Fusion Magazine - May 2014

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C O N T E N T S

Publisher Notes

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Welcome to Goatswood

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Sort Your Inventory

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Frisland

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Looks of the Month

Joy of Motherhood

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It all Starts with a Smile

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Cover Story

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Fashion Editor Notes

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Get That Style!

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Around the Maypole

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Blogger's Corner

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PUBLISHER

Libby

Farleigh

LAYOUT

Libby

Farleigh

FASHION EDITOR

Daija

Arida

December

Dollinger

MARKETING

Hela

Azalee

FUSION S t a f f contributors

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Brittney Lynne

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WRITERS Bliss Windlow Rylan Carling Auryn Beorn Desire Strangelove

PHOTOGRAPHERS Rylan Carling Bethany Heart Harvest Dezno Ivana Lockhart

FASHION TEAM Emilianamarie Alex1985 Diabolito Oakley Foxtrot

Photography by Xantheanne Modeled by Luna Jubilee

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On this month's cover:

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NOTE-FROM-THE-PUBLISHER 14

Our cover model this issue is Luna Jubilee, who is the owner and creator behind !bang Poses. As a very long term customer of Luna's I'm delighted we're featuring her in this month's magazine! Her picture for the cover was created by Xantheanne, who we picked for the wonderfully ethereal tone to her art.

We're a pretty pro SL family lot here at Fusion Magazine. As someone who has been through the good times and the bad times that come along with adoption in Second Life I remain a staunch supporter. I think it's a difficult concept for some people to understand. The main concern when you talk to people whose reaction to adoption is 'eww!' is that it's just 'weird'. Well, there's a helluva lot of weirdness in Second Life, but wanting to be part of a family is not on the scale. There also seems to be a misconception amongst a lot of people that SL kids are 'pretending' to be children, this is inaccurate. Yes, of course, there are those people who purely roleplay, who don't allow any of their 'real' self to come into their relationships, but in my 7 years or so adopting I've found these to be the minority, and their relationships do not last long. The families that last for years tend to be those families that are friends first and foremost, but whose bond surpasses simple friendship.

That isn't roleplay, and it certainly isn't pretend.

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Joy Motherhood THE

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by Bliss Windlow

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hen it comes to mothers, children, and families in Second Life, people are pretty polarized. There is a real movement against anything that involves ‘children’ because of the potential for abuse.

I must admit I had concerns when I first encountered it, mainly because I knew nothing about it and because it is not something I would ever choose to do. I spent some time talking to the people involved in family play as well as people who were concerned. I also discussed it with some colleagues and other experts.

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There is potential for abuse and we should continue our vigilance in that regard, however there is also potential for healing. Being a mother is not an automatic right assigned to every woman once she reaches puberty. You can have all the necessary parts and still not be able to conceive. Some women never have the opportunity afforded them, and some, because of their loss of a child, never venture down that path again. For these women to be allowed to have a virtual experience of being a mother can be powerful. If they happen to be paired with someone who never had a childhood or who came from horrific abuse and is enjoying the abandon of having the perfect childhood in Second Life, can’t we see how magical that could be?

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So for our Second Life Mother’s Day, I want to wish all the mothers in here a happy day.

I hope they find the joy and healing they are seeking and that we all remember that SL is not full of avatars; it is full of people who use their avatars to connect with one another. We all bring our dreams and our sorrows. We all bleed and cry. We all laugh and love. Let’s choose to celebrate and encourage laughter and love and let people make their own choices for their lives unhindered by our beliefs and judgments. ■

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Welcome to gOATSWOOD article and photography by Rylan Carling

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oatswood is not your average role playing (RP) sim, but, instead, offers plenty of options and opportunities for those interested. The sim can be enjoyed in any number of ways. Simple exploration is allowed, as long as the visitor tag is worn and good manners are adhered to. If interested, there are backstory notes scattered around the town, to give the explorer more in-depth knowledge about the area and history. RP is not a requirement to live on the sim, and a cottage can be rented for a fee.

Lastly, of course, the RP has been set as a Victorian Gothic novel and is subject to the creative minds of those involved in it.

As you land at the sim, you find yourself at Morchester station. All the information you need and more is available here, along with a three day pass for exploration; be sure to attach this before you board the train and arrive at Goatswood. Look for the old and tattered book to give you some insight into what you are about to witness. You will quickly notice how exquisite the builds are, their basis being an English country village (loosely based on that of Castle Combe, a village in Wiltshire.) Walking along the dirt path roads, you will get the feel of the era as it surrounds you.

