There's No Place Like Home.

So that other thing I was going to get to.

Why, when we can only afford a 64 x 256 metre of mainland, would we want to continue. When everyone (who belonged and RPed in more than one sim) had a place to go, why would we even bother trying to keep the dream alive?

I have asked myself this a lot. The only thing I did know is I felt a nasty gap in the place my Second Life once was. While everyone else was moving on, I had never felt so alone in-world. You would think I would log out and do something else. But when something has been part of your daily life for so long, it isn't so easy to do. Home is a complicated issue for me in both on and off the Grid, and I admit that this is factoring heavily into my real life at the moment.

So I went looking, at all the many fantasy sims that I could find. (Fantasy is the only thing I am interested in when it comes to Second Life) I found plenty of good RP sims, maybe a couple where we could fit. Either with alts or with seriously modified story lines.

But the reasons I couldn't settle was more than my snobbish frowning upon sims with furry and child avatar hatred. The reality is, I don't have any alts so crucial to my happiness that I could depend on them solely. And editing people out of our main's joint storylines was sort of like erasing parts of their own character's core personalities. Basically, making them different characters.

I don't think it is a secret that the conception of The Seven Isles and it's vision predated me, nor was the philosophy of family and acceptance my own. Except I knew when I found it I had found home. Because I knew when I found it, that this is what I would do, if I were to start a community in Second Life. You could say, that is why I joined up on staff when the opportunity was offered to me. The Seven Isles wasn't just the perfect sim, it was practically my real life dreams of Utopia.

A simple life, something no one has in the real world. Epicurus called it Ataraxia. Ataraxia is very important to me in my personal life as well. I have mentioned before that RP was my Ataraxia.

What I have learned is that out of all of these good RP sims, We actually did provide something unique. No classes, no cliques, no guilds or factions. Instead we had equality, families and trades that helped us express and celebrate our individuality. I have always known that we were never a big and as bad ass as a lot of these other sims, I never really wanted to be.

Uniqueness is not what people usually want, no matter what they say. People want familiarity and mainstream for a reason. One knows what to do and what to expect in those situations, and that is understandable. People like structure and leadership. But for me, those are "chains" in a way. there is a Jim Morrison quote that sums it up for me,

"People are terrified to be set free – they hold on to their chains. They fight anyone who tries to break those chains. It's their security"

What he is saying here, is people can not always feel safe enough to do something with out some firm parameters. Perhaps that is why our community in itself, was unique people without parameters. I can not speak for anyone else but myself, but this is why I felt so lost.

So I guess you could say, our very humble (and perhaps doomed) desire to rise from the ashes are for selfish reasons. However knowing that we had something that others did not, I can not help but think there are others out there seeking what we had. Perhaps it *is* a minority (and Gods know lower numbers don't pay the bills) but I think it is a minority worth at least trying keeping alive.

I just need a world where things made in imagination are flesh. I need a world where children play and explore. I need a place of growth, and intrigue, and peace. If I want to beat the shit out of something I'll play Dungeon Siege

Motivations For Child Avatars Do Not Need To Be Creepy.

I am sort of depressed about my SL lately, I admit.  I find there is always so much to do, and yet there is nothing to do that really inspires me.  Maybe I am having one of those bored-of-Korinna phases, but actually, not really.  I feel sort of limited by Korinna.  I have (what I think) is a cool back story idea, but I would need the help of one of my children (the ones of TOS age.) and they're just not into it.

Lately,  and perhaps oddly, I have been more into playing my Character's daughter, who is only 11 months old.  I am sure plenty of people think I am a freak for that,  but I think I have a very valid (and sane) motivation behind it.

It's really not that I want to be eleven months old again, but there is a certain giddy remembrance of my children when they were that age. Sometimes, we are *inside* of our avatars, but sometimes, we are watching from Camera view, and when it comes to a smaller avatar, the default camera settings always look down,  giving me the feeling as if I am looking down upon a child.

My kids are far from infants now, one is 20 in two days. One is nearly 18, another is a short 13 months younger than he. And my baby is a 13 year old young women. Don't get me wrong I adore my children now that they are older,  we have stimulating conversations, and can share in adult humour.  I love that about us.

But those years when a child is young and innocent truly do not stand the test of time, and memories are precious.  Even though I can not have any more children,  I am one of those crazy ladies who is always a little baby hungry.

