ECLIPSE Magazine January 2020

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J a n u a r y

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Contents

30.

Through the Lens

74.

At Home With...

106.

Artist Highlight

64.

Proust Spotlight

96.

The Sim Quarterly

118.

The World of Roleplay

ECLIPSE Magazine invites you for a look behind their lens on what a new year and new chapter looks to them.

Teaming up with the Blogger & Vlogger Network, we shine the spotlight on the talented Hayden Pierce.

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NatG lends her fantastic photography talent to capture a classic and cozy inspired home and decor spread.

ECLIPSE Magazine has the opportunity to sit down with Electric Monday to discuss her quarterly art installation.

This month we highlight an ECLIPSE Magazine favorite, the extraordinary live singer, Essence Bilasimo.

Look who’s back again, we have the pleasure of introducing the roleplay community, “Clifton Forge.”


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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.

44.

Cover Story Cielo Capalini Cover Photographer Geena Carminucci

130.

Places to Go

142.

Voices from the Grid

176.

The Wayfarer

Writer Cajsa Lilliehook

It’s a one stop place for activities at Linden Labs “Winter Wonderland.”

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

Join the Wayfarer as they travel the grid, visiting the beautiful Northern Shore. ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 11


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executive team

Trouble dethly Publisher

tiffany parkin

cajsa lilliehook

MINNIE FAE DETHLY

sol may valor

Assistant Editor

Creative Director

Copy Editor

Social Media Manager

the c


writers

photographers

Cajsa Lilliehook Grayden Foxe Minnie Fae Dethly Novaleigh Freng Oema Taylor Wassep Tiffany Parkin

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

stylists June Fallon Taylor Wassep Tempest Rosca Tiffany Parkin Wicca Merlin

guest stylist & photographer NatG (Hippo Ihnen)

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




24 H SECO LIF EVE

LIVE MUSIC POET DANCE PERFORMANCES DJ'S GIFTS 2D & 3


HOUR OND FE ENT

TRY & PROSE STAGE GARDENS TO EXPLORE 3D ART INSTALLATIONS




I feel like every Publisher’s Note I give an explanation as to why the magazine was released when it is released. If anyone reads it, I’m certain I have caused a few eyerolls. Nonetheless, next month, I will have no choice but to release it on a set date because it will be ECLIPSE Magazine’s fifth anniversary. Save the date for February 15 from 12PM - 3PM SLT. As of late, I feel as though I’ve made many foolish decisions, but if it’s a bid to find some semblance of peace within myself — I am inclined to carry on as I have. If there’s anything I’ve learned in these past few months it is that at the end of the day, I will not please everyone. Someone will always have something to say and more often than not it is cruel. And there is never an easy fix for anything that truly weighs on your soul. Do you believe in soulmates? The notion is silly to some, but when I think about it I feel that some souls are destined for each other. In what capacity, I am not sure, but have you ever met someone and right away you just recognized them? Like a small flicker in your soul ignited because in a life before this one you knew them? Whether platonic or romantic, it is like you know from the beginning they will play a part in your life and even if they don’t stay their thumbprint will be seared on your heart and etched on your soul? I’m back to that soul talk again. Anyway, let’s talk about this issue. When I look for cover stories now, I still look for those who have truly taken the concept of “your world, your imagination” to such great heights it has impacted the culture and lifestyle of the Second Life community. But I’m drawn to the community aspect. For our January cover, I’m thrilled to feature Cielo Capalini. She’s a fantastic and talented creator as the creative force behind moss&mink, but it is the way she treats her customers, her bloggers and her employees that truly sets her in a league of her own. I am grateful she has given ECLIPSE the opportunity to share her story, and I sincerely hope you enjoy it. This issue I also brought in my SL sister Minnie on as a creative director to help with the monthly planning and work. I’m not sure what she knows she’s getting into because I’m a bit of a mess, but I am happy to have her on board with us. We have a total of 10 pieces this month, and I hope you enjoy this issue.

letter from the PUBLI


ISHER


Happy 2020! Raises your glasses to a not just a new year, but a new decade!

Can you believe 2020 is here already? I know I can’t. I will speak for myself as I say that 2019 a year that was both one of the fastest years of my life and one of the longest years of my Like any year, there was pain and loss. There were failures. There were successes. There w surprises, both good and bad. And there was also love and healing.

Like I do every New Years, I spent a lot of time reflecting back on 2019 and all it brought m both the good and the bad. As I looked back on it, I had to think about what I was going to and focus on for the year. I will say that it would be incredibly easy to focus on all the bad happened. There was plenty of it and it would be easy to say that 2019 was one of the har years I have encountered in my life. And chances are most would agree with me if I listed o the things that happened that I wish hadn’t occurred.

Instead though, I want to try and focus on the positive. At the top of my list was a Christm season that, for me, included major healing in my real life family over an issue that had to many of us apart. There was the Second Life Baltimore Jam where I got to experience life way I never had before while enjoying four days with some of the most talented musician Second Life and meeting all of these amazing Second Life residents in real life. I made so amazing friends through that experience.

There was also the ability to grow and connect with so many of you here in Second Life in many ways. I have had friendship grow and develop here in world. And those friendships, if I haven’t met you in real life, are very real and have sustained me through the difficult tim And I have to say that some of those amazing friendships include many of the team memb here at ECLIPSE.

For me, ECLIPSE helped give me a voice earlier in the year when Trouble asked me to be part of the anniversary edition last February. And since then, those friendships have grow and developed to the point where it was important for me to be a part of this amazing te Getting to work with Trouble and the team he has assembled here, so that all of us can con with you and help each of you connect with one another has been an amazing gift.

So with that being said, we give you the first edition of ECLIPSE for 2020. We hope you enj and, on behalf of the entire ECLIPSE team, we want to thank you for being an amazing par our 2019. We know 2020 will be an amazing year for us all.

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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, Taylor, Tempest and Trouble show us their take on the meaning of a new year, a new chapter.


Photographer: Taylor Wassep

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Photographer: Taylor Wassep

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Photographer: Tempest Rosca Page 36 | ECLIPSE January 2020


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Photographer: Tempest Rosca Page 38 | ECLIPSE January 2020


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Photographer: Trouble Dethly ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 41


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homemaking

photography by cassie middles, geena carminucci, TAYLOR WASSEP & PROVIDED BY MOSS&MINK. writt


en by cajsa lilliehook.


“A house is not a home” is a saying that captures an essential truth about what makes a home. It is not the roof and the walls, the structure is a shelter from the elements, but a home is comfort and security. The idea of the home as a castle speaks to the liberty and wild freedom of having a home.

before a roaring fireplace where suddenly the mentor attempted to seduce her. “In shock, and not quite sure what to do having followed some strange woman back to her lair, I politely excused myself, and logged off. Moral of the story, “Don’t go home with strangers, kids, even in SL.”

Cielo Capalini is technically a Second Life creator, constructing 3D mesh furnishings and decor, but more truthfully, she is a home-maker, creating the materials you use to turn your house into your home, reflecting your tastes and values. Making home of our SL houses is not easy and yet Cielo seems to have found the secret.

Undeterred, Cielo returned and found a few regular places to hang out and made friends. She persuaded her sister who lived too far awa for them to visit in real life to join so they could spend time together. This gave her even more incentive to stick it out in her Second Life.

One of the hallmarks of her moss&mink furnishings is how many choices you have in customizing them to your taste. With the moss&mink Uni-HUD having 24 colors, 24 prints, four metals plus four wood choices, the same item can be delicate in pink and white, bold in teal and orange, or decadent in red and black. You can be as wild or as restrained as you please. Cielo wishes she had an exciting story of how she discovered Second Life, but it wasn’t CSI, U2, Duran Duran, or Gossip Girl. She was just looking for an alternative to The Sims.“Thus I found SL, touted as a world where you could delve into a plethora of locations and encounter all manner of fascinating people.” She did have a “slightly disturbing” start. This was back in the day when mentors would greet people in the landing area and guide residents along their way. Leaving Orientation Island, she found herself standing around wondering what to do next when a woman approached and introduced herself as an official SL mentor. The woman invited her back to her home in the sky, a place Cielo still remembers, a magnificent ten-story place with stained-glass windows, balconies all around and cool portals between levels. The mentor gave her some nicer hair and a pretty dress and they ended up chatting Page 46 | ECLIPSE January 2020

She was interested in creating early on. She began by dabbling in template clothing. She had ideas for items she could not find so starte watching YouTube to create mesh for herself, but nothing made sense to her. This led her to Cyclic Gearz, a custom mesh creator. Cyclic was more than happy to make the items for her but also offered, for an additional fee, to allow her to watch her make them so she could learn for herself.

I thought about it for a few days, knowing how much of a failure my learning journey had been thus far, but eventually decided to give it a shot. So Cyclic booked me in and walked me through a one-hour lesson on Blender basics. It was amazing, I was able to stop her if I was confused and ask questions, get her to elaborate or repeat things. She was ever so patient, and everything that had eluded me with the youtube videos finally clicked. I was so excited, I practiced diligently.... for all of two days. Then I got distracted with other things and promptly forgot everything she ha taught me. Sorry Cyclic!

