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Contents
20.
64.
Through the Lens
The theme for this issue is “Beach Activities” and the talented blogger and photographer Taylor Wassep lends us his lens.
The Art Perspective
For her monthly art piece, Oema reviews and sheds insight on the art exhibition “Avaloir” by Eupalinos Ugajin.
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78.
96.
108.
Things to Do
122.
World of Roleplay
136.
Trending Now
Shop Hop returns to the grid with their family friendly shopping event!
The Showcase
Rattletrap Shipyards highlights some of their incredible bloggers, and “The Devil is in the Detail” certainly holds true.
The Proust Spotlight
Teaming up with the Blogger & Vlogger Network, we shine the Proust Spotlight on blogger, Aleriah!
We’re back to Mischief Managed with their new addition: Diagon Alley!
The ECLIPSE stylists show off some of the hottest trends this season!
s
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.
38.
Cover Story Dead Dollz Cover Photographer Lessthen Zero
154.
At Home with Wendz
176.
Voices from the Grid
202.
The Wayfarer
Writer: Cajsa Lilliehook
Blair Lockhearst showcases the best way to style outdoor spaces with summer vibes.
Each month ECLIPSE asks residents a question, see what they have to say.
Join the Wayfarer on a journey exploring the sim, Bliss. ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 7
inspire
ed dreams/224/75/3002
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executive team
No
Trouble dethly
cajsa lilliehook
Taylor Wassep
carley benazzi
Publisher
Copy Editor
Creative Director
Lead Stylist
jessyca teardrop Assistant Editor
the c
writers
photographers
Cajsa Lilliehook oey Ivy London Flower Novaleigh Freng Oema Persephone Vitrac Synful Aeon Wendz Tempest
Autumn Rose Blair Lockhearst Carley Benazzi June Fallon Lessthen Zero Persephone Vitrac Taylor Wassep Tempest Rosca Wendz Tempest Wicca Merlin
stylists Autumn Rose Blair Lockhearst Caesar Langer Carley Benazzi June Fallon Ombrebleue Winsmore SaianSamuel Tempest Rosca Wicca Merlin
guest stylist & photographer Taylor Wassep
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
Welcome to the June 2018 issue of ECLIPSE Magazine! We have now officially entered the season that I loathe the most. Summer. I hate the heat. I also severely dislike, when I go outside and just stand there… and begin to sweat profusely. One should not sweat because they’re simply standing outside. People are always like, “Let’s go to the beach!” Why would I want to go to a beach? My food will invariably find sand in it, and the ocean is far too vast that I’ll likely get lost in it or attacked by a shark. I am aware that the likelihood of the latter isn’t very likely, but I like to say it anyway. For our cover, we showcase the very talented Kiddo Oh of Dead Dollz. The feature does go in depth and is certainly a story I am glad ECLIPSE had the opportunity to tell. Another piece is Diagon Alley, which Mischief Managed will be opening soon as a new place to roleplay. I am quite the fan of anything Harry Potter related. This edition has eleven features, and I do hope you enjoy them. Happy Readings!
letter from the publi
isher
through the lens
taylor wassep shows us his TAKE ON “beach activities.” Photography by tayl
s
lor wassep.
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Hair: Entwined - Lexie Bikini: erratic - Kendall ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 25
Hair: Entwined - Azalea Top: Cynefin - Worn Crop Top Short: Pixicat - Tilde Short Food: RIOT - Rainbow Snow Cone
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Hair: DURA - B84 Button-up: BREATH - Blowed Shirt Shorts: DUFAUX - Beach Shorts
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Hair: taketomi- HaeSol (surfing) Surf Board: RIOT - Surfs Up Surf Board Suit: RIOT - Surfs Up Wetsuit Page 30 | ECLIPSE June 2018
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Hair: ARGRACE - Natsume Swimsuit: FABOO - Men’s Miami Bikini
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WHEN OLD FRIENDS ARE DE
written by cajsa lilliehook. photography by autumn rose, carley benazzi & less
EAD DOLLZ
sthen zero.
In Second Life® as in our first lives, nearly every overnight success is the result of hard work and time spent building the foundation that launches that “overnight” success. While for the last several years, Dead Dollz has been one of the top brands in Second Life, creator Kiddo Oh spent time in the trenches building that brand. It may surprise some that the store’s tenth anniversary is coming up in July. To get an idea of how Dead Dollz grew over time, search for it on Flickr by year and you can see the big explosion after 2013. Oh was drawn to SL® by curiosity. A friend told her about “this addictive place in which you could be whatever you wanted to be and I have found enough interests in it to keep me glued for 11 years now.” Oh was already a 2D graphic artist but had never tried 3D and the challenge of learning new skills is one of the pleasures she continues to take in Second Life. “One of the reasons I stayed was the constant challenge and the will to improve and reach goals.”
Dead Dollz: Jess Dress Photographer & Stylist: Autumn Rose Page 40 | ECLIPSE June 2018
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When Oh opened Dead Dollz ten years ago in July, she was casting about for a name. “I looked at what was around and it was all a “Pink X”, “Sweet Y”, Pretty Z” and I truly wanted to blend in but “Dead Dollz” was me at my girliest moment.” Why are the Dollz dead? Oh has a lifelong attachment to the macabre. When others watched Disney movies, she was watching Werner Herzog’s “Nosferatu” and William Franklin’s “The Exorcist.” As she describes herself, “I had never liked princesses and in fairy tales I used to root for the witches and the monsters.” There is a powerful dichotomy in Oh’s designs for Dead Dollz. You can see dresses with soft, genteel femininity and dresses with bold sex goddess allure. Asked how that dichotomy is found in the Dead Dollz woman, Oh countered, “The majority of my designs originates from something I would want to wear. I never release something I wouldn’t buy or wear myself. So I’d say that my creations reflect the multiple essences of the same woman, which is me, originally, but since I love to meet my customers needs and expectations and I love to learn from them and make them part of the creative process in the end each creation is a ‘kaleidoscope of womanity’.” Oh not only designs for herself, she finds inspiration in her emotional reaction to the world around her, to songs, movies, the color of the sunset, and even “the livery of an animal.” She finds it easier to design when she is inspired. If she’s inspired, she’s eager to see the finished product. As she puts it, “the feeling of anticipation makes the long hours of work a lot more tolerable.” Dead Dollz: Floral Delight Photographer & Stylist: Carley Benazzi ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 43
The Creative Process 1. Before she starts her 3D model, Oh creates a Pinterest board where she saves lots of pictures. They aren’t necessarily pictures of what she wants to reproduce. Instead they might be pictures of a detail like a button, a bow, the neckline, a jewel, the shape or line, of a color she wants to capture. Sometimes she will make a sketch, though in the process of creation it will shift and change so the final product may be completely different. In her own words, “This is what I like the most, there is total freedom about the creative process, nothing is written in stone, and the designs just run along with your imagination, there are no limits, it’s amazing.” 2. In addition to shaping the item in 3D modeling software, she must consider other components such as the UV map. “U” and “V” are the names of axes on a plane. These maps tell the texture where to apply on the 3D model. How long this takes depends on the complexity of the design. 3. The next step is rigging the item to the SL body, telling it where to go, so to speak. 4. After rigging and texturing, the item is imported in world, applied to a prim, and tested on the body. If something goes wrong here, then it’s back to the software, making adjustments until it works. For Oh, one item can take from one to five days. When creating multi-item releases such as for The Arcade gachas, many more hours are involved and require a lot of planning. Don’t be fooled, though, Oh spends far more than eight hours a day. As she explains, “When I work on a release I am usually at my PC way more than the usual 8 hours a “normal” job requires. I find myself working on my meshes for 12 hours per day, weekdays or weekends, holidays or vacation time, if necessary.” 5. This does not include the other side of owning a business in Second Life, the fitting the mesh to multiple bodies, shooting vendor pictures, packaging, uploading to Marketplace, and publicizing her items. Add customer service and answering questions and the average Second Life entrepreneur works as hard or harder than their first life counterparts.
