Darkness will rise from the deep

Once upon a time... when the days were short, and the nights were long...

A soft creak of wood and metal would greet each twilight. Coming up from deep in the cavernous excavations hidden under the house on the hill, the telltale sound was audible to none but the crows beginning their roost in the gnarled trees which guarded the bramblestrewn garden. This softest of sounds was followed by others. The moaning, and occasional crashes were explained away by townspeople as subsidence, the land was old, and old things would creak... Far below their feet someone still older was waking, and making the noises.

Closer to the thick stone walls of the sanctuary, the noises resolved into their true forms. Stumbling out of the coffin, things were bound to get knocked over. Shins would be bruised, expletives would rain down as he pressed icy fingers to his temples, shading his vision from the searing pain of soft candlelight, easing into animation as the hangover from hell pounded and throbbed behind his eyes.

He would stand a while, centred in his mausoleum, letting the memories ebb and flow, settling back into a pattern only discernible from the nightmares of those who scurried about on the surface above by its unyielding clarity. As the tide of blood drew back, he again knew his name. Names were given to him, in different places, at different times. As seasons changed, so must he, if only on the surface. In this time, he could fit in as easily as any other, new ink graced old skin... it wouldn't last forever, but for now, it pleased him, and some others, to look at it.

Some hated it of course... designed to be divisive, it won friends and enemies. Followers of fashion all, in one way or another, be it of the flesh or spirit. None of it mattered much, a means to an end for him. Pulling the thick woolen sweater over his head, moonlight, seeping through fissures in the rock, reflecting from well placed crystals, gilded his skin. Black ink, driven deep marked him out as one of this age's exiles, their otherness forming a protective barrier, one which he could stalk from, and hunt within whenever the mood struck... Which it would, and often did.
More awake now, he turned to view the fruits of his labour the night before. The old copper tub, heated to the all important 37 degrees was half full... this was a little necessary luxury, not an extravagance. Even this had tired him. Slipping into the vitae, jeans and all, a wry smile would twist his lips at the thought.."Perhaps this is me growing old at last..."

Hair :  *Dura-Boy*38(Black)  L$360 Fatpack of 7 colours.
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Dura-Boy38-Dark-7color-Fat/3981889
Skin : Akeruka Godric - Former group gift.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Akeruka/163/135/23
Eyes :  REPULSE - Living Dead  L$ 99
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/REPULSE/97/143/23
Tattoo : +REDRUM+ Inverted L$ 99
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/REDRUMInverted-Tattoo/4338601
Top : +REDRUM+ Loose Fit Top Mens - Black MESH   L$89
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/REDRUM-Loose-Top-Mens-Black/4248285
Love the easy flow of this woolen sweater - looks so comfortable!
Jeans : +REDRUM+ Grandpa's Jeans - Grey  MESH L$89
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/REDRUM-Grandpas-Jeans-Grey/4464530
These jeans are made with a fanatastic texture - very unusual, not your normal denim. In the blue - they look great - here in the grey option - they look like roughed up old tweeds. Very nice!

All +REDRUM+ items available at the new mainstore - which you can find here...
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Death%20Row/196/83/56

Mausoleum :  Glitterati - Mausoleum (5 poses) L$150
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/GLITTERATI-Mausoleum/3066983
Coffin  :  Stone Misery - Coffin Black Nailed - Had this a long time - check out the store for what's on offer!
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Owendale/132/93/36
Wall Cross : KOSH- CRUX & CANDLES -regular- L$66
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/KOSH-CRUX-CANDLES-regular/3439823
Arch : Trident - Frozen Mistletoe Arch [Candles,White] L$350
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Frozen-Mistletoe-Arch/4326336
Just noticed that in all of the pictures above, the mistletoe on the arch had not rezzed fully. Damnit.
Bath :  Boudoir - Bloody Tub  L$250
https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Bloody-Bath/4079183

Frost!

 After waiting over half a month for Frost to start, I feel a bit remiss in leaving it this long to blog some items! Here we are anyway at last. Frost is a marvellous event, staged by Depraved Nation. It's a showcase of some of the best designers in SL, all with their own ministores, offering up some of their best stuff. with exclusives to the Frost event for sale, many at reduced prices. Oh, and the lovely people only went and wrapped up a big pile of items as gifts, some in their stores, some nestling under the frozen gift tree!

Of all the tasks at this time of year, trimming the tree was always her favourite! Each bauble collected over the years began as a decoration, and turned into a memory. With the passing years, memories were turned into baubles as well, sweet times and sad collected together, and lit with the magical glow of the lights. The scent of pine filling the room, everything calm, happy and bright... until the train came roaring through the room. Each year she forgot that little detail about this place, the seasonal scare becoming all part of the fun.

No word of a lie - as I was admiring the tree in a Christmas themed SIM, not having really noticed anything unusual about the room, it having tracks and all, when suddenly, a train! 

Shape : [:ME:] C2W Special Shape - Gift at Frost

Skin :   [:ME:] Nixie Light Skintone (Winter Preckled  w/ CL 04) - Gift at Frost

Skins and Shape in a gift! Great detailing on the skin, rosey winter glow to the cheeks with freckles too, fresh from a long afternoon snowballing.

