The Luskwood Skunk Update Party

Until a few weeks ago, it had been some time since yours truly had gone to where he had gotten his real start in Second Life: Luskwood. Well, I came back in time to find out about an event worth going to.

For those unfamiliar, Luskwood is the oldest furred area in Second Life. It also ranks as one of the oldest social spots of any kind on the Grid. The main area of the place is the Big Tree, or more specifically the social platform where people gather. It’s almost always occupied by some people. It’s near a newcomer entry place, so it gets some most every day. Luskwood also has a highly strict PG policy, so it’s a squeaky-clean place for residents to drop by and not worry about the friskier elements in other sims in the Metaverse. Many of the regulars are techies, so on a popular night, one may find help for some electronic problem.

Between the enviromnent’s detail and the other avatars, especially on a big gathering, the lag can be heavy. And occasionally the conversation can be a little flat. So Luskwood isn’t popular among everyone.

Luskwood is also the name of one of the oldest furred avatar companies in Second Life, based at the Big Tree, the vendors nearby. But in more recent times, there haven’t been as many new avies offered as earlier, and more people have been passing them by. When there’s a new avatar, or an update to one, the Luskies celebrate with a party. And on Saturday August 6, they updated one of their more popular avatars: the Skunk. Luskwood Founder Michi Lumin wears a Lusk skunkgirl for her look.

For those whom already had one, we got the new version of the avatar sent to us. It had the same features as before, notably the spray animation (which I seldom see used). But it also had some slightly different shading. Someone told me the males looked slightly more muscular on the chest. It had a tongue that could be stuck out (real fun when giving a bronx cheer). And it had a hinged jaw, so it was able to move it’s mouth while one talked. One slight problem, on my viewer, from a distance it looked like it was baring it's teeth a little.

After getting mine and adjusting the new avie to the height, eye color, and hair color I was used to, I ported to Luskwood to join the fun. As expected, the lag was heavy, and checking the map, I could see why. there were 49 people in the sim. Eventually, most everyone rezzed, and the clear majority had on skunk avatars. Striped, spotted, white, black with strawberry, brown, there were all kinds of Lusk skunks.

Never before had I seen so much black and white in one place.

We all partied on the dance floor, which someone lay a lit floor over, colored lights shining in a black field, which sometimes made the skunk dancers hard to see. As so often at the bigger Lusk parties, the DJ got a little tipsy, and would occasionally play some quirky tunes just to be funny, such as the old late 90's Internet tune "All Your Base." “Put Your Tail in the Air” or “I Like Big Butts” were not among those played while I was there, even though some jokingly requested them. He also offered trivia contests, with winners getting 500L for answering a question. Also offered, a free Luskwood avatar of any kind.

We joked, we laughed, we had a great time.

So just what is it about skunks? Real skunks certainly stand out with their black & white pattern and of course their weapon. In Second Life, skunkfolk lack such a potent musk of course, but still end up drawing attention. On those occasions I’ve worn it, it’s gotten complements from furred folk and normal human alike. Maybe with the smell jokes and their solitary nature, computer geeks relate to them easily.

In any event, whether people wore them every day, occasionally, or rarely, it was a chance for the “stinkers” of Luskwood to shine.

Bixyl Shuftan