It is highly recommended that anyone interested in RP at this sim should first thoroughly explore its history and vastness, before settling into a story line. The village, itself, plays an important part in the story and should be considered its own character because of how much the history and atmosphere influence those who live there. It is the basis of the RP. To fully understand the sim, it is best to go on a treasure hunt for the notecards placed around the various establishments. In outside areas, reference materials can be found in red mushrooms, pick them and you will get a plethora of information!

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Goatswood is a never ending adventure, worthy of a stroll down the cobblestone pathways.

Whether you want to experience a new facet of RP, or simply explore new territory, this is the place to be! â–

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Starts Smile it all

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by Desire Strangelove

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t All Starts With A Smile is a sim owned by Kaelyn Alecto and Maxxster Resident. Kaelyn has done an amazing job redecorating the sim for spring.

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I found It All Starts With A Smile on the Destination Guide and was pleasantly surprised when I landed there. The sim offers a wide variety of photo taking opportunities.

There is a village, which was built by Superjaix of Xiaj and Paco Pooley of 22769/Bauwerk. The village is spectacularly decorated. There are rolling hills and waterfalls and a playground. There are brightly colored flower beds and a windmill softly circling in the winds. There is also a path around the sim which sits in the water and offers different items with poses in them, so that you can strike a pose and take a picture. It’s all very lovely and picturesque.

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It All Starts With A Smile is a wonderful find for a blogger, a group of friends just wanting to hang out,

or a couple looking for a scenic place to share a romantic evening or dance.

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The sim is no rezz, but if you would like to you can join the group, and then you will be able to rezz and run scripts on the sim.

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It All Starts With A Smile is a great destination to visit in Second Life. I hope that you get the chance to see it for yourself. â–

UNDER CONTROL

PART THREE

Keeping Your inventory

by Auryn Beorn

Greetings everybody! In the previous issue we learned the Search feature, which helps us find even the most hidden items, and serves also as a filter to speed up our sorting task.

In this issue we're going to talk about packing.

Why packing?

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First, because exactly as happens in the real world, there are items we stop using. From clothes to videogames to shoes, all those items have a moment in our lives. Many deteriorate and we have to throw them away. Others don't deteriorate, but we use them no more. In SL, it happens the same. But second, and perhaps more importantly, because by packing, we may reduce the total number of items in our inventory. This has good consequences: it's easier to find what we're looking for, and we don't have to wait an eternity whenever the inventory reloads entirely.

Packing in SL doesn't mean getting rid of our items permanently. It means storing them

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inplaceholders that will use less of our inventory space than the items themselves, unpacked. Packing requires a specific prerequisite: rezzing and linking boxes. We will be assuming this knowledge here, but don't worry. If you don't know rezzing or linking boxes mean, the following link from the knowledge base will give you a good start: http://community.secondlife.com/t5/English-Knowledge-Base/Build-Tools/ta-p/700039 Why do we need to know this? Let's think about this, with a practical case: We are going to pack all of our gowns, and do some cleanup after that (Guys, you can pick something different, like suits. Unless of course if you also like to wear gowns!) Suppose that we have all of our gowns correctly sorted. There will be gowns using system layers and flexi skirts that perhaps nowadays we do not use, and there will be mesh gowns in all their sizes and colors.

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Let's count all of them. How many gowns do we have? Six? Twenty? One hundred and

thirteen? Then rez a box, duplicate it, repeat... until you have as many boxes as gowns.

You may of course arrange said boxes in rows and columns. (If you are the case of one hundred and thirteen... you will need this!)

Let's add a tip here: If you rez a box, duplicate it, and link the two boxes, now you could duplicate them, having quickly, four boxes; if you link those four boxes, then duplicate them, that's it, now you have eight boxes. If you are in need of a high number of boxes, this technique will speed the process quite a bit.

Since we're talking about tips, let's add something else here: when you link all the boxes, then edit the linked set, click the Features tab and change the Physics Type to Convex Hull.

That will make, in almost all cases, for the Land Impact count to halve (if there are many scripts, then it may be slightly higher).

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Yet one more tip: you can change the Physics Type right in the first box: the property will be duplicated when you duplicate the box, so when you link the first couple of boxes, the Land Impact of the two linked boxes will be just one. Now, we can use the Name or the Description field of each box, for the purposes of labelling what we're packing: it depends on if identifying the items in each box is relevant for you, or not. It is for me, and this is how I proceed each time I pack:

First I rez and link all the boxes I may need. Then I edit the boxes, and click a checkbox named Edit linked. This allows me to select each box individually. Now I click the first box to select it. I use the Description field to copy/paste from my folder name, the label that will allow me to identify the item inside. Then I click the Content tab of said box. Then I select all items in my inventory, hold the CTRL key, and drag the items from my inventory to the box. I wait to see the inventory of the box reload, then I click the next box, and repeat the process.