She decided to try again a few months later an booked another session with Cyclic and took good notes. She practiced a little every day until she could make her own items. “The first item I released was admittedly overly ambitious for my abilities at the time, a dress with ruffles and a big floofy skirt. It took me over two weeks to


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mesh, and looked as rough as you would expect for a first creation, then add to that another week to texture it and rig it. It was a very rough start. I showed someone at a tiny event that was around back then and they let me be in the following round. I made four different colors of it, added a handful of template accessories, and released my very first gacha.� She was thrilled that she somehow made $50 USD during the event which was far, far, far less than minimum wage considering the three weeks it took to make, but it allowed to pay tier on her small parcel for a couple months. She continued to make random items, clothing and decor, developing

Photograph by Staubi. Page 48 | ECLIPSE January 2020

her skills with each creat studying youtube videos once confounded her.

There was no firm idea was at the time, I was s being creative and tak something new. I am e Cyclic for having push second option, to teac it for me, to encourage that I could do someth seemed nearly imposs


tion and through s, the same videos that

a of what my store simply having fun king joy in producing eternally grateful to hed me to choose the ch me instead of just do e me to believe in myself hing that at the time sible.

Then Cielo and her husband had their first child, reducing her time in SL so much she closed her original store. She only logged in to spend time with her sister at their favorite activity, gacha! The shopping led to her starting moss&mink. She and her sister had inventories crammed with sweet and feminine outfits, accessories, and pets. The problem was they could pursue their kawaii aesthetic as far as their appearance, but not with their homes and home decor. “We very rarely stumbled across kawaii style furniture and decor to go with all our adorable gacha clutter, with the closest alternative being kids furniture stores.�

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Lack of kawaii home decor led Cielo to think about starting a store that might offer a sort of adult kawaii. She didn’t want to duplicate someone else’s store idea, so she and her sister searched for stores that might offer adult kawaii and found a few offering isolated items among their more usual modern and traditional creations. And then there was the issue of time. Given all that, I wasn’t even sure I had the time to devote to running a store consistently. With our little one having become old enough to attend kinder, I had returned to study for a career change earlier in the year, so between study and family there wasn’t much time left for other things. In August 2016, moss&mink quietly launched with a handful of simple items that were placed on Marketplace and in a small mainland store. For Cielo, it felt like fate when she and her husband learned they were expecting another child. This meant she would need to discontinue her studies, but also meant that she had seven months before the baby’s birth to really focus on her new store. She approached this with common sense and realistic expectations. With the additional time I had been granted, my focus was on getting moss&mink on it’s way into events so I could place my brand in front of a range of customers. Applying for events as a new store can be difficult, much like applying as a blogger for stores and events when you are new. As exciting as it would be to get accepted into the big events, I kept my expectations in check, I was new and understood I had to prove myself to be reliable and have consistent quality. I looked for events where the level of other stores at the event were similar to where I had realistically assessed my own items to be at that point. I set to work creating a fun gacha set to stand alongside the existing regular items I had already created, which paved the way to apply for spots in Cosmopolitan, Sanarae, Gacha Garden and The Fantasy Gacha Carnival, all of which were long running and reputable events. ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 51


She spent a lot of time and took great care to ensure she was putting out quality items and setting up early for each event so event organizers would respect her work. This led to additional invitations. And then came the invitation to The Arcade. “The day I got the invite, I was checking offlines via email on my phone, and I literally dropped my phone in shock and squealed out loud. Myself and my sister had shopped there every round since mid 2013, it held and still holds a lot of happy memories for me of times we spent together there.” Of course, as moss&mink expanded, it started taking up more time. Then there was the new baby as well. Cielo knew she had to hire some staff, but it was scary to trust her store to someone else. “I wish I could go back now and tell myself not to worry. Each one member of my team is kind, patient and always keen to help where they can. They are such an integral part of moss&mink, thank you to each of you!” Since its inception, moss&mink has evolved from the all pink adult kawaii style to a modern feminine aesthetic. This was an organic evolution in response to the valuable feedback from customers who answered store surveys and from customer’s personal requests. The moss&mink customers are the inspiration behind the store’s evolution. “I can honestly say, my customers are one of the most rewarding parts of running my store. While the demographic of my customer base has widened over time, many things remain true between them. My customers are endlessly kind to each other, passionately share their thoughts and ideas when I conduct store surveys, and I have the most amazingly loyal group of VIPs on the grid.” Page 52 | ECLIPSE January 2020


Photograph by Bear Starr.

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SE Magazine usually asks creators t their work process to foster a better rstanding of the material value of virtual ucts. This also reveals interesting insights w people think about their work. Cielo, for ple, has a very customer-oriented process. n she is creating for an event, the first thing oes is look at how much space she will have. ch will look awkward in a space that is too for example. She also thinks about who to the event and what products suit the ’s demographic niche. “It’s really important to try and create products that are unique, decide on what I would like to make I research other stores have made similar items, so I can clear of making items that are too close to thing that has already been created by another or.”

Once she is ready to make the mesh, she uses Blender for the hard surfaces and structured textiles. She uses Marvelous Designer for things that drape, loose fabrics, blankets, cushions, and bows. After working in Marvelous designer, she brings the mesh back to Blender to retopologize and solidify them. She then uses the sculpting tools to adjust the overall mesh. As she improved, she has gotten faster so a simple mesh will take an hour or two to make. A complex mesh might take sixteen working hours.

the items look at the event is part of eting, so she makes mockup prim shapes e how they display in the booth and which she has already made that might work with it as decor. “Whenever possible I ys try to consider any existing items that t complement a new release and display them side as decor. This part is important to me use I place a heavy focus on creating items that e can easily use collectively in their homes. owcasing items together I feel it helps inspire mers on the variety of ways they can use my while also leading them from the event to the store.”

Then she moves on to UV Mapping. Because she uses a Uni-HUD to give her customers so many options, the UV mapping process is particularly important. She spends eight to twenty hours on this depending on the complexity of the items she is working on. This is needed to “ensure I cut up and tetris the UV islands to give maximum resolution to the parts of the model it’s needed on, hide seams where possible, and keep the overall image count and sizes in mind as well.” Then, depending on the look she is going for, she might work on it in Zbrush to work on a high resolution model. Sometimes, this is not necessary. If she’s going for something subtle, she will work with the height masking in Substance Painter to add extra details. “I use Substance Painter for my texturing, and depending on the product can process out up to 250 textures to work in with the Uni-HUD and it’s 24 color and pattern range. It’s a very time consuming process and can take anywhere from 3-18 working hours for a single item.”

he knows what she plans to make, she a pinterest board for that event round. She a mix of images that have features that lement or reflect the look she has in mind. ges that might have a cool leg style, a fabric that looks nice, a pretty bow accent, images may not even be the kind of item that I’m ng but that have the same ‘feel’ that I’m trying hieve. I have the pinterest board open on my d monitor while I work on the mesh to keep be that I’m trying to achieve on track as I make tem. The whole planning process takes a few , up to 2-3 days for bigger releases.”

Now the work moves in-world. She needs to get texture UUIDs for the HUD script, name the items, and set up animations (her least favorite task). After that there’s boxing the item for sale. Laying out the event booth, making her advertisements, and setting up vendors. This takes four to eight hours. “All this is in working hours, which for me is variable. Some days I may only have 2-3 hours to spare, others I might have up to 10, it all depends what’s going on for me family wise. Things being so unpredictable, I try to allow extra time for surprise setbacks. This way I can always be sure to make deadlines in time.” ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 55


Furniture is always a challenge. There is no standard size avatar. “One of the wonderful things about Second Life is the ability to create your avatar any way you like, it’s one of the things we all love most about this world. However this means that avatars come in all varieties of heights and sizes. So attempting proportions for general furniture or creating things like beds with blankets that cover an avatar while sleeping can be a bit difficult.” Cielo explained that older furniture was created when most people had very tall avatars. However, trends change and now people have adopted more realistic avatars. “I base my store on modern avatar sizing, which for the most part works, but every so often I get messages from taller avatars saying my furniture is so small. It’s something I really wish there was a way around because I feel awful at the thought of segmenting out anyone.” Cielo is far more excited by Second Life’s scripting system. She notes that despite limitations, it allows for a lot of innovation. She is very proud of her Uni-HUD. She was setting up an event booth and thought about how time consuming and, frankly, annoying it is to keep changing HUDs to color each item. You put on the HUD, change the color, remove the HUD, put on another HUD, change the colors of another item, remove the HUD, and then you change your mind and go back to the first HUD, and then go through it all again. She thought there must be a better way and came up with a single HUD, that works with multiple items. You can choose which items you want to texture, and selecting an option on the HUD changes each item to that color or pattern, so you can quickly and easily change up the color scheme of your whole home whenever you like. Learning scripting has been challenging, but has renewed my excitement for what can be possible in SL. This Christmas I scripted a system that allows the customer to select any ornaments they desire and easily decorate a christmas tree to match their own personal style, without having to manually adjust or fiddle with individual ornaments. It’s the first Page 56 | ECLIPSE January 2020

thing I’ve coded myself entirely from scratch, and it was a frustrating but an amazingly rewarding adventure. I have lots of ideas for a v2 of the Christmas tree that I can’t wait to realise in code, a free update of course!

In the coming months, she plans to do fewer events to concentrate on free updates to exist products so they are compatible with the UniHUD. She also wants to work on adding some options customers have requested via a page she has on her website especially for product updates, where feedback can be given for item that are going to be updated next.

