What's In My Closet? Why Do I Bother?

Try as I might, I just can't see myself as the glamorous sort. Slap on some makeup, a fancy dress, style my hair, add some jewelry, and ... dunno. To tell the truth, I don't think I can carry it off. In Real Life I wear (not all at once) hospital scrubs, shorts, t-shirts, hooodies, jeans, Crocs, or anything I can find so I'll be comfy and nondescript. In Second Life, I have a cage dress, heels, and dark makeup with bleached blonde hair.

WTF?

I'm totally convinced that this combo would look much better on anyone but me. A nagging thought of redemption tugs at me, though ... "What if I wore outfits like this in appropriate places?!?" Hanging out in Bay City or a nice forest in a cage dress? Probably not places one is likely to see this sort of outfit. Maybe I need to get out more.

The grown up Zyx can get away with it. It is her nature.

The Hue & Cry of Color

This week's blog meme challenge from Strawberry Singh, "Color Meme," seemed easy at first.  How hard could it be to follow do as she requests?

Meme instructions: Blog a picture of your favorite color or a variety of colors that you like. Don’t forget to leave a link to your post in the comments and share your picture in the Blog Memes Flickr Group.

But when you like rainbows, how do you pick a color or a variety of them? My first thought was to take a picture of me in my rainbow bikini. Too obvious. Or in one of my other rainbow outfits. Still obvious. Then I remembered a dream from last night that was so real. I was my dusky blue pixy Zyx but the setting was Real Life. O M Goodness that was fun! Flying while looking pretty fly, turning heads but holding off inappropriate advances with a deathly stare, and generally reveling in my blue pixiness.

So into Second Life I bounded as soon as I could to take a picture. Out came my favorite silks, touched up my ear shading, and stopped cold when it came to a background. Discarding Zyx's usually haunts I took her to The Faerie Court at the Fantasy Faire (Slurl) where I could get some color in the background. Working with my Animation Override for live poses, fighting the lag that Advanced Lighting gives, and timing it all to work with the shifting colors of Elico Ember's marvelous build, my shooting ratio hit 10:1 so I gave up and picked the one above.

Yes, blue is a favorite right now, but give me a few minutes. That will change.

Why Are You Human in Second Life?

Weighing on my mind of late is the question of how we represent ourselves in Second Life, particularly as I re-read Greg Bear's novel Eon for the umpteenth time. A central thread drawn through out that story almost asks "What is a human?" but not quite. Except for a few assumptions by select characters, the novel takes as given that humans are not necessarily what we might consider them. In other words, one need not look "human" to be human.

Key to this concept is that humans have evolved in our future. Neomorphs (humans without human form; "The neomorph— vaguely fish-shaped, limbless—regarded Olmy with a crystalline fox face and picted casual greetings, but no ID."¹) and homorophs (essentially human much like your Real Life appearance or mine; "She was a homorph with elaborations designed to heighten both sexual and leadership traits."²) are introduced with as little explanation as necessary and then treated no differently than the more pure, primitive ancestral forms. Being non-human in appearance is as natural as being human in appearance and Bear makes it clear that such is a choice in the book's future society.

What's on the inside is what counts?

The choice is yours in Second Life, too. So why do you appear to be human? Assuming that you are, of course. That many of us have a variety of avatars from animal to cartoon character to golly-knows-what is obvious. But most residents seem to stay with the current concept of a human form for most of their virtual existence despite changes for special occasions or such. With the difficulty of creating virtual clones of ourselves or the desire to make ourselves how we would like to appear in Real Life, most everyone is human.

Why? Why stick with your Real Life gender? Why are most people in Second Life caucasian?

Why, why, why? I'm not being very productive here. Probably because I don't have answers, at least not for anyone but me and that is rather iffy. Being human is what we are comfortable with, I suppose. Being caucasian or blonde or female is familiar to us. But I really doubt that these conventions make us who we are inside. Uccie is a blonde in Second Life after years of being a redhead in both worlds. She is female, like me iRL, as are most of my alts probably because that is what I know best. But she's the only one consistently caucasian for some reason.

Among my other characters, Zyx Flux is now black (sometimes reverting to her original blue) and she's a pre-teen child avatar. Oh, and she's not exactly human. As a pixy she's humanoid. Her big "sister" Zyx Resident is still blue, albeit a darker shade than with which she was created. And when she's black she's obsidian, not a Real Life human shade. My pixies are part of me – a child-like, nature-loving explorer and a confident, aloof loner that lurks and watches – that is often hard to express as Uccello.

