Mom's Licensure Update

As some of you may or may not know, Mom is a nurse... who somehow had her licensure mixed up at the state when she moved here and it wasn't discovered until a few months ago.  So, after studying hard... again... she took her boards... again... and passed.  It's been a tough couple of weeks here at TRF, but now that that's behind us, back to our regularly scheduled posting.  Hard to do some of these posts without her, in fact we decided not to even.  But, one thing remains:  way to go Mom!

Review: Indyra Originals, i(heart)Unity Spirit Sets

"The Olympics are a wonderful metaphor for world cooperation, 

the kind of international competition that's wholesome and healthy, 

an interplay between countries that represents the best in all of us" 

-John Williams

In the spirit of the Olympics, we at TRF are proud to present Indyra Seigo's newest design, the i(heart)Unity Spirit Sets. This semi-mesh set is available at the Indyra Originals store in world for L$325, and each purchase will earn you L$50 if you are a member of her Indyra Originals store group. The set comes with one mesh tank top in five separate sizes, three matching thigh-high socks, a cute pair of leather shorts, and a color change headband. While shoes are not included, there are so many possible ways to style this outfit, that you can really wear almost any shoe. There are currently ten countries to choose from, and I am assuming that there is a good chance for more to come.  But, you have to shop for this treat soon as it is a limited edition, available for this week only specifically for the Olympics.

This outfit is great for any sort of Olympics party or any gathering where you want to show off your international team spirit. The flag on the front is very stylized and is just gorgeous; the style of the flag for each country is definitely chic enough that you can wear the shirt for anything patriotic and still be in style.  Sometimes flags can come off as gaudy, but with the chic modernized design of these, the flags will always work well for a patriotic look.  The shorts are absolutely cute too, in a nice soft leather.  The socks add a sporty touch and come with three colors around the thighs - always black and then two of the main colors of the country's flag.  While shoes do not come with the outfit, I chose to pair it with a pair of color change trainers or a pair of black heels, depending on if I wore the socks or not.  There is also a cute headband as well that has a color-changing bow.

While the shirt itself came in five separate sizes, as it is rigged mesh, I still had a little problem with it working with my AO.  While the shirt fits well with more neutral poses, if you have an AO that moves more than normal, it may force parts of your shirt to to in your avatar.  There is an included alpha layer for the shirt.  I was able to easily wear my standard size shape and get the outfit to fit right.  Mom tried the demo at the store and was able to get it to fit to a standard size shape as well and did not have a problem with her AO.  

Overall this is a great little outfit for any Olympic or patriotic theme, but if you want it, you need to get it soon as she will only carry this outfit for the week.  Everyone here at TRF absolutely loves Indyra Originals, and Mom is over there right now shopping again even.  She has some of the great designs in SL for a good price, and she really is extremely high end - all of her fashions have great textures, designs, cuts, and fits.  I would not hesitate to wear anything that Ms. Seigo designs and am looking to publishing this blog so I can go over and join Mom in the Indyra shopping spree.

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Great flag designs, versatile

Cons:  The mesh may cut into your body depending on the pose

Review: OPOPOP Design, Mojiska Mesh Shirt (Take Two)

One of the fun things about working with technology is that sometimes, things can go very wrong.  Lightning can strike (twice we discovered, wiping out several mother boards and LAN cards), power can go out, and this week... the blog can start to eat itself.  We apologize for the late posting of this post; we had tried to post this when we first discovered it, then found out from the designer herself that it had never published, despite us spending a couple of days working on the post itself, and three witnesses to me hitting the "Publish" button at the top of the page and seeing it live.  I guess it's like when Facebook decides to make a multipost of your embarrassing response, but in reverse.

Sidenote:  If you're a designer who had requested for us to post something in the last couple of weeks and it is not up yet, please let us know.  It looks like we've had a few other posts eaten as well.

As such, we are bringing you a relatively newer designer, Oursinette Bruun of OPOPOP Designs.  She came to us through one of our blog groups and is trying to expand her shop.  We took a look at some of her designs on the Marketplace and looked at a few of her new Mojiska Shirts.  Ms. Bruun's style overall is veyr hip, young, and is a great overall style to wear out with friends, going to clubs, or shopping.  It is a fun punk and hip style that is popular with teens and young twenty-somethings right now.  The shirt itself is a single mesh shirt, available in nine separate colors (white, blue, yellow, purple, black, cyan, pink, green, and red), and each color comes with five sizes and an alpha layer.  It is a bikini-strap style mini tank top with a mesh-like fabric draping underneath.  Here, we paired it with our favorite Zaara jeans and a pair of heels from SimILar.  It is available inworld or on the Marketplace for L$250 (her full Marketplace store can be found here as well).

While I happen to like the overall design, and believe that Ms. Bruun as a designer holds a lot of promise and potential, we noted a lot of good things, and things that can be improved.  I mentioned in a previous post my own policy on a "bad" review - there is no "bad" review, just a review where I give the collective constructive criticism (eg - here's what we didn't like and here's how to change it) of the team; we aim to either teach or entertain with each of our posts.  What did we like?  I love the overall design of the shirt.  It's youthful, it's fresh, and it has a ton of personality to it.  Wear this and you can easily make a statement and look great at the same time.  It's also very versatile.  You can pair this with almost anything else and it will still look just as good, and it will work for any number of occasions you would like it to.

