2014 Fantasy Faire: Between Courts

One of the nice things that Fantasy Faire does every year is set out a few no lag outfits, most of them excuses for going about without any clothes. I agreed with this basic premise, mostly because Trap style skins can be seen best with as little clothing as possible. I started with the skin, a collaboration between Trap and Gauze that is truly lovely in application. It also comes with a hair and eyes, not shown, all of them zero script. I augmented my look because, well, I'm me; first I added these wings from Deviance and ripped the scripts out of them to make them no script. I did the same with a copy of my awesome ears from Illusions - since they are manually tintable I could have kept the recolorable ones I use for these situations, but I wanted to make a complete low-script look for ease of use in the future. The hair I added is from Ploom, and I did the same thing - copying it, tinting it with the HUD the way I wanted and then cruelly emptying it of any and all scripts; I've covered this hair before, and I really love how it falls along my back. Since the Gauze and Trap skin did not have SLink appliers, I used a fade effect created by Orc Inc to smooth between the hands and my arms. I also tinted my nails with De La Soul's latest tentacley release, though this time in fingernail form. The only place where my script removal didn't work was with my SLink hands and feet, which stymied my every attempt to de-script them, but it still leaves me with only six scripts and a very low kb count, which I think makes this still work even with my vanity intact.

For the sake of these pictures, I added a new gacha release from Sax Shepherd Designs, a gorgeous set. There is a rare HUD which has twenty-four total stone and pearl shades, and a ton of commons which come with a simpler, twelve-option HUD. Bracelets and anklets are available in addition to the usual necklace and earrings, this gorgeous belt I'm wearing, and a lovely circlet that didn't work with my hair. You will very likely see it again - this is one of my favorites of his releases.

We're six days into the Fantasy Faire and I'm a little behind, which I always seem to be - eleven days is never, ever enough. In my defense, I've been trying to cover another event and I've done walkthroughs for one hunt and one hunt-like-event, but really I'm feeling quite behind. The sims are lovely, though, and I really encourage you to seek them our while the faire is still going on - we have until the eleventh before it all vanishes like mist.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Gauze & Trap, Dragon Koi (Free Fantasy Faire Skin)
Hair: Ploom, Camille
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: De La Soul, Cthu Nails
Fades: Orc Inc, Blend Hands & Feet
Jewelry: Sax Shepherd Designs, Nia Moon (Fantasy Gacha Carnival)

Pose: Don't Freak Out

Location: The Faery Court
Light Settings: Places, Abracadabra
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Enchantment - Sleeping Beauty: Stamp Event Walkthrough

Stamp events broke in Japanese stores a few years ago, and have finally broken to the mainstream with Enchantment for Sleeping Beauty. The idea behind a stamp event is that you purchase an item which has a stamp card within it, attach the stamp card, then go around to a selection of stores (all with items where you can purchase things which contain stamp cards) clicking on a stamper. Once your card is completely stamped, you get a special prize, something usually not available through other means. The advantage to a stamp event is that it encourages everyone to buy at least one thing - I usually purchase as many things as I want prizes from the final prize selection - which is good for the creators involved. It's a much easier process than a hunt, since the stamp machines are rarely difficult to find, so people have some leisure to browse if they want to.

I recommend starting with the final prize listing (at the bottom of the post here), picking the things you wish to get, and then finding corresponding items to purchase before beginning the stamp process; I chose seven items I really wanted out of the twenty, which is a very high percentage for me. Some of the cards will be transfer-ok, so if you find more things with stamps than you want in final prizes then you can pass the stamp cards on to friends.

Then find the items you wish to purchase. This does mean some doubling up on travel, but that shouldn't be a huge burden with landmarks so readily to hand and it gives you a chance to scout out the locals and find the stamp machines. The items for purchase with the stamp cards were always set off with the stamp machine, which makes scouting easy. In some cases, the purchase items corresponded with the final prize - like Lark selling the arms to match the crown prize - so starting with your chosen final prize stores makes a lot of sense.

So long as a stamp card is attached to you in some way, clicking on a stamp machine will stamp it. I usually attach my stamp cards to my HUD in a small row across the top so I can see if anything goes wrong; while attaching them to ones body can be fun and look very funny, they are significantly harder to see. One hiccup I found with attaching it to the HUD was that the stamp card was backwards, so you need to be able to rotate it in order to see the stamps. Once it's attached and visible to you on your screen (which may also be a challenge; I found attaching it to HUD, Center and Center 2 worked the smoothest), edit the stamp card and past "180" into the Blue Z Axis and you will be able to see your stamps.

