NSFW, eh?

Bunneh Brickworks Kawashima is an SL blogger and one of my sweetest Flickr friends, but she is also a bad influence. In a good way. This week, Bunneh is shooting a series of photos featuring public nudity. I had to see if I could do what she does. (These two pics will have to last a whole week, so look at them slowly. Or frequently.) I admit that while shooting these pics I was afraid that I would be caught and banned from my fave sim. So I appreciate the risky thrill of public nudity. At the very same time that I enjoyed doing something wrong, however, I also felt the rightness of the beauty of the naked human body, of the SL creators’ imaginative ways of enhancing that beauty, and of my own effort to create an erotic image rather than just a nude shot. I had to shoot many vanilla pics and many upper-body images before I was absorbed—or committed—enough to find a sexier pose and show Portia’s pudendum. If we are easily shocked by erotic imagery, it is because we are too distanced from the naked body rather than too close. Our determination to keep the body, and sex, private is a symptom of our inability to embrace the body in its erotic aspects. (Don’t get me started on body-as-bourgeois-private-property. That way lies Marx.) Having said this, I did decide to censor the pic with some soap bubbles. If you want to see the uncensored version, you will need a Flickr account with preferences set to see restricted images.
In addition to Bunneh’s example, I was inspired by Umazuma Metaluna’s new Lolas Tango appliers for The Skinnery. These are the sexiest nips on the grid, their appeal to the fingers as strong as their appeal to the eye. Ms. Metaluna has done appliers for old skins as well as new, so customers aren’t forced to abandon the old skins as obsolete. She is putting her customer first. This I like.

Credits to creators
[theSkinnery] Byuri-Foxy Lady(toffee) DB CL1 (this was a special edition of the Byuri skin)
[theSkinnery] Tangos Skin Applier and, in the same package, Tangos Nipples Applier [there's a nipless version of the applier so you can avoid nip-slip]
Lolas ::: Tango ::: Mesh Breasts
[Aura] Grimm – Corset – M – Antique
first pic: Magika [Hair S] Stumble
second pic: Wasabi Pills, Christy 2 Chocolate
- .HoD. – Chained – Slide
.:ellabella:. Saint – Jet
Yummy, Boho Rings – Maroon
Graves, G329 Cuffs
poses: Glitterati
GIMPed for your pleisure, but the applier is not retouched (enjoy my signature jagged shadows)

Cushioned for the corners

Tonight I was in the mood to see what kind of mischief I could get up to with a pair of breasts, two models and a couple of pose boxes. Anorak shows off in new hair from LeLutka and new boots from h.m.a.e.m. Jasmine is based on Princess Jasmine, who is some kind of royal chick from a kid’s movie. The hair, which can be worn with or without the long pony-tail, comes with two necklaces and the metal-and-gem-changing earrings you see here. Luxo, the over-the-knee zebra-stripe boots from Riri Ninni, get their appeal from the deliciously perverse contrast between no heel and lots of leg. Anorak also wears a Dressing Room Fusion skin from Al Vulo. It comes with an applier for Lolas Tango falsies. I’m starting to realize why appliers that match an av’s skin are such wonderful time-saving devices. I’m also starting to realize that creators who charge 100L for the applier in addition to 200L for the dress make big bübage a very expensive proposition.

The high cost of bigbübs inspires me to urge you once more to check out the Hunt for Your Inner Slut hunt, which ends on December 15. Not all of the items have been updated to fit Tango, but this little number from Rack City is good to go. Portia, on the other hand, is good for nothing but sleep.

Credits to creators
Anorak the cat burglar
[Cynful] Vale’s Turtleneck Dress – Suede Black (3/4 Sleeve) [top only]
h.m.a.e.m. – Luxo Over Knees boots – Zebra (at The Couturier’s Docks; ty Ms. Ninni!)
::HH:: Hucci Bahia Leggings S – Midnight
[LWL] Power Suit Belt (gold lipstick) [this is only half a belt since it is designed to be worn with half a suit-jacket] (at Limited Bazaar)
[LeLutka]-JASMINE hair – Bournville (NEW; comes with earrings shown here and necklaces not shown)
Lolas ::: Tango ::: Mesh Breasts (spine)
al vulo-jade 2*exotic voyage blonde brow olive Tdr [comes with appliers for tango and push-up Lolas] (at TDR Fusion)
*SoliDea FoliEs* The Day After / makeups
Clemmm – ReSnick eyes .black sclera.
Glitterati pose prop

Portia the pin-up
Rack City, Lace Crop Lingerie Suit Full Set (HYIS item; you are looking for a yellow dick, for realz)
Magika hair (mesh)
Glam Affair skin (last month’s Collabor88)
MiWardrobe, group gift bracelets (extra gorg!)
BENT, Escher pose prop

Safe neither for work nor for the horny

Portia’s super-slinky gown is from Kex Blackheart of Paperbag. The dress has a scoop back and double side-slits. It’s part of the debut collection at the new Lyfe of Style discount shop. This new venue emphasizes urban styles that resemble the offerings at Fifty-five Friday. The dress, the gold-and-black harness belt and the Lolas Tango applier are all sold separately at 75L each. (Please note that the belt is system layers and the dress has a mesh skirt.) Sabina Gully of Magika has just released Stumble, a hairdo with a permanent—but colour-change—blindfold. I have mixed feelings about ombres in crazy colours because they can throw off an outfit. Magika’s colour pairings are fantastic, so I was thrilled to see that this style isolates the second colour at the back in a long, loose ponytail. This way, the ombre is a cool surprise.

