Nataani for Dusk

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

The face is what had stalled this character until I got my hands on Chris' more extended head morphs for Dusk. I wanted something that was at least vaguely reminiscent of some coastal tribes' racial features, and that simply wasn't possible with Dusk's stock/base morphs. It couldn't happen, and boy did I tear the dials apart in the process of trying!

Once I had gotten my hands on Chris' extended head morphs though, it dialed right up without any problems. There's still a LOT of places around the face where I seriously wish I had more direct control - and specifically more individual control to affect one part without ALSO affecting the other side. And there's still a lack in some ways to being able to achieve quite a full-blooded appearance. But for this character, it worked out well, and Nataani would not have happened without those extended head morphs. They were absolutely essential for this character.

You will find, though, that some of the morphs I ended up turning off their limits to get what I wanted out of the dials. I am so glad that Chris did NOT lock out the morphs the way Daz does. With a lot of Daz morphs, if I turn off their limits, the dang dials still don't do anything beyond their initially set (and often WAY too narrow a range) limits. That sort of limit lock-out actually ticks me off immensely, and is a great way to get me to NOT bother with making characters for a figure! LOL

 

[sanbie]

Extended head Morphs...Have I missed something

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Extended head Morphs...Have I missed something

No you haven't, I just wasn't using the product's correct, "given" name. Sorry.

The morph pack I'm talking about is this one :
Dusk's Head Morph Resource Kit - A HiveWire 3D Creation by CG Cubed and Christopher Creek Art

I view them as "extended" morphs, because they built upon the base/starter morphs and the head shapes for Dusk, and added a lot of flexibility in areas that were severely lacking.

 

[sanbie]

Mmmm I don't think I have them...better get them otherwise your character is not going to work for me lol

 

[sanbie]

Yep I do...it says you own this lol

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Yep I do...it says you own this lol

Whew! Yes, they will be a pre-requirement for Nataani to work, along with Dusk's Starter Morphs, Dusk's Head Shapes, and Dusk's Body Shapes. I'm very sorry that there's so many product requirements needed to use him, but as much as I tried, I could not make him without using bits and pieces of all of those products.

 

[sanbie]

Oh no worries sweetie...I have all that is needed

 

[Lorraine]

These are in my cart for next payday

 

[Miss B]

I have all those as well. I played with the set for Dawn, but only a little, so one day have to go back and play some more.

 

[Pendraia]

Bingo! Give the woman a cookie!

Yes. Aside from having a different genetic stock in him, Nataani is meant to be a little older than Dusk's default. That was very much on purpose.

I sort of always view base figures as just that - a base. They are blank templates upon which to be expanded and molded into something more personal. Even back during the Generation 2 and Generation 3 eras, I felt that way. I doubt it will change anytime soon. Dusk is a wonderful template, but that's what he is.. a template waiting for someone to put their own personal touch into him.

That he does...definitely younger looking. He looks wonderful...

And girls....stop fighting over cookies! ; )

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

And girls....stop fighting over cookies! ; )

Oh, Pen, you know I'm not gonna bring a cookie in unless there's enough for the whole class to have some! LMAO

 

[Miss B]

Oh, Pen, you know I'm not gonna bring a cookie in unless there's enough for the whole class to have some! LMAO

 

[Pendraia]

You weren't a teacher in a previous life Seliah...that's teacher logic...if you hand something out you have to have enough for everyone.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

You weren't a teacher in a previous life Seliah...that's teacher logic...if you hand something out you have to have enough for everyone.

LOL. Nope. I'm a mother, healer, and a wildcrafter, in that order. But if it means anything, I've done stints periodically over the years with showing some of those skills either to kids or adults that wanted to learn...

 

[Miss B]

I actually had to look up wildcrafter, as I have not heard that term before.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

I actually had to look up wildcrafter, as I have not heard that term before.

Ah. Sorry! It refers to basically knowing what's usable and how to use it safely from the outdoors. A sort of outdoor survival skill, I suppose, you could call it. A lot of what I feed my family actually comes from outdoors. We eat things like dandelions, clover, staghorn sumac, and milkweed, among others. And I make quite a few medicines from plants and herbs as well... and many of our ropes/twines etc are cordage I've made from milkweed or dogweed stalks... things like that.

 

[Miss B]

Oh, so not necessarily growing your own veggies and fruit. OK, I've heard of herbs and plants being used for medicines, I just didn't know of an official name for someone who does that all the time.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Yeah. Some stuff I harvest from outdoors - the dandelions, milkweed, clover, and staghorn sumac for instance.