So, when I am playing twig,  I find inspiration for her emotes and actions in what I remember my children doing. She is an avatar and a character, and yet she is based on all of my children. When I am playing that avatar, I am having fun, and remembering.  My strange overbearing mothering instinct is fed. I love to dress her up in pseudo classical clothing. and make her toys, and decorate her little room.

My only problem is,  no one is around to baby sit me. And the mother in me who believes in supervised children can not fathom an 11 month old running around without someone to keep an eye on her.  Even if I don't really need it.  Even in the safest place for kids in the world.

I realize now, it was the same when I had my Centaur kid when it started out.  When he was young. I had him at my other favourite age.  I should have kept him there, but at least there I have some closure as I came up for a suitable storyline to write everyone out neatly, and without disrespect to anyone involved. The one benefit of having the older child, though, is I would have had a baby sitter. hehe.  Now I have to find creative excuses when my baby is not around...
When I was SL pregnant,  I didn't do it out of a yearning to be pregnant again.  I did it, really, to prove a point.  That it lasts longer than six days, or six weeks, that pregnant bellies do not talk, that no one puts your pregnancy at risk for standing in your whispering range. That your body tells people when your baby is kicking,  something you can do with your own mouth.  *and* that you could do it for free without loads of scripts that lag everyone else into 2006

Honestly, the limitations and costs of prim babies was a pain in the ass.  This is why I got a Tiny toddler avatar for her instead. Far cheaper, and customizable. When my computer feels like double logging, a mommy follower is all I need, and a gesture that allows me to chat (emote) for her if need be.

But, I digress. I am thinking maybe a smarter-than-the-average- goat and herding sheepdog might make decent baby sitters, in the land of make-beleive.

If I had to do it all again...

Eacen and I were in our kitchen cooking dinner together a few nights ago trying to brainstorm some ideas to give our main accounts some new direction or new life. Eaken and Korinna are a little stale, at least for us, but we want to keep our characters fresh and relevant, truly.

I asked him -- just for fun -- What he would do in Second Life if he was given the chance to start over. His answer warmed my heart as well and got me thinking. He said. "I'd like another shot at being a Centaur. I feel like we started admining before I got the chance to do that."

He's right. While we were able to come up with a back story for both of us, it was heavily influenced by needing to help the RP, in fact they were quite different characters when we started (Hence the name changes).

He wouldn't want to be anything than an retired officer turned blacksmith, but he would have liked do it differently. He didn't know how, I mean... he's just a bloke, really. *ducks*

It occured to me the other day while browsing over character applications, that a lot of people who come to RP to a sim, have a great opportunity to present themselves to the group as they want to be presented. Don't get me wrong, presenting one's self can be intimidating and difficult. But it is an opportunity that one should seize, because it is here where you get to set your own momentum.

I can not help but notice, that people take advantage of the flexability of second life, move on and reinvent themselves constantly. People who are not tied to one sim, have a lot of room to reinvent, or go with a different character entirely. Sometimes several at a time.

So now I find myself, asking myself what would I do if I had the opportunity to walk into my own sim, and start our character(s) over fresh? Now that the sim is settled, the sim is full, and the sim has the capacity for Role-players; what would I do, if I could?

I find that, like Eaken, I would still be Korinna. An Epimeliad coming back to her birthplace in the Seven Isles, after years wandering around in a retinue of revelers devoted to the Wine God, until she settled down with a Centaur officer. I'd have let her be a priestess in a small humble temple where she learned the rites that called to her. I would have them come by ship, Korinna Ill and weak having been separated from her tree for so long, with or without her infant daughter.

We could come in Armour for him, and full Chiton and Himnation robes for me, before we traded them for aprons and heavy gloves.

I would have roleplayed her recovery, and being reunited with her sister who was raising her kids there. I would have confronted her with the mystery of her mother going from Hamadryad to full tree. I would have spent more time cuddling with my Centaur, had more intimate time with him (Not sexual. We have RL sex with RL privacy!) I would have gotten to know his Centaur while he got to know him too.

We could Roleplay choosing our home, and setting up from humble beginnings.

And maybe, more of the real Eaken would have been able to Roleplay his own experiences, coming to an island much different than his own, one that lacks laws and the level of civilization he was used to. Maybe more people would have seen he has a gentle soul behind that crass and bad sense of humor. Maybe we'd see a fierce side of him that emerges only when his family or land is threatened.

