it's out!

My photoshoot with Graham Collinson was released last night. I am a little nervous :-D There's a bit ... well ... more ... of me than I usually show. I have issues with the rampaging sexuality of Second Life. As Esoteric Trinity notes, in his fabulous bio, I am not a big fan of the so-called "raunch culture'. I am all for women taking ownership of their sexuality, that's what virtual burlesque has been for me, and what I hope it is for my sisters in dance. But it's fair to say I chose burlesque as a way to explore these notions because nudity is not required. So what, exactly, am I doing with my boobs out?

In the first place, the Guerilla Burlesque Exclusive group was created to give fans of the show a greater depth of interaction with the stars - and I do call them stars. Every dancer has her own motivation, she designs and creates her act according to the things she finds beautiful and moving; she offers you a little piece of her soul, her own soul, or the bits she is willing for you to see. These girls work hard, and think hard, and give hard, and when the audience watches them, they have certain expectations of each dancer as an individual. We know Diawa will give us brilliant choreography. We know Chewie dances from her heart. We know SexyS will bring us something quirky, we know Sho will add little pieces of wit to her set. The dancers of Guerilla Burlesque are personalities, and the Guerilla Burlesque Exclusive group was set up to thank the fans for their support of that ideal.

Despite the name, Guerilla Burlesque does not present a strip show. That was an active choice as we left the confines of the Virtual Burlesque group. We really just wanted to dance, and I personally wanted to produce a "show" - something that was designed with an audience in mind, as first priority. Nudity is, for Guerilla Burlesque, just one of the ways you might add the spark to your act. As we get better at building and meet better scriptors (because so far we kinda suck at scripting ourselves), the wow factor is as often a clever script, or an amazing particle, as it is a great rack.

But that's not to dis a great rack, either. I am proud of my avatar. I love the way she looks, she is the me I would be if I could choose the parts: her hair is the same colour as mine, her famous eyes are an enhanced version of mine. I took off my glasses and shaved off a hundred pounds, most of which I injected into my bottom lip, but otherwise she is me. Okay, maybe not lol ... but I built her, and I stay true to her. Her skin will always be League, her hair will always be strawberry blonde, and she will always wear the lip piercing that was her first gift from her first lover. As for her rack - did you know I actually reduced her breast size from the original freebie shape I still wear? I did it because I wanted her to look good dressed ... and then I made her famous for undressing :-)

You can get the photos by joining the Guerilla Burlesque Exclusive group. It costs 1000L to join, and I am worth every one of 'em. My heartfelt thanks to Graham Collinson for making the photoshoot such a gentle and natural process, and to Esoteric Trinity who did the same as he drew words from my mouth and transformed them into a wonderful tribute ♥

Dear Floor

As it's becoming obvious, from your behaviour, that you follow this blog very closely, there are a few things you probably should know:

1. Telling my good friends that I am a "sl rl stlaker, and could possibly put your privacy at risk" (sic) is a dumb idea. They already know me, and they know what you're suggesting is preposterous.

2. The article you're referring to drew information from your blog and myspace page, which you insisted, demanded, nagged and threatened me to visit. That's not stalking, you silly moo-cow, that's you begging for attention.

3. All that happened a year ago. Build a bridge, as they say in the classics. Nobody cares but you, and you care a little more than is healthy.

and then it was a year ...

[2011/05/15 01:24] Shippy: do you dance couples or will it crash you?
[2011/05/15 01:24] chry: I do if I'm not running the event lol ... but when I am working it's just distracting
[2011/05/15 01:25] Shippy: no worries.. .:)
[2011/05/15 01:25] Shippy: plenty of other ladies...
[2011/05/15 01:25] Shippy: ;)
[2011/05/15 01:25] chry: indeed, though I will take a raincheck?
[2011/05/15 01:25] Shippy: OH please :)
[2011/05/15 01:25] Shippyt: haha...
[2011/05/15 01:26] Shippy: -hands Cherry the largest rain check ever-

... and that, as far as I am concerned, is how it started.

I want to tell you about my best friend. We met in Second Life, on his second day. The attraction was instant, and it was obvious. The exchange, above, happened two weeks later, by then I was already looking for him to log on, and feeling that awesome little rush you get when you've met someone you really dig who digs you too.

I say he is my best friend because we spend every day (his night) together, we go everywhere (on the web) together and we share everything in our lives with each other. Okay, maybe not everything. But the only things we don't tell each other about are the ones it is decent and respectful for us to keep private.

My best friend is married, in his real life, to a woman he loves very much. She doesn't want a Second Life, and she doesn't especially approve of his. She does not approve of me, and I understand that, and am careful not to demand anything that might be hers by right. That suits me, by the way. I am a single mother, and I have no intention of foisting some guy on my son. I tried that once, and it didn't go well. I don't get out much, and I don't want to. My son and I have a loving, engaged life just as it is, and I plan not to make any changes to that. In that respect, in fact in most respects, having a close relationship with someone online, that we act out via Second Life, is ideal for me.

Not everyone who comes to Second Life has come to find themselves a real life. Nor, especially, to damage the real life they have.

Now ... I hear what you're thinking. Something along the lines of "it's all good fun til someone loses an eye". I can only tell you that we are careful with eyes around here. We do not lie, we do not steal, and we try to make sure that everyone has what they need to be content.We're careful to respect and love the people around us. That's an active choice, in any relationship, by the way. It's the most important choice.

Of course, I don't need to tell you all this. It's no-one's business but that of the people who are living it. But I am aware that people wonder - neither of us think of or act like our outside comittments are a secret. So now you know: this is how we sleep at night. 

Onto the fun bit. Our friendship is based on a mutual love of words, music, entertainment, games, silly puns, flirting and being as good as you can be at whatever you choose to do. We play other games together, we talk about politics, the cosmos, atheism, sex, our past, our dreams, our hobbies, our friends. We dance. We build. We compare notes about the things we see, about life, every day, and every day we find we agree.

He lets me feel safe by letting me be completely open ... and by protecting me while I am open. He listens to me, and acts like my friend. He supports me when I am right and he tells me when I am wrong. He makes the things I care about seem like they're valuable and important by being interested in them, and responsive to them. He encourages me to be a better person by being a better person. My dreams and visions fit into his hands, and his dreams and visions set mine alight.

I have never known this in a man before, and it is heady, it's fun, and it gets better every day. 

Shippy ... ringrazio il mio amore. I hope that's right :-) You are the lightning that sets me to flame, and I am having the very best time of my life.