Hello Fang Fans

We hope you like the new directions we’re taking Fang. We have a lot of new and exciting changes coming up, so keep your eye out. No, I can’t tell you it will ruin the surprise.

I want to take this time to welcome all the new, ex-tremely talented and dedicated people to the Fang family. Without them it just wouldn’t be what it is..

Most of all, I want to thank you, our loyal readers, because without you, Fang wouldn’t exist. So, keep the letters coming, we love hearing from you.

Roxi Richez

I sat on the grass with Shyann as she rested to talk about the vampire bunnies she breeds and sells. Her belly is distended with not one but two demon babies. Any time today she said her water could break and the interview would be interrupted. She assured me it would be ok to tag along for the birth, but that’s a whole different interview.

RR: How did you find SL?

SN: Well, believe it or not, my RL boyfriend found SL before I did. I was busy playing Guild Wars, going all OCD on my Hall of Monuments and my RL boyfriend was like HEY! have you seen this SL thing? Check this out, it is pretty cool, it’s like your Sims game only you get to do way more with the avatar you make. I made an avatar and came into SL and that was the end of Guild Wars!

RR: How did you get interested in Vampires here?

SN: I was interested in Vampires long before Second Life. I used to read Christopher Pike books when I was a little girl and I just sort of gravitated to Vampires. I’ve always been a big Anne Rice fan, and of I’ve been a fan of Paranormal Romance authors like Kelly Armstrong and Charlaine Harris for years. My RL boyfriend found an RP Sim where they had Vampires, Werewolves, Demons and Angels and told me I had to check it out. That was when I went to City of Lost Angels, and from there is just all sort of progressed. First I was playing a vampire, then I was running a Coven of Vampires, then I was a GM, and pretty soon I owned Sims for Vampires, and I kept finding that I could not find all the things I wanted to decorate my Sims, so the next step of progression was to make vampire furniture.

RR: How did you get introduced to the bunny business?

SN: My Husband in Second Life, Vice Garzo, bought me one as a present, wanting to give me something cute and cuddly. He bought me a regular bunny from the Ozimals Store. I read the manual on the website and then when I was looking around on XSTREET I found an ad for a bunny bed that was made for a “Vampire Bunny”. I contacted the girl that made it, asked her what “Vampire Bunnies” where and the next day I owned a pair of them. A week later I had 100 bunnies and was opening Vamp de Bunny.

RR: Is the only kind of bunny you breed vampire bunnies?

SN: It is not ALL I breed, but it is a big majority of what I breed. I tend to specialize in dark fur bunnies with garnet eyes, but I do breed other gem colors as well. When I say darker furs I don’t just mean black Havana. I do several other furs in the Aphotic shade, for example Mini Rex Black Otters, Mini Rex Chinchillas, Silver Fox Blacks and Holland Lop Opals. Anything that I can get to look really dark with the bright red eyes. I also do a few other bunnies that I like to call Demon Bunnies, Zombie Bunnies and Witch Bunnies, as well as what I would consider to also be a Vampire Bunny, the Holland Lop Whites with Garnet Eyes.

RR: What are vampire bunnies exactly?

SN: Well there is a little room for interpretation here. *Most* people refer to Vampire Bunnies as Havana Blacks with garnet eyes. Some people consider a “True Vampire Bunny” to be a Havana Black with Garnet eyes and the Aphotic shading. I go along with that though only because it is the popular consensus. If it were up to me, Havana Blacks with Garnet Eyes would be called “Demon Bunnies” and Holland Lop Whites with Garnet eyes would be the “Vampires” I mean, after all, when do you see black skinned vampires? But most people don’t like albino bunnies, and so the Havana Blacks with the Garnet eyes are what the general population refers to as “Vampire Bunnies.”

RR: Can you explain to our readers how you take care of the bunnies and how they reproduce?

SN: The bunnies really are not hard to take care of. You put them on the ground, give them food and water. Make sure they don’t run out of food and water and you are good to go. The type of food you feed them determines how fast they get their stats up for breeding. Once their stats hit the necessary point they can make a baby. Some breeders just let bunnies deicide on their own. Personally I pair the bunnies I want to breed together and bond them. After they have a nest, they go into cool down; you wait 4 days and repeat the entire process. That’s really all there is to it.

RR: How many bunnies do you have?

SN: Last time I counted I had about 300 bunnies.

RR: I’ve run into a few people in SL that actually make real money do you?