There are twenty stores to visit, so take your time. I've included the store links in the order they show up on your stamp card, for ease of filling in gaps. MishMash is in the ground, so walk forward from the landing point and you'll fall in a hole and find the Enchantment stuff. I also changed the landmark to the Tarnished Store to point more toward the store, since it's off to one side; since there's a landing point, you may need to enter the address again to get a pointer. If you buy the !bang poses or any other gift that gives you their contents on wearing the box, know you need to rez and remove the Stamp Card because it's no-copy.

Enchantment Stamp Card

= Unrepentant  =	= BOOM  =	= Apsara  =	= Mina Hair  =
= !bang poses =	= the sugar garden =	= O.M.E.N. =	= Lark  =
= anc Ltd.  =	= Kalopsia =	= The Annex =	= !Ohmai  =
= Violent Seduction =	= MishMish  =	= Luminary  =	= Hopscotch =
= Tarnished =	= Peqe =	= Stitched  =	= Junbug  =

Once your card is completely stamped, go to the Prize Location and detach all but one stamp card (again, easy to ensure you are doing this when they are attached to your HUD).Then look around at all of the kiosks, which have an image of the prize on top, and select the one you want to redeem your stamp card for. There are two blue menus to get through - the first giving you the options to "Check Prize" "Get Prize" or "Cancel" and the second with a "Yes" or "No" option, all naming the prize you are getting, so it's pretty straight forward and there isn't much room for error if you're paying attention. I ended up with a ton of awesome prizes in addition to the fantastic stuff I bought, and a pretty stack of redeemed cards, so at the end of the day I'm petty happy.

Fantasy Faire Hunt Part One: Fimbley’s Wager

The Fantasy Faire is doing a two part hunt again, using a HUD which costs 250L. After looking around a few landing spots, I found my HUD at the Sanctum, in a standard Fantasy Faire Vendor off to one side of the landing point. It's fairly complicated, with a variety of menu options, and the HUD Instructions covers that, as well as a series of notes and encouragement to click on the sponsors links at the bottom. 

The first step, after putting on the HUD, is to go to Wiggenstead Mooring in order to talk to Mr. Fimbley. The Jolly Crocodile is a ways from the landing point but brightly colored and easy to find. Mr. Fimbley is inside, and when you click on him a video window will open from your HUD and a video will play of him challenging you to a series of riddles in exchange for a golden key. Also, some trash talk. Once the video ends, you are given a new, very specific objective.

[ Fimbleby ] Ahhhh.... yes... Yes, you'll do very nicely. Another adventurer, hmm? Yes, I thought so. I can spot the type a mile off, I can. Old Fimbleby knows an adventurer when he sees one.

But it's not just about skill at arms, is it? Oh no. Adventuring's about brains, too. Living by your wits, yes. Making a living by them. Making your fortune...

Yes...

So tell ye what, how about a wager? A wager, yeah... I'll set ye some riddles, and all you has to do is solve them. Ante up, and if you manage to solve 'em I'll give ye what people have put up before you. And from me? Oh from me... I'll give you this shiny golden key. Oh yeah, such a thing this one opens... oh aye....

So, what do you say? Will you do it? Hah! I knew you would. Right, off ye go then! And I suppose, yes, I should probably wish you luck... but I won't.

NEW OBJECTIVE: Find all clues and solve Fimbleby's challenge.

If you click on "Get Progress" on the HUD, you get a list, which suggests that one puzzle is on each sim. This is consistent with last years' hunt. I started where I was, and then tried to follow the list given, though it seems like this can be done in any order.

If you click on "Get Clue" on the HUD while in Wiggenstead Mooring, then Fimbley says: We'll start you with an easy one, eh? If you're going to get wet you'd best know where you're drying off - just don't get caught up!

The hint gives you a direction to look - near water - and I started out looking for things to dry off in. I have to admit I assumed I was looking for a clothes line, so it took a while to find what I actually needed to click on. 

Deoridhe: ... just don't get caught up...on fire!

