Here's to You, Alleara Snoodle

 

 By Bixyl Shuftan

 

Party of our journey in Second Life is the people we meet and the friendships we make. Some have just a fleeting presence. And then there are those who you never forget. One of my closer friends here was Alleara Snoodle. 

 

She had first logged on in July 2008. It's hard to say exactly when we first started chatting. When I first started going to Club Cutlass around 2009 (when it was in it's 'Aztec pyramid' design), we probably just saw one another at a distance as I wasn't very talkative at the time. But one night I lingered a little after the party ended and most left. I was probably going through some notes to write a story for Dana when a white Felis kitty with red hair, dancing on a pole messaged me, asking me to come closer. We ended up chatting for a while, curiosity turning into happiness that I had found a new friend. And this breaking the ice conversation would be the start of a friendship that would last for years. 

 

 

It turned out this wasn't her favorite form. She had a few. Early on I saw her most frequently as a lioness or white tiger, with red hair, and sometimes with red wings and a red suit. But sometimes she would appear as a red kitsune fox, also with red hair and wings. Later on, that would be the look she was usually in. The lioness and tigress were of an avatar for sale she was helping to design. 

 

 I soon found out a few things about her. Besides the Sunnies, she was also active with the Chilbo community, which is known for it's artists. She was also in a SL program called Metanomics. 

 

She also would be part of a discussion at the Second Live Convention, the inworld part, in 2010.  

 

But unfortunately, she had also been severely injured in the past, pushed off a building from a height that would have killed most. She survived, but was never the same again. While she was eventually able to get around, with difficulty, without a wheelchair, it would eventually lead to health problems. In 2010, she would leave Metanomics and stepped down from a leadership role in Chilbo. 

 

As for the Sunnies, despite her injury, she was a busy one. As one of the Passionate Redheads, she helped with a number of builds, such as the "Really Wild West" exhibit for the Redheads' camp on the Relay track in 2009. And she wasn't just a good builder, but a downright smart one. I once heard she had somehow made a closing door with a script that contained just two lines of code. 

 

Alleara once showed me what she called a lag distributor, one that would allow those who had a group of sims to spread the processing across the whole area instead of just the one where all activity was dealing with. But only after making it did she wonder if letting Linden Lab know about it might be a bad idea as at the time they could be lazy when it came to development of anything that wasn't "bells and whistles."

Allie also made her way into a few SL Newspaper, and later on SL Newser cartoons. 

 

 

Allie confided to me and a few others she had an alt, Prouds Flinters, whom at first was usually a tigress, but later on saw her mostly in otter form. 

 

I would also meet a couple people through her, Linn Salamander who was in an anthro dragon avie. She and Allie would tell me they were real-life friends. 

 

 And there was Carol Cream, who appeared in either a polar "bearsy," or a white bunny. 

 

I would eventually learn details of Alleara's life on the other side of the computer. While I learned early on she was German, she told me she had been born in Romania, a gypsy. She and her parents would make their way over to Germany and become citizens. She would take occasional vacations to Norway. 

 

 Alleara also liked to draw on occasion. A self-portrait of her as her persona. 

 

 Alleara very much had a place among Nydia's Angels. I remember when Nydia threw her a rezzday party.

 

 And Allie would have a ball at Nydia's soon after.

 

She would also tell me she was a clothes designer, helping to make some of the Alessandra line.  But she wasn't officially part of the staff, preferring a lower profile. 

 

 A few months after the close of the SL Newspaper and the opening of the SL Newser in 2010, Alleara gifted me with this drawing she did. She would say of the cigarette she was trying to capture a "Bogart" look. She would also drop a copy off at the office. 

 

I would go on a few dates with Allie. But we also had plenty of fun together with Nydia and other friends. Here was one occasion the joking around between us led to a cartoon. Much like Nydia, she could have quite a frisky sense of humor, as did Lina, which led to a few memorable moments. She posted a few on her profile, notably when Nydia accidentally stated she was "known for her great heat" instead of heart. 

 

And when it was just her, she was always curious about what you were working on, or what game you were playing. And when she sensed something was troubling you, wanted to know what was wrong. 

 

There was one time Allie's helpful manner got her into trouble. Around May 2012, she had been trying to help a friend who made a sci-fi shuttlecraft load it onto Marketplace for sale, but it was buggy that day. She eventually got the attention of one Linden, who acted like he was annoyed to be called to help someone. The exchange of words soon got heated, and she found herself logged out, then notified she was suspended for three days, "I thought … he would at least react normally, but what can I say, his backyard." 

 

Unhappy with this development, I ended up writing about the incident. That got a number of people angry at the Lab, "Bah on anyone who would hurt Alleara." "Alleara is one of the sweetest people I know. If LL is now banning people (however temporarily) just for insisting that we GET what we are PAYING for, then the death of the grid truly is nigh." "Alleara is one of the kindest people. I know. If this Linden got snippy and banned her, even temporarily, he or she needs to be disciplined." When Allie herself found out, she was humbled by the responses, but would tell me she felt a little embarrassed. Looking back at the conversation, she concluded her banning wasn't entirely undeserved. 

 

Sadly, around mid to later 2012 I think, Alleara got into a bad accident. Her car was totaled, her dog was killed, and she was badly injured, especially one of her hands. Although she was able to regain partial use of it eventually, she would never be able to draw again like she had. 

 

By 2013, Allie had somewhat recovered, and was able to make the Second Life Tenth Birthday Celebrations in June. 

 

In Oct 2014, Alleara would gift Nydia with a guardian statue, it representing how the Angels group felt about protecting one another. 

 

 Sometime in the mid 2010s, Allie made this press tag for my fedora (this is a new picture, but shows it more clearly than those at the time)

 

 

 

For the Relay seasons, Allie would help with some Sunbeamer team outfits, such as the women's tracksuit, which she is wearing here in August 2016 in the post-season team meeting. One season she did one for all of the Relay for Life volunteer group. 

 

And then there were the music videos Nydia did. Alleara was a part of many of them. 

 

 She and I were in a few together. "The Fox" in December 2018 was one of my favorites. Unfortunately, it would also be the last one she would take part in. 

 

 In March 2019, Raphie wanted his Yinglet avatar ready by the time of the release party, but was having trouble ironing out the bugs. So Alleara stepped in to help. 

 

 I would see her less often in the later 2010s. She had gotten a job working for Tesla, doing so remotely through her home desk (at the time, the owner was much less political than today). She would say it involved a new plant in the USA devoted to the manufacture of electric car batteries. I never did ask how much money she made, but was hoping it was plenty and for a good retirement. 

 

 But not all was well on her side of the computer. Some time after her auto accident, her mother passed away. Also in the later 2010s, her father died. It would be just her and her real-life friends.

 

2020 was the year of the Coronavirus Pandemic. She continued to work remotely, and stayed isolated in real life. The few times we met or chatted, we talked some, and wished each other well. 

 

In June 2021, we ended up meeting up and walking about the Chilbo community she was still part of. After many years, it had less territory, and some people were gone. But it was still active and the artists were still coming up with new things. Since I was still writing my science-fiction tale, she mentioned a series being done by another beginning writer, "We Are Legion (We Are Bob)" by Denis Taylor. 

