Sunday, May 6, 2012

Its Zyxalutionary

The Zyx "Twins" on March 1, 2011. Zyx Flux (left) and Zyx Resident (right).
Avatars evolve — that's a given — and it is interesting to see how they do so. Zyx Flux began life as a means by which a Lucky Chair with a penchant for the letter Z could be defeated and was going to be a genderless robot. Her "gateway" was Fairy Crossings (SLurl) so her total image changed on her birthday.

Zyx Resident came about simply to reserve the first name when the whole resident naming schemes were changed. Zyx Flux had become something of a "brand" at one point through her ZyxWorx business and I felt that it would be important that no one else claim the Zyx name under the new scheme. Naturally, I made the big "sister" as similar to her little twin as possible, but with a momentary whim (also on her birthday), I made her taller and "older" as if "wee Zyxy" had grown up. Since then I've had her wardrobe, hair, and attitude (we are all characters, aren't we?) reflect these differences.

The Seminal Zyx is a playful, child-like gardener, happily exploring the world in search of new plants and wonderful landscapes. Zyx The Latter is less social, preferring the night and dark spaces though not eschewing a pixy's roots in nature as she wanders the world in search of adventure.

So more than a year has passed and these personality traits have become more ingrained, shaping each Zyx to make them even more individualized.

Zyx Flux and Caitcat at the Isle of Lesbos.
More often than not these days, Zyx Flux is a "petite" pixy, frequently shifting her basic blue for other colorful hues, but remaining bright and adorable. She can also be seen as a jewel-colored dragon or a little, tiny micro-kitten, each avatar a reflection of her friendly and perky nature. Outside the Isle of Lesbos I actually think of her as a child avie to the point that I don't peek when she's changing clothes. She's a gardner, too, as most of my landscaping purchases are directed through her. This helps with Inventory security and management as well as being a cute thing for a pixy to work at when she's in-world. On the Isle of Lesbos, Zyx Flux maintains all the grounds, but primarily the Secret Garden, a small world of fantasy flora and magical settings.

The darker sister, Zyx Resident ... simply Zyx.
As time goes by, the bigger sister has become even more mature and still darker in character, not just in skin tone. Actually, both representations of pixyhood have the same skin selections — the same shades of blue from light to nearly black — wings, eyes, and such, plus many similar items of clothing. In general, though, Zyx usually affects the deep midnight blue skin of late and sophisticated, grown-up fashions. If Zyx Flux is a precocious kid, then Zyx is the Secret Agent undercover as a runway model. Her only "job" is to be Security at the Isle of Lesbos. She doesn't do gardening, she doesn't build anything, and she doesn't socialize much, actually. Like her littler version she does explore SL, but she's not afraid of Zindra and even visits some naturist resorts on occasion. On the Isle of Lesbos, Zyx rules the Dark Forest, a small world forever at Midnight and filled with dark magics.

Underlying both of these characters is the basic pixy nature: Tricksy, energetic, nature-loving, kind to animals (Zyx Flux keeps Meeroo Meepets and Zyx has signed up for Booshies), fierce in battle, and able to exercise a deep affinity for magic. Each has an elven form (one light and one dark, as expected). They really are sisters, despite the outward differences and each is a wonderful way to express who I am in Real Life in ways that can't be done there.

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