I made a Second Life account twenty years ago, on October 14th 2006. My father told me about this thing that was like an MMO, but users made all of the content. When I joined up, I searched for fantasy sims and ended up on the Isle of Wyrms, a fantasy roleplay community and store that sold dragon avatars.
I wanted to play dress up and make my avatar pretty, but I had no leisure money to spend on it. I fumbled with my avatar, wearing freebies and hunting for lucky chair scores, but I couldn't make her look how I wanted. Rather than shelling out $700L for a new skin, I thought it could be fun to wear a mask. I couldn't find any that weren't just a picture on a cylinder, so I made one out of prims and wore that instead of looking at my avatar. This is to say, my fate changed entirely because default Linden avatars looked weird back then.
I made little prim accessories for myself, and then people asked me about them, and I sold them to friends and fellow sandbox goers to earn a little shopping money. I eventually made enough things to rent a little spot in the Isle of Wyrms marketplace, and then enough things to warrant my first little store.
An early branding experiment from 2007.
I bought a parcel on the mainland and made my first main store there. Sculpts were introduced and I threw myself into learning how to use them. I taught myself how to use Zbrush and figured out how to make masks out of squished spheres and torii, and my store grew. A friend of mine offered me half of a sim to play with, and I decided to try working in Second Life full time. In 2012, after mesh import was introduced, I taught myself the software and techniques I needed for that too. I created a reputation for myself and my store for creating 100% original, hand made mesh designs. I tried to make a place for other original artists to flourish after I took over the rest of the sim of Carnivale.
After ten years, real life events wore me down, and I had to step away. Even just opening Blender would give me anxiety, but I promised myself that at least once a year, around Fantasy Faire, I would come back and make one thing. My life took me in other directions, but I still wasn't willing to say that I "quit" Second Life. I wasn't entirely done with it. I sold my sim, but one of the friends I offered a space to on Carnivale returned the favor and made a space for Illusions on their sim, The Twilight. I came back maybe once a year, and every now and then checked my email to answer customer service requests. Illusions was still there, even if I wasn't.
In 2023, after having a baby and craving a creative outlet that could be done without creating (any more) mess, the muse tapped me on the shoulder again. I got the itch to come back, so here I am. I am still committed to all of the values I had back then, and of course, still very purple.
I don't know if you want to "count" it as twenty years in Second Life, after such a long time away, but either way it's Siyu's 20th rez day. I still don't know how I got this old. It seems like I should do something to celebrate, though.
I'm throwing a flash sale. Twenty years of work, whatever you have ever wanted from my store. Come get whatever you have had your eyes on for only 20% of its original price. The only items not included are the new Demon Ears, and the old antique stuff that's already been discounted. I've never done a sale like this before and likely never will again, but you don't turn twenty every day.
http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/The%20Twilight/191/238/39
