ECLIPSE Magazine April 2020

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Contents

30.

76.

Through the Lens

When one thinks of spring, many things come to mind.

For ECLIPSE, it is the idea of being reborn. Here, we share our perspective.

Places to Go

Not knowing where to go and what to do is often a recurring theme. This issue we showcase five places to visit.

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90.

102.

118.

The Way You Inspire

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SL Fiction

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Ask ECLIPSE

ECLIPSE Magazine shares how Jinx Applewhyte is inspired by Dash Bloodmoon.

Proust Spotlight

Teaming up with the Blogger & Vlogger Network, we shine the spotlight on the talented Stef Nova.

The Art Perspective

Electric Monday joins ECLIPSE Magazine as she reviews the work of Fiona Fei with her three in-world exhibits.

Everlina Kindred takes us on a photographic journey depicting her character.

Our advice column returns, ready to answer all your pressing questions.

s

w y

ECLIPSE Magazine is dedicated to not only offering an aesthetically pleasing publication, but to also be considered a platform that offers rich and relevant content. Each month, we showcase residents and groups that have taken the concept of “your world, your imagination� to such great heights that they have impacted the culture and lifestyle of the Second Life community.

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Cover Story Araceli Soto Cover Photographer Geena Carminucci

156.

Artist Highlight

166.

Voices from the Grid

210.

The Wayfarer

Writer Cajsa Lilliehook

This month we highlight the fantastic live singer, Emma Ness.

Each issue ECLIPSE Magazine asks residents a question, see what they have to say.

Join the Wayfarer as they travel the grid, visiting Auld Lang Syne.

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executive team

Trouble dethly Publisher

minnie fae dethly

cajsa lilliehook

june fallon

sol may valor

Creative Director

Creative Director

Copy Editor

Social Media Manager

the c

writers

photographers

Cajsa Lilliehook Electric Monday Grayden Foxe Minnie Fae Dethly Novaleigh Freng Taylor Wassep

Cassie Middles Electric Monday Geena Carminucci June Fallon Minnie Fae Dethly Novaleigh Freng Taylor Wassep Tempest Rosca Wicca Merlin

stylists June Fallon Taylor Wassep Tempest Rosca Wicca Merlin

guest stylist & photographer Everlina Kindred

interested in advertising with eclipse? have an idea for a great story? looking to start a new career in second life? email trouble.dethlysl@gmail.com

contributors

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Recently, I have reflected on how much ECLIPSE Magazine has changed over the years started off as a very fashion-centric organization. I remember doing castings every month w the agency I co-owned. While planning the next month’s issue, I would ask myself, “What life fashion trends can we translate into virtual fashion?” Slowly, we evolved. The fashion spr became less and our focus shifted to more of the lifestyle and cultural aspects of Second I started to ask myself, “What are the things people most value in their Second Life?” and “W characteristics of our Second Life define us as virtual residents?”

I wondered if it was the art exhibits. I wondered if it was the live musicians. I wondered if it the photographers and bloggers. I wondered if it was the content creators who made all th possible. I wondered if it was the breathtaking sims. I wondered if it was the various role communities. The list goes on of what I wondered. I wanted to showcase it all because I h learned that at the core of ECLIPSE Magazine — we are storytellers.

And in that vein of sharing stories coupled with the state of the world, I remembered importance of individual interactions. We introduce two new pieces this month. We welc back our advice column, but we also bring in a new one called “The Way You Inspire.” It feature that showcases a resident who has inspired another. Instead of interviewing the so of inspiration, we interview the person who is inspired by them. This month we share the s of Dash Bloodmoon, and I can’t think of a more perfect person to kick off this new piece thrilled to share his story from the perspective of his partner, Jinx Applewhyte.

Each cover story is incredibly special to me because we are given the opportunity to s the story of someone who, “has taken the concept of ‘your world, your imagination’ to such g heights that it has impacted the culture and lifestyle of the Second Life community.” Photogra is a significant part of our Second Life, and there are so many fantastic photographers bloggers on the grid. The photographs that draw me in the most are the ones that tell sto For this months cover feature, we showcase the talented Araceli Soto. Her images do not sim tell stories, but they convey emotions and prove the truth behind the old adage, “A pictu worth a thousand words.” Very few photographers have the ability to showcase this dep such an inspiring way that their work truly speaks to us. There are not enough words to exp how happy I am to feature her this month. Plus, she’s my girlfriend, and she sets my m aflame, tugs on the chordstrings of my heart and sings to my soul.

We have a total of eleven features this month, and I do hope you enjoy it. Happy Readin

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through the lens

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Each issue, ECLIPSE Magazine invites the many talented photographers from Second Life to collaborate. With this piece, they style, create and share a glimpse through their lens.

For this addition, Cassie Middles, Tempest Rosca and Taylor Wassep show us their take on “Reborn.�

Photographer: Cassie Middles

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Photographer: Tempest Rosca Page 34 | ECLIPSE April 2020

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Photographer: Taylor Wassep

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Photographer: Taylor Wassep

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SHE’S IN THE FRAM photography by araceli soto & geena carminucci. writt

ME

en by cajsa lilliehook.

When the photographs you’re taking now are taken down again When the heavy clouds that hide the sun are gone The millions of us on the hill from the star to lands end When photographs you’re taking now are taken now press send This is a precious opportunity beware of the photographs you are taking now

Photographs by Damon Albarn

Araceli Soto is a photographer in her Second Life, a consequential passion that has led her to pursue photography in her first life as well. She has a distinctive style of naturalistic slice-of-life photos. They are pictures of people caught in the process of living, seemingly unposed and unplanned. They have the appearance of being spontaneous snaps taken heedlessly in the moment. Of course, Second Life photography being what it is, that kind of spontaneity takes a lot of work and planning. ECLIPSE Magazine decided to pick her brain and get some tips.

Browsing her photos on Flickr, one thing becomes very clear. Her photography is about portraying emotion.

In our first lives, we all appreciate the professional portraits that we use again and again in profiles. They are investments that speak for us, but they don’t speak to us. Instead, the pictures we reach for again and again are usually unplanned, snapped in the moment, capturing the joy of leaping into the lake, the pathos of comforting a loved one, the adoring look of an infant at its mother.

The irony of Second Life photography is it takes far more planning and preparation to create a slice-of-life snapshot than the staged studio portrait. And Ara excels at creating those scenes that say so much.

Araceli joined Second Life seven years ago after using the Google Machine to search for an online version of the Sims, the popular life simulation where people go to die in a fire. Unaware of the implications, she signed up with her own name. While she wishes she had created a pseudonym, she kept her account and her name. She also was using an English language viewer that challenged her with too much information at once. Overwhelmed, she signed out. She came back the next day resolved not to let a game defeat her. She was not getting out of her chair before she figured it out.

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She was walking around a virtual London when a woman named Randy took pity on her and asked if she needed help. Confessing her noob status, she accepted Randy’s invite to her role-play sim. “She showed me each place on it, introduced me to all the people living or working there, and gave me an amazing room in a hotel. All the people I met there were really kind with me.” In addition to some lindens to spruce up her avatar, they taught her to customize her shape, find a new skin, and track down freebies. “I spent many weeks with them, learning how to create, how to rez stuff, how to drive, sailing on the river, dancing in clubs and more. And most importantly, what I did a lot and was happy with was socializing with people using my English, since my mother tongue is Spanish and I had an obsession over learning and practicing English with other people. That has been my main purpose for Second Life since the very beginning.”

Despite her best efforts, Ara did not excel at roleplay. She moved on to the Virtual Spain sim where she met many fellow compatriots and formed many close friendships, some of which have continued until today. In particular, she befriended a woman named One. “I am lucky to still be able to talk with her nowadays too. I consider her a real life friend now, since we share real life social media, and hope one day I can meet her too.” Speaking with her on voice helped Ara be more open about speaking and socializing, challenges for every introvert.

“So, my very first years were pretty amazing thanks to that German lady, Randy, that helped me going through Second Life since the very beginning, and thanks to One and my other friends, who made me laugh a lot for years and made me spend a great time here in Second Life.”

Back then she thought of Second Life as a game. She spent all her time with friend, roleplaying (however poorly), dancing, playing games, and traveling. However, when she got more deeply focused on her photos, they became significant to her as they gave her a voice, a way to express her emotions, the feelings that many struggle to communicate in words, she was able to express in her pictures.

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“Most of the time, I cannot find the right words to explain how I feel. Sometimes when I am sad for example, I cannot find the right way to let all that sadness out because I don’t like sharing my feelings that much, so I found the way through Second Life and the pictures I can do there. As soon as I feel like I have a feeling or something that I need to get out of my chest, I simply take a shot, put all of me on it and right after that I feel better with myself, even more when I start reading people’s comments and seeing the support I get from them.”

For Ara, that cycle of expression and validation has become almost a necessity. It helps her feel better about herself to see her ideas are communicated effectively through photos that others see and appreciate.

Communication is a central theme of Ara’s Second Life.

Not only did she hope to become more social in this virtual community, but she hoped to improve her facility with English. Through SL, she met people from all around the world, some of whom became close friends who she remains in communication with for years, connecting not only her virtual but real identity on social media. “I could understand people more, empathize more and even get to care a lot about them by simply talking in-world with them.”

As an introvert, Ara discovered that many are just like her. “People who find it hard to open themselves to others, and the best gift I could get from them is to start being open with me, and me being open with them. I find that simply amazing, and it’s something that I am still craving to keep on happening.” It is this connection that helped her feel better about herself and weather the Slough of Despond that she fell into in 2015 and 2016. She had a deep episode of depression, coupled with anxiety and panic attacks. “For half a year I couldn’t even get out of my house without feeling that I would die. I couldn’t go to classes, I couldn’t see my friends, I couldn’t even see my ex-boyfriend back at that time, I couldn’t do anything about it… so I focused on SL, on editing, on meeting people and socializing more, and slowly I got better and ended up loving Second Life a lot.”

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We are flying over black sands In a glass aeroplane Crashing in slow motion in another cityscape game Where the feeling is supernatural Like passing into other worlds We’re ending this dissolution when the mother-ship it explodes

Photographs by Damon Albarn

Second Life affirmed her ability to express herself, not just in pictures but in a foreign language. This capacity for expression, communication, and human networking became a lifeline that brought her back to herself. “I know that in the future, when university is over and I start focusing more deeply into my life and my work, I won’t be able to be in SL as much as I am now. What’s more, I know that I may abandon it, but whether I do that or not, SL will always be part of me. I won’t forget all I went through, the people I met, the friends I’ve made, my exes, the people that commented on my pictures, that felt something by looking at my pictures, people sharing them and sharing love. I will never forget all of the negative and positive stuff I went through in here.”