If you go back to Fimbley at this point he makes fun of you rather than giving you another clue - instead you need to travel to another one of the Fairelands sims before clicking "get clue" so that you can solve the riddle for that area. In a way this is perfect, since point to point teleportation isn't allowed in a lot of the sims, so having to return to Fimbley each time would be time consuming.

Fairlands Junction: Fimbleby: They say nothing's for sale in Fairelands Junction, but that's not *strictly* true. I even got a little something of my own up there!

This requires you to really explore the edges of the sim, so strike out from the teleporters in the core and explore the lovely edges that have been built for us. Once nice thing about this hunt is it's really inspiring me to explore places I wouldn't otherwise go.

Deoridhe: "...something of my own"...clever.

Asperatus: Fimbleby: Ahh, she's got fire in her belly, this one. Flashing eyes and connections all over the place. But who is she?

Around now is when you may have crashed, or logged off, so I want to point out the "puzzle" button at the top of the menu on your HUD. Clicking that will open up the "Get Progress" and "Get Clue" buttons again. If there is significant lag, than it will take a while for it to kick in; I ended up relogging to get a cleaner open.

Deoridhe: Fire... flashing eyes... and connections...

Medhir Woods: Fimbleby: Now here's a challenge for you: find a place you can see across the water and back through the entrance to the woods... Without turning your head.

This one is a lot closer to directions than the usual, though a bit twisted directions. The view is gorgeous, however, and I'm looking forward to returning to take more pictures - these sites are gorgeous.

Deoridhe: Hmmm the entrance to Medhir Woods... and across the water...

Hopes Horizon: Fimbleby: You can see so far from here, oh yes. But can you see where you *are*?

This one can be a lot more finicky, and I recommend flying over walking just for time's sake, but the view is completely gorgeous.

Deoridhe: I am... at Fantasy Faire!

Heavenslough: Fimbleby: Now in Heavenslough it's time to get your feet wet! Can you make an omelette around here without breaking yourself? I'd like to see you try - those draphigator things have a nasty bite. And those cages don't seem much good, either...

The direction for this is obvious; once you land on the spot you need to look downa nd explore around the marshy bits.

Deoridhe: There are some eggs... for an omelette.

The Faery Court: Fimbleby: A play within a play, a dream within a dream, a tree...

This one is distinctly giggle-worthy, I'll admit, and positively Shakespearean. Flying is again a really good idea so that you can get up close and personal.

Deoridhe: You can't fool me Fimbleby!

Mourningvale Thicket: Fimbleby: They say the trees in Mourningvale Thicket feed on the blood of the unwary, but some of them show it more than others...

This one is a little bit macabre, and there is a bloody spot off a ways, but there is a source of red closer to where you land.

Deoridhe: Blood red trees! The blood of the unwary.

Blackwater Glenn: Fimbleby: Ah, Blackwater Glenn... I don't know what makes the water black there, but some of the things that grow by the shoreline are best let off your dinner plate!

I adore the glowing mushrooms in Blackwater Glenn, but these are extra, extra, extra special.

Deoridhe: Glowing mushrooms? Never had that for dinner.

Sanctum: Fimbleby: There's a place everyone hopes to see, but they never seem to be in much of a hurry. Where might that be, I wonder?

This is another long walk, or in my clumsy way a short flight - I ended up nosediving to the sod before finally making it all the way the other way.

Deoridhe: A place everyone hopes to see!

NEW OBJECTIVE: Tell Fimbleby of your success!

Now it's time to head back to Wiggenstead Mooring to the Jolly Crocodile, to let Fimbley know what we accomplished - and at first he dismisses us, but once it becomes clear we solved every riddle he has no choice but to give us a prize box form each sim, and a shiny gold key. The latter is the starting point for the next phase of the hunt, based out of the Palace of Tears.

[ Fimbleby ] So, have ye done it? Of course not! Another silly adventurer foxed by Fimbleby!

Wait... what? You've... Bah! Fine, then – take yer booty! And yer accursed key! But I'm not telling you what it opens, oh no! If yer so good at riddles ye can work that out for yerself!

Get away with ye – go on! Git!

NEW OBJECTIVE: Talk to the Bard Queen in the palace's gardens.

Mysterious Key acquired.