She also plans to add extra benefits for her VIP group There is a lot of scripting to be done for it, but she’s very excited about how many possibilities it will open up once it’s in place. “I adore my VIPs, and I’m always trying to think of new ways I can reward them for being part of th moss&mink journey. I was incredibly blessed to have a conversation with Toxxic Rhiannyr back in early 2018, while she was creating all my store branding, about how much we adored our VIP groups. She was incredibly kind in sharing with me and allowing me to use a number of the idea she had used over the years with her own store, t reward her own VIPs.”

VIP Benefits include: • 30% discount on new regular releases (even those at events) • 10% in store discount • a range of group gifts • an additional gift of their choice from the VI Monthly Choice board • VIP chat surprise giveaways • a giant VIP only party each year that include 12 hours of Live DJs, hundreds of prizes, special Guest Creators and a huge moss&m 50% off Sale.

She is also planning to expand the benefits fo her other group, her Blogger team. “I may be biased, but they are truly one of the most brillian group of bloggers on the grid. They endlessly amaze me with their talent and dexterity in


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assembling a scene with seeming ease, to tame light and shadows, and to tell a story with a single image.”

and in “showing my kids how amazing the world can be, one adventure at a time.”

Cielo describes herself as shy. She can panic Turning from the professional to the when she meets more than one new person personal. With three children, family is at a time. On the other hand, “once I do get the biggest part of her life. “I have three to know someone, I don’t think you can put gorgeous little ones, that can be terrors like all that cork back in.” munchkins, but that endlessly light up my life. Plus a hubby that is pretty awesome, but don’t Her mantra is “Always be kind,” though it tell him that, he thinks he’s great enough as can be a struggle sometimes, especially in it is.” She loves the normal family things, SL where folks can be very demanding and reading stories together, binge-watching emotional. “Remembering that each person with her husband. She finds joy in all of this has their reasons behind why they are acting

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the way they do helps to take a step back and try to work out why. In my experience it’s a sad truth that a number of customers have had bad previous experiences with contacting creators, so they lash out as an initial contact expecting the same. As humans we develop learned responses, but they don’t have to be set in stone. Replacing someone’s anger with a calm and polite response benefits both sides.” Cielo wrote in her SL Profile, “SL is real. SL is not real.” Asked to expand to that, she explained that it can be easy when new

to SL, to be confounded by how all these people can be so emotionally invested in other random avatars. “None of it is real, it’s all just pixels. Then you go about exploring, bumping into people and chatting with them, you make friends, form relationships, then suddenly you realise one day that it happened. Somewhere along the way your emotions ran off and blanketed themselves over all these relationships, and suddenly it’s more than just pixels. There’s meaning, love, care, pain, hope, it’s the embodiment of humanity at its greatest, and also at its worst.”

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Humans are adept at hold at the same time. As Walt am large. I contain multitu the avatar is not real. It is doll. On the other hand, t which you feel a bond, a happened to them. You fe

For Cielo, the reality of SL time. “In the past my SL wa be considered real, I had m over the years slowly move relationships, moments th that made me break down is mostly spent on her pla has a small circle of friend to them more frequently in-world. As to relationsh husband are fine with inlacks both the time and in mom who doesn’t ever get it is, yet is endlessly patient me. I also have an SL sister anymore, sadly. My main l store, and when I’m not sp my time with my RL family moss&mink things.”

Although her time in SL i play, Second Life is more she ever imagined. She p building moss&mink befo viable income, but the tim gets to do a job she loves myself to learn new things texturing technique, a cha learning to script, or even w on non-SL 3D design. One is learning. I often stated w if I could spend the rest of m things, I would be eternally has allowed me to keep th alive.”

moss&mink S Facebook - Fli Shop moss&mink on Ma Follow Cielo Capa Page 60 | ECLIPSE January 2020


ding contrary thoughts t Whitman once said, “I udes.” On the one hand, a digital doll, a dress-up there is this persona with connection to what has feel their lives deeply.

L has changed over as more what would many good friends, who ed on, a handful of SL hat gave me joy, moments n in tears.” Now, her time atform working. She ds from SL, but speaks on Discord rather than hips, though she and her -world relationships, she nclination. “I have an SL t to see enough of me as t and understanding with r who isn’t on as much love in SL though is my pending the majority of y, I’m working hard on

is more work than important to her than put a lot of hours into ore it became an actual me was worth it. She s. “I constantly push s, whether that be a new ange to the way I mesh, working through a course thing I’ve loved all my life when I was in high school, my life just learning new y happy. Working in SL hat spark for learning

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the proust spotli

photography by hayd


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 Hayden Pierce. He shares, “Hey! I’m Hayden. A blogger/photographer from Portugal! I started my blog around 2 years ago and I wasn’t sure that blogging was a thing for me until I finally tried it. I find it so relaxing and chill to login and put together an outfit and think up an idea for a photo! I am incredibly thankful for all the sponsors who took a chance in me and for all the people I’ve met in this journey.”

ght

den pierce.


What is your ideal of perfect happiness? Perfect happiness to me is having a group of people you can call family, whether you’re bounded by blood or not. It’s being in tune with yourself, knowing you can count on others and that you can be counted on. It’s being able to learn from your mistakes and experiences. Most importantly, perfect happiness is being happy and loving yourself for every strength and every weakness. If you were to die and come back as a person or a thing, what would it be? I could go on about this but if I die and I was given a choice between eternal life in the after life, I’d want to come back as a human again, I don’t really know what kind of person I’d like to be I just know I’d prefer to come back. It just seems better, I don’t know. What do you most value in your friends? I value honesty and loyalty above everything. In friends, family, lovers, I think if those two things are missing from either side, you can’t have any type of relationship. What is your motto? “Everything happens for a reason” I’ve lived by this saying for as long as I can remember. Which words or phrases do you most overuse? “Iconic” “XD” “LMAO” “LOL” What is your most marked characteristic? I like to think of myself as a really good listener. I may not have the best advice all the time but I try to always be there for my friends and loved ones. I’m a very sensitive person to other people’s emotions, I try to fix everything, even though I can’t, so the best I can do is be there for them. Connect with Hayden on his Facebook, Flickr and Blog.

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at home with...

styling and photograph


ECLIPSE Magazine explores the long underappreciated and overlooked world of home and garden design. The flourishing diversity and abundance of choice since the mesh revolution has led to a bold new world of creation. For this month’s feature, NatG (Hippo Ihnen) showcases the best of a cozy and winter home and decor with her inspired photography spread. Check out more of her work on her Flickr.

hy by natg.


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Bedroom Apple Fall - Apple Fall Handbag & Scarf Ariskea - Ariskea[Mika] Lamp Cozy Homes - {CE} Gentlemen’s Organizer DaD - DaD “Venetian Blinds A-1” c/m dust bunny - dust bunny . sweet dreams . morning tray, dust bunny . spiked ceramic plant, & dust bunny . sunday newspaper Fancy Décor - Fancy Decor: Claire Office Chair, Fancy Decor: Claire Desk Clutter, & Fancy Decor: File

Cabinet (flora) Garbaggio - Garbaggio // Shoe Boxes, Garbaggio // Shoe Clutter Red, & 26. Garbaggio // Shoe Clutter Riot HAIKEI - :HAIKEI: Picture Frames And Shelves -White Wood Kalopsia - Kalopsia - Tamsin’s Desk MudHoney - MudHoney Jackie Speaker Small & MudHoney Glasses w/ Case - Mint .peaches. - .peaches. The Fianna Tablet Set - Tablet,

.peaches. The Fianna Tablet Set - Keyboard, & .peaches. The Fianna Tablet Set - Stylus Scarlet Creative - Scarlet Creative Bed Fameshed August - HIS4 Second Spaces - Second Spaces - Industrial Workspace - organizer - white Soy - Soy. OSC- RUG - Orange The Loft & Aria - Loft & Aria - Augustine Drop Pendant

Dining Room Apple Fall - West Village Billy Ball Stems, West Village Magnolia Arrangement, West Village Champagne & Merlot, West Village Champagne Flutes, West Village Champagne Glasses, & Apple Fall Argentinian Malbec Ariskea - Ariskea[Kuche] Red Plant Vase Backbone - BackBone Breakfast in Paris - Napkins Bazar - Hyde-Place setting & ~BAZAR~Silvester dining - Chair Concept - Concept} 08. TheMagicWoods. Coffee tables & Concept} 10. Tierra. Hanging plant Dahlia - Dahlia - Grand Opulence - Stacked Plates

Fancy Décor - Fancy Decor: Blythe Dome Candle & Fancy Decor: Ruben Potted Plant hive - hive // champagne stand Keke - [ keke ] big garden planter . white, [ keke ] tall garden planter . white, [ keke ] zen gingko plant 1, [ keke ] sphere bottled flowers - white, [ keke ] tall bottled flowers - white, & [ keke ] lab vase sphere Kraftwork - KraftWork Bonjour Table Kunst - .10 [ kunst ] & [ILAYA] - Soup plates Le Primitif - LeP - Merel_Wood Deco Console Loft & Aria - ARIA - Story Vase With Gypsophilas (luc) - (luc) Dandelion Thistle Sculpture, Gold (Low LoD, Less LI)

Minimal - MINIMAL - Champetre Plant Pot Circular MudHoney - MudHoney Charlotte Glass Newchurch - :: N :: Orchid Tall Vase Terrarium & :: N :: Cactus Bowl Terrarium Pixel Mode - Pixel Mode - The Vintage Chef - Salt n Pepper SAYO - SAYO - Tribeca Branch Chandelier Vespertine - {vespertine} - bubble succulent terrarium / type 1, {vespertine} - teardrop succulent terrarium / type 2, {vespertine} - bubble succulent terrarium / type 2, & {vespertine} - succulent terrarium / type 1