SN: I do, yes. I don’t make A LOT of real money. I mean I could not quit my day job, but I make enough to do some extra special things. Last month I took enough money out of Second Life to pay off the balance on a TV I had purchased 9 months ago and had only paid about $500 on. This month my goal is to pay off the balance on some dental work I just recently had done. I don’t just make money on bunnies either; I have quite a few lucrative businesses in Second Life. I sell bunnies and bunny accessories at Vamp de Bunny and I sell Vampire Furniture at Vamp de Sade. I sell some of the most popular Vampire Sex Gen Beds on the market, complete with Vampire feeding animations in them. They compete with some of the best beds on the market in SL right now. I also build and sell healing furniture for the CCS Combat System, which is the Combat System that runs on all my Sims and in City of Lost Angels. All of these combined enable me to make RL money. I don’t think that if I just had any one of those I’d be able to actually take money out of the game after paying tiers and investing in stuff like sculpties and such for new products.

RR: You make bunny accessories, what kinds?

SN: Yes I do make Bunny Accessories, we give out free Fangs at Vamp de Bunny that you can rez and place so that your Bunny looks like they have Fangs. I also sell things like Vampire Bunny Coffins, pillows to set your bunnies on, baskets to set your bunnies in, blood buckets to hide your food in so it looks like your bunnies are drinking blood and other odds and ends like that.

RR: You mentioned CCS and City of

Lost Angels what is that?

SN: City of Lost Angels is one of the absolute best Role Play Sims in Second Life! It is a Post Apocalyptic based Sim where people Role Play being Vampires, Lycans, Angels, Demons, Nekos, Sidhee, Supernaturals, Zombies and much more! Players role play together developing story lines. It is a dark RP Sim so there is a lot of sex, a lot of fighting and most of the players are members of Factions. The Lycans have the Pack, the Vampires have the Coven, the Demons join the Brood, and at times, those Factions have some great Role Plays and conflicts and storylines going on. We also have the CCS Combat System, which was created by Suzanna Soyinka. The CCS Combat System allows for fighting with swords, guns and anything else that has been scripted and made to work with the CCS System. The fights can be a lot of fun, with a decided winner at the end! CCS and City of Lost Angels is amazing, I don’t think I’d still be playing Second Life today if it wasn’t for Shyann Nightfire, CCS and my friends in City of Lost Angels.

~silentsparrow~ is an absolutely amazing store in SL featuring Gothic, Victorian and eclectic styles of clothing for both men and women. With bright colors and gorgeous details, Silent Sparrows style is set apart with originality. The creator, hyasynth Tiramisu, gave us an inside glance at her SL and RL self. She even disclosed some upcoming new releases and revealed her summer plans with us!

EV: What brought you to Second Life and what has kept your interest for over four years?

hT: I discovered Second Life by doing some random blog reading, looking for more info about the author Corey Doctorow. I had just read Someone Comes to Town, Some-one Leaves Town by him. He was doing a Virtual signing in Second Life. So I ended up looking into what Second Life actually was. The freedom of creation and the close friendships I’ve developed in this almost 5 years time is what keeps me here. There are too many people I would miss. Honestly not being hya at this point would be like los-ing an aspect of who I am. :)

EV: What is your favorite item to create?

hT: I love any opportunity to be able to use my more traditional artist side here. So my favorite items feature my illustrations, or the brocades I build from ink drawings.

EV: I’d love to know which of your creations have been your greatest success?

hT: Hmm - I’d have to say my suits. For the longest time they were relatively unique in SL.  They still are in that they are...uniquely mine.

EV: What have you created that has just been a complete fail?

hT: All of my failures are the lists and piles of sketches I’ve yet to create here.  Generally if I really, really don’t like something it never makes it into SL.

EV: The styles you create are eclectic with a focus on Gothic and Victorian. Does this re� ect your personal style in you � rst life?

hT: They do! ~silentsparrow~ is entirely my imaginary wardrobe. Real Life hya has things of a similar style but the fabrics I can work with here, and just the amount of detail, is out of reach for the � eshy half.   So, First Life hya does dress very gothic with a bit of a playful tinge, which is very much like what I do here.

EV: Most creators I know in SL spend endless hours alone tucked away in a secret building spot. Is this you? Do you get out and still explore SL or spend time with friends?

hT: I am a total homebody. This doesn’t keep me from seeing my friends, thankfully. My close friends know they are always welcome to stop by. Randomly, I can be lured away from the comfort of my sim. This usually involves vodka or mischief or both.