If I had the opportunity to do this months back, I could have re-roleplayed her pregnancy, this time as a first time mother with grave concern how a Centaur pregnancy would turn out. I could be inexperienced, but gaining confidence. More approachable, less authoritative.

But most of all, I would like to have loved the time to be absorbed in my Centaur partner, A knight of a man who needed no horse. Strength, with Honour as well as thought and skill.

The Centaur and the Epimeliad
The warrior and the Maenad
The Officer and the Priestess
The Potter and the Blacksmith
The Mother and the Father

We could have been all of these things. Perhaps we should have. Perhaps we are in our pasts, but to feel them as our present... it could have been wonderful.

Upgrading the Sim: One Year Later.

It's been a year now since three elders sold a homestead, scraped together an additional $1000 USD and called in a favour or two in order to upgrade our Homestead into a full sim. It seems such a long time ago that we (the three of us) did this, and I can not imagine life on a homestead anymore. How did we ever manage with so few prims, and without all that scripting power?

Not very well, actually. Don't get me wrong, we hung in there and we made do, because that was what was required for the sim to be born a few months before Eacen and I arrived. We did the best with what we had to keep the sim alive. Because, we three have a deep love for our land. We took the (current) Seven Isles from a flat piece of land, made peaks and valleys, found water, and raised trees and plants.

Hard to believe this is what the Sim looked like at the begining.

Hard to believe this is what it looked like during it's birthing process...

We used to be so tight on prims, that at any given moment, someone could have rezzed their hair to make a copy, and sent belongings back to their owners. Believe it or not, around the time we upgraded we were down to one hundred available prims. One Hundred!

Up until that point many visitors moaned that we lacked the power to run a proper RP, and they were right. Of course, we were also lacking in many other things that makes an RP successful. We had a plot but no other admins, no committed players. People have a way of volunteering for things like administration, and showing up to play... and then not following through.

Initially, The Seven Isles saw a fantastic jump in participation, a few weeks later we were awed and humbled by being featured in the destination guide. Winter was very quiet, and so slow that many people (myself included) worried about the Sim's demise. But we pulled through, and then *finally* kicked off the skeleton of the RP storyline. People were a little slow to realize that disasters were happening right in front of their eyes,  but once they did It was epic, and beautiful and it really showed the potential we have as an RP sim. Many people came to us and said it was the best they had ever been in. It was the best I had ever been in, too.

But it was very hard work for us three elders, (who also build, socialize, and organize events when we have the time) to run that start on our own. After all, we all have families, and jobs, and lives outside of Second Life. By the time we reached the peak of the story, we three were left exhausted, but optimistic that now the ball was rolling  and the players now had a ball to play with.

If only someone would... you know... bend over and pick up the ball now that we got it rolling, and maybe throw it to one another and Roleplay without our constant guidance and direction. I will be blunt. I am dissapointed that all that work has changed very little.

People (bless them) seem to want us to hold their hands, but our hands are already *so* full just keeping it all running.

I was told recently by a member (who has actually done something to spark activity on the sim without our prompting, which is most awesome) that this has been a common rp sim problem in many sims he had visited. Everyone stands around with their thumb up their bum, waiting for something to happen, and when it doesn't they find something else to do. It means they miss the opportunities To RP when something *does* happen, or those opportunities just don't happen, because why do anything when no one is around to see it?

It is a frustrating cycle. I wish more people understood that if they want to RP, (on any sim, not just ours) they have to take some initiative to engage, interact, and allow themselves to grow.

Now, don't get me wrong, I do not intend to give up on The Seven Isles, but any Sim owner(s) who does not question whether things will be viable in the long term when they do not make tier that month, is lying.

Once again, I am going to be blunt: It is a lot of responsibility for me (I won't speak for the other elders, they have voices of their own) to log in and find that what members we have that are willing to stay around and RP, still depend on us for everything.

I do not think that what we need is a bunch of admins herding players around like sheep. We are often commended for our lack of Drama, No intimidating authority and lack of rigid rules, probably because we do not have a lot of Admins.

But I have to say, with some disappointment, that I thought providing our people with a full sim, objects to perform their trade with, and plenty of things to do most people still want us to hold their hands and tell them a story. No one wants to make their own story, and allow others to make a community story with them.

I also have to say this. I know it can be done. A few weeks ago Eacen and I took a break from our main avatars, and jumped into two child avatars we created to help with a project that (surprise) someone abandoned. We wanted to see just how much RP one could create for themselves with little or no help.