Now she likes to log in to create a scene, take pictures, and spend some time with her boyfriend. This form of communication has become a sort of mission. She also believes having a mission-driven Second Life has helped her balance her time between her first and her Second Life.

Right now, I consider SL as my canvas. All I feel, I portray it here. It makes me happy to do so, to be in-world, creating scenes, spending time with my boyfriend, decorating with him for the first time (since I never had a home before), etc. I really like spending time here, more than I used to before meeting him. I am living one of my very best moments in SL right now, and I hope to keep on feeling like this about it.

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Recently, her photographic tribute to those working on the front lines of the COVID-19 pandemic was chosen for the Second Life Picture of the Day. This picture encapsulates so much of what she told ECLIPSE Magazine about her raison d être in Second Life—being able to express and share her ideas and feelings to the world.

“Most of the time, I cannot find the right words to explain how I feel. Sometimes when I am sad for example, I cannot find the right way to let all that sadness out because I don’t like sharing my feelings that much, so I found the way through Second Life and the pictures I can do there. As soon as I feel like I have a feeling or something that I need to get off my chest, I simply take a shot, put all of me in it and right after that I feel better with myself, even more when I start reading people’s comments and seeing the support I get from them. It became something I need from time to time to feel better about myself and my life.”

Her favorite part of being a photographer in Second Life is that moment when the editing is done. She likes to pause before uploading it and just look at it. “It’s like I can visualize how I started from a small idea, creating it all in my mind and then logging in to make the scene, making the poses from scratch, making the lights, taking the shots, editing and there I am, with the finished product. Most of the time it is the same as I pictured it in my head.”

“If I have to number every step from the least favourite to the most, it would be making the scene, choosing the windlight, making the poses, editing in general and at the end editing lights and shadows till I finish. Another thing that I love a lot is reading the comments under each picture. From one word comments that make me smile to very long comments that literally made my day better. I love how supportive people can be. I tend to be a very pessimistic person so seeing people spreading good vibes and supportive messages is something that lifts my spirit up and makes me extremely happy, not only to see positive comments towards me but also towards others. I love that.”

It is not all fun and games. The hard part is taking the shots because each time she saves to disk she crashes.

Her computer is ten years old. For a long time, her exboyfriend would upgrade it, but after this many years and no longer having an old boyfriend to keep it up to day, it has become old, slow, and crashtastic.

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“I can no longer take pictures in high graphics without crashing while doing so. Many people each day ask me if I take commissions or if I will ever take, but I always have to answer them with my cruel reality which is that I crash every time I want to take a shot. It’s even embarrassing to be honest. I save my pictures with the viewer being frozen.

So that’s the hardest part, plus knowing that one day, soon, I won’t be able to take pictures anymore, and won’t be able to buy a new computer since they are very expensive in my country, and that breaks my heart, because I feel that that would be the day I would have to say goodbye to my photographs and maybe, to Second Life.”

So how does she get these ideas in her head? How does she go from “I should do a picture about the pandemic” to the Second Life Picture of the Day? Well, she says her inspiration usually comes from her daily life, how she feels in the moment or how the people around her feel in the moment, “since I am a sponge and absorb people’s feelings easily.”

“The feelings portrayed in the pictures are not only mine.

Sometimes I listen to stories about my friends, or my family, and I just empathize with them and work on that in the pictures. Practically, I get inspired by feelings in general, either mine or from others, and I love working with them, since the purpose of editing is to feel something while doing them, to portray it the best I can, and then trying to make others feel something too. Whether my very same feelings or another one, since all the pictures can be interpreted differently, with different meanings and feelings.”

When an idea comes to mind, Ara lies down in bed and looks at the ceiling. It is a sort of imaginative white board where she thinks about her idea and creates it in her mind. “For example, right now while I am writing this, I want to do a picture about the quarantine. I started to think, how do I feel during the quarantine?” She then gives us a stream-of-consciousness insight into her process.

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“Well, when I am on a call with my boyfriend or with my friends it’s all fun and entertaining, or when I have a family moment with my parents it’s cool and cute, but aside from that, how do I and most people feel about it? Well, stressed, alone, tired (from two different perspectives, either of doing nothing or of working way too much), mad about the schedule and routine being a mess, about having a 2020 agenda which I cannot start using yet, sad about not being able to hug my family and friends, about seeing some people still working and risking their lives since they have no option, etc etc.

So, I plan a situation in my head. In this case, quarantine in my house. I would say alone as most people are or feel. Maybe on a video call with the family or friends, as many of us are doing at least once a day, I would be dressed with pyjamas of course and there would be many bottles or glasses, or candies everywhere since I am eating more out of boredom, and the light? Maybe a sunset, cause I wake up with the sunset out there and go to sleep with the sunrise, so either of them can be relatable.

You can see how I start organizing a picture in my head, the colors, the items and thinking about whether I got them in my inventory or not, whether I should ask my boyfriend to lend me some of them so then I can start creating the scene.

While doing it, I start making the poses I need, then I change clothes, I work on details from the set, I choose a good windlight and play with it. I create a light (I like creating them on my own rather than using projectors) and then I take the shot.

Most of the time, I start creating the scene and the poses as soon as I have an idea in my head, since if I wait too long to make it, the idea starts to disappear until it’s gone. I mostly take between one day or two to do everything, including the edit. To work on the scene takes me a lot of time, a lot of hours. Taking the shots takes time because I crash, so I would say 40 minutes or so. And editing, if I am very inspired and doing nothing else other than that, takes me around one hour or a bit more, depending on the kind of edit. Let’s say that in a day, I can get a picture created and done.”

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At times she is flooded with ideas. In December, she had four ideas at once so she writes them down in a small notebook. “It’s my Second Life notebook. I portray all my ideas there, and sometimes, I sketch with stick figures, and draw the light, where does it come from or where I want it, or where I want the shadows and more. I am not good at drawing, so I don’t do that, but I am good at painting, so I always prefer painting over drawing, and that’s the main reason why I don’t sketch my pictures that much.”

Ara is an adaptable and healthy person. She goes with the flow of SL’s many changes, adapting easily to new circumstances and technologies in-world. She even adapted to using a ten-year-old computer that crashes every time she snaps a picture. Perhaps she can adapt so well because she is well-organized. She would call herself obsessively organized. She plans everything she does, even every detail of her pictures. “I am not good at being spontaneous to be honest, but I do have to admit that when a very good idea comes to mind, I start working over it at that very same moment, without losing a moment.”

Her main advice to others who would like to become a photographer in Second Life is just to give it a try.

Trial and error and lots of practice are what made her successful. She has never studied Photoshop and finds even the four-minute Photoshop tutorials on YouTube to feel never-ending. She just tries things out on her own. More than a dozen years ago, she downloaded Photoshop Lite and tried out every option to see what happened. “Since then, I never stopped using Photoshop.

Then, when I was seventeen and still at school, I had an amazing teacher in a subject about design, who taught me some tips about Photoshop, which were very useful for me. And then, even if I started a career that had nothing to do with design (Teaching Training Course), I still used to spend some of my time every week to keep on editing stuff in Photoshop. I never stopped learning, never stopped trying.”

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But technical editing skills are not what create the emotional pull her work has. “First, you need to think carefully about what you want to share, happiness, sadness, or which feeling in particular, and to have the idea very clear in your mind.” Then she works with poses because it is the body of the avatar that expresses emotion. It is the tilt and turn of the head, the leaning forward or back, the stillness or the energy of the pose that is the magic of emotion.

Ara uses the advanced version of Anypose to make her own poses. She said it takes practice to learn to use the HUD properly. Sometimes if you know what you want to express, but not its exact form, you can browse through Pinterest. “I sometimes spend hours making poses, just for fun, just to learn more about the hud.”

The last thing she uses to give her pictures emotional power is lighting. “My favourite part is working with lights and shadows on Photoshop, but I must admit that without lights in-world, my pictures wouldn’t look the same, so I create them there. You can make them from scratch or use projectors, any option is good, but please do use any kind, it’s totally worth it. As long as you take them in ultra (Firestorm) and with lights, they will look good for sure.”

In Photoshop she creates light and shadow in a new layer with the Overlay blend. Then she chooses white to add light and black to add shadows and simply paints them into the photo. “That’s the most important process I go through in Photoshop to be honest. A must do.” She added, “Never forget about perspectives. Camera angles are important, so it’s nice to play with angles too and choose the right one.”

If you want to learn, she suggests you take a snap in Gyazo and ask for advice. She even volunteered to help.

“I would be honored to help people out. To be honest, there can be many advice out there that I can give to people, plus I remember I even tried on making videos years ago, tutorials, with tips for people, but the best advice right now would be just to keep on trying, improving, to never stop working on the pictures and the results will be seen as time goes by. By saying this, I must admit I would love to see more people doing storytelling pictures, so I hope more people start giving them a try, and of course, to show me, tag me. That would be simply brilliant.”

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When you see the poses in her pictures, it’s important to realize they are almost all ones she created using AnyPose and that they are ephemeral. She called it the best gift she ever got in SL because it completely changed how she worked. “I always create stands, make them, and after the picture is done, I delete those stands... Since then, I started making all the pictures I wanted, sharing feelings and ideas since I was finally free to do as I please.”

For her hands, she uses the creator’s hand HUDS to position them or some Bento HUDs that change the position of the fingers. “I use them sometimes, not always.

Before making my own poses I remember being a fan (still huge fan) of Ana Poses. That store is, in my opinion, one of the best. I love her poses.”

She would like to learn to make poses in Blender so she can use them and save them. She would love to market her poses because people frequently ask her where they can get the poses she uses. “I feel sad since I don’t have them after I use them. I will fix this soon I guess, so I can share them and see others using them as well.”

She believes SL has changed her in a significant way, making her more social and less closed off from the world. “I remember I was very closed off to people. I didn’t want to have new friendships or I didn’t even answer messages I got from people, but now It’s very different. Even though it’s still hard for me to cope with messages and being in contact with people, I try to do my best.”

And in trying to do her best, Ara has met many people who are important to her and enrich her life. “I have five long-term friendships that went from SL to RL, that I really care about and those are Dylan/Trouble, One (as I said before), Joss, Morita and Duke. Dylan is someone I love and admire a lot for how strong he is and for his patience and empathy. He’s a good person not just with me but with all his friends and all the people around. He’s the one who supports and encourages me not only with my photos in SL but also with my RL career. One was my very first Argentinian friend in SL, and she always brings a smile to my face. She is funny, interesting and a very good friend. Joss is more like a brother than a friend to me. He was there for me in my worst moments. He listened to me, gave me advice, ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 65

made me laugh, helped me a lot and after long, we started talking again and I am very happy about it. Morita and Duke encourage me to keep on working hard on the things I love, either editing or taking pictures. They are both some of the best friends I could make thanks to SL and are people I admire the most in both worlds for their perseverance and positivity. I really wish them all the very best in life, since they are some of the best people I met in-world, and I want them to know that they will always have a friend in here and also in RL. They mean a lot to me.”