Xandah is from India as you may have read elsewhere on this blog. Not really. I was born in Ireland and raised in America, but Xandah the character in Second Life is from India. Through her I've learned a fair bit about the culture of the world's most populous democracy.

My brother and I share log-ins for a few characters: a furry female, a robot, and an all-male caucasian Average Joe. Using these "secret" alts and my known characters I am often reminded of the quote I keep in Uccello's Profile:

"Perhaps it is impossible to wear an identity without becoming what you pretend to be." O.S. Card

When I'm not being Uccie, I don't feel much like Uccie, though I'm still me ... sort of.

Sometimes when my wife spends time with one of my non-Uccello characters she remarks that she still loves the typist regardless of the virtual form. She sees that I retain my nature and my humanity because when I'm with her I am Uccie regardless of form. With other forms that is not so clear. If you see me when I'm a German Shepherd wearing a hat and bunny slippers my I am different. No, that word is not good enough, but it will do for now.

If I could could make such changes iRL as I do iSL, would the same be true? I'd trade my current physical form to look like the elder Zyx in a heartbeat. Of course, that would simply bring up the debate about becoming the person that others see us being.³ It never ends, does it?



¹ Bear, Greg (2014-04-01). Eon (Eon, 2) (Kindle Locations 4952-4953). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.

² Bear, Greg (2014-04-01). Eon (Eon, 2) (Kindle Locations 5072-5073). Open Road Media. Kindle Edition.

³ Conger, Cristen. "How accurate is our mental image of ourselves?" 05 November 2008. HowStuffWorks.com. 04 May 2014.

Zyx on Topless Tuesday

Since she was born in November 2010 my adult pixy character Zyx Resident has worn the same three skins from SinSkins so her look, admittedly, was becoming dated. Unlike her little sister Zyx Flux I really wanted to stay away from a human skin and stay with her blue-ness. After searching long and hard I finally found a nice one from Plastik. A pair of SLink hands and SLink feet later, she's all set. Zyx has shared the Topless Tuesday spotlight before (see here) but her new skin merits a solo picture.

Look for more Topless Tuesday in SL pix on Flickr here!

All Good Things ... Zyx

Pixies are blue, you know.

No, they aren't really. Depending on the legends you follow, they could be, but generally pixies most people know are of a human shade. My pixies in Second Life, Zyx Flux and Zyx (Resident), are blue because Portia Sin had a great going out of business sale for almost two whole years so I bought almost all her fantasy skins for me, Zyx Flux when she was born, and then her big sister later when I grabbed the name to hold it (read "It's Zyxalutionary"). That's been about five years so I started looking to upgrade skins on the Zyxs so they could have nice mesh feet and hands.

Good luck. Not happening. Can't find a fantasy skin that I like as much as the blue SinSkins. But what about human skins?

No changes to any of her face settings for these pictures, but the skin really affects her character. I like it, mind you, but she no longer has her childlike countenance. Admittedly, this "Anais" option is pretty "adult" even for The Skinnery's regular photorealistic bent (SLurl). Actually, all of the skins from this creator show that almost gritty, flawed look that many other makers eschew. That's why I bought "Sasha" skins for my main character, Uccie.

I wonder about losing the magic, though. Zyx has tried blue (and green) skins from Gauze, the Sugar Garden, Alchemy, and more but nothing seemed right. The human shades are just as different though somehow more palatable than the gaudy choices that didn't fit at all. If I do change, I'll still have Zyx's blue skins (as will her bigger sister and me, too), but maybe it's time for my child avatar to grow up just a little bit.

Got an opinion? Toss in a comment. I'd love to hear from you.

Topless TWOsday!

Yesterday I spent a bit of my Second Life time with my pixy alts, Zyx and Zyx Flux. That was so much fun that I had to bring back the elder one for today's Topless TWOsday picture. Here we are getting ready for the day with a nice, warm bath. Later we'll go exploring, shopping, and maybe do some building before settling in with the laptop and checking out the Topless Tuesday in SL Flickr group (here).

Choices

Since deciding to have my "big pixy" alt wear her dark colors almost full time now (Web; previously, she used them for role play as a "feral" pixy) it has been interesting to choose her clothes and she's gotten some interesting reactions. Most of her clothes were chosen and coordinated when here skin was usually light blue so they don't really go well with the dark midnight blue skin she now favors. Of her five or six swim suits she owns, only the black/white striped set shown below works well, for example.

