Welcome to 2024 folks! I wonder what it will bring… well how about we see what the end of 2023 brought us and then we’ll tease what’s coming in 2024? :) Before we get there I ought to share some FSG related info if you’re new to my blog though.
If you want to explore all the different areas at our parcel look for the signs and handy teleport pads then select your destination from the menu. As demonstrated by this mysterious cat who will return soon…
“Menu” by Dal.
So what was our awesome community doing around Christmas time and New year..?
“xmas” by Esmi.
Well to start with Esmi Claus arranged our largest ever group photo (with help from Dia who built an awesome backdrop)! Thirteen of our wonderful community members – and my doggy – in our favourite festive looks; so organising it must have been like herding cats lol. It turned out so great though! The question is what can we do to beat the record number with a future group pic?
“Merry Christmas from FSG” by Esmi.
Dal’s Riddle Hunt also returned for the holiday season!! With an array of deviously difficult rhyming conundrums to tease our server members. They just had to be the first to take a pic next to the hidden gingerbread men to win a prize; plus whomever found the most during Dal’s 12 days of Christmas questions won an extra L$500 :) If you want to see all the riddles I’ll share the link below but I’m also going to feature some of Dal’s best…
Golden liquid, glistening bright Bubbling up with a ferocious might It cooks as if magic, the scent doth rise Filling the air with a savory surprise Savor this moment before I’m plunged in the heat This cookie will come out smelling like potatoes and meat.
Rath – Day 7 (Sheboys Food Stall).
Floating in a world of wonder, where the impossible reigns A sight to behold, beyond mortal chains There’s living gold on the ceiling, it’s so serene Bodies glimmer bright, like precious gems from a dream
Their round gold bodies dart and dance in an endless spree Swimming across the ceiling so effortlessly While I just sink and get soggy These celestial beings just wiggle their bodies.
Cuteboi – Day 6 (Blacklist Goldfish Pond).
In this metal cell I find my own personal hell A bell will mark my doom Through thermal convection I’m baked to perfection While the beans start to bloom So please liberate me Don’t have me with tea I’m stale and not fit to consume.
Jasper – Day 2 (Sheboys Coffee Shop).
It was a close contest and Dal had to come up with a devious tie-breaker to end it all but Cuteboy won in the end. A huge well done to everyone who took part though! I have a feeling we might see that mysterious cat again; hiding Easter eggs maybe…
There was also a huge milestone moment for one of our very own FSG team just before Christmas (December 14th) as Esmi reached 1000 followers on Flickr!!
Oh and speaking of stunning shots in the lead up to Christmas we had our annual FSG Festive Photo contest! If you’d like to see all the rule info and all the superb entries then scoot over to the discord server with this handy link but I’m going to feature the prize winners here too 😉
We had two extra prize winners; both of whom scooped up L$500 prizes.
“Most Magical” prize winner by Stacey.“Most Radical” prize winner by Geo.
The top 3 prize winners were awarded L$500, L$750, and L$1000 respectively. Although I have to share something that we totally missed whilst judging…
“Third Place” prize winner by Cuteboy.
Cuteboy took a super lovely pic and won a third place prize; it’s a super cute shot but when you scroll through the channel the resolution looks different to all the other entries. That’s our fault as judges we totally missed it; usually we spot it and just ask the pic taker to resubmit in 1024 by 1024 as per the rules. We fucked up though so we thought it would be fair to choose an alternative co-third place prize winner and also award them L$500 (I’ll send it their way later today!). Congrats to river who gets the extra prize 🙂
“Alternate Third Place” prize winner by river.
Most importantly the FSG Admin team has chatted and when we announce the next photo contest we’ll relax the resolution rule so you can all enjoy extra creative photo taking freedom! OK here come Second and First place…
“Second Place” prize winner by Jasper.“First Place” prize winner by Bwian.
Bwian defended his Festive Photo contest crown and became our first ever two time photo contest winner; huge congrats!! Oh and honestly a huge well done to everyone who entered; the standard was seriously high, super tough to judge, and we’re looking forward to announcing our next photo contest and seeing what you all come up with 😛
We made it to the new year though! Hello 2024 🙂 . What’s been going on though? Well London posted this in the FSG server…
“Funko Pop Esmi” by AI stuff.“Funko Pop Dia” by AI stuff.“Funko Pop Jasper” by AI stuff.“Funk Pop Zely” by AI stuff.“Funko Pop Sable” by AI stuff.“Funko Pop Peach” by AI stuff.“Funko Pop Dal” by AI stuff.“Funko Pop Geo” by AI stuff.“Funko Pop Mady” by AI stuff.“Funko Pop Semy” by AI stuff.
Dal also organised a special FSG group outing to a surprise sim – which turned out to be “Just a Dream” by Cica Ghost – this will hopefully be the first of many little extra FSG event, mission, quest, er things… So keep your eyes on the server to see what Dal comes up with next 😉 . Here’s a little gallery of snaps which members grabbed whilst they were there…
Dal has also been catching up with members of our community and taking some gorgeous shots with them; here’s a few examples…
“FSG Featherweight Champ” by Dal.“Silver Linings” by Dal.“Goodest Boys” by Dal.“Queen of the North” by Dal.
Ohh and if you missed the announcement in discord Dal has joined the FSG Admin team!! So you know there are going to be loads more cool ideas to come.
“Semy and Pillar at Christmas” by Esmi.
Semy says… Have we caught up on everything? I think/hope so. But what’s coming next you’re asking right? Well… Some things I can only tease but Mady is currently rebuilding her club at FSG which is super exciting; once she’s finished we’ll have a relaunch party for sure. Plus Esmi and I (mostly Esmi really) are currently hard at work on another secret project which we think folks will love; we’ll have more news in the coming weeks.
What I can tell you more about though are the FSG connected events coming up at the epic Blacklist Bunker!
Later this month (the 27th) we’re co-promoting a special music and quiz party (I’ve written some devious quiz questions) which will have prizes!! Ohh and I’ll be DJing on the 17th with a very different set to my usual so I hope you can join us for that.
“Blacklist B-Girl Battles 6” by Daxia.
And of course this Saturday the 13th it’s Lupe vs London at 12pm SLT in a Blacklist B-Girl DJ battle live @ Trouble!!
But before all of those events our very own DJ Esmi makes his return to the Blacklist Bunker!!
It’s almost Christmas!! OK it isn’t but December is around the corner so what’s been going on? Loads of stuff; literally oodles actually so it’s quite a bit to cover. So let me get the usual links and things out of the way and we’ll get to it…
(Oh before I forget!! You should be able to click on the blog pics to enlarge them now :P).
Firstly if you’re new to my blog or have never heard of FSG (Femboy Style Guide) then I’ll add links below for our Discord Server and Flickr Groups; plus a link to my last blog which covered the recent FSG Fashion show:
If you want to explore all the different areas at our parcel look for the signs and handy teleport pads then select your destination from the menu. As demonstrated by this mysterious cat who has been prowling around lately:
“Menu” by Dal.
That’s a seamless topic transition right? So now we can talk about Dal’s FSG Riddle Hunt that happened in the weeks running up to Halloween. If you want to read the rules and see all of the entries please head to the channel here in our Discord: https://discord.com/channels/964898637190672495/1164208826883526819 but here I thought I’d share some of Dal’s riddles and the pics submitted by the winners who all claimed a L$ prize for being the first to solve them. Here we go:
Tickled pink I wait at an Oasis I see plenty of cuties on a daily basis While my skin is bare and I’m no threat Running around me leave to regret. Shallow or deep I see it all Join my two frog friends and have a ball.
Rath @ the Sheboys Pool.
Round and round and round I float, master of this ocean but not quite a boat locked at port but still i move I’m twisting about to this beach themed groove.
Kass @ the FSG Beach.
In the days of old my shape marked spots for gold but now it causes weaker subs to fold. For some reason I’m named after a saint but my wood is bare, eager for paint Come quickly and seek me if you please I’m tucked away in a room of sleaze.