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Why have I said to hold the CTRL key pressed? It could happen that among the selected items, there are scripts. If we do not hold the CTRL key pressed, the scripts will attempt to execute once inside the box.

This may create all sorts of havoc. To make sure that nothing regrettable will happen, always hold the CTRL key pressed (Yes, there are scripts that could delete your linked boxes, and if a script deletes your boxes, there is no way to recover them. Double ouch if you were packing no copy items. Always hold the CTRL key pressed. Always.) As a little side note: Do not drop more than 100 items at a time inside your box. This could cause inventory creation issues, and it's a pain keeping up with it. If a folder contains many, many items, select several at once, drag them from inventory to the box, wait for the inventory to reload, select more items, and repeat.

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Why have I used the Description field rather than name? Because once I'm done, I untick Edit linked and then give the whole set a Name such as Gowns - Packed 2014/05/12, which will be the name showing in inventory. That way, when I look in my inventory and read the name of the object, I know what's inside the boxes, and when was the last time I packed. Make sure that you are doing this at a place where you can rez. In order to pack, you need to rez inworld. If you don't own land, you may look for sandboxes.

We can now proceed and pack all the items in our inventory. The first time, this may be a very painful (time consuming) task. But once we get in the habit, packing each three-six months (depending on our shopping habits) will not take more than a morning, and we'll keep our inventory in really good shape.

In the next issue we'll talk about several ideas to delete items that have already been packed, in order to free space from our inventory. Keep up the good work!

Enjoy your SL. â–

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article by Rylan Carling & photography by Xantheanne

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FUSION cover model

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Luna z Iubilee r

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n May, Luna Jubilee celebrates 4 years of owning her pose store, !Bang, however, if you think that’s where her talents begin and end, you are in for a surprise. Luna has been a member of the Second Life community for 8 years; introduced to this virtual world through a morning news show.

It offered her something new to play, with the allure of social interaction.

In regards to pose-makers, some might say, “It’s just poses, anyone can make those.” Luna laughs at this sentiment as she reflects on the long hours, endless stream of work that stems from owning a store, trying to keep up with events, and so on. Her inspiration comes from many forms, random doodles or studying the way the body moves, along with something new we might be seeing in the future, a large prop inspired by a Broadway musical.

It’s a never ending flow of creativity, grueling hours, and customer service.

Besides fantastic poses, Luna owned a successful blog feed called ShopaholicFeed for a handful of years, and it truly was a loss to the fashion community when this was put to rest. She even had a short run at a members only discount event. Luna blogs when it strikes her fancy, and, of course,

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when time allows it. Blogging was her first love and she hosted for two years the blogger challenge called 52 Weeks of Color. Pay heed! She may be bringing this back, with a few changes!!

Does she ever stop? The answer is simply, no. When she isn’t standing in her own way, she is learning and creating and pushing herself to do more and more. Mesh is the newest task to conquer. Luna even had a blog series highlighting her own various goals, Dream Big List: h t t p : // l u n a j u b i l e e . c o m / c a t e g o r y/ d r e a m - b i g - l i s t / A clever way to hold herself accountable for obtaining this big dream.

With Luna’s vast experience throughout the years, she has seen many changes in this virtual world. One of which she’d love to see return, and that is the last name. Many would agree. Being a social game, having the full names truly does give people a sense of belonging. If anyone from Linden Labs is reading this, you’ve heard our pleas…add this one to the mix!

Balancing real life and SL is important to Luna and she feels she does it well.

Her real life can be hectic at times, and it pulls her away, as it should. The key for her is to always keep that balance once it is found. As she continues to juggle her time, one thing is for certain, we have a lot to look forward to in the future from Luna Jubilee. ■

Blog: http://lunajubilee.com/ Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/lunajubilee/ Plurk: http://www.plurk.com/lunajubilee

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Find Luna at:

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Frisland photography and article by Desire Strangelove

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risland was built for photographers and explorers in Second Life. It was based upon an idea that there was a phantom island in the Northern Atlantic Ocean and appeared on maps in the 16th and 17th centuries. Frisland is a

beautiful place for people to come and relax and spend some time on a sim where times stand still.

As you enter the sim, there is a place to click for a free backpack, which you can use to carry your supplies as you hike around the sim. There is also a place to click so that you can rezz a bicycle, if you’d rather explore the sim by bicycling around.