We had a blast! We built a steam powered wagon that we drove around the sim at high speeds.

We took a row boat to the top of the lighthouse, and jumped off the top. We flew kites, coloured, climbed mountains, discovered treasure under the sea.



(it was a crate of mayonnaise, sadly) We swam, and banged on drums.



We quaked in the fear of an Unseelie Fae visitor, and ran away from a strange man speaking a language that frightened us. We even "borrowed" items from the blacksmith's right under the noses of people waiting for something to happen.



Pete, who is always there was even game.  We played a drinking game with him where 1 shot with our toy arrows, meant we would buy him 1 shot.  He loved it!

Not content to play darts, we put our own spin on the game



We even RPed our afternoon nap.



In a week, Eacen and I created plenty of RP for ourselves, and this was without interacting with one other person. (not a single adult stopped us to warn us we were up to no good, or could get hurt.) Imagine what could have been done if people just engaged, and added their own elements that week. Now, keep in mind that the child avatars have *less* to do than the adults in our sim, and yet we did so much that week. Surely, the grownups can too. Can't they?

and on that, I will end with a rhetorical question.

What do you want to do in the Seven Isles?

What is stopping you?

Certainly not the Elders.

Peace and love,
Korinna.

Some very close "friends" of ours became engaged last night at our monthly full moon skyclad dance. Sadly Eacen and I "Couldn't make it" and yet, it seems like we were there witnessing the event through another set of eyes!



What better time is there for one to express your undying love to one another,  than when you are bare, at one with nature... and already naked (making streaker photobombs impossible).

However, just about everything that could go wrong during the proposal, did. Starting with the moment the DJ (also the groom to be.  As I said "Eacen" wasn't available) stoped the music for his big moment.  He announced he had a question to ask Thyul,  and yet the response went something like this:

"Hey the stream stopped!"  "Where is the music?" "Can anyone hear the music?" "No!  Toggle!" (Paraphrased... naturally, I forgot to get the log... I mean... I wasn't there to get it verbatim. Yeah..)

The groom was shaken and upset, but decided not to let the moment get him down. He continued.


We... uh. I mean they probably should have known to stop there,  but instead, decided to play music for the crowd, whilst Fadrienne went down on one knee. If for no other reason, than to stop the "Halp!" Coming from the small crowd.

Perhaps they should have paused long enough for "Karma chameleon" to stop playing.

Then, naturally, the animated ring box for the proposal animations malfunctioned, which screwed up the photo op. And also made the "jump hug" I... I mean Thyul did to accept look mighty perverse.

^{This does not properly show the torrid scene,  that one is too indecent to show on a public blog.}

What matters is that they are engaged and planning on a february wedding.  Let us hope that all of the kinks and things that could go wrong happened during the proposal ritual.

Afterwords, they danced, and discovered that the "2nite&4eva" Dance in the intan, already had a perfect animation for the moment.



So uhm, learn from our *their* mistakes, and don't stop the music, choose a good song, and save the $399 Lindens on the dissapointing and un-customizable proposal animator that will make you look like you are humping your partner in front of other people.  I mean, he was happy and all...  but he wasn't *that* happy.

In order to prevent any wardrobe malfunctions at the wedding, the happy couple has decided to get married naked.

I'm not kidding.

The Life of the Ranger

It's a very lonely thing.

After a long time of *not* getting any Table top gaming, and then going through a phase where I could not bond with any characters I rolled up, I recently settled down with a character who among the offspring of one of my fictional families. Lately, Corinda hasn't been much fun for me. And my SL activity with her consists of logging in, doing any work I need to do, or just sitting online trying to be available in case someone needs help. Her character is sort of stuck, so I am putting her aside a litte, documenting her character on Tumblr until something stirs, and spending time with some alts (please see previous post for more on that subject)

I decided that with the display name function that Phoenix has caught up with (the only good thing to come out of this update, In my opinion) that this would be a good opportunity to do a little character developing, in world. Doing as a ranger does. I'm not really learning anything that I didn't know, but I am reminded of the deeper side of the things I know.

For instance, when trying to understand his motivation for joining a party of people he barely knows? He's lonely. Not angst ridden, it's just nice to talk to people, or plan with people. Hear someone else's thoughts other than your own. So simple it gets lost in the shuffle of papers, but found by following him around with a "camera."