Similarly, reactions from others to her new hue have changed — her social fit isn't the same. Usually Zyx logs in and someone at Lesbos flirts with her right away. Similarly, her visits to naturist sites earned many an "Hey, Baby" IM from interested parties. Even when shopping the propositions came frequently. I don't know how I did it, but she was a drop-dead hottie, it seems.

Not since going dark. As an experiment I even took her to some spots known for, well ... okay, I took her to free sex places. Places where just having the right shape to your not-rezzed-yet-cloud attract lewd IMs. And nothing. Not even a peep from the other fantasy-themes avatars you sometimes find in those places.

Is Zyx intimidating? Is this not a drop-dead sexy look? Should she get some huge fake boobs?

No, I don't let her date anyway. My main character is happily married to a wonderful SL wife and Zyx exists for other reasons. But it is interesting that simply changing her hue has changed her life.

Its Zyxalutionary

The Zyx "Twins" on March 1, 2011. Zyx Flux (left) and Zyx Resident (right).

Avatars evolve — that's a given — and it is interesting to see how they do so. Zyx Flux began life as a means by which a Lucky Chair with a penchant for the letter Z could be defeated and was going to be a genderless robot. Her "gateway" was Fairy Crossings (SLurl) so her total image changed on her birthday.

Zyx Resident came about simply to reserve the first name when the whole resident naming schemes were changed. Zyx Flux had become something of a "brand" at one point through her ZyxWorx business and I felt that it would be important that no one else claim the Zyx name under the new scheme. Naturally, I made the big "sister" as similar to her little twin as possible, but with a momentary whim (also on her birthday), I made her taller and "older" as if "wee Zyxy" had grown up. Since then I've had her wardrobe, hair, and attitude (we are all characters, aren't we?) reflect these differences.

The Seminal Zyx is a playful, child-like gardener, happily exploring the world in search of new plants and wonderful landscapes. Zyx The Latter is less social, preferring the night and dark spaces though not eschewing a pixy's roots in nature as she wanders the world in search of adventure.

So more than a year has passed and these personality traits have become more ingrained, shaping each Zyx to make them even more individualized.

Zyx Flux and Caitcat at the Isle of Lesbos.

More often than not these days, Zyx Flux is a "petite" pixy, frequently shifting her basic blue for other colorful hues, but remaining bright and adorable. She can also be seen as a jewel-colored dragon or a little, tiny micro-kitten, each avatar a reflection of her friendly and perky nature. Outside the Isle of Lesbos I actually think of her as a child avie to the point that I don't peek when she's changing clothes. She's a gardner, too, as most of my landscaping purchases are directed through her. This helps with Inventory security and management as well as being a cute thing for a pixy to work at when she's in-world. On the Isle of Lesbos, Zyx Flux maintains all the grounds, but primarily the Secret Garden, a small world of fantasy flora and magical settings.

The darker sister, Zyx Resident ... simply Zyx.

As time goes by, the bigger sister has become even more mature and still darker in character, not just in skin tone. Actually, both representations of pixyhood have the same skin selections — the same shades of blue from light to nearly black — wings, eyes, and such, plus many similar items of clothing. In general, though, Zyx usually affects the deep midnight blue skin of late and sophisticated, grown-up fashions. If Zyx Flux is a precocious kid, then Zyx is the Secret Agent undercover as a runway model. Her only "job" is to be Security at the Isle of Lesbos. She doesn't do gardening, she doesn't build anything, and she doesn't socialize much, actually. Like her littler version she does explore SL, but she's not afraid of Zindra and even visits some naturist resorts on occasion. On the Isle of Lesbos, Zyx rules the Dark Forest, a small world forever at Midnight and filled with dark magics.

Underlying both of these characters is the basic pixy nature: Tricksy, energetic, nature-loving, kind to animals (Zyx Flux keeps Meeroo Meepets and Zyx has signed up for Booshies), fierce in battle, and able to exercise a deep affinity for magic. Each has an elven form (one light and one dark, as expected). They really are sisters, despite the outward differences and each is a wonderful way to express who I am in Real Life in ways that can't be done there.

11th of 12 Days in Lingerie

Guest Model: Zyx (Resident) in a wonderful set of fantasy lingerie from Kaelin Westland.

