So, I have officially reprised my Hey Roni! column, now featured in the SL Insider! 🎉
For those who may have missed it, I'll be posting the columns here as well for archival purposes each week after they appear in the newspaper. So if you find yourself hopelessly addicted to my wit, wisdom, and occasional questionable life advice, be sure to catch the newest installment first at SLInsider.com!
Now, without further ado...
Last Week's Column: The Benjamin Buttons Dilemma
Hey Roni,
My Second Life husband and I have been together for almost six years. We have built homes together, survived roleplay drama, Marketplace addiction, three breedables phases, and at least seven “final” redecorations. I love this man dearly. But Roni… I am begging for help.
Every few months this man changes bodies. Not just a new skin or a fresh shape tweak. No. He fully reinvents himself like he’s entering witness protection. One month he’s a rugged silver fox lumberjack with tattoos and a beard, the next month he’s suddenly a twenty-two-year-old e-boy with fluffy hair, lip gloss, and sneakers that look like inflated marshmallows. Last week he walked into our house looking so young that our virtual son asked if his “long lost big brother” was visiting. I wish I was joking.
Now every time I log in I experience a small moment of panic wondering which version of my husband will be waiting for me. Sometimes I don’t even recognize him in crowded sims anymore.
I have looked basically the same since 2021. Same hair color. Same face. I update things here and there, but I still resemble ME. This man, however, is out here treating his avatar like a seasonal skin pack. I tried gently bringing it up and he told me I was “stifling his creative expression.”
Am I being unreasonable? Is this just part of SL culture now? Or do I have the right to mourn the fact that my husband now looks like he should be failing algebra instead of paying tier on our land? Please help before he discovers anime heads.
— Married to a Shape Shifter
First of all, congratulations on maintaining a Second Life relationship for six years. In SL years that is approximately seventy-two human years, three platform breakups, two mysterious disappearances, and at least one dramatic unfriending over a flexi-hair incident. Frankly, the two of you deserve a commemorative statue somewhere in Bellisseria.
Now onto the issue at hand: your husband’s apparent addiction to full-body reincarnation.
Listen, avatar experimentation absolutely IS part of SL culture. One of the fun things about virtual worlds is the ability to reinvent yourself whenever the mood strikes. Some people redecorate houses, some people change their inventory folders, and some men wake up one morning and decide they want to look like they vape behind a Hot Topic. With that said… there is a limit.
If your own virtual child is mistaking your husband for his “long lost big brother,” then yes, we may have crossed into concerning territory.
My advice? Instead of focusing entirely on what you dislike, try finding one thing in each new look that you genuinely DO like and compliment that specifically. Maybe the new hair works. Maybe the tattoos are nice. Maybe the jawline could cut glass. Men in SL, much like peacocks, thrive on positive reinforcement. And if he creates a look that truly makes your ovaries log out? Remind him (sweetly, of course, but be clear) how attractive you found him during a previous era.
Trust me, the sentence “Baby, when you wear a beard, my lady parts beep.” has the power to heal nations.
But also? Stop standing still while this man is out here treating the avatar editor like Project Runway. You have looked the same since 2021? Honey. It may be time for YOU to evolve a little too. Grab a new body update, try a different style, splurge on a new skin, demo something wildly outside your comfort zone. If you can’t beat him, join him.
Best case scenario? You two discover a fun new shared hobby and start glow-up shopping together. Worst case scenario? He finally experiences the emotional confusion of logging in and wondering who the woman standing in his kitchen is… and suddenly your pain becomes very relatable.
Either way, I do think love survives this. After all, underneath the rotating heads, bodies, skins, tattoos, and suspiciously youthful eyebrow choices… he is still your person.
Now if he discovers anime heads AND cat ears simultaneously, write me back immediately.
~Roni