Second Life really is helpful in seeing into a character's motivations like that.  (I even feel that way about the Sims, too) Here I have a Ranger who is part Drow (but a full elf,) raised over the ground, not under it, so other than his skin, he carries few Drow cultural imprints. He comes from a good (albeit weird) family, a few pieces of trauma in his life that he has survived well enough and helped him shape his personality.

He didn't really want to be a Ranger. In fact I can see he has been fighting an inevitable awakening with it. He was training to be something else entirely. But it became clear after years of training, that while he did not lack skill, he lacked the discipline and personality to do it. To continue on would be to betray his nature.

For an elf, he's not so into hugging trees or mother nature, (which still means he is into it more than the average person... just not so intense about it) It didn't make sense, or even occur to him that he was a Ranger. but it seems he and I got caught up in the stereotype that has evolved over the years, of the Ranger.

Because we are finding him to be a bit like the original Ranger; Strider.

The Tracker, The Scout, The Infiltrator, The Spy, The Fighter.

Shoosh. at least I'm avoiding comparisons to Drizzt.  I am enjoying rediscovering the character class I loved so much until I disallowed myself from playing them. Learning that, it's not all bows and arrows and survivalism.

Even if I (the social recluse!) am feeling a little lonely exploring alone. It just comes along with the job.

So they all rolled over and one fell out.

I haven't put in an entry in a really long time, and I have a long list of excuses. My favorites are that my husband suffered a bout of serious illness and needed surgery to unblock an artery (at the ripe old age of 40!)

...and we moved to across the Atlantic to an island where it rains a lot, and the letter 'U' is used gratuitously. In the words of Lisa Simpson "It's a bit of a mystery, yes. But if you look at the clues, you can figure it out." Needless to say I am missing my friends terribly!

So, a lot of change in our real life, and some changes in our SL too. one of our SL kids, decided not to be a SL anything, anymore. It was a drama free departure (if not a little awkward for us both, I would imagine) And she has our blessing, of course. However it does leave us with a sticky situation as far as storyline, and just general "Hey, how is/where's your kid?" I guess good old fashioned (( Out of Character parenthesis speak indicating that she has moved on and we wish her the best, lets not speak of this again)) will have to suffice. I do wish she had chosen a way to write her own exit, however.

Chapter opened and closed, with good times had. The problem *I* am left with, is I did that thing that mothers (In Real Life as well as Second Life) should never, ever do. I allowed too much of my Second Life fall around being a mother. In the process chipped away from the nymph, and the Maenad/Bacchante became things 'I only am, since I once was." In some ways it can't be helped, a tremendous amount had been written to include every member of our family, and make sure everyone and everything had a place and an explanation.

I realize now, that a few weeks have passed, that a lot of the reasons I chose Second Life motherhood, is my husband and I are often too busy to meaningfully connect in Second Life, even though our real lives are very happy, and we both enjoy the work we do in Second Life. Technically we shouldn't need to have a romantic relationship in Second Life, but, a sucker for RP is not much more than a cry for in character attention!

At times I think "It would also be nice to be nymphy, and seductive (of my Centaur) and wild without the example I am laying out for my children." Lots to consider.

I realize that depending on how I go about things, I have an opportunity to try something new, find a new interpretation of myself. What those things are? I don't honestly know. I can say this much, I will not be adopting again unless the other party was an existing friend and confidant, and I am hesitant to carry on with my prim-pregnancy (though at this time I have plans to carry on through the month of September as planned. A lot of work has been done towards this.)

But damned if it isn't hard to "unwrite" or "write-out" a kid in SL. Or a little sister, or an aunt. Writing out a lover (even a long term one) is less complicated than moving on sans child. I could go for heavily melodramatic excuses such as kidnapping, loss of life, mystery of unknown location, but these things would require me to be melancholic at best, and that is not why I log into Second Life. I didn't create a reveler so I could sulk.

In Second Life, we are lucky to be whatever it is that we want to be, but in many ways it is so difficult to erase, or tear up those portions of a character that just didn't work out the way you had thought, like you can on a paper character sheet. As I said before; Out of Character parenthesis speak indicating that she has moved on and we wish her the best, will have to suffice for the time being.

My poor brain and alternate personalities.