Jasper @ the FSG Penthouse.
Seek me out where three tips come together. People think I’m exotic due to my umami flavor. I’m a dish which you might order on a date Tip me too far and I’ll roll off the plate. Just like the “tips” there are three flavors of me But if I exceed room temp I’ll taste yucky.
Dia @ Mady’s.
Lastly I thought I’d share the controversial “misplaced riddle” which was so sneaky it was solved twice by both Rath and Dia:
Where it should have been @ the FSG Beach found by Rath.
I lounge by the beach but my contents are pale If I get too warm the patrons will wail I’m bubbly and not too stout But consume too much of me and you’re sure to shout I’ll be waiting here with my cold friends Hopefully you’ll find me before this hunt ends.
Where is was @ the FSG Penthouse found by Dia.
That’s just a small selection of Dal’s puzzling poems 🙂 Dia solved the most over the course of the competition and won a grand prize!! We hope everyone had a great time. Oh and keep an eye on the channel because I’ve heard Dal has some festive riddling plans coming up.
“The Feast” by Esmi.
Before we get to Halloween partying a few of us managed to get together and take a seasonal group pic. The version above is by Esmi and you can see more of his shots if you peek his Flickr here:
The end of the Riddle Hunt coincided with Halloween and several days of parties with the Blacklist Bunker Crew and their awesome DJs. I’m going to share some of Daxia’s sweet /spooky/spoopy pics here but if you want to see them all (there are so many!!) you should join the Blacklist Discord server using the following link:
“Saturday_005” by Daxia.“Saturday_008” by Daxia.“Saturday_018” by Daxia.“Saturday_027” by Daxia.“Saturday_033” by Daxia.“Saturday_040” by Daxia.“Sunday_009” by Daxia.“Sunday_011” by Daxia.“Sunday_036” by Daxia.“Monday_001” by Daxia.“Monday_009” by Daxia.“Monday_016” by Daxia.“Tuesday_007” by Daxia.
That really is just a tiny rather random tease of all the shots posted in the server so please go peek at the rest. Or if you want to visit the the Blacklist Bunker – which has a DJ 5 days a week at 12pm SLT – you can using this handy SLurl:
Keep an eye on in world groups too though because they have special events every couple of weeks like the recent mau5list takeover which was an absolute audio and visual treat!
“deadmuas_003” by Daxia.“deadmaus_006” by Daxia.
There’s even more stuff which happened recently though… FSG is two years old!! So we had an anniversary party and photo contest to celebrate! If you want to see all the photo contest entries please peek here in Discord but I’ll share the winners below:
London and I both got to DJ for a super fun party and it was wonderful to see so many of you there to join us in celebrating 2 years of FSG 🙂 This might be the last big party we have at Mady’s as she’s been thinking about a rebuild but that’s exciting news as hopefully in a few weeks we’ll see what awesome build she’s got planned next.
Time for some photo contest winners though… we started with a couple of extra prize winners who both scooped up L$500.
This shot by Nala won “Best Interior Decorator”!Gab’s shot won “Most Prideful”!
Our top 3 scooped up prizes of L$500, L$750, and L$1000. Here they are:
3rd place by Dia!2nd place by Dal!1st place winner by London!
A huge thank you to everyone who took part; we loved all the pics and choosing prize winners is always super tough; you’re all awesome. Oh and keep an eye on the server as there might be another photo contest coming soon!!
“Winners collage” by Esmi.
Ohh and the night after the party was Esmi’s rezday!! So here he is in the pic he took on the day 😛
“Seventeen” by Esmi.
I think he enjoyed his birthday present… 😛
“Stuck” by Esmi.
Semy Says… That’s a lot of awesome pics and not so many words from me this time. Well I sort of figured I’d save the words for last today and share something with you all that I’ve been thinking about for a while.
I don’t know the best way to articulate this so it might be a little bit of a stream of consciousness but anyhow… In recent months you might have noticed I’ve changed my avatar a little bit in Second Life – specifically by switching to Legacy Perky Petite from Maitreya Lara with the V-tech or Lara Flat chest mods. The change initially was partly down to shopping frustrations as an addictive SL clothing shopper I was struggling for new options; plus I’d also tried Ebody Reborn with V-tech but found it too thicc to feel like me. If you’d asked me years ago I’d have said that me swapping to a body with breasts would never happen but here we are. Now I won’t say this will be the last time I ever change SL avatar body but it’s the end of my days using a flat chest.
“Semy Perky Petite” by Esmi.
I’ve pondered how I feel as a person in real life and Second Life. How I want to be seen; who I am, so now I’m officially coming out as non-binary and will be using they/them pronouns going forward. This blog is happening first so my various profiles – whether they be stuff like Twitter/Flickr or my Second Life one – haven’t been updated yet. I’ll do that over the next few days as time allows.
I won’t go into all the reasons for my choice here as they are personal of course but if anyone is confused and has questions or is perhaps considering a similar step for themselves and wants to talk to someone you can always IM me via discord or in Second Life 🙂
Please also don’t worry that this will change FSG or anything like that; it won’t. We’ve only just hit 2 years and we plan on celebrating loads more!!
Hi folks! It’s been a while. So I didn’t realise it but it has been several months since my last blog (Pride 2023 https://semysays.com/2023/06/30/semy-says-pride-2023/ ). I’m not sure exactly what stopped me writing more but some combination of real life just not letting me and not quite finding the right topic I guess. We did lose our little Chihuahua Tia in recent weeks as she really wasn’t very well at all; that hit me extremely hard as she was the sweetest little thing.
Tia.
There have been awesome moments too of course and the wonderful friends I have in Second Life have been there for me whenever I needed them. FSG – or Femboy Style Guide to use the full name – is the hub which a lot of my friendship group revolves around (plus the awesome Blacklist Bunker) so if you’re new to my blog I’ll share some handy links below with info:
You can also check out my previous blog entries if you’d like to know more about FSG, The Blacklist Bunker, or all the other Second Life stuff which I’m interested in.
“Oh hi Barbie” by Esmi.
As you can see there have been some super fun moments – such as posing with some of our awesome FSG discord server members at our beach location whilst wearing Barbie styles. Plus there is more stuff happening right now!!
If you head over to our discord you’ll find oodles of info on two special contests. Firstly we have a daily Riddle hunt (with L$ prizes) which is running until the end of the month; Dal has been posing some super creative riddles and to solve them you need to find the secrets hidden at our parcel. If you want to read the rules and join in or visit FSG in world I’ll share links below:
We also have a FSG Anniversary Photo contest running from right now until the 16th of November (there will be more info about the Anniversary party real soon!). If you’d like to take part please use the link below and check out the rules in our discord:
There’s even more amazing stuff coming up super soon though – as you can see above for example – beginning with the The Blacklist Bunker’s epic Halloween parties. All of them will be held at a special build at the Trouble sim and I’ll add the SLurl below once it’s open for visitors. This really is one of the super highlights of the year along with Blacklist’s pride celebrations so we hope you’ll join us for spooky partying.
Once Halloween has ended there will also be an extra party at Sheboys down on their Beach where DJ Brian will be playing the tunes 🙂 It’ll be fun to get the bikini on at least one more time this year! You can find the Sheboys beach using this link:
Before we get to all the wonderful Fashion Show stuff I’d like to wish everyone an epic spooky season; hopefully you all have a wonderful time in real or Second life. Plus here’s my dog Buddy looking seasonally cute…
Buddy’s Halloween pic.
OK here we go FSG Fashion Show time!! Firstly if you’d like to see what happened at the previous Fashion Show here’s my blog about it:
This show was held at 12pm SLT on Saturday the 7th of October (hosted at the Trouble sim as has become tradition now – thank you Julia!!) ; we had a wonderful new Greek themed red-carpeted catwalking space built by my bestie Mady 🙂 . In future I need to get some pre-show pics to show you all just how brilliant the build was because during the event really isn’t the best time; we had over 90 people visit the sim as the show went on and I’m sure you all know how that can be in world.