Looking back at earlier posts for the Juicy Bomb 12 Days of Lingerie blogger challenge, you can tell that I rather loosely define lingerie. Whatever the stuff is, it will wind up on the floor or around the girl's waist (or the guy's waist ... it's a kink, I know) once it's job is done. To me, anything (within reason) that can act as window dressing or a frame for the body to enhance a romantic mood is lingerie. So when I saw this woodland pixy at the Isle of Lesbos, I had to include her in this project. She's au naturel though not in the original sense of the phrase, but rather using nature as her adornment.

Lingerie: KK Fantasy Glade Nymph (the vines/flowers on Zyx's body) on the SL Marketplace here.
Hair: Alice Project "Katie" Naturals (set to blonde)
Skin: Sin Skins Tone 6 Makeup 19 (Nose Stripe)
Eyes: BSN Deep Eyes (blue)

Looking Glass Revisited

Several times last year I visited Horizon Dreams, a beautiful region that is home to The Looking Glass Store, but never really explored the place despite writing about it (here). It is part timeworn village and part fantasy landscape and completely gorgeous. I watched over my brother's shoulder (we share a computer) as he explored several of the prefab structures he was considering to replace the treehouse on our land. The landscape is fabulous, truly. Magnificently shaped and textured then filled with stunning plants in such a fashion you'd think it all just grew that way.

The meadow outside the tree trunk house is perfect for pixies.

Later, when I could get my hands on the computer, I returned with my adventurer pixy, Zyx Resident, and she landed just outside a perfect place for pixies, a tree trunk house (SLurl). Surrounding the house is an abundant meadow (where Zyx gorged herself on pollen and other delectable treats) with a nice garden table and chairs. Cross the stream via the fallen log and you'll find little hollows with more meadows.

Meadows, meadows everywhere, just what a creature of nature needs.

As you explore, watch for little details and eventually you'll find a cave entrance (very cleverly done ... it looks so natural that you might miss it). Inside you'll follow a dark, winding tunnel (take off your face lights!) and eventually end up at ...

A very elegant and tastefully simple ruins.

I can only imagine the backstory the builder had in mind when working on ruins within the cavern. It is easy to sit in this chamber and picture what it must have looked like in it's heyday, with bold tapestries,  dutiful courtiers attending the court, and a buzz of life typical of a thriving kingdom. Or maybe, a darker theme filled the space during it's peak, with demons and sacrifices and ... *shudder*

Traveling on through more tunnels, a magical cavern appears ...

Impressed? The picture doesn't show the life in the cavern's lights.

You must see this cavern to believe it. The maker, Marcus Inkpen, sells a copy of the pool (in-world one on the Web) but the installation goes well beyond what you can buy. The execution is simply stunning. Gather with friends (there are four single poses in the pool) and savor the effect. You won't regret it.

Actually, you won't regret visiting any part of Horizon Dreams. Whether you stick to the village and the shops or hit the trails to see the forest and meadows or explore deep within the mountain, your time will be well spent.

Crimarizon

This picture, which I ran across earlier today (Web), shows all the trees in the United States. As a forest girl, it makes me weep. Fortunately, I live in a darker-shaded part of the Northeast. I can walk 10 minutes in one direction and put my feet in the North Atlantic ocean or have someone drive me 45 minutes in the opposite direction and I'm in a hush-quiet forest, green even in Winter thanks to the abundance of pine trees.

And I can also escape to Second Life, where generous people have graced the landscape with tropical jungles, deep deciduous forests, and other lush landscapes. Crimarizon (SLurl) is one such place. Immediately upon entering the region one can almost feel the humidity rise, hear the buzz of numerous but unknown insects, and smell the abundant fertile ecosystem.

A birds-eye view at sunset. You'd have to look very close to see my adult pixy alt near the top of the spectacular set of falls, just under the fairy statue.

You quickly notice the fantasy elements, from amazing plants to inspired statuary to other-worldly creatures always lurking in the corner of your eye. Everything is fabulous to see, I believe, but the cave is the best part for me.

Many interesting things live inside the cave, one of the best I've seen in all Second Life in terms of beauty and geologic plausibility, fantasy creatures aside. Zyx is hovering in safety over a vine above the ground.

Beware when you use one of the cave's exits for it is guarded. There's a reason Zyx's blade is bloodied.

These pictures really don't do justice to the build for a couple reasons. One, I couldn't shoot everything. There is just too much to see and too much detail. Secondly, I spent so much time making this last one. I have nearly a dozen variations and at least that many more planned, once I can make a couple props and play with a few other Windlight settings.