I was going to try and pimp up my blog a bit when I moved to Wordpress, do some IC posts, that sort of thing. But I am finding myself very self conscious about writing in public. You see, I used to be a very, very good writer. No, seriously, I was. I have several novels sitting on my hard drive, and just because they are not published does not make them terrible. For a while, I even had a following of readers, and while it was not many, they were all intelligent people who I was flattered to have the attention and praise of.

Whether it be my medications, or the inevitable slight decline of my cognitive function as a result of my illness, I notice I don't write as well as I used to. Every time I write a sentence that only makes sense to me, or reads wrong to someone else, I cringe. This is just in day to day communications. Then again, there has always been a difference between how I write/blog, and how I write/storytell. I think I am as good a Storyteller as I ever have been, it's just the technical function I struggle with these days.

So I don't know. Maybe I will give myself the permission to suck again (as I did when I first started writing in front of people) and give it another go. Given that I am also trying to teach myself how to spell in a different dialect, I might just need to choose my battles carefully.

But in Second Life we live in a very shallow world. Even those of us who are deep beautiful people snigger at other people's faux pas and "Fashion don'ts." So giving yourself permission to suck is about as bad as walking around with a freenis sticking out of the front of your poorly adjusted prim tutu.

Anyway... Second Life has been quiet for me, and yet busy. I am craving some RP really badly, and while I am not calling anyone out^**, I wish all the people who complain about the lack of RP would show up and do some. Mmm Kay, we don't have grid cryers, guilds, (Or dozens of micromanaged social groups for those guilds) we do not fight except in designated places, and then, rarely. These are the things that supposedly define "serious RP" and if I wanted "Serious RP" there would be dozens of other places I could go.

But I wouldn't be happy, just as dozens of people in Second Life are not happy with the politics and drama and bickering that happens in their RPs. You people are out there, I know you are, I've spoken to you. I'm just not seeing you, in order to create this alternate RP environment we want to provide and enjoy.

Seriously, people don't realize the impact they have on RPing, just by showing up and doing some. or Showing up and being *available* for some. I have learned that in Second Life, the Best RPers happen to be the ones who are most excluded from RP.

Child Avatars. Yes, they can be annoying when they are done with a lot of baby babble, yes, they even creep people out (though I theorize that has more to do with the Elder individual) but they never let down the RP, because to do so, is to walk away from what their Avatar is. I don't mind confessing that recently Eacen and I created a set of Child Alts so we could participate in some of the kid activities happening around the isles. And what an enlightening experience it has been, to see what good RPers other Child Avatars are, even if they are just dancing or splashing around in a puddle, after all, this is what children do.

My Point? I wish adults had the ability to let go of themselves a bit in world, and get in touch with the avatars they spend so much money and time on pimping out. I am as guilty of this as anyone (and it is hard when work is involved, to be a tree-lady) but I am trying. I don't know who reads this beyond a few close friends, but I would hope that if someone does, they'd realize how valuable their character ideas and imaginations are In world. Yes, your Real Lives are important too, and I like knowing the Real Life people as much as anything.

I just wish I knew some of your characters. :p

** ^{I loathe passive agressive cattyness on blogs. Was involved with a group of bloggers who excelled at it for years. What a way to ruin someone's sanity. Please note this is not my intent.}

A question of the ages...

Tonight I have been reworking my character information, I have done this several times now, and I am hoping that this will be the finali-sh draft. I have needed to do this for a long time. As a character grows and evolves, so does their information/character sheet.

^{Though I seem to have noticed I have done this more than anyone else. *cough* Not that I am self conscious about it, or anything *cough*}

But now that I am here again, I am reminded how you can get hung up on something as simple as an age, particularly with playing fantasy people and creatures.  There really is no book or science that has been able to put a set aging process of life span on any creatures. You can look at the animal half of models, which tend to age and go through life cycles much, much quicker than their human counterpart and try and balance them, and then you have to kind of find a space within the glamor of being fantasy creatures which are generally accepted to live longer, due to their fantastical-ness.

Ages, years and life cycles get spread all over the map, once you get us all together... you can be 6, or 106 and still be an elven or a fae child.  You can be 4, or forty, and still be a child faun. Then again,  I have seen adult elves at 80, and adult fauns at forty.  Even if it would be fair to force everyone to adhere to the same age scale for the species they are, it would be pretty hard to do!