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Living Room Apple Fall - West Village Cocktail Books & Biscuits, Apple Fall Cushion - Satin, Beige, Apple Fall Cushion - Satin Trellis, Beige, Apple Fall Cushion - Satin Trellis, Silver, Apple Fall Cushion - Satin, Bronze, Apple Fall Leather Moccasins & Apple Fall Books & Map Architect - Architect. Quantum Eucalyptus Vase (1), Architect. Quantum Eucalyptus Vase (2), Architect. Hollywood Dreams Small Plant Vase, & 2. Architect. Caspian Industrial Loft Books Bazar - Paris - Books, Stockholm-Bedroom Books 01, & BAZAR~Magnolia - Leaf sculpture Bellucci - Bellucci. Oberlin Lunchbox Open Concept - Concept} 16. Tierra. chaise-longue PG. RARE, Concept} Winter Garden. Light, Concept} Winter Garden. Table, Concept} Winter Garden. Glass Vase, & Concept} 06. Tribe. Fur Carpet ContraptioN - [ContraptioN] Decor: Schemer’s Office Whisky Tumbler Contrast - Contrast - Auckland Desk David Heather - -David Heather-Balla Floor Lamp

dust bunny - dust bunny . sweet dreams . fiddle leaf tree & dust bunny . sweet dreams . morning tray Fancy Décor - Fancy Decor: Carter Fire Screen, Fancy Decor: Carter Fire Tools, Fancy Decor: Fulton Sofa (white cotton), Fancy Decor: Modern Books (gold), Fancy Decor: Solis Orchid Bowl, & Fancy Decor: Garnet Floor Lamp (gold) Fapple - *Fapple- Cigar on Ashtray [FOURTH WALL] - [FOURTH WALL] Wabi-Sabi Tea Set (No Steam) Half Deer - +Half-Deer+ Neatly Folded Blankets White Keke - [ keke ] nirvana . mind & [ keke ] simple texture change frame 3 Loft & Aria - Loft & Aria - Barlow Metalic Candle Holder, Loft & Aria - Barlow Ring Tree, Loft & Aria - Barlow Glass Tree (3 colours), Loft & Aria - Eira Fireplace, The Loft - Alderan Rug Silver Blue, & ARIA - Verity Light Madras aka Mesh India - MADRAS Wrought Shell, MADRAS Mara White Decor, & MADRAS Mara Gold

Decor MudHoney - MH Milo Sectional Sofa, MH Milo Sectional Ottoman, MH Calla Pillow2-Goyard Black, MH Calla Pillow1-Tri Key Black, MudHoney Vega Box Large, MudHoney Vega Box Small, MudHoney Vega Candle, MudHoney Concrete Pillar Short, MudHoney Concrete Pillar Med, MudHoney Concrete Pillar Tall, MudHoney Gold Ray Bowl, & MudHoney Agate Coaster 2 N4RS - N4RS Clean Canvas [deco] .peaches - .peaches. Eryx Laptop Clutter Pixel Mode (STORE CLOSED) - [PM]Pixel Mode Holton Coffee Table - Gold SAYO - SAYO - Evergreen Collection - Gilded Stag, SAYO - Evergreen Collection - Winter Polar Bear, SAYO - Evergreen Collection - Candleabra Line, & SAYO - Medusa Mirror - Ivory Scarlet Creative - Scarlet Creative Mountain Lodge Mesh House Tartessos - TA TriBeCa Table

Terrace Architect - 6. Architect. A little....wild *ottoman*, 1. Architect. A little....wild *egg chair* (A) (RARE), 9. Architect. A little....wild *raw wood table*, & 12. Architect. A little....wild *egg chair* (PG) Bazar - Traveler-Rug2 & Traveler-Rug1 Dahlia - Dahlia - Denmark - Blanket - Beige dust bunny - dust bunny . dreamy outing . blanket basket

Fancy Décor - Fancy Decor: Hampton Fire Pit & Fancy Decor: Ruben Potted Plant Half Deer - +Half-Deer+ Snow Tracks - Doorway (Light), +Half-Deer+ Snow Tracks - Patch (Light), & +Half-Deer+ Snow Tracks - Shoeprints (Adult) Merak - [Merak] - Fall Blankets Mori - Mori. faux fur stool . muskox & Mori. faux fur stool . wolf MudHoney - MudHoney Talia Pillows, MudHoney

Briley Log Table, & MudHoney Jasmine Lantern Pixel Mode - [PM]Pixel Mode - Snow Forms SAYO - SAYO - Midnight in Manhattan Gacha Heater THOR - ..::THOR::.. Espresso, ..::THOR::.. Breakfast Bread RARE, ..::THOR::.. Shocking Heart, ..::THOR::.. Choco Muffin Plate, & ..::THOR::.. Macchiato ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 93




THE SIM QUARTERL

PHOTOGRAPHY BY TAYLOR WASSEP. WRITTEN BY TAYL


LY

LOR WASSEP.


Artistry in Second Life™ is a critical aspect of what keeps people coming to this virtual world. At its core, Second Life is a giant sandbox, of sorts. It allows the users to create the world around them. Art isn’t just using an easel and paintbrush to create; it’s a vehicle for anyone to express themselves. Second Life does have limits as to what can be done, but so many amazingly inventive people bypass those limits and form a harmonious display through their medium of expression. One way artists have been able to bring their creativity to a virtual space is through The Sim Quarterly. Founded by Electric Monday, this creative space allows an artist in residence total control of what they present to the public for a three-month period at the sim.

“I want the artist in residence of The Sim Quarterly to make sure that their work brings a visitor through an experience or a journey of some sort.” – Electric Monday

Monday first collaborated with Kaiju Kohime to build a stand-alone permanent sim, but she came to realize her ambition of creating The Sim Quarterly shortly after they began. She wanted to create a space that would change 4 times a year so that visitors could venture though and commune with each other and the art they experienced. She hoped people would interact take photos of the sim while having an unforgettable experience seeing the artist in residence’s exhibit. Page 98 | ECLIPSE January 2020

The first installation at The Sim Quarterly was called “Orizuru”, which means crane in Japanese. “Orizuru” was a sim story where everything people saw was 100% original mesh created by Kaiju. Electric created the soundscape and wrote the story that visitors discovered in the form of love letters strewn about the sim. Before starting The Sim Quarterly, Monday ran Bunyi which specializes in aesthetically pleasing, environmental, ambient sounds that can be added to a landscape or whatever and wherever someone wants to hear it. Soundscapes, for me at least, have become something of a new frontier. At my own home, I use sounds to create a realistic scene. The power of sounds in a virtual space pushes our experience more and more into total immersion. Getting back to The Sim Quarterly, Electric spearheaded this idea of bringing an immersive experience to the grid. Orizuru told the love story of two individuals, Elise and Henri. Residents were able to explore the sim and follow along to see the Orizuru story.

“The mission of The Sim Quarterly is to be able to bring art and work like what we have in [Second Life] to people who may not ever get to see art in their lives” – Electric Monday

Since this opened last summer, there have been a few more installations at The Sim Quarterly. The last two exhibits were from


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an amazing artist, Cica Ghost, who had “Rocks” and “Donkeys” which is currently running until February 1st. Thankfully, I was able to experience this wonderful art project for myself. I will say, if you want to experience it as intended, you should turn on your sound, music, and adopt the region’s Windlight. You will truly get the full sensory experience that is not as common in SL as it should be. Walking around the small island with the calming guitar music playing, you will hear the sudden utterances of some adorably cute donkeys ring out. You can’t help but feel something for this place. Surrounding this island where happy little donkeys live are these colorful shacks or cottages encompassing the island. They totally remind me of the buildings from northern Lauren in Mexico. Playful little seagulls adorn the tops of these buildings that look over you as you make your way around. This exhibition will come to a close at the end of January. You will just have to wait like the rest of us to see whom Electric has chosen for the next artist in residence, opening March 1st, 2020 The lucky artist will be able to create their own 3-D environment for The Sim Quarterly. If you are interested in possibly being a part of this amazing family of artists, Electric has a list of things she loves to see from artists who she would like to invite to The Sim Quarterly. First, you need to have passion for your projects. She can sniff it out like a hound, so please have an

artistic fire burning in your soul if you would love the chance to work with a canvas as big as a sim. Potential artists in residence for The Sim Quarterly would need to be able to showcase their work without walls. Since the The Sim Quarterly is literally a sim, artists have the freedom to do what they wish with the space. Just keep in mind that this is not a gallery space or a singular building to house framed art. You must also have the ability to tell a story with your art, a story that gives visitors an experiential journey as they make their way through the art. Most importantly, Electric loves to see ingenuity with the artists she has for The Sim Quarterly. They must be able to create 3-D art themselves and bring it into Second Life. That is what The Sim Quarterly is about, creating a space for art to thrive and be enjoyed by everyone. That is Electric’s goal for The Sim Quarterly; in keeping with her mission of bringing original works to Second Life and meeting all kinds of different artists and giving them a space to express themselves fully in Second Life. If you would like to donate to The Sim Quarterly and help support the amazing artists who put so much of themselves into creating these simwide art exhibitions, please visit The Sim Quarterly in-world. Then you can take in the wonder and pure talent that these artists have for creating in Second Life. Teleport to The Sim Quarterly.