 

We talked, chatted, joked. Perhaps we were both a little older, a little less perky, but it was still nice to meet up with good friends. When it was time to go, I felt happy, and hoped it wouldn't be too long before we met again.

 

But sadly, this would be the last time we met.  

 

In October, Nydia was messaged by someone saying he was a friend of Alleara's, and he had some terrible news. He would say Allie had been increasingly ill for days, showing signs of the Coronavirus she had isolated herself from. On Friday night, she messaged a friend to take her to a clinic Monday morning. But when the friend got there, he found Allie dead. She had passed away sometime the night before. 

Our beloved gypsy, the woman who had escaped death twice before, who had a great brain and a great heart, who had done so much for so many, was gone. 

 

 People would have much to say, "She was one of the few that showed care and compassion to many, myself included. She will be missed." "Alleara was always creative, always funny, and had quite a horrific personal history. I hope she is at peace now." "I know the goddess herself met her on the other side to welcome her home with a warm embrace."

 

Shockwave would have this to say, "She was my equal in building, though she had lots more time than I did early on. She was one of the first people I met inworld (Lusk if I recall.) We spent ten years trying to outbuild each other and finally just settled on mutual showmanship rather than competetion. She was horribly crippled from a car wreck, and got around the physical deformities by living in SL instead. 

 

"May God grant you ALL the answers, dear lady. Your suffering is ended at last, and your wings will free you from your prison." 

 

A surprise was soon revealed. Earlier I mentioned I'd met a couple friends of Alleara's, Linn and Carol. But it turned out they were actually her alts! I'd never seriously considered this possibility. 

 

 Nydia would do a tribute to her and Jessicabelle, whom had also passed away only a few months before. 

 

 Two memorials to Alleara would be done. The first was she would get an Eternal Flame at the Sunweaver Memorial in Sunweaver Eclipse. 

  

Later on in the Purfection Estates, near the Happy Vixen Beach club, Alleara would get one of her own, in the style of a Japanese shrine. 

 

A German friend would also do a small one on his land, but as his place is private property, it's location is not given here. 

 

Four years have passed, and the Sunweavers/Angels, Chilbo, and Second Life, have continued on.  Alleara's friends in my quirky community have dealt with a few more problems and trimphs, gotten a little older, we've gotten new people, and sadly other people passing away.

 

But we never did forget Allie. We still talk about her. We still think about the fun times we had. Her statue remains in Pacific Waters. Her drawing she left at the Newser office is still there. A Coke bottle she left at Cutlass as Carol remains. 

Alleara's legacy in Second Life remains far and wide, the clothing she designed, the pride felt by the communities she was a part of, the items she built, and the many memories she made with her friends. She is an example of what one can accomplish of one doesn't care too much who gets the credit (and sometimes somebody will make sure the credit is given), and what one can do with great brains, an unwavering spirit, and a great heart.

 

We'll meet again, our beautiful, brilliant, loving gypsy.

 

Bixyl Shuftan 

 

Interview With Sunnweaver Leader Rita Mariner

 
By Penny Shuftan

I was lucky enough to be able to get together with Rita Mariner, the leader of the Sunweaver community.  

My first question was if she owns Sunweaver and other lands. "I own 10 sims, four full, 6 homesteads," said Rita,  "About 10 years, I started out with Sunweaver Isle and expanded from there, as demand grew." According to Rita, the best thing about rental people would be people.

Rita not only has these sims, she also have two clubs; Club Cutlass, and Club Zero Gravity.  "I had them, when we lived in Pockwock," Rita replied, "on the mainland, just moved them, when he had the room here."  I also asked Rita what's the best part about owning the clubs.  She said, "The
people again, I don't run either club for profit. I Just wanted a fun place to hangout with friends."

Rita is also with the Relay For Life in Second Life.  "Yes, I've started with the Passionate Redheads, until they broke up," said Rita, "I then started the Sunbeamers, and been going with them, ever since. I created the team, so I am the boss bunny." The best part of working with the Sunbeamer team would be her team members, and thinking up crazy stuff to do each year with the teams and its members.

One game created for the Sunbeamers' Relay events is the Demolition Derby, which Shockwave created based on her idea.  "It has audience participation, they get to fire cannons at the drivers," said
Rita, after saying that they all have a blast there.

Rita's goal for 2022 is to keep in doing what she has been doing, running the Sunweavers and Sunbeamer team and enjoy the company of her friends while doing so, "It's fun to hangout with my friends, some of them I know in real-life," said Rita, "I used to attend furry conventions as an artist/dealer.  There would be Sunweavers there, we would all get together for dinner one night at the conventions."

Rita's original avatar was a rat, who she named after a female rat in "Flushed Away." She later settled on the Kani Bunny as her main avatar, although she has dozens topick from. 

As we ended the interview, Rita had one more thing to say, "I just follow The Golden Rule, treat others, as you wish to be treated." 

Rita is a hard worker, who cares a lot about the others in many ways.  She is very successful at running the sims, and the clubs.  As we ended the interviews, I did so with a smile because Rita is truly a remarkable person.

Penny

Editor's Note: Just after the interview, Rita gave her renters a month's free rent.
 

Interview With Cynthia Farshore.

By Deaflegacy

Cynthia Farshore and I met at her place.  She offered me some tea and I accepted.  I asked Cynthia Farshore how she found out about Second Life.  "Real-life friend," said Cynthia Farshore, "Really talked it up and said would have things ready for me.  I hadn't had any experience in inworlds so didn't know beans about it."

"Could you please describe to me what your first days on Second Life were like?" I asked Cynthia. She replied, "Mmm, first days.  I was really shy. ... October 3 was my ninth Rezz Day so we're covering about nine years in a hurry."  I wished Cynthia Farshore a happy belated Rezz Day, then she continued, "Now, one of the people to bring me in was Raschid Marenwolf who I stuck with til Eternity. But that sim group was dying. ... Well there's more to the story than that. Actually my first home was 7isles and that is my destroyed land felled by strange magic.  In other words, Linden Lab screwed things up. But that's another story.  Then I traveled to Eternity Castle where I met a few like Liska." 

"... I Looked around and had been told of the Sunweavers," Cynthia Farshore continued on, "Now I had a rough growing up, wasn't liked in High School, was bullied some. The Navy wasn't the best place to have REAL friends, so I was outgoing.  Why I say that is so you understand why I was sneaking around Sunweaver.  I didn't know what kind of people I was going to run into and my experience so far in Medieval roleplay sims was not always the warmest.  But one day, I was floating around, cause I would less likely to be seen or contacted. I ran across a pyramid building and saw a line of furries dancing in sync.  I thought I would like to be a part of that.  I began to explore the building and then realized Raschid knew some of the residents."

Cynthia Farshore went on, "'Ok so must be a good place,' so I got brave and walked in during a dance.  There, one of the first to greet me and start talking to me was Shockwave, and we hit it off right there.  On the roleplay sims you get a casual greeting. But once there, I found people actually talk to you.  Finally a place I felt welcomed and was happy.  Once I was comfortable I began asking questions on how things worked and started building my first house, and it looked like it. Thus comes in Shocky.  With his help, I learned and my skills grew.  Now Caledon, well that came much later.  I collect some antiques, so of course 19th century steampunk attracted me."