There are a few improvements, and much of them revolve around the mesh itself.  While I like the overall design, the mesh shape itself needs some work.  If you look at the pictures, there are areas where there are large gaps from the body where the shirt should be close, specifically, in the back and around the breasts.  This can be fixed, I believe, by adapting to the Standard Sizing that is starting to be used by more and more designers (including Bitch Tails - thank you Tiff Renfold for making the switch!).  Yes, the transparent portion under the bra is meant to be the shape it is - keep it that way.  Just, the shirt would benefit a lot if the mesh is designed around the standard sizing shapes (which, the shapes themselves are easily available on the Marketplace for free - a great way to create a perfect standard sizing shape using your own shape's numbers to start).  Another idea to "fix" the gaps in the bra portion of the mesh is to offer it as a partial mesh creation - have the shelf bra as a textured layer, and the actual transparent skirt portion of the shirt as the mesh.  That way, you get a tight fit to the skin and are able to have a draped portion from the body that moves with the body well.

It is also of note that I believe that she does design her own mesh, which is also very commendable of her to take this on.  Many designers that I can see who are using mesh are using premade mesh kits and only applying their textures to it.  It is a truly innovative designer who will use her own meshes from scratch.

If you are going to purchase this as is, I am including some tips for getting it to fit a bit better.  First, we had to go ahead and adapt my own shape to the standard sizing shapes linked above.  The shapes are free, and are available for everyone.  It's a good idea to get the standard sizing shapes anyway because ultimately, the everyday fashionista is going to have a need for them.  Or, you can follow their guide, also on the link above, as to how to shape your own avatar shape (there's only eight points really you need to change for fit).  Here, I sized my avatar to the Small standard sizing and then wore the small mesh size.  I also noticed that to get the bra to fit better in the front, I had to dramatically decrease my torso length (to 0), and dramatically increase my breast buoyancy (up to 100).  Once I changed these numbers on my own shape, it looked a lot closer to Ms. Bruun's shape in the official sales photo.

Overall, it's a great design from a great designer that really deserves some recognition for her hard work.  She can only keep improving from here, and I look forward to reviewing more of her even better work in the future.

Overall:  8/10 because of the mesh, 9.5/10 for the texture

Pros:  Great overall look, versatile, good construction

Cons:  Mesh gaps in the wrong places, alpha needs some work.

Special Review: Carrie's, Gluttony Collection

The mystery of the stage calls for us all, whether we be a humble singer, dancer, or puppet-master lingering in the dark recesses of the theater hall.  The drama, the beauty, the madness, it beckons us all to its needs.  The swish of soft gentle fabric from a costume, the fragrance of the make-up applied to soft, supple skin, or perhaps the breast.  The delicate stockings pulled on in the rose-filled green room.  All bring a bit of mystery to the standard theater-goer.  The perfect world concealed in the drama and mystery of the stage.  The perfect dream revealed to the audience member.

Perhaps one such audience member is alone in the theater for the night.  He stands in the back, a single rose in his hand, waiting to give it to the mysterious and beautiful dancer he has his sights on.  He has been watching her all night, watching her since she started at the cabaret.  She is his angel, his muse, and without him his world would crumble.

A swish of fabric, a soft release of gentle fragrance and song, and the man walks a little further into the hall, watching the solo performance of the dancer, dancing only for him.  There is no music, but there does not need to be; the soft taps of her shoes fill the silent night air with enough song for him.  He walks up, places a single red rose on the edge of the stage, and admires her work, looking her in the eye.  "I've been watching you awhile miss," he says, looking straight into her eyes.

The dancer makes a few graceful moves, her silence a reply to the man.  She bows down in a swirl, looking the man in the eye.  "I know," she says, beckoning him closer.  He moves to the edge of the stage, careful of his movements.  "I've been expecting you," she says, moving to the edge of the stage, allowing the silk from her skirt to caress his cheek.  "I know you come here often, as I have quite the collection of your roses in my dressing room."

The man makes a chilled smirk, "Oh really now?" he asks, amused.

The dancer twirls again, the skirt wrapping a bit around her legs.  She shimmies down to one knee, her hands working a hat pin out of her hair.  "Yes," she says, placing her hat on his head, one hand gliding down the side of his neck slowly.  "If you're good, I'll have a special treat for you after," she says, gliding back up and further back on the stage.

"Gladly," he says, slipping back a few feet, and sliding down into his seat, sitting at full attention.

The dancer twists and turns on stage, a solo dance of mourning for lost love, a love that was not hers.  A flick of a wrist, a twist of the neck, and a longing desire in her eye keep the man's attention.  After a few silent moments, she stops, looking him in the eye.

"Very good he says, very good.  You're doing well," he says, slowly standing up from his chair.  The dancer watches him from on stage, the lights slowly fading.  "Did I behave for you?" he asks.

"Yes, you did," she says, kneeling in front of him on stage, bringing her body closer to his eyes for inspection.

"Have I earned my special treat?" he asks.

"You have," she says.  "Come with me," she offers a hand to the gentleman.  "I have something special for you planned."

Carrie's Lingerie, famed for their Seven Deadly Sins Collections, have released another mini-collection again based off of the original.  We here at TRF have covered Sloth and Vanity previously, and we were asked to help with the release of the new Gluttony Mini Collection, based off the original Gluttony shown to the right with corresponding jewelry.  This mini collection includes 10 separate colors, each available for L$475, or as a light or dark fatpack for L$1,900.  In addition, several addons are available as well.  We used the tophat.

Happy Sunday: Graves, Neurolab, and Hypnoville Aerospace

A special request from Jackie Graves herself, with a little bit of kink...