(Little edit here – Mady found some build images!).
Lupe and Geo were our DJs for the evening and played perfect tunes for the fashion/party vibe – which lasted way after the models had shown us all their awesome outfits. This time around we even had 3 different Second Life stores/creators as event sponsors so before you see the model’s outfits I’d like to share some info about those…
We’d love to thank Davhie for supporting not just the FSG Fashion show but also our community with their stunning work 🙂
You can also take a closer peek below at Gloom’s new Francis skin as Esmiel gave us a sneak catwalk peek 🙂 he’s using the Buttermilk version of the skin 🙂
Wraith make wonderful clothing for all avatar sizes and shapes. Plus you can choose to buy packs from their store for all the bodies you own or just the one you want to use which means you get full freedom of choice 🙂 You can check out Ezra’s work via marketplace: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/213019
But if you’d like to see one of Wraith’s most recent community inclusive pieces then handily Esmi was modeling it below 🙂 He’s wearing their Sammy bikini on the Ebody Reborn body with the V-tech chest mod. Thanks again to Ezra and Wraith for being our clothing sponsor for the show!
Wraith currently has a 50% off sale running so now is the time to head over to the store in world!
Sacred Square make awesome Second Life eye-wear. Chise has sponsored Blacklist pride events in the past too and is a beloved member of our community! You can check out Sacred Square here on marketplace:
You can also find their brand new Koba set on sale on marketplace and if you want a close up look at them well Esmi just happens to have wandered down the catwalk to show everyone 😛
We had 13 stunning models at the show this time and as has become usual now there were some FSG Fashion Show veterans and a few debuts. We also stuck to having models who use a more diverse selection of Second Life body types because who doesn’t love a bit of gorgeous variety :). There were 5 categories of catwalking excellence this time:
Comic-con Cosplay (something you might see at a con). Emo, Goth, Rainbows, and Unicorns (models had to dress differently to their usual using one of these styles). Avatar Alter Ego (models used different body types to their usual). Fun with Flags (each model chose a flag to represent). Model’s Choice (totally up to the model what they wore).
All the outfits were wonderful and I’d love to fully showcase them all here but then the blog would be crazily long (I know it probably already is); instead I’m going to share collage pics of each model’s outfits plus highlight one of their looks. Most of the pics below were taken at a post-show photo shoot with Esmi who worked tirelessly to get them all ready for my blog; luckily though Moira took their own pics at the show venue so you’ll get to see some extra red carpet goodness thanks to them 🙂
(Oh and I was the show announcer but for some reason WordPress won’t let me upload the pics of myself from the show so here’s a different one lol).
“Surveying His Domain” by Esmi.
So I thought about updating this fully but I think I’ll just add stuff… Esmi sent me another pic of my outfit from the Fashion Show!! But before I share that if you want to find more of me then there’s links to my Twitter and Bluesky Social below:
Here’s their “Fun with Flags” selection which was styled to represent the Cyberpunk Night City Flag.
“Dal and Peach Fun with Flags” by Esmi.
Peach is using the V-tech chest mod and Lara body whilst Dal is using the Lara body and Maitreya Flat chest.
Peach has an almost complete GRIMA ensemble with their Kurenai Harajuku set of a jacket, boots, and bulge pants; he’s also wearing the GRPE headsey from :::SOLE:::. Dal’s outfit is a short vest jacket by Gabriel, Vanguard pants from Gild, and Xion sneakers from Cult; they also have the Nyx Collar and Asa implant from GRIMA and :::SOLE::: respectively plus a EX3K prosthetic arm.
If you want to see more Dal their Flickr is here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/dal_niente Peach has a Flickr but all his pics were removed by Flickr meanies because they were too hot apparently.
“Dal and Peach collage” by Esmi.
Diavkha:
Here’s Dia’s Comic-con cosplay outfit.
“Dia cosplay” by Esmi.
Dia is using the Maitreya Lara Body and Flat chest combo.
His top is Addison from AURORA and he is also wearing Heidi shorts from Insanya, Jazzy Tiptoe Roller Skates from KC, plus the Homicide Detective gun belt from Krankaus. We can also spot Bennet Goggles from SEKAI and a Bat from Diders Designs.
Here’s Esmi’s Emo, Goth, Rainbows, and Unicorns outfit.
“Esmi Not Goth” by Esmi.
Esmi is using the CZ_Slim Body by CZ_Design
Some love for CryBunBun with their brand new Bunchan jacket paired with the Samuel Corset by Varsity; oh and a Harelquin skirt by Eliavah. Esmi going BOM too with Ripped stockings from STYLES and Wraith’s sweet cursed boots.
Maitreya flat chest and Lara body this time around for Moira.
First Blueberry item of the show here as Moira has their Power Play Jeans and Boots on. They are also sporting the Ateus Frock Coat by [ContraptioN], an Aki Mask from Wicca’s Originals, and a suave Steampunk Cane.
They are using the Legacy body and V-tech chest mod.
Their T-shrt is Aliana by Mug; they also have on Split Leg pants by Loki, and Icelyn Moon boots from Astralia. All finished off with sweetie arm warmers from cheezu plus Stickers from ONEDAYs.
Keebs has a full set made by Axis; their Mundi Valkyria Armour/Dress with panties and boots. They also have Linnet Gloves by UNA and the Ragnarok Trail by Cureless.
Here’s Keo’s Emo, Goth, Rainbows, and Unicorns outfit.
“Keoni goth” by Esmi.
Keoni is using he Maitreya Flat chest mod and Lara body.
This was the first appearance of the evening from CLBlue as Keoni has their top and bra on. We’ve also got the Meggy skirt by MIWAS and an item I really love the Rose bud fur jacket by Villena. Keoni is also wearing the Best Friend boots by *CK* (Candy Kitten).
Another debut model here’s London’s Alter Ego outfit.
“London Alter Ego” by Esmi.
London is using Maitreya’s Lara Petite body.
London has been to *CK* too as she has their Posh top and Follow Me boots on. Ohhh and some items I recognise… the Bia Skirt and Bulge thong from Insanya, Glasses by ArisAris, the Out and About set from Hive, and Le Sac a Coq by Sibilla. A stunningly provocative style; who else would be daring enough to dress like that?
FSG’s very own Mady here with her Alaskan inspired Fun with Flags ensemble.
“Mady Fun with Flags” by Esmi.
She’s using Ebody Reborn.
Mady’s skirt is Cutiepie by CryBunBun, her Jacket is the Margie fur one from Kathleen’s. She’s also rocking Rae ankle boots from [ARTi’s] and a super cute Bunny tail by 28LA.
They’re using the Ebody Reborn body and the V-tech chest mod.
Mewnie is wearing some items I love; the Addison tank and shorts from Mug. They also have the Blake hoodie from Soapberry on and worn Hi tops from Semller. Looks like they have retro tunes too using Imbue’s 80s cassette player.
Jun has a set from Malediction on; Toki hoodie, harness, and pants. His pride boots are from Scandalize; his Kitty glasses are from Nyaru, and his Teddy backpack is from Beusy. Ohh and he’s sipping from Hive’s Pink Drink on the Go whilst wiggling a White bunny cottontail from *Babydoll*.
Apparently Zely has been to Flavourtown and found a flag; that’s not an actual place though is it?
“Zely Fun with Flags” by Esmi.
Maitreya Lara body with the V-tech for Zely this time.
Zely is wearing a Devilish Schoolboy shirt from Krankhaus with Mug’s Alyssa shorts. They also have B-slide and socks from Bleich and a Praia necklace from Bliensen + MiaTai.
Zely is playing their debut set during the Blacklist Bunker’s Halloween celebration on Sunday the 29th of October. Ohh and more Zely here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/147635744@N03/
“Zely collage” by Esmi.
It really was an epic show! Hopefully all the awesome model pics above give you an idea of exactly how wonderful it was and we’ll see you at the next one in 2024 with luck 🙂
“Meditations” by Dal.