At that point, Shockwave Yareach came in and Cynthia Farshore greeted him.  I asked Shockwave  if he didsn't mind having his name mentioned in the article.  Shockwave replied, "Not a bit.  I'm proud to be with my lady." Cynthia explained that we were talking about coming to Sunweaver.  "You were.... hesitant." replied Shockwave  "And the first time I walked in to Cutlass which was the first real Sunweaver contact and the wolf was one of the very first to say hello.  So now we're at coming to Caledon. Again I sort of hid in the shadows and looked around.  This time 'cause being furry I found places like 1920's Berlin and Civil War RP to not be so happy about some one with more hair than them.  But soon I found enough to see it was open." said Cynthia Farshore.  "Place was not so populated so getting anywhere in membership and a place was slow.  Finally found some one who granted me citizenship.  It took a bit but finally got this parcel we're on and found a ready made store that would fit in perfectly."

My next question was about Cynthia Farshore's projects, especially the award winning build she did for Relay For Life a few years ago.  She answered, "Mmmm.  Ok well, I was just building small for myself when there was a disturbance in the force so to speak.  Someone who had built a lot of Sunweaver things, took their ball and went home.  So I being able and feeling I could help started by replacing the fishing deck that Zorro uses today on Sunweaver Space, in addition to having been asked to build a new Cutlass.  Course my jaws dropped off my skull.  It's the buckets of bolts hanging in the sky today.  I had the sim Pacific Waters and went nuts building there, since I'm from an aviation family: Air field! 

"Which lead to the air show idea after I joined our Relay For Life team.  Naturally once on that team, Rita the Chief, the two of us, " she pointed to Shockwave, "got called out to build.  We decided to take turns being chief builder per year.  Ohhh, my first camp nearly killed me, was fighting to get things to work to the last hour.  Was up all the night.  Learned a lot what NOT do do.  That was a couple years later and it was the theme Once Upon A Cure, so I thought story book let's just make a story then.  So this was different."

My last question was about "Bid Me Foxy." She answered, "Bid me Foxy, ohh boy," replied Cynthia, "I have been a goat all my SL life, until then.  It started with my friend Liska (doing a) 'Bid me Goat,' guess why goat (grin). So in response I got brave and put in for 'Bid me Fox.'  As Liska had basically my avatar as I am a heavy modded AV, I found her fox still available, the game was on.

"Booyy I had no idea the Sunnies would sentence me to twelve weeks!!  And if we include Shocky he also got twelve weeks as a goat!  But hey, we raised over 64 K.  So for 12 weeks me and Shocky was close to reversed."

I asked Cynthia  if there was anything else she would like me to mention in the article.  She relied, "Oh, and the DJing and two radio steams.  One is classic rock and the other steampunk or events.  For someone to have come in hiding behind trees, I now build, DJ, holder of two sims and two parcels, am a Duchy in Caledon and have a large number of friends.  Second Life has helped me in my real self. I have DJed for Sunweavers, Nydia's Angels, Caledon Nights and still do some as a matter of facts I'm DJing this weekend for Caledon Oxbridge University fund drive tomorrow night  (Saturday Oct. 20) 7 - 9 SL time." Cynthia Farshore went on to say that she will also be DJing  on Oct. 27th from 6-8PM SL time at the Goblin Cave Entertainment Center in Caledon Downs (104,89,32).

Over the past nine years, "The goat you got," as she once called herself, has come a long way.

Deaflegacy

Rita Mariner and the Sawyer Squad

By Bixyl Shuftan

Many residents in Second Life have at least one alt, short for "alternate account" for those outside the virtual world. It's on the record yours truly has two. Some have a few to several. But few can boast of having the number that Rita Mariner, the chieftess of the Sunweaver community, does. She has over a hundred, most in what she calls the "Sawyer Squad." Her alts are no real secret as she often has a few around Club Cutlass, and will occasionally have one by her. Recently, I had a few words with her about these accounts.

"Maybe 120 plus Sawyers" Rita answered when I asked how many she had. Asking her how did the Sawyer Squad start, she answered, "It started just after I got started in Tiny Empires and Tiny Empires 3000 myself, we were finding it hard to find enough players to become subjects or subordinates.  Also many players would start in one, the other or both, get bored and quit. So I started the Sawyers to fill the gap and try to give active players ... at least one person in their downline, that was active."

How soon and how fast did the alts grow in number? "That happened over a period of years," she answered, "only as I needed them and also due to the investment each one represented.  I figure between the avatars, HUDS, clothes, etc, each alt has, they cost me approximately 20,000L each. ... I have close to $14,000US invested in them over the years."

So what did they have besides HUDs and basic clothes? The chieftess replied, "Well, right from the beginning I decided that all Sawyers would be black, my Babes in Black, as I call them.  Most have aat least two avatars, an Uchi Kani and then a second one of a different critter and most also have a EP pony. Then you toss in several changes of clothes, 7 Seas Fishing game, Crowley Corp ships, AO's.  The costs add up."

Why the name Sawyer and why black? Rita answered, "Sawyer is from the female cat, Sawyer, from Cats Don't Dance. I liked her.  I picked black, 'cause a black Kani is very sexy looking."

"The fun part is several of my alts have their own fans now," the Sunweaver leader revealed. I asked how that came about and why, and was told, "Sawyer021 and Brandi Tungsten both have mice avatars, so they play cousins. Momma Gil, has both Sawyer017 and MissMystique. She wants them on all the time, I don't have the computer power for that. ... MissMystique I created just for MommaGil. She is a cream colored Chinchilla, very pretty. Sawyer017 also has a black Uchi Chinchilla."

Besides the Sawyer Squad, Rita stated she had a few other alts, "I also have a bunch more named ones I created just for fun, The Chipettes have been used in a music video, by Nydia Tungsten. I have the chipmunks too, still looking for the proper hair and outfits for them. Once I actually found a nice chipmunk avatar I created set of named avatars with that, for fun, the female ones are cute, the male ones, not so much."



I brought up Valkyrie Ice, whom was the one non-Sawyer in the "Babes in Black" group. Rita told me, "They are not a separate grroup, Babes in Black, is part of my Sunweavers group. If you have a black avatar, you can be in it. I put the Sawyers in all the regular groups and treat them like a regular player. If someone tlaks to them, I try to get them to respond back. They are not there just as eye candy. I do try to have some fun with them too. That's why they are NOT disposable to me. I come to Second Life for only a couple reasons, be with my friends and play Tiny Empires and Tiny Empires 3000. I don't build much and don't script, (but) I have a massive investment here already in my ten sims. I do participate in the Relay For Life with my Sunbeamer Team, and I am happy to raise what money we can for the American Cancer Society."

Rita stated the response others have had to her alts has been positive as far as she's seen, "They like them, Queen Ranchan titled me 'Sawyer Swarm Queen' in Tiny Empires. In TE3K, I am Space Booty Hunter. (Also) in TE3K, I was able to move some of my Sawyers under a new player who moved to our guild and bump him back up to Director. ... That's what the Sawyers are for."

