Death takes a holiday

October 13th, 2009 at 10:09pm Ryan Darragh

Mortis was bored.  He hadn’t gone anywhere in ages.  Well, unless you counted going to and fro on the earth, and walking up and down upon it.  Which he, himself, did not count.  He couldn’t believe he had ever let Lucifer talk him into that one.  When you came right down to it, it was hardly an enjoyable pastime—in fact, it was worse than jogging—and it wasn’t like he needed the cardio.  No, he wanted to go out and have some fun.  He wanted to go dancing.  Goth black boots or no, his feet were nimble and he knew how to trip the light fantastic.  If you asked Mortis, dancing hadn’t been the same since the end of disco.  That Travolta was one mortal who knew how to move.  Well, he had some moves of his own, if he did say so himself.  God, but the Seventies had been great.  On earth, anyway—everywhere else they had kind of sucked.

He wondered if it was Halloween yet, or at least getting close.  Blending in was a lot less trouble on Halloween—while everyone else was wearing a costume, he didn’t have to worry about coming up with one of his own.  The irony was not lost on him.

Mortis sent one of his handmaidens to dig through his wardrobe and find something new and fabulous for him to wear, something he had never seen before.  He knew this to be an impossible task and relished the prospect of the punishments he would inflict when the handmaiden returned, as she must, empty-handed.  All the greater was his surprise when in pale, trembling hands she held out to him a sumptuous cascade of crimson fabric that he knew to be, somehow, a new creation of Raven Pennyfeather.  But how could this be?  He knew good and very well that she was not yet in the underworld—she was still on earth!  And a second, virtual earth at that, which only made things all the more interesting.

Eager beyond measure, he snatched the proffered garments and held them up to the light.  What he beheld with his empty eye sockets was a thing of beauty and a joy forever: a gentleman’s double-breasted Regency suit, handsomely tailored, 19th Century if his sartorial sense did not deceive.

It was impossible.  It was exhilarating.  It was perfect.

How did Raven do it?  How did she create these beautiful, wondrous things to wear?  He wondered, not for the first time, if she might be a witch.  That could explain the suit’s mysterious appearance in his wardrobe.  Hmm…if so, she would be listed in the Little Black Book.  He would have to ask Lucifer next time he saw him.  It was entirely possible, but no matter really—the suit was just what he needed, craved, desired in his innermost being.  He donned it in a twinkling, startling his handmaiden into a swoon—damn, he had forgotten again that his uncovered corpus was a bit much for anyone still remotely human to bear—and willed into existence a great mirror in which to admire the results.

Mortis found himself immensely pleased.  He looked quite dashing, really, perfectly attired to appear as unexpected guest at, say, Prince Prospero’s costume ball.  He tipped the hat to a more rakish angle and grinned at himself in the mirror.  Maybe he would go dancing, after all.  Was Travolta still alive?  Could he still dance?  Mortis hoped so.

He wondered if auditions might be open for “Dancing with the Stars.”

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My timing this year is kind of bad.  I’ll be on a vacation trip over Halloween (more on that later), and I won’t be able to do a series of Halloween-themed posts, as I did last year.  This will probably be the only themed ensemble I have time to feature this year, so after this you’re on your own.

Raven Pennyfeather’s new “Garrett” suit features Raven’s eternal imaginative touch and attention to detail.  The result is a splendid suit that’s perfect for any discerningly dandy gentleman: natural, unnatural or supernatural; living, dead or undead.  Each set includes simple white shirt, leather pants, jacket with satin collar, belt and tails, and socks.  The pants can be worn modestly closed or, more suggestively, slightly undone.  The jacket has sculpted rolled cuffs, and its belt accessory can be worn with or without the flexi tails.  You can wear the collar with or without the flexi scarf, as you prefer.

Available in Red, as shown, and in Black.  L$650 each at RFyre (Isle RFyre 96, 164, 23).

More foundationally, I am also wearing the Demise Skull, by Aki Shichiroji.  I’ve seen sculpted and prim skulls worn as attachments, but Aki has taken a different approach: here the skull artwork is on the skin layer.  You also get male and female shapes, “empty socket” eyes, and a face light for an appropriately cadaverous look.  If you want to use the skull shape on your own body shape, you can do that too, if you’re industrious—the head slider settings are included in a notecard, so you can apply them to your own shape.  This is an incredibly tedious process, which I have only done once before and did not attempt again here; I’m wearing the included “skull shape” as is.

The skin-layer approach does bring with it a certain drawback.  Since it’s already on the skin layer, you cannot wear the skull with your own preferred skin, and the only detailing is the skull artwork itself—the rest of the skin is featureless black.  You’ll most likely want to wear an outfit that provides complete coverage, so the blank skin is hidden.  For this suit, all I needed to add was gloves.  In retrospect, I wish I had chosen something other than the black leather gloves I selected, as in the pictures they just look like hand-shaped blobs with no detail.  Ah well, you live and you learn.  And then…you die!  Bwah ha ha hahaha…!  Oops, sorry, I got a little carried away there.

L$250 at Kitheres (Sylvan 64, 189, 2043).

Disclosure: Seen in World: Yes | Review Copy: Yes | Friends List: No

Notes: On Ryan: Steampunk Gothic Black Boots by Thomus Keen (Steam Powered Nuts).

Entry Filed under: Avatars,Dressy,Fantasy,Gothic,Kitheres,New Items,Period,RFyre,Roleplay,Suits