Other stuff I will grow myself, for food and medicinal purposes.

But making the medicines, tools, or food from wild-harvested things... that is specifically what wildcrafting usually refers to, rather than simply growing it yourself. I'm always amazed by how many people think the berries of the staghorn sumac are poisonous (they are not). Or how many folks think milkweed is poisonous (it is not - though it will draw excess water out of the body just like a diuretic pill will); the sap inside of the milkweed, which is where it gets it's name, can also be used to seal minor scrapes and cuts, as it's quite sticky and is how the plant heals itself when damaged.

Clover (I'm talking white or red clover here) is great for respiratory infections... I mix dried or fresh clover (leaf or flowers, both parts work) with mint, ginger, chamomile and honey, and I have killed many colds within 24 hours using that combination in tea form.

The clover attacks the respiratory infection, all forms of mint are mild painkillers (peppermint has the strongest effect, but it's still only a mild painkiller). Ginger settles the stomach (which is good for people whose stomach is upset from all the coughing that comes with a cold - but recommended to leave the ginger OUT of the person is female and is menstruating at the time, as ginger also helps with digestive issues, especially constipation and can cause unwanted cramps as it stimulates the digestive muscles to move things along. In a woman who has bad menstrual cramps, taking ginger can possibly make her cramps worse.)

Chamomile has a very slight sedative effect on the central nervous system and can help lessen the constant coughing (some people are sensitive to the sedative effect enough to get a little drowsy so I always give this tea to people at night time before bed; if it's daytime, I leave the chamomile out unless I know for sure that they are NOT prone to getting drowsy from chamomile).

The honey (local is best, though any will work to some degree) is a well documented antibacterial agent, plus in the case of a cold, it does a good job of coating a throat that's raw from coughing, and can help neutralize the stomach acids a wee bit if the person's got an upset stomach.

Generally, I only need to give one dose of it. The respiratory infection (or colds, yes) is usually gone within 24 hours. If the person has chronic respiratory issues (my Dad was a CHF/COPD patient), this combination can sometimes lessen the degree of severity of their symptoms. I used to give it to him when he was still with us, and it helped him manage enough to be able to function a little better. My sister (early stage COPD) usually needs two doses to kill a cold. I harvest a lot of clover these days, as nowadays there are quite a few folks that ask me to make these teas, and I almost didn't have enough dried clover to last the winter last year, so this year I harvested a little extra.

The stalk of milkweed or dogweed, if harvested during the fall when the plant has begun to dry out (but is not yet completely brittle) will yield usable fibers inside of the stalk. These fibers are extremely strong and can be removed from the stalk and woven together to form usable cordage. We've used that cordage for everything from tying wood bundles together, to making jewelry. Milkweed is NOT poisonous - but Dogweed IS if it's ingested. The two plants are very similar in appearance. The biggest tell-tale sign of the difference is that with Milkweed, the leaves get bigger as you go down towards the base of the stalk, whereas with Dogweed, the leaves get bigger as you go UP towards the tip of the stalk. The look-alike quality between Dogweed and Milkweed is why I will never, ever show that to young children. If necessary, I will show it to their parents, with very clear warnings about the differences if ingested, but never young children.

The pods of the Milkweed plant also contain a sort of cotton-ish substance which is good for insulation (it's just as warm as down feathers, if not warmer at times when harvested in enough amount). All parts of the plant are usable in one form or another... I make soups and stews with the flowers and pods, I've also used the flower buds in salads, and I've cooked up the leaves as a vegetable. I've used the sap for sealing small cuts and scrapes like I mentioned above, though on other people ONLY, not myself (I am allergic to latex, and the milkweed sap has some naturally present latex in it!)

I need to stop now, before I really get going. I'm sorry! I've been doing this stuff for most of my life, in case it wasn't obvious.

 

[Miss B]

No problem, it's very informative.

I usually have Chamomile tea in the house, because in the past it's helped settle a very upset stomach.

 

[Seliah (Childe of Fyre)]

Yes, chamomile can do that for some folks. Catnip (the herb, NOT what you buy out of the pet section of a store), can kill headaches for some folks, and is itself actually part of the mint family. It's also a great way to keep mosquitoes somewhat at bay in the garden... though it will attract local feral or outdoor kitties.... LMAO