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ChicModa - Kim Photographer & Stylist: Taylor Wassep ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 45
She does most of th She has one staff p Manager Eria Ziem been friends for ov lived my daily strugg keep up with everyth manage the group o part of my Bloggers My bloggers are ext to me as they presen the public, and even is to make sure they together as a team a make sure everythin She makes sure that creations are clearly fully visible to out po Oh is very happy w adding “I must say m of bloggers is really never disappointed Eria helped me choo team and I feel we’re we wanted, despite elitists.”
Dead Dollz: Piper Tee, Undershirt & Skirt Photographer & Stylist: Carley Benazzi Page 46 | ECLIPSE June 2018
On of the true joys great pleasure she customers and the work. For her, “The element of working any doubt the const esteem I receive from When they complim when they share the and I can tell I have happiness to their li the slightest bit, I kn was meaningful to t more than enough.” the most challengi her work is rigging aspect of creation. least of the creative as I said, in the end w the finished product your customers are forget about the tro
his on her own. person, her Blogger mia. They have ver four years. “She gle of trying to hing and offered to of girls who were s Team. tremely important nt my creations to n more important y feel we work and Eria’s job is to ng goes smoothly. t Dead Dollz y displayed and otential customers.” with her bloggers, my current group dedicated and I am with their work. ose a very strong e getting the results people calling us
for Oh, is the takes in her eir regard for her most rewarding in SL is without tant mark of m my customers. ment on a release, eir pics with me brought a bit of ives, even if it’s now what I did them, and that’s ” She adds that ing aspect of g, the technical She likes it the e process. “But when you look at t and how happy about it you easily oubles.”
Dead Dollz: Rosaria Dress Photographer & Stylist: Autumn Rose ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 47
Perhaps it is this personal connection that makes Oh love her customers so much. As they have increased dramatically in the last three years, it becomes harder and harder to define the Dead Dollz woman. As Oh describes them, “Now it is hard to summarize their nuanced personalities in just one kind of woman. I never think about them as one collective entity and I like to think that all these women with various backgrounds, interests and dreams being so different from each other can all see something good in what I do, and I love being that one thing they have in common.” As one of her customers, I had to raise a point of personal
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privilege, so to speak, and ask about the first thing I bought from Dead Dollz. It was the Pink Ladies jacket from Grease and my good friend Gidge and I wore it to more than one costume party. I had to gush over the wish fulfilment that jacket was for us. Her reply had a bit of sad news for “Grease” lovers, “I loved creating the Pink Ladies Jacket from ‘Grease’. At the time I still wasn’t fully able to create my own meshes so I relied on a template and I suffered from not being able to pay a real tribute to the movie by creating a design that was more truthful to the original jacket. I know people in SL loved it and I still get requests for it, even tho I had to dismiss all my non original items when I got
the SLOCCA certificate.” But wait! There is hope for us. “I often think about redoing that item perhaps in the frame of a whole collection of other iconic pieces from Grease like the Cheerleader outfit, the prom dresses or the bad girl outfit from the last scene at the amusement park. I’m cherishing this project and I am really excited about it.” Now if that is not in the Summer Arcade in 2019, I will be a Sad Sandy. Designers often have favorite designs. Many are very reluctant to admit it, though, just as though their creations are their own children who might be offended by a parental preference. Oh has no such compunction, though. Her favorite is the bridal gown from
her first release at The Arcade Gacha Event. In part, it is her favorite because it marked a milestone in her SL design career, “the sign I was going in the right direction.” But you know how sometimes the most difficult things become the most rewarding and earn our love when we finally master it? That’s what happened with that bridal gown. Oh explained, “The design was not easy to create, cost several headaches and I thought about giving up several times, but the response from the public has been overwhelming. The funniest thing is that I never got to wear it. It’s a bridal gown, as I said, and I never got married in SL so it sits in my inventory in all its beauty, unused.” ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 49
A recent gown is her most successful design. In May, she released a tango dress for the May Uber round called Roxanne, after the song by The Police that was so masterfully reimagined as “El Tango de Roxanne” in “Moulin Rouge.” Now what would Oh have named it if Sting had ignored drummer Mark Copeland and stuck with his original idea of a Bossa Nova? Whatever its name, the story of the dress “Roxanne” reveals so much about Oh as a creator. She was deep into creating her collection for this month’s Arcade, so her time for creating the dress was limited since the deadline for both events were on the same day. “I have had a small obsession for tango dresses and tango dancers in general, so I did lot of research for this piece. Doing research is a legacy of my studies at the Academy of Fine Arts, were I graduated in Scenography. But since I also studied history of costumes in theater and movie productions I was always strongly encouraged to find visual references to make sure the item would be appropriate for the specific situation.” Because Oh intended the dress to be worn while dancing, not
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just posing on a stand, she has to take its movement into careful consideration. “Roxanne was specifically designed to harmonize with the dance without being twisted, crushed, wrinkled, or distorted, and, naturally, to enhance the line of the dancer’s body and to engage the audience. This is the main motivation for the short design and the catchy backline.” It’s that kind of attention to detail that makes Dead Dollz such a wellloved store. Of course, that the lace provided a delicacy that contrasted with the bold forms of the dress, it’s asymmetric skirt, the sexuality of the open back, and the formalith of the high neck and long sleeves, that juxtaposition of tradition with modernity is appealing. It didn’t hurt that it came in three levels of transparency, either. Looking back, Oh does not think she would do anything differently if she could go back to her beginning in SL®. “All the things I’ve done, the decisions I’ve taken, the infinite hours spent on working to make my store grow really paid back and I am proud of what I have accomplished so far so I wouldn’t change anything.”
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Looking forward, Oh wants to do more. “I always want to do more, I would love to be more innovative, to offer more variety, to anticipate my customers needs. I know that one thing they would want me to do is to open up to more mesh bodies, which is something I am considering doing for quite some time, but I never seem to find the time to make it possible and I’m deeply saddened by that, as I know I am limiting both my customers and myself.” She also wishes to be more deliberate in her approach to her work going forward. The drive to participate in events pushes all creators to work to one deadline after another without an overall arc that they plan and follow. “I didn’t feel I was going somewhere or that there was a direction in what I was doing. Recently I decided to slow down, take fewer events, focus on the store itself, on the excellent relationship I have with my customers, especially with members of my group.” Second Life has had a profound effect on Oh’s first life. She was working in a hostile work environment that left her in tears three or four times a week. She was underestimated, underpaid, and unappreciated. She quit her job without a backup plan. “I didn’t plan to make of Dead Dollz my main source of income, but while I was home looking for a new job I dedicated more time to the store and it quickly started to pay back so I took the chance and put even more effort into it and now I’m glad I did. I’m happy, I do things I like, I am appreciated and I wouldn’t go back.”