So usually I end these blogs with a little “Semy Says” waffle; anecdotes or opinions. This time I have desperately sad news to share though and I’m honestly lost for words because all I can really manage is tears. We lost one of our own a few days ago; Bela or Bun as many of us knew her. Bela and her partner Gaby were going to model together during the show but due to Bela’s illness it would have been too much; I’m glad she got to see Gaby model at previous shows though, I know she had great joy from that.
Bela was a constant at Blacklist and FSG events and a deeply loved part of our community; her passing has struck us all with a wave of sadness I don’t think we’ve ever felt before. I wish I’d known her longer and better because she was a beautiful soul.
I can’t do Bela justice with my words though so below I’ll share those of her partner Gaby because nobody knew her better or loved her more. If or when you read this Gaby please know we’re all there for you whenever you need us; we love you just as we loved Bela.
Hey folks!! It’s been an epic month so I’m back with a blog summarising some of the awesome stuff which has happened. I’ll try to waffle less – that’s probably a terrible promise lol – but instead I’ll share oodles of pics and links that are pride related 🙂
As always before we kick into the new stuff I’d love to pass on handy info if you’re new to my blog or Femboy Style Guide (the Second Life project I run/do with my besties Mady and Esmi). If you’d like to know more then please read my recent blog which covered our first FSG Fashion Show of 2023:
Oh and before I get into all the pride wonderfulness I’d like to mention my previous blog entry (I’ll add the link below) and thank all the folks who reached out to me following my less than positive experience. Friends whom I really can’t thank enough shared my blog link via Flickr and Twitter, the FSG Discord community and my friends in Second Life were all super supportive, and people I’d never met before contacted me to show solidarity with my stance as a customer/LGTBQAI+ community member.
One thing that experience and writing about it has made me realise is we need to highlight those creators who genuinely support our community, rig for as many body options as possible, and who ask for our feedback so they can make clothes we can wear. So starting from this blog entry every time I write a new one I’m going to include some info about a different creator. Shall we start right now? Check out these outfits ;P :
Mischa by Wraith.Naughty Kini by Wraith.
Ezra from Wraith joined the FSG server a little while back and has been asking for feedback from our members – we love to see that – which has resulted in more inclusive options for these recent two updates/releases including bulges and various flat chest options. If you want to check Ezra’s store out please peek the links coming up:
So pride stuff!!! As you can see our wonderful friends from the Blacklist Bunker celebrated pride with a whole week of parties. Each party had two DJs playing all sorts of pride party worthy tunes – plus Esmi and I had a Femboy Style Guide Takeover evening on the Wednesday :). As has become tradition the Blacklist Bunker Crew built a special pride party week location (at the Trouble sim so huge thanks to Julia!) and this year’s was a delightfully colourful fairground:
It really was a wonderful week. I found it truly uplifting to see so many Second Life residents come together to celebrate. It’s sometimes easy to forget that perhaps due to our real life circumstances/locations that openly celebrating pride might not be a safe reality for us all so having a place to be ourselves in Second Life really matters.
There was a particular good cause being highlighted during the event too as guests were donating to Roze Zaterdag (Pink Saturday) a pride event held annually in the Netherlands. https://rozezaterdagen.nl/ Sadly due to all sorts of not fun reasons events like these (across the globe) are finding it harder to obtain (local) government funding so I’m super pleased to share the news that visitors to Blacklist Pride donated $320 in support. FSG was super proud to have our own info booth alongside the Roze Zaterdag one 🙂
Blacklist Pride 2023 was also sponsored by the awesome store SacredSquare who were giving away free pride sunglasses and tattoos. You can peek their store here: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/stores/133402
All of the Blacklist Pride pics I’ve shared above have been borrowed from the Blacklist Bunker Discord server and were taken by Daxia or Lupe. There are oodles of wonderful party shots there so you should go and check them out but I figure I’d tease you with a few more here and then give you the link to the server:
Join the Blacklist Bunker Discord server here: https://discord.gg/kJzjTZWP2q to check out the plethora of pride pics (I’ve honestly only included a small selection) or you can visit the Bunker (which has DJs playing banging tunes 5 days a week from 12pm SLT) with this SLurl:
Ohh and even my doggy Huan got included in the pics!!
There are even more awesome Second Life pics to come though… as on the last day of Blacklist Pride 2023 we announced the winners of our Pride Photo Contest 🙂 If you want to see all of the wonderful entries and the contest rules please head over to the FSG discord server using this link:
I’m going to share the winners’ photos and what they won below though starting with the 3 special extra prizes each of which received L$250.
The “What’s in the Box” prize winner by Bwian.“Best Use of a Beer Bigots are angry about Liking” prize winner by Keebs.“Best Cockrider” prize winner by Daxia.
And here are the top 3 who received prizes of L$500, L$750, and L$1000 respectively:
Third place winner by kuin.Second place winner by Nero.First place winner by River.
All of the entries were so wonderful to see and it was such a tough contest to judge so I’d like to say a huge thank you to everyone who took part. We’ll have another photo contest later this year; sooner than Halloween maybe? 😛
Semy Says…
It really was quite a week 🙂 I loved every minute. There will be more awesome stuff, things, and events to come this year though and if you were unlucky enough to have missed Blacklist Pride week hopefully you can be there for those (especially Halloween week which is always epic). Is there anything coming up super soon though?
I’m DJing this Saturday – along with Geo who is debuting at an FSG/Blacklist event 🙂 – so I’ll hope you join us at our beach for a super fun party 🙂 . We’ll share the SLurl and LM via the FSG Discord and in world groups on the day.
Me at Blacklist Pride taken by Daxia.
Ohh and I’m always looking for new blog entry ideas so drop me a message in the FSG server if you have something fun in mind. Take care xoxox.
Esmi & I at New Year because I wanted a nice pic here (taken by Esmi).
So today this will be a shorter blog (probably) than my usual. I’m not going to add links to previous blogs, talk about the Second Life projects I’m part of, or plug upcoming events. I’m simply going to address something really saddening, discuss it a little, and leave you all to draw your own conclusions. Mainly I just want to share it with you because the subject has deeply saddened me and it is connected to a month when we should all be celebrating.
Rather than rewrite everything I’m going to share the same stuff I did in discord; then I’ll add some extra info and commentary after that. Please note that I fully intended to write a longer blog covering the awesome pride creations from other stores (which I mention in the discord stuff) but today I felt like this specific topic needed addressing sooner.
The following was posted in discord (word for word aside from a couple of spelling corrections) on the 1st of June.
“I intend to write a blog about Pride clothing and events in the coming days and what I’m about discuss below will form part of that (a sad negative in what will be a sea of positives) but until that happens I want to let you all know about a recent experience I have had interacting with a SL clothing store owner via social media.
Anyhow Pride has started and for the awesome Pride at Home event loads of creators are making Pride themed items. Yesterday I spotted that one such store is Palette (you will see them at events like Kustom9 every month pretty much) and they created a trans pride flag bikini outfit. It’s cute. Sadly not rigged for many trans avatars in SL though; not one flat chest option for femboys, transmascs, or any folks who don’t have breasts, and no bulge bottom option at all. So after liking the pic on Flickr I politely commented and asked “hi as you have used the trans pride flag would you consider community inclusive rigging?”
Pretty fair question right? Well the owner didn’t agree because they deleted my comment, locked the post so comments couldn’t be made, and blocked me (all my previous Flickr favs from their store vanished from the folder). I considered that a reaction which is either transphobic or at the least a whole situation which displays fake ally-ship.
I tried tweeting them and had no response. So today I contacted the owners of the Pride at Home event and had a conversation with Coral (who was super lovely); they were dismayed at what had happened but also expressed that clothing makers often face restrictions on how much stuff they can rig for – something which I totally understand. But if they make a trans flag bikini surely asking if they would rig for trans people is reasonable right? Coral agreed with me and said they would contact the owner of Palette and hopefully the store owner would contact me soon.