EV: How often do you add new items to your store?hT: I release new items on a weekly schedule. This is something I’ve done literally since the shop’s � rst few months. It keeps me on my toes and causes much wailing or cheer-ing, depending, amongst my wonderful regular customers.

EV: The colors of your clothing are bright and vivid. This is di� erent than many gothic stores in SL and gives a great variety to your clients. What made you choose your color theme in your designs?

hT: I LOVE color.  I was an artist before stumbling into SL and a Goth too. Color was always a part of RL Goth fashion. Usually you have black AND a color you identify with. Mine is obviously black and blue. So for me it’s just something that is normal :).

EV: You feature men’s and women’s clothing. Do you design the clothing to compliment each other and create “couple out� ts”?

hT: Most of the time that’s the result of people asking. “When is the suit/dress coming out to match?” Then I � xate on what exactly that would look like.

EV: I admire that you have expanded your reach to an audience through your website http://hyasynth.wordpress.com/. Do you get a positive response from the site?

hT: I get ODD responses on the blog. I have this one girl who emails pretty much monthly trying to buy the Chapiteau sets for First Life. Despite explaining they don’t actually exist outside the world of Second Life, and that she can join etc, etc. It’s a bit hilarious AND frustrating because I really want to help her. But yes usually posi-tive. :D

EV: Do you sell your items on Xstreet? How does Xstreet compare to selling in world?

hT: I do, pretty well but usually the same handful of items.  And I think Xstreet is more new people stumbling onto my creations. It’s always awesome to see someone pick up a few things then a few days later hit the shop.

out to match?” Then I � xate on what exactly that would look like.

EV: I admire that you have expanded your reach to an audience http://hyasynth.wordpress.com/http://hyasynth.wordpress.com/. Do you get a

hT: I get ODD responses on the blog. I have this one girl who emails pretty much monthly trying to buy the Chapiteau sets for First Life. Despite explaining they don’t actually exist outside the world of Second Life, and that she can join etc, etc. It’s a bit hilarious AND frustrating because I really want to help her. But yes usually posi-

EV: Do you sell your items on Xstreet? How does Xstreet compare

hT: I do, pretty well but usually the same handful of items.  And I think Xstreet is more new people stumbling onto my creations. It’s always awesome to see someone pick up a few things

EV: What is your inspiration for your clothing line?

hT: Moments of inspiration usually come from books I’m reading, or something in a movie I watched recently. Little things like an old house a few neighborhoods over that made me think of how I really love the color of untreated wood - that powdery grey with the mossy green along the grass. Things like that :)

EV: Do you run sales or specials in your store?

hT: I do and they are ALWAYS insomnia induced. “I’m bored it’s 3am - hey! Let’s put all the blue things on sale”.

EV: Where did the name for the store derive from?

hT: There is an image from a pretty horrid but beautiful movie, Snow White: A Tale of Ter-ror. It is a sparrow in an hour glass full of sand. That ended up in an ALSO pretty terrible poem I wrote a LONG, LONG time ago. The line of poetry is “Sparrow under dust, the city breathes without me I die a little bit...today.” Simpli� ed ~silentsparrow~

EV: The styles in the store range from vampire Goth to classic Victorian. What seems to be your best selling items?

hT: It’s all over the place. I never have any idea what will be popular and what will not. Thankfully I usually do a release because it’s something I feel like wearing, or something I know this one particular person will love. So if it’s a popular seller isn’t the point. My big failing as virtual seamstress ha is that I’m TERRIBLE at creating for demand.

EV: What other items besides the clothing do you sell in your store?

hT: Personally I’ve made a few pieces of jewelry. I also do wall art with my illustrations. Oh and tattoos, I love turning my artwork into tattoos.

EV: What upcoming items will we see in ~silentsparrow~?

hT: I’m taking this summer o� , which i haven’t actually TOLD anyone before this inter-view. Almost 5 years of weekly releases and a never ending fount of ideas is a bit tiring. SO this summer I’ll be taking actual illustration work, tattoos and the like.  Spending some time catching up on reading, other RL hobbies, and maybe, actually relaxing.

EV: What guilty pleasure do you enjoy that takes you away from building once in awhile?

hT: Hmmm I love other video games. I’m really a geek at heart, so things like Dragon Age. (Which I think I lost two months to >.>) Or at the moment I’m watching all � ve seasons of Daria one disc a day at a time. In RL outside my home I have a love for old houses/archi-tecture, so I tend to wander aimlessly trying to � nd the one perfect overgrown Victorian

that is my fairytale dream home.