Dead Dollz: Margot Romper Photographer & Stylist: Carley Benazzi Page 52 | ECLIPSE June 2018
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Dead Dollz: Faye Dress Photographer & Stylist: Autumn Rose Page 54 | ECLIPSE June 2018
Not only has Second Life given her a new career, it has pushed her in other ways. Since joining Second Life she has learned new languages, 3D modeling, marketing, store management, employee management, customer relationship management, social media marketing, and other work experiences she would not have had in her first life job. For her, it’s simple, “I think SL made me a better person, in the end.” Of course, there are thing she would change. “If I could use a magic wand on SL I will get rid of all the negativity: from bullies to scammers, from copybotters to haters.” The pseudonymity of Second Life and the additional anonymity of social media gives people the feckless idea they can to act and speak without consequence. Of course, there are always consequences, often for those whom they target. As Oh put it, “Hiding behind a screen makes lot of people feel untouchable and it really brings out the worst of them. From those who need to project their negativity upon others to those who take advantage of people’s compassion to steal money from them. They ruined SL in so many aspects that it is hard to quantify.”
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So in the end, what do Oh want us to know about her? She works a lot. When she is in SL, she is totally devoted to her store, spending all her time working on it. She enjoyed the chats in Dead Dollz VIP Group. “The girls are amazing, the way they support each other is incredible and in 10 years I have never had to eject anyone for being rude, disrespectful or offensive. I really love my girls.” In her first life, she wants you to know she is “just a normal person who works a lot” and wishes she could spend more time with her family, travel more, take some “me time.’ but I think this is something every human being wants. I’m deeply in love with my dog Logan, he’s my furbaby and cuddle companion.” And what does she want people to know about Dead Dollz? “Everything I want people to know about Dead Dollz is in my creations and the store itself. They speak about me, about my love for art and fashion, about my interest in the macabre, but also about my love for life, colors and nature. I express myself through my store and I hope my customers are able to ‘read’ my creations and that when they wear a Dead Dollz creations they have the feeling of meeting an old friend.” And you know, that is exactly what it can feel like when putting on a dress or other creation from Dead Dollz. It is like finding an old friend, one you may have even forgotten or did not know was your friend until you saw it there and sighed, “Hello darlin’, nice to see you. It’s been a long time. You’re just as lovely as you used to be.”
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Kiddo Oh of Dead Dollz Photographer: Lessthen Zero ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 57
Kiddo Oh Dead Dollz Dead Dollz Flickr Dead Dollz M Dead Dollz In Page 58 | ECLIPSE June 2018
h’s Profile z Facebook r & Flickr Group Marketplace n-World Store ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 59
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written by oema. photograph
Oema curates the ECLIPSE Magazine art column. Each piece, she discovers, reviews and highlights the work of some of the most creative and talented artists on the grid. She offers a fresh perspective in the vibrant and vast world of the arts. For this month’s feature, Oema showcases the art exhibition “Avaloir” by Eupalinos Ugajin.
tive y by oema.
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At Ravage Eupalinos Ugajin has staged the artistic installation “Avaloir� which will remain active for a few months, at least until the author decides that it is time to start a new project. Avaloir is a collection of old and new projects, which blend into one large space occupying the sky and the ground. To visit each of the locations designed by the artist, it is advisable to use the teleporters (boxes
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with the inscription TP which are intended to facilitate your visit). During the visit, it is essential to have the sounds in local up, as it is an audiovisual installation and listening is as important as seeing. Another aspect that is essential to keep in mind is that it is best-experienced if you interact with the various objects you come across because the active participation of the visitor is an essential part of understanding the work of art.
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Eupalinos Ugajin, also known as Sebastian Willis on Facebook and Flickr, is a long-known artist in the virtual environment of Second LifeÂŽ. His works range from self-irony to sober reflection, giving the visitor a complete experience with various implications to consider. As always, I do not want to reveal a very early preview to the reader, as I have no wish to take away from your pleasure in experiencing firsthand the installation. While visiting the various locations of Avaloir, my mind began to wander, starting a journey towards places and meanings that, probably, are not the intentions of the artist, but that are the result of the imagination of my soul left free to explore. In Avaloir I see the past, the present, and the future in perfect harmony with each other. More specifically, I see the evolutionary efforts of our history, which led our ancestors to live a life of sacrifice and selfdenial. I look at the limits of the past but also our present in understanding the human condition, of our ability to feel compassion for Life, in all its forms, whether the life of the human being, the animal, the environment, etc. At the same time, I see the future, awareness, and evolution. Avaloir is a provocation to the rational mind, to the man
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used to “keeping in order” his thoughts as well as his life in general. However, Life often upsets our convictions whatever they are and does not seem to allow us to live predictably, but continually challenges us with new trials and horizons to explore. The life that “changes the rules of the game” when you think you have finally understood them, the Life that challenges you with pains that you did not know you could bear (and yet you did it, improving yourself ). That is the Life of Avaloir. Avaloir makes me think that, perhaps, there is no right road, no linear one we have to follow. Instead it makes me believe we begin to walk in some direction and Life “corrects the path” through the vicissitudes and experiences we go through every day. There is no right path because each of us has his own evolutionary path to fulfill that is personal and concerns only ourselves. In some ways, it is as if Avaloir was telling me “hey, Oema, there is no order in Life, do not try to control everything!” And yet, from the catapult where I am now and from where I have a proper perspective of the installation as a whole, I see harmony.
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If instead of looking at the individual things, I look at the horizon I feel a sense of peace and serenity. As if I did not see only the installation of Eupalinos, but my life and the life of all human beings as a whole: apparent chaos, which viewed in its evolution over time, is the most harmonious and perfect thing that can be observed. Teleport to Avaloir.
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rattletrap shipya photography provided by bloggers. written by gra
“Rattletrap Shipyards offer professionally crafted, detailed mesh Yachts and Boats for the SL clients of the future, that can run Advanced Lighting Model Linden Lab’s Second Life render engine.” Some of the grids most sought after and highly talented bloggers have showcased the creations of Rattletrap Shipyards. For this feature, we highlight seven of them and what they enjoy most about this unique brand.
ards yden foxe.
