A few of Kitty’s Arcade Faves

August 28, 2015August 30, 2015 by Lisa Millar ♥ 0 Leave a Comment

UPDATE: THE ARCADE SHOPPING GUIDE IS OUT! CLICK HERE

You know something very odd that I’ve noticed about Second Life is that even though we live in a virtual world where it can be whatever season you want, we still stick very closely to our actual seasonal pattern. I guess the real life influence is just too strong to resist in this case, and this is not a complaint, far from it. We’re actually entering what is (in my opinion) the very BEST time to be a Second Life resident. Once September hits we have some amazing things to look forward to. Most sim owners change their land to reflect the season so you have all the vibrant colours of Fall to enjoy, and then of course we have Halloween which every year gets madder and more fun. We’ll be spooking ourselves silly into November, and once Thanksgiving hits then generally it’s downhill (on a sledge, naturally) into Christmas.

Without a doubt the period of September-December is an absolutely manic time with events and parties and all kinds of occasions to look forward to, but my actual favourite starts next week, on Tuesday. Yup, it’s THE ARCADE. Love it or hate it THE ARCADE GACHA EVENT is now a firmly established event on the Second Life calendar. September has always proved to be an exciting round too, and this year is going to be an absolute corker, make no mistake. In this post then I’m going to be sharing with you some of the gacha that I am most excited about playing, starting with..

When I saw this ‘Bastet’ Collection from PIXICAT I very nearly peed myself with excitement. See, as the name of the blog suggests I am indeed an avid ailurophile and practising Pagan with an affiliation to the Goddess Bast. I am absolutely obsessed; there are statues of her all over my home, books about her. (My favourite being ‘Bast & Sekhmet Eyes Of Ra’ by Storm Constantine and Eloise Coquio Storm signed my copy when I attended her house for a Tarot course. Cool huh?) I try to make an annual pilgrimage to see ‘my’ statue, the Geyer Anderson Cat, at The British Museum every year too, so of course when I saw that PIXICAT had called their Gacha ‘Bastet’ it pushed all my buttons and it looks incredible. I’m hopeful I’ll get my paws on a jacket or two, and the kittys will look very at home in my sky-box too. I am desperately trying to reduce my belongings so that I can save some precious prims. It’s not easy because I have so much epic stuff in my virtual home that I just don’t want to part with…
Taking the sphinx cat theme that PIXICAT engineered so wonderfully and adding a witchy twist are BIRDY with their ‘Hocus Pocus’ gacha. This is another absolute must-have for me; I’m loving the toads, the cauldrons and spell books are rendered to perfection and the cats and owls are simply sublime.

My dressing table is absolutely choc-full with goodies form TRES BLAH featured at previous Arcade rounds and this month will be no exception; Juliette Westerburg has released another collection of must have decorative pieces that definitely need to find a home in my skybox! There are more make-up bags and brushes but I’m particularly after the cat-shaped trinket box and the pillow.

Of course there are many fun items to be had too; Seeing as I spend most of my time under a Slanket in real life I’ll definitely be throwing some Lindens towards COMMONER’s ‘Sluggie’ pile and wearing one while I chill out in-world…

I’ll also be trying to win Tweety the cockatiel in memory of Rocky who was my parents pet bird and constant companion for 15 glorious years..

Of course a LOT of things haven’t been previewed yet and I’m sure there are many content creators who are still working on their final productions, but the wondering, waiting and the longing are all part of THE ARCADE’s twisted charm. Of course none of us will be able to get into the sim for the majority of the first fortnight either, but if you’re anything like me you’ll be busy making lists and hitting the yard sales with haste. I do think I’ve left the best for last though. You should all know by now what a huge NYLON PINKNEY fan I am and I went absolutely ballistic in RL when I saw the pictured she’d released of her arcade goodies:

They’re cat rings and they are beyond perfect. I’m only annoyed that I don’t have 16 fingers so that I can wear all of them at the same time; I definitely will have every single one of these in my collection and I’ll wear them with serious pride. (I’ll also be sporting YUMMY’s Septum Ring collection too. So much to love!)

If you’re curious to see what goodies THE ARCADE GACHA EVENTS have in store for us this round keep your eyes glued to their FLICKR FEED. That’s what I’ve been doing and I’m hitting refresh constantly to see what has been added. There’s so much that it’ds almost impossible to keep up with it all; it’s very exciting and I cannot wait for Tuesday to come around. What are you looking forward to this round of THE ARCADE?

Kitty Gets Her Kitty-Kigu On! (Courtesy Of Collabor88)

October 16, 2013October 16, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 1 Comment

In real life (yes, there is such a thing, honest!) I am probably best described as a Onesie obsessive.