Fit for a Princess: Cream Blooms from Tears

I'm drowning in events this month, but Fit for a Princess has floated to the top, like lovely flowers sent spinning across the ocean to land upon the shore. The theme is flowers - and they festoon the whole selection with roses, daisies, and a variety of other blooms. I ended up in something cream colored, which is perhaps unexpected based on the shades available, but I ended up really liking it. The dress, from Luminary, has materials applied which lead to some textured responses to my windlight and the shadows I managed to run despite being at the Palace of Tears, a Fantasy Faire sim and the site for the second half of the Fantasy Faire Hunt. The dress is a light and frothy one, available in a few different soft colors with a short, frilly skirt and a high neckline. I an particularly fond of the neck and shoulder line, cut high across the neck and along the curve of the shoulder. The ripples of the skirt are deep ones, which makes them amiable to a variety of different poses, since the folds bend with movement. The edges aren't quite as smooth as I'd like, as the interior of the dress is invisible, so things can get a little wonky around the edges, but the invisilayer included kept my bits otherwise inside, and it's low enough cut in the skirt that you don't need to worry about underwear. I'd love to see longer skirts, maybe knee length, as well; a lot of styles seem to be trending toward mid-thigh or ankle length, but I think the style of this skirt would add half a foot easily and still be attractive.I'm really looking forward to seeing more of what Luminary has to offer.

My hair is from Milk, and is a lovely poofy style with an anime edge. I especially like the bangs, which flutter right down along the eyebrow line. The textures are stripy but cute, and I really like the shape of the hair poofs. In addition to her solid and natural colors, she offers a wide variety of candy shades and fades. The crown tucked in against my brow is from Frogstar and is an original mesh, flowery confection. It's well textured, crown, and set up so that I was able to tint the flowers a brighter yellow to match up with the yellow on my adorable HopScotch shoes. The curve of the crown is a curious and smooth one, with tiny jewels fastened along the edge, and manages at once to be elegant and playful. There's even a rainbow version, but out of character for me I chose the yellow instead. The nails from Bella Elephante are a bright and simple design, a whorl of flower over a solid gold base. I tucked a couple of rings onto my fingers by Moon Amore, prizes from a gacha at the Fit for a Princess event. The cool things about these is that every one comes with two nails and a HUD which allows for four different color change types for the rings - astonishing variety for a gacha prize. They start as middle finger rings, but I ended up moving them to thinner fingers because I have enormous hands, and I think they look quite cute. Finally, these adorable and enthusiastic poses are from Ploom. They're very natural and sweet with well executed subtle details, like the way the feet curve inward now and then, or a slight raise of an arm. I picked them all up at the Pose Faire, which sadly ended recently, but I'm glad I saw them and added them to my stable of poses.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Milk, Dandilions (Fit for a Princess)
Crown: Frogstar, Scetochka Circlet (Fit for a Princess)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Adore & Abhor, Princess Blossom
Lipstick: Mock, Sahne Bitter Chocolate
Wings: Una, Steampunk Wings
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & eet
Nails: Bella Elephante, Blossom (Fit for a Princess)
Necklace: Bliensen + MaiTai, Time Loop
Jewelry: Amorous, Gaia
Rings: Moon Amore, Realeza Ring (Fit for a Princess - Gacha)
Dress: Luminary, Kohana (Fit for a Princess)
Socks: Cannibelle, Sheer Floral Knee Socks (Fit for a Princess)
Shoes: HopScotch, Ayana (Fit for a Princess)

Pose: Ploom Poses

Location: Palace of Tears
Light Settings: Places, Abracadabra
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Monday Meme: Favorite Color(s)

This week Strawberry asks about out Favorite Color, which is always an interesting question for me because my favorite color is really a spectrum of them, and has been for some time. When I was a child, my favorite color was red - I know because I read what I wrote back then. By the time I could remember, my favorite color was purple because it was my friends' favorite color, and I wanted to belong. As a teenager and young adult, my favorite color was blue, and in part that was cemented when my best friend died and there was a blue named for her, which I now use endlessly when I have an opportunity to paint things. As time went on, though, I had to admit it was the colors in spectrum which really drew me, which I really loved, and now when asked I say my favorite color is "rainbow."

