Unconditional Love in Second Life

The day is quickly approaching where those in both real and second lives may either be waiting in joyful expectation or wishing it was February 15th. It's been four months since I first joined Second Life and it certainly has been an interesting ride. In many respects I initially approached SL more as a passive observer rather than an active participant. However, it didn't take too long before I was fully immersed in this fascinating virtual environment where the rules are pretty much open ended and you are only limited by your own creativity and imagination.

One of the most fascinating aspects to this whole experience for me is the manner in which people approach relationships. In my short time here I've seen the entire gamut of truly loving relationships of which some have spilled over into real lives to mean spirited acts of deception and deceit, and, pretty much everything in between. I won't be the first nor the last person to broach the subject of whether these forms of relationships in all their quirky variations are considered "real" or not ... to me that's for the individuals to decide. I think I pretty much knew before I joined SL this wasn't really an aspect of the virtual experience I was very much interested in. I've had to justify this decision on occasion and my response has always been that everyone chooses to "play" Second Life in their own way and you can't necessarily expect everyone will approach things in the same manner as yourself. There was an excellent documentary on the BBC's Wonderland recently addressing many aspects of these issues which you can view on youtube in four parts pt 1, pt 2, pt 3, pt 4. Well worth the the time watching.

One day while trying to organize my out of control inventory, my mind wandered to the many relationship conversations I've had in the metaverse. Lonely people looking for love in all the wrong sims, relationship drama and complaints of virtual nagging from virtual partners with out of control shopping habits. Well, I thought to myself, if we can fly, live in pirate ships and dance for hours on end while still maintaining perfectly coiffed hair, why can't we can't we build unconditional love in the form of a Perfect Partner? Hence the beginning of my crazy idea and even crazier business ...

Welcome to Perfect Partner where you can find the person of your dreams!

We feature a variety of cut-out avatars ranging from the shy and sweet to the sexy and sassy. Each of our Perfect Partners comes as a rezzable object that rotates and when touched, will greet you by name and whisper sweet nothings randomly - just for you! They will even give you a special surprise of a free I LOVE YOU poofer and each comes with a notecard detailing their personal biographical history. Never be lonely again in Second Life! When you're tired of them, simply take it back into your inventory. No more nagging and talking about your "feelings". It is the ultimate Perfect Partner for only 50L!

Perfect Partners make for excellent, cheap and cheerful gifts for yourself or for your friends. You can easily modify their size, their name, and the random sweet nothings they whisper to you via a simple notecard. You may even place full perm objects inside of them so they deliver them to people when they are touched. All Perfect Partners are modifiable and transferable so they make for great gifts. Custom made cut-outs for personal use or businesses are available starting at 200L.

You can find Perfect Partners and see actual demos at the in-world  locations:

Perfect Partner Main Store at Moody's Mall
Perfect Partner Wando River
OnRez
SL Exchange

Make sure to grab a freebie even if you don't want to buy anything and transfer it to a friend as a Valentine's gift. It even includes an I Love You poofer!

Now that I've had a little commercial interlude, let me just share a few places I've discovered and have truly grown to love in Second Life:

MOODY'S BAR

More of a hangout bar than a dance club, this place is filled with truly generous, helpful and interesting people that I'm grateful I discovered very early on in SL. Great owner and wonderful regulars I'm glad to call friends. The music leans to the alternative side, with regular DJs and a cool website where you can make automatic requests when no one is DJing. GBLT friendly, it also features cool stuff like a scrabble game board, tire swings on the ceiling and a peaceful garden and paradise blanket out in the back. My Perfect Partner main store is also just outside the bar in the mall area.

GEONATION

I met the wonderful Alec Mighty and Georgie Sodwin early on in my SL days and was immediately taken in by their kindness and piss your pants sense of humour.  They've recently opened up their own sim called GeoNation where you'll find a really fun dance club with great 80's and dance music with a friendly and hilarious crowd.  They are also renting a number of great homes, skyboxes and retail space so be sure to check out their sim if you're looking for space to rent.  Tropically themed, they also have a nice meditation centre and events area where you can host gatherings for meetings or weddings.

WANDO AND COOPER RIVER ESTATES

I was quite frustrated with looking at one ugly skybox after another to rent earlier in my SL days when it finally dawned on me that I should ask on LiveJournal where I was pleasantly pleased to find my current home.  This sim is beautifully themed and well worth checking out even if you're not looking for a new home.  The two sims are run by Silent Watts who is a great landlord that truly takes care of her tenants and has put much love and care into building this area.  I'd encourage anyone looking for some interesting homes to check this area out which also has retail space available.  My satellite Perfect Partner store is located just down the street from the rental office.

I'd be interesting in hearing about other peoples' perspectives on relationships in SL so feel free to comment.  Have a happy Valentine's Day!