I can’t resist showing off Lolas Tango falsies with Al Vulo’s current group gift skin, which includes an applier to tint the breasts to match. I find the line of these breasts incredibly erotic. The breasts can be scaled down, and Portia usually wears them on the small side, perhaps because I remain too attached to proportion. I have to say that I adore Vestigium’s Octapus tattoo. Lu Scorpio is celebrating her first anniversary in SL, and although this tat isn’t discounted, you may like some of the oldies she’s discounted to mark the event. Finally, Portia’s panties are part of Bubble Electric’s gift for the Hunt for Your Inner Slut hunt. This hunt started before Tango hit the market, so this outfit and many others in the hunt supply only an old applier. Tool around on a feed to see which gifts have been updated. Most bloggers are now crediting their fake bübs, so you can see which hunt gifts are compatible with yours.

Credits to creators

Paperbag. Double Slit Noir [harness belt and Lolas applier sold separately] (NEW)
Vestigium – Octapus tat (NEW)
h.m.a.e.m. – piqui pumps – lille (NEW)
Lolas ::: Tango ::: Mesh Breasts
Magika, Stumble with HUD 03 (NEW)
skin in first pic: It Girls, Chloe Pale
skin in second pic: al vulo- Eleonor * Son of Flowers group gift [with Tango skin tint applier]
second pic panties: Bubble Electric, black lace diva undies (part of a set for Hunt for Your Inner Slut hunt gift)
The Muse Poses, Ginger pose pack (21 sets left for 150L at Fashion Limited; ty Audrey Cresci!)
shot at The Looking Glass
I did more GIMP work than usual on these, so buyer beware!

Needs some shelter

Portia discovered some depressing rain at the DQ Maze, where a player may win prizes if she tries out the bed and the harp. There’s also a movie theatre showing a wonderfully morbid cartoon. Waiting in vain for another three-prim zombie, Portia models some fall steals: her Reckless Abandon coat is only 55L at this week’s fi*fridays; and her !gO! skirt is only 90L at the current Perfect Wardrobe. Portia’s sophisticated Bag 0320 is a new mesh release from h.m.a.e.m, and it comes in black and rain-grey shades as well as the mokka shade shown here.

Anorak missed her bedtime and sees her skin sizzle in the still-strong sun of fall. Her drop-hem skirt is part of Sakide’s Huntress outfit for The Dirty Turkey Hunt. Her twill jacket with grungy shirt (all in one in mesh) is Sugar and Cyanide’s gift for the Womenstuff Hunt. Anorak’s sexy platform boots are a new release from LpD. The snake-skin-patterned Geena boot is available in black, shown here, brown and beige. There is also a matching bag.

Look one
!gO! *little hippie* skirt – XS (PerfectWardrobe) 
::RA:: One Button Coat [Grizzly]L
h.m.a.e.m. – bag 0320 – mokka – (NEW; ty Riri!)
** [ Riddle ] ** Pussybow Dress – Green
[Plastik]-Fierii Leggings-UP-Swamp Thing (Halluwin special still available)
[CheerNo] Boots Jonny (at TDR)
Glam Affair – Roza – Brr & Etci 02 BL (at current Collabor88)
[e] Locked – Blonde 02
*EED* Kiowa Earring~ Amber
LaGyo_Zarema gloves dappled (old gift)
LISP – Rainy Days Umbrella (tex change) (part of a pack)
location: Dwelling Quay Maze, Cherry Beach

Look two
*LpD* – *Geena* Boots Black (Mesh – M) (NEW; ty Nevery!)
[ SAKIDE ] Huntress Skirt S (TDTH)
**S&C** Alexandria Jacket – Black with shirt XS (Womenstuff Hunt)
Glam Affair – Roza Unnamed 01 (new VIP gg comes with and without freckles; 30L fee to join)
::DT:: ::JoLiE:: V2 Beautymarks Moles and Freckles (face)
- .HoD. – Compassion Piercing Set Prt. 1 – Silver Lining
Magika [Hair S] Tendency 03
Sedmikraska, Drippy Tights (Marketplace)
+:+WTG+:+ **C flat** choker and bangles (Nov VIP gg; fee to join)
MG – Ring – Ramona 77 (October Collabor88)
:::Sn@tch Nail Candy (Black/White Tips):::
LISP – Sunny Days Parasol (tex change) (part of a pack)
location: Wretched Hollow

Why do we hunt?