EV: The SL market seems to have a large share of clothing lines that focus on gothic inspired clothing. What makes the ~silentsparrow~ style stand apart from other gothic stores?

hT: Well I’ve always been...true to my own vision. I think over the years I’ve developed a highly recognizable and unique style.  I don’t let that in SL I’m considered a “Goth” shop keep me from making something I really love, and I think that I care. My attention to detail shows, at least I like to think it does :) **** Maybe ask some of my customer’s. :D I have a VIP group who I’m sure would be more than willing to respond. And I don’t mind you asking in group chat at all :)

I took hyasynth up on her o� er of checking into the VIP group. I joined the group and became a “twittery bird” and with membership I get free updates and group gifts. I sent a message immediately in the group asking simply what they thought of Silent Sparrow and hyasynth’s work. immediately the group lit up with responses to the point I could barely keep up with reading. All were genuine, heart-felt and complimentary to not only hyasynth as a creator, but as a person they are all proud to know. Repeatedly, I read comments like “a true artist”, “pays close attention to detail”, “innovative designer”, and “inspirational”. It was even pointed out that she pays close attention to detail to create clothing to � t all avies such as furries. I decided to take a couple of the quotes to share with you here. The customers themselves speak for her work.

“hyasynth is one of the most dedicated creators in Second Life. She doesn’t skimp on her creations -- when we � rst met, she told me that she considers her out� ts art, not simply products for sale...” -Achariya Maktoum

“hya is an innovative designer, she’s true to herself at all times, rather than staying with the mainstream... Her clothing is vibrant in some cases, and dark and mysterious, which leads her to be exceptionally versatile for all styles. She’s a true person in sl, and in rl (you can purchase her t-shirts online). She’s an amazing spirit, who is truly an art-ist.” -Emee Flanagan

EV: My favorite question to ask, since this is an interview with Fang Magazine, is how do you feel about vampires in SL?

hT: Hmm you know, I remember this amusing and friendly group of Toreadors that would frequent my shop years ago. I thought they were awesome. SL allows us to be anything we want. Ha! And as a purple haired tattooed Goth chick, who may have spent some of her younger years LARPing (live action role playing) and own every Pop-py Z Brite book she could get her hooves on, I’m in no place to think they are anything

but kindred souls. Bad Pun \o/

EV: I appreciate you taking the time in your busy schedule to answer the questions for our readers. You are the type of woman I would want to sit down and have a drink with. Looking orward to so many great shopping sprees to ~silentsparrow~!

Esme Violet-

EV: I appreciate you taking the time in your busy schedule to answer the questions for our readers. You are the type of woman I would want to sit down and have a drink with. Looking orward to so many great shopping sprees to ~silentsparrow~!

Esme Violet-

“Shhhh.”

It starts off quiet. Sleeping - for minutes, maybe hours. Who knows. But it’s dead quiet. Then out of nowhere:

*Schikt*...*schikt*

The sound that wakes. A distinct sound - not like those muffled steps you hear along the walls, or the creaking you catch with only one ear with the other resting on the pillow.

This was clear, as though it were coming right out of the alarm clock on the dresser. My mouth works, as if to say something. No words comes though.

*Schikt*

The slice of blades. My eyelids snap like branches, wide and scanning briefly while I gain

focus. Any other soul on any other day would have been startled by this noise. They would have jumped up and

scanned about, registering the sound immediately as unnatural for an empty room - an empty house. Maybe those other people,

whom I could have been just like on any other day, try to convince themselves that it wasn’t anything. They use phrases like, “That had

to have been my mind,” or “Something fell - I didn’t set it on the desk right,”. They’d say all kinds of things to themselves, there in the dark, anticipating the unknown, expecting something but nothing all at the same time and hoping for the latter.

*Schikt*

Straining hard against the night to hear, maybe too hard. They almost will something to be the cause of this random noise and can’t even stop themselves from doing it. Hoping for that instant release reaction to spark, the convincing voice that will soothe them back down, “Lie back, it’s ok,” so they can sleep once more. Escape the noise that

never was, and be in a dream where safety holds true.

It’s in that brief pause where the heart starts calming itself down again - no longer pounding out their ears, but settling back in it’s nest within their chest...that the noise strikes again.

For them, the noise would have severed their spine at the neck. Shattered the hilt of their body, paralyzing them with a fear that they have never known. A fear they never could have conceived before tonight. A night unlike all others.