As you explore Frisland, you will notice that life is simple there. There are small farmhouses, log cabins, and a tiny church. People have planted their own crops and tend their farm animals. There is a windmill to generate power. There is a small playground where the children can play. There are many boats around the docks as this is the primary mode of transportation.

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If you would like to join the group, you will need to send a message to one of the owners of the sim. If you’re added to the group, you can rezz items there. Just make sure to pick everything up when you are done. The owners of the sim ask that you not rezz modern stuff like motorbikes, etc. and you keep with the theme of the sim.

Frisland is a moderate sim, in keeping with the theme of families and children who visit the sim. ■

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Fashion Editor N O T E I hope everyone is ready for summer, because it’s approaching fast!! Most of us have plans that we are looking forward to, me however, I’m looking forward to seeing all the fashion come out (I know I know, so typical). Well, the warm weather is here and we need to brace ourselves for the awesomeness.

This month is going to be a little light, but that’s because next month it’s going to be EPIC!! So please, please stay tuned in for the amazement coming your way. But we do have some very talented bloggers and stylists that I fell in love with this month and wanted you all to see them. Also returning, Get That Style.

Stay awesome, Daija Arida

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If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to IM me in world or contact me via email at daijaarida@gmail.com

blogger's corner

By Alex1985 Diabolito

There is something out for every taste these days in SL. Summer is almost here and from cool new eyeglasses to bright colored suits, there so many things to choose from. Just make sure you don't go broke!

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Skin: Tableau Vivant - David Hair : Action - Shaun Glasses : ieQED - Ace shades @ Mens Dept May Shirt : Shai - Dots shirt @ Mens Dept May Knotted knit : K - Shoulder knit Shorts: FATEwear - Hugo

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Skin: Tableau Vivant - David Hair : Action - Shaun Suit : Zaara - Classic suit @ Mens Dept May Shoes: Kauna - Wingtip Brogues 56

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photography by Draakje Dailey 58

GET THAT STYLE

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Blouse: {mon tissu} Collared Shirt ~ White Pants: Maitreya * Dark * Slim BF Jeans & Belt

Shoes: GizzA - Betty Heels - brown Hair: tram D206 hair + Faenzo Three bangs

Skin: -Glam Affair - Brandi - America

Watch: GizzA - Asia Watch Bracelet: Izzie's - Hair Tie Bracelet brown

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Necklace: (Kunglers Extra) Ashanti necklace - Colibri

Photographed by Erioxa Sosa https://www.flickr.com/photos/27348375@N03 & http://erioxa.com/ 60

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looks of the month

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Photographed by Sniganna Dannitza https://www.flickr.com/photos/111345203@N02/ 62

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Modeled & Photographed by Rio Katana & Linx Lysette https://www.flickr.com/photos/pearlsandpistols & http://pearlsandpistols.wordpress.

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Photographed by Kay Palfrey https://www.flickr.com/photos/kaykaybikcin

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a round the

MAYPOLE I

by Bliss Windlow

just looked up May Poles on Wikipedia and am going to have to shop for a card for my brother as well as a couple of avatars that I really didn't know. Is there a card for 'Sorry I strung you up on the May Pole?'

I thought May Poles had something to do with the Rites of Spring, get the maids/ brother in a dress out there holding a ribbon and dancing around and offer their virginal asses up to some perceived God or village idiot. That excited me.

I had no idea what the big whoop was about with a virgin or anything, or even what the 'rites' actually entailed. I was a few years from hormones or sex talks. I just liked the idea of being able to tie someone up with ribbons to a pole, and then leave them there .

I did that to my brother.

It worked out quite well, I got to live in his room for a week, go through all his stuff and get some peace and quiet, until he managed to gnaw his way through the ribbons and free himself. No-one even noticed he was gone.

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I also found a May Pole in Second Life once. It was May, there was a pole and there were two obnoxious guys who were making overtly sexual suggestions about what the three of us should do. Oh, and they loved me. So we danced around the May Pole, I tied them up together with the ribbons, and left them there. They were pretty excited. I think they thought the May Pole had some kinky sex engine in it.

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It didn't.

I am not sure what they were able to do, neither had their penis on yet - so at least we know they never attended Boy Scouts or they would have been prepared. Who goes out to be sexually obnoxious without having their penis on?

However Wikki says, although no-one really knows for sure what the May Pole was for, there is a possibility it was a huge phallic symbol but it might have been a sacred tree. Mainly, people just danced around it with ribbons.

Go figure.

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May is such a freaking disappointment. â–

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