So who is Ara first and Second?

“Well, let’s start from zero. My name, either in Second Life or real life is Araceli, I am twenty-six, I’m an only child, and I live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Since I was five, I decided I wanted to be a teacher when I grew up.

At eleven I finally decided that I wanted to be an English teacher.

I’ve always studied English separately from school, and after I graduated with the modality of Communication, Art and Design, I started the Teaching Training Course.

When I was twenty-one I started working as a teacher at the school I went to my whole life, and I am still working there. I worked in Primary School and Secondary school until last year, when I left the hours at work to start a new career in photography.

Photography has always been a hobby for me. I never thought I would study it, since I wanted to do it as just a hobby, but my life changed a lot these last years, as well as my future plans, and here I am, in my very first year of a new career.”

It seems certain that Second Life played a role in this transition though Ara has always been interested in creative expression. “My mom raised me with papers, pencils, paint and coloured papers around me. If I was bored, then I used to start drawing. If I got bored of drawing, I would start painting. If I was bored of painting, I would cut papers and create stuff. There was no way for Ara to get bored when she was a kid. Since then, I’ve always loved doing creative stuff all the time. If I have to choose, I prefer painting. I love doing so.”

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The pandemic has focused Ara’s priorities as it has for so many of us. Right now, what matters to her is her family, her pets, her boyfriend, and her friends. So long as they remain, she is not thrown by the pause in work, schooling, and in her career plans. They can change, they can stop, but what she holds dear are the people around her. “Since I was a kid, I remember that my three birthday wishes were really important for me every year. In the first place, I would always, every year, ask for health, for my family and the people around me. Second, I would ask for travelling, since I always wanted to travel...and the third one would vary every year, depending on the age. I used to wish a certain gift, or when older to pass exams, or later just for my parents to be okay in their relationship, among other wishes. So my family was always first, a priority for me, they still are and will always be.”

Ara shared her values as well. At the top she values honesty, the must-have value in every life. She recognizes it isn’t easy to be honest all the time in our friendships and relationships, “but I started applying pure honesty some years ago, during my second Second Life relationship, and since then it became an important value in my life, one of those I work on every single day.”

The second value she prioritizes is kindness. She believes we need to cultivate empathy and to be open-hearted and generous with others. “I apply this in both worlds, in RL mostly at home or at work, and in SL with people’s messages, when they are asking for help or for an opinion over their pictures. There are many values I consider important, but honesty and kindness are on my top of important personal values in any world.”

As to herself? She defines herself by her interactions with others. “Whether it’s with my parents, my boyfriend, my friends, my coworkers and my students, I am always the one that is the peacemaker. I can level with them, help resolve conflicts and make them feel better about the situation they are in. We can’t always change our situations, but we can change how we view them and how we handle ourselves in them.”

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It is hard for Ara to talk about herself in positive ways, to admit as she did above that she is good at building relationships, at sharing, at kindness. She always must struggle with her inner doubts and the negative selftalk that undercuts her self-worth. As she puts it, there is a difference between knowing and feeling. She knows she is worthy, but feeling it is much harder. This is the kind of true wisdom that many of us never recognize and acknowledge. But knowing is a big step toward believing and feeling.

When the photographs you’re taking now are taken down again When the heavy clouds that hide the sun are gone The millions of us on the hill from the star to lands end When photographs you’re taking now are taken now press send This is a precious opportunity beware of the photographs you are taking now

Photographs by Damon Albarn

In the end, Ara’s Second Life is all about communication, about the photograph she’s taking now. Second Life has helped her to emerge from depression and to learn to communicate with honesty and assurance. It has drawn her to a career in photography in her first life as well as her Second. It has given her a community of friends and loved ones who are there for her in peaks and valleys and through this long trial of isolation.

She wishes she could let people know how important taking pictures in SL is for her and how much she values those who take the time to look at her work. “It’s something that I feel I need, something I care about. That’s why I am thankful to be in this issue of ECLIPSE Magazine, so I can use it as a way to say THANK YOU to every person who read to the end, reading about me and knowing a little bit more about me. Thanks for being there supporting my work, for every kind word towards it. It means a lot. It’s crazy how a single message can change your day, as well as maybe a single picture like mine can bring you a tear or a smile to your face. Thanks again, from the bottom of my heart.”

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places to go

photography by minnie dethly. written by minn

“Places to Go” is a monthly feature showcasing some of the best sims to visit for activities in Second Life®.

One of the biggest complaints we hear from people on Second Life old and new, is that they don’t know what to do or where to go. The thing we think that draws most of us to Second Life is the endless possibilities it gives us from the comfort of our home. Finding cool and interesting places to go is sometimes challenging so we’ve decided to highlight a few for you to check out.

nie dethly.

Dolce A

This resort style getaway is for adults only, so ple yourself! It is spread out over four sims, each one h lining to surfing or just having a romantic dinner. and gives more chances to explore and m Page 78 | ECLIPSE April 2020

Amore

ease leave the children at home and come enjoy having their own form of entertainment. From zip r. Dolce Amore provides plenty of entertainment, maybe rekindle that old romance of yours.

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Inspire Space Park E

If you’ve visited Area 51 this is probably now how and they’ve done their best to try to fit into our h entrance to another world. They love guest and p check out their tak Page 80 | ECLIPSE April 2020

Emporium - Area 51

w you remember it. They aliens haven taken over, human standards. Minus the float rocks near the promise that they don’t want to probe you, come ke on human living.

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The

This location is fun to go with alone, or with a gr to hang out and explore. Don’t let the peaceful to being a place to go and have a good time. With ra bay for a quiet tim Page 82 | ECLIPSE April 2020

Bay

roup. It is known for it’s random nooks and spots one of the island confuse you, it is also known for andom DJs, host and parties so go check out the me or a good time.

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The Lake

Who doesn’t like to escape to the lake every onc will have you feeling like you’re in the great ou often perform to tons of natural trails that welcom They’ve got you covered with a barn full of them, air balloo Page 84 | ECLIPSE April 2020

e House

ce in a while? This is a multi sim experience that utdoors. With a small gathering spot where DJs me horseback riding. Don’t have your own horse? , along with wagons, playgrounds, ponds and hot on rides!

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Prim River National F

Are you craving the outdoors and not so much the be Forest spreads over one sim with plenty of activities catching your own food. To something a little bit more the outdoors with comforts of home. Along with vari horseback riding, games, and zip lines. Perfect for t Page 86 | ECLIPSE April 2020

Forest & Campground

each? Well this is the place for you, Prim River National s. From the original style of camping with tents, and e we pre-furnished cabins for those who want to enjoy iety of sleep amenities, the sim has plenty to do with the whole family, a trip for two, or even by yourself!

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the proust spotli

photography by

The Proust Spotlight is our monthly feature where we highlight one of the many creative residents of Second Life®.

Utilizing the Proust Questionnaire, whose namesake comes from the late 19th century French writer, we will offer a glimpse into what makes them tick.

ECLIPSE Magazine has teamed up with the Blogger & Vlogger Network, so each month the blogger we showcase on the Proust Spotlight is a group member. The group member we feature this month is the talented Stef Nova. She shares, “I am just another shopaholic like all of you, and enjoy taking pictures, exploring sims, playing games and listening to music, Through my pictures I try to find a way to tell a story or set a mood. Both music and pictures are a great escape for me. I live in Southern California, and work in IT as a Project Manager for a HealthCare company that consists of five hospitals in Orange and LA County, so when coming into SL it is my escape from my long and stressful work days!”

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stef nova.

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

The ideal of perfect happiness is to first being able to love yourself and feel comfortable with who you are. Without loving yourself, you are never able to find happiness when with someone else; feeling loved; Spending time with family and friends, when everyone is together and having fun, laughing and creating special memories to always treasure.

Which words or phrases do you most overuse?

Literally, “L O L”, “WOW” What do you consider your greatest achievement?

Working with a nonprofit foundation to help promote awareness for DVT. I was speaking at a medical conference in Boston, MA and telling my story about surviving DVT and multiple PE’s. During my speech I brought up easy recommendations of how most blood clots could be avoided if some easy simple steps were taken. Less than a year later, I received a phone call from that non-profit informing me that the CMS had taken two of my suggestions and implemented them as a new policy for hospitals.

When I received that phone call, I cried so hard, happy that what I wanted happened, but most importantly, knowing that I made a difference and possibly saved lives.

What do you most value in your friends?

Loyalty, honesty and respect. These three things are so important to me, and are needed to have a strong foundation of any type of friendship/relationship. I am very grateful that I have all three of these values with my small group of friends, and appreciate each one of them Y What is your motto?

“Be who you are and say what you feel because those that matter, won’t mind; and those that mind, won’t matter” my favorite Dr. Seuss quote, telling us to always be ourselves and say what we feel.

Connect with Stef on her Flickr, Blog, Twitter and Facebook.

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the art perspect

PHOTOGRAPHY BY ELECTRIC MONDAY. written by electr

Each piece, ECLIPSE Magazine discovers, reviews and highlights the work of some of the most creative and talented artists on the grid, offering a fresh perspective in the vibrant and vast world of the arts.

For this month’s feature, Electric Monday showcases the work of Fiona Fei with Impostor, at The Sim Quarterly, ChuÄ nghu (Windows) at the G.B.T.H Project, and an update to her Shiu Mo works called ShuiMo Blossoms.

tive

ric monday.

Right now, might be one of the most amazing times for art in Second Life.

With most residents being in quarantine situations in their real lives, SL residents can move about and visit many beautiful places just with the click of a button. It is probably even fair to say that art in Second Life is helping people cope and to connect in ways that may not have been conceived before COVID-19 settled in and changed our daily life.

Fiona Fei is one artist who is taking advantage of visitors being in world during this unprecedented and historic time in our lives. She has a growing body of art and followers whom she calls “FFF� in her in-world group, Fiona Page 104 | ECLIPSE April 2020

Fei’s Friends, and recently has been featured in the Destination Guide on multiple occasions. You may even recall in the February issue of Eclipse her home gallery, Shiu Mo, was featured discussing her Chinese ink wash paintings and styles.

