Black and White (and a tribute to Bare Rose)
“He’s gonna find out who’s naughty and nice…”
Black and white. Good and evil. Dark and light. Each of us possesses these qualities inside, whether feral alley cat or pampered kitten… never straying too far from the opposite edge of our natures. Who we are, who we choose to be (and perhaps even how we portray ourselves in Second Life) is a delicate balance that whispers secrets about our inner contrasts, while dropping clues about our hidden lives.
Icicles and snowflakes on Nevaria Isle
During a visit to a gallery on the roleplay sim of Nevaria Isle, Bobby saw a piece of artwork that reminded him of this paradox and inspired him to create his photo. Perhaps because of the approaching holiday, it made me think of the old Christmas carol ‘Santa Claus is Coming to Town,’ with its rather ominous “he knows if you’ve been bad or good” threat. Add in the Bare Rose “Rosebud” Appreciation Week started by Winter Jefferson, and our blog story challenge was laid (yeah, I know that Bare Rose challenge was a couple weeks ago, but we’re cats… we do things when we get around to it). ^_^
White (left) and Black (right) in Tekkon Kinkreet
A Story About Black and White
Much has been written, sung, and filmed about the struggle between negative and positive forces. One of the more notable examples in recent years is the multiple award-winning anime Tekkon Kinkreet, adapted from a three-volume manga series called Black and White, by Taiyo Matsumoto (松本大洋).
The story follows two orphaned street kids named (appropriately) Black and White, whose lives are entwined in a macabre dance of dark/violence and light/innocence, all set against the backdrop of a seedy Asian city called Treasure Town.
Called the Cats, the boys try to outwit organized crime groups attempting to take over the “raw, vibrant neighborhood full of crooks, vagrants and mobsters.” Their yin-yang duality is what shapes the heart of the story.
As the story reaches its close, the message is clear: learn to accept yourself (whether as an individual or a society) by embracing all of your disparate elements, and you’ll find your own balance between dark and light.
A Testimony to Black and White, ala Bare Rose
So many excellent examples of Bare Rose’s fashion (though that word is far too limiting) were featured over the past weeks, yet I don’t think anyone mentioned one of their greatest aspects: an incredible online outfit database. If you are trying to find just the right look, whether for a special event or a photo challenge like the one we gave ourselves, this database is the perfect place to start. As all the other challenge-takers said, few stores in Second Life offer such a breadth of designs, each outfit packed with options and elements (many containing accessories perfect for Nekos), for such an affordable price.
My Dark Neko Side
Bare Rose’s “Stheno” outfit has incredible detailing including netting, bows, and skull accents, and comes with all sorts of accessory and prim pieces (including leg and arm straps that can easily mix and match with other Neko outfits). This outfit is a must for Nekos who want a truly unique and excellent goth fashion statement.
| Ears & Tail | Eat Rice! Pierced (this store no longer exists)
| Hair | Detour: Prairie, edited
| Hair Feathers | Elegance Hats: Cecile White Wedding (edited back, tinted black) (sadly this store no longer exists)
| Hat | Bare Rose: (comes with the Stheno outfit)
| Outfit | Bare Rose: Stheno in black
| Wings | Defectiva: Infinity
My Light Neko Side
Bare Rose’s “Cygnus” outfit is sweetly textured with feathers on the bodice, and comes with wings and a hat (I did not wear these), as well as several skirt options (I chose ballet length).
What really makes this outfit however are the incredibly textured Slave Collar and Cuffs from EarthStones. They are available in 15 different stones, set in your choice of black leather, brown leather, gold, silver, or the ones I wore: old rust. In my (not so humble) opinion, EarthStones’ jewelry textures are truly the best in SL (and these cuffs come with Xcite! Tokon capability).
| Ears & Tail | Eat Rice! Plain (store no longer exists)
| Hair | SC / Sugarcube: cottoncandy4 chocolate size M – ketty- (tinted red)
| Hair Feathers | Elegance Hats: Cecile White Wedding (edited back) (store no longer exists)
| Outfit | Bare Rose: Cygnus
| Collar and Cuffs | EarthStones: Slave Collar and Cuffs in Moss+Rust
| Cigarette | Virus: Cancer stick (attached to my right hand)
| Shoes | Shiny Things: Ballet Flats in white
Left: Defectiva’s “Infinity” wings | Middle: EarthStones Slave Cuffs | Right: Elegance Hats hair feathers; Eat Rice’s ears; EarthStones Slave Collar; SbZ Eye Fidelity Neko eyes
Bare Rose’s Excellent Product Search Database
http://barerose.xeraweb.com/index.php?module=browse
Learn More about Tekkon Kinkreet:
http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/review/tekkon-kinkreet
Visit Tekkon Kinkrete’s Official Website: (in Japanese)
Tekkon Kinkreet won the prestigious Best Film Award at the 2006 Mainichi Film Awards, was named the Number 1 film of 2006 in the annual “Best of” roundup by the New York Museum of Modern Art’s Artforumm, received ‘best original story’ and ‘best art direction’ from the Tokyo International Anime Fair in 2008, and in the same year, won the 2008 Japan Academy Prize for Animation of the Year.
http://www.tekkon.net/
See Excerpts from the Tekkon Kinkreet Movie Here:
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xzwi0_tekkon-kincrete_ads
© Stacia Villota / Virtual Neko in Second Life – 2008
http://virtualneko.com
=^..^=
Virtual Neko in Second Life 
[…] This is one Christmas carol that caused me no end of worry when I was a little Neko kitten. Thankfully I’ve grown older and wiser, having learned to embrace my dual Neko natures with aplomb. Come explore the dark and light sides of Nekos (and our fashion), all on my Virtual Neko blog… […]