So today I think I blew up the world a little bit...
I don't mean that in a bad way, but the more I blow up, the more I realize that this is what needs to be done to rebuild.
I need to be a little vague right now, until I've actually decided 100% how to approach my plans, but there's going to be a few changes to my blog, how I blog and probably the over-all look of my blog. I've spent a long time (almost 4 years) feeling like I don't belong, so rather than attempting to fit in to a community that hasn't really offered me any support other than the early access to events and the occasional promo of stores looking for bloggers, it's time for me to really, really blog for me - to practice what I preach.
I'm nearing my 1000th post. I think that'd be a great new start... there might be a short break in between there, but as I attempt to make a difference to my RL, it's time I address my SL too, especially if I want to use the platform in a far more healthy way.
Background : .:Joplino:. Backdrop It Was All A Dream
I'm featuring the first of -hopefully- many hairs from a brand new sponsor, Fabia hair! Yay!
This one is available at Whore Couture as of today (March 1st).
Also, can we just SWOON at this Narcisse 'fit? Yeah, it comes with panties, but personally unless I'm leaving my sim, panties are non essential. As always, these materials absolutely floor me. I have not edited the dress AT ALL except for some very basic shite I did to the entire photo, and I would very much enjoy living in this until next week!
Yes, I am PickleBot, programmed to travel through space to collect endangered life forms for my planet to care for, ensuring their safety. Today my objective was to rescue the HEXtraordinary Dragon Whelps available at The Epiphany for just a little while longer!
Seriously though, this was such a fun look to make, and a big Thank You to my Potato for helping me out and finding some super pieces that would work... just for his benefit - PROTOCOL 4 (I think? Unless it's 3, in which case it's still tits yeah?)
Take a look below for all the credits for all this awesome!
I tried to catch the Dragons doing some awesome things, but I'm really not that awesome, and could only manage some basic gyazo gifs. It's worth remembering that the dragons are ANIMESH, so that means you're going to need a viewer that supports that function. The SL main viewer has it, and so does the Firestorm beta - which is what I used today.
When Bueno popped this building in Collabor88 I got a little excited. My Potato man is of Cuban descent, and we'd recently been talking about the streets of Cuba having tons of old vehicles parked against the sides of the roads. I can't remember the exact reason, because honestly, my brain kind of tunes out anything that has something to do with politics (and I think that's what happened here, something to do with not being able to trade or.. idk?) anyway, because of the weird politics I can't remember, the only vehicles Cuba has are those which are built entirely IN Cuba, or those that have been kept by Cuban people learning how to repair existing parts from cars that were imported back in the 50's and 60's.
I realize that my photography skills for this particular idea may be lacking, but I entirely encourage you to google the streets of Cuba, because without a doubt, the images are stunning.
Regardless, I hope you enjoy Man-Pickle Friday, it's a bit of a change for me, but entirely necessary - have you seen the awesome man-things he's wearing!?
xoxo
One of the big reasons I decided to bring Man-Pickle out on a day that isn't Monday was thanks to this skin by Revoul named Ezekiel.
My head of choice for Man-Pickle for a long time has been Stanley, by Catwa, and that's due to my love of thicker lips and wider noses, plus the chiseling of the cheeks and the squarer jaw that is far easier to achieve on Stanley than Daniel. Luckily for me, the Ezekiel skin accentuates all of those features I love so hard, and above you can see all the tones available from RE05, to RE40.
Here are two of the body options available for the male body, shown in my tone preference of RE25.
On the left is a "Fit" version, and on the right i'm featuring the "Soft". I believe there might be a third option as "Chubby", but I've yet to get my hands on that one, and as soon as I do, I'll showcase it! I for one am super excited about seeing a chubby option for the guys, because who doesn't love a Dad Bod?!
I'm not sure how well this depicts Cuban music, as the Potato's internet went poof, but I absolutely love the shots of the streets and the view of the cars etc shown in the video, so, enjoy! ♥
Kinda sleepy today. Had an appointment at stupid O'clock in the morning so ofc, my anxiety being the beautiful monster it is, decided that there'd be no sleep the night before. When I did finally lie down, the next door neighbours decided it'd be a lovely time to start hammering and sawing directly outside my house, so yanno, thanks for that! I reckon I've had maybe 2 hrs sleep so I might be slightly bonkers!
I spent a long time on this photo, and I've been attempting to take a little longer with the original pictures rather than the editing. I'll never be a super photography expert, but I do enjoy having a bit of a faff with the photoshop things! If you haven't already noticed, I've added a new page to the blog, being resource tutorials that I've found helpful. Mostly it's photography, there's also a few speed edit channels and a channel dedicated to caring for your blog. I'm no genius when it comes to blog layout - I like something simple that I can understand without too much clutter - but starting my blog I used this channel to help with header set up etc.
Anywho, you came for credits, and here they are... because right after that I'm gonna go and attempt to sleep again so I can regain an ounce of normalcy!