For this month’s Art Perspective I offer you a triad of work by Fiona to visit—a breakdown of sorts of three exhibits she has in world currently. They include Impostor, at The Sim Quarterly, Chuānghu (Windows) at the G.B.T.H Project, and an update to her Shiu Mo works called ShuiMo Blossoms, on display at La MAISON D’ANELI).

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Impostor is one of the installations taking place at The Sim Quarterly, where a different artist takes residence and creates a sim-wide installation ever three months.

Fiona describes her work there as “a self-portrait and a critique of myself as an artist.” The exhibit showcases an ink-brush painting of mountains layered over each other to form landscapes often seen in many traditional Chinese landscape paintings. However, there are metaphorical “big red-flags” in the scene that interrupt the perfect serenity of the painting.

Fiona says that the inspiration behind this exhibit came from her cultural background as a Chinese American immigrant and her technical background as an oil painter.

“While I am Chinese by descent, I have spent the majority of my life in the West. I have a fascination with Chinese history and culture, but I often feel like I’m viewing my ancestry through a filter of Americanized information and experiences. Furthermore, my artistic background has been in charcoal and oil painting mediums, and I’ve had very little experience in actual ink-brush painting. For these reasons, “Impostor” is meant to be a self-critique and reflection of my inexperience with the actual ink-brush medium, where I feel like I’m never ‘good enough,’ but I’m embracing it.”

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Other elements in the installation include the massive Red Hands reaching out from the white abyss of the painting to forcefully touch the scene. Red Flowers can be found to signify Fiona’s imagination beyond Chinese ink and her love of whimsy. The Giant Ink splatters across the surface of the landscape signify her inexperience becoming ever more present.

Fiona mentioned that “all the mistakes with the ‘brush’ has manifested itself in explosions of ink.”

Impostor will be open until May 31 and currently, there is a photo contest there that runs until May 1.

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The next installation I want to bring you to is, Chuānghu, meaning Windows. This is an architectural installation in the style of ink wash like many of Fiona’s works. It has a modern feel of being inside a large building built only of windows.

I found it particularly moving due to today’s situation with being isolated. We see everything through a window in a way, whether it’s a computer window to view Second Life, or a window on the world as we watch what unfolds before us. For Fiona, it’s a reflection of “today’s urban environment, especially crowded areas filled with buildings and structures that are close together.”

While it may seem very flat when viewing a photograph of the installation, it is quite the opposite in world. In fact, you might get damaged by flying windows falling from the sky when visiting. There are spots of openness and you get a sense that walls are being made by these see-through windows, but there aren’t any! Explore around and discover the various sits Fiona has strategically placed to put you into a viewpoint of the work that might not be gained otherwise.

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The final work of the triad is a tribute to spring, the ShuiMo Blossoms. I fell in love with this work from the moment I arrived. To me, Spring is the most glorious season—with flowers in bloom, and the new, green leaves making their way forth on branches full of birds chirping and announcing that warmer weather is on the way or here!

Fiona shared that the colors reflected in the flower paintings are “probably the most colorful of my ShuiMo series.”

These paintings are not really like paintings in the real world.

They have virtual “living” items in them, whether a flower leaf or a simple butterfly, there is usually movement present in the works.

For me, I found the large work on display at Blossoms to be of unique importance. This is a work featuring lotus flowers in bloom. It spans the length of the building and allows you as a visitor to step inside of it, or just view from afar.

I, of course, like to feel like I’m a part of the art, so I view things from inside the art, around the art, and from afar! There is no wrong way to visit this exhibit and experience the beauty!

While not a formal student of art, I have always been interested in art history and remembered in my classes that the Chinese have used lotus flowers in many of

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their works. I asked Fiona if there was a significance for her, but she mentioned that there was a Chinese drama show called, Bai She Zhuan (The White Snake Saga) when she was growing up where the main character usually had a lotus flower with her, and she always associated beauty and peace with the flower because of the character.

After doing a little digging around, I discovered that these Chinese flowers are thought of as being pure. They represent creative power and purity among unfavorable surroundings.

They grow out of the mud and blossom into one of the most beautiful flowers. Another meaningful finding of these blossoms is that their stem is easy to bend, but difficult to break. It seems that this exhibit has done for me what the lotus flower represents: it has brought beauty and light into view even in the murky, unknown world we’re faced within our daily lives.

Whether you are a regular art explorer in Second Life, or you just joined and are learning about new ways to discover the wonderful world created by fellow residents, please make sure you get a chance to see Fiona’s work! Oh, and if you’re a photographer yourself, don’t forget about that photo contest at The Sim Quarterly where Fiona has built Impostor!

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the way you inspi

photography by dash bloodmoon. written by novale

One of the best aspects of Second Life is how it makes a large world seem infinitely smaller. It grants its residents the opportunity to meet and develop friendships and relationships with people that would otherwise be impossible. There are people who enter our Second Life and for whatever reason they inspire us. ECLIPSE Magazine’s newest monthly piece, “The Way You Inspire,” is dedicated to these incredible individuals.

For our first piece, we interview Jinx Applewhyte (Aislin Jinx), and she shares with us why she is inspired by her partner, Dash Bloodmoon (Dash Huntsman). If you would like to nominate someone for our upcoming piece, please fill out this form.

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eigh freng.

“I used to love the posts he made encouraging people, cheering them on. A lot of times, I felt like he was talking directly to me.”

Those of us who know Dash Bloodmoon [Dash Huntsman] are likely familiar with his undeniable social media presence or his talent for creating fun videos featuring some of Second Life’s most talented content creators and animators. Dash has the kind of personality that seems to draw people to him, so it seems fitting that he is our first nominee for ECLIPSE Magazine’s newest feature —

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where we find out about the Second Life residents who inspire our readers from those whom they inspire the most.

Second Life resident Jinx Applewhyte [Aislin Jinx] nominated Dash for many reasons. She first met Dash through Facebook, where his inspirational posts and positive attitude drew her to reach out to him.

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“I was pretty low one day and Dash had posted an encouraging quote. I thought maybe it would be cool to just let him know that he was encouraging to me and that his posts really did make a difference, to me anyways. He answered back very politely and then went silent for several hours. In my head I was like…’Well at least you told him what you wanted to say.’ Turns out he was at work and messaged me after he got home.

That one conversation has not stopped since.

We laugh about it because I feel like the only time we are not communicating is when we are asleep.”

This is more than a love story, though. Jinx nominated Dash because she cares about him, but more so because of the impact she sees he has on others around him, and the admirable way he handles his own struggles.

Dash has been an active member of the Second Life community for about a decade now. While he originally joined for the roleplay aspect that Second Life offers, he has since become involved in other endeavors. He blogs, creates fun and inventive videos, and is an active and undeniably supportive presence to his friends, and with his family.

Like many of us who joined Second Life, Dash’s road has twisted a few different directions over the years, but he has met each new challenge and opportunity with the same enthusiasm that endears him to so many. He is friendly, fun, and shows a level of compassion and care for others that is unrivaled. He has rarely met anyone he doesn’t like, and is well-known for lifting others up with a kind word or inspirational message when they need it most.

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“Despite his own struggles, he puts everyone ahead of himself.”

On top of his presence on Facebook, his blogging, his new videography business, and spending time with his family, Dash will also help others however he can, be it editing a photo, a conversation when they need an understanding ear and a kind word, or help learning how to make a video, he doesn’t discriminate, and will often do whatever he can for others, even though he faces his own struggles.

Dash has been fairly open about his journey as a trans man. He has written about it, composed beautiful pieces of art, and always been an authentic and uplifting voice for others within the community. Jinx says that one of the most profoundly impactful moments for him, one of his biggest triumphs, was being able to make the connection from what had been in his head and heart all along. She also says that the journey has had its bumpy roads as well. Like many trans people, Dash occasionally struggles with the issue of body dysphoria —the internal struggle that results from knowing he is in the wrong body, that what he knows on the inside does not match the outside. Some days, this struggle can be overwhelming, but Dash tackles each new day, all while exuding the positivity, confidence, and love that draws others to him.

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“The most important thing to Dash is being happy within himself. Being his true self and being comfortable in his own skin. To be able to face the day with love and laughter.“ This is exactly what inspiration is. Despite his own struggles in both real life and Second Life, despite the hurdles to jump and the bad days, Dash Huntsman continues to move forward, to offer words of encouragement, to teach and mentor, to advocate, and to lift others up with a love and light that is undeniable.

Beyond his infectious positivity, Jinx gave ECLIPSE a few more facts about the man she considers to be such an inspiration.

1. He has soft hands.

2. He loves breakfast! So much so, in fact, that Jinx likes to find fun and popular restaurants when they visit in real life so that they can both enjoy his favorite meal of the day.

3. He’s a nudist! (Sorry ladies, no pictures.)

4. His Second Life children call him ‘Daddy Grinch’ - a nickname they adopted for him after Jinx relayed a story involving a sleeping Dash and a carbon monoxide alarm with a low battery.

A little silly, a little sweet, and according to Jinx and anyone that knows him, all smiles. Dash Huntsman will no doubt continue to be a loud voice and a positive force within the Second Life community. While roleplay brought him to explore the world of Second Life, his love and commitment to his family and his neverending quest for new knowledge are just some of the things that keep him coming back every day. We have no doubt that he will continue to be an inspiration not just to Jinx, but to everyone who is lucky enough to get to know him.

“He is an amazing soul, a wonderful man. A supportive father to his adopted children in SL. he is a loyal friend and an amazing and loving boyfriend.

I tell him all the time that I have never been treated this well, or loved this much. I hit the lottery with him, I really did.”

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sl fiction...

photography by everlina kindred. written by everlin

Second Life is rich in roleplay opportunities, and ECLIPSE Magazine rotates between their “SL Fiction” and “World of Roleplay” feature to showcase this. Dedicated to telling each character’s story by taking the concept of “a day in the life,” we invite our readers to SL Fiction.

Everlina Kindred often dreams of winged things, so it only made sense that when she slept, flying was a common theme. As such, she envisioned herself with her own pair of wings, living in an enchanted forest - thanks to inspiration from Maximum Ride, and the Maleficent movies.

na kindred.

There was a winged creature, living in a tiny, broken tower. The gir held secrets and shuddered with delight at every gust of wind. He Page 134 | ECLIPSE April 2020

rl with wings was happy there, in the whispering woods. Trees that er company was that of a stuffed rabbit, and she never felt lonely.

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Every morning, she rose with the sun. She pulled herself out of her her wings snap out and catch the air, so she can raise herself hig Page 136 | ECLIPSE April 2020

r nest, strapped on her boots, and stretched her wings. With a leap, gh enough to surge out of the tower’s crumbling, exposed roof.