Warnings:  Contains a bit of police corruption and brutality and may walk on the side of being slightly NSFW.  Also a stripper pole or two.  You have been warned...



Date:  580689.15
Location:   Hyper Advanced Fighter Station Gamma Gamma

In a near to distant future, science has taken control of the human race, much in the way humans were drawn to the church in middle ages.  Gone are the days of the Christian Ten Commandments, instead, new societal norms are defined by a set of mathematical logarithms, set to define what is good for the human race.  While people still have their own sets of emotional responses to events, laws and most decisions are based upon these logarithms so as to prevent conflict within the relatively unstable society.

Technology has flourished in such an environment, stopped now by little except the occasional lack of funding.  While some emotionally-based laws still exist, as do emotionally-based societal taboos, there has been a resurgence of old emotionally-based social practices, including a new resurgence of pleasure-based religions.  Technology has wiped out birth defects, as all humans are now genetically engineered to prevent many diseases.  Chemical compounds have been developed to defeat addictions.  While the scientific utopia has flourished, a small sect of people have looked to the past, missing the ways of a life and society based in emotions.  The more technology advances, the more humanity retaliates with its most primal instincts...

Police Commander's Log.  We have received reports of illicit sex trading in the outer zone cities' underground brothels.  This comes after Public Health's reports of increases in communicative diseases from similar sectors.  Teams sent in to investigate have come up with little or no evidence of any sex trade or other illegal activities.  Higher police forces have now been sent in to investigate.

Police Commander Alayna Wynter sat in the cockpit of her fighter, reading over the computerized logs of the recent disease outbreaks in the cities of the outer zones, the hum of the hyperspace drive the only sound in her ears.  While she was still proficient in her basic early police skills from years ago, it had been far too long since she had the chance to enjoy the quiet solitude of the cockpit.  She closed her eyes, memorizing the facts before her in the case file, and felt the small buzz of the engines move through her body.

"Commander Wynter, do you read?" Dispatch asked, interrupting the solitude of the still of space.

"I read, go ahead Dispatch."

"We have new reports coming in from the emerging Red Light district.  Looks like there's an emerging Pleasure Lounge called "The Reno," run by one Shizuko Askvig."

"She the head of their operations?" Alayna asked as she pulled up the case file on her computer.

"Affirmative.  Looks like she has ties to the lounges in other cities as well.  Forwarding you the information." Dispatch said as a wave of images and files filtered its way onto Alayna's computer.

Alayna, now long-forgetting the hum of the solitude of the fighter's cockpit, looked over the data.  Shizuko's face appearing in multiple pictures gathered by Central Intel over the last few months.  "Dispatch, any chance that Shizuko is a clone?"

There was a pause on the other end.  "That's a negative," Dispatch said.  "Genetic scanning has concluded that this one is a Unique.

Alayna looked at her display.  "Dispatch," she said, "Tell the captain, We nail this one then we've got our girl."



Date:  580689.39
Location:  The Reno Pleasure Lounge, Arcadia Alpha City

It was a slow night at The Reno, and Shizuko Askvig felt it in the bar.  Her bartender was late again, and several of her girls were up in their dorm, having come down with a mysterious illness that was making its way through the Pleasure Districts.  Rumor had it that the contagion was created by the central government scientists as a quick and easy way to catch and punish offenders.  Problem was, most of those offenders were workers who could not afford the treatments necessary to prevent the illness from spreading further.  Partners of patrons were becoming ill and the work camps were now swamped with the illness.  Nonetheless, Shizuko still had a business to run, and a few patrons were slowly filtering in.

"Sam you're late," she said to her bartender.  "You've got the manager spot tonight and the bar, I'll take the poles and any extras we may need," she said, tossing a towel to the young woman at the bar.

"Of course Shiz," Sam said.

Shizuko started up the music for the night, her DJ being one of the latest to become ill.  "Sam, we're going with the classics.  We don't have the girls to cover anything more than the basics unless something changes soon."

Sam nodded from the bar and went back to her work.  Shizuko turned on the lights for the poles and started a few of the pleasure rooms up just in case there was a minor influx of patrons.  It was going to be a long night.  Though there were a few patrons in the bar, many were scared away by the contagion.  She had considered getting a few more clones of her girls, but that cost money that they were losing daily.  As she took to her pole, a woman entered wearing a full space suit and sat at the bar.  Shizuko continued dancing but watched, she knew that something was not right.  She tried to catch Sam's attention, find a way to vet the stranger, but Sam was too busy taking stock of the liquors to notice.  While it was common for many of her patron to wear the suits, later taking them off to imbibe in food, drink, and pleasures, there was something not right about this woman.

Alayna sat down on the bar stool, watching the bartender take stock of the bar and a single dancer on the pole.  She pressed a button on her glove, pulling up the pictures from the case on the display in her helmet, the computer locking on to the facial recognition software, confirming the dancer on the pole to be Shizuko.  Alayna's heart started to race faster, it had been far too long since she had the chance to close in on her captor, and instead she leaned back onto the bar, licking her full lips a little.  She kept watching, each moment making her think more and more about her early days on the beat, and her girlfriend she had back then.  Things were a lot simpler then - there were no government mandates on partnering or non-work activities back then.  Many a Sunday were spent with the two young women, both fresh on the force, in bed working their weekly frustrations out.  Her name was Shenna Vanlaere.  Alayna never knew what happened to her, just that one Sunday she woke up and Shenna was gone, her belongings and personal effects all still in the small apartment they shared.  She knew that Shenna had been into some deeper investigations at work, but was never a privy to the information about it.

