|
April 2005 Donation Item Critique |
|
|
|
|
|
|
This month's Donation Items are the Butterfly Mantilla and the Arachnid Chestplate.
   
ZeekSlider Must Have Rating: 4 out of 5 Recommended Item: Butterfly Mantilla
Snap Judgement
I'll admit it. When I first saw the announcement, I was like "OMG! WTF?!" because they were doing it again. A light verse dark set with bugs. However, when I looked at the design of the Butterfly Mantilla, I noticed that it was designed as wings, which is when another "OMG! WTF?!" moment happened. Remember the admins saying back wings wouldn't be in donation letters? Well, they kept their word. More on that later.
A Chestplate and a Manti-what?
For those of you that don't know just by looking at it, a mantilla is pretty much a short silk cape or cloak, generally worn by women in Spain. If you are a member of the Christian or Muslium religion, you've seen this in another form already.
And if you don't know what a chestplate is, then you need to brush up on your armor (no pun intended).
Surprisingly, given the fact they are polar opposits of each other, you can equip both of the items at the same time in their various modes. I guess that way you can become a pretty moth or something to that affect.
The Ittsie Bittsie Spider
The Arachnid Chestplate is probably the most underwhelming of the two. It's black tone is about the same as The Fly costume from several Halloweens ago, which makes matching it rather a challenge. Not a hard challenge if you are a fan of dark clothing, but one nonetheless. Now you would think that being a spider, the Web set that was recently released would do the item some justice. It does, but only to a point. Basically, if you can't match this with any dark clothing and don't want to invest in The Fly, you should save up to buy the Web Shirt and the Web Bustier. The Spider that adorns the front of the chestplate is layered above both offering a nice design element.
The various modes leave me wondering if one of the Avatar Artists is a fan of Doc Oct from the Spider-man franchise.
Enveloped Mode is pretty much like how it sounds. The legs of the armor that were once protecting your own arms move and cover your sides and form a crown of sorts. The bottom two legs are made out to be tails. Anyone with a Lunar Cloak still will want to use this form, as it just screams "evil bad guy." Other than that, I haven't really found much use for it.
Outspread Mode has all the legs... well, outspread. They form a nice set of "back legs" similar to how the Lunar Cloak forms a "back moon(s)." A nice little detail is that he spider's mouth opens up in this mode. Definately one of the better modes of this item, as well as the one with the most potential for an impressive outfit.
Now being a chestplate, there should be a helmet that goes with this, right? Not really. Of the few Helmets that are available to the general Gaian public, the only one that I can see matching this would be the Black Roque Helm. RoRo in Helmet Mode wouldn't work because it's too silver in tone. But I'm sure a creative person out there will make it work.
I'm a Pretty Little Butterfly
The Butterfly Mantilla is the Fairy Wing Upgrade most of us have been looking for. Technically, this item isn't a pair of back wings, as its Default setting is that of what a mantilla is (a short silk cape), but the other modes suggest otherwise. Another reason why this item isn't a pair of Back Wings is because of the fact the Fairy Wings do not replace it and vice versa. You can wear both the Butterfly Mantilla and the Fairy Wings at the same time. But why would you want to?! Another interesting detail is the blue jewel that keeps the mantilla together around the neck. It is inside of a white necklace, which is shades lighter than the silver necklaces sold in the shops. Another unique piece of "bling" compliments of the Donation Letter.
The various modes are simple yet nice.
Folded Back Mode features a pair of single wings that arch out over the shoulders of the Avatar. These are small wings and very nice. They don't draw too much attention, but at the same time they are nice to look at. The only problem I have with them is how they are placed. The idea looks as if your avatar is about to take off. Personally, I would have liked to see these pair of wings folded back behind the avatars like the cloaks and capes found throughout Gaia.
Outspread Mode is no doubt going to be the top selling point of this item. Being the second pair of wings any avatar can get, this item is a lot bigger than the Fairy Wings. While the design can be a bit distracting, the overall look will make people PM you asking where the hell you found those! Combined with the Bouncy Anttena and several other items, and this could make a very cute outfit for anyone that's willing to invest in it. The only thing that the Fairy Wings have over this mode is that the Fairy Wings are easier on the eyes while being just as impressive.
Oh, bug off!
I don't think there's any really contest here as to which item to get. The Butterfly Mantilla will no doubt become the item everyone will be questing for. At least the people that want more than just the Fairy Wings for back wings. It isn't the Angelic/Demonic Wings most have been demanding, but there is definately a market for it.
The Arachnid Chestplate is a nice counterpart, but it pretty much pales in comparison.
So, yeah, invest in a Butterfly Mantilla before the price goes up higher than the Fairy Wings. You won't regret it.
 Zeek Slider · Sun Apr 24, 2005 @ 02:19pm · 9 Comments |
|
|
|
|
|