Ellasparkss began her journey as a blogger to give her Second Life a purpose and direction, beyond just taking pictures. She explains, “I started blogging because I love fashion, I love how it can totally change a mood, even create a story... BUT, let’s be honest here...What would any of us flickerers photograph without the creators creations? Blogging just seemed a natural move for me.” The inspiration found for her photography is “everywhere… literally.” As for her favorite thing about Rattletrap Shipyards? “The quality and detail that goes into their boats.” Links: Flickr, Blog & Tumblr
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For xSalvyx, she enjoys Second Life because of the opportunity it gives her to express her creativity to the maximum level. She shares why she started blogging, “I love photography and fashion so I combined the 2 things and I opened my blog, this gave me a lot of satisfaction and the motivation to continue.” As for what inspires her photography, the answer is simple: Everywhere and everything. When, asked what her favorite thing is about Rattletrap Shipyards, she explains it is “The realism of its products.” Links: Flickr, Blog & Facebook
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Aurora McMinnar enjoys the creation and organization of events the most in Second Life. She began blogging because of her love for fashion. She shares, “I love to do mix and match with all that I’ve at disposal. I don’t like to be a copy of someone. I’m unique in my style and I try to show this in my pics.” Her inspiration for her photography can be found everywhere. Her favorite thing about Rattletrap Shipyards is, “The quality and detail that goes into their boats.” Links: Flickr, Blog, Facebook & Facebook Page
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For COC0NUT, blogging is his favorite thing to do in Second Life; however, he always like exploring photogenic sims and going to clubs & hangouts. He began blogging because “It combines my passion for photography, fashion, and great mesh creations,” and this still holds true for him today. When asked where he finds his inspiration for his photography, he shares, “From the products themselves and from the challenge of arranging them into a great composition. Designers do a great Job and most of the time the Items work perfectly together.” His favorite thing about Rattletrap Shipyards is that they, “sell awesome, high quality boats that fit perfectly in ocean/sea pictures. I just love shooting them.” Links: Flickr & Blog
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One of NatG’s favorite parts about Second Life is “to be able to meet people from all over the world.” She has found that taking pictures in world has become a passion, as well as decorating and creating scenes to tell a story. Her first blog focused more on the photograph process, while her second one is a take on a more traditional blog with the showcased work of content creators. Her inspiration comes from a variety of things, whether it be a song that generates an idea or feeling, something she sees on her way to work, or pictures on Pinterest in Flickr. Often times, she is inspired by an outfit, pose or a facade on a building that triggers it and becomes working, then “everything just falls into place.” NatG shares her favorite thing about Rattletrap Shipyards, “Their boats aren’t just stunning, but the love and care they put into every single detail amazes me. And this love and care combined with skills just create such gorgeous boats, I’m sure they can be many people’s dream come true. I grew up by the sea, but I live far from it now, those boats just bring me back ‘home’.” Links: Flickr, Blog & Facebook
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Damon Frost enjoys how in Second Life there are always new things to discover each day. He began blogging to try something different, as he always liked photography. “Now, I enjoy it even more with my girlfriend, since she also likes it and makes it more fun to try telling stories.” His inspiration for his photography are, “ideas that come to mind, sometimes they are real moments, sometimes for a song. I always try to tell something in every photograph.” His favorite thing about Rattletrap Shipyards is, “The large number of models you can find. They have many details that makes it fun and different to acquire one of these boats. And a lot of angles that you can find for a good photograph.” Links: Flickr & Facebook
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Amelia finds that what she enjoys most in Second Life are her friends and blogging. She initially began to blog, “as a way to express creativity, and take pictures in SL.” For these same reasons she continues to blog, as well as for the opportunity to grow and learn new skills and techniques, plus to “discover new designers on the grid.” This is also what inspires her photography, both the creation and the people. She shares her favorite thing about Rattletrap Shipyards, “I am excited to be blogging for Rattletrap, not only an amazing product, but also to show that boats are not just for the boating community, they can be for anybody.” Links: Flickr, Blog & Facebook
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the proust spotli
photography b
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 Aleriah . When asked to share something about herself, she tells us, “I came to SL, having zero idea what it really was but the moment I started exploring, a whole new world unfolded before me. One of creativity, friendship and love. One where my own creativity blossomed. My teacher at Visionaire said “Aleriah shows us how much she is loving what she is doing in no uncertain terms” - and she’s right. I fell in love with taking photos, editing and blogging, it has become a true passion and joy for me and has translated into my RL.”
ght
by Aleriah.
What is your ideal of perfect happiness? Spring and summer after a long, cold and dark winter. Sitting by the sea and just enjoying the sounds of the waves, birds and whatever else goes on around me. It’s soothing. Generally I am the happiest, when I am outside in the sunlight. Nothing feels truly insurmountable when the sun is shining. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? Indeed, yes, exactly, of course, precisely, you’re welcome, thank you. What do you most value in your friends? I have a very small group of people, I consider close friends out of choice. These are people, I’ve known for years - the oldest one for a decade. I know, I can trust them without reservation, I can be myself, they’re there for me and I for them, and we have fun together. I value honesty, loyalty, trust, kindness and reliability. How would you like to die? Peacefully, without pain or worry, in my sleep. Reassured that my loved ones are safe, happy and taken care of, as well as knowing that I’ve made a positive difference to the people whose lives I’ve touched. If I can’t go peacefully, I’d like to go out knowing I had helped someone else in some way. What is your motto? That is a tough one. I have two, I try to live by. One is my own; “I don’t love people because they are beautiful, people are beautiful because I love them” - with this, I mean that once you get to know someone, how they look doesn’t matter, because you connect with them and the looks become secondary to their personality. The other is “The extraordinary is in what we do, not who we are.” This is from the Tomb Raider franchise and I feel it’s something we all can apply to ourselves. It doesn’t matter where we come from, how we grew up etc., what matters is what we do, how we treat others and how we choose to live. What is your most marked characteristic? I would have to say honesty. I truly believe that everyone is best off with being honest, but kind. If someone asks me for advice or what I think of something, I will always give them my honest answer in a kind way, even if it can be hard to do so, I always strive for that. I do not believe that telling people what they want to hear, will help them in any way. Connect with Aleriah on her Flickr, Facebook and Blog.
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things to do
featuring shop hop. written by synful aeon. photography by temp
pest rosca.
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Most shopping events are presented at a central location with stalls, sections or temporary stores for the designers to showcase their items. The owners of Shop Hop thought a sales event that wouldbring the customer back to the stores for the designers’ releases was needed. Items sold during the event are priced at 100L or less. Shop Hop normally starts the first Saturday each month and runs for one full week. The event is free for Kid and Family Designers. The Shop Hop group is also free for shoppers to enter, so they may be aware of when the next event happens. The Shop Hop Event was started in March 2017 by Scout Steampunk, Promisehope, and their Second Life® family at that time. Steampunk at the start of the event handled working with the stores, making the hud which helps customers move around to the different stores, and making sure things were updated on Facebook® and Flickr®. Promisehope was at this time the Blog Manager and helped respond to messages on social media. The last round of ShopHop was around December 2017 and in February Steampunk took a break from Second Life.
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In April Promisehope took over Shop Hop, and the Kid Community helped her get the event set back up with a new headquarters; which is a kid-friendly, two-story building adorned with pastel decor and a sign welcoming anyone who enters. The Kid Community also helped with making a mesh logo and scripts for the new event hud. LynShay, one of Promisehope’s friends, helped her check the landmarks in the hud to make sure they worked correctly. Shop Hop centers around the Kid/Family community of Second Life. Many family-friendly items can be found trekking through the shopping event like clothing from Toddleedoo to Tweenster. Sometimes furniture can be found, family poses and even gestures. �I enjoyed there are so many stores that I may not have known to existed, but now I do-and the different styles in designs,� explained Arielminotaur a new kid in Second Life. The type of items set for sale depends on the designer and the theme for that round.
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Shop Hop Owner: Aiden Mellow
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In the past, the Shop Hop owners would invite designers for the event. This round though Promisehope made a Google Doc and posted a request for designers who wanted to join in the Shop Hop group notices and their Facebook page. Some of the most common designers who frequent the event listings are Buglets, Lazo, Tiny Trinkets, Larnia, and Chelsea’s Children Clothes. “When I look at designers I look for creativity, and we don’t allow copyrighted or trademark items to be sold. We have a few starting stores in our first round back. I’m not afraid to bring someone new on board,” said Promisehope. To get started trekking through Shop Hop, look for the group with Promisehope’s
name on it. Then join the group and look through the notices for the hud. Attaching the hud for the first time, you will be asked to grant permission to teleport. You must grant permission for the hud links to work. A store name can be clicked on the hud menu to immediately teleport to the store. Besides looking like a cute shopping list for the Kid and Family Community, the hud also serves as a checklist for visiting the stores. When visiting a store for sixty seconds, a check will appear next to the store name on the hud. If any problems with the hud come up people in the group are always helpful offering advice and the event owner will kindly help. After the hud menu is complete the customer will
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receive the gift for this round pictured on the hud. A random wheel spin chose June’s sponsor ~*Buglets*~.
use their own bloggers for the event. Despite not having bloggers for the event Shop Hop has a Flickr group and Facebook page to keep everyone up to Gacha items can be found all over Second date on future rounds. Life, especially in shopping events but Shop Hop has decided to not allow them Shop Hop started fresh this year on in the event. They want their shoppers June 20th and will last longer than the to get exactly what they want without standard week. This time around they having to deal with the randomness won’t have a theme for this first round of a gacha machine. The event owner but for future rounds of the sales event also wanted to make Shop Hop more they might have themes. If the event enjoyable for shoppers. continues being a success Promisehope has plans to accommodate whatever In the past Shop Hop had a Blog Manager the future might bring. “I hope this event and bloggers that helped get the word will last for years to come. I plan on if we out about event. This time around a get more stores than the hud can hold to designer survey was done asking the rotate stores in and out each month so all designers if they wanted to use their own stores can have a chance to participate,” bloggers or if the event should have a explained Promisehope. blog team. Many designers decided to
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In the Shop Hop group you can already see they are looking forward to the future of the event. A theme for July has already been planned, �Summer Fun�, which looks to bring out fun creativity in the designers who join that round. A date has also been posted to look for future applications for more designers wishing to join. Currently, the Shop Hop staff is hoping more boy designers will apply to be in the sales event so more of a variety of items can be offered to the community. Like Shop Hop on Facebook. Follow Shop Hop on Flickr.