"What can I get you?" Sam asked Alayna, disturbing her from her thoughts.  She could feel the beat of the music pulsing through her suit.

"Nothing yet.  I prefer to keep my helmet on," Alayna said to the bartender.

"We have imported gas cylinders if you'd like," Sam said, holding out a small capsule of specialized gasses meant to be added into air filters on space suits.

"Perhaps later, I'll be here awhile," Alayna said, hoping for the bartender to return to her work.  Alayna pressed a few more buttons on her wrist and more of her files came to view on the inside of her visor.  Something was off about Shizuko though and she wanted a closer look.  When Alayna was comfortable that the bartender was back to her work of stocking shelves, she stepped closer to the dancer and sat down.  Why didn't she act now?  All her police training told her to, but something about Shizuko pulled her in more and more.


Shizuko saw Alayna make her way closer to her.  While Shizuko was familiar with patrons wearing suits similar to the one Alayna wore, there was something about Alayna that made her ill at ease, almost as if there was a draw to her.  She made a few more swings on the pole when their eyes locked.  Shizuko instantly recognized Alayna for who she was and dropped off the pole.  "Run Sam!" she shouted as she bolted from the lounge as fast as she could run.

Alayna saw the commotion and closed the files, running after Shizuko who had fled to the oxygen generators in an attempt to hide and flee.  Thankfully Alayna had trained for things like this for a long time; the air the suit provided helped as well, and she quickly caught up to a breathless Shizuko.

"You don't have to do this," Shizuko panted, taking refuge in the plants.

"You broke the law, and because of it you spread disease and contamination, setting back medicine a good twenty years all by yourself."

Shizuko kept panting.  "For what?  For humans to become like the cyborgs?"

Alayna stopped for a moment, taking in the thought; there was no danger of the perpetrator running anymore.  While a society free of disease often meant that there was little physical interaction, what cost was it at?  It had been before the physical laws from 20 years ago were passed that she had last kissed anyone.  She shook her head, it didn't matter now.  "You broke the law, you spread disease and contamination," Alayna said as she pushed Shizuko to her knees, binding the cuffs and restraints to the slim woman's body.

"Was it not better the old way?" Shizuko mumbled as Alayna placed the required gag.  Alayna walked around Shizuko.  The captive was in much better shape than she had first realized and could be useful in more than a few ways.  She was spry, lithe, healthy, and could do so many things.  She had heard of some of her superiors using captives such as Shizuko for their personal needs, but never had the chance to acquire one.  Of course, even though she had been stuck at a desk for the last ten years, she had never imagined herself allowing a case to go unsolved specifically for the reason her own personal needs. Of course, there was also no consequence to her or anyone else in the force if she did keep this one for such an occasion.

"What to do with you," Alayna said as she circled the other woman. Alayna placed her hands on Shizuko's arms, feeling the muscles in them.  Firm, strong, she could be of good use to her; it would be such a shame to toss this one to the prisoner auctions.  Alayna caressed her hands over Shizuko's body further, stopping as she got near the woman's chest.  "Natural?" she asked as she pressed into her captive's ribs, feeling for signs of surgical alteration.  Shizuko whimpered a bit as she shook her head.  "Quiet you," Alayna said as lightly slapped the captive, rubbing her own hands around Shizuko's body as she slowly kneeled in front of her.

Alayna went to her own knee, looking at Shizuko's deep blue green eyes.  "You're under arrest," she whispered into her captive's ear, "For crimes against the health and well-being of the population."  She tightened the ballgag around Shizuko's mouth, "You have the right to remain silent," she said, her own breast brushing against Shizuko's gag as she hovered over the woman.  Alayna returned face to face with Shizuko, her hands securing the other woman's arms behind her back as her knee pushed between the captive's legs.  "Too bad there was already a grand jury inquest on you last month, you would have been beautiful in a court of law," Alayna said as she tightened the handcuffs behind Shizuko's body.  "Which also means that there will be no trial, you've already been found guilty.  Now it's just a matter of just getting you off the grid," Alayna grinned, an evil twinkle in her eye behind the helmet.  "Do you understand these rights though Shizuko?" Alayna asked as she placed her hands directly on the captive's face.

Shizuko started laughing, grinning slowly through the ball gag.

Alayna stood up. "What's so funny? You think this is a game?"

Shizuko laughed some more and Alayna took out her stun gun, hitting the captive with the lowest setting. Alayna knelt over the woman, slipping off the gag. "I ask again, what's so funny Shizuko?" Alayna asked, taking the woman by her hair.

Shiz licked the excess drool from her lips, staring Alayna in the eye. "My name's not Shizuko Askvig," she said. "Come closer and I'll tell you."

Alayna looked at Shizuko. "What do you mean? Did you not commit these crimes?"

"Someone committed them, someone looking identical to me with my genetic imprint, but that person's name isn't Shizuko Askvig," she said, still grinning.

The change of name put a wrench in the case for Alayna. All record of the perpetrator and case tied the name Shizuko Askvig to this woman's body and businesses. An entire grand jury had found Shizuko and her empire guilty. If she was brought in, she'd walk free again. A pang of guilt hit Alayna; while she could not let the perpetrator go on a mere technicality, she also could not bring her in for proper justice. More so, the chemical lie detector in Alayna's suit showed that the woman who had been posing as Shizuko was telling the truth; she was indeed not Shizuko Askvig, even though she was the owner of the pleasure lounges that were in violation of the city health codes. "Who are you?" Alayna asked.