Clearly I'll be spending more time at Crimarizon. If you see a pixy named Zyx, say "Hi" ... if she's not busy in battle with some fierce creature.

Fabulous Hair

Late last night when my wee pixy alt was wrapping up a purchase of a freebie item on the SL Marketplace, the site suggested several other items in hopes to wring some cash out of her. Interestingly, one of the items was a free demo hair from Wasabi Pills (in-world at SLurl), pretty much obviating the attempt at bringing the checkout total above Zero Lindens. But she quickly grabbed that, too, and grabbed demos of other styles including the one pictured here, Sebastianne. Everyone who saw it the next day agreed that this mesh hair was far too adult for such a child-like pixy. But not for her bigger "sister," another pixy alt of mine ... the adult one. And, my goodness, she makes it very, very adult, indeed.

Several shades of one color for L$250 or a complete set of all colors is just L$1500 (if I recall correctly). This shade is Night Shadow, part of the pack of all blacks.

Yes, you saw the word mesh up there. This is new tech hair that anchors to the body thus moving naturally. Those tresses draped over the pixy's modest assets won't "fall" into her body as her pose changes. Nor will they stiffly stick out into space as sculpted and non-sculpted prims both do. The hair stays put. Add some strategically placed flexi prims (none in evidence here) to simulate fly-aways and the look could be oh so natural. In any case, I think the hair looks great and even mesh detractors likely will, too. Sure, there are some drawbacks. Like a special hair base and a hair-specific alpha layer are required. And there is a rendering error common to invisi-prims with some of the space between the hair and the body. I'm not sure why. If this big pixy were bustier, the gap would close and no one would be the wiser, despite their increased propensity to stare at the increased bounty.

But I am thoroughly pleased, indeed. In fact, I made this style her standard hair, the one saved with a dressable nude avatar. It even looks good with her usual blue skin ... but I'm too thrilled with this effect to change skins just yet. Her wee "sister" pixy has some money and the names of a couple more youthful styles available at Wasabi Pill and plans on ducking in tomorrow to shop. If, that is, her big "sister" is done playing.

The Zyxs

Zyx Resident (left) and Zyx Flux

I often ask myself, "Why do I have two pixy alts?" The original Zyx Flux started as a way to battle a Lucky Chair that loved the letter Z (as mentioned in this blog post of mine) but over time became a bunny rancher, landscaper, building subcontractor, and world explorer. She also plays at Mystara (as a pixy, of course) for a little role play recreation. Zyx Resident came later as a means to preserve the name when every new Second Life resident sign up was given no choice in last names (as mentioned in yet another blog post). Since then, she has mostly collected cool clothes and weapons without any particular function.

But I can do all that, names aside, as Uccello Poultry, so I have to ask again: "Why do I have two pixy alts?" Sitting at the keyboard, I'm pursing my lips and tilting my head, with only the barest inkling of an idea. Sure, building a character -- and all avatars are characters, to some degree -- is fun almost to the point I could make one a day and be amused. And "growing" them is fun, too, as they develop as extensions of the keyboardist. Like "Wee Zyx" has a whimsical personality that lets me express a part of me that being Uccello simply doesn't let me ...

Maybe I'd better pause to mention here that Uccello is very grown-up. Maybe not emotionally, but she's adult to the point she's made her more "experienced" friends blush. Her rather busty-curvy-womanly shape reflects my RL figure but her choice in clothing (when the trollop bothers to dress, that is) leans heavily toward what some might call "slutty." I can't do that IRL. On that side of the keyboard I wear bulky, loose clothing to hide my shape and to blend into the woodwork, no makeup even when I can find the one lipstick I own, and my hair is very, very butch. SL Uccello is RL Caitlin (me!), but without most of my paranoia, phobias, and reservations.

Zyx Flux, then, is probably the child that I missed out being, I guess, since I grew up very, very fast one long weekend. Her walk is a skipping prance that advertises her cheerful innocence. When she changes clothes I'm often surprised to see detailed bits on her skin because I never think of her that way. My mindset when I'm in-world with Wee Zyx is a decade of growing up away from Uccello's place. No, she's not a child avie, or I couldn't let her work at the Isle of Lesbos, but she has a purity to her. Even I blush when she occasionally swears.