Blocked on Flickr.Palette Pride At Home Picture.Tweet by Palette.
So what happened next?
Well a couple of hours later I had heard nothing so got back in touch with Coral. The owner of Palette (Emma) thought that my polite inquiry was offensive; she didn’t rig for flat chests and other stuff because she doesn’t have the kits – despite being one of the most prolific clothing event participants who also charges a premium price by the way; something I should know because I’ve recently been a customer :(. Also they found my suggestion that their overreaction in blocking me was either a demonstration of transphobia or fake ally-ship to be deeply offensive apparently. They refused to speak to me ever and proceeded to also block me on Twitter. So there you go folks; apparently asking for pride themed – in fact expressively trans pride themed – clothing to be rigged to include trans avatars is offensive.
I don’t think I’m being impolite or rude at all asking for pride stuff to more proactively include any member of our awesome LGBTQAI+ community; in fact shouldn’t it be the expectation? So please don’t support the store Palette with your L$. They don’t want to rig for us, they don’t want to hear from us, they don’t want to talk to us. We offend them. (edited)
Tweet to Palette.Blocked by Palette.
I’m really sorry for having to share all of the above but I think I need to. As members of our community you all should know who you might be dealing with when you make your shopping choices.
If you would like to visit their tweet and share an opinion that’s up to you; please don’t attack them though; it’s not worth getting a ban or anything. But if you want to see my tweets on the subject they are here:
Please please please don’t let this news spoil any part of pride or the awesome Pride at Home event though. Awesome creators have made loads of wonderful items and we should support them as they support us. Some of them are even members of our server and they are all fantastic.
I’ll make a larger blog post in a few days when I don’t feel as disheartened as I do right now and share all the awesome finds from those wonderful creators with you then.
Hugs and Love.
Semy.”
So that’s the post I shared yesterday. Here’s some follow up. Palette’s owner posted this on Facebook:
Palette Facebook.
I’d like to address some of her comments.
I don’t have a screenshot of my original Flickr comment because I never expected all of this would happen. It was politely written, not demanding in any way, it was inquiring. I may not recall it word for word but it was something along the lines of (as stated in my discord post I shared above):
“hi as you have used the trans pride flag would you consider community inclusive rigging?”
I didn’t even go into specifics; I figured she might reply and ask for examples or let me know that whilst this item couldn’t be rigged for say flat chests or bulge bottoms that in the future she would consider it at least. I didn’t expect to just get blocked. I tried tweeting after I was blocked and didn’t receive an answer so the next day I contacted one of the people who run the Pride at Home event. Emma from Palette says this in her Facebook post:
“I hope we can reach a mutual understanding and work towards avoiding such misunderstandings in future.”
Her words there are directly counter to her actions. She didn’t attempt dialogue with me at all. How do you mutually understand with anyone if you choose to ignore them?
She also says that she “had concerns about unintentionally overlooking any aspect or lacking any inclusivity in my work”. But a couple of paragraphs above that she detailed exactly why she wouldn’t be being as inclusive as possible – time and money. Now I respect that creators don’t have to rig for every body option – we know there are so many – but if they want to use/appropriate pride symbolism for their creations then surely that is the one time to be specifically inclusive. She chose to use the trans pride flag; we didn’t force her. Plus besides any other issues if you make an outfit with the trans pride flag on it isn’t it just sensible business to rig it so trans customers can wear it and therefore want to buy it?
I’d like to share something else too. The sad thing is I genuinely love her outfit designs. I even recently swapped to using Legacy Perky Petite (instead of V-tech or Maitreya flat chest options) specifically with her store in mind. I bought one of her outfits a couple of weeks ago:
My recent Palette purchase.
I don’t know about everyone else but that wasn’t a small amount of Linden dollars to spend either. Plus whilst I couldn’t afford to buy more at the time I even grabbed a load of demos a few days later so I could plan my next purchase from her store when I could afford it:
My recent Palette demos.
I’m not some horrible ghoul who attacked her because she wasn’t being inclusive. I am/was someone who really thinks she makes lovely clothing, changed my own avatar so I could wear it, and hoped if I asked nicely she would consider rigging for others in the community in future. It was her response – well lack of I guess seeing as she blocked me and didn’t speak to me at all – that lead me to conclude that her pride intentions were at best disingenuous or at worst that her actions were transphobic.
Sadly the comments on her Facebook post show that some other people just think that asking for inclusion is “entitlement” or “their needs FIRST”:
Select Facebook comments.
It’s important to remember context here; we’re talking about asking for a trans pride flag adorned outfit to be rigged for – this is shocking right- trans people. How will that ever be an unreasonable question?
I think these people have forgotten what pride is supposed to be about. What happened to inclusion? Apparently if you ask for something on behalf of your community you’re being a “toddler” and treating the creator like a “slave”. Or suggesting that her extreme overreaction might be transphobia is “abusing people”. I wasn’t trying to “ACT offended” I was hoping that a designer might support us with her work and not just use a pride flag when it’s convenient to do so.
Semy Says…
So as I said before I’m sharing this so you can make informed choices about who you support with your Linden dollars. I was told I should use my consumer power and make sure to spend my money elsewhere. I will do and I’d suggest that maybe you should too.
So… funny thing happened. When I wrote this blog the page glitched and wouldn’t save so I had to copy and paste the whole thing into a new page. I may have missed coping the intro. So welcome to the new first paragraph. Previously I would have said some stuff and things which I’ve totally forgotten now so instead… er hey!!
Anyhow sorry it’s been so long between blogs but my desktop died; I have a new one now though! Here’s a link to my previous blog with all sorts of handy stuff in it and what was going on with me:
OK here we go!!! The third ever FSG Fashion Show :). The event took place on Saturday the 22nd of April and was hosted at a special event build in the Trouble sim (huge thank you to Julia once again). I don’t have any build pics saved sadly (due to my PC giving up on me) but please if anyone has some and wants to share I’ll add some here ASAP. It was fabulous though; Daxia and Lupe created a uniquely epic space; it was truly wonderful of them to make something that kept our tradition of exciting show builds going.
We had more support from our awesome friends from the Blacklist Bunker too as Izzy and London were our DJs for the event; both playing catwalk strutting worthy awesome sets. Ohh and Millie from Appetite returned as our event sponsor with another special item available at the fashion show via a special vendor:
Once again we had super stunning models – some who had modeled before and some debuts – who showed off a range of creative outfit ensembles in five different categories (Casually Comfy, Sex, Avatar Alter Ego, A Night Out on the Town, and Model’s Choice). We had a couple of couples who cat-walked together, our first models using bodies other than flat chests, and a whole bunch of surprises. Just like last time the event was so packed (thank you so much to everyone who came along!!) that taking pics during it was almost impossible so models took their own shots afterwards or posed for a mini photo shoot with Esmi 🙂
As always I’d love to feature info of every single wonderful outfit here but my blogs are long enough so instead this time Esmi picked his personal fav outfit from each model’s selection which we’ll share below…
“Model collage” by Esmi.
(A massive thank you to Esmi once again; he put so much work in post show to take most of the pics you’ll see but also to combine all the outfit pics into collages; he’s a superstar.)
Model time…
Dal and Peach:
“Dal A Night Out on the Town” taken by Esmi.
Maitreya Lara plus the V-tech Chest Mod. Asteroid Box Sienna Tank Top and Jacket. Mug – Avril Pants. Hilly Haalan – Callen Sneakers. Memento Heart Earrings.
“Peach Casually Comfy” by Esmi.
Maitreya Lara plus the V-tech Chest Mod. Kourtney – Hoodie. Blueberry – Joggers. Kourtney – Tip Toe Sneakers.
Maitreya Lara plus the V-tech Chest Mod. Mia Bolero from the Secret Store. Nyra Leggings from Mug. Phoenix Shoes from Cult. Melanie (hairstyle) from Doux. Madame Chungking Collar from Violent Seduction. Priscilla Gloves from Cult. Moon Clutch Bag from AsteroidBox.