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All day she played in the sky and the tree tops, occasionally bring lungs, and played balancing games on tree branches. Sometimes s as fast as she could make them, j Page 138 | ECLIPSE April 2020

ging her rabbit with her. She flew until there was no air left in her she flew as lazily as a butterfly, and other times, she beat her wings just to see how far she could go.

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She followed the sun, waking when the sky was light, and desce beating of the girl’s wings slowed, until she began to fall. Gravity pu and the ground below Page 140 | ECLIPSE April 2020

ending when it grew dark. As the sun fell, and the moon rose, the ulled her down as though she were tethered, bringing the treetops speeding towards her.

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Out of the sky she fell. And she fell, and fell, and fell. But she was land she did. Once her feathered wings hit the soft blankets of her through her curtains. W Page 142 | ECLIPSE April 2020

never scared. For she knew that she’d land safely in her bed. And nest... The little girl woke up to ribbons of new sunlight, streaming What a pleasant dream.

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ask eclipse

ECLIPSE Magazine returns with its advice column, “Ask ECLIPSE.� Each issue we take questions given to us by residents, and our resident advice guru provides the answers.

Have a pressing question that you would like to see answered? Be sure to fill out this form.

Dear ECLIPSE, I have had a friend in Second Life for almost five years now. I have slowly noticed that every time I talk to her all she does is turn the conversation to her.

Without fail this happens. If happiness were a balloon, she is the pin that will always burst it. I have tried being supportive, but I’m at a loss now. What should I do?

- Pinned Penny Dear Pinned Penny, Oh dear, sadly I have all too much experience with someone being the ‘pin’ friend. I would suggest talking to her, but she will in no doubt perhaps take it the wrong way and turn the conversation back to how you treat her. I would step back and look at what I’m really craving from this friendship.

Is this actually a good friend that you need in your life, or is it someone that you’ve grown accustomed to and perhaps has served their purpose? If you find that this is someone you need in your life, I would talk to them, on voice as sometimes talking through text can give the wrong impression of your words.

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Dear ECLIPSE, One of my friends is always in a relationship. It’s like a revolving door with a flavor of the week, sometimes two. She’ll even change her last name to match theirs and then a few days later it’s over. I wouldn’t mind it if she wasn’t always complaining about her love life, but what does she expect. How do I tell her that I’m not interested in hearing about it anymore without sounding like a jerk?

- Frustrated Franny Dear Frustrated Franny, You just have to draw that line sometimes, tell her that you are happy that she’s happy or that you respect her relationships but you don’t need to know about them. This can be draining on yourself and on your friendship, I think if you’re friends with someone you should be able to tell them what boundaries you have. If she can’t accept that then maybe she just wasn’t your friend to begin with.

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Dear ECLIPSE, How do people make friends on SL? All I seem to do is shop and stay on my platform. Where can I go to become more social?

- Lonely Lonny Dear Lonely Lonny, I seem to ask myself this question a lot, back in the old days it seemed you would just randomly run into people and become friends. Now it’s like going fishing in an empty pond all you catch is trash. My best advice is social media, facebook, instagram, flickr even. Fire up those social platforms and start finding people with similar interests as you. I’ve made several new friends recently by doing that. Also look at the rest of the magazine to find some places to hang out to take your new friends!

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artist highlight

Written by taylor wassep. photography by taylo

Artistry and creativity are at the foundation of everything we see and do in Second Life. The same is true for all we hear in Second Life. In showcasing residents and groups who embody the concept of “your world, your imagination,” Eclipse Magazine is honored to showcase Second Life’s amazing musical talent.

In this month’s “Artist Highlight,” we shine the spotlight on the incredibly talented live singer, Emma Ness.

or wassep.

Emma Ness has become quite the established SL musician in recent years. This stellar performer has a heart as pure as gold and a vocal array that could put the most seasoned singers to bed. If you have the opportunity to listen live to one of her shows; we highly recommend you take it. She has grown humble beginnings when she would record songs that only she would hear to performing live for virtual shows crowded with listeners. If we pique your interest in as excellent a performer as Emma, continue reading as we dive deeper into the backstory of one and only Ms. Emma Ness.

Talking with Emma, we were so delighted to meet such a genuine person behind the visage of a Second Life™ resident. We talked about her beginnings when she met Luciano Lionheart, a now retired SL performer. He was the catalyst who got Emma going down the right path.

“He really took me under his wing and explained how it all worked, what gear I would need, how to use said gear, and he also helped me to find the confidence to be myself in front of a crowd” – Emma Ness

Buoyed by the urging of some of her friends, Emma began her journey into live performing in Second Life. When asked about her style or inspirations, Emma noted that her real-life father was the primary point of inspiration for her. She went on to talk about him fostering her talents and encouraging her to sing.

On a more somber note, pain is another note of inspiration for Emma. It releases her from her body for a moment in time. In that moment though, it is just her and the room of people connecting through a universal yearning and love for music.

It is then Emma reveals the reason for continuing doing shows.

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“Making people smile, the thought that for even a moment I could make someone’s day better,” she said. Emma went on to comment that, even though the sentiment may sound a bit cliche, she just wants to make the world a better place for people. She is fully aware that her contribution may appear to be a drop of water in an ocean of troubles. That one drop has the potential capabilities to produce ripples. Those ripples are what makes society happy, it’s what makes people get out of bed the next day. It gives a reason to continue on; that is Emma’s wish— that she can make people happy with her talent.

Happiness seems to be a running theme with Emma and her musical abilities. This ideal stretches back as far as her college career. While she was studying for her Opera major, she came to learn a very important lesson about herself. If a song doesn’t mean anything to her, doesn’t evoke a reaction within her—she just has a distaste for it. With each song she performs, there is a story that will bring her back to a specific moment in her life.

Some people believe that when you’re singing for others, you are giving a part of yourself to them. Baring your soul and showing a vulnerable aspect of yourself to near strangers. Why would you want to not have every good vibration at your disposal to give as many people a great experience? This is exactly why Emma chooses songs that are incredibly meaningful to her, even the more humorous song picks.

This is some advice that anyone who may be looking to expand into performing in Second Life or in the real world could take from Emma. Have a reason and passion behind the music you are sharing with people. Emma wanted to say this as well,

“The size of your crowd doesn’t determine the worth of your music, I used to worry about this a lot. I used to think if people didn’t show up to a gig I had failed, it felt like a failure, and that just isn’t the case. Some days people log in, some days they don’t, you just have to keep on singing!”

– Emma Ness

We hope that by sharing this article with the amazing ECLIPSE readers, you can get a sense of the magic that makes Emma Ness so entrancing when she performs. So, if you are in need of some star talent, please reach out to Helen Bailey (helendar.bailey) to book Emma.

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Voices from the g

Voices From the Grid is a monthly survey of opinions and ideas of Second Life® residents on the salient issues of the day.

For this issue, ECLIPSE Magazine we asked residents to share “How has COVID-19 affected your life? How has Second Life helped with social isolation?”

grid

Photograph provided by Caiti Jezebel Baxton.

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caiti jezebel baxton

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aiti Jezebel Baxton [caitlin.mirabella] has been a resident of Second Life for eleven years. She is a seasoned blogger with over eight years of stories and experiences under her belt. Caiti currently works as a part of the management team for FMD as the LGBTQ+ Liaison, among other hats.

I am an American registered nurse in RL. COVID-19 and the resulting panic and fallout have directly impacted my life in so many ways. Professionally, I and my staff have a new normal. We are expected to violate cross-contamination and cleanliness protocols that are regulated at the national and state level, as our facilities and hospitals run out of PPE(personal protective equipment).

Two weeks ago, all of the nursing staff were told that we are moving to mandatory 12-hour shifts for the foreseeable future, to make sure that in the event of an outbreak in our facility, that there are staff there to care for our patients. So until recently, I’ve been working back-to-back-to-back shifts, sometimes double shifts, just to make sure the 113 currently at my facility are cared for and safe. I’m tired and overwhelmed, honestly.

I know as a nurse that I have the potential to get sick and injured as a part of my job, but...the thought of a pandemic scares me. I didn’t sign up for this. I am so unprepared, every single day. None of us on the front lines have ANY idea what we’re really doing, honestly, and the judgment calls we have to make on the fly are nerve-wracking.

Personally, COVID has potentially affected my life. Monday, I was basically escorted out of my job and told not to come back until I get tested, because I was exposed to the virus at work, and am showing symptoms. I am scared and frustrated.

Second Life has helped me with my week of social isolation because I’ve had a lot of downtime. Instead of spending it offline, by myself, and always thinking about those test results coming in (what is it going to be, am I sick for real this time?), I have been able to pour my energy into photography, and the images I have produced this past week have been some of my favorites in a very long time. My sorrow, fear, and exhaustion are able to be appeased, even for a few moments, by looking at the images I have made.

Check out her Flickr and Blog.

ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 169

Photograph provided by Siouxsie Shepherd.

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iouxsie Shepherd [Onyxic Resident] started her life on the Grid in early October 2016. She began as a tourist, taking pictures of things she found interesting before meeting real lasting friends. She has worked tirelessly to improve her photography skills, as well as building, lighting, and creating custom poses. She is fluent in French, English, and German and loves learning other languages.

Social distancing has really changed my entire life. I’m used to traveling for work, visiting family on the weekends, and date nights at romantic locales. Now my significant other and I are locked down at home, both laid off, and unable to visit friends or family. SL has helped me live a little more vicariously, doing things I wouldn’t always do and seeing things through a different lens. I’ve met many new friends and have even taken to playing D&D over Skype with a friend I have met on the Grid. I even watch youtube videos on my in-world tv and have had hosted viewing parties. It’s something to remind myself that the entire world isn’t gone, just different. I’ve also taken to wearing a mask on my avatar whenever I’m not doing a themed photo shoot (or sometimes even if I am!). It isn’t much, but I feel like in some small way I’m doing my part to flatten the curve. Even if it’s just sitting at home eating home cooked meals and watching Spongebob while my avatar does the exact same thing. Art imitating life.

Exploring new locations has always been a passion of mine and so many new and exciting sims are being worked on every day. Grauland, Mopire City, and Ash Falls are the places I frequent the most. I get my best work done there, listening to my favorite music to set the tone and decide on the one that best suits my finished product. As a creative outlet, SL has been absolutely amazing. With being locked down and all, finding something novel and beautiful is at a premium. Some days, I can find it. Some days, I have to hunt for it. Some days, I have to build it. They give us an incredible tool set and the only limit is our own imagination (and prims).

Some of my more fun builds ended up feeling like a green screen set of an MCU movie, with projectors here and there, random floating plants just offscreen to give the desired effect. A trompe de l’oeil.