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artist highlight

photography by tiffany parkin. Written by tiffa


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, Essence Bilasimo.

any parkin.


Being yourself isn’t always easy. All of us, no matter who we are, hope to be accepted and appreciated for who we are. As a performer starting out in Second Life, being yourself on stage can be especially difficult. While some may look to find a style similar to established performers, live performer Essence offers these words of advice, “Be yourself. I cannot stress it enough. Let your personality shine through, and sing your heart out!” A live performer in Second Life for over ten years now, Essence understands the struggles of singing in world and what it takes to succeed. She hasn’t forgotten what it took for her to get started in the music scene. “Before I came to Second Life, I used another platform to sing in chat rooms. A friend of mine told me about SL, and suggested I make an account to check it out,” she shared. Shortly after arriving on the grid, she found her way to The O’Lounge. Singing there, she was soon invited to sing at one of the many live venues on the grid. From there, her career took off and she has been entertaining Second Life residents ever since. With a sound which Essence describes as “unique, fresh and raw,” she has drawn the attention of music lovers from all across the grid. Her diverse tastes in music has not hurt her popularity either. At her shows, you can hear everything from country to pop to R&B to raw to sensual. Her playlist includes artists everyone knows and artists few have ever heard of before. She shared with ECLIPSE, “I spend a lot of time listening to music. Not only just music you hear everyday on the radio, but Page 108 | ECLIPSE January 2020


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artists that are not well known, or that have a more eclectic unique feel. It’s really all about the feels!” And feeling, raw emotion, is something Essence gives her fans in every song she sings. This fact is incredibly evident in the song “Leave the Light On” by Beth Hart, a song Essence describes as the most meaningful song she has ever sung. “It is a song that at one point in time, I felt so much that I couldn’t sing it without my eyes filling with tears,” she shared. But despite the tears, it was also a song that motivated her to grow and heal. It has driven her in her music to express those same emotions to her fans in every song she sings and hopefully motivate them in their lives, whether those emotions triggered are excitement, pain, love or admiration. For Essence, music is more about what is felt than what is heard. When she isn’t performing, Essence makes sure to visit the live venues and support her fellow performers on the grid. She also has a love of landscaping and creating special and unique places at her home. Her true passion though is sharing her unique landscaping with the friends she has made over the years. “Nothing beats a gathering of friends to play some games in SL and sharing laughs. This is probably one of the things I enjoy doing most. It is wonderful being able to connect through music, and the personal connections and friends I have made within Second Life by doing so are some of the most genuine and truest friendships I have ever known.” So, Essence, when can we come over for a game night? Click here for her calendar. Listen to Essence here.

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the world of rol

photography by minnie fae dethly. written by minnie f


leplay

fae dethly.


Welcome to Clifton Forge, a seemingly quiet town that is tucked away in the sleepy mountains of Virginia. Passing through the town, it would seem that it is your average tourist-small-town spot, or is it? Taking a deeper look at Clifton Forge might reveal that the ‘quietness’ of the town is just a mask for the people passing through. If you stay too long or start digging too deep you might learn the truth is very different. If you want to do some digging you might start at the hotel, the gem of the town. As one of the biggest buildings in Clifton Forge how could it not be the center of attention? Perhaps grab a bite to eat and engage in conversation with the staff. It won’t take you long to find out that working at the hotel has had an effect on the former staff as some of them took their own lives. Taking a walk from the hotel down the police station might calm your curiosity, only to pique it again. When entering the station you are not greeted by a station by the sort of laid back office you would expect in a small town. Instead, everyone is up to their elbows in work. You hear the words ‘wild animal attacks’ by something they have not identified yet. Is that number on the back wall the number of bodies in the last month? You wonder as you see another one added. As the dispatcher asks if you are there to report a crime or a murder you slowly back into the street. Clifton Forge is not that town you originally thought it to be, it seems there ares dark secrets everywhere you turn. Come to visit, come to live, orcome to explore the supernatural possibilities of being a vampire, a werewolf or even a witch. Perhaps the supernatural doesn’t interest you and you want to explore the other side of the street, be a human in this world. Human life too dull for you? Don’t agree with how the supernaturals seem to be teeming the streets? Then maybe the role of hunter could be for you. This small but dark community has time and space to meet everyone’s modern supernatural roleplay needs. Not to mention the sim itself is breathtaking, there is no end to things to do while visiting. You can roleplay from shopping, getting ice cream, getting a drink to getting your palm read. We had the pleasure of getting to ask, Harper (LucyElaine Resident) one of the sim owners some questions about the sim. Page 120 | ECLIPSE January 2020


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Harper joined Second Life almost nine years ago to continue her stories of roleplay as it’s been an ongoing part of her life. She first started roleplaying in Yahoo chat rooms, and continued her love for storytelling to Myspace. When both of those platforms started to die, Harper found Second Life after watching a crime show where it was featured. She thought she’d try her luck. Harper is not the sole owner of Clifton Forge. She created this dreamy roleplay sim with Benedict (JasonArtax), Paislee (PaisleeKleinfield), Nik (Kyara Forstwych), and Selenity (Ithilwenrose). When asked how they would describe Clifton Forge, they described it as a “picturesque little community nestled in the Alleghany Highlands”. They also suggested if you are looking for small town charm, that Clifton Forge is the place where you’ll find it. After naming off the races on the sim they warn that maintaining the masquerade is of the utmost importance to continue the fun that can be found roleplaying at the sim. With so many co-owners of the sim each of them play an important part in keeping the sim running like a well-oiled machine. Harper is in charge of the rentals and is head vampire in charge. Benedict and Nik Page 122 | ECLIPSE January 2020


had a major role in building the beauty of the sim. They started the build around June or July of 2019. They were motivated by the lack of supernatural sims. Likemost sim builds, Clifton Forge took significant time to develop., The base build took a few weeks. They spent most of their time working on the roads and the foliage that surrounds the whole sim. Although for this small group of sim owners, the building never really stops. If they find something on the sim isn’t being used in roleplay they change it out with something else. They are also good with swapping up and keeping ‘up to date’ on the rentals which for this writer, is something that is not seen commonly in the world of roleplay. The inspiration for this beautiful sim is actually a real town called Clifton Forge with is located in Virginia. Harper had family who in real life lived in this small town and mentioned to the other sim owners that it would be a perfect backdrop for the sim. When visiting the sim if you look at the street signs they are based off the real life street names of the small town in Virginia. Having done some research on the town, I can confirm there has not been any ‘unknown animal attacks’ or ‘rising body count’, hopefully that will remain reserved to our virtual world. ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 123


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Clifton Forge has been open since July 2019, it’s fairly new but it’s been thriving ever since opening. Currently they are working on a plot that involves the sewers below the town called ‘The underdark’. The underdark is home to a group of cannibalistic vampires that will do anything to get their hands on fresh meat, and that’s all they would give us on the subject. This can end up an interesting plot very quickly. Are they looking for more vampires to join? Or are they just looking for new vampires to feed off of so they can assert their dominance of the world of vampires? Will the vulnerable vampires team up with the witches or even werewolves? You’ll have to join the town to find out. So what do the owners hope roleplayers experience while they are on their sim? They simply want all roleplayers new or old to feel welcome to play in the world they have created. They want their roleplayers to know they want to make a connection with the players on the sim, and that it’s not about the money for them. They hope to foster their creativity instead of pushing hard rules that can be found elsewhere. This small group of owners wants to get to know their players help them create the vision they see, and support their players any way they can. One thing they can’t wait to see is how storytellers (you) unfold the tales they want to tell. hey will be hiring RP mentors and if anyone is interested, please don’t hesitate to contact Harper (LucyElaine Resident). If you’re interested in joining the sleepy town of Clifton Forge please visit them in world have a look around, and then visit the website to apply for citizenship. Teleport to Clifton Forge. Visit the Clifton Forge website. ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 125


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PLACES TO GO

photography by minnie fae dethly. written by tiffa


any parkin.