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the world of role
featuring “diagon alley.� written by novaleigh freng. landscape photography by au
play tumn rose.
Mischief Managed Admins: Hoggy, Corwin & Klepto Photograph by Wicca Merlin
The team behind the scenes of th roleplay in Second Life is up to some roleplay sim which includes the ic of Hogsmeade, and other memor favorite books will be expanding everything you could possibly n Page 124 | ECLIPSE June 2018
he Magic at the Mischief Managed ething. Soon, the already expansive conic Hogwarts castle, the village rable Harry Potter icons from your g to include the best place to buy need for your time at Hogwarts. ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 125
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You guessed it: Diagon Alley is coming to Mischief Managed. The new build will feature some of your favorite landmarks from the books. “We’re aiming to have plenty of familiar landmarks around Diagon Alley, from the brick wall and the Leaky Cauldron, to Gringotts Bank and even the Weasley Joke Shop,” said Perse when asked what the new build had in store for the Mischief Managed community. The build, a long standing dream and pet project for most of the administration, will serve many purposes. Among them? Giving those who wish to play an adult role more opportunity for adult roleplay. The build will expand upon the already established Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and adjoining Hogsmeade village that are currently the center of most roleplay. Some of the iconic landmarks like Gringotts bank were even custom built for the new sim addition.
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Diagon Alley isn’t just a fun new place for the adults to hang out, though. Admins Perse and Sadde are thrilled to see Ollivander’s open its doors for students... and those of us who never learned not to store our wands in our back pockets, of course. “I think the chance to go in and roleplay getting your first wand will definitely give that magic feel for first year students and who knows, maybe in the future that pairing of wizard and wand will have a strong impact within our roleplay HUD,” said Perse during the interview. The Mischief Managed roleplay HUD allows players to truly immerse themselves in the magical world of Harry Potter. It gives players the opportunity to learn and cast spells and truly interact in a way that most muggles simply wouldn’t understand. Klepto, another one of the people behind the scenes at Mischief Managed, says that the upcoming HUD update will include a new potions system, a revamped quidditch system, and much more. Diagon Alley will allow students and adults alike to build upon an already rich roleplay. Those playing Page 128 | ECLIPSE June 2018
adult characters will now have more opportunity for play outside the school and Hogsmeade. The village adjacent to the infamous school of witchcraft and wizardry already offers some adult housing options, and with the new build, it’s possible that more could be coming soon. The new build, and certainly the upcoming HUD update, are things that Potter fans across the grid can admire. Mischief Managed administrator Saffron has been with the sim for a long time, and while she doesn’t seem to be a huge fan of spoilers, she did give us a little glimpse into just how much went into making a sim build like Diagon Alley so unique. Creators such as Linnie Gothly (the owner of .:UR:.) and Gwen Ferox (the owner of Violetility) helped contribute to customize the wizarding world’s epicenter of business and shopping activity. Beautiful custom texturing from Corwin Lacourte (owner of Hextraordinary) and pieces from some of your favorite home and garden brands were also used to make Diagon Alley a truly magical place, as unique and true to the Harry Potter aesthetic as possible.
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“It’s a team effort with everyone contributing in some form,” Klepto explained when asked about what all went into bringing Diagon Alley to life and just who was involved. “Admins, OOC staff, and some RPers even. Whether it be mesh, textures, ideas, discussion, layout, etc... There are many aspects that go into such a large addition that it really isn’t fair to give the credit to one or a few.” As exciting as the addition of Diagon Alley is sure to be for student and adult alike, this is not where the magic ends for Mischief Managed. The administration team, most of whom have been with the roleplay in Second Life since it was known as Hogwarts: Your Story many years ago, are already cooking up some new and exciting ideas to make the already magical world just a little more fantastic. Sadde, Marina, and Klepto are always talking about what could be next for the popular wizarding world roleplay. One thing that they all seem to agree on (and that Mischief Managed fans are sure to be excited about) is that there will be another Wizarding Faire at some point in the future. What else does the future hold for Mischief Managed? Knockturn Alley, perhaps... or a quidditch world cup? Nothing seems to be off of the table for this group of Potter-enthusiasts, but to tell you too much would be, well… a spoiler.
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If you’d like to try your hand at potions clas at Gringotts, you can learn more about the M checking out the links below. Remember, th ¾ on September first. Be sure to stop by Dia supplies, and don’t be late
Diagon Alley o
For more inform Mischief Managed Flickr Group, Plur Page 132 | ECLIPSE June 2018
ss or see if you’d make a good curse-breaker Mischief Managed roleplay in Second Life by he Hogwarts Express leaves from Platform 9 agon Alley to make sure you have all of your e for your first day of class!
opens mid-July.
mation, visit the d website, Flickr, rk and Facebook! ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 133
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Trending now
photography by wic
Trending Now is a monthly piece dedicated to showcasing some of the best ready-to-wear fashion found on Second LifeÂŽ. For this issue, ECLIPSE Magazine stylists put together outfits inspired by the hottest trends of the summer!
cca merlin.
Caesar Langer - Oversized Silhouettes Jacket: Seul Garcon - Raglan Denim Under Jacket Vest: Seul Garcon - Sherpa Hoodie T Shirt with strap and chain: Ch’s - Oscar Pants: Caboodle - Cozy Joggers Shoes: Deadwool - Chase Sneakers Bigger Chain: Caboodle - Paper Chainz Page 138 | ECLIPSE June 2018
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Carley Benazzi - Checks Please Dress: Ison - Peggy Dress Footwear: Reveal - Checkerboard Boots Hair: Homage - Thalia Solana Series Hat: Illmatic - Sueded Stretch Cap Glasses: Lens - 44 sunglasses Necklace: Eclat - Vynil Diamonds Choker
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Ombrebleue Winsmore - Rubber and Plastic Hair: Shi - Hagios Ears: Swallow - Princess Jacket: Ison - Bomber Plastic BodySuit: =P!= - Plastic Leotard Pants: Luder - Yumi Pumps: Pure Poison - Luize
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SaianSamuel - Vertical Stripes Top : K - Resort cutsew & Shoulder shirt Pants : Amazing creation - srtipe jeans Shoes : Graphit Design - macassinis Hat : Entent- Odilon Fedora & Hair Bracelet : Re - Ikal Bracelet Bag : K - Resort Totebag
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Tempest Rosca - Palm Beach Glamor Hair: Truth - Henya Glasses: AMD - My Cute Big Glasses Earrings: {glow} - Indian Summer Shorts: Giz Seorn - Frilly Hotpants Top: Ison - Iman Wrap top Shoes: [Juju] - Draps
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Wicca Merlin - Power Shorts Top: Scandalize - Susan Shorts: Entice - Alice in Wonderland Shorts Belt: EarthStones - Leather & Laced Belt Jacket: monso - 4Minute - Jacket Boots: UTOPIA@Design - Mirka Necklace: shanghai - Xana Hair: Exile - Outside the Lines Glasses: Since 1975 - 324 Sunglasses Rings: Slipper - Cadence Rings Lipstick: Izzie’s - Fae Lipgloss
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at home with wen
STYLING BY blair lockhearst. photography by blair lo
Wendz Tempest explores the long underappreciated and overlooked world of home and garden design. The flourishing diversity and abundance of choice since the mesh revolution has led to a bold new world of world creation. For this month’s feature, Blair Lockhearst showcases the different ways to decorate outdoor spaces while making it more inviting.
ndz
ockhearst.