The forced move from work to stay home has been a rocky transition. By day eight, I stopped wearing slacks and started wearing leggings. By day fifteen, I stopped wearing leggings and started wearing pajamas or sweats. In SL, I still dress to the nines every single time I leave my home. It’s the only home I really get to leave right now so I make the most of it. I engage with everyone without worrying if they’re too close. I can stay out past ten o’ clock PM without worrying if I’m breaking curfew. And I’ve had a lot more time to work on my post-apocalypse outfit! Only in SL! Check out her Flickr.

ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 171

Photograph provided by Rocky Asteria.

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ocky Asteria got his start in Second Life in 2010. His love of a wide variety of music made his decision to become an SL DJ an easy one. Rocky eventually started his own dance club called “The Wrecking Ball Retreat” where he was both management and a DJ. After that, Rocky started “Rocky’s Place” which was a dance club and a clothing store. Rocky is a photographer who has collaborated with many SL artists and is an administrator of several SL groups in Flickr, Lost in My Own Little World, Photography Fun SL, and One Hot Mess SL COVID-19 has kept me home more than normal. It has affected how much time I am able to spend with my family and causes me not to be able to see some of them as much as I normally would. My heart goes out to everyone who has lost family members to this terrible pandemic. This experience has made me very thankful for what I have and for the people in my life.

It’s difficult to describe how Second Life has helped me with social isolation these days due to the virus, because SL has always been there to help with this even before COVID-19. Second Life is important in helping me deal with social isolation as is other forms of social media. In Second Life I enjoy the benefit of being able to freely spend time with friends without the worry of contracting the virus. I worked with my close friend, Baihley Resident on some photographs regarding the COVID-19 virus.

Check out his Flickr.

ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 173

Photograph by Taylor Wassep.

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KIMMY

immy [alluringkimmy] rezzed almost four years ago as a university student using SL as an experiment on morals in the virtual world. After the university project concluded, Kimmy decided to use her avatar to express her feelings through photography.

“She’s the whole mix tape. She’s so complicated.

That’s the way God made her. Sunshine mixed with A little hurricane” Honestly, that is Kimmy in a poem. Kimmy loves to explore the abstract forms of art in Second Life and tends to use bright colours in her blog and flickr posts. All her pictures depict a quote in one way or another. In addition to Flickr, she has a blog where you can find all the little details she uses to create her little adventures in SL. I was furloughed very early on in March, so I have not been working at my normal job, but my own counselling business has not been affected as I have been able to do everything on the web. I missed my sister’s wedding,sadly. This has been truly heartbreaking. I joined in through Skype, but it will never be the same sadly.

We will do a reception once all this madness is gone. I have spent a few hours a day creating mental health awareness posts for my RL pages. Just trying to keep each day as normal as I can. Honestly, it has been hard at times, I am on week 3 of quarantine, but I am still going to my church service virtually, singing at the top of my lungs in the shower, reading more books and editing fanfictions, and trying to maintain the ivy that wants to eat all the other plants in my little garden.

Second Life always helps to distract myself and be creative. I have had more time on my hands, so I have started to venture from my platform more and explore the new and wonderful sims that so many have created. I do not tend to talk to many people in general unless at work, so it is nice just to have a chat here or there with someone I have not spoken to in ages.

Check out her Flickr and Blog.

ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 175

Photograph provided by Baihley.

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BAIHLEY

aihley Resident began her Second Life journey in September of 2012. She likes to spend her time in SL exploring beautiful sims, shopping for clothes and accessories, checking out music at clubs, and meeting new people. It was only recently in May of 2019, however, that she found her passion in SL: photography. “I’m not much of a photographer in real life, but I had met several people in SL with Flickr pages, and it looked like it could be a fun way to meet people while showcasing my love of fashion. I decided to try my hand at it. I first started photography with the idea that I might want to start a fashion blog, but once I started taking photos, the pictures became less about the clothes and more about the art. At that point, I was hooked and am thoroughly addicted to taking photos in SL.” I think the biggest impact of COVID-19 on my life is that I am fearful and worried so often now. Everyday tasks like going to the store aren’t simple like it used to be. Now I worry about the virus being on shopping bags, food, packaging, shopping carts, and money. I worry about my elderly mother in an assisted living center who is on lockdown. I worry about my daughter’s newborn baby. I worry about my daughter being a healthcare provider, the danger she puts herself in on a daily basis and the lack of supplies she is working with. I worry about my job changing or about being laid off from my job. I worry about our leaders making the right decisions. I worry about tomorrow’s new requirements to hold the virus at bay. I worry about our world and what it will look like and how it will change once we reach the other side of this predicament.

There is a general heaviness in life now that can be overwhelming at times.

There is one place I can escape to, however, where people can still touch, and where one only wears a mask if it’s to make a fashion statement: Second Life. I may be trapped in my real-world home, but I can travel the world with friends in Second Life. In Second Life there is a freedom that is no longer present in the real world. Second Life has provided a much-needed escape from the heaviness of our COVID-scarred world.

I don’t like to dwell on the worries and fears of the world when I’m in SL, yet I did want to take an opportunity to express my apprehensions through art. With the help of my dear friend, Rocky Asteria, together we took some photos that we shared on Flickr regarding the COVID-19 pandemic and Rocky’s version. It has been amazing to have people share their thoughts and own anxieties in Flickr email and comments regarding these photos. I am thankful for my friends and family in both RL and SL who support me and give me hope.

Check out her Flickr.

ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 177

Photograph provided by Bernard Broono.

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ernard Broono I’ve been in Second Life for longer than most. I came to the virtual world because I was curious. I remained in Second Life because it became a part of me. Some people don’t understand my passion for it, I just tell them that it isn’t for everyone but it is a place for me. This has become my spiritual, emotional and creative outlet.

The Covid-19 crisis gave a new personal urgency to my time in Second Life. When you hear people throwing around terms like ‘Social distancing’ and ‘Stay at home’ you have to wonder how they cope with the potential long-term isolation. I do see people spending more time on social media like ‘Facebook’ and ‘Twitter’. It seems to me like they’re just shouting into a cave filled with desperate people, some of them angry, some of them scared, all of them somewhat isolated in their own little spots of digital reality.

Second Life is not like that for me. Now, to be perfectly honest, there is a definite learning curve to this virtual world. It requires more investment in computer hardware. It pays to have a good graphics card. This is a much more personal digital world than most others. The term I’ve heard over the years is ‘psychological immersion’. Trust me, this is not a game. this can be a very intimate social media.

With Covid-19 I find myself coming here to find the support of virtual friends.

I can dance here, I can smile here, I’ve even fallen in love in this virtual reality.

Some people think it’s some sort of escape from reality. Don’t worry about me, I’m very invested in the ‘Real World’. I own a real house, I’ve had a real career.

This ‘real world’ though is turning ugly, turning dangerous. I find it often safer to reach out to other people - remember, each avatar in Second Life is just a virtual representation for a very real human being somewhere. I reach out to these other people and we often connect. This might be a digital reality but the emotions involved are very real. I’m a better man for having this digital interface for my heart and mind

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Photograph provided by Aurora.

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aurora

urora was born in this virtual world on a cold February day in 2012. Always smiling, always aiming for the best of fun in any situation, she was a living person in a 3D world. She loved to roleplay in numerous fantasy and urban places. As the years advanced she evolved along with the vast Second life world that became more and more beautiful with what it had to offer, and her new passion of photography took over. With the enormous world and the possibilities in it, the only boundaries she had was her imagination, and she has a huge imagination!

This virus affected people on a global scale. For me, working in finance in real life, I must say it has been a huge blow on the world economy and more specifically on the small and middle sized businesses. On a local scale for me it was a big downsize. I work in a medium-size company as a Head Manager and Accountant.

We do outside advertising like 3D letters, billboards, stickers and so on. So when the outbreak began and the country got quarantined, all the orders just stopped, like cut by a knife, we all went on a two weeks mandatory leave with my colleagues, but after those two weeks passed since 1st of April, we were all relieved from the job and nearly 200 people became jobless.

The isolation itself was enough to go down in depression for almost anybody.

Me, well I was saved by Second Life... the people I have met here, that I consider friends were always around me. There were still things we wanted to do, and have fun, parties to throw up and even a little DJing, yeah I do DJ from time to time...But most important was that this quarantine, did not break me because Second Life was giving me this, what I could not get in Real Life. I love to fly about SL and RL, as in RL I do have a pilot license, but here...in SL it is amazing as well and recently I joined the SL Coast Guards, another adventure I have begun for myself to keep me occupied with positive thoughts as I met so many new friends there...As for the end I would like to say to all my friends and all your readers, and everyone in the world to Stay Home and Stay Safe! We will get through this! <3 Check out her Flickr.

ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 181

Photograph provided by Tralala Loordes.

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T

ralala Loordes is a quirky thing. She runs Diners all over SL. Strange Diners with questionable meat sources. A question asked from Insilico to The Wastelands as you nosh your cheeseburger at the Diner...”When’s the last time you actually saw a cow?” After six years in The Wastelands she built her own post-apocalyptic sim with Diner, the greatest Diner of them all, of course, Tralala’s Diner @ Pine Lake. She gets around though and blogs for a few SL creators and from time to time when the mood is on her she will hike up her skirts and build a mise-en-scene for a one day only music event at The Blue Orange.

COVID-19 has caused the scales to fall from my over-privileged eyes about how fragile our everyday systems are. When my personal shopper for groceries was not same-day delivery I was mildly miffed...when it became 10 days out and then... “first available slot” I was sure there would be riots in the street and looting fresh vegetable stands. I have never before in my life experienced a shortage of any everyday things ...like food. Don’t even try to get TWO boxes of facial tissues.

What paper products I was able to mine for on Amazon are I think manufactured in the Balkans and can double in less competitive markets as sandpaper. There are no shortages in SL..it’s calming to share my nations’ miseries with Euros and others. We collectively let our dark humor out. rail against governments, and for a bit escape the unrelenting doom and gloom. Having SL would have transformed the Black Plague back when they walled up entire sick and well members of a single family inside their home..they would have had something to do while waiting.

I am quirky and the Diners are strange. If you have ever been in a Diner at 3 AM you have irrefutable proof aliens live among us. I chose the Diner as a roleplay set because who has not been to a diner somewhere so you already know how to act. Anything at all can happen there...and believe me, it does. Whatever I am building is always meant for the widest range possible of participants. I am proud as Satan of my sim. It reflects what I think a post-apocalyptic world would be like. I wish Linden Labs would let me stitch another sim to it so I can go on and on packratting things. I was flattered to be asked by some creators to blog / Flickr pix their products. It’s challenging for me because I am only comfortable in a narrow color range - black. But it gets the creative part of me sputtering to life. I have been asked to participate in a few art shows although I never think of myself as an artist. I give all credit to the superior SL creator’s products. And one of the most satisfying things I do in SL is creating the mise en scenes at The Blue Orange. I build an environment not commonly seen in SL complete and detailrich themes. No doubt part of my deepest desires to have more and more sims.