Rita then mentioned a problem that had recently come up, "I want to get my alts off Singularity and onto a better viewer, I can't do it without help. All my pass codes were written a ledger book and months ago, (and) it got accidentally tossed out in the trash and I mean ALL my pass codes, not just for Second Life. So that is why I am trying to get Linden Lab to understand the situation. I can't go through the normal procedure to recover pass codes, the e-mails tied to the various accounts have long since disappeared or been changed into something else." And when she tried contacting Linden Lab, their response was bureaucratic, "I put in a ticket to try and get this issue with my alt avatars fixed and have run into a roadblock they NEVER had out in the open, but buried in their wiki site. Who goes to the wiki site? They say, on their wiki site you limited to five alts! They will help me with five. And even they screwed that up. They are stuck on Singularity, I want to move them to Firestorm/Phoenix, can't do it without the passcodes."

"I don't want to throw them away," Rita spoke about Linden Lab's five alt limit, "I have close to $14,000US invested in them over the years." She did have a possible compromise for the Lab, "I suggest to Linden Lab, that they put a third option on the signup page for alts. If they want $9.95 fee for each alt, then ask at creation, I would have gladly paid it, then.  but in exchange I want no hassles if I need help."

Some days later, Rita had an update on the situation of her alts, "Linden Lab actually took my suggestion and I got my five accounts back." I asked if she was going to get help with the rest, and the Sunweaver leader answered, "It's all done. I told them to just put a simple code on each one for now, e-mail me the code, I would use that to access their AL account page and reset the passcode myself. So they did it, I accessed eacch one and they are all reset."

And so all is well once again with one of the largest groups of alts in Second Life. If you want to see some of them, come on over to Club Cutlass, or message Rita Mariner.

Bixyl Shuftan

Interview With Dusk Griswold

By Bixyl Shuftan

Those whom have been with the Sunweaver/Angel community for a while know about Dusk Griswold. Newcomers might not notice much out of the ordinary about her at first aside from her "full-figured" appearance amongst thinner avatars as she often describes herself as "boring." Actually, she has quite a bit of history behind her, including outside of Second Life where the person behind the avatar was involved in the early days of some Furry conventions.

To begin with, Dusk was one of the founding members of the Sunweavers, or a "charter member" as she describes herself, "I introduced Rita to SL." But a number of Second Life's Furry residents know her better for her time in conventions of the genre in the years before Second Life, "I have a long history in furry." Her story there began in 1992, "Got my first computer and joined AOL, and discovered furry art on there." She didn't join any groups at first, "but by posting to forums, got to meet some people and learn more."

Dusk's first convention, "was in 1994. It was actually a sci-fi con called Duckon, near Chicago. MFF branched of from it several years later, Midwest Furfest."The con had a furry track, but it was floundering. I answered an ad about it, and showed the track lead my puppets. By adding the puppets and helping jump start the idea of a furry variety show, we started to get notice." Dusk had only been involved in puppetry for a couple years, "The puppet shows I did at MFF in 1994 were the first ones ever done at any furry con or furrytrack. I went to Confurence in 1995, which spread the puppetry to a larger audience. After a few years of mainly solo work, other people caught the puppetry bug, and it spread to other cons." She was becoming more successful as a puppeteer, but did other things as well, "Like directing variety shows, doing various staff jobs at cons, teaching puppetry in con panels, helped start MFF."

Of the star characters among Dusk's puppets, "Early on, I had an otter named Odie, a squirrel named Gracie, and a fox named Scarlett. I think it was Vixie that brought me to the next level." Vixie had come about, "By accident, actually. Back in 2000, I was in California at a con, and spent a few days at a friend's house. This friend had a stage set up to record puppet videos, and we recorded several of them that week. One puppet he had was a little fox named Vixlet. I started playing around with it, and soon this personality emerged that the others helping with the videos seemed to enjoy. It was funny because it was a bit obnoxious, a little fox who thought the universe revolved around her. She had a little bit of an ego. The puppet itself was a stuffed animal my friend turned into a puppet, one he found at a thrift store. I had so much fun with it, I started looking on eBay for one. Took about six months to find one. But when I did, I sent it off to my friend who turned it into a puppet." So why spent months looking for a specific kind of plush fox? "I had no choice," Dusk explained, "Not all plush can be made into puppets."

"Vixie was a lot of fun, and she became pretty popular," Dusk went on, "No one big thing, just a lot of appearances at cons, I wrote skits for her, and she also acted as host for the puppet shows. It helped develop her character. Like a lot of characters, she is best when she has someone to bounce off of." Dusk described her as something of a mad scientist. So what were her most memorable scenes? "Hard to say, but she has been blown up, shrunk in size from a juicing machine, and electrocuted, to name a few things.  I see her as a bit of a mix of Miss Piggy, Wile E Coyote, and Dr Bunsen Honeydew from the Muppets. She even has her own company, Vixie Labs."

And like a number of mad scientists, "things always backfire on her. Her main nemesis are the ferrets, the Folkmanis ferret puppets. She experiments on them, but they always turn the tables. They got their ultimate revenge in 2008. I needed an excuse to introduce the new Vixie." Dusk had created a much more detailed Vixie puppet, "Vixie invented a ferret washing machine that used gamma radiation. The tables were turned, and Vixie ended up in it, transforming her completely. Actually, in the end, was a good thing. Vixie ended up loving her new look. I had to find a way to explain the big chage in Vixie's look."

Dusk stated that Vixie "was getting popular, but the one problem I had was, being as she was a converted stuffed animal, the design was not mine. I felt it was better to own her fully, character and design." What influences were there in the newer Vixie's design? "A main was was a little know Canadian show that had really nicely made puppets in it. It was called The Longhouse Tales. Except for the nicely made puppets, pretty forgettable. But I borrowed a bit from the fox in it for Vixie." Dusk went on to say. "The ... puppet was built by a former Muppet performer. ... Cost a lot ... over $2,000." She admited the price was hefty, "can get a fursuit made for that," but feels the price was well worth it.



(Click here if the video fails to play)

I noticed that Dusk's Flickr page had the name "Rose Raccoon." "An old name from the past," she told me, "little used one from my pre-SL days." There was no puppet named "Dusk." The name came from an online comic called Faux Pas (http://www.ozfoxes.com/fauxpas.htm), pronounced 'fox paws.' She is actually kind of a nasty fox in the strip. Very pretty fox, but not very nice. I like her, so thought the name would be fun, although I am not her at all." So how would she describe Dusk as a character to those outside Second Life? "Actually, just a decent person. Tries to be nice and friendly, and a bit independent as well."

One thing that sets Dusk apart from some Second Life residents is she doesn't really have a set species, appearing as a bunny, gazelle, fennec (which she did for the interview, and others, "probably a rabbit more that anything, but enjoys sometimes switching species. ... it's more just what I feel like on any given day, no real meaning to it. I like a lot of species, so hard to always be just one."