They lay their with their eyes wide like lightning, feeling the shock reverberate their nerves and tickle every string of hair in itch. There’s no mistaking it. It

wasn’t any random part of the house settling. It wasn’t the A/C kicking back on. Wasn’t some miniscule and irrelevant object that teetered so precariously

“Shhhh.”

It starts off quiet. Sleeping - for minutes, maybe hours. Who knows. But it’s dead quiet. Then out of nowhere:

*Schikt*...*schikt*

The sound that wakes. A distinct sound - not like those muffled steps you hear along the walls, or the creaking you catch with only one ear with the other resting on the pillow.

branches, wide and scanning briefly while I gain focus. Any other soul on any other day would have

been startled by this noise. They would have jumped up and scanned about, registering the sound immediately as unnatural

for an empty room - an empty house. Maybe those other people, whom I could have been just like on any other day, try to convince

themselves that it wasn’t anything. They use phrases like, “That had to have been my mind,” or “Something fell - I didn’t set it on the desk

right,”. They’d say all kinds of things to themselves, there in the dark, anticipating the unknown, expecting something but nothing all at the same time and hoping for the latter.

*Schikt*

Straining hard against the night to hear, maybe too hard. They almost will something to be the cause of this random noise and can’t even stop themselves from doing it. Hoping for that instant release reaction to spark, the convincing voice that will soothe them back down, “Lie back, it’s ok,” so they can sleep once more. Escape the noise that

never was, and be in a dream where safety holds true.

It’s in that brief pause where the heart starts calming itself down again - no longer pounding out their ears, but settling back in it’s nest within their chest...that the noise strikes again.

For them, the noise would have severed their spine at the neck. Shattered the hilt of their body, paralyzing them with a fear that they have never known. A fear they never could have conceived before tonight. A night unlike all others.

They lay their with their eyes wide like lightning, feeling the shock reverberate their nerves and tickle every string of hair in itch. There’s no mistaking it. It

wasn’t any random part of the house settling. It wasn’t the A/C kicking back on. Wasn’t some miniscule and irrelevant object that teetered so precariously

on the edge of the desk in the other room.

The realization that this sound belonged to some object that was in the room with them and wasn’t in the room before. The sudden blast of comprehension that this sound belongs to some object that is sharp, and makes the sound that two blades make when sliced across one another.

*Schikt....Schikt*

Inside their chest, that once adventurous heart that sought fit to climb up their head, now loses its footing.

Their minds work mad and come to the conclusion, as those hearts sink down into the pit of the stomache with dread, that these blades that make this sound that wasn’t in the room before, are being made by someone.

Any one of these people, on any other night, might never have had this dilemma. They would have slept soundly, obtaining the full required nights sleep necessary to function the following morning.

But instead those people wouldn’t be sleeping. They’d be praying. Hoping, and questioning. “Oh god, am I going to live?!” Many different ways they could say it, but regardless, they still would say it.

*schikt*

Right now, I’m alive.

My eyes are focusing in the darkness. I don’t know how long I’ve been here in the dark, nor how much time has passed. I feel my mouth working, as if to say something. No words come though. Instead, a grin spreads wide across my face.

They would have strained their ears to make sense of the noise, hoping to pick up some idea of what it was or where it came from. They should have strained their eyes.

On any other night, I would have reacted just like them, laying there on their backs, paralyzed with fear. Not tonight though.

Slicing these blades together, the words finally come,

“Shhhh...”

-Archus Brodie-

The realization that this sound belonged to some object that was in the room with them and wasn’t in the room before. The sudden blast of comprehension that this sound belongs to some object that is sharp, and makes the sound that two blades make when sliced across one

Any one of these people, on any other night, might never have had this dilemma. They would have slept soundly, obtaining the full required nights sleep necessary to function the

But instead those people wouldn’t be sleeping. They’d be praying. Hoping, and questioning. “Oh god, am I going to live?!” Many different ways they could say it, but regardless, they still would say it.

My eyes are focusing in the darkness. I don’t know how long I’ve been here in the dark, nor how much time has passed. I feel my mouth working, as if to say something. No words come though. Instead, a

They would have strained their ears to make sense of the noise, hoping to pick up some idea of what it was or where it came from.

On any other night, I would have reacted just like them, laying there on their backs, paralyzed with fear. Not tonight though.

Slicing these blades together, the words finally come,

-Archus Brodie-