The Christmas season brings us so many beautiful images. Having watched the Flickr and Facebook feeds over the past month and a half, they have been filled with images of snowmen, Christmas trees and Santas. The diversity of the pictures has been incredible as everyone’s individual traditions and customs have been showcased in each photographer’s artwork. One of the questions now is, with Christmas behind us, what do we do with the remainder of winter in Second Life? While some regions turn the heaters on and melt the snow for the remainder of the winter months, Linden Lab has gone out of their way to provide us all with an amazing network of sims where we can continue to enjoy the winter months and all of the activities that help make winter so special to so many of us. Whether you are looking for a great place to hang out with friends or a place to take your significant other for a romantic night together, Linden Lab’s Winter Wonderland should be on your list of locations for a night out. Linden Lab has provided something for everyone to enjoy in Winter Wonderland. And they have provided all of this in a picturesque setting that is a perfect backdrop for those photographers looking for the perfect backdrop to use for pictures. Additionally, the Linden Lab Moles made sure to include the kind of details that show the Lindens wanted to give us all the ideal winter playground. Despite many running back to the warmer weather locations, Winter Wonderland provides the kind of setting tomake us hope winter stays around just a little bit longer this year. While Places To Go typically offers a variety of locations to explore on the grid, I’ve chosen to focus on one location this month. Part of the reasoning is Winter Wonderland has so much to enjoy. With ice skating, a snowmobile/snowboard race track, Page 132 | ECLIPSE January 2020


ferris wheel, winter village and snowball arena that is second to none I have ever seen, they truly have provided a variety of activities for all. The other reason for including just one location is to show ECLIPSE’s appreciation for the work Linden Lab does to provide us this amazing world where we can all connect and grow as a community. Despite the challenges that come with improving the technology that enhances our in-world experience, were it not for Linden Lab and their efforts, those of us at ECLIPSE wouldn’t be able to share the stories and art we do with you. We still have a couple of months of winter left and while I can’t wait for spring to arrive, I am also grateful for the opportunity to enjoy all the magic of winter while I can. Thank you, Linden Lab. Winter Village of Lights Despite the winds howling through the streets, the lights are on in every home welcoming the shivering Second Life resident. With plenty of places to snuggle in close with your special someone for a cup of hot chocolate, the village offers a lovely welcome to this network of sims. Don’t forget to grab your free gift from Linden Lab while you’re in town! Ice Skating What would a winter wonderland be without an ice skating rink? This beautiful rink is located near the village and offers enough space for ice skating with your date or with a group of friends. Lost your ice skates in your last inventory cleaning? No need to worry. Linden Lab has provided skates for the fellas and the gals so no one has to worry about digging through their disorganized inventory. It truly is a beautiful rink in a wonderful location that allows you a scenic view of the ferris wheel, mountains, winter village and race track. ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 133


Ferris Wheel Speaking of a great up with some fresh and that special so ferris wheel is centr many of the attract Winter Wonderland breathtaking view Linden Lab has cre real life, it’s a slow r plenty of time to en to your honey. Just set your graphics to truly enjoy the brea

Race Track Looking to work ou competitive spirit? is just the ticket.. W would prefer to use or snowmobile, the offers you a chance your friends to a ra that stretches throu sims, there are plen turns and scenic vie enjoy. Don’t worry! has provided snow snowmobiles to en can enjoy this ama

Snowball Arena Few things in life ca childhood memori the snow like a goo Well, I doubt anyon fights in an arena li found at Winter Wo mountains, castle w this offers it all. Alo opportunity to peg in the face unexpec allow steam play o for all of Last Man S your competitive s

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t place to cuddle h hot chocolate omeone! The rally located to tions located in d and offers a of the scenery eated. Just like ride and there is njoy snuggling up t make sure you o ultra so you can athtaking views.

ut some of that ? The race track Whether you e a snowboard e race track e to challenge ace. With a track ugh multiple nty of hills, tight ews for all to ! Linden Lab wboards and nsure everyone azing race course.

an bring back old ies of playing in od snowball fight. ne had snowball ike the one onderland. With walls and towers, ong with the g your best friend ctedly, the arena or an all out free Standing. Unleash spirit!

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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 “What do you hope for in 2020, either in your first or your Second Life?”

grid


Photograph provided by Bambi. Page 144 | ECLIPSE January 2020


B

ambi [Norahbrent] joined Second Life seven years ago and found her artistic voice in creating scenes and pictures mostly dĂŠcor and landscaping. Bambi opened her sim Missing Melody in September 2018 for everyone to enjoy and explore and has been keeping it and changing it ever since.

bambi

As Real Life always comes first I will start with my hopes for the upcoming year for RL. On the 23rd of January, I will be starting a new job in a high tech company. This is a major change for me and I hope I am taking the correct step for a new start in my life. I was very unhappy in my last position and it took me over a year to gather the strength and walk away. I hope for myself lessons learned and followed. To learn that unhappiness is not a way of life and one can and should remove themselves from an unhappy environment. It is hard to keep a specific hope for 2020. I guess I will wish for new beginnings and health to my loved ones and myself. This goes of course to all the wonderful people I have met in SL as well. Which brings me to the hopes for Second Life: The last few months were a great surprise for me in SL. I learned not to lose hope. I learned that you can never know where the next smile will come from. I allowed myself to receive help when I needed it and I learned that people can surprise you for the best. I think for SL apart from hoping to keep Missing Melody open. See more beautiful creation and be inspired. I hope to have these wonderful people I love here to be happy and loved always and not just in 2020. I hope to make them smile and happy as much as they make me. I also hope for 2020 to learn how to model in Blender and create for SL as well. In two words: I hope for Love and Art. Check out her Flickr and Missing Melody In-World.

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Photograph provided by Ed Rhodes.

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d Rhode’s SL story started when he watched an U2inSL Youtube video back in 2007, that caught his interest. It led him to his incredible, adventurous, and creative Second Life. He was fascinated with the possibility of interaction with people from all around the world. He became a member of U2inSL group and his first public pictures in Flickr were about their concerts. In his entire Second Life, Ed loves finding cool places and sharing them with his friends. Starting in the end of 2015, Ed became passionate about posting pictures in Flickr of the places he visits in SL.

ed rhodes

Ed gets his photography inspiration from a plethora of different sources. Real life landscapes, people, friends, and family. He is inspired by the community in SL, and by his girlfriend, who is his muse and often seen in many of his pictures, as they explore this wonderful Second Life together. Ed spends most of his time in SL at Deseo Insaciable, an adult role-play resort designed and built by his girlfriend. People started to follow him in Flickr mentioning how he helped them find great destinations. This recognition became his main motivation to share more images in Flickr always including the SLurl. Ed´s Flickr is a good source to find amazing places to visit. The year of 2019 was so good for me in SL and the expectations for 2020 are great. I made many friends in the SL art and photography community and I got more interested in it. I learn a lot with them and I hope to improve my photography skills day by day with their contribution. The year of 2020 started really well for me with an exhibition of my photography work in a SL gallery. The most important thing for me in SL is Nicole, my beautiful and talented girlfriend. In 2020, we are celebrating one year sharing our second lives together. She designed and built a beautiful place for Deseo Insaciable group members and us. We are always trying to add more and more group members treating all as a big family. Nicole loves improving the place with frequent novelties. Nicole makes my SL complete and I hope to make her as happy in 2020 and the years to come. I hope people will keep designing, building, and sharing beautiful places in SL. They are the reason of my photography work. I believe that a photo makes a special moment last forever. I wish that in 2020 more and more people in SL will make their way into the world of photography, sharing their SL moments and discovers. SL is a big community and the world of art and photography makes us a little closer. I plan to keep sharing good places with my friends in SL and Flickr. Besides the company of Nicole, exploring, and photography, I also love dance and live music events in SL. So great to see many people with impressive talent in SL. I hope they will keep doing this great job for SL community. Check out his Flickr. ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 147


Photograph provided by Kellie. Page 148 | ECLIPSE January 2020


KELLIE

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ellie [KellieSummer] joined Second Life one day after her real-life birthday on 09/03/2019 to see what was there for her and see what it was all about. Kellie has spent the last 10 months basically dancing, exploring, and meeting new people and just having a really good time.

The year ahead I want to start a business making clothes, furniture, and landscaping just about anything I can. Also, I want to concentrate on my blog and pictures. I have started to make posts on Flickr and they are doing so well. I will continue to work on getting better at this as much as I can. I will also concentrate on clearing my ever-growing inventory I always said I would keep it under control but as usual it never happens. So, this is what I really want to happen for the year ahead. I will start to sell on MarketPlace then when that takes off, I will rent some ground to open a store and hopefully make it work. Also more exploring the wonderful sims of Second Life. Visiting events is one of the things on my to-do list for 2020, both clothing and music events Check out her Flickr and Blog.

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Photograph by Wicca Merlin.

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taboo

aboo [Vixenn Moonshadow] joined Second Life in 2010, in search of a creative outlet. She became fascinated with the creation of unique avatars and made shapes with style cards for friends and new avatars at no cost so they would feel happy with how they looked and be able to focus on other aspects of their time here. Photography was always a lure for her, but it took time for her to learn how to capture the beauty this world has to offer. She then found herself sidetracked as she discovered a new way to create with the addition of breedables, and managed to acquire several forests worth of wild animals, and kittens as well along with to sell along the way What do I hope for in 2020, either in your first or your Second Life? Let me think about that for a minute. I believe I will go with my Second Life answer, for my first life goals are too complicated and I would most likely go overboard with my answers. My Second Life goals for this year consist of large and small goals. There are some rather simplistic things I would like to try that I have not tried yet in either world, such as parasailing, bungee jumping and snow skiing. I did however try parachuting once in SL, and it ended badly with me hitting buildings on the way down leaving me me broken and bruised on the virtual ground....grins. But I have loftier goals, dreams really. I have fallen in love with how I see the world here, the imagination here is limitless as I search for the perfect scene. I would really like to open a small sim for photographers to create in, and add on a gallery. The gallery would not be so much for my work, although I would display it as well, but for some of the talented artists here that paint a picture through their eyes giving us a vision yet unseen. And I am thinking of adding an auction aspect for some of the most amazing work. It is a big dream, but I plan on achieving it most certainly, The other goal I have is to expand my circle of friends, there are so many amazing and friendly people here, they just seem to make the world a better place. Check out her Flickr.

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Photograph provided by Moonsoul.