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Couch: Mudhoney - Leslie Sectional Set Table: The Loft - Courland Outdoor Table Heater: The Loft - Tabletop Heater Pillow: ARIA & The Loft - Portico Bench Pillow Rug: Mudhoney - Knitted Rug Plant: Apple Fall - Rosemary Plant: Dust Bunny - guiana chestnut tree Plant: The Loft & ARIA - Branwyn Potted Agaveium Plant: Apple Fall - Juniper Topiary Potting table: Dust Bunny - spring potting table Plant: Dust Bunny - lemon plant
Cloche: Apple Fall - Basil Sproutlings Water hose: PILOT - Water hose Plant Rack: Plaaka - PotHanger Books: Apple Fall - Potting Shed Book Books: Apple Fall - Recipe Books Stringlights: Ariskea - Porch Light string Fence: Apple Fall - Cranfield Fence Lamp: Bazar - Morocco-Candle lamp Plate: Apple Fall - Plate w/ Sliced Grapefruit Plant: THOR - Metal Jar with Herbs Snack plate: Fancy Decor - Plate with Snacks
Table: ARIA - Oakley Dining Table Chair: Mudhoney - Laverne Chair Newspaper: THOR - Newspaper Planter: Dust Bunny - ceramic head planter Plant: Dust Bunny - spiked ceramic plant Flowers: ARIA - Oakley Amsonia flowers in a vase Coffee press: Erratic - coffee press Plate: Apple Fall - Plate w/ Sliced Grapefruit Coffee cup: Fancy Decor - Classic Coffee Cup Pens: Sorgo - Pencils & Marker Plant: Dust Bunny - snake plant
Table: The Loft - Verona Dining Table Chair: The Loft - Verona Dining Chair Chair: Apple Fall - Conch Garden Chair Cheeseboard: Dust Bunny - fig cheese board . RARE Cake: Apple Fall - Fall Harvest Cake Bread basket: Dust Bunny - Bread Basket Plates: Fancy Decor - Plate Stack Bowls: Apple Fall - Hand Painted Scandinavian Bowls Pears: Apple Fall - Charlotte’s Pears
Flower vase: Apple Fall - Pyracantha Berries in Glazed Pot Bottle: ChicChica - Minerale Wine glass: Apple Fall - Wine Glasses Wine bottle: Apple Fall - Argentinian Malbec Tray: LISP - Chocolate Tea Tray Lantern: Backbone - Weathered Lantern Blue Lantern: Ariskea - Corine Lantern Grass: HPMD - Sweet Garden Grass Grass: HPMD - Wildgrasses
Sofa: Nutmeg - Chesterfield Sofa Chair: Nutmeg - Round Back Fabric Chair Pink with Bowl Table: Apple Fall - Old Stained Table Trunk: Apple Fall - Fashion Trunk Chairs: Dust Bunny - autumns calling chairs Teapot: Apple Fall - Enamel Teapot Turkey: Dust Bunny - Harvest Feast Turkey Plant: Dust Bunny - Lemon Plant
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Plant: ARIA & The Loft - Portico Potted Bromeliad Planter box: Fancy Decor - Davis Planter Rug: Mudhoney - Judy Area Rug Stripes Plant: ARIA & The Loft - Portico Potted caladium Plant: ARIA & The Loft - Portico Potted Aspidistra Plant: The Loft & ARIA - Branwyn Kentia Palm Planter Plant: Dust Bunny - areca palm plant Plant: Dust Bunny - elephant ear plant Plant: Dust Bunny - potted cheese plant Plant: The Loft & ARIA - Branwyn Potted
Bowls: Apple Fall - Hand Painted Scandinavian Bowls Candles: Apple Fall - Plaster Candles Blueberries: Apple Fall - Blueberries Flower vase: LODE - Gladiolus Vase Cloche: Apple Fall - Snowdrops in Cloche Bread basket: Dust Bunny - Bread Basket Juice bottles: 8f8 - Apple Juice Cake: Apple Fall - Fig & Blackberry Cake
Chair: The Loft & ARIA - Weldon Rattan Chair Daybed: The Loft & ARIA - Roma Daybed Coffee table: Kalopsia - Zelie’s Rattan Table Rug: The Loft & ARIA - Attwell Fringe Rug Stool: The Loft & ARIA - Roma Garden Stool Crate: Pixel Mode - Pillow Storage
Lantern: Hive - Camp Lantern Plant: Dust Bunny - giant palm plant Iced Tea: Apple Fall - Cherry Iced Tea Moccasins: Apple Fall - Leather Moccasins Awning: We’re Closed - Awning
Sofa: Cheeky Pea - Caicos Sofa Rug: Cheeky Pea - Caicos Rug Basket: Dust Bunny - pom pom blanket Trunk: Apple Fall - Leather Strapped Trunk Umbrella: Pixel Mode - Umbrella Taupe Sunscreen: PILOT - Sunscreen & Sunglasses Flower vase: Ariskea - Gold Flower Beverage bucket: Apple Fall - Lemonade Bucket Lamp: Apple Fall - Storm Lamp
Hat basket: The Loft - Antilles Hat Basket Lantern: N4RS - Glass Lantern Glass float: Isil - Glass Float Console: Apple Fall - Masculine Bar Lemonade: Tres Blah - Lemonade Drink dispensers: DRD - Juice Bar Pier: Apple Fall - Ocean Pier Plant: Dust Bunny - areca palm plant ECLIPSE June 2018 | Page 173
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Voices from the g
Voices From the Grid is a monthly survey of opinions and ideas of Second Life® residents on the salient issues of the day. For this issue, ECLIPSE Magazine asked residents, “What does Second Life mean to you?”
grid
Photograph provided by Sapphire Viking. Page 178 | ECLIPSE June 2018
sapphire viking
S
apphire Viking joined Second Life in 2006. In no time she fell in love this strange new world full of surprises. After wandering for about a year, she discovered the blossoming scene that became a grid-wide sisterhood known as the Femdom. A couple of years ago Sapphire was feeling burned out and needed to stretch her wings. She decided to expand her horizons by learning how to build. After attended classes at Builder’s Brewery for several months she used her new skills to fulfill her dream of owning an art gallery. Second Life means unlimited possibilities. A world-wide community of artists, designers and builders. It means support for those of us who are looking for inspiration or validation. The creativity in Second Life reminds me of the Surrealist game “Exquisite Corpse”. Wikipedia describes the process as “... a method by which a collection of words or images is collectively assembled. Each collaborator adds to a composition in sequence …”. While this game was originally played on a simple piece of paper Second Life propels the idea into the digital age. I am an introvert, as a teen I spent endless hours drawing comic strips. I came up with complicated storylines and characters that represented my inner world. Second Life means I can now create my own animated “comic strip”. With the advent of mesh I have been able to create an avatar that is reminiscent of one of my characters. The animations available with Bento make her come to life! I have to confess that at a point I fell in love with my own avatar. A couple years ago one of my supportive SL friends suggested I check out Flickr which took my experience and opportunities to a whole new level. I enjoy taking photos using only the inworld light settings. I love the colors you can achieve in Second Life, my photographs reflect the same sense of color I use in my artwork. I frequent sims that encourage photography and have recently started entering photo contests. The contests combine my love of photography with my shopping addiction! Perhaps more than anything SL means a big, eccentric family. It means never being alone. SL means a place to connect mind to mind with people from all over the world. A chance to find out that no matter what country we live in we have more in common than one might think. All the creative and dynamic people who share their ideas and dreams provide a link that holds us all together in this wonderful collaboration called Second Life. Check out her Flickr and Art Gallery.