Dusk first came to Second Life in August 9, 2006, "I learned about it from friends of mine, and I was a bit clueless at first. I talked Rita and Jenni into joining a few months later." Dusk isn't quite sure how long it took to more or less get the hang of things in Second Life, "Been too long." Much of the Sunweavers' early days have already been described by Rita in an interview in 2014. Besides being a charter renter here, she was one of the first DJs at their first club, Club Cutlass, "I just know a lot about music, but no real DJ experience. I like older music, so mainly 60s and 70s music. I try to fit the theme if I can."

Dusk would bring Vixie into Second Life as an alt, Vixie Valiant. "That was part of having her remade into my own character," she described, "I wanted to see if a fully anthro Vixie would work. So SL became a testing ground. Yes, what I leanred was her personality was more important than her looks. But having her custom made was a big investment, and I wanted to make sure." Dusk almost always has Vixie act in character, "Vixie I play more like how the puppet is. If you read her profile, it is explained there. I try to keep her more in character all the time."

Dusk found out about the Relay for Life in Second Life in 2008. Her early days there were "hard, as I got involved when Fimi (Artistic Fimicloud) was going downhill." Her passing was hard for Dusk and everyone else who knew her. But Dusk went on with the Relay, "I did DJ at several events, and (the song) 'Calypso' became a favorite on our team." She wasn't sure why it was popular, though it was a favorite of Fimi's, "just something about it people liked."

In 2012, the leaders of the Passionate Redheads stepped down for personal reasons, and Dusk became co-captain of the team along with Longrem Smalls, at least until a permanent leader could be found. But after the season was done, the decision was made to retire the Redheads and start a new team, "It was a sad chapter, but I think we have moved on." Of the team that replaced it, the Sunbeamers, Dusk feels they have done, "very well, actually."

Of Dusk's plans for the Relay this year, "I am on a different team this year, and hope my experience can help them. They are called Mel's Maniacs." The Sunbeamers have held joint events with the Maniacs last year, "and the plan is to continue that this year. ... Their team is small, but has a lot of similarities to ours. I felt that I could help them. And since the Sunbeamers are doing so well, felt they could spare me." Of the Maniac's plans, Dusk is, "Honestly, not real sure. All I do know is they have started building their campsite. They have the space to make a floating platform to build on. They do start early."

Of her puppetering in real lire, Dusk says she hasn't been doing much of anything recently, "It's actually been a very slow period, not many gigs in reall ife, and no more furry cons." She is taking a break from conventions that she feels is, "likely a permanent one. ... cons have changed, the demographics. The bulk of people who attend are younger, and their interests have shifted." From Dusk's observation, the new generation of furry convention goers shows little interest in puppetry, "or much performance related. Fursuits and fursuit dance competitions are big now. The younger crowd just doesn't seem to care about skits and such." While this may change, Dusk feels, "by then, will likely be too late for me. I mean, I will be too old." Dusk did say that, "someone is writing a book on the history of furry cons, and I will be in it. It will mention my role in the founding of MFF."

It was about this time the interview wound down, and we went our separate ways. Dusk Griswold can be reached by instant-messaging her. She also drops in on events at Club Cutlass, though may leave early if she has plans early the next morning.

Bixyl Shuftan

Editor's Note: Dusk had been earlier interviewed by Grease Coakes in 2012. 

Nydia Tungsten Speaks on Recent Events

By Bixyl Shuftan

Nydia Tungsten has had quite a history in Second Life, notably as a valued member of the Sunweavers. Her own group of fans, the Angels, could be considered a comminity in itself, on occasion the Sunweavers are refered to as the Sunweaver/Angels community. But the past several weeks have not been kind to the little white vixen. One problem was her computer, her pets had knocked the unit on the floor, wrecking it. But the real problem was her mother. In poor health recently, she finally passed away, leaving Nydia and her family in mourning, and stuck with bills as the funeral insurance would not pay for certain expenses. Such difficulties would mean the end of Second Life for many, but Nydia's friends came together in support for her. Recently, Nydia asked to talk about this trying time and the response of her friends.

"I want to let everyone know how much their support means to me," Nydia spoke of the response of her friends, "It has be been a really sh**ty 8 weeks for me. ... I never really feel like I am all that special, I am just here and I have great friends."

"I felt terrible about my system being broke, then my Mom started to take a turn for the worse again. I thought she would turn around again, I really did. But then, she started slipping. I had very little in the way of an outlet. I couldn't even come here much."

"I was overwhelmed with frustration and...and....despair. ( I am fighting back tears right now remembering). Then I started getting glimpses of what was happening here, for me. I couldn't understand it,  but I was so grateful for it. Then Reco, goddess bless him and make all his dreams come true, paid for the buy-down for both my sims, over 1200 US dollars. I was in shock, So I was able to reduce the rents of all my renters. Then he buys me another computer, a whole ferkin' computer! (One) that was just a bit shy of 2,000."

"You're wondering where he got the money?" I asked.

"I do wonder," Nydia answered, "I hope everything is okay for him."

"He has been doing a *lot* for a number of people<" I spoke, "But when I asked him about it, his response was simply 'I just wanted to help.' "

"Dear goddess he HAS helped," Nydia responded, "He even sent me money to help with the burial of my Mother. There is no way I can ever repay him, I wish there was something I could do for him."

"Then there was the memorial set up next to us," Nydia directed my attention to the cross set up nearby, which was soon followed by candles and flowers, "I am starting to realize how much I am cared for here.. While touching, it scares me a bit as well. I have never been that cared about in real-life, never one of the 'in' crowd so to speak, So being shown I am loved this much, it overwhelms me.I don't know how to react to it. To me, I am just me, nothing special, just here. So, I don't see, why, or understand."

"Well, you have been here for many of us in a time of need," I told her, "a shoulder to cry on, a ear to listen to."

"But, that's just being a good person," Nydia answered, "So, I am just not used to it I guess. But I would like to take this opportunity to thank each and everyone of my family and friends here in Second Life and please know I love you. Dear goddess I can't say that enough, and I never will be able to repay you for all the warmth and love shown to me. It has sustained me through this whole ordeal."

It was then that Nydia finished what she had to say about recent weeks, and we talked more about other matters before we had to part.

Bixyl Shuftan

Sunnny Awards Night at Cutlass

By Bixyl Shuftan (and Becky Shamen)

On the night of April 22, the Sunweaver community held an event to honor several individuals whom have distinguished themselves for their efforts to help out the community. The ceremony took place in the middle of the usual Friday night dance, DJed by Cynthia Farshore, which was briefly put on hold.

"People can I have your attention, please?!" Rita spoke up, then began reading from some notes, "Dearly Beloved, we are gathered here to join this man and this women........wait a minute....oops .....wrong ceremony. We are gathered here to award to some very deserving individuals the very first ever SUNNY Awards." After a couple chuckles from the audience, the white bunnygirl continued, "This award was inspired by the deeds of a certain individual who went way above the Call of Duty, to others and in the opinion of many of us deserves this award and more! Our own Sha, Becky Shamen designed it, so kudos to her for her work, on this and much, much more."

