Monday, August 15, 2016

Enchantment: The Good Witch of the West

Good Witch of the North Seeking Information

Most people forget that in the original Oz book there were two good witches - the unnamed Good Witch of the North, who initially met Dorothy at the sight of her landing, and gave her a protective kiss on her forehead. She was small, plump, and elderly with a warm spirit that was in contrast to the lean elegance of Glinda, the Good Witch of the South. She was further eclipsed in the movie, along with silver slippers, when Glinda took her place and introduced a plot hole which didn't exist in the original text. I love to revisit the original books in all their flawed glory, the dreams of a man written to please the fancies of young girls and further expanded to feed their appetite for wonder. Oz is one of the few historical series which are brimming with women, drowning even the sexism endemic to Baum's authorship in the glory of individuality and variety. It was with much glee that I realized this month's theme for Enchantment was the Wizard of Oz - and it has proved to be a wonderful reflection of the creativity and joy of it's source.

Lollypop Waltz


Most of my outfit I owe to .:Soul:. being on top of his release game - a combination of releases for Enchantment and the Fantasy Gacha Carnival, but all of it appropriate for the Witch class of Ozites. His skin is a fantastic shade of blue with well textured lips and tons of options, available for men and women alike. There are brow and browless options, toned or athletic, and full or soft breast varieties. The appliers list is extensive and largely organized in two HUDs - one for the head and the other for the body. Slink, Maitreya, Omega, and TMP are represented in the bodies; Catwa, Lelutka, and Genesis for the heads alone; as well as Bentbox and Charlie's own Uni ear types. What I love most is how so much is organized in so few HUDs - it's a savings on my inventory space and my sanity! The skin itself has fantastic variation with soft highlights and rich shadows, and one of my favorite faces on the grid. .:Soul:.'s lips are particularly fine with a soft gloss to them, and they work well both with my relatively thin lips and with the fuller lips common within the fashion scene.

Also from Enchantment are the eyes, a set of jewel-like orbs with the reflection of flying monkeys within them, a perfect subtle touch for your Elphaba on the go - or whoever else might wear the golden cap which commanded those monkeys. These come in a bunch of shades, including a rainbow one that suits me to perfection, and come with a texture option, mesh orbs, and appliers for Omega and Genesis. I added .:Soul:.'s releases from the Fantasy Gacha Carnival to my ensemble as accessories, a bunch of curvy witch's hats in single (common) and ombre (uncommon) colors with additional jewelry (uncommon) and stone augmented hats (rare and ultra-rare). The rare and ultra-rare versions come with color changing HUDs giving you every option in the book, including versions for the gemstones. One of the things I love about this gacha is that it's all on a theme, with a lot of varieties - and there are two rainbow hats!

Gillikin Style

The rest of my look is similarly Enchantment - and all of it Dorothy inspired. Sometimes I wonder what might have happened to Dorothy over time - staying with Ozma with her aunt and uncle, a simple girl living the life of a princess in a world which never ended. She kept her pigtails for most of the stories, the style and color immortalized in the movie despite the best efforts of several of it's producers. I selected the version of pigtails from Runaway, available in a variety of natural and fantastic shade selections, and with an additional ombre set that I indulged in. It comes set for small and large chests, as well as with and without materials; there is also a large hairbase set and Omega appliers for those hair bases. I selected this in particular due to the sweet simplicity of the bow and the fantastic curls at the end of the hair. The roll of the hair back and into a braid is very nice as well, serving as a fantastic framing for the temples, and it fit perfectly under my .:Soul:. hat.

The second Dorothy note is this amazing gown from GizzA, somehow combining the simplicity of blue gingham with the glamour of a formal gown fit for a princess. It's available in standard sizes, fitted, and for Maitreya and Slink bodies. The bodice line is fantastic, a poof of angle cut fabric showing a bit of cleavage while remaining very elegant. The angle cut is echoed across the entire bodice, across the Empire bust line under the decolletage which marks the transition into narrow folds of fabric to the hips. One one side of the angle is a large check with wide dark blue stripes over a paler light blue; on the other side is the same color combination,only with much smaller lines and tighter checks. GizzA used shiny blue ribbon to divide the sides all the way to the hem of the skirt and the effect is magnificent - giving a sense of motion and variety without becoming overwhelming. In the back, loose ribbons hold the dress together and offer more of a plunge to show some skin and make room for my wings. In direct contrast to the restrained lines of the bodice, the skirt is an incredible flow of fabric down to the floor, including a rigged chapel train with additional ruffles introduced partway down. The inside is not lined, but that is unlikely to be an issue since the skirt goes down to slightly beyond the toes; it only became a problem when I took a shoe shot because I couldn't use the inside of the skirt as a backdrop. It's well rigged, moving slightly but not completely with the feet as a large skirt would and offering up some fantastic sweeps of fabric. Speaking of shoes - the final Dorothy touch was her cinematic ruby slippers from Bliensen + MaiTai, taking delightful from the original and adding a peep-toe, medium heel, and large bow with ruffled fabric. They come fitted for Belleza, Slink, and Maitreya, as well as with and without sparkle, and are the perfect thing for a Dorothy who is all grown up.

A Bit of Sparkle

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Skin: .:Soul:., Emma (Enchantment)
Hair: Runaway, Dorothy Hair (Enchantment)
Hat: .:Soul:., Mystic (Fantasy Gacha Carnival)
Eyes: .:Soul:., Flock Eyes (Enchantment)
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Ears: .:Soul:., Uni
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Body 1: SLink, Hands & Feet
Jewelry: .:Soul:., Mystic (Fantasy Gacha Carnival)
Nails: Dark Passions, Bed of Roses
Tattoo: Oddment, Batty Little Tattoo
Outfit: GizzA, Dorothy Gown (Enchantment)
Shoes: Bliensen + MaiTai, Dorothy (Enchantment)

Poses: Grafica
Location: The Magic of Oz
Windlight Settings:
Water Settings:

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping

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