20 Years in Second Life

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.

One of my first prim masks in 2006

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