Ebody Reborn plus the V-tech Chest Mod. Leviathan Harness by Absenece. Jade Skirt from AVEC TOI. Shirley Heels from AVEC TOI. Undying Love Rings by Yummy.
Peek Dia’s Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/diavkha Also check out Dia’s awesome work on their comic “Beyond Star” which was recently featured in a Second Life interview!!
“Comics Made in Second Life – Diavkha”.“Dia Collage” by Esmi.
Esmi:
“Esmi Model’s Choice” by Esmi.
CZ Slim Body. Doc Hooded Sleeveless Crop Top by Two Sided. Casual Fur Coat by GABRIEL. Alex Thong by Altgard. Cyber Boots by Wraith. Cyber Implants by Pyhco:Byts.
Ebody Reborn plus V-tech Chest Mod. Garden Soiree by Muse. Violet Stole by Bauhaus. Dual Strap Bottom by PBW. Gloves by Hypnose. Enora Black Veil Hat by Poison Rouge.
Maitreya Lara plus Flat Chest. Trinket Croptee by Cureless. Ripped Denim Shorts by Villena. Rose Bud Fur Jacket. Callen Sneakers and Socks by Hilly Haalan. Basic Gold Thin Hoop Earrings by Ryca.
Ebody Reborn. Ruby Blazer by AVEC TOI. Oshun Kini bottoms by Oracle. Ezra Boots (Glass) by [Salem]. Hoe Necklace by RAWR! Affliction Rings by RAWR! Faith Earrings by RAWR!
Maitreya Lara plus the V-tech Chest Mod. Heat Wave dress by Moon Elixir x MUSE. Lace Thong by C.CHANTAL. Cinched Boots by sixx. Steampunk Sunglasses (BDSM) by LiC.
I think you’ll agree the models came up with a fabulous collection of outfits!! Sorry I can’t include info on all of them but if you want to know more about a specific look then maybe drop the model a message and ask them if they’d mind sharing the details 🙂 .
My new desk setup 🙂
Semy Says… So what’s next?
OK where to start because there’s a lot of awesome stuff… We’ll have our next FSG Fashion Show in October!! The date is super secret for now but as summer comes to an end I’ll be getting in touch with folks about modeling and other stuff 🙂
Also as you can see I have a new desktop PC so I’ll be around in SL way more. Plus I might even try my hand at streaming some games (once I work out how) because why not 😛
My Chillblast Gaming PC 🙂
But there’s more! This Saturday the Blacklist Bunker are throwing a party at their brand new beach side venue; London and Kalli will be playing the tunes so I better see you all there in your itsy bitsy teeny weeny bikinis. If you want to get an early peek at the new venue here’s the SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Burning%20Desire%20Island/81/56/22
“Return to the Big Beats Beach”.
In other news apparently one or two hangouts might be closing soon so it seems like a good time to remind you all to check out FSG’s very own Femboy Penthouse and our awesome neighbours at the Blacklist Bunker. Handily I’ve written blogs on both in the past so you can peek those here:
And speaking of the Blacklist next month they are going to have a full week of Pride Parties which will include a “Femboy Style Guide Takeover” on Wednesday the 21st of June as both Esmi and I will be DJing!!! Blacklist Pride is the most fun filled week of the Second Life year so make sure to come along to as many parties as you can (at the super secret party build to be revealed…) 🙂 .
Blacklist Pride 2023.
Oh… just one more thing 😛
Starting right now you can enter the FSG Pride Photo Contest! All the info on how to enter is in a brand new channel in the FSG Discord Server here: https://discord.com/channels/964898637190672495/1108354336523817021 I’ll be popping an announcement in the server too of course. Winners will be announced live in world at the Blacklist Pride party on Saturday the 24th of June – and there will be prizes!
Speak to you all in Second Life soon. Hugs and love xoxox
So it’s been a while since I wrote a blog – I think this is my first one of 2023 maybe – and honestly I’ve been struggling for a topic to cover. I’ve had a few ideas that might work out in the future but reality is that I’ve also been battling against a lack of motivation and having literally zero energy. That probably sounds like no big deal right; at least for most of us, but when I say I’ve had zero energy I mean it in extreme terms and I’ll explain why…
Before I do that I ought to share a couple of things first. Firstly I’d like to apologise as this won’t be the huge blog full of stunning pics – taken by our awesome FSG server members – which I usually share; it’s mostly going to be my words. I hope you don’t mind reading them. I also ought to share some links to our awesome Femboy Style Guide stuff…
I’ve spent the last few weeks feeling utterly drained, I’ve barely logged into Second Life, barely done anything other than exist in my real life home reading books and watching TV. That’s really all I’ve been able to manage. It’s been a struggle just to do the simplest of things and the harder it has become the less motivated I’ve been to do or try anything beyond the minimum; I always try to be relentlessly happy and positive about things but when things get like this it impacts my mental health and for these last few days I’ve cocooned myself trying to shut the outside world out completely.
When it comes to that lack of energy I want to put things in context and talk about why I get that way…
Judging by Esmi.
Depending how you look at it 2018 was either the worst or luckiest year of my life. My real life to be clear. The year before I was ill; my body was showing smalls signs of internal bleeding. I’d of course had all the tests done; bloods taken, ultrasound, CT, MRI, X-ray, endoscopy, and a liver biopsy. Despite not being a drinker at all my specialist told me I had the liver of an 70 to 80 year old alcoholic (I’m a lot younger than that) and I’d developed esophageal varices (these were the source of the internal bleeding). I had to have variceal band ligation during the endoscopic exam and I was placed on a cocktail of medication. All of the above were symptoms rather than a cause however and although I was stable there was no explanation for my illness.
January 2018 was like no time in my life before or since. Literally just after new year I didn’t feel great at all. I thought I had the flu or something like that. Then I woke up one morning and felt like I was going to vomit; I rushed to the bathroom but didn’t make it to the basin. I covered the entire bathroom with blood then I collapsed – it’s not a joke to say it looked like a scene from a horror movie. I spent around a week in the hospital (where I had variceal band ligation done to me again) before being sent home. A week later it happened again although I didn’t make the same mess as I could tell it was going to happen and was prepared. By the time the ambulance reached the hospital I’d filled an entire bucket with blood; in the casualty department I laid on a bed screaming in pain (my stomach had swelled so full of blood I felt like I was going to burst) whilst occasionally filling those cardboard hospital bowls full of blood in between. I was surrounded by more medical staff than I’d ever seen in one room; I’m told they were squeezing blood bags to try and get it back into me. Eventually I was rushed to intensive care; I remember signing the form consenting to an emergency endoscopy as another doctor told me I was being dosed with fentanyl before I passed out.
I spent the remainder of January in intensive care and on a ward going stir crazy before I was deemed stable enough to go home. I’d been referred to a specialist hospital in Birmingham though and a couple of weeks later I was admitted. If anyone remembers the 2018 “Beast from the East” storms of late February and early March it was around then when I had life saving surgery. Before they knocked me out doctors explained multiple possibilities of what could/would happen next and what they thought was wrong with me. I was told I had an extremely weird cocktail of blood issues which had basically given me exceptionally sticky blood and caused a disorder called Budd-Chiari syndrome – I know I’d never heard of it either and in fact almost every GP I’ve seen since has had to google it. I woke up later to be told I’d had a stent fitted which would divert blood flow and hopefully stop me suffering another internal bleed. The specialist later told me that someone who suffers from a single bleed episode like I’d had has a 50/50 chance of survival but only 1 in 4 survive a second bleed like mine.
Mady & Semy by Esmi.
I’ve spent the last few years since trying to exist with a condition that demands a cocktail of medication (including blood thinners), monthly blood tests, repeated other tests at least twice a year (ultrasound and endoscopy), and every so often I have to go back to hospital to have a tiny camera fed into my jugular vein then down through my heart and to my liver so they can check the stent is working ok. It’s all become so routine that the nurses told me I’m great at coping with a camera down my throat – no shock there really I guess – but being awake each time for the last of those procedures I mentioned is still terrifying beyond belief.