Which leaves Big Zyx, the mystery. Miss Resident, until I figure out some sort of family naming scheme and talk my brother into it for his avie, too. In my mind she's like a grown up Zyx Flux that hasn't had Caitlin's or Uccello's experiences. That looks funny on the screen after I read it again, but it rings true despite the stream-of-conscious feel with which I'm writing. When I'm logged in as her I get a sense of poise and grace, confidence and calmness, wisdom earned and practiced ability. She's certainly not me. Or if she is, she's a me that I've yet to meet. Except that one time ...

A couple years ago I had the same feelings during an incident with a man who thoroughly groped me. Within seconds I had him on his back, my .45 H&K drawn in the Weaver Stance and aimed at his chest from a meter away. While he was peeing his pants (really), I was a model of calm ... a clarity that weapons instructors from my father up to the Marines at the local Navy base all said I would gain with patience. I was poise and grace and power in one package. To me, that is Zyx the Elder, as I sometimes call her.

While nibbling at the edges of "the question," none of this answers it. Every avatar is an expression of me to some extent, but splitting the essences into multiple parts ... I don't know. I don't quite understand it. Yet. There will come a day, I'm sure. But until then, my playful pixy and my wise pixy will keep my highly-flawed, trollop of a main account spinning with some sort of balance.

Unofficial Recommendations: Forest Floor

Like many landscaping shops, Forest Floor is a wonderfully photogenic place (SLurl) with many spots for you to pose your avatar with great results. There are beautfiful fields of flowers, stragecially placed furniture, and a fabulous horizon line.

Zyx Resident loves to sit in the shop's gardens.

But the best picture opportunities are at ground level (SLurl) where you'll find a hyper-realistic landscape dotted with with mystical accents and some of the best natural water features in all Second Life. Whether you use the standard sky settings or fiddle with Windlight as I did for these pictures, you can produce wonderful pictures with minimal effort.

The water features are exceptionally nice and if you trace the stream from bay to source you'll see that the landscaper understands how real life waterways form.

Windlight can enhance the otherwise plain skies of Second Life and really give a picture more feeling.

Every now and then you'll find some mystical elements among the hyper-real. The limited placements make the fantastic more plausible without overwhelming. Of course, almost everything you see at ground level is for sale in the shop.

For some reason my big pixy avie finds her way to Forest Floor nearly every time she is logged in to our world. All my avies have a landmark, of course, and visit now and then, but not with the frequency of Zyx. Often I'll park her in a pretty spot (they are all over) and leave her on the screen like living wallpaper while I do things on my iPad or other non-computer tasks that RL demands. Or anytime I need to relax, Forest Floor is a top choice to simply stroll through, ride one of the available horses, or even just fly about to absorb the beauty.

About Alts

Just yesterday I was given a gadget that lets me detect the use of Redzone, a system that identifies a Resident's Internet Protocol (IP) address in an effort to determine if an avatar is an alt of a banned Resident. Someone is assuming that common IPs mean that the same human is behind the keyboard of each. That strikes me as a potentially false assumption. The IP for my computer is the same for my iPad, my AppleTV, my neighbors, and for the guy in the car parked across the street surfing on the neighborhood's unsecured networks. So if my neighbor logs into Second Life and visits a Redzone-provisioned place where I am banned, she or he is likely to be banned, too.

Silly, I know, and I made the same observation as part of a (poorly written) comment on Tateru Nino's blog post about the Quickware product (apparently it is like Redzone). I also noted that my alts are fairly public. For those of you not up to speed on who I am in various places at various times depending on my various moods, here is a recap and a small surprise.

Uccello Poultry, my first alt, if you think of all my accounts as alts. Not to be confused with Uccello (Resident), a recent account I made to "protect" the name when the new avatar naming scheme was implemented. Ms Poultry is a polymorph but is usually human-ish and sometimes goes by the Display Name of Caitlin Peale or Uccello Peale (sharing a last name with my wife, Angela Peale), though at the moment she is Caitin O'Mygosh for the coming holiday. She is my oldest account and was started the day I turned 18 and could flee the Teen Grid. That avie will remain anonymous if only to keep my reputation cleaner than the sullied state it is in now. My avatar looks very much like the Real Life me, though with my most recent skin purchase I've adjusted the face a bit to better fit the texture.

Uccello (Resident) looks nothing like me, seldom appears on the grid, and has but one "human" form. Nearly 100% of the time she is some form of bird ... "Uccello" is Italian for bird. Flying in Second Life is a great way to relax and that is what I use her for. Sure, I can fly in all my avies, but she needed some purpose.