Tattoo:  +REDRUM+ Finally Free Tattoo  -  Gift at Frost

Beautiful birds and designs on this tattoo. Lovely mix of faint linework on arms and legs to the bolder birds on the chestpiece.

Outfit :  1 Hundred. Babe Bodysuit. - Gift at Frost

Very sexy twist on a santa suit! Built into the shirt or jacket layer is the shiny black belt you would expect on the jolly old elf, but its not obtrusive. Styled here for a Christmassy look, you could wear this any time of year as its not in your face xmas costume wear.

Earmuffs :  Adoness - Daisy Ear Warmers - Red  - Gift at Frost

Very cute earmuffs! Red for the season, but decorated with a daisy, to keep you warm all the way into spring.

Necklace : KOSH- TALVI NECKLACE  L$75  50% off @ Frost

Beautiful, as with everything from KOSH. Couldn't resist this necklace. It comes with different attachment points, in male and female size versions. Also available were other jewellery items in this range to match.

Boots : Cheeky : Strap Boots (MESH) Dark Brown  L$200 @ Frost

Great MESH boots, Dark Brown and Black, have a bit of a saddleshoe feel to them, but in boot form, and with straps! Available in a good range of colours. I was also tempted by the purple!

It was a dirty job each year, taking care of the naughty list. Making sure all of the coal was mined, bagged up and delivered. Some people may have expected her to have looked grubbier, to be covered with the coal dust, be grumpier, affected by the naughty people she had to deal with, but no. This was the Christmas season, and nothing made her happier. By taking care of the naughty list, it freed up everyone else to take care of those who had been good to one another. Such generosity of spirit meant there would always be a gift waiting for her, under the tree.

Skin : : S u g a r : [2] Cane - [Lush] Berries (DB - Lush {Cleav-3} Crease)  L$ 899 @ Frost

It's with a very heavy heart I write this, as S U G A R is going to be closing. I can only wish the creator Iokko well, and hope that she finds happiness in whatever she does next. And of course, as a massive fan of her work, that she changes her mind at some point, and makes some more beautiful things for me to see, and NEED.

Outfit : [Plastik]-Bordello- Corporal Adorable - Gift at Frost

Plastik has been incredibly generous with their under the tree giftbox. This dress is one of many items, ranging from outfits, to shoes and more and more. This particular minidress is sexy, but modest, with a lovely lace panel over the chest.

Horns : *Epic* .:F R O S T:. 2012 Demon Snowflake Horns - Gift at Frost

Fantastic and subtley wintery horns from Epic, with pretty snowflakes at their tips.

Clutch : PARADISIS Serenity :  Purse - Gift at Frost

Lovely little clutch bag, with ribbons, but set apart from others by additional decoration, in the 2nd picture here it looks a bit like a creepy pink hand, which it isn't at all, it's a cute little piggy.

Nails :  [ S H O C K ] Frosty Penguin Nails - Gift at Frost

Very cute little penguin nails. Some cheer for your fingertips!
 
You can find it all here...

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Frost/131/125/28



.

[ears and necks]

I can never resist buying stretched ears in SL, probably because I have them in RL, too, and want to check how 'real' they're looking, so I was more than pleasantly surprised and excited when I saw [Mandala]'s advertisement for their new release. Created from unrigged mesh, you can choose between 5 hole sizes, tunnel- or plug ears, 210 plug arts, 88 tunnel colours, 40 piercing- and 18 diamond colours - and all that in one pack! A HUD allows you to tint your skin, resize the ears and change between the different motives and shades, and there is also the possibility to pick if you're wanting to alter the left, right, or both ears at once. You can see some of the variants in the picture above. All taken together, it's a gorgeous piece of work and definitely worth its money!

After my ears got a new 'outfit', it felt like my neck was in need of a make over as well. And there's been so many opportunities to buy some truly unique and great jewelry lately! At the Cinema Event, for example, Maxi Gossamer is offering one of her stunning necklace sets, the 'Peaceful Love' Dogtags (shown on the left). Also at Cinema, and shown on the right, you can purchase the spacy necklace from .:* LOULOU&CO *:. called ::COSMOS::. And at The Mens Dept, KOSH seduced me with their Copeck necklace, which is available in three different shades of metal. A matching armband is available, too, so make sure to add these awesome necklaces to your jewellery folder before they're gone!