"Since we only set aside 15 minutes for this, let's get rolling. Perri Prinz, please step forward and stand beside the box and the center column, please." Perri moved, but was having a little trouble with lag, "Perri? Behind the column, please. Center one. Thank you." Perri would be receiving the first award on behalf of her partner RECoyote Mines, whom sadly wasn't there at the ceremony, but busy with his trucking job in real life.

"RECoyote is the inspiration for the SUNNY Award, it has been his over the top generosity, too so many, that it has to be recognized and honored. The wonderful part is he did it without being asked, he just saw the need and helped! That is a rare quality in today's world and so that needs to be appreciated and nurtured. The Sunweavers are like that, we are family! Now while most of us can't be as helpful as RECoyote was, many of us have stepped up in the past and done what we can, when we could, with what we had. Really no one can ask for more.

"So RECoyote from ALL of US to you we present you with the very first SUNNY Award and to top it off, we also present you with a statue of your mangy coyote self, so pigeons can poop on you daily! We do this cause WE LOVE YOU!" There were a number of cheers and claps and a "huzzaaaaaaaaaaahhhhh" animation, "Thanks for your deeds REC."

Perri spoke, "Since REC couldn't be here for unavoidable reasons, it's my honor to accept this award on his behalf. I'm sure he'll appreciate it and be long reminded of the love that comes to those who do good." Becky commented, "REC is the reason I made the award. It is designed to radiate JOY. The statue was a co-build with Rita." Shockwave spoke, "One of the nicest folks I've known. ... was worried about Perri and Ny.  A class act all the way."

"Thanks to him, living here just got a little easier for all of us. Those fees (to Linden Lab) weren't cheap. Neither were those tablets." "And he is helping with my transmission." "He also paid my family out of a ... debt. ... Pretty much saved our lives." "And he is helping with my transmission." "A very very generous soul." "There's a place in heaven for him." "Not soon I hope." "We bring heaven to earth by helping others."

After a few more comments, Rita continued, "Next up, Shockwave Yareach and Cynthia Farshore, please step forward and stand next to your awards, please." Sockwave pretended to be worried, "I didn't do anything! The tape lies!" Once they were at their places, the white rabbitgirl continued, "Shockwave has been with me since Day One, he has been my right hand Wolf, also pissing on my foot and chewing on the furniture, never totally housebroken." After a pause for chuckles, she continued, "Still if you need some building done, something sripted, a renter's temper soothed, a glitch in the club's media system, or running the Sunday Night Movies, Shockwave is right there. I don't think SL would be half as much fun without him. The greatest compliment I can give him is to call him my friend both here and in RL. So you deserve this Sunny award Shockwave. Enjoy it!" There were then a number of cheers, followed by Shockwave saying, "Thank you very much."

Rita then turned her attention to Cynthia, "Cynthia Farshore, I don't know you as well as Shockwave, but Shockwave likes you and since you keep a smile on his face and keep him out of the gutter, that has to account for something. On a more serious note, Cynthia has repeatedly, let us use her SIM to host Air shows for the RFL, she is also half of our dynamic duo build team for the Sunbeamer campsites. She has put out alot of her own money to get things done. She also loves to DJ. She is a valued member of our community, so you are deserving of this award Cynthia, Enjoy!" There were more cheers.

Rita then looked to Becky, "Becky your turn, park your tushie next to your award." Becky did, then Rita resumed, "The fourth person is our own Sha, Becky Shamen, the bouncing Bunny, who decorates the dance pole,here at Cutlass,during our dances. She also designs and makes all the clothes for the Sunbeamer RFL team. Sha also runs things here on Sunweaver Bay for me, taking in strays, mentoring new people, building stuff, ...  Sha is like my own bunny clone on the sim. She keeps things running smoothly here so I can goof off. Supreme Bunny is LAZY! Becky enjoy your award you earned it!" There were more cheers and congratulations."

Rita was a bit hesitant in speaking about the fifth award winner, "The last person on the list to get an award is me, but I am not going to blow my own horn, as they say, I'll leave that to others. If they wish." Shockwave spoke first, "Rita started this mad house.  Paid for it with her own money for years and years.  Kept us together when many other groups had fallen apart." Becky added, "Being a useful member of this community is one of my greatest joys. I am thankful and I insisted that our beloved Big Moma should also receive this award. She is the core of Sunweavers." Cynthia spoke, "I was still rather shy when I found this place but Rita and Shocky here help me to be more open."

Becky told Rita, "Take your place on stage, Chief." The white rabbitgirl did, "It has been a real pleasure to lead ths freak show, I LOVE YOU ALL!" Shockwave smiled, "We love you too, chief freak." Cynthia mused, "So for our chief freak I bring you ..." and the music resumed, then so did the dancing as the people on stage got down.

The coyote statue made in honor of RECoyote Mines would later be placed in the Sunweaver Estates, somewhere in Sunweaver Bay.

Pictures by Becky Shamen, Story by Bixyl Shuftan

Bixyl Shuftan

Nydia Tungsten Gets New Monitor From Sunweavers

Among the more active residents of the Sunweaver Estates is Nydia Tungsten. One of the estate managers who helps out with any land issues, in the past she was one of the regular DJs at Club Zero Gravity, the Happy Vixen, and other clubs. More recently she's been doing a number of videos, many of which have been featured on the Newser such as "Come Back," "Evacuate the Dance Floor," and "Margaritaville." And of course her articles in the newsletter, mainly reviews of games but also some occasional social commentary.

In real life, Nydia's finances have been a bit limited, as have those of many residents. So when her monitor began acting up after several years of use, such as blinking out for a couple seconds, She didn't have enough after regular expenses to buy a new one right away. So reluctantly, she made the following announcement.

I can't shoot anymore videos until further notice, I have a dying monitor and it is going to cost me between 150 to 200 dollars usd to replace, so please bare with me while I tend to it and save up.

It didn't take long for word to get around. So after some discussion, Sunweaver chieftess Rita Mariner made an announcement of her own:

Sunnies:  Nydia Tungsten's Monitor is dying and doesn't have the funds to replace it and that means no more videos!  Maybe no more SL for her.  We can't have that.  REC has suggested a Monitor Fund for her, I agreed to collect any Lindens you may wish to donate to help out.  After a period of time, I will pass along any Lindens we get to Nydia and she can then convert it to Cash and transfer it to her bank!  So if you wish to help out, just sned your donation to me, Rita Mariner.

Not everyone donated via Rita. A few directly donated to Nydia. But the results were the same. It didn't take long at all for Nydia to find out she had all the money she needed.

Sunnies:  The fund to raise funds to help Nydia Tungsten replace her dying monitor was a complete success!  Those of us that donated, raised over ... towards her new monitor and she was awestruck!  She has offered to make music videos for all those that donated.  Way cool, Nydia!  Here is the Monitor she decided to get.
http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16824005623
Thanks again to all who donated.  We are Family!


Nydia herself had some words about what happened, "When I found out about it...I was shocked.....for them to do that for me .... it touched me deeply.  At first I thought maybe ... $10 to$50 dollars .... because I know how tight money is. Then I started getting it...and I cried...."

"I knew I had to get the best monitor I could for the money, so I enlisted my mega geek brother for help. Between the two of us we found a monitor at a great price. I was even able to get a 3 year extended warranty. And I thought I should get it as fast as possible, so people wouldn't keep donating their hard earned money..."