Usra Ostrich, also known as Mousra in Display Name and in spirit. She is my twin. We have identical hair, skin, eyes, shape, clothes, though she is most often a Loco Pocos mouse. This account was started to help safely explore aspects of my personality with the help of a Real Life therapist. Actually, that is why I started in Second Life, but there's a long story and not that important right now. What you should know about Mousra is ... well, nothing. She's me. Just a mini version. She has morphed in purpose over time and is more or less just for fun now (and not "fun" like most SLers mean it).

Zyx Flux, the first of my pixy alts. As noted elsewhere on this blog, this account was created to help win prizes from Lucky Chairs, but has since taken on a life of her own. She's child-sized and child-like, but is adult verified. I think of her as my landscaper as I'm focusing her inventory on items used to create garden environments. This is helping my main inventory stay in check. But I also love to explore the world with her. Others seem to delight in her presence and are more receptive to chatting. I guess her smaller size and unique appearance make her "less threatening" in some respects. She's not the sexpot that Uccello Poultry often appears to be so folks seem to relax more.

Zyx (Resident), the bigger, more adult version of the previous avie, was born to preserve the name, much like Uccello (Resident) was created. But unlike the bird avie, she's become a complete entity unto herself. In Real Life, I am a rather butch, mousy, plain, quiet lesbian that practices not-standing-out in a crowd. In Second Life, Zyx (Resident) is my fashion model ... the sophisticated, confident me, that exudes a calm womanliness without pretention. But she's still a pixy and plays the role to the hilt. Magic is at her soul. Here is her debut on this blog.

Torii Heron, my very first alt after coming to the main grid. Notice her name is a form of Bird Bird like Uccello Poultry? Yes, I was on a streak. For a long time Torii was an asian woman then she became a fish, but lately she's a bird, like Uccello Resident, befitting her name. Originally she was created as per The Lab's suggestion in the first book on our world (don't buy it, it is dross, but you can see it at Amazon) to make an alt to store excess inventory or to back it up. This was going well until The Lab's servers decided to ruin my life one day by trashing the inventories in all my accounts, including Torii's. I've not really had the heart to cancel her account, though, partly because her name is so cool. No picture of her here but if you really want to see what she looks like, peek out your window. See those winged things flapping about?

Delicate Quandry, one of two alts I share with my Real Life brother (CC Columbo in Second Life), is the surprise I mentioned ... this is her first public outing. Several people know that she is me (or my brother) and henceforth so as to make it clear who is "behind the wheel" I'll make arrangements. She came about partly because the opportunity for a cool name came up, but my brother needed a female alt for modeling and I wasn't giving him my password so we decided to share. Likewise, he has a male alt that we share for the times I need one and to keep me out of his account.

Mystery Woman (not her real name) is another surprise. Not sure what to do with her yet. One person other than my brother knows her, but for their privacy I won't reveal Mystery Woman's name. She is sort of a "get away" alt, like many folks have ... an avie you use to be anonymous. I keep her solitary with no one but "family" on her Friend list and she doesn't socialize, that includes cybering. She could be the reason that systems like Redzone exist as I've used her to "spy" on griefers that have bothered the Isle of Lesbos and for similar activities.

So, those are the names. Ban away. Second Life is a big, big place, and I'm sure I'll find some place other than yours to visit and spend my money. But do me the courtesy and tell me I'm banned, please. It could all be a misunderstanding.

Click Here for more of Tateru's posts on the topic of Alt Detection.

PS: There is one more alt ... but I don't have permission to mention her as even a post-script ... ooops.

Can You Tell?

Can you tell that I like my alts, Zyx Flux and Zyx Resident? Here they are at home, talking about the day's events. I spent most of Real Life today in a dark, quiet closet with a migraine. Lucky pixies.

What's in My Closet? Celtic Pixywear

As if she doesn't have enough clothes, my big pixy alt (Zyx) just had to have another outfit, this one from a good friend and a superior builder (design to execution, she's tops), Kaelin Westland. The outift, KK Fantasy Celtic Princess, is available only on the SL Marketplace and is a good deal at L$250 for the jewelry, halter, skirt, and thong you see here. Zyx also indulged in new hair from elikatira (SLurl) with the Melody style in the Essential Colors pack, also L$250 from my purse. Then she headed off to Fina's Market Photography Garden (SLurl) for this picture. A smidge of brightening in post production added to the use of the "Foggy" Windlight preset and a very weak face light. I mention "weak" because it is a rather cool adjustable unit that is free on the SL Marketplace. Click the pic for a larger version. I'm thinking of shooting again to work on the purplish local lights effect seen on Zyx's left side (our right as you are viewing).