It’s an addiction...I feel shame. No, I don’t.

Check out her Flickr, Tralalas Diner @ Pine Lake and Tralalas Diner @ The Wastelands.

ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 183

Photograph by Taylor Wassep.

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am [jammehh resident] returned to Second Life after an absence of more than six years. He decided to try his hand at expressing his emotions and experiences and capturing some of the fleeting beauty through photography.

He established a Flickr page and has made some progress. It was an honor when he accepted an invitation to show at BlueStar Gallery at GMC. He still continues to try to improve, fully realizing the mountains he still has to climb. Upwards!

jam

The onset of Coronovirus seemed to come out of the blue! One day I heard about this virus, the next it was everywhere. Isolation has always been a factor in my life, but the complete isolation that comes with Covid19 is scary, and so sad. So many people who are affected, so much tragedy.

Second Life is a way to maintain contact with friends and enjoy new experiences-always had been, but even more so now. I can talk with my friends all over the world easily. Go to clubs and have a few laughs, listen to music, design my photographs, or just take them as I feel. It is an incredible outlet for living, and for fantasy. I have the opportunity and the pleasure of being/looking/feeling however I am/look/ feel, despite Coronavirus. All in a highly fascinating and beautiful environment, loved and cherished and created by incredibly talented and beautiful designers.

Second Life is an artistic candy store, curated with love. And Jammy likes his candy. I enjoy it immensely and am so grateful. Grateful for the people who make this world go around, and those who interact with me every day. I am grateful for the chance to improve my expression, to be able to show what and how I saw something.

For my pictures, if someone can find an interpretation, something funny, something sexy, something horrendous or even gauche, thatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an amazing gift and one I will cling to. Corona virus might be keeping us inside, but, we have the key to a door of whole other worlds and Universes to work, play, love, and live in!

Check out his Flickr.

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Photograph provided by ButterrCup. Page 186 | ECLIPSE April 2020

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utterrCup AKA Butterrs [ButterrCup Resident] has been doing Second Life photography for six years and loves doing it. She is an artist for Art Lust Photography which has a wide range of amazing and talented artists whom you can hire for your next profile photo! ButterrCup is also a blogger for the Infamous Designs Blog and blogs for several fashion stores. She enjoys the spooky and unusual side of life and always loves it when she gets to do a spooky and dark photo.

COVID-19 has affected our world as we know it and has made it a scarier place.

Before this virus, I worked from home and didn’t really get out much so I would say COVID-19 hasn’t really affected my life that much other than grocery shopping and not being able to get many supplies.

Second Life has always been my outlet for socializing and meeting new people.

Since the lockdowns, more people have been coming back to Second Life and I’ve been seeing people I haven’t seen online in a long time so that’s always awesome. I want to wish everyone good luck out there and hope you stay safe!

We can get through this!

Check out her Flickr, Blog and Art Lust Website.

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Photograph provided by Tim. Page 188 | ECLIPSE April 2020

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im [Tim Deschanel] French dream explorer, Tim discovered SL in 2006. He has since immortalized this Second Life on his Flickr which contains more than 24,000 photos.

Since the appearance of COVID-19, I have been confined to my home while I love to walk around and enjoy the beauties of real life.

tim

I can no longer see the people I love to meet, touch them, kiss them and talk to them face to face. But I am not depressed and I keep the hope that life will resume soon as before.

Second Life has always been a dream place for me.

I keep in touch with a lot of people there and I am happy to know that they are in good health.

This is even more true today with this compulsory confinement. Because even if I am deprived of liberty, hope and dreams cannot be suppressed.

I will never get tired of visiting magnificent exhibitions, going to listen to live singers, dancing, laughing, chatting with my friends and sharing my happiness with my partner SLienne.

SL is our world, the reflection of our imagination and my imagination will never be limited by any virus whatsoever ;-) Check out his Flickr.

ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 189

Photograph provided by Catalina Bryant.

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atalina Bryant [Rockcail Resident] Scratch here ▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒▒ to unveil her secret bio.

Boy, COVID-19, threw a serious monkey wrench into my routine, lemme tell ya. Working as a healthcare manager, I’m accustomed to “no-notice” detours, from everyday practices. However, C-19 is a beast, nobody was prepared for.

Countless meetings on how to protect both the staff and patients, yet everyday a new stipulation is being ordered. As we all do, I wake up each morning asking, “When will we return to what we call, “the norm”? Fears of the unknown, waiting for the second wave, nobody has the answer. Second Life provides what the real can not—normalcy. When I come, which is normally an hour or so during the week (this girl has LIVES to save), I enjoy my time with my incredible family and friends, to check up on them, offer med advice and chill. Alright, alright, and make it known I need my photo fix! Everyday I’m thankful. A quote from Edward Everette Hale, “I am only one, but I am one. I can not do everything, but I can do something. And I will not let what I can not do interfere with what I can do”. I am that ONE and I will do everything that I can to make my difference matter.

Check out her Flickr.

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Photograph provided by Caleb Bryant.

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caleb bryant

aleb Bryant [CalebBryant] has been a resident of Second Life since 2007 in one form or another with 13 years of memories to cherish and lessons to grow from. The past few years, Caleb had dabbled in some blogging for select businesses but more recently began to create more personal and fulfilling art on his Flickr with his wife and muse, Catalina. With art more personal, the emotion and meaning behind the pictures tend to show more and that is what Caleb hopes to accomplish with each piece of art he creates.

I live in the tech industry of California - the bay area. Here, we have been sheltering in place since March 16th and that order has been estimated to last at least until May 3rd. California hasn’t shown confirmed numbers as high as places like New York, but we are only as good as the data. And the data is not good. Limited California testing gives people a false sense of security and the lag time from catching the virus to confirmed testing is egregiously long. Uncertainty.

I was supposed to visit my grandmother (on mother’s side) in China during Chinese New Year. The very morning of my flight for departure from SFO to China, January 21st, my girlfriend (wife in SL - Catalina) sends me articles about the coronavirus being confirmed to be transmitted between humans. At that time about 200 cases were confirmed. I decided not to go and cancelled everything, knowing the entire country of China would all be mobilizing at the same time for New Years festivities. I did not want to risk catching the virus during my travels (my flights were not direct) and risk exposing my grandmother if I were asymptomatic.

Paranoia.

Since then, I have taken much precaution in any of my interactions here in the States especially when I take care of my grandmother on my father’s side and help my mother. Both, doctors would say are considered high risk with comorbidities.

Anxiety. And because of my family situation and the obvious gravity of the nation’s situation, I’ve not seen my girlfriend in three months. I was supposed to see her beginning of April but that has been postponed. I don’t know when exactly is the next time I can hold her in my arms again, but hopefully soon. Heartache.

This is where Second Life has helped with all the negative emotions in my head where I can still continue to spend time virtually with Catalina and channel my energy and focus into creating art on my Flickr stream. SL has mostly been a means for me to connect with people whom I cannot physically spend time with at the moment, but more recently because of the lock downs, SL has become an outlet for me to create even memories with loved ones in ways I would have done if I were physically with them. It just takes a bit of planning and work to make experiences happen.

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ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 193

Photograph provided by Myra Wildmist.

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MYRA WILDMIST

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yra Wildmist started her journey in Second Life in October, 2010. While she love all the social aspects of SL, she truly loves its creative side. She works every day as an SL artist, primarily as a photographer but she also regularly does installations. She maintains an inconsistent blog, where she tries in her own small way to promote virtual photography as an art form.

In real life, I’m out a lot. I belong to a couple of art groups and I have my friends.

That’s all on hold, now. I see one person on a social basis--we’re both very careful-and I only go out for exercise and to walk my dog.

I’m being good about keeping my social distance, but it’s hard for me. I Skype, Zoom, and all the other stuff, but it’s not the same so my social life sucks. Virtual happy hours stink.

I’m still employed, so that’s good. I can do my work fine from home, so I’m not in danger of losing my job (I hope.)

But I also work as a photographer in real life, and that’s definitely suffering. I was working with people all the time and now I rarely get a chance to photograph people, except at a distance. So now I take photos for flowers and plants and stuff around my apartment. So not the same, but I keep my camera skills fresh.

Second Life has been a wonderful escape from real life. I can come into SL, chat with people, dance with people, and not have to worry about their droplets. Yay! On the creative side, SL is even more meaningful than usual. I’m doing more portraiture work, inspired a little by what I’ve done in real life, and I’m also doing a series of social distancing photos. Doing the social distancing photos is a wonderful way to get the real life frustrations of being so isolated out of my system.

The social distancing photos can be seen on my Flickr account.

Check out her Flickr and Blog.

ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 195

Photograph provided by Gavin Dionysus.

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avin Dionysus is a Second Life photographer, proud twelve-year supporter of Relay For Life of Second Life, and Lead Copy Editor for Attention SL Magazine.

His mercurial style of photography has been described as everything from playful and inspired to sensual and hopeful - and also capable of blasting right past that into the realms of dark and delightfully twisted. He also serves as Captain of the RFL of SL team Attention on Cancer; formed by and for the staff, friends, family and fans of Attention SL. As a cancer survivor with a crazy immune system, one of the first things that COVID-19 affected was my ability - and willingness! - to remain on the “front lines” in my part-time job as a cashier. Now classed as “essential workers” for the duration of this pandemic, cashiers are among those that are being put at risk day in and day out. Even if they themselves are not high-risk for the harsher effects of the disease, they can become asymptomatic carriers and bring it home to their loved ones. Their efforts to keep everyone else comfortable, safe, and with properly full bellies while so much of the population shelters in place and practices social distancing are admirable... but not a risk I myself am willing to take.

I became quite ill with many flu-like symptoms in mid-March. COVID-19 testing was not available to me at the time, so I don’t have any concrete information on whether or not I had a personal brush with the virus. I have since recovered for the most part, but with my lingering shortness of breath and fatigue, I remain among the shelter-in-place population of the US for the time being.

Sheltering in place has given me ample time to focus on my college classes, catch up on glorious sleep, watch all of the television shows and movies I’ve been continually putting off, and make a dent in the household’s collection of books on Kindle. I’m not feeling the draining, anxious effects of social isolation that are already starting to vibrate some of my more extroverted friends into tiny pieces.

I am quite a natural introvert. For me, being able to stay connected to people via a combination of Discord and Second Life - and passing interactions with my real-world roommates - adds up to more than enough social time to stay sane and relatively content.