The clock chimes for 6pm, and it’s practically automatic that my clothes drop off and are magically switched into a onesie of some design.

Well, OK, it’s not *quite* like that, but I’m sure you can understand my point. Onesies are perfect for very lazy people like me. Clothes off, Onesie on, and that’s me sorted for the night! The only problem is going to the toilet which is a darn inconvenience, truth be told, but anyway.. So I have four onesies in my real life wardrobe. Well, technically I have ONE onesie, and three Kigu, or Kigurumi. (You see there’s a difference, a Onesie has feet included, whereas a Kigu doesn’t, fact-fans!)

Anyway, depending on my mood I can be either a Midnight Cat, a Ring-Tailed Lemur or a Kitsune*, and if none of those will do I can sport my enormous Hello Kitty onesie. It’s pink, and I look like I’m having a mid-life crisis when I wear it, but I care not because it’s warm and snuggly and blissful.

Alas, until this week I hadn’t found a onesie in Second Life that was worthy of Kitty’s wearing, until INTRIGUE CO. dropped THIS upon the grid at Collab88:

I saw this and had a Kittygasm on the spot. Not only is it a onesie (well, OK, technically it’s a Kigu) it’s ALSO a CAT, and a black one at that! So much win!!

Once I’d recovered I zoomed off to Collab88, beating half-rezzed avatars out of my way in a frenzy and kicking vendors until they divulged the secrets of the wonders that they were holding inside. (Collab is always a nightmare to rez on the first few days after opening) I zoomed on home, tearing off my mesh clothing in a rather haphazard fashion (Seriously, I took my clothes off that quickly that you would have thought Alexander Skarsgard himself was paying me a visit!)

This is an absolute joy to wear with no issues at all. I put on the alpha, then the medium sized onesie, and voila! Job’s a carrot! Fits like a dream for only L$188. If only they were so cheap in real life!

Not only is this shaped perfectly, it’s also beautifully textured and really does look like it’s made out of fleece fabric.

The styling is great too; with ears on the draped hood and a tail, as well as matching kitty-slippers to make sure your feet stay warm. I must confess I’ve not changed out of it since I bought it, despite the grid being a Halloween fashion frenzy at the moment! I don’t care, I love this way too much.

It wears so well and I want exactly the same one in real life, if I can find it!

Yet again INTRIGUE CO. have proved that they’re at the front of the queue when it comes to bringing what’s fresh and funky in the real world into Second Life. They always make fantastic fun items rendered to perfection with stunning textures a given. Wouldn’t it be nice if they were to bring a series of these to the grid? I’d be at the front of the queue if they did!

This item is available at Collabor88’s October round, and is available in adult male and female as well as child avatar sizes. Go and pick yours up at C88 right now!

*These are all pictures of onesies that I own from http://www.kigu.co.uk; I wonder which one I’ll get next? (They’re awesome! )

The Arcade Is Coming!

August 27, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 5 Comments

September is my favourite month.

Why? Well, it’s my birthday month for a start, and this year is going to be a special one, it’s my 40th. But what has made it even more ruddy fabulous is that The Arcade gacha event will be hitting the grid again, and if you have been living under a rock for the past few weeks then you’ll have missed the teaser images featured on Plurk and on various Flickr pages.

To be perfectly honest, it would have probably been more beneficial to my health if I had been living under a rock, that way I wouldn’t have seen any previews of what this round has in store for us. The last round was amazing enough, but bloody hell, when I first saw some of the pictures of what this round had in store for us, well, I am embarrassed to admit that I actually cried!

Seriously dear reader, I blubbed.

I confess that I am cringing as I write this, but my emotional response to the goodies on offer was nothing short of visceral. I sobbed when I saw the collections of critters, furniture items and accessories that have been promised to us for this round.

Why? Well, I could say it’s hormones seeing as I officially hit middle-age in a few weeks, so you could forgive me if I was feeling a little mid-life crisis like. But I actually don’t have an excuse, other than I was totally moved and completely blown-away out of the park astonished by the creations that I saw.

Bear in mind I’ve only seen these on the official ad posters, too, so goodness knows what condition I will be in when I actually hit the machines! Unfortunately, I have no doubt that this round will be jam-packed 24/7 for days on end, which will drive me round the twist. I’ll be one of those poor dots that you see on the map hovering pathetically at sim borders, pleading at my monitor for someone to leave so that I can get in!

So what am I especially looking forward to? I’ll post some of my favourites over the next few days, but first of all I want to tell you about some of the fantastic animal-themed items that I have seen and simply MUST have.