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Photograph provided by Jade Glazner. Page 180 | ECLIPSE June 2018
J
jade glazner
ade Glazner joined Second Life in 2008 after starting a successful store on IMVU as Scarling in 2006. Through the years she has continued to make products on both, and has owned several stores on SL, the current one being Nar Mattaru which was founded in 2013. Jade focuses on creating unique products to suit those of a more alternative fashion style, including but not limited to tattoos, eyes, cosmetics, apparel, and customization options such as brows, hairbases, and avatar shapes. Second Life has so many meanings for me. It’s a way for me (and others) to escape reality and present ourselves however we want. We can create our ideal selves, as “normal” or as wild as we want to be. We can dress our avatars in a way we wish we could dress in real life. We can create an avatar for characters in our heads, or identities we want. We can decide we want one look one day and completely change it up the next. There’s no limitations and it’s exciting and wonderful. The whole world of Second Life is at your fingertips, and because it’s all usermade, we get to customize that world too. Second Life is literally whatever you want it to be. Want to be a model? Done. Want to own a business? Done. Want to teach or take classes? Done. Want to go clubbing or check out some live entertainment? Done. Want to be the opposite gender? Done. Want to roleplay? Want combat? Want to be a giant freaking’ rainbow unicorn with demon wings and lasers coming out of your eyes? DONE, DONE, and DONE. I really can’t describe a single meaning for Second Life for me. It’s so many things. For me personally, I love modeling and photography as well as running my store, Nar Mattaru. I’m a huge shopaholic and love taking photos of my different looks and posting them on Flickr. I absolutely LOVE character customization and I can easily spend hours doing so on RPGs let alone Second Life where the possibilities are endless. I love creating new products, both for just myself and to sell to others. I love having an outlet for my creativity and being able to support my shopping habit at the same time! It’s a fantasy world, and no matter what your fantasy is, there’s something there for you. Check out her Flickr and Marketplace.
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Photograph provided by Tayaga Steampunk. Page 182 | ECLIPSE June 2018
Tayga steampunk
T
ayga Steampunk arrived in SL in 2009, to live, in all its fullness, the vampire Camarilla - Toreador in the Brazilian lands of RPG. For a long time this was his world. She is currently blogger of blog “by Tayga Steampunk,” co-creator of Toxx Templates and graphic designer at the company “For You service agency.”
SL is my private world. In SL I can get a little out of real life problems. When I’m in SL, I use the moments I dedicate myself to doing: art and image. This is relaxing for me. When I started in SL in 2007, with the avatar of Tayga Charleville, SL became a world of enchantment for me. With the passing of time, experiences, joys and disappointments, made me see the SL as a means of leisure and relaxation. Turns out that, I can not deny, I will always be an old-nobbie. I like to love SL. More than 10 years after being here, I feel that I still do not know everything that this life can offer me. Every time I need to create a steller image, shoot for the blog, be behind the scenes of an event I feel like a kid in the best amusement park in the world. I love SL. Check out her Store and Blog.
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Photograph provided by Noirran Marx. Page 184 | ECLIPSE June 2018
noirran marx
N
oirran Marx joined Second Life on April 17 th of 2006 after reading a Wired magazine article. Stumbling through Amsterdam for 3 days, she escaped to the dark side of Second Life and has remained ever since. An Augmentationist, she joined a couple of communities early and established ties that exist to this day. A Royal in Vampyre Empire Transylvania, she also DJs actively at other communities, along with owning her sim Hercynia. I have always been a fan of MMO’s and early on, to me, Second Life was a social MMO with limitless potential for exploration and artistic expression. I have tried just about everything here. A couple weeks into this world I joined Transylvania where I felt most at home. Over the years I have met many people from there in First Life and count them among my friends. I enjoy the creativity aspect and most of all, the music. I have owned a store, had a blog called SL House and Decorating Addict, and DJ’d all over. I also dabble in flickr. One of the things I am grateful for, are the friends I have met here. I have learned many lessons while in this world, good and bad, and I wouldn’t trade any of them. They were all important opportunities for growth. Second Life is truly, what you make of it. Currently I manage the Transylvania sim and community with 3 other people and curate the collaborative exhibits at One Blood Gallery. Build and decorate in my sim Hercynia, DJ extensively, and experiment with pictures on flickr. I try to keep an open mind and not judge people here, we are in this virtual space for our own reasons. On my end, it gives me a place to focus my creativity as I have major depression and anxiety in First Life. Second Life is a limitless world, I am not here to limit myself.
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Photograph provided by Lady Chriss.
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lady chriss
αdy Chяiss (christiana1) joined Second Life six years ago. She says it seems to have passed in a flash. As a Lover of fashion and shopping also in rl, she immediately understood that that would be her way. She modeled her avatar to her taste, enjoying the sensation of no longer being ‘forced to fight with extra pounds, missing centimeters in height or physical defects of aesthetics.” She saw SL as the chance to create her alternative selfe. Focusing on making her avatar as unique and irreplaceable as possible, her passion soon turned into a real job, the people who saw my avatar, they also wanted to reach those results, and they asked me the chance to improve ... and it was like that ... I understood how I could combine my passion with a real job as a shopping assistance to people who asked her how she got her look. As a shopping assistance and stylist, her also began working for fashion houses and modeling school. Her real life passion for photography came in handy when she began a fashion blog. I entered like everyone else out of curiosity, bored by the usual routine of real life, I came to this world unaware of what I would find. I’m an esthete and I love to surround myself with beautiful and unique things. The furniture was soon the next step and I created for my enjoyment and then for work houses, settings or special photo sets for friends or for my photos. My inventory has become increasingly important * (at the moment I have 110,000 items) and my imagination had no limits. That’s how I came up with the idea of combining my passion once again with a job that would allow me to gain some linden and why not some * notoriety * And here are the * Multiscene 4 You * born. Lands where you can rent your skybox at a low price but on the other hand you have high quality houses and settings with a unique and typically * Italian * style. Attentive to details, good taste and welcome and professional assistance, knowing how to speak fluently in voice 3 languages, soon spread the word and now I have * friends customers * who stay in my land for months. Multiscene is a work that walks parallel to my passion for fashion in all its forms. My experience in Second Life has been and still is a dream from which at the moment I have no intention of waking up. I am well aware that it is a game and must remain as such. When you come back from a stressful day in real life, I ... and I believe many like me, prefer to break away from reality to dive into the unreal and fascinating world which is Second Life. Check out her Flickr, Blog and MultiScene 4 You.
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Photograph provided by Freya Cromwell. Page 188 | ECLIPSE June 2018
Photograph provided by Clau Dagger.
clau dagger
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aturated, Exaggerated, Chaos and Style. Cats. Clau Dagger makes reality into fantasy and vice versa. Then Cats.
Second Life - To me this is the planet of creation, art and playground. You are the god of yourself so you can fly and teleport. You may divide lands and terraform, build a house, a town to the whole world. And you as a god can go shopping! There will be so much interaction with other gods and you make your own myth, good ones or bad ones, funny ones or sad ones. And if Second Life is game of the god, heck I am playing it freaking good and feeling good! Only one god above is Lin. No I shouldn’t be talking about that here :) Check out her Flickr.
