a dozen. No, what lead to his success was that he was memorable, even if only from a unique flair. It was an important lesson, and in many ways, that coin serves as a reminder to never be afraid to let your uniqueness shine!

Check out her Flickr and blog.

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Photograph provided by Tabitha Latour.

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tabitha latour

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abitha Latour is a fun-loving type of blogger. Some shots are editorial, some are ‘safe’ but there is always a little something in there to catch the eye and make it pop. She has only been blogging for a short time and her best advice to any blogger is that “For every no you get, it opens the opportunity for a yes” The best gift I have ever received was a tiny delicate panda nestign dolls that a relative brought me from the Ukraine when they went there on a visit. I still have them, touch them and they are always on display on a shelf in my cat-less home...lol Check out her Flickr, Google+, Twitter and blog.

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Photograph provided by Shena Neox.

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SHENA NEOX

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hena Neox is a very creative and dreamy person who found in this world a place where carry out all those ideas that walk for his restless little head.

She is a hair stylist in rl, so for many years that is dedicated to the world of fashion. She started as a model and then she created her own company Versus where she can do everything she loves most, photography, teach others with their same concerns at their academy Versus institute, and everything related to fashion.

She also collaborates with several magazines, agencies, designers, and now she has created together with her partner the K-tarsis brand. What Shena loves the most is to enjoy together with her love and friends this crazy world where the only limit is the imagination... of what she has all!!!

This summer on a vacation trip her beloved dog Byron died, with whom she lived a beautiful story of 13 years. A lovely golden retriever with which she always had a very special connection. When she returned her home and to SL, she had a great and beautiful surprise.

Her partner had bought a lovely puppy golden retriever whom he also called Byron.

She spent a lot of time crying for such a special gift. It is a moment that she will never forget in her SL. Check out her Flickr, Facebook,Versus and blog.

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THE wayfarer...

written by xandrah sciavo. photography by xandr

“The Wayfarer” is a monthly feature by Xandrah Sciavo showcasing some of the most aesthetic places in Second Life®.

Follow the Wayfarer to December’s destination at Ash Falls, an area reminiscent of a Pacific Northwest cliffside beach. With a waterfall, rustic wooden pathways meandering through the towering pines, and breathtaking views no matter the time of day, this is a perfect place to enjoy the peace and tranquility of a wintery beachside landscape.

rah sciavo.

Visit Ash Falls in-world.

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Est. 2015 | Issue 34