The first images that made me misty-eyed were the pictures of the INTRIGUE CO. Puppy Pals….

..see what I mean?

Why did I blub? Well, first of all, PUPPIES! But also because I’m a big fan of the INTRIGUE CO. plushies collections, and these are without a doubt in my mind the best examples yet. I love the way that these guys are crafted. Not only do they look like the breeds that they are representing, they are perfectly coloured and feature irresistible breed-unique detailing, like the bow on the Yorkie’s hair. It must have taken ages to make these, but what an absolute joy they all are to behold.

Do I have a favourite? I do have a few to be honest, but I’m going to try my hardest to win all of them!

Now, let me introduce you to the SILENT SPARROW ‘Pwnies!’

Now, if you know me in real-life (unlucky!) then you’ll know that I have a bit of a thing about a little show called ‘My Little Pony-Friendship is Magic’.

Yes readers, Kitty is a Brony, with no fucks given.

I have a collection of ponies on my desk, as well as an ever-expanding (like my waistline) family of plushies courtesy of my local ‘Build-A-Bear Workshop’. You could say therefore that I’m a bit of a fan, and I’d barely finished wiping my eyes when I saw the poster image of the pwnies, and started blarting all over again! I mean JUST LOOK AT THEM! They are utterly perfect; a multitude of poses and colours and patterns and you would have to have a heart made of the coldest steel to not fall into a messy puddle of happiness at the sight of these.

They are just so much fun, and I am especially taken by Dash (for obvious reasons) and of course, Matt and David (seeing as I’m a bit of a Whovian as well!) To be honest, yes I want all of these as well, and I’m already starting to panic about how many prims I’m going to need to free up to accommodate all of this Gacha awesome. (My house is pretty darn near perfect for me in-world, but I’m going to have some epic rearranging to do to accommodate all of these wonderful things!)

But let’s not stop there! It looks as though I am going to have to find the room for an aquarium too, because YUMMY! have created a piano-shaped aquarium and a collection of fish to inhabit it and boy are they are super-cute.

I don’t have the space or time for a fish tank anymore so this will be the next best thing for me. I’m looking forward to seeing how these fish work too, because apparently each one is animated with unique movements so I’m anticipating something very special indeed. I haven’t really selected a favourite fishy, but I am very taken by the ‘Spotted Weirdo’, as I feel that I have a lot in common with it. (I fear that the acquisition of this tank will lead me into ridiculous games of ‘Find The Fish’, which is sure to drive everyone around me bonkers, but no shits given!)

Not only that, but the packaging for this particular Gacha prize is pretty special too!

Last but not least are my absolute critter must-haves from this collection. They are, of course, cats, and this is when my tears REALLY fell. Because just LOOK AT THEM:

Now, a fact that you possibly don’t know about me, apart from my obviously being cat obsessed, is that I collect Maneki Neko and images of the Egyptian Goddess Bast. In fact, I am completely Bast-obsessed. I have statues, jewellery and books about the cult of the cat in Ancient Egypt, and I also like to make trips down to London to see the Gayer-Anderson cat in the British Museum. (Mine in a previous life, obviously 😉

So you can imagine that when I saw this collection and spotted ‘Isis’ the Egyptian puss, as well as not one but three Maneki-Neko, I almost had a heart attack from excitement. But there’s more; there’s a chibi-cat for everyone in this set; for example there’s ‘Pumpkin’, who obviously appeals due to my Witchy persuasions (and also because I had an amazing cat called Pumpkin too!) and ‘Sweetie’ is another Whovian reference and an absolute must for my in-world Doctor Who collection. There are so many fabulous felines here to adore, and then there is ‘Fatman’, who reminds me of my much-missed ginger lad (for whom I confess I am still mourning).

Allegory, if by chance you’re reading this, I thought your ‘Voubou’ collection was outstanding and have them proudly displayed in my home, but these are on a whole different level. Every one of these cats is perfection. They’re shaped so sweetly and decorated so perfectly. I cannot wait to get my paws on them; I just hope that I don’t have to wait too long because I know EXACTLY where I’m putting them. Well, I *think* that I do…GAH!

The Arcade opens on September 1^st (that’ll be Sunday then) and I shall be clawing my way into that sim with all the strength and power I can muster so that I can get my mitts on all of these wonderful creations, and I expect that you will be doing exactly the same! I fear it will be a battle, but so long as I can get my critter-fix within a reasonable time frame I’m sure I’ll be fine!

Do check out the official blog and Flickr groups for updates on this event, and tune in tomorrow when I’ll be sharing some other favourite picks of mine. (These didn’t make me cry, but they are just as outstanding!)