"Come closer and I'll tell you," Shizuko whipsered. Alayna knelt as close as she could to the woman's mouth. In what seemed like sheer silence, Alayna stood up, gasping, looking at the woman below her.

"Then what to do with you?" Alayna asked. "I can't let you go, but I can't take you in either." Alayna walked around the captive again, "But still, you have to come with me, you're under arrest." Alayna helped the captive up off the ground and then walked her to her ship.

Stardate: 580690.16
Location: Central Policia, Private Offices and Quarters of Police Commander Alayna Wynter

Alayna had brought Shizuko to her private office at the police headquarters. Floating far above the central city, the headquarters offered a chance for uninterrupted solitude for the men and women of the police force to work in privacy. It also offered the more corrupt officers a chance to deal in their own personal dealings without notice. Here, Alayna sat at her desk with Shizuko kneeling before her.


"What to do with you," Alayna said as she removed the woman's restraints, still firmly holding her in place. "If I let you go, someone else will arrest you, and we can pretend none of this had ever happened," Alayna pulled Shizuko's hair back so she could see her face better. "I could bring you in for arrest, but you'd go free and go back to your business, continuing to use your name as an advantage," Alayna said as she pulled Shizuko closer to her by the hair with one hand, removing the rest of the restraints with the other. "Either way, you'll be in a dangerous situation. So what to do with you?" Alayna asked, holding Shizuko's head bent back and looking eye to eye with her.

"You're mine," Alayna said, releasing Shizuko from her grasp and walking over to her central computer core. With the case solved, Alayna had to fabricate the red tape to keep Shizuko from being arrested again or being released. Shizuko, still feeling the pain from the stun gun to her abdomen, slowly limped her way over to the servers with Alayna. "I promise I'll be nice to you," Alayna said, making her way back to her desk.


For the first time, Shizuko felt fear, not knowing what to do. She had told Alayna her real name, but that had not been enough. Years on the force had made Alayna hard, placing a strong defense up against the rest of the city. "I promise I will not run Ms. Wynter," she bowed to Alayna.

Alayna looked down at the woman giving her life to her and felt a pang in her heart. She took off her helmet and saw the woman properly. "Come with me," Alayna said and led Shizuko across her office, pushing the captive to her knees again. "You cannot run," Alayna whispered into Shizuko's ear. "You cannot hide," she whispered into the other. "For I'll always know where you are now Shenna," Alayna whispered as she made around to the captive's front and kissed her deeply on the lips, rubbing the small of the captive's back, pulling her close to her own body. "I've missed you. Where have you been for so long?" Alayna asked.

Shenna, fully revealing herself from the character of Shizuko that she had created years earlier looked up, "I've always been in your heart," she said, "Mistress."

Special Thanks:

Jackie Graves of Graves for the gifts of the clothing, idea, and requests for this post. 

We <3 You!

OnO Zinner of NeuroLab for the use of his Space Station.  

Great work and we look forward to more in the future.

And Cunninham Capalini of Hypnoville Aersopace for the gift of several fighters and space station.  

While we were mostly done with photography at the time, we are planning something special for our next Graves photo shoot, and your work will be our set.  

To all three creators for their generous support of TRF in making posts like this one possible.  We love to do stuff like this when we can, and we wouldn't be able to do this without your help.  Thank you!

Stylings:

Spacecraft:

Hyper Advanced Fighter 3.3 by Cunningham Capalini of Hypnoville Aerospace

Available on the Yeol Sim or on the Marketplace for L$500

Space Station: 

Space Station Zero Grav Prefab by OnO Zinner of NeuroLab

Available on the NLab Sim or on the Marketplace for L$3,990

Sonja/Shenna/Shizuko's Clothing:

Outfit:  Graves, Devotion for L$490

Shoes:  Graves, Alpha Boots in Black for L$390

Ball Gag:  Dari's Haus, from my personal collection

Arizona/Alayna's Clothing:

Outfit:  Graves, Gravity in Clear for L$690

Shoes: Graves, Vertigo Boots for L$490

Helmet:  Graves, G-Helmet for L$360

Credits:

Concept:  Jackie Graves

Story: Arizona Navarathna, Sonja Mistwallow

Modeling:  Sonja Mistwallow, Arizona Navarathna

Photography:  Philip Belgold

Photo Editing:  Arizona Navarathna, Philip Belgold
Editing:  Arizona Navarathna
HTML Editing:  Medavac Renfold
Video:  Sonja Mistwallow, Arizona Navarathna, Medavac Renfold

Communications and Locations:  Sonja Mistwallow

Props:  Sonja Mistwallow

Goodbye to a Legacy

We here at The Redneck Fashionista all like to consider ourselves gamers. We each multiple max-level characters in several MMO's and we even have our own guild that we run as well. Gaming is in our blood, much like the artistic stylings we portray here on the blog are as well.

So, when the news broke earlier today that Legacies 1891would be closing its sims in Second Life by July 22nd, many people were left feeling without a home, the gang at The Redneck Fashionista included. Though we have our own homestead that we operate out of, and still keep around a skybox for emergency needs (or if we just need to be inworld but need to be left alone), we've all been spending countless free hours at this RP. Whether it be sitting in the Ten Bells listening to a fiddler, working through a scene at the hospital, or sneaking into various London landmarks to take pictures for this blog, we can all admit that we've spent a fair amount of time over on those sims in our day. Mom's even run an affiliate shop for The Vamporium, the store associated with the Legacies RPS which will also be closing this upcoming week.