Nydia paused for a moment, then spoke again, "You know I am not one toask for help at a drop of a hat.... Once I confirmed the sale...I cried again. I am almost eight years old in Second Life. I have seen and heard of this happening to others as well. But never thought it would happen to me..." There was silence for a few more moments, "Sorry for the long pauses...crying again..."

"There are a LOT of people here in Second Life I consider family. I know to some here in SL they will call anyone family at the drop of a hat.....I only claim those that I truly care for."

So what were Nydia's plans now that she has a new monitor on the way? "I have stopped video productions because of the monitor, as well as most streaming and gaming," she explained, So I will start that up again." When asked if she had an idea for a video, "Several actually, skunks and vixens as well as others dancing. I will start with a small one at first as a test."

"What I REALLY wanted to say... To all of those that donated, and wanted too, I would like to publicly say 'Thank you' and your love has touched me deeplyand I will never forget this. I truly want to say more... but words fail me. I am STILL bloody crying... I want so much to give back some how to those that have given to me.....even in some small way."

It was a day later that Nydia announced that the monitor had finally arrived. She showed a picture of it to the Sunweaver group up and running, in the new Minecraft server a number of Sunweavers and others in the Furry Gamers group have been in, and that she was back in business.

Another example of how Second Life friends come together to help one another.

Bixyl Shuftan

Rita Mariner and the History of the Sunweavers

By Bixyl Shuftan

Every community in Second Life has a history, and this includes the Sunweavers. Living in the sims Sunweaver Isle, Sunweaver Bay, Sunweaver Space, Sunlight Bay, HV Community, and Pacific Waters, the "Sunnies" as they are sometimes called go back several years. They've been the home of some noted persons in Second Life, such as Artistic Fimicloud, Lomgren Smalls, and Alleara Snoodle. Also the Second Life Newser's office is in the Sunweaver sim of HV Community.

Recently the Sunweaver leader Rita Mariner and I met up to talk about the history of the group.We met up in the Southwest corner of the Sunweaver Estates in the sim of Sunweaver Bay, on top of the tall apartment building in the sim.

"So, how did the idea for the Sunweavers come about?" I asked Rita.

Rita answered, "It was simple, we were living in (the sim of) MUD at the time and starting to acquire land. Having a group, made owning land more benefical. I had a friend named, Shane Fisher, who had a comic of sorts and in that comic, he had a religious group called The Sunweavers. The Sunweavers idea of religion was PARTY!, singing and dancing, jojfulness. So I borrowed it for our group. We started ... a core group of us, most of whom are still with us. Once we bought all the Land on MUD we could get, we still wanted more."

"And whom was the core group?" I asked.

Rita replied,"Jenni Greenfield, Dusk Griswold, Shockwave Yareach, Windy Lurra, Brolly Field, Robin Hyacinth, and me." She handed over a couple images of the group, "Not the best pic, all I have." Then came one of an area, "One of the Sunweaver's First creations, Sunweaver Park. The group lived on one side of the road, in MUD, we used the land on the other side as a park to get creative and built a park."

It was about this time we were joined by one of the Sunweaver Estates' residents, Becky "Sha" Shamen, after some friendly greetings, she stuck around to listen, "loves the community."

Rita continued, "Anyways, while we lived in MUD, we were having fun calling ourselves 'MUD's Women,' spoofing the Star Trek episode."

"So all girls, except for Shockwave?" I asked.

"Pretty much," Rita answered, "One of the early conditions I put on the Sunweavers to set us apart from other groups, was we did bellydancing, therefore, we all needed to get at least, one set of decent silks, preferably EROS silks, even though, at the time, they were pricey. ... We would then showup at various dance clubs, in our silks and dance, getting a lot of praise, those silks were very nice. But when EROS stopped selling the silks, I dropped the requirement."

"What year was this?" I asked.

"2007," Rita answered," Long time ago. Once we maxed out on how much Land we could get in MUD. I started looking elsewhere. I settled on POCKWOCK, and slowly started to buy up land there. Once we had a decent amout of land there, we created Club Cutlass and Club Zero Gravity. Shockwave had a blast creating the scripts for Zero G," Rita described the space club then, "you could dance on the walls, the ceiling, float in the air and still dance."

I asked, "They looked much different then, did they not?"

"Yes," she answered, "we built our first shopping area there, airfield, pirate ships, fort, etc. secret tunnels, we had fun."

"Sounds interesting. So the tunels were secret passages between places?" I asked.

"Mostly secret escape or entrance," Rita answered, "Just for fun. We liked to get creative. ...  I almost owned the entire sim, but there were a few holdouts, and they wanted ridiculous amounts of lindens for their land. Of course all of this was taking place just prior to LL pulling the plug on gambling."

"So after the gambling ban, land was cheaper?" I asked.

"Land prices dropped into (the) trashcan," Rita answered, "Casinos no longer were profitable and people were bailing out of SL so fast, they didn't care. That's why today it's hard to get renters, (the) aftermath of the land boom and bust."

"At that time I decided it was about time to get a private estate. They weren't cheap. (But) the idea of having total control over it and no neighbors with banlines and PORN everywhere appealed to us. Sunweaver Isle was our first estate."

"How fast did the community grow?" I asked

"Once that was filled up, we had alot of demand for another," Rita answered, "so soon we added Sunweaver Cove. Still more demand, but for public sims. I then added sunweaver Air, Sunweaver Space, Cape suzette and Buccaneer Bay. I had enough renters to at least keep the bleeding from my checking account manageable. (I) Never had enough to break even. Then when LL decided to add the Homesteads I had several folks approach me about getting one."

"How did that go?" I asked.

Rita answered, "I said, 'you pay for them, tell me where you want it. I'll order it.' So I had three different people order them. That worked out fine, until LL changed the rules on them. Raised the tier and limited the use. People started dumping them."

"Did any of the Sunweaver homesteads close?" I asked.

"Only one," Rita answered, "I gave up one Homestead."

"I recall the Sunweavers have included some creative people whom were known elsewhere," I brought up, "such as Lomgren Smalls and Alleara Snoodle."

"Yes, Alleara is still around," Rita told, "but as for Lomgren, not sure what has happened to him. I guess real life got him."

"And Artistic Fimicloud," I also brought up.

"Yes, we still remember Fimi," Rita reflected, "she is one of the inspirations for why we Rally in the RFL. She used to have a nice treehouse on Sunweaver Cove, across from Tremi. We had hoped to put the treehouse back up on Sunweaver Bay, but not sure who has it."

Rita handed me a few pictures. I noticed one in particular, "Oh yes, I recognize your house."

"The house next to mine was a co-worker and friend," she told me, "He was a skunk on SL."

"Is he still around?" I asked.

"No," Rita answered, "he passed away a few years ago."

"Oh, sorry." I told her.

"Eugene Chandrayaan (was his) SL name," Rita told me, "(his) profile has been wiped."

"It seems only a handful of Second Life residents have a friend from real life coming in with them," I commented.

"Dusk brought me here," Rita informed, "and when I was going to Furry Cons alot, I use to let folks on SL know and we had Sunweaver Parties."