[Left]
Eyes: Mayfly - Deep Sky Eyes (Tropical Blue)
Beard: EMORTAL CONCEPTS - blk Chin Curtain
Necklace: MG - Necklace - Dog Tags - Peaceful Love [at Cinema]

[Middle]
Eyes: Mayfly - Deep Sky Eyes (Pomegranate)
Eyeliner: Stain Cosmetics - Eye Definer [previous Gallery Gift Shop item]
Piercing: .:ellabella:. - Draiman Necklace: KOSH - COPECK NECKLACE [at The Mens Dept]

[Right]
Eyes: Mayfly - Deep Sky Eyes (November Midnight)
Piercing: - .HoD. - End Of The Night Prt. 1
Necklace: .:* LOULOU&CO *:. - Necklace ::COSMOS :: [at Cinema]

[All]
Skin: ~Tableau Vivant~ - Adam
Hair: RAW HOUSE - Razored Hairbase [part of Trilby hair]
Ears: [MANDALA] - Stretched EARS -OMIMI-

[dawn's highway to sin]

I saw a ghost on the highway
bleeding on the road
he said an empty heart is always
stone-cold

Time to let it go
and time for you to grow old


The Festival of Sin is approaching with huge steps (February 18th - March 3rd), so I thought blogging a teeny tiny preview of one of A:S:S deLuxe's exclusive items to make your mouths water would be a nice idea. Vain to the Bone is the name of this rather unusual facial attachment - various precious gems, which are scripted to change colour, frame the exposed half of a head where one can see the both tattooed and pierced skull underneath. The eye socket is carrying a diamond-cut gem which is colour-changeable as well (choose between the shades crimson, dark purple and black).


Skin: ~Tableau Vivant~ - Adam
Hair: RAW HOUSE :: - Willow
Eyes: ::UH:: - GS eye (Aquamarine)

Facial attachment: A:S:S deLuxe - Vain to the Bone (for Festival of Sin)
Facial tattoo: KOSH - TOO MUCH STRESS (part of - .HoD. - Mess Of Metal)
All blood: REPULSE
Pants: *Muism* - Leather Trouser/Pure white

Lyrics: The 69 Eyes - Dawn's Highway

[twisted pleasures]

The Twisted Hunt is on again and running from March, 1st til the 31st. This is the fifth hunt since it was started in March 2009, and the theme this time is 'Nevermore' - right, just like the well-known raven, and many of the prizes are indeed related to this beautiful, dark bird. Known to be one of the hardest hunts in SL, it needs indeed lots of patience, luck and sometimes indescribable camera angles to finally spot the little rotating 'cube of doom' that carries the prize, but I can assure you, the goodies are well worth the effort. 218 stores in total are waiting for you, and I wanted to show you a little selection of the prices beforehand.


On Raven:
Outfit: +++BB+++ - Florence Corset (free at the Twisted Hunt)
Knife: [V/INSANITY] - VICTIM Munchie (part of the Twisted Hunt prize)
Wings: ::{Favole}:: - Megalomaniac (free at the Twisted Hunt)
Ravenlegs: gilded - Raven Leg (free at the Twisted Hunt

On Storm:
Pants: RFYRE - Immortal Chained Leathers (free at the Twisted Hunt)
Cuffs: KOSH - Asphyxia Bracelet - blood (Lucky Board prize)
Top: =Razorblade Jacket= - You Fail At Math (free at the Twisted Hunt)

[sl inked]

Luna has blessed us with the colour 'sienna' in the 10th week of her blogger-challenge, and once again I asked myself what it is that turns my inventory into 30k if I don't even own a piece of clothing in each colour. There is a lot of browns in there... the most different shades, but since I don't know what colours might still come up, I usually try to stay as close to the pictured one.

And this time, I thought I wanted to focus on a hair from Discord Designs, a store that offers a lot of nice prim beard styles and pretty cool braided hairdesigns with matching hairbases. But just showing a plain and simple profile shot didn't really feel like a challenge, so I went along with the idea that popped up in my head at night: the cover of a fictional SL-tattoo magazine. I hope you enjoy!

Skin: .:Hermony:. - Kriz ST1 - Chinstrap
Eyes: MADesigns - EYES_LIGHT
Hair: -dDx- - EFB01 (previous groupgift)
Tongue: -RC- - Split Tongue Twisted (only on the Marketplace)

Tattoo: TATS - Full BodyTattoo Tribal Tats
Necklace: KOSH - Lotus Necklace
Brow-Piercing: .: JZ Design :. - Improvised Eyebrow Piercing (store not found anymore, creator Buddy Charleville)
Nose-Piercing: [DE] - Septum Ring
Nipple-Piercing: - .HoD. - Lust Nipple Rings v.2

[the newshunter]

On his travels around the world, always eager to catch information before anyone else could lay their greedy hands on it, he needed a both elegant and heardwearing wardrobe. StarChild Designs' contribution to the What's The News-hunt perfectly meets his demands since the checkered, brown-olive coloured trenchcoat comes in two different lengths (with a prim-bottom) and a matching hat to protect him from the rain. The fact that all the prim-parts are resize scripted turn it into a real winner. Go and grab yours now!

Skin: .:Hermony:. - Kriz ST1 - Chinstrap
Eyes: MADesigns - EYES_PROMISE
Hairbase: [PXL] - Male Hair Razored

Trench & Hat: StarChild WTN Hunt Prize - Trenchcoat (free)
Tee: *BOOM* - Essential T (Men/Unisex)
Gloves: .:Hermony:. - / LeatherGloves / (dollarbie)
Necklace: KOSH - Betel Nut Necklace