Kitty goes ga-ga for Gacha!

March 1, 2013 by Lisa Millar ♥ 2 Comments

When I was a little girl, Gacha machines as we now know them didn’t really exist. (By that I mean the large gift-giving behemoths filled with toys and candy that they’ve become today)

Gachas in my day were much smaller in stature and the prizes were usually a plastic ring and a Bazooka Joe, if you were lucky. My local Gacha was outside the ‘Blue Star Café’ in the village where I grew up. In fact, we didn’t even call it a Gacha. I’d never heard of that word until a few years ago. In fact I don’t know what we called that particular machine. But I can remember that it had a motorcycle chain holding it down, although no-one would ever have wanted to steal it, and it was 2p a punt.( Let me put it into context for you; the local newsagent had one of those plastic mannequins outside of a little boy wearing callipers collecting pennies for The Spastic Society! How times have changed, and yup, I’m *that* old! )

I think Gachas are now much more common and cost a few quid, if not more, but you can get some pretty awesome prizes from them . Looking back though I was quite happy with my Bazooka Joe gum. They were brilliant actually; with their little comics inside the wrapper. I never did save them up and send off for a prize though; I kinda wish that I had now.

Now, I was going to say that you can enjoy Gacha in Second Life without the expense, but that’s a big fib, because the Gacha festival is upon us from March 1^st (TOMORROW!!) and it’s going to cost you some serious lindens, purely because of the amount of amazing items that you can win.

I’ve had a sneaky-peaky at the preview page and it’s left me giddy with excitement to the point of feeling like a kid waiting for Christmas day. Seriously! I’ve been looking forward to this event all week, and now that it’s almost here I don’t know how I will sleep tonight knowing the amazing stuff that awaits.

And trust me when I say there are some truly amazing items to play for as well. From collectibles to clothing, to furniture, glasses, musical instruments, skins, poses, headgear, jewellery,avatars and even gypsy caravans! There’s something for everyone at this event. It is going to be IMMENSE.

I’m both pleased and pissed that there’s a tumblr where you can view the items. Pleased because it gives me a chance to work out what machines I’ll be hitting up tomorrow, and pissed because it just reaffirms the fact that I have about 24 hours to wait until the event starts. I can’t wait that long; the tension is killing me!

So while I wait I’ll share with you some of the vendors that I’ll be visiting. Alas, I can’t visit every single one without taking out a pigging virtual loan or selling a body-part. These are Gacha after all and there’s no guarantee what you’ll get, but some of the prizes are outstanding.

Let’s have a shufty at a few…

I’m all about collectibles, as my post earlier this week may have proved, so with that in mind I’ll definitely be visiting the NARDCOTIX ‘Puss Pillow’s vendor. I mean, this ticks ALL my boxes. Cats + Pillows= one happy kitty, and JUST LOOK AT THEM! They’re so bloody GORGEOUS! I’ll be having ALL of those thank you very much. L$50 a play, with a choice of 12 pillows to win. It’s hard to pick a favourite from the picture but I will really be hoping to get either of the two rarest in that machine.

HALF-DEER have provided a range of cup-cakes that I’ll be hitting up with gusto. I blooming LOVE cupcakes, and these look scrumptious, and are just too cute to not have in your virtual abode; there are ten to win at L$25 a shot. Again, I don’t mind which one I win from the selection either, so long as I end up with a full set! They will look darn tasty in my kitchen won’t they?

Time for a rousing chorus of “It’s so FLUFFYYY!” because INTRIGUE CO. have designed a new selection of Plushie Pals for the event. They’re circus themed and look flipping brilliant! The rares in this machine are actually props, a tent and a marquee so that you can play Circus in Second Life. Again, they’re all stunning so no, I can’t pick just one because I’ll be happy with any of them. But then again, the Zebra is calling my name..!

Every girl needs a teddy bear, and the Candy Bears from SWAY’S are just perfect companions for cuddling. There are 24 to play for, with the ‘Rainbow’ and Confetti’ bears being the rares in this selection. At L$25 a play they’re not going to break the Linden bank too much either!

If you can recall my previous post about the COMMONER Kitchen Storage Jars then you’ll know I’ll be throwing some more Linden their way and trying to win myself some of these Brash Cans. There are three sets to collect featuring vices, prescribed meds and glam attire. I’m not sure which ones I’ll aim for, although at this moment in time some Xanax wouldn’t go amiss! (I’m British, I had to ask what that stuff was for on Plurk..)

My final collectible choice are the ‘Bento Friends’ Bento boxes from STANDBY. These are super cute with 11 animal themed mesh bento boxes to be won, and a rare item comprising of a table and cushions for you to use while enjoying your bento feast. NOM!