On Being Zyx, Part 3

Coming late to the game, so to speak, I'm not surprised that it is up to me to introduce myself. I'm Zyx. Not Zyx Flux, wee little pixy girl. Just Zyx, a grown up pixy. I suppose there would be those that claim I'm here just to reserve the name under the new Second Life resident naming scheme. You know the one. The Nobody-Has-a-Surname one. Everybody is Someoneorother Resident, but the name on the tag above their head simply shows the single name they chose at account creation.

Maybe things started that way, maybe not. But I'm here now and I'm definitely not a little "Miss" pixy. Don't get me wrong. I adore the wee version of me, all cute and girly. Every woman needs to keep in touch with that part of their inner selves. But there is something about the bloom of womanliness. When curves start to flow and certain appetites grow. When a dress no longer features Disney characters embroidered into the neckline, but rather a neckline that dangerously flirts with meeting the hemline. When playing "grownup" stops being play.

I'm that Zyx. Leather with merely a hint of lace. Fierce in my convictions ... among other things.

On Being Zyx, Part 1

Those who frequent Lucky Chairs and other devices that give prizes in Second Life have developed strategies to gather the most prizes or to increase the odds of getting one they really want. As a very long time member of the Lucky Kitty Crew, one of SL's oldest freebies/shopping groups, I've probably tried them all, save for one: Alts. Then Zyx Flux, my cute pixy girl, came along. I was at a Lucky Chair that insisted on giving it's treasure only to those whose first name began with the letter Z. Getting frustrated at having to wait 20 minutes until it (hopefully) cycled to another letter (usually going to Z again, though) I took the time to make an Alternate Character named Zyx.

I chose the name as an expedient, simply typing part of the alphabet backwards. She could have been Zaphod or Zeta or Zimbo (thanks, Grampie!) or any of a number of names that came to mind, but I thought if I'm going to take the time I might as well make the Alt useful. The name made me think the character would eventually be a gender neutral robot, especially as I chose Flux as a surname. Then the sign-up sequence suggested that I join via a Community. I'm fond of the Steampunk regions (SLurl) so I almost picked the Caledon group, but the Fairy community intrigued me and so Zyx went swiftly through their "portal" and on to help me conquer the Lucky Chair that so vexed me.

Later that day I thought back to how nice the noobie experience was at Faery Crossing (SLurl) and took Zyx back through, more slowly. It came to mind that having a role play-specific character might be fun. After all, SL is full of people who enjoy being someone other than themselves or exploring a narrow aspect of themselves by focusing on it via role play. Despite having lived on Tamerthon (SLurl) at one time and peripherally participating in the medieval-ish community, I had not really tried this part of our world.

But elves were everywhere, I didn't really feel like Tinkerbell, and drows really don't do a thing for me. As a fan of Kim Harrison's "The Hollows" books I had one alternative left: Pixy. These four-inch tall (on average) creatures love families, battle hard, and are greatly underestimated by anyone but their fiercest rivals, the fairies.

"But," you say and I cut you off before you can finish asking "pixys and fairies are the same, right?" Yes, and no, I need to say. Here's what I have in Zyx's profile Picks:

Many silly humans think that pixys & fairies are the same creature. Both are magical woodland creatures who love gardens, are allergic to silver, & are very territorial. But pixies are smaller, usually have colorful skin (like blue or green), & don't need a wand to do their magic. Fairies are often mean, bossy, & almost never have colorful skin. I'm a pixy. Tinkerbell is a fairy (or fae). http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pixie

Second Life has some limitations so I've made adjustments to the Real World pixy and taken a few liberties, as well. For example, Zyx's body is as small as I can make it while keeping the proportions right, made her blue with a nice but very inexpensive skin, and started a back story that I'll relate via this blog in subsequent posts. I should confess here, though, that she is a child avie. Well, she's like over a hundred years old, but that is a kid by pixy standards (a liberty that lets her be Adult Verified while being rather child-like). This will make more sense if you look for Zyx Resident in-world ... a grown-up Zyx. More on that later, too.

Zyx Flux and Uccello Poultry, July 4, 2010, on Menagerie Isle