All of us associated with this blog, though we are generally a family, also find ourselves extended across the globe. Mom's up home in Wisco, Dad's at work for the next few weeks in Ireland, Syr's visiting family as well in Jersey, and I'm here alone. Even Belgold and Guth are off doing their own thing right now (so hence the slowness of the blog this week). But, no matter how busy we've been or far apart we are, places like Legacies has given us the chance to be able to sit back, relax, chat on Skype, and game. Our family is built on stuff like this, we've made props and costumes in the past, even contributed to the storylines used in the sim. Seeing a place like this go makes us very sad indeed.

At least there is still a glimmer of hope. While the sims are being closed in SL, the groups and webpages associated with the Legacies RPS system will continue. The Torn Oaks sim, which is situated next to the Legacies sims, will continue as well. The creator, Trijin, is planning on staying in SL, and even better, he is moving the entire world created by us all to an MMO platform. Hopefully soon. We're going through LaRPS withdrawal already.


Photographs courtesy of Trijin and Belgold.

Review: Danika New Release, Daddy's Girl

Did someone say "Barely legal?"

It's a normal day for eighteen year old Kikieo as she ponders what she wants to do as she waits for her daddy to arrive home.  Kikieo is a Daddy's Girl, her father spoils her and brings her gifts from his travels.  As the day goes on, her father finally arrives home from his trip as she bounces and giggles with joy knowing that he has brought her something lovely as always.  As her father reaches in a bag he pulls out a box and smiles, "Here Kikieo, a gift for daddy's girl.  I hope you like it because it is a new fashion that has just been released."

As Kikieo squeals and giggles she says, "I'm sure I will Daddy as always."  Kikieo runs to her room to open her gift from her daddy.


As she sets the box on her bed, she unwraps it with joy to find a beautiful outfit from the store of Danika Designs, her favorite store.  As she slips on the outfit she smiles with glee; it's a lovely outfit with low cut pants, stockings and garter, and two shirts she can pick from.  She looks at the two shirts and thinks, is she a mommy's girl or a daddy's girl?  She tosses the matronly shirt aside and slips the Daddy's Girl shirt over the curves of her chest.  Naturally, Kikieo is a daddy's girl if there ever was one.  As she walks over to her mirror, she admires the lovely gift her daddy has brought to her.  As she does so, her dad walks by her room on his way up and looks at his lovely daughter.  He smiles happily knowing that she loves the new outfit he has brought her.


Late Sunday night, Dani Knelstrom of Danika Designs herself, contacted me with the request to review this outfit.  Ironically, at the time, we were rushing to finish our post on Graves, which is why we couldn't get this up as fast as we normally would like.  I love this outfit, just as much as I love any of her other outfits; we have a joke in our family that I love Danika as much as Mom loves Graves, and we even have a little competition going as to whom can get more.  It is available only in-world for L$399 and comes with a mesh tank in 4 sizes with texture changing logo (Daddy's Girl and Mommy's Girl), a HUD for changing the text, very short cut-offs, arm sleeves, belted stockings, legwarmer covered sneakers, scripted sunglasses, and a "Barely Legal" tattoo for the lower back.

Ms. Knelstrom did a great job on this outfit.  I like that the sunglasses are scripted so that you can flip them between being on the top of your head or bridge of the nose.  The texture changing mesh shirt is also very nice; being able to switch between "Daddy's Girl" and "Mommy's Girl" is a very nice touch, especially for any sort of Lolita-style cosplay.  The fit is great, especially for most standard sizes or the special Danika teen sizes.

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Great overall

Cons:  None

Special Sunday Night New Release: Graves Circuit

aka:  We Will Always Have Tea

The year is 3579 and the human population has long since branched out into the universe abroad.  While most of the economy is based around the mining of necessary resources to continually repair an aging fleet, science and technology has emerged with new advances to make life in space more comfortable.  One technology in particular, Dream Walking, has allowed populations to go into stasis and perform their daily jobs in a virtual reality of their own mind, eliminating the need for large amounts of physical infrastructure.  Entire information and service sector jobs now boom, rich in resources of an unlimited imagination of the mind.  Entire corporations data-mine ideas through the Dream Walks, while others educate, create, and perpetuate the human culture and society.  And even better for the corporations, all you need are employees willing to "sleep" on the job.  Of course, it did raise questions with sleep specialists as to whether or not the brain could get adequate rest to regenerate. 

Neptune Orbiter Five, high in orbit above the planet it calls home, has emerged as a recent leader in the Dream Walking industry, with a majority of the station being dedicated to services needed for the "creature comforts" of living in space for prolonged periods of time.  While most of the actual Dream Walkers live in other areas of the galaxy where there is more room and rent is cheaper, the corporations have a few Technologists maintaining systems aboard space stations and other communication relays throughout the network.  Considered as "super users," these Technologists function on the station to maintain the neural networks needed to conduct business across the internet, forming a sort of super-node or super-server comprised of the human brain and body.  For these Technologists, life is "flipped" around; considering that their work day consists of approximately twelve to sixteen hours of sleep, more if overtime is needed, leaving these men, women, and other genders time to play in their off-work hours.  Two such Technologists, Onxy and Emerald, have formed a peculiar relationship over tea.

"Onyx, where we heading tonight after work?" Emerald asked, toweling the last of the superconducting gel from her hair.  The duo were field testing two new technologies in the lab - a gel that acted as a superconductor between the body and computer, and a new latex that allowed a person to be submerged in the gel for great periods of time.