That’s my pick of the collectibles, so what about wearables?

Well, I’ll definitely be having a shot at winning some of the rare Wool Felt Cat Hats from MILK MOTION. There are *gulp* 60 to win, but I have my eye on the starry cap; it looks rather swish, don’t you think? I’m pretty sure this is going to be a hugely popular gacha item, and is just L$50 a go.

TABLEAU VIVANT have two fantastic Gachas this round. First up are some back-packs. I don’t often wear bags in Second Life, but these would change my mind. They look great, are non-rigged mesh and feature resize scripts too for a perfect fit. Not only that but I’m intrigued by the three rare items in this Gacha, because two of them are surprises. We can see that one of them is a bunny back-pack which looks unbelievably squeesome, but the other two are shaded out so you can’t see what they are. It’ll cost you L$75 each time you try to find out. Worth a shot? It’s one of the more pricey Gacha items, but in my opinion more than worth it.

And so is the Spirit Hood available from TABLEAU VIVANT’s second gacha in the event; this features a virtual version of those animal hoods with mittens built in that everyone was wearing around Christmas (yes, I’ve got one in real life, shush) Judging by the picture this looks to be quite a promising item, BUT it’s one-size rigged mesh so I recommend that you try a demo before parting with your L$75. If the demo fits, then there are 27 to win. Fingers crossed the demo fits me then!

NYLON OUTFITTERS have an ‘Art Nails’ mesh nails Gacha at the event and you can win one of ten sets of nails. It doesn’t say on the poster if any of them are rarer than others, but I certainly have my eyes fixed on the ‘9 Lives’ and ‘Party animal’ set. At L$50 a try I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed for some luck on this one; they’re rather fancy aren’t they? I love the quirky presentation and styling of these so much!

I’ll also be hoping for good things at THE SECRET STORE where you can win a pair of vintage roller-skates. There are twenty different styles, with three rares. I’ve not been roller-skating in Second Life for a LONG time, but if I win the Panther skates I may be inclined to have another go!

There are a number of skin Gachas to play at the event, and all of them look totally fabulous so I guess I’ll be having a punt in all of them, but the one I will definitely be hitting a smidgen harder than the others is from PINK FUEL. Why? Well because they have a skin called ‘Von D’ which looks right up my street. There are 7 skins available in the Gacha and all of them look very enticing and original. The Elphaba, Cyber Grey and Ch-Ch-Oco skins have really caught my eye too; in fact I’d be happy winning any of them. L$100 for a quality skin? Yes please!

I haven’t told you about every single Gacha machine at this event because at the time of writing MORE images keep being added to the site, and to be honest I’m squealing so much in real life I’m about to give myself heart-failure. I’ve not told you about the gorgeous dress from BAIASTICE, nor the amazing mesh lamps from TROMPE LOEIL or the bedroom furniture from SCARLET APPLE, or the hair from TRUTH. OMG, some of the brightest and best that the grid has to offer are all here, and then some! There’s an official vendor list here.

If I was to try to write about everything that would mean I’d be here all night working myself up into a frenzy and I’m excited enough as it is. I have a sneaky feeling that it’s also going to be an utter swine to get into as well, so it may be one of those rare occasions in-world where it may be kind to the sim and to the rest of us if you consider de-primming and using a low-arc avatar for your visit.

Of course, with these being Gacha items you can transfer them, so that means if you get duplicate items you can swap them. The fun is in seeing what you get after all, but if you’re not lucky you’re your winnings why not ask around on Plurk or in ‘The Arcade’ group to see if anyone has any swapsies? But don’t forget you can also gift your winnings to friends, and that for me is key.

In-world events like this are all about having fun and sharing the love with those nearest and dearest, and I can think of one chum in particular who may find herself receiving the odd item from me, especially if it’s too pink for my liking!

Enjoy the event guys, hope you get all the goodies you wish for!

You can keep up to date with the latest by following The Arcade on Plurk

OMFG, just as I finished writing this post this appeared on the list:

<Kitty expires from excitement>

P.S. I haven’t posted a LM because I don’t know where it is yet!! Will update when I know:)

Oh, and a quick note- be sure to check out the official Arcade blog. There’s an amazing photo competition with an astonishing array of prizes up for grabs that you must enter!

(All items at the event can be seen here. Imagery featured in this blog-post is from The Arcade Shopping Guide site. Huge thanks to Octagons Yazimoto, Katharine McGinnis, Emery Milneaux and Umberto Giano and all the vendors involved for bringing this event to the grid!)