Otherworldly

As soon as I unpacked the Memorial Monument set from Artisan Fantasy, I knew I wanted to do something with it, but it took a while before all the pieces came together. However, once I received the Rihtual set from the Plastik as well as the Helianne headdress, I had an idea for how I wanted it to look. Of course, then it ended up spending an hour testing windlight settings and remodelling my surroundings because the framing of the shot just didn’t come out as I had imagined it. Sometimes it can be a bad idea to have too strong an image in your mind before you setup a shot and this was definitely one of those times. I finally arrived at something that I was mostly pleased with, even if it wasn’t quite what I had wanted from the start.

No Fantasy Faire post from me yesterday as both Ran and I were busy doing not just one but two LitFest events for their George R.R. Martin day. First was a presentation we did together (with the excellent Saffia Widdershins as moderator) about how we ended up collaborating with GRRM and some of the things that has resulted in over the years. At the end of it, Saffia invited us to also take part in her panel discussion on adaptations, which given the theme of the day was focused on A Song of Ice and Fire/Game of Thrones. It turned out to be a lot of fun so we were glad we stayed up for it. But it didn’t leave much time for blogging, so what you are getting today is a look at my outfit from the LitFest.

While I don’t roleplay in Second Life (instead, you’ll find me on Blood of Dragons MUSH), I am most definitely a roleplayer. I also like capturing what you might call “roleplay situations” in my fantasy blogging and I often find myself frustrated by the lack of poses for such scenarios. Enter the Roleplay HUD from Mythril, which offers a wonderful variety of poses and animations for roleplayers and photographers looking for something different.

In addition to the HUD, I also showcase Wasabi’s two new hairs for the Fantasy Faire as well as a neat outfit from Stitched.

Today it was time to flit through the woods on delicate fairy wings, discovering a clearing full of strange and wonderful flowers and vines from Adorably Strange Wares.  The beautiful Daphne dress from the Muses felt like something a fairy might wear and the autumn colour went nicely with the wings from Les Encantades. But a fairy doesn’t need to keep to one season, so the Gaia crown from Acios has more of a spring or summer feel with its lush blooms. My fairy-self also has a taste for other treasures and wears a stunning necklace from Bliensen + MaiTai.

Fantasy Faire 2018 is now open and the Fairelands will stay with us from the 19th to the 29th of April. I am starting this year’s coverage of the Faire with a vlog featuring the Fairelands Junction (built by Saiyge Lotus of Balderdash) and three of the new releases from the Plastik (in collaboration with Trap) for the Faire.

Typing is still a bit difficult due to my injured finger, so to give a sense of what awaits you at the Fairelands, I am going to quote briefly from the press release:

“In addition to the ten shopping regions, there’s also five whole Fairelands dedicated to various Faire events from Memorial Garden to the Fairelands Quest, from Literary Festival to Performance Stages, from Art Galleries to the Worldling Collection. This brings the Fairelands count of 2018 into fifteen sims, just waiting for you to come and explore them.”

I have also included a couple of closer looks at the skin, horns and eyes, but for any information beyond the credits at the end I refer to the video to give my finger a rest.

The Pose Fair has now been going on for about two weeks. I actually went shopping on the first day, but haven’t had time to blog my purchases until now. My favourite find has to be the “Shame Stand” from Artis, a pedestal with seven poses (versions for flat and high feet included). I used them unaltered for the first two poses, then used Animare to tweak the head position in order to better show off the jewellery from the Plastik in the close-ups.

A rustic wooden bed with texture options (three wood colours, five fabric colours) and many, many animations is the featured item of this post. The Vilnai bed comes from Roawenwood but it is by no means limited to a roleplay setup. The style and texturing of the bed will fit into any rustic home. It is also done in the same wood style as the bondage star previously released from Roawenwood and briefly seen in this post.

Also shown in this post are two new hairs: Marcus (unisex style) from Wasabi and Bewkie, the March VIP Group Gift from Truth.

The new round of We Love Role-Play made a bit of a dent in my virtual wallet as there are some very nice pieces available. In particular, I just had to have the Desert Villa and Desert Wall Kit from LORE, perfect for building a little retreat in the desert area of the sim. The red cliffs are of course done using Fanatik’s Lofoten set and the palm trees are a new release from Fanatik with 11 different tree models. The dress is also a We Love Role-Play release, from Dreaming Thicket, and the hair is Wasabi’s latest release.

Well, I haven’t been tricked by anyone today, though I suppose you could say my dog pranked me when he turned an obedience competition into more of a disobedience competition. He’s lucky that he’s cute, at least.

I didn’t go for either funny or Easter-themed with my photos either. Instead, I decided to try out the pool table from Apple Fall that I picked up at the big sale some time ago. It has some quite nice single poses (as well as cuddles and adult poses) which worked well for showing off this harness/lingerie from Voluptas Virtualis. Also new is the short, unisex hairstyle from Wasabi.

No, not for sale, but I did get dressed mostly in last Friday’s 50 Linden offerings, with items from the Plastik, Luxuria and Maxi Gossamer. I rarely have time to actually blog anything on Fridays, but I know the item from the Plastik (items, actually, as it is part of a larger set) at least will be out at a regular price once the 50 L offer has expired.

Lost cities, ruins, mysteries. The past has fascinated me since I was quite young and while I know now that archaeology is rarely about discoveries like Knossos, Mycenae and Troy, it is still fun to let your imagination run wild at times. This is why I just had to have the latest add-on to Fanatik’s cave system, the Petra Chamber. Inspired by the Petra site in Jordan, but placed within a vast underground chamber instead, it looks just amazing. So, of course I had to do a video of it. Do note that this is just about the Petra Chamber, as I don’t actually own the rest of the cave system. For interiors, it can definitely be used as a stand-alone, though I am sorely tempted to get the whole system and the other add-ons too.

Its fortunate that I am not much for going out on Fridays, because I am absolutely knackered today. I have my weekly riding lesson on Fridays and today our instructor decided to work us to the bone. And to think there are people who insist riding isn’t a proper sport because you just sit there and the horse does all the work. Yeah, right. Anyway, I ended up napping a lot longer than I had planned to after dinner, so I didn’t have time for a full skin review today to celebrate the fact that Skin Fair 2018 is now open. You do get a look a the omega applier for alaskametro from the fair, but that is a face that has been out before, just not as a full range.

I mentioned Skin Fair 2018 in my previous post and now it is time to start with some proper coverage of the event. My plan is to mix it in with my regular blogging by opening up each skin fair blog with a regular “on location” photo as opposed to a plain studio shot of a skin. Then I will give you a good look at the front and back of the skin and a close-up of the face. I do plan to do some more detailed skin reviewing in the write-ups as well, especially if I try any new brands. However, the first post focuses on Adam n Eve and one of the shapes I’ve made for sachi’s new skin under my Kanon brand, so this one is more informative than a proper review.

I have been busy setting up for Skin Fair the last few days—I will be participating with my shape brand, Kanon—but this is a combination I have wanted to shoot for a while. It features my last two picks from February’s Bound Box; a harness from Narcisse and a lounger from Violetility. I’ve also added stockings from Luxuria for the new round of Blush and another new hair from Wasabi—they’re on quite a roll with new releases right now. Finally, I am giving a sneak peak of the Anya skin from Adam n Eve which will be available at Skin Fair 2018 when it opens on the 9th.

Just like yesterday, I am a bit late with this post in relation to the events that some of the new items in it were released at. February has been a very busy month and it could definitely have used a few extra days this year! Fortunately, the setup for this scene was extremely easy as it uses the pre-furnished bonus house from the first Shadow Box series by DRD.