During the pandemic I shielded for the entire time although it didn’t make much difference really because I never leave the house now beyond medical appointments pretty much. My specific cocktail of blood problems is so nuanced and rare that there will never be a miracle cure; this is me for the rest of my life now. I have good days and bad of course. Just lately I’ve had a lot of bad ones where I’m left with barely enough physical energy to get out of bed and have a shower. I tried to think of how to put the feeling best and ironically (as I’m a huge Tolkien fan) words spoken by Bilbo Baggins sum it up: “I feel thin, sort of stretched, like butter scraped over too much bread.”
Floatie Femboi by Esmi.
I’m sorry this isn’t the usual happy or super interesting Second Life topic I usually write about in these blogs but for some reason it felt like something I had to do. Partly for catharsis; it’s been 5 years and I have never really gone into major detail about my illness with anyone other than my most immediate family and one or two people from Second Life. Also partly as an apology too though; just lately I’ve cut people off, I’ve had loads of discord messages and I stopped replying because I just didn’t know what to say, so I wanted folks to understand at least. Hearing from so many people whom I care about that I’m missed is so uplifting but it’s hard to know what to say in a discord message reply sometimes. I love you all so much and being away because just sitting at a desktop or using a laptop wiped me out filled me with an almost unshakeable loneliness born from that aloneness. I’m truly sorry I’ve been silent for a few days; you all deserve better.
After I finish this blog I’ll respond to all those discord messages; share the link with those people first and then share it with the server I think. I needed to write something; to get it all out of my head, tell people about my experiences, and because I didn’t want to always hide behind other excuses of why on occasion I’m not there. I’d rather my friends knew.
Please don’t read this and take it as me just wanting people to be sorry for me though. I said earlier 2018 was either the worst of luckiest year of my life and I meant it; it was the luckiest, I’m still here. Think of me sharing my experiences as a reminder that we all have our problems and secrets. Be kind to the avatar you bump into in Second Life or discord because there’s a real person with real worries at the other end of that interaction and just like me it might be their only outlet or escape from feeling trapped in real life.
Summer Heat by Esmi.
Semy says… so what next?
Well for a start today I felt well enough to sit at my desktop and write a blog (today is Tuesday the 21st of March) so I plan on reaching out and returning to Second Life (either today or tomorrow depending how much energy I have left). So if you want to catch up I’ll hit the Blacklist for the daily sets 🙂
I ought to share some FSG news too though!! Soon we’ll announce our next discord server photo contest and theme so please keep an eye out for that. Ohh and of course make sure to join us, the awesome Blacklist Bunker crew, and our awesome team of models for our first FSG Fashion Show of 2023 on the 22nd of April!! If you want to know more peek my blog about our previous Fashion show:
So it’s been a minute… Happy holidays though!! I hope you’ve had an awesome festive season however you celebrate it. We’ve been having fun – as you can see in Esmi’s sweet picture above – and on the 26th of December we even had a little unplanned surprise party at our Femboy Penthouse 🙂 I DJed for almost four hours to a wonderful crowd!! We also partied with our epic friends from the Blacklist Bunker in the run up to Christmas so it’s been a super fun month and there’s more to come. But more about all that later…
So if you’re new to my blog, FSG, The Blacklist Bunker, Mady’s Playground, Sheboys, or our Femboy Penthouse you should totally check out my collection of blogs for more info. Like this one right here… https://semysays.com/2022/10/27/semy-says-the-fsg-penthouse/
“Femboy Penthouse Collage” by Esmi.
If you want to see more FSG content -such as our Flickr Group where members post super fashionable photos – or if you want to join our Discord server I’ll post links next: https://www.flickr.com/groups/14811328@N23/pool/
You’ll find we have a really active and engaging LGBTQAI+ community – it’s not just for femboys – and loads of handy Second Life shopping links and info in our server 🙂
So what else has been happening? Well we had our first ever FSG Festive Photo contest 🙂 Our server members submitted all sorts of super seasonal shots and our special judging panel (it was Mady, Lupe, and myself) chose a top 3 plus we awarded some special prizes. Before I show you the rules and the winners if you want to peek previous photo contests you can find those in my previous blogs. Earlier this year FSG had a Summer Photo Contest and The Blacklist Bunker had a Halloween one… https://semysays.com/2022/08/27/semy-says-summer-photo-contest/
I didn’t enter of course but I did get to pose in a sweet winter themed outfit. Pretty much all of my clothing in the shot is made by Muse by Moon Elixir; you can visit their store using this SLurl: http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Moon%20Elixir/210/252/431
The theme was Festive of course; so the photos had to have stuff like wintery backdrops, seasonal festival elements, or even have festive film stylings. All photos had to include at least one avatar and could be as fun, naughty or even as naked as the photographer wanted. Pretty simple right :). We had lots of awesome entries and here are the ones which won special prizes…
“I Get Lots of Presents” by Moira.
Firstly we had a joint prize for “Most inventive use of a Candy Cane” which was won by Moira and London.
The next special prize went to Dia – who also won L$250 – for “Most Tim Burton-ish Christmas”. You can peek Dia on Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/diavkha
Next was Esmi who won L$250 and “”Most Inconveniently placed Ribbon”. His Flickr is here (you might see me there too :P): https://www.flickr.com/photos/esmiel
“A Very Merry Christmas” by Daxia.
The final special prize (L$250) was awarded to Daxia for winning the category of “Most Extreme Gingerbread Man Photobomb”. Daxia’s Flickr is here… https://www.flickr.com/photos/daxiadarkbyrd
Coming next we have our official top 3 contest winners!
The superb contest runner up came from Kyarii who won L$750. I’m not sure if I found the right Flickr so rather than link the wrong one if you’re reading this Kyarii please send me the link and I’ll add it 🙂
“Festive Photo 2022” by Brian.
And finally – last but by no means least – our first ever FSG Festive Photo contest winner Brian!! He also won L$1000. I don’t know who looks more shocked in the picture; Brian or his little shoulder pet? I think you’ll all agree it’s an epically fun photo though 🙂 If you want to see more of Brian here’s his Flickr: https://www.flickr.com/photos/152947508@N02
We’ll have more photo contests in 2023 for sure!! Plus if you haven’t entered one yet and want to learn more about Second Life Photography please check out our handy new discord server channels for advice and tips. Oh and also we’ll soon have news about in world FSG Photo classes so keep an eye on the server announcements.
“Frosty Reception” by Esmi.
OK I had to include another photo of me – and my super cute doggy Huan – I can’t take pics as awesome as our contest winners but I do love to pose for them 😛 (I’m wearing the Sweet Treat set from Muse there along with some other accessories).
“Happy New Year” by Dia.
So what’s coming next for FSG? Well New Year’s partying firstly of course 🙂 We’ll be joining our friends at the Blacklist Bunker on Saturday 31st of December from 12pm SLT to celebrate whilst DJ Kalli plays awesome tunes. We’ve got some more plans in the works for 2023 including a super fun party idea for a joint party with the Blacklist (but I won’t spoil the surprise yet) and of course in a few months we’ll have our next Fashion Show! Oh and our next FSG Meet-up is on Saturday 7th of January at 2pm SLT with our awesome returning guest DJ Zely 🙂
“DJ Zely” by Esmi.
A few of us also got to pose for a FSG New Year’s pic the other day – which was a lot of fun – as you can see in the shots I’ve included from Dia and Esmi. With luck in 2023 we can arrange some more group shots so watch out in the discord for info.
“NY Party” by Esmi.
Semy Says… 2022 really has been an epic year and I think I speak for Mady and Esmi too when I say that we really couldn’t have dreamed how wonderfully everything FSG wise has worked out. Thank you to all our amazing friends: parcel neighbours (the Blacklist Bunker Crew and Brian from Sheboys), the Troubles (who hosted our Fashion shows), our server members, and all the amazing fashion creators and photographers for being part of the journey 🙂
I hope 2023 will be just as an amazing a year as this last one has been!