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ECLIPSE April 2020 | Page 197

Photograph provided by Joonie Jatho.

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J

oonie Jatho has been in Second Life since October 18, 2006. A friend told her about a world where she could fly, and she was hooked from then on. Her first love is exploring, followed closely by a love of music. That combination led her to stumble onto a Grateful Dead sim, where she experienced her first SL live musician and bought her first SL home! Joonie went on to become very involved in the SL live music community, managing several well-known artists over the years.

While exploring the beautiful and creative sims of SL, Joonie began taking photographs and writing a blog where she shared her SL experiences and photos.

This soon evolved into a fashion blog where she promoted several of the top designers in SL. Since shopping is another love of Joonie’s, this was a natural evolution!

Joonie has also spent a lot of her time on the grid helping others. She’s been an Event Coordinator for several fundraisers, including Relay for Life events.

Today in SL, you can find Joonie at live music events, fashion events, shopping, and taking photos; you can find her on Flickr. She still loves to explore the amazing and creative sims in SL, and still enjoys being able to fly!

I might not be the best person to answer this question. Being an introvert, my life hasn’t changed that much. I am buying all my groceries online, tho, and anything else I might want. I’m using Zoom for social contact. Other than that, not much has changed.

I have discovered the joy and hilarity of new apps that I previously didn’t care about. My binging has reached an all time high… of TV and food! I’ve learned to bake as if this is my last chance to taste sugary, buttery cakes, cookies and muffins.

My clothes are a fitting a little tighter than before the baking. I wonder how many of us will stagger outside our house when this is all over and be unrecognizable!

My job is online so it hasn’t been too badly impacted. I’m very grateful for that.

Second Life prior to COVID-19 wasn’t really about being social for me. I hid on my platform mostly unless some friend happened to shoot me a TP to a club or live music event. Mostly I isolated in Second Life playing with photos and shopping.

Since COVID-19, the Second Life community seems to have come alive again.

People are reaching out more. A few friends from 2007 have returned to Second Life after being away for years. It’s been awesome to reconnect with them!

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Photograph provided by Grady Echegaray.

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grady echegaray

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rady Echegaray first rezzed into Second Life on Jan15-2006 at Ahern. It was on the same evening that she was fortunate to discover the cyberpunk sim Nexus Prime nearby. Being an innately social person she would initiate a conversation with anyone who caught her eye. The first person she met was a cyberpunk rabbit named Perforate Enigma. They were soon joined by Snark Serpentine, one of the builders of Nexus Prime. Within days she met Artemis Fate and Spider Mandala, also builders of Nexus Prime. These four people were patient and generous to a fresh rezzed noob and helped Grady discover the tools and learn the skills that were needed to navigate and make sense of this strange new world.

One skill that Grady learned on her first evening in SL was how to take a snapshot.

This was fateful.

After spending four months mostly in Nexus, she started to move out into the wider world. She bought her first land and built a small art gallery. In her second year on the grid Grady discovered non-official Second Life forums which widened her social circle and gave her a much wider perspective of Second Life and online communities in general.

Time passed during which Grady realized that her enduring interest in Second Life lay in her fascination with the Second Life avatar and the choices people made in deciding how they wanted their avatars to represent them in Second Life. This interest started to define itself through SL photography with Flickr as the platform of display.

In 2016 Gradyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s photographic focus sharpened with the opening by ini Inaka and Gitu Aura of The Blue Orange Club and Artcorner exhibition space. Grady began to photograph the visitors to the club more systematically in that she began trying to get at least 1-3 pictures of everyone who attended and to post the results on Flickr within 24-48 hours. She is still engaged in this project.

Grady became a Flickr member in Sept 2007. Her Flickr metrics currently stand at 36 thousand+ photos with over 7.2 million views. With a small handful of exceptions, all her photos are Second Life images, most of them of avatars.

In recent years I have been less social in real life than before, so for myself the reduction in social activity has not been as jarring as I know it has been for many other people.

What I have observed though is that concurrency in Second Life has increased by approximately 10k more people being inworld at any given time than say late last year. I have also seen more old friends in Second Life who had stopped playing over the years returning to Second Life as a way to stay occupied during self-isolation.

Check out her Flickr.

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Photograph provided by Meg Frequency.

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meg frequency

eg Frequency: After a lifetime of scratching a frugal living among the dirt and rubble of a post apocalyptic wasteland. Meg was adopted by a mob of ruthless, rotten, despicable and for the most part affable ghouls. To the ghouls who called this forgotten corner of the grid their home, she was accepted as a token, some might say pet, human or “smoothskin”. From these humble and slightly stinky beginnings, Meg clawed her way up the post apocalyptic corporate ladder, finally achieving the coveted status of Chief Janitor; caretaker of a dilapidated, yet historically significant trailer park. Her only duty to tend an ancient, twisted tree piled high with the scavenged offerings of pilgrims and travellers. Legend suggests this sacred tree marks the precise moment in time when the wars of the ancestors ended and the apocalypse began.

I joined Second Life toward the end of 2005 after reading an article about “Peak Oil” - a popular theory at the time about the world’s declining oil reserves. One of the comments on the post noted that it might be possible to “build and model a post-oil community using a virtual world such as SL”, I quickly lost interest in Peak Oil and gained an interest in Second Life. I have been a resident in various guises or “alts” ever since (confirming the theory that Second Life is an excellent way of developing a healthy multiple personality disorder).

Albeit laced with rhetoric and humour and inspired by science fiction movies such as Dune, Mad Max and video games like Fallout, The Wastelands, where I reside does in many ways resemble exactly that - a society built on the ruins of our own former civilisation. The Wastelanders themselves form a community that is as vibrant as it is destitute, attracting like minded misfits from all around the world. And while most residents do engage in “low-level post apocalyptic RP” it is neither expected nor enforced on visitors. Our world has long been a destination on the tourist and blog circuit and is cherished by photographers and of course, some of the best designers in SL have their roots, origins and homes here.

The Wastelands as an environment has evolved over the years, each new layer of grunge building on the last, each person adding their own uniqueness to the mix. Wastelanders themselves are an eclectic bunch and there is no shortage of creative energy. In Second Life most builds are the product of one or two talented individuals, The Wastelands however is the product of many imaginations congealing to become a whole - unique in that it is a “shared fantasy”. Of course none of it would exist at all without the tutelage of it’s wonderful curator Mr. NeoBokrug Elytis - who along with his team keep the place going with a unique home-made game system and frequent events and gatherings. Indeed the community recently celebrated its 13th birthday - a party which somehow managed to last for several days!

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[Cont. from page 193]

nurses, and all other hosp of crisis. To those that ar However, despite all the disruptions in my personal life support while battlin life, it is nothing compared to those who have and full recoveries. And to actually suffered and lost loved ones during this lost someone to COVIDpandemic or compared to the ones who are actually on the front lines fighting this war against Check out his Flickr, RFL an invisible enemy. So this is when I replace all and Attention my negative emotions with positive ones such as hope and faith. I am fortunate that no one in my immediate circle has been infected yet, and I hope it remains as such. I have faith that, as a united world, soon we will all get through this and come [Cont. from out of it as better people.

Honestly, I’m finding that Check out his Flickr.

I used to. When I do log performer sing or go to a sh are the days of me loggin and staying late. I’ve red will say that when I do log [Cont. from page 197] my time there is spent b with a few close friends.

I may or may not have transformed into even more Life is a part of my life. It d of a night owl than before thanks to having no set of community. I think mo work schedule, and I may be wearing only variations may feel a bit different or on pajamas all day and night… but that’s neither Life, over the years, has pu here nor there. I recognize my privilege. I’m grateful told us we were welcome that the “flu” I contracted in March wasn’t worse. need My heart goes out to those that have no choice but to put themselves at risk because they need Check out whatever paycheck they can get to keep a roof over their heads and their families fed. I’m thankful that I have the ability to stay at home to keep myself and my loved ones safe. To those others that are also able to stay at and work from home, thank you for contributing in this way to flattening the [Cont. from curve. To those continuing their important work in food and goods transportation and otherwise, As for me, I have alw thank you. I’m humbled by the bravery of doctors, imperfection. I’m the on

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pital staff during this time re currently on ventilator ng this virus, I wish swift o those that have already -19… I am so very sorry.

L of SL - Team Attention n SL Magazine.

m page 199]

t I’m logging in less than g in, its to see a favorite hopping event. Long gone ng in as soon as possible discovered my Real Life. I g in, it’s for a purpose and being creative or hanging So grateful that Second definitely gives me a sense ost of us on Second Life r misunderstood. Second ut its arms around us and e. Now more than ever, we d that. her Flickr.

m page 203]

ways been attracted to ne who buys that can of

beans with the dent or the fruit with a bruise.

Of course it’s the imperfections in people that I find especially interesting - the bad habits, the mannerisms, the blemishes and the scars - they all tell a story. In the broader Second Life “perfection” is everywhere - people build their perfect fantasy lives in perfectly prefabricated homes with their perfect clothes and bodies. Yes, it is unfair of me to judge others, but this cookie-cut world holds little interest for me - I seek mould and peeling wallpaper - I choose to wallow in a fantasy of filth rather than one of self-pity.

I love The Wastelands, but let us hope that this ravaged and tortured environment does not become a blueprint for our own future as humans.

The challenges we currently face ultimately beg the question… what next?

Thankfully, this virtual world we call home does provide a unique avenue for those of us trapped in the real world to meet and communicate with others - to not be socially isolated. I’m lucky, in the real world I have a beautiful family around me - yet my best friend, who I have known for nearly fifteen years (but never actually met) lives alone, couped up in a tiny apartment she cannot leave. Second Life is currently her only means of having any kind of meaningful relationships with other humans or in my case mostly humans.

If nothing else, let us learn from these difficult times, let us remind ourselves how fragile we really are.

Check out her Flickr, Dirty Megs’ Trailer Park and The Wastelands.

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THE wayfarer...

photography by temp

“The Wayfarer” is a monthly feature showcasing some of the most aesthetic places in Second Life®.

With all the journeys the Wayfarer has embarked upon in his quest to seek what he did not know he sought, one would think he would have perfected his landing. Yet, as he arrived at Auld Lang Syne, he fell to his knees upon the cliff. Roaming as he does, he explored this rustic and remote place with slightly overgrown grass and shrubbery. Stone steps called to him, as he began his ascent. Reaching the highest point, his gaze flickered below while the entire island lay before him. Closing his eyes, he exhaled deeply and for once — allowed the peace to carress his soul and envelop him.

Immerse yourself in Auld Lang Syne.

est rosca.

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