The life and times of 'The Niffarious One.'

Back in the beginning - You know there always is a beginning, no matter how small.

In the year 2013

I was an avid player of warcraft with a few alts here and there. Married in my 'real life'.

Still am. My husband also played warcraft - and still does! The die hard raider! *laughs* 

So here I am at my computer, looking over to his computer.. "What is that?" He just gestured to the screen and says its second life. "What do you do on there?" He explained that it was something he was just trying out because the guild recommended he join them in that new place.

A way to chill between dungeons and just sit there and talk (out of vent), but they could still do things as a group in a different environment. Well, this sounded interesting enough. After all, I was sitting there looking at what looked like.. Barbie doll dress up? Clothes to mix and match and different hair, shoes, pants, and such. I wanted to explore and play dress up too! And already I could almost touch the possibilities for role play too. (I had role played in chat room free form rpgs back in the day, where you relied on your descriptions and text.. In second life.. I would have an actual body that could look the way I wanted myself to look!! This looked so much more satisfying than role play on the RP servers of warcraft! So much more!)

I made myself an account.

Just my luck, everyone including my husband has now called it a day and are not on this thing called second life.. I can figure it out. How hard can it be?

My avatar was just plopped out in the middle of nowhere.. I had no clue as to what to do! So I'm looking around and see boxes of.. What is that? Is that free?

*snatches at the boxes laying there in the random sim I was left in*

I did finally find an area during all this to learn basics.

Some kind soul gave me a link to teleport to - White Tiger Island. This is where I met a guy named Sven. I think after three hours of learning how to sit on furniture and how to open a box; (free boxes remember) I was in tears with frustration of how to work this stupid world's game!

Such a deceiving word - game. This was not the world of warcraft. This was a trial and error pixelated version of hell.

Omg.. Why did I even try this?! Poor Sven, I think he even ripped out his hair at one point! He had to have! No one is that patient are they?!

I did finally learn how to open that box. How to open inventory. And I even learned how to change into an outfit that came from that box. Yay me? I thought I was doing better. I was still a human avatar.. I really didn't want to be that. Yet, Sven said its second life, you can be whatever you want.

A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G I want?..

He just pointed me in the direction of a freebie box section and told me to go look at the furry things that were available. Furry? I didn't even ask.. I just went in the direction that Sven pointed me to and went to look. What I found were some cartoon-ish looking animals on boxes. Base freebie avatars.

I took one and unpacked it back where the helpful Sven was; and became that cartoon looking cat. This was neat.. I guess. But I'd already seen the avatars that my husband and his friends had, and they didn't look like.. well, they weren't this furry thing either.. but yeah.. I needed to find something better and quick! I looked at Second life's marketplace. I don't have any money to sink into this. But, look at that! And that! And.. what is.. that?..

After looking, and digging around on the marketplace's search engine using words like: Free, Promo, Gift. I had enough things sent into my inventory to start opening and actually having fun with. It was like digital barbie dolls.. Fun. And I didn't look so horrible now that I'd begun to figure out what it was I was doing.

Later of course, I had the wind taken out of my sails.. Role play? I thought I was doing pretty well, then was informed that I needed to type a /me before my emote or action.

I can do that. Well, the next opportunity I totally forgot how to do that /me thing.. Talk about feeling like a total idiot!

Anyhow, at the time; There was just so much to learn, and I couldn't even figure out how to find Sven or white tiger island again. (I had no idea landmarks were a thing.. Or teleport history for that matter.)

So, on my own in this digital world, I wandered about. And I talked to a few people that could look past my unpolished & right out of the freebie zone appearance. But guess what? Looking back, over time you really 'do' improve.. and remember to do certain things.

I got better at remembering that /me thing too!

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Flashing forward.

I no longer play warcraft. And I tend to be in-world on second life instead. Because, where else would I be? I even created what some call an 'alt'. See how the other half lives and such.. Or really, just to take a break from certain people and places. To be re-invented once more. I find looking at things from a different avatar's shoes can be inspiring at times.

Second life now has a starter zone. Where was that when I signed up?!

The starter avatars don't look nearly as horrid as what I had in the beginning either..

Second life actually made an effort to have mesh bodies available. (none of the crunched up looking linden classic avis, but starter avis with nice smooth mesh skin and clothes too.)

I have also gone beyond learning how to open a prim box too! I now use the edit tool as fluently as some would a smart phone. I had also discovered RLV, and the wonders of making it work for me, instead of just having things done to me with it.