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MOONSOUL

oonsoul joined Second Life eight years ago. Her first career in SL was as a jewelry creator for her own store OPAL. Few years later she started blogging and maintained successfully her own blog ChicStyler. She has blogged for the most renowned designers and events in Second Life. Moonsoul has been a featured Stylist in Love to Decorate and Eclipse magazines and has collaborated as a Decorator at 6 Republic. Her passion for decorating and sim designing grew and as a result in 2017, she started her own Rental and Design brand, Ammos Homes. In 2018 Tomis joined the brand and together they expanded Ammos Homes to three sims (four every winter) and offered their Decor and Landscaping services to numerous customers. She is a member of the managing team of Love To Decorate and also blogger manager for three well established SL brands : Aleutia fashion, Galland Homes and Barley Home & Decor. She is passionate about her work and she is always looking for something that will push her limits to create something new. It isn’t easy to be successful in an environment so rich in creation as the world of design in Second Life. I like to grow and change in this little world we all live in. What started for me as a fun project has grown into a brand I am truly proud of. It is a long process and hard work to establish a brand in Second Life. From purchasing the right decor or landscape items, to adjust them and place them, to photograph them, to please the client that hired you, to market your rentals, to constantly update and promote. I get excited when I hear compliments about my work, when someone admires my design and contacts me to compliment me. In 2020 I am looking to continue my quest for inspiration and creativity. The journey of Second Life has taken me to places I have never imagined. To me SL is not a game. It’s virtual creation and design but RL thinking and effort. One of my goals for 2020 is that I bring fresh ideas from RL Design to Ammos Homes rentals as well as to the clients that trust me with designing their interior spaces or landscaping their sims. I want to learn more about Designing spaces, textures, colors and how to combine everything to make an impressive RL Design. I am a lifelong learner. I believe that learning is life. I want to learn more about everything that excites me. Check out her Ammos Homes Facebook, Flickr, Instagram and Facebook.

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Photograph provided by Plum Tuckered.

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PLUM TUCKERED

lum Tuckered [Portia Capelo] joined SL in 2009 to attend a professional workshop and discovered cybering and blogging soon after the workshop was canceled. Blending fashion photography with self-reflection, her blog Pleisure has explored experiences of depression and kink and, thanks to the generous creators who saved her from jeans and t-shirts, eccentric couture. (She is especially grateful to Zib Scaggs of Zibska, who designed the headdress she wears in her photograph.) Fashion favorites include fetish gear—for earth and for outer space—and traditional and subcultural Japanese styles (which she probably misunderstands). Portia tries to pride herself on being the least liked SL fashion photographer on Flickr. Portia is ambivalent about spending time in world, where she no longer knows anyone. It’s true that her blog is a creative outlet, but it’s also a way of avoiding dealing with a first life that’s been frustrating for 51 years. My mother, who still lives in the hometown I left 20 years ago, has dementia. At this point her memory fails her within minutes and she is struggling to find words. I wish that she could stay well enough this year, not slip further away. I know that decline is inevitable, however, and I don’t know if she and I will be able to handle it. I can only hope that I will be able to give her emotional support when I am impatient or afraid or angry at her, and, ultimately, when she isn’t there anymore. My mother is originally from Northern Ireland. Like many immigrants she focused on earning money, partly because she always fantasized about going back home. She did very well and saved a lot. Thanks to her hard work she has the best care imaginable. I find myself thinking that the universe is unbearably cruel, extracting all that work and self-sacrifice only to reward her with illness. I try instead to be grateful that she has people to take care of her, to fight for her independence where they can, and that she can fly me in to visit her regularly. It’s not until I started to tell people that my Mom has dementia that I began to learn how common this is, more for women than for men. We as a society need to prepare ourselves better for taking care of parents and, eventually, ourselves, by knowing what happens to us as we grow old. As it is, everything that happens to us as we age feels devastating because we don’t know to expect it. Under the circumstances it seems obscene to want anything for myself, but I would like to find happiness in love and friendship. I’ve been doing Japanese style rope bondage as a top and a bottom for five years. I am on the verge of giving up after some extreme disappointments with the people I’ve met in the kink community. I find my envy of everyone else’s pleasure extremely hard to bear. And the pressure to conform to a play model that must include sex and must be casual is oppressive. (Try having someone tell you they’re poly, which means multiple relationships, and then, after you fall for him, informs you that poly means no relationships and angrily asserts that he’s not going to argue about poly with you. I mean, who doesn’t argue about poly?!) If Second Life is a healthy creative escape, then my ideal 2020 experience would be sharing my knowledge of rope bondage—showing creators what rope harnesses actually look like and inspiring them to fashion poses that really capture the effect of rope on the body being suspended. It’s not possible for most people to hang from their wrists or ankles, for instance, though it has been done for purposes of torture. And the diamond pattern that creators prefer is a decorative harness, not one that can be used for suspension. Finally, I hope that Donald Trump is roundly defeated in 2020. More importantly, I hope that people who have supported him realize what motivated that support and can find ways to fight for all humans’ dignity. Check out her Flickr and Blog. ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 155


Photograph provided by The Friendly Otter.

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he Friendly Otter [rubberluvv] experiments with a variety of subjects, genres and different artistic styles. He is heavily influenced by minimalism, removing the clutter of a scene and focusing on an object’s shape, textures, shadows ... its’ beauty. 2020 is all about challenging myself artistically.

Firstly, I want to tackle new subject matters and artistic styles through my first and Second Life. As a minimalist it will be an interesting test to do abstract and nature landscape pieces. Secondly, I want to work at perfecting editing of Second Life images to look like real life, especially the human form. Check out his Flickr.

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Photography provided by Jaminda Moon.

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jaminda moon

aminda Moon [Jaminda Resident] started her Second Life journey in 2008 firstly joining as a bit of a nomad and explorer. It took her quite a while to get used to Second Life and all its technicalities on a very dated desktop! After many ups and downs, highs and lows including running a Femdom dungeon and a club for a while she is still here nearly 12 years later! She now balances her Second Life with exploring, friends, adventures and flickr! In addition to sharing her photos on Flickr, she also co-admins a group with friends called Creations, Expressions and Memories. Jaminda enjoys modelling and is happy to do nude/sensual shots but she does not do highly sexualised shots or pornography. She is very open to being contacted inworld about photography or just for a good chat. She loves meeting new people and making friends. I am the same person in both worlds. What happens in my real life has an impact on Second Life and vice versa so my hopes for 2020 do have crossovers in both worlds in many ways. A large part of last year was dismal and did not really start to improve until the later part of the year. So my main hope now is very simply that things continue to get better and I achieve more balance and happiness in 2020. It is not only a new year, it’s a new decade. Time to start again and embrace all that will come. Second Life is a wonderful adventure and it can change drastically in a very short time It’s one of the main reasons why I enjoy it so much. You really do not know who you are going to meet or where it might lead you, I hope for those kind of adventures too in 2020. I do know for sure I hope to spend many happy times with those closest to me and my dearest friends in both worlds. Friendship is the heartbeat of both worlds to me. I hope to develop my photography, learn more, and become more skilled. I want to continue to advance my creative nature in some way, maybe even learn a new skill! I also hope to do some more modelling which I love! It is fun and a wonderful way of meeting people too. I did run a Femdom dungeon up until last year. I had thoughts of bringing it back in some form but whether that will happen, I am not sure. I am keeping an open mind on the direction Outside Second Life, of course, I would love to see in 2020 a more understanding of what we all have in common rather than what separates us. Use that to bring people together in an effort to find more peace and stability in our world which currently needs all the help it can get. There are a whole lot more people who want peace rather than conflict and those voices should be the ones to prevail. Yes am a bit of an idealist too! I am optimistic about 2020 on a personal front and I wish all readers the same in the year that lies ahead of us and their hopes for this year are achieved too. Check out her Flickr and Flickr Group. ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 159


Photograph provided by Madison Carlberg.

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madison carlberg

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adison Carlberg joined Second Life in April of 2007. During her many years on the grid Madison explored the many opportunities that Second Life has to offer! Very early on in her journey, photography caught her attention and eventually became her passion. She began exploring and photographing the many gorgeous sims of SL. This love for photographing beautiful sims eventually opened up an opportunity to work for a very popular residential sim as their official photographer where she displayed their photos both on her Facebook and Flickr page. During this time, Madison found her interest in photographing home interiors. This newfound love lead to the creation of her blog “Second Life as I see it” which focuses primarily on Second Life houses, skyboxes and home décor! In her down time when she is not spending time with her SL husband and friends you can find Madison roleplaying on a Game of Thrones sim. Madison and her close friend took on the challenge of creating and running a Game of Thrones - Northern Westeros roleplay sim, which was an amazing experience and growth opportunity for them both! Madison has since decided to take a step back from owning and running a full sim and focus on her personal life and home décor blog. What do I hope for in 2020… that is a very good question! In 2020 I really hope to work on myself. (Original I know!) but I do, and in a variety of ways! In SL, I plan on continuing to work more in-depth on my blog. There is still so much to learn and explore when photographing in SL. In a world where technology and graphics are always changing and life on the grid is enhancing with every update its exciting to see all that SL can offer! I would love to also be able to further my creativity in staging home décor for both photos and everyday living. I plan to continue to spend time with my husband in SL. I find that our time together is so precious and very grounding to me. He’s a wonderful man that can provide comfort, passion and excitement at any moment. I can’t imagine a single second of 2020 without him. Another avenue I’d like to continue to explore is enjoying my time roleplaying and developing a character in the new RP sim my husband and I joined. There is something to be said to be able to put everything else away and lose yourself in a character. In RL I would like to focus on continuing to work on healthy eating and exercise… again I KNOW a typical New Year’s resolution BUT… to be fair I started this before Thanksgiving... so that has to mean something more right?! I also plan to enjoy more travel in the coming year whether it is for work or for pleasure, a little escape from reality is always welcome. Lastly, I hope to continue working on my master’s degree in business. I started it in 2019 and hope that I find enough time and sanity to continue that journey of furthering my education. Check out her Facebook, Blog and Flickr. ECLIPSE January 2020 | Page 161