Emerald yawned as she stretched, releasing the tension from muscled that were forced in place after a long sixteen hour shift.  "Well, I think I feel like dumplings tonight."

Onyx chuckled on the thought of dumplings, her mind instantly going to something other than their favorite restaurant on the Pleasure Deck.  The restaurant was a favorite for two reasons - it had the best wonton soup in the galaxy and it was conveniently located across from the corridor where the friends' offices for the Dream Lab were housed.  "You and those dumplings.  We're just going to have to work out that much longer tonight."

"Yeah, these uniforms don't really give too much wiggle room for carbs," Emerald said as she skipped across the way to the restaurant.  "What to have..."

"Dumplings?"  Onyx teased her friend as they approached the bar.

"And tea.  You know, that's something that's always been around."

"Bars?" Onxy joked as she picked up the menu.

"That too, but tea, and dumplings of course, but especially tea," Emerald said as she took a sip of the hot beverage at the bar.  "That always feels good after a long session in that gel."

"But tea is always interesting," Emerald continued.  "Tea has always been there.  Hot caffeinated beverages in general always have been."  Emerald took another sip while Onxy settled in at the bar with her menu, her own cup of tea in hand. 

"You've been data-mining in the archaeology section again, haven't you?" Onyx smirked as she ordered her wonton soup and steamed vegetables. 

Emerald blushed, the red of her cheeks making her body flush, moving a chill across her skin.  "Maybe," she said as she rubbed her exposed arms.  "Is it a bit cool in here?"

"You've been in the tank too long," Onyx said, "but it is a bit chilly.  Maybe it's time we let these suits warm us up."  Onxy pressed a button on her forearm and a latex film closed in over her body.  Emerald did the same and her suit shown green.  The duo were thankful of the successes in the testing they were making.  The suit formed a thin but strong and warm covering over both women, providing thermal regulation for them when they were in extended Dream Walking sessions or in the cool, open air restaurants in the Pleasure Deck. 

"Dinner's up, that'll be 10 credits," the gruff barman said to the women as he scanned their identification chips on their wrists for pay, one of the many technologies built into the cybernetic suits they wore daily.  The women took their dinner and went to the nearest table.

"Mmmmm, dumplings!" Emerald said as she poked at one with her chop stick, letting the steam rise up out of it.  As she sat and watched the steam, she took another sip of the tea.  "Now where were we?  Tea I believe?"  Onyx nodded in agreement as she took her first bite of the steamed vegetables.   Emerald took another quick sip, "Tea is always interesting.  Here we are, sitting on a space station over four billion kilometers from where our species originated."  Emerald took another sip, savoring the scent of the brew, "And we're sitting here drinking a beverage and eating food that was the same as food and drink served almost 5,000 years ago."

Onyx looked up from her meal at her friend, "Okay, I'm taking the archaeology section tomorrow.  No zoup for you!"

"And you were in the 20th century entertainment section."

"Maybe," Onyx blushed.  She had a guilty pleasure of finding a picture show called "Seinfeld" on her breaks in the Dream World.  "Go on though, your weekly analysis of tea is always fascinating," she said as she took a sip of her own beverage. 

Emerald chuckled.  "Tea.  Here we are, on a space station, millions of kilometers and thousands of years from where this beverage originated, but we're still drinking it, and we'll always be drinking it, that's the irony of tea."  She took another sip.  "Ten thousand years from now, humans will be sitting on a space station talking and drinking tea.  Of course, because of all the chemicals now around us, our bodies and our cybernetic suits have to process, digest, and metabolize it different.  Hence these suits.  Our livers would never handle our environment on their own.  Or lungs, or stomach, or any other part of our bodies really."

Onyx sighed with that thought, remembering her history lessons of when the pollution drove their ancestors to the stars in 2246, "Too true," she said.  She always wondered what the original tea trees looked like.  Or trees at all.  She had never been on a planet in the entirety of her life.

"No way possible for us to filter out all these toxins on our own; the tea alone is fine, it's everything else that's gotten in there from the industrial waste fields of Mars and everywhere else that would kill us."  Emerald took her last sip of the beverage and held her hand over her cup, motioning to the barman that she had her fill.  "Recreation time.  Where to tonight?" Emerald asked as they dematerialized the last molecules of food from their plates and bowls, cleaning their table for the barman.  Exercise was always important when working in the Dream Walking industry.  The hazard of being asleep for so long each day for work was twofold: not only were they restless after such a long shift, but they also risked their muscles atrophying from being so underutilized throughout the day. 

Onyx took a few sporty jumps near the bar, "What about racquetball tonight?  We haven't played it in awhile, and maybe the club after?" she said practicing her backhand. 

Emerald tipped the barman, the food was always wonderful there.  "Sounds like a plan," she said as she made a few test stretches herself, the two walking off further onto the Pleasure Deck.



Special thanks to Jackie Graves for the gift of Circuit and the matching Mainframe Boots today, as well as the inspiration for not only this post, but plenty of other cyberpunk themes in SL.  Circuit is the newest release, released just today, and is available at her mainstore for L$690.  She also suggested pairing it with the matching Mainframe Boots for L$390, also available at her mainstore, and conveniently located directly in front of the Circuit display.  The outfit comes in seven colors, shown to the left, as well as multiple clothing layers and attachments.  A favorite was an optional electrical plug... which plugs into your butt, a very cute touch indeed.  She also has an animated layer for the clothing that allows circuitry to light up on your avatar's torso and thighs.  There are also some really great nuances as well - the implants for the breasts are asymmetrical from each other, there is circuitry along the design of the suit, and the bracers also have some very nice glowing buttons to it as well. 


Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Perfection as always Jackie, love your work!

Cons:  None, except you'll want to purchase all of them (for L$1990).  We haven't done the math on purchasing the entire store yet.


Sonja/Emerald Styling Guide:
Outfit:  Graves, Circuit in Green for L$690
Boots:  Graves, Mainframe Boots in Green for L$390
Hair:  Truth, Janice in Black/White for L$250

Arizona/Onyx Styling Guide:
Outfit:  Graves, Circuit in Clear for L$690
Boots:  Graves, Vertigo Boots for L$490
Hair:  CatWa, Dima in Black/White for L$250

Credits:
Outfit and Shoe:  Jackie Graves
Concept and Storyboarding:  Sonja Mistwallow
Review:  Sonja Mistwallow
Models:  Sonja Mistwallow and Arizona Navarathna
Photography:  Philip Belgold
Photo Editing:  Philip Belgold and Arizona Navarathna
Story:  Arizona Navarathna
Editing:  Arizona Navarathna and Sonja Mistwallow
Special thanks to Jackie Graves for the outfit, and to the creators and citizens of Insilico for the location and inspiration for this post.  

Editor's Note:  Never has a post taken so long for us to compile, but it was a true team effort and worth the time tonight.  We always love reviewing big names when we get the chance, not because the clothes look great or because it's an easy review, but because it gives us the chance to be creative with our ideas and design.  We figure that you probably don't always want to read the same review over and over, just as Sonja does not like to write the same review repeatedly and I really don't like to edit the same review daily.  We are huge fans of Ms. Graves here at TRF, and it was a true surprise to receive her gift today.  We always like to try to make each review have something more than just plain critique.  There were a few times, and many SL crashes and lag, that made us wonder if we'd ever even get this post up.  But, we had to put it up, because creations of this caliber need something more than our usual critique and five-minute photo editing.

Review: Voluptia, Wanton Lingerie & Precious Mesh Corset

Once upon a time in a land far far away, there lived two queens.  Once step sisters from a great king who could not have his own children, the girls grew up together, best of friends, until their father's death.  Split form each other and ordered to each rule one half of the kingdom, they pushed through their ways the best they could, for without eachother, they were powerless.

Then one day, the girl bound in pink came across a book, tossed aside in the fire of an old monastery.  From that day forth, the kingdom began to whither, as she was faced with her growing obsession with her own vanity.  The queen in pink searched the land for anything to make her more beautiful.  After awhile, she heard of a tale of a great mirror, hidden deep in the chambers of her step sister.  Needing to find the last bit of beauty she could, she snuck into her sister's bedchambers, but alas, the mirror did nothing.  No reflection.  It sat there, broken, the little shards of glass glistening in the light.

"It won't work for you," the queen said to her sister in pink.  "It was enchanted so that only those who are pure of heart can see through it."

"You lie," said the woman in pink.  "You cannot be the only one who can see.  I am pure of heart for my beauty runs deep."

"Does it my little sister?" the queen said as she escorted the one in pink to the bench. "Sit and I will show you."  The queen in black sat down in front of the mirror, and after a swirling of light, her reflection showed back, even more beautiful than the queen herself.

In a fit of disgust, the vane queen in pink sulked down into the bench, her sister came over to sit with her in consolation.  "Fear not though," said the queen in black lace, "for I assure you, together we will be even more beautiful."

The queen in pink looked up at her sister.  "But all that I have done to our father's kingdom.  Surely that has not caused great pain?  Surely that has not tarnished my beauty?"

The queen in black, knowing that she had to console her hand.  "Come rest with me for the night."

"I cannot rest knowing what I have done to our kingdom," she said and she began to cry.  As the queen in pink cried, her sister took her by the hand to the bed.


"Rest and I will tell you how together the land will be pure again," the queen in lace said.  The queen in pink took her sister's guiding hand, and together laid on the bed.  "Rest with me, and rest your weary heart here.  For together, we will rule a great land, even better than our father's kingdom."

The queen in pink, no longer cursed by her vanity, cried on her sister's shoulder.   "You are forgiven," said the queen in lace, "And tomorrow we begin our reign together anew."


From that point forward, with the queen in pink trusting her heart to her sister, the kingdom began anew.  Crops flourished, the sun rose high and beautiful in the sky, and the kingdom lived happily ever after.






Wanton Lingerie (Sonja, red hair):

Overall: 10/10

Pros:  Great work!  Variety of style options included

Cons:  None

Stylings:
Outfit:  Voluptia, Wanton Lingerie for  L$199
Shoes:  Graves, Alpha Boots in Black for L$390
Hair:  Truth, Janice in Reds for L$250
Skin:  Al Vulo, Matilde in Cocoa for L$800
Rose:  random freebie


Precious Mesh Corset in Pink (Arizona, black hair):

Overall:  10/10

Pros:  Perfect fit, great look, classic timeless style.  Voluptia corsets are probably the best mesh corset in SL.

Cons:  None

Stylings:
Outfit:  Volutpia, Precious Mesh Corset in Pink for L$299
Shoes:  SimILar, Venezia in Black for L$750
Hair:  Truth, Francesca in Blacks for L$250
Skin:  Chaisuki, Vienna 14 Nougat for L$1389