So I sat here with this dilemma, trying to fill in that age space with something less ambiguous than what I had before, and less specific than a number, when it occurred to me, the most rational way of describing my character's age, was to do so by seasons.  Because as the revered Cherno once said to me,  years, calendars, time in the form of numbers probably are not things that nature creatures are terribly concerned with.  But being nature creatures would make them very in tune with the cycles of seasons.

And, it is a pretty easy scale to work out on your own, I know I am not the first to use this sort of scale, or define my own but I am going to do it anyway.

You can summarize most mammals in the various life stages, and even other animals in similar life stages.

Spring:
Infancy - toddlerhood  = Early
childhood = Spring
Adolescence = Late

Summer:
Young adulthood, = Early Summer
Adulthood  = Summer
Early Middle Age = Late Summer (tick tock, my harvest clock is ticking!)

Autumn:
Middle age = Early (my harvest clock is running out!)
Old age = Late

Winter:
Venerable old age.
Verging on death/rebirth (if you're into that sort of thing!)

Using these values, I, personally, am better able to describe the life phase of my character, without depending on years, or even using terms such as "The equivlant of a 35 year old in human years."  I think my previous, confusing answer was "Early middle age,"  which I define as being around 35 human years... but others define differently, and it doesn't really *explain* anything to anyone.

But, if I said "Corinda is in her late summer" or Corinda said "I am in my early fall," people would kind of get the point, with a lot of explanation, don't you think? If she said "In my late spring, I ran away from home." People would pretty well get the idea of a person in their late teens, about to grow up very quickly.

It's simple, and I would like to share this as an idea for people to use when defining their characters age, as an alternative, or even a way for people with numeric ages to relate to other characters that just don't have that frame of reference.  But I also tend to over complicate things which should be simple, and it has been my experience that the more information you give a lot of players to help them, the more confused they become. So I want to tread softly

But I think it is a worthwhile thought, and worth some exploring... and I am talking about it, here, now, because I am supposed to be finishing my character application/sheet/information.

But it also holds some potential for the way Fantastypeoplebeingtypes could celebrate certain rites of passage, instead of a birthday every year, someone could celebrate their own "equinox" or solstice.

Yup. Still workin on that damn notecard. No closer to it than I was when I started this.

Nothing hairy about me!

Alas! My life as a potter can begin.



It is nearly finished. Finished enough to go on the ground and be seen by others. Not finished enough to put the wheel out (tweaking that), or to sell. But I do intend to sell it (just the kiln, two versions) as soon as I get a hold of a full perm sound for the door, and a couple of scripts I can't seem to find. Also, a new roof texture.

It's funny how you can have literally hundreds of scripts and not one of them does what you want... or how one script that has the same basic purpose as another, can be so different.



 
This photo has nothing to do with this post, except that I am pleased with the results of the new kid's clubhouse, which is only partially pictured.

Getting into the Swing of things: Harder than it sounds.

I have such a case of mixed emotions and frustrations now, having been offline, and being back.  It's like, I have lost my place in a book I was reading, and am so behind on homework I don't know where to begin.  I can't tell where I am more needed, or my time is better spent.  I feel guilty for even wanting to work on personal projects, and I feel guilty for standing around doing little, when I don't know what to do!  Don't get me wrong, I am not looking for a list of chores,  but self direction and better time management for myself. Because I look at the goals I had when I signed on, I hear people criticize that they have not been "started" (when they have.)  I want to work on those, too.


I could look at it as time to play, to make a change too.  But I've done enough sleeping on the job.

Oh shit. that got Emo!  I'm just saying I am not trying to be a waste of pixels right now, I'm just kind of at a loss.

"Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin"

I never really blog or post anything on the very public internet that I intend to be profound.  When I do, I am usually just waxing about whatever I happen to be thinking about at that moment in time.

To begin with a quote, of one of the most brilliant people in the universe:

“Every human being has hundreds of separate people living under his skin."*.

Alts have been talked to death, haven't they?  And as far as I can tell, there is never going to be an agreement on the "ethics" surrounding them.  Which is why it surprises me, that some people still find the idea of having an alt so offensive.  Let me note,  no specific incident has sparked this thought process, it's just something that vexes me from time to time.

Because let's face it, whether you have an Alt, or you don't, most people on Second Life have at least one. Some people have Alts for business, it's cheaper than paying models when your business is just starting out, for instance, and the use of Alts in business and creation extend well beyond that one example...