Photograph provided by Screech Chasca. Page 162 | ECLIPSE January 2020


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screech chasca

creech Chasca [Screech Resident] joined Second Life in December 2010 after learning about it from a real life coworker. It was hard at first since it was a new, unknown virtual world. He spent a month in the Help Island area until he met people who helped him to develop In this virtual world. Since then he has been visiting places, dancing and meeting new people. One of his passions is photography, you will surely find him exploring and taking pictures of interesting sims. Screech manages a facebook page called Lugares con encanto en Second Life, (Enchanting SL Places) and a facebook group called Paseando por Second Life (Traveling Through Second Life). Most of the photos he takes he usually uploads to his Flickr account so that people can enjoy the beautiful Second Life sims. Screech also has a DJ facet to his SL, where he occasionally does sessions and plays music from the 60’s ‘70’ 80 ‘and 90’s. If you usually explore sims and you find him, say hello, he will love to meet you. In 2020 I expect great challenges, new horizons, peace in the world and a stable government in my country after five votes. I also hope on a personal level to grow as a person, have many joys in my personal life. In Second Life I would like the servers to improve since lately they give a lot of problems. I hope there will be art or creative sims to encourage people to post pictures of beautiful Second Life sims since in this wonderful virtual world we have beautiful places where people put all their imagination for everyone’s enjoyment. At the same time I hope more people are encouraged to make their own creations. I wish that the next generations enjoy the facilities that the internet has to meet people from all over the world. Making a small mention, I hope that the fires in Australia will cease as the flora and fauna of that beautiful continent run the risk of becoming extinct. I make a small appeal for all the people in the world and especially their leaders to take action on the matter and make a self-criticism regardless of their political interests and help preserve the environment and avoid thawing in the Antarctic, forest fires and save endangered species in every corner of our beloved planet. To end these wishes for this 2020 I would also like one of the greatest pandemics of our beloved planet that is hunger in a continent as mysterious and as beautiful as Africa to end, and that this rich continent in minerals and natural resources have a better future. And finally I appeal to all women on the planet of all races, ethnicities and religions who never surrender to abusers, or harassment. This is my hope for 2020. Check out his Flickr.

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Photograph provided by Tabea Scotchdopodo. Page 164 | ECLIPSE January 2020


tabea scotchdopodo

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abea Scotchdopodo [Tabea Dibou] came to Second Life in 2007 out of pure curiosity about a 3D world. Her hobby soon became exploring beautiful SIMs and inworld photography. This soon sparked her passion for photography in real life. For a long time she shared pictures and thoughts with friends in her own forum. Today she is more into real life, but beautifully designed SIMs still magically draw her into Second Life and challenge her to take pictures. She loves to play with image editing programs or to test the possibilities of different viewers. Tabea follows the technical development of the pixel world closely and is very curious about where the journey will take her. Of course, my first wish for 2020 is health, happiness and a fulfilled life for myself and my loved ones. But I think that the times when you can only think of yourself are over. The current news frightens me, the state of our earth frightens me. I suffer with our tormented nature, with the animals disappearing forever. I wish that a rethinking on a larger and larger scale will begin, that more and more people will take responsibility for our environment and nature. I wish that we humans together can form a power that can stop the greedy corporations and corrupt governments. I wish that more and more people would realize that we are depriving ourselves of our own livelihoods by overexploitation. I wish for responsible thinking and acting governments who do not plunge us into wars just because they want to demonstrate their power. I wish that we can preserve the beauty of our earth, also for future generations. I wish that we use the intelligence and creativity that is given to us for good and meaningful things. That we can alleviate the suffering, illness, and poverty. These are my humble heart’s wishes for 2020. Check out her Flickr.

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Photograph provided by Susann DeCuir. Page 166 | ECLIPSE January 2020


SUSANN DECUIR

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usann DeCuir is difficult, open, and speaks her mind. She is in Second Life since 3.3.2007 and still with passion. Traveling, landscaping, and decorating, as well as chatting with different people, all this makes Second Life so appealing to her.

My hope for Second Life is that users will take the following sentence to heart *Second Life is what you make of it*. These words say it all... I also hope that users will realize that this is not a game, but a platform to communicate with people from all over the world. It also allows the realization of fantasies of any kind ... that’s what it is meant for. Check out her Facebook, Blog and Flickr.

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Photograph provided by Vivien De’Lancoure. Page 168 | ECLIPSE January 2020


vivien De'lancoure

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ivien De`Lancoure [lamohra] has been a resident of SL for over seven years and has been a passionate photographer from day one.

What we all hope for in a new part of the year is, of course, to stay healthy, not to lose anyone close to us and also that the earth will recover from all the negative chaos. In addition to these points, we must not forget ourselves. I have decided to continue working on the quality of my SL photography in 2020 and hope to be able to inspire other people with it in the future, as well as inspire and encourage me to continue. In addition, I can not wait to see what innovations may appear in SL this year. I think the change with BOM and Animesh is great and BOM, in particular, supports me in getting more out of my photographic hobby. So we are going to be surprised at what is going to be great this year. Check out her Flickr.

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Photograph provided by Fleur.

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leur [Fleur Imagine] human incarnation arrived in Second Life almost ten years ago. Fleur has been the only avatar for more than six years now. She was introduced to the world by a friend in RL. It was an amazing world where she could dress and live like a princess. It was a dream. Four years with exploring, chatting with people from all over the world, making friends and fun. She had a very close and good friend for almost two years, who introduced her to building and creating in SL. When the friend disappeared, it was time to create a new avatar, and begin a new (second) life.

FLEUR

She has since been following lots of lessons especially by Graham Dartmouth from Blender Benders. So now she builds in 3D mesh in the free program Blender—and she regularly attends in building competitions. In RL she is a hobby photographer dedicated to macrophotography, She loves to play with Photoshop, and also to paint with acryl. Both in RL and SL, she is eager to learn new things, and she tries all the time to improve her skills. She has during the time had galleries in SL and earlier had a Flickr page with a lot of photos both from RL and SL. She had to leave SL for a year -and closed it all. But recently she went back to SL—and has open a little gallery and for a few weeks ago she also opened a new Flickr account. Personally, for both my RL and SL, I hope to find more time to be creative. It’s the way I relax and forget all about busy work life in RL. For Sl, I´m a bit worried about the future. I don’t have the opportunity to join in with oculus, which seems to be the future. Will Second Life exists as it is right now for the next five years, or will all people go to other worlds where they can use VR-glasses? My hope for SL is that it still will develop and exist both in 2020 and the next many years after that. But also, that you can be a part of it without VR. I love to explore new places, and I plan to create a lot of photos and telling stories from my journey around to the fantastic creative sims around in the world. In Rl, I think there are many things to hope for in 2020. Even more focus on the climate debate and I hope the governments and industry all over the world will be severe and do actions so that our emissions of, among other things, CO2 will be significantly reduced. I also hope for 2020 that there is less war and more peace in the world. And I also hope there is less inequality in the living conditions of the population. Well maybe I´m a bit naive, but I think we need to take care of our earth and all the peoples who live in this world. Especially if we want a wonderful world for future generations Check out her In-world Gallery and Flickr.

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Photograph provided by Eatsbluecrayon. Page 172 | ECLIPSE January 2020


eatsbluecrayon

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atsbluecrayon [Zasta Korobase] joined SL during the magical year of 2007. He soon discovered great roleplay-opportunities like Gorean, roman-, medievaland fantasy-settings and this lead to creating scars, wounds and brandings for roleplay-purposes. Nowadays he mostly designs private roleplay-settings, constantly changing everything, because change is the essence of SL. 2020 may bring new ideas and new life to SL. I’m still hoping for Linden to finally set land prices people are willing to pay. I bet SL would explode with new residents, new business, new opportunities and new ideas if renting a sim would cost in the ballpark of a “normal” MMORPG-subscription (like, for example, WoW, SWTOR or ESO) and not three figures! I would rent an entire sim in a heartbeat! I bet other roleplay-people would, too, and great roleplay-continents, entire worlds could emerge! That would kill the landowner’s business, for sure - but if this could be compensated with more business on other fronts, like more sales in shops and such, Linden could still make bank. For myself, I hope I’ll be able to remain on my home-sim, continue building dreamscapes, and contributing to the beauty of our shared creative environment. I’m also looking forward to the development in the baked-on-mesh sector and other exciting technical things - there’s still so much room for improvement! Check out his Blog and Flickr.

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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®. His eyes blinked back a few times, as the Wayfarer acclimated himself to this new land. A light snowfall trickled down while the small flakes clung to his hair and his lashes, even as his warm breath escaped his lips in a puff of condensed cloud. Slowly, he made his way around the archipelago known as Northern Shore, his hands stuffed in the pocket of his trousers in a bid to combat the cold. Like most places he stumbled upon, there was not but one other person that he encountered. Perhaps, he would find the peace he so wistfully sought here. Immerse yourself in Northern Shore.

est rosca.


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