"How many from Second Life, and the Sunweavers, would you meet there?" I asked Rita.

"Varies," Rita answered, "I have had anywhere between 5-10 showup, say Hi and then some of us would go out to dinner. Met Kaarla, Twilight, Shockwave, Zorro, Fyremane, Lomgren, Dusk, probably many others whose names I have slipped my mind."

"You mentioned Dusk brought you here?" I told her, "How did that come about and how were your days before the Sunweavers?"

"I knew Dusk from meeting her at the Warner Bros Store, In Chicago," Rita answered, "I had driven up there to meet the voice over actors for the Animanics. During over chats, Dusk invited me to try out SL, It was a stepup from E-Muck. a Muck with PICTURES!"

"I started out in Nueltin. I had to borrow the Lindens from Dusk and Twilight to buy my first land, house, etc. Since I was on probation, with LL. for the first 30 days. My land was out in the bay, so I floated my house. It was the same house I still have, by the way."

"Oh really? How did you come up with the design?" I asked.

"I didn't," Rita answered, "I bought it. I like it, the inside is an open layout, so you can install walls and stuff as you like. The idea for the Group didn't come about till we needed it for Land Purchases. Then I thought about it. Sunweavers came out from that and we decided to have fun with it too."

I decided the change the subject, "Earlier the Relay was mentioned. How did you find out about the Passionate Redheads?"

Rita thought for a moment, "I think it was members of the sunweavers that mentioned it. Probably Dusk, so I joined up. Being both a survivor and caregiver, I fit right in."

"What year was this?" I asked.

"2009," Rita answered, " I keep all my stuff in folders, and 2009 is the earliest RFL stuff I have."

I continued, "As I recall, quite a number of Sunweavers joined up with the Redheads."

"Yes, The Redheads was a great team," Rita added, "lots of us were in it. Pity that it had to disband, but I understand why and I support Sabine's decision."

I nodded, "What were some of your favorite events that it held?"

"Heck, I don't remember that far back. You would have to ask Dusk."

"With the Redheads gone, you stepped forward by founding a new team," I recalled.

"Yes," Rita answered, "Someone needed too. Pity that I haven't been able to attract all of the old Redheads back."

Becky Shamen, whom was nearby, commented, " ...and somebody...ahem...made clothes for the new team (smile)."

Rita briefly glanced over, then commented, "Yes, we have to thank Becky here for the classy Team Clothes she made for us."

"One group that often gets mentioned in the same sentence as the Sunweavers are the Angels" I brought up, "Do you consider yourselves the same community in Second Life, or two close ones?"

"Two close groups," Rita answered, "Nydia created the Angels for her own purposes, as I created the Sunweavers for mine." There was a slight typo, followed by an odd gesture, "Oops. Darn caps lock, didn't even notice until after (hitting the 'Enter' key)." Rita laughed, "I guess I was too busy staring at Sha's chest."

After a few jokes and snickers between the three of us, Rita got back on track, "but the Sunweavers are family. We look out for each other, help each other, care for each other. Like right now, several of us are working to get Jenni's PC working again."

"It's been having trouble?" I asked.

"It died, or at least the video card part," Rita answered, "but nothing we sent her as far as cards, worked. Her PC is just so OLD! I looked at my PC, the motherboard is $22, the processor $14! My PC was bought in 2006, Gateway GM5076E. One is a Dell, the other a HP."

"Besides the Relay," I brought up, "recently the Sunweavers have recently gotten a place in the InWorldz grid."

"Yes, a toehold in Inworldz," Rita esplained, "Not really going to get a huge following until more sellers see a market there and put in vendors, especially for avatars. I have a purple vixen, on PMS."

I chuckled, "Oh yes, your everyday avatar is a purple kani ... was there a special reason for this look?"

Rita answered, "When I saw the Kani bunny I loved the look. And since I am not a lover of PINK, I chose purple for me, just to be different. I have several other colors too, I can put on if needed. I wear pink, only on special occassions. ...  I don't mind Pink on others, just doesn't work for me."

Rita then turned to another subject, her squad of alts, "As for the Sawyers, when I decided to create them, I went totally Black for them."

"Oh yes the Sawyers, Why were they made?" I asked.

"Primarily to help out on Tiny Empires and Tiny Empires 3000," Rita answered, "To give folks with no subjects or subordinates someone."

"I've noticed there's often a few around at Cutlass parties," I commented.

"Yes," she told, "I am personally maxed out on ships and credits in TE3K, so I have one of them around to feed ships to them, as the offer comes up. I cycle through them, bring each one up to a certain level, before swapping them out for the next one."

"And dressed in theme, I've noticed," I recalled.

"Oh, each sawyer represents a major investment in time and Lindens." Rita informed.

I commented, "I've noticed a few different avatars among them, bunny, bat, pony ..."

"Each Sawyer has a Kani, EP Pony, Felis," she told me, "plus I am trying to find them a unique avatar for themselves, but it needs to be available, in black. Plus I send them out for clothes shopping too."

Becky, who was still nearby, wryly remarked with a grin, "I think Rita likes the smell of burning money."

Rita laughed, "They burn 5-6,000 (Lindens) in clothes. So by the time I am done with each Sawyer with avatars, AO, clothes, etc, I have 20,000 lindens in them. Also the Tiny Empire HUDS they aren't cheap, when you get the compacts and fed hud, plus bookkeeping add-on.  So my Sawyers are a major investment. And a couple of them have already been claimed," she laughed again, "Momma Gil has Claimed Sawyer 017, and Brandi has claimed Sawyer21."

"So when they're claimed, what happens," I asked.

"In a way, they are like their pets and/or sister/cousins," she answered, "Sawyer21 is my mouse and looks like Brandi."

"I imagine the Sawyers must mean quite a bit of multitasking," I commented, "and computer power.

"I have two desktops running," Rita explained.

"And the newer one handles the most?" I asked.

"Both desktops are roughly the same," she stated, "one has a little more RAM than the other. I bought the second one off eBay for $600."

"So, after the Relay is done, were there any future plans you had with the Sunweavers?" I asked.

Rita brought up a slideviewer show she was working on, "I try to talk those Sunnies who haven't contributed a photo of themselves, to do so. So I can put them in the slideviewers."

Becky brought up another issue, "You recently mentioned another trolly line. Albert and I were hoping for a road that connected the estate sims."

Rita answered her, "I would have to check with landowners about putting a bridge across the sims to their land."

"Most have cars or bikes," Becky expressed, "It would be fun to drive between all the sims."

"I will have to check with Nydia too," Rita stated, "She might build a road, don't know. ... they don't have the extra prims for a road."

After that, Rita got a call, "Well, Jeremiah needs my help, she is moving to here." She then  gave her farewell, and we went our separate ways.

If you want to meet up with the Sunweavers, drop by one of their parties at Club Cutlass on Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday at 6PM, Sunweaver Space (176/62/125). If you want to live at the Sunweaver Estates, contact Rita, Shockwave Yareach, Dusk Griswold, or Nydia Tungsten for information.

Image credit: Rita Mariner, Artistic Fimicloud

Bixyl Shuftan