Then there are the recreational uses of having an Alt. It seems to me a lot of people believe this is only used when one is being malicous. It has been my experience that the majority of people with an Alt aren't really about having an alternate "Trust me!" mask for when they want to behave like a douche.  I don't think that most Alts are created to spy on anyone, or entrap them, and in the cases when they *are* made for those purposes, that person is toxic in their "main" identity too, and bullshit is going to come out of them sooner or later anyway.  I am even sympathetic to people who have a moment of weakness to the temptation in order to do things they might not otherwise do.

There are merits to having an Alt for recreational purposes that do not involve manipulation of anyone.  Someone might be trying to have a fresh start after their other Second Life left a bad taste in their mouths, or someone was harassing them.  Someone might want to have the presence of an idealized partner, child, etc to match their avatar's personality, without getting involved with an online relationship.  This really doesn't hurt anyone.  Some people just see the opportunity to be more than one person or thing,

I am one of those people. I do have an alt who is quite a bit different to my Main Avatar Corinda.  where Corinda allows me to frolic in my love for ancient mythology, Haru is my gaming nerd outlet for my love of Forgotten Realms, and -- to be bold-- a little bit of expression of my Bisexuality.  Corinda is mostly straight. Haruko, is not. at all.

I know some people feel as if the identity of an alt must be disclosed in order for anyone to truly trust the motives.  I can see the Merit in that,  but doing that also has a way of blending what might be two distinct personalities, and taking the fun out of it.  I have a few friends, for instance, that are so good at knowing their different alt, their whole way of speaking, even out of character changes, and it is truly like speaking to another.

Should I feel deceived?  No. Even if I did not know who else they are? No.  If this game was about being real all of the time, My character would not do flips, and would sometimes walk with a cane when I am having a bad flare.  It's a different reality for me, often times when I am having a terrible day, when I am asked, I can genuinely respond through Corinda as having a good one.  Just because her typist is not having the best day, doesn't mean she is!

I don't know if I achieve that with others, but I do know I feel like a different person from one Alt to another, and I enjoy that feeling.  And if I walked around saying "Psst... it's me,  Corinda! lolz" I would be taking away from my own experience. :)  This defeats the purpose.  My closest friends are also on both of my friend's lists, so I can always be reached if I need to be.

Like I said,  nothing profound to say.  Just waxing on my thoughts when it comes to folks in general getting into a kerfuffle over Alts.  When bad things do go come of it, look at it as another example of bad behavior and not a damning indictment on alts as a whole.  And think about creating one yourself to understand the merits of the experience!

* The rest of the quote which I also love: "..The talent of a writer is his ability to give them their separate names, identities, personalities and have them relate to other characters living with him" - Mel Brooks

Bard and Drum Circles (OoC)

This morning at 10am SLT and again at 7pm SLT, Eacen is doing Drum circle.  Just click here, and follow the mini map dots!

In the near future (i.e. when I get back in world) Eacen and I are thinking of adding something to Drum circle to give it a little something more. That is, cultural-instrumental ambient music that compliments the drumming. Maybe something different each week. We will see how that works out.

There has recently been a redistribution of old and new additions to our activity lists, as we have had some people step forward to offer their help. I really hope some folks start taking advantage of that soon. The more the merrier!

I'm not just family-biased when I say that my Sister-in-law Lady Hawks Bard circle was really, really nice. I cried, actually. She has a good eye for stories that fit in our theme very comfortably, is a good storyteller, and it was nice to see a few new members bring their own contributions. I really think this is an event we have needed for a long time. Very suitable for our RP setting (whether you RP or not.) She is so awesome for doing it!

speaking of RP, I want to make a little commentary on it. So many people are so intimidated by it. So many people think it is all about politics and combat. I know we have been making an effort to make sure that is not at all the case, since these things clash with our setting quite a bit. I see people all the time who say they don't want to RP, or don't think they can, when they already are.

RP characters can be anything from a vast variation of yourself... (say a *centaur* for example) or just another facet of ourselves. Since so many of us take advantage of the opportunities SL holds to be something or someone else, we are by default, playing a role.

Even our tendencies as people to read books, watch television or see movies, can be looked upon as a vicarious form of Roleplaying. You are interacting with other people, a different world, and different stories through the format of the film, book or show. All Roleplaying is, is more interactive, more creative, and closer to your heart.

“Limitations live only in our minds. But if we use our imaginations, our possibilities become limitless.” - Jamie Paolinetti