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Photograph by provided by Lynx Luga.
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ynx Iuga: Iuga is his last name, not Luga. Often very confusing, but 10 years ago when Lynx took his first steps in Second Life, you could only pick a last name from a list. Like everybody else is SL he wandered around discovering the creations others made to make this world fun and exciting. When he met Lorin Tone who was, and still is, the master of sounds, and obtaining a personal script to get access to a sounds menu, he started his first shop.
lynx Iuga
Evil Chant was born. Lynx created Gothic objects with sounds in them to create a melancholic environment.When mesh started to show up in SL he was not skilled enough to create new stuff and instead of buying full-perm objects, he closed Evil Chant to try something else. He soon noticed there was so many things in SL already and started to get bored. He even took a break for one year and left with the intention of never coming back, but when he discovered Flickr, he was amazed by the wonderful pictures made in SL. He learned the basics of photoshop and other photo editors and returned to SL. He improved and now he is the proud owner of Monocle Man. A place where everybody who wants to learn the basics about photography can take pictures. Monocle Man has more than 10 locations open for everyone. His studio is yours. Lynx client list is now closed and as a freelance photographer he wanders around like when he took his first steps in SL, but this time to take wonderful pictures of landscapes and people. On Thursdays you can find him playing as a DJ in a Dutch club called BE-ONE–another challenge. Second Life has always been for me a way of taking a break from RL. I am really relaxed when I take my pictures in-world and edit them in photoshop. You could say it’s working as a kind of therapy. It gives me pleasure to get appreciation in SL and even in RL when I show people my illustrations. I am not into family business, that is why I have no need of a personal home or private area. Monocle Man is a way for me to share my work and give people the opportunity to have a nice time and meet other people in Second Life with the same ideas and interests. I noticed there is no longer room in Second Life for people without experience. Personally I find that a pity as they are the future. I never say playing SL , as for me Second Life is not really a game. It’s a way to express yourself who you really are with the opportunities you probably never obtain in real life. Sure, it’s addictive. Imagine if Linden labs decided to pull the switch (lol) That’s why for me, it’s very important to make the difference between both worlds. Without Second Life I would still be the same person. It’s important to be who you are in SL as you are in RL. It’s the first step of gaining respect. I find it hard to say not to share your rl in SL. Why not? In time people will eventually respect you for who you are in rl and in Second Life. Sharing, making friends and even being loved in Second Life is what makes us happy in rl, and if things don’t work out, just take another shot :)
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Photograph by Tempest Rosca. Page 192 | ECLIPSE June 2018
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ren matsura
en Matsura started in 2014, blogging with an androgynous and minimalist style, he had the possibility of opening to the world of modeling thanks to ECLIPSE Magazine with his interview on the androgynous lifestyle, after then he was hired as a model in Versus magazine. He started doing castings for different magazines that are still working today. Over the years he changed his style to find a style that would feel comfortable and adapted to have a unisex blog and decoration. I would like to recommend all the stores and events that belong to my sponsors, since I consider each of them to be of high quality and could be recommended to anyone. Second Life, is a possibility that gives us all people to be or do what in our real life does not allow us for different reasons, we can communicate with different people from different cultures. We can enrich ourselves and know another point of view. It gives the possibility that people who are shy or with a type of social phobia can integrate into a society of some people who have a complicated RL and can be distracted. For me, Second Life is a big part of my life, because it has allowed me to meet very important people who are now part of my Real Life and my Second Life. Second Life, allow to give me to freedom of what I do without thinking about what others think and what makes me happy. I would like to say Thank You to all those people who support my work during this journey and take a moment to comment or put a favorite, it’s not the same without them, because they give me a reason to continue taking photographs, which is what I like most about of my SL and last but not least, the designers offer me the opportunity and the freedom to show their designs in a way that inspires me the most. That’s why I thank my family and friends too. That their have made my Second Life very happy, their help me in those bad and good times that I need them. Check out his Blog, Flickr, Instagram and Facebook.
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Photograph provided by Serenity Semple. Page 194 | ECLIPSE June 2018
serenity semple
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erenity Semple was born into SL in mid 2005; and took a little bit to take off but eventually found herself as multiple store support, blogger, model, and friend to so many. To me, Second Life has always been a virtual world fueled by dreams. To some it’s a form of escape and to some that’s what dreams are as well; yet, from this I always saw the ability to live out how I wished to be and meet others who wished and expressed themselves too. The ability to tap into your heart, mind, soul and live out what you really are speaks volumes and is something that is not appreciated as it should be when people talk about Second Life in general. Yet, when you think about it - there’s so much creativity and such stemming from one person alone; when you multiply that by how many people there are in the world it’s astounding what there is to experience. Originally I didn’t even think much of it back in 2005 but it’s grown by leaps in bounds of what people can do with different content. Most of the newcomers don’t even understand what was gone through to get where we are today and I think it’s a little bit of a shame, since it’s really fascinating and sometimes hilarious. I can tell countless tales of the time before Animation Overrides/AOs and how we all spammed the same dance the moment it was available to us, we lacked so much but still managed to find companionship and great times in what minimal items there were. These are times that will always remain as fond memories and over the past 13 years - I’ve made great ones. I’ve met my real life friends from SL, even met and married my real life husband and began a real life family out of the meetings and things that have come from this virtual world. Even the word virtual world is sometimes glossed over as a game but I really hope people open up themselves and sometimes even lose yourself to truly being someone you feel happy with. Check out her Flickr, Blog and Facebook.
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Photograph provided by Nerxual Oh. Page 196 | ECLIPSE June 2018
nERXUAL OH
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erxual Oh is a casual freelancer in photography, modeling, selling clothes and avatar skins. All on her marketplace store; Nerxual Oh’s Creations.
Second Life means a second chance to live. An extension of my own life, but in extreme differences between the two. One such difference is the ability to live freely, without worry or judgement. Another is a grand chance to make most of your wild imagination come to life! Gets better when you can share that enjoyment with your companions. There is little to no limit at all, when it comes to Second Life. It certainly has a long history with everyone, including myself. I joined back in mid 2007, it quickly became a large part of my everyday life. Like everyone else, I’ve my ups and downs but that won’t ever stop me from having fun in my Second Life. An unique adventure you will not have anywhere else! Check out her Flickr and Marketplace.
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Photograph provided by Alecsa Harcourt. Page 198 | ECLIPSE June 2018
alecsa harcourt
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lecsa Harcourt has been a resident of Second Life since July 2010. As a new resident, she mostly explored and met people of different nations. After a while she started working as host at the Energy Club, where she was promoted in time to manager and director. She really enjoyed exploring, photographing, getting to know new people. She likes shopping and photography, and eventually created a blog to show off her shopping. After a short while, creators began supporting her blog and has in July, she will celebrate her fifth anniversary as a blogger. Yes, I can say that Second Life has changed my life on a creative and matrimonial level. I met my partner in Second Life and we have been together in real life now since March 2013. Second Life allows me to follow my own advice, “Create your own style… let it be unique for yourself and yet identifiable for others.” Check out her Flickr and Blog.
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THE wayfarer...
photography by taylo
“The Wayfarer” is a monthly feature by Taylor Wassep showcasing some of the most aesthetic places in Second Life®. For this issue, the Wayfarer journeyed to the remote islands of Bliss. Explore the rustic scenery, find solace with your inner peace and perhaps along the way stumble upon your bliss.
or wassep.
Explore Bliss.
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