I have even made RLV portals that you can simply 'walk into' and appear at the destination that the portal leads. Amazing stuff I swear.. Its not all dog collars and dungeon stuff like most assume.

My avatar has changed a bit from that first box opened at White Tiger Island.

Half human, half feline. I have a human body, a tail, kitty ears, and whiskers. I later learned that the form I had chosen was called a neko. Japanese anime type. All I knew was that I felt more 'me' as that form than any other. And I'll admit to trying out the rare non-feline avatar too. But it never failed, I just couldn't stay like that. And always ended up getting back to my normal form fairly quick. (Yes, I know how that might sound.. Normal? Trust me, normal is a setting on a washing machine, and not for being in SL.)

Landscaping & decorating have been one of my favorite past times in second life. I no longer go from one sandbox to the next, after having had land. Land is virtual land that you can acquire from linden labs.

And having land gives you the ability to create your own little world to be in. Making a place that you want to be.. Another way of thinking of this is its almost like painting, yet instead of paint to a canvas - Your putting trees, flowers, bushes, rocks and such with the edit tools.. as 'you' picture the land how you want it to be. Sometimes building items in-world that you have not found, but just know should be there to use. (Decorations, furniture, clothing, accessories) The things that makes your slice of the universe just that much more 'complete.'

With lots of practice, and several hundred times of yanking everything up only to put it or different things out again. I'm confident enough now to say that I do have some skill in what I do. Confident enough that I want to share what I've done with others. The devil's in the details, and details make the perfect virtual picture.

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I have also had little projects that sometimes turn into bigger projects. Such as, the castle library..

The year was 2016.. What month? Hell if I can remember..

I started out discovering a book, in note card form, in-world to read. After showing my friend DrakiAzul, he came up with more books in note card form.. and of course (always making cool things in-world) smart man, he even put them into a laptop with a menu to access it.

I thought, 'I should do something with these! Maybe not the exact same thing Draki just finished making for me.. But, these are really neat!! And wow, with the right script.. That bookcase over there can have readable books.' I had always thought decorative non functioning bookcases full of unreadable books was such a waste.

Eventually my collection grew. And instead of one bookcase, I later had ten bookcases full of note card books. Then twenty. Then categories of what sorts of note card books I had to share.

Hover-text.. That looks so cheesy and just awful really. (On par with one of those ancient prim-tastic sims that are covered in blue and pink pose-balls.) So the bookcases were then improved to look more aesthetically pleasing with color coded labels instead.

It should also be mentioned that the books on note card in the castle library are free to anyone wanting something to read. Authors have full credit over their stories. And I have diligently tried to make sure that the books that are in the library are stories that can normally be read for free online. The Glutenburg project, has been a source where a lot of the books have come from. (A lot of the libraries in-world now use web links instead of note cards, which is inconvenient in my opinion. Since reading in a different window covers part of your screen from being in-world.. And also takes away from something unique to this style of virtual library.)

The castle library now contains over 5000 note cards. I sort of lost track after that many..

And have tried to include subjects to please most that come to browse for reading material.

I also accept submissions for donated note cards. Authors may write stories or poetry, that can then be shared through the donated books section of the library - So that others can appreciate their talent.

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And in my time in-world I have met friends, and have seen friends leave.. and a few of those friends even returning after their time in the 'real world.'

I have also been married in second life.

(wedding dress, ceremony, reception, invitations - the works!)

My partner was Kiba Starsider, whom I was married to for five long years. We had our fights, we also made up countless times.

We did finally part ways, due to changes with myself and my partner.

Basically, I did not want to be miserable.. and did not want someone who I cared for miserable as well. Now that that part of our lives is in the past, he is still someone I consider close to my heart. And I still love him to pieces. We are just free to be happy now, together or apart without the jealousy that ate us alive. Sometimes it just works out that way. Who's to say what works and what doesn't in a world ruled by imagination?

I never know what will happen from one night until the next. Though I do enjoy what I do in-world. No matter if its fishing off a pier. Playing a game, creating a new area to be in..

Though my primary enjoyment comes from that /me... and to be able to lose one's self in role play.

To be a-n-y-t-h-i-n-g I want to be.. even if I continue to just stay as I am. A neko.. A deity of the Aerie Isle.. The Niffarious One.

#blog #WixBlog #SecondLife #AerieIsle