Hey!! So shorter blog today… maybe, possibly, probably not, but I like to think it could happen 🙂 OK stuff…
So quick recap and links from last time. FSG has opened a new Hangout called the Femboy Penthouse! Check out all the info in my last blog (linked below) or go peek in Second Life with a handy SLurl (also linked below):
We also have a handy new Photo Studio Platform where you can visit and use it for all your pic taking needs; we might have an extra plan for those who want to get better at Second Life Photography coming soon too so keep your eye on the Discord server for news. So here’s the Photo Studio SLurl and the FSG Discord Server link:
Watching the Sun come up in the Penthouse by River.
As you can see in the pics I’ve included so far our group/server members have also taken some time to take pics at the Femboy Penthouse and Photo Studio 🙂 If you want to peek more member pics here’s the link to the FSG Flickr group: https://www.flickr.com/groups/14811328@N23/pool/
Frogboy Streamer by Alex.
So Halloween just happened!! It was awesome with super fun parties at the Blacklist Bunker for an entire week; including the in world announcements of the Blacklist Halloween Photo Contest Winners on Sunday the 30th of October.
Deadly Fuck by Daxia.
All the pics and results are hosted in the FSG Discord Server but I thought it’d be nice to show everyone all the entries, rules, and winners here so that’s what I’m going to do…
Firstly here’s a brief summary of the contest rules:
– “Halloween” theme. Two rules, it must have been seasonally themed and included at least one avatar. Can do anything else; make it sweet, funny, sexy, naked, naughty.
– Entries in 1024 by 1024 format.
– Maximum of 3 photos per entrant.
– Winners were decided by a Blacklist Bunker judging panel.
– Winners were announced live in world during the Blacklist Halloween party on Sunday 30th of October.
And here are the entrants…
Dani the Encircled by Dani.Dani Circle by Dani.Jinkies by Yis.Spookytime by Esmi.Summoning Gone Wrong by Esmi.Trick or Treat by Moira.Circus by Moira.By Dia.Brewing the Perfect Tea by Dia.Meow by Brian.By Kris.Demonized by Karrin.For the Love of the Devil by Alex.Gayndalf the White by Alex.Inner Demon by Pip.Rabid by Dal.Feral by Dal.Nightmare by Dal.By Zemmy.By Zemmy.By Zemmy.
I’ve tried to include all the picture titles as best I can but if any of the photographers/models wants to let me know the ones I’ve missed or correct anything please let me know and I’ll update stuff.
Lot’s of awesome entries I think you’ll agree 🙂 but you want to see the winners right? Well the standard was so high there were a few so here we go with the special prize winners…
And 1st Place the first ever overall winner of the Blacklist Halloween Photo Contest went to our very own Esmi who also received L$1000!! Peek him on Flickr here: https://www.flickr.com/photos/esmiel
Simply awesome stuff there from all the winners 🙂 Oh and there’s another photo contest coming soon!! We’ll let you know all about the FSG Festive Photo Contest in a few days so watch the server 😛
Upcoming events!! The Speakeasy Jazzclub is this Saturday with epic Blacklist DJs Lupe and Kalli playing the tunes. We’ll drop the SLurl in the FSG server a little bit before Party time.
Also coming soon; did you know it’s been a year already?!!
Crazy right? So much has happened during the last 12 months… I hope you’ll all come celebrate with us 🙂 . London and I will be providing some banging beats; plus there’s something else special on that Saturday but I’ll tell you then ;P.
Slasher by Esmi.
Semy Says… OK I had to include at least one pic that had me in it; anyhow it’s an awesome shot by Esmi so why not? That’s all from me for now but we’ll catch all you awesome folks soon at a party with luck 🙂 xoxox.
Before I talk about huge FSG info and news I’ll cover some Halloween stuff because cosplay, costumes, and creepiness are what it’s all about right now and our members have been taking some awesome pics for the FSG Flickr (find the group using the link below):
Folks have been posting spooky and spoopy, solo and group shots, and all sorts of awesome outfits; even some cute cosplays…
Pika by Alex.
Check out Alex and Luca here doing their Pokémon thing just a few weeks before Scarlet and Violet are released! If you want to peek their Flickr accounts for more awesome shots check the links below:
If all the pic taking talk has made you want to see more ghoulishy devious photos then you’ll want to check out all the FSG server submissions for the first ever Blacklist Halloween Photo Contest (entries close at 12pm SLT on the 27th of October) by heading over to the awesome in world gallery at the Trouble sim:
Speaking of the Blacklist at the Trouble sim there’s more awesome Halloweenish news 🙂
The Blacklist Halloween.
Party week is already underway; Lexie and Babe’s sets have been spooktacular, and our very own Esmi will be playing the tunes at 12pm SLT today!! The sim build the Blacklist Crew have put together is terrifyingly epic too so you really ought to check it out:
And don’t forget the winners of the Blacklist Halloween photo contest will be announced live in Second Life during the party this Saturday the 29th.
So Femboy Style Guide news time! Well you may have seen recently that Mady announced her Playground sim has now changed it’s name to Femboy Style Guide 🙂 (don’t worry though her awesome club is still there but more about that later). So with that huge update the FSG team got our heads together and there have been some changes…
As you can see by Esmi’s sweet teaser pics we’ve added a new location in the sim called the Femboy Penthouse 🙂 which is FSG’s new hangout space which we teased a little while back with some server posts.
FSG has always been about helping each other with our avatars (plus having sweet parties of course) so the Office and Beach are still there and we’ll be partying at Mady’s Playground club again soon but we also wanted a space that our members could use to meet up at.
Whether you want to find a quiet space to loiter in whilst you work on an outfit, a cosy spot to sit in and chat with friends, an alternative from sims where random no AO freenis dude bumps into you, or a fun location to bring a partner to then we’ve got you covered.
We’re hoping our server and group members will use the Penthouse as somewhere to meet up on a daily basis rather than just come along for parties although we’ll have parties there too of course. Plus whilst there you can also peek at some of the awesome gallery pics from our photo contests and fashion shows.
Downstairs we have some fun naughty themed rooms for you to use/explore; Mady, Esmi, and I decorated one each (I’ll include pics next) but we’ll leave it to you all to guess who did which. Ohh plus we had a server vote for the fourth themed room (the Kitten room) but no spoiler pics for that; you’ll have to visit if you want to see how it turned out.
All the Penthouse pics above taken by Esmi.
As I mentioned earlier Esmi is DJing for the Blacklist’s Halloween at 12pm SLT today (Thursday the 27th of October) so afterwards we’re going to have a sort of mini launch party at the Femboy Penthouse at 2pm SLT 🙂 Plus I’ll play some spooky tunes 😛 . The sim is open right now though so if you want a sneak peek before it officially opens here’s the landmark url:
If you’ve peeked Mady’s Flicker lately: https://www.flickr.com/photos/191342623@N05/ then you may have noticed she’s been taking pics in front of various new backdrops. Well that’s our other new addition to Femboy Style Guide! Mady is going to be adding and changing backdrops periodically so if you want a handy location to take a photo at head on over and check the FSG Backdrop Platform out here:
Semy Says… whew!! That’s a lot of news right? Well I’ll end with a teaser of some more. So Mady’s Playground club is still in the Femboy Style Guide sim just where it has always been:
In fact whilst you’re at the FSG sim you can hop between the Femboy Penthouse, our office and beach, the backdrop platform, and Mady’s Playground using a handy teleport system. But most importantly the Playground Club is our venue next month for the Femboy Style Guide First Anniversary Party!!! I can’t believe it’s already been a year 🙂 So join us on Saturday 19th of November at 12pm SLT for an awesome evening of tunes, Femboys and fun! See you all then and later today I hope?? x o x o x
Semy Says... 