Not entirely sure what's going on today, maybe there's a full moon or something, but everything hasn't been working how it's supposed to. Including me!
However, somehow I've pulled through SL not loading, flickr being weird and facebook deciding to throw a spanner in the works too, and now here we are, back at Man-Pickle Monday! Yay! Finally!
I'm joined by Mal again today, and you can find his credits below... oh, and that cute little old lady? That's my alt, Paloma. You may have met her before. I'm incredibly creeped out because she does look a bit like my RL Mum, but older... and having her thrown around in oftentimes suggestive poses while trying to find a nice sit for her to feed the pigeons was a little bizarre!
I want to start off this post with an absolutely massive shout-out to Reve Obscura poses. Without seeming to blow smoke up the butts of one of my sponsors (and making it entirely clear that they do indeed allow me the use of their items as a sponsor), they are without doubt one of the best bento pose makers in SL, according to the shapes I enjoy wearing.
Bento poses (and any poses for that matter), tend to need a little tweaking whether that's by adjusting the shape of the avatar, or the use of the god-sent Animare hud (available on marketplace >Here<)
With Reve Obscura, there have been very few times I have had to make adjustments, or use the animare hud, and for that reason they will remain a go-to for me. I have purchased several of the poses before they've been distributed to bloggers - that's how much I love this store!
I got a little disappointed again today, because I received another rejection from a store that I love.
I make sure I only apply to stores and events I adore, I won't fill out an application for a place I don't genuinely want to support. I have massive, massive issues with the selection process, and I entirely believe that 90% of the time, likes and faves on flickr or social media determine the outcome of your application. I'm not -active- active anywhere on flickr, facebook or any other platform, and that's a choice I make because I do not want to a. cause unnecessary drama about my personal opinions, especially because most of my opinions are stated in this blog quite plainly, and b. it's not in my nature to sit in on this "fave for fave" or "share for share" environment that seems to be essential to 'getting your name out there'.
Don't get me wrong, I entirely applaud every single blogger and photographer purely because I know how much effort goes in to each and every post/photo. I have no issues with hitting like, sharing, or favouriting photo's I genuinely love, but I am NOT going to do it for every single picture in the hope that I get the same treatment back. I don't think that's fair, and it's kind of like giving a child a trophy just for taking part in sports day.
I hear crazy stories about people sitting on flickr for three hours a day.. an hour in the morning to catch up on photo's they've missed over night, an hour at lunch time where they backtrack over any pictures from the morning, and again before they go to sleep so they can fave the ones they missed since lunch. I'd much rather chill out and pretend to be busy elsewhere than feel that kind of pressure for likes.
I realize that my theories on this can potentially be controversial, but it's something that plagues my mind daily. For that reason, I will continue to meander along, enjoying the talented sponsors I am currently lucky enough to blog for, and keep putting myself out there when a spot comes up at a store I am crazy about, fully aware that I'll likely miss out!
With all that gotten out of my system, here's the stuff you really want to know! More beautiful items from FGC, the theme of this round is "Wild West, Cowboys and Native Americans, West world & Firefly inspired." You can find more information on the website >Here<
Today I was reminded about a thing that happened back when I started SL over 10 years ago.
Back in the day, you were warned consistently about the dangers of the internet. "You might be talking to an axe murderer, a pedophile, a rapist." it was scary to me to log in and speak to people who might be absolutely terrible. I was also in the middle of a big ol' break up, 500 miles away from home with a small child and no way to get back. I didn't like myself very much and because of that, when I joined SL, I gave out pictures of a person that was not me.
Over time, it became harder and harder to tell fibs to people I cared about. because you really don't expect to start feeling real feels for people on a game when you first start using it, do you? You don't understand that these people you meet aren't imaginary, they're real... with real lives that they might share with you, while you're sat there telling a porkie pie to them. You get to know them, and all the while you have this big black cloud hanging over you, "What if they work out I'm not me?".
I'm incredibly lucky. Of course, when I came clean there were a few people who dragged me, and rightly so - however, they didn't actually know me, and I had always felt a little off around them.
The people I DID care about (and some that I had no idea even knew who I was), were incredibly supportive, and now I realize that my outer shell is what it is, and I can't change that - but my inner shell... that's the important part, and if I can find people who love me for my insides, those are the friendships and relationships I need to nurture.
To anyone going through something similar, keep your head up and be proud of who you really are. You are not your body. You are a combination of every experience, every feeling you have and every feeling you have allowed others to feel.. you're a beautiful, interesting, original and unique soul. No one is you (even if they claim to be by using your pictures!), and try to remember that everyone is going through something, and while being a catfish isn't right, there are often underlying issues that need addressing and as with most situations, it should be bought up and talked about with mindfulness & kindness.
xoxo
Here's a slightly better picture of the Birth skin still available at TMD for a little while. Hurry up, before this round closes!