Half-baked though it may be, this is my theory. Gaming is all about attainable goals: there is much satisfaction to be had in getting that freebie or that Fevered Friday Happiness (With a Twist), especially because we live real lives that are infinitely frustrating and largely unsatisfying. Hunting heightens the intensity of the gaming experience because we are seeking an object that we may not succeed in obtaining. Taking that risk makes the satisfaction of finding the hidden gift very sweet indeed. I think we expect a lot from hunt gifts because we have risked privation in a game that provides so many guaranteed pleasures. (Btw, if someone doesn’t tell me soon where Nomine’s ZombiePopcorn dress is hiding I will eat my own brains! And that means fewer blog posts.)

I have to say that, although hunts introduced me to the world of SL fashion, they are not something I relish. If you read this blog with any frequency, you know my computer is a mouse, not a man-eater. And I suspect that Emerald is indeed guilty of failing to rez many objects. I’ve found only four of the nine Platinum Hunt items I sought out. Relogging worked twice. Angrily waving ten dollar bills at my monitor accomplished nothing. Beyond technical difficulties, the widespread coverage of the Platinum Hunt also discouraged me from hunting: nothing seems terribly enticing because everything has been thoroughly exposed. My strategy for blogging for the FTLO…Science Hunt, which starts today, August 22nd, at 4pm, is to be so low-coverage and low-key that you aren’t entirely sure what’s out there…what’s moving stealthily through the wine-dark jungle laboratory (where, erm, the eco-friendly sensor-activated lights are on the fritz).

For more info about the FTLO hunt, visit http://www.wix.com/ForTheLoveOf/FTLO.

Credits to creators
outfit: Tyranny Designs, Hobo-esque in Rags (on sale for 100L)
leather vest: Happy Finds, Sillypup Outfit [modded; it's awesomer with the shoulders] (Project Themeory Aug 21-22)
hair: Magika, Aurora Chocolate
tattoo: Wicked Designs, part of Shanea’s Birthday Package (join group and check notices)
shoes: Chuculet, Nala Pink
flashlight: Sn@tch, New Eden Hallowe’en hunt gift
bow: unknown creator, Double X Wooden Bow [Sheath] (freebie)
set: MC (Spudgy Dean), Night Forrest Skybox (former gift)
gun and flower poses: Olive Juice (The Unknown Hunt gift)

Sticky

Yesterday, the Purveyors of Accidental Love group received a notice announcing a photo contest to be held at Trilogy Shelter on the weekend. The best 1940s pinups will be displayed in the sim as part of the retro decor. This was incentive enough to get the Pleisure models into Whippet&Buck’s Agnes lingerie and onto the pose stand. The Agnes lingerie comes with an alternate cincher with white suspenders, but it doesn’t include stockings.

To offset the subtlety of W&B’s lingerie, I thought I’d dress the girls up in some intense skins. These skins are what I call “strays”: they’re likely to be experiments by designers who don’t usually make skins, or samples of new lines that aren’t getting a lot of attention, and they can get lost in the shuffle. Anorak’s strange features manage to make Sanu’s Pink Day Skin look almost ordinary.

Sweet treats seem to be popping up all over the grid. Lo took one look at Fishy Strawberry’s tiny bag of eensy jawbreakers and demanded that they be scaled up to match her big mouth.

Credits to creators

Look one

lingerie: Whippet&Buck, Cheeky Girl Agnes Lingerie in Oyster

skin: I CE Coco, Adriana Skin.20 Pale (group gift in store)

hair: Clawtooth, The Seas Parted in Blinding (recent 50L Friday item)

treat: iTuTu, Marshmallow for Fingers (free from a cup on the bar)

Look two

lingerie: Whippet&Buck, Cheeky Girl Agnes Lingerie in Heirloom

skin: Sanu, Pink day Skin (subscribo gift for anti-bullying campaign)

hair: Posh, Morning After in Dirty Blonde

shape: Beautiful Girls, Odette (Free*Style dollarbie)

sweet: Hucci, Fashion Lollipop–Berry Blue (modded) (subscribo gift)

Look three

lingerie: Whippet&Buck, Cheeky Girl Agnes Lingerie in Lavender

skin: Adoring Charms, May Day Basket Hunt Skin (find the basket)

hair: Magika, Juliette in Onyx

candy: Fishy Strawberry, Mouth Candies–Jawbreakers (subscribo gift)

location: Club Josephina (which is now members only but free to join)

Am I blue

Sometimes Portia plays the sweet girl goth. Posing outside Wretched Dollies, she wears So Many Styles’ Sorrow dress in blue with a pair of gray ribbons-and-skulls cuffs, a Draconic Kiss group gift still available at the main store. The blouse of the dress wouldn’t rez properly in my first session, but you can see it in the closeup below.

Diva hair by Magika, headpiece 12 by Wildo and Curio’s Petal Winter Coal skin complete the look. This is the first skin for which I paid full price, and although it looks blotchy here, I love the ruddy cheeks, ruby lips and black eyeshadow.