I've spent most of my career on Second Life looking for rainbow outfits, and by rainbow I don't mean "all the colors," I mean "arranged in a spectrum like manner". I find out of order or inharmonious rainbows deeply disturbing, the complete inverse of harmonious and spectral rainbows - like the ones below. You'll also get a chance to see back through the history from decent pictures to not very good pictures. It's an interesting retrospective, so I'm glad I had Berry's inspiration to pull them all together.

2014 Fantasy Faire: Mourningvale Thicket

I'm not sure what happened next.

As I walked toward the mushrooms they shimmered, and I felt the heat of a sudden desert which was blinding, and a step or two later I was walking through damp, cool trees with thorny bushes catching at my clothes. Mourningvale Thicket. I knew the name the way you know things in dreams, without context.The mist was like a veil which clung to my edges as I picked my way along a confusing tangle of stone paths and muddy edges where the stones vanished for nefarious purposes.The fifth time I saw the same patch of red leaves in the muddy path I made a heart from them, and two hearts later I knew I was lost.

At some point, limbs heavy with sweat and exhaustion, I collapsed on the steps cage cart. As if out of no where, red and orange flared to life in a circle of stone, and before long I was huddled beside it on a box, the box having given up the blankets it was concealing. For one moment I thought I heard the ghostly roar of a lion, saw it's shape form out of the mists in the nearby cage, and then all was silent. I slept, and then woke, and no time or all the time in the world had passed.

There were no people here, no buildings waiting to take my piles of nothing in my pockets, no food or clothing to succor me. I walked, and found more circles and more fires, and slept and walked again, my insides becoming as hollow as the abandoned yet unmolested carts which littered the landscape. It was several bouts of waking and sleeping before I heard a faint, shimmering sound, saw some hint of color besides the ubiquitous red of the dying leaves; smoke, purple as a dream filtered up through the mists over a building with uneven, ruined walls.

The nightmare wept in the doorway, a body dried and stiff with unexpectedly red blood, as if the tree leaves had been cut open and spilled about, before an altar of a kind. Upon it, a small jar or tea pot spilled out endless waves of brilliantly purple smoke, the scent of it strong and somehow familiar. I saw drawn to it, my foot smearing the red which covered the ground, incongruously drawn like artwork of a murderer. It enveloped me, singing to me of the past, and in a blind panic I fled across the hills and through woods grown familiar with time, tripping over my toes and the toes of trees as I went. A final trip sent me sprawling, starved and shaken, and a voice above my head said, "Welcome, cousin. It has been a long time since one of your kind came through these woods."

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Location: Fantasy Faire: Mourningvale Thicket
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Faeries in the Mists

I pretty much only purchase donation items during the Fantasy Faire, and Blackwater Glenn offered me two of what is part of a growing slew of purple clothing to make awesome outfits out of. The two section gown is from Luas (Fantasy Faire Location here), whom I'm not sure I've run into before, and it combines a relatively modest top and bottom with a super shapely midriff revealing style - not my usual style, but I loved the curve along the rib cage and the narrow band of skin in the back. The top section has a ruffled edge and two bands holding it up, which is novel for Second Life where defying gravity is routine. I really liked how natural it felt, and how the ruffle moved as my arms did - very well rigged. The skirt is even simpler, a narrow banded waist and heavy skirts with a slight train, but again they are very well rigged and move well with animations. I particularly liked a couple of the deep ripples in the fabric, which led to an interesting hem line in pictures and offered some variety that ankle length skirts often don't. It ends up being a fun, casual, realistic style that I really liked.

There is nothing realistic about my footwear, however. De La Soul (Fantasy Faire Location here) has broken into new ground with an awesome pair of shoes, SLink compatible, which give us a chance to squish Cthulu beneath our heels - literally. I adore these shoes, form the delacate tentacles curling under the ball of the foot, to the giant nobby octopus head supporting the heel, to the tiny tentacles sliding around my toes, it is a delight from stem to stern. Charlie has also made up a bunch of add on packs of different colors which can be mixed and matched with the included HUD, allowing enormous buckets of customization to match any outfit.

A couple notes form outside the Fantasy Faire, which has not yet completely consumed my soul. My jewelry set of the multiple colors, which really added some sparkle, are from Elemental Jewelry, which also offers a wide variety of petite jewelry in her lovely, chunky style.I particularly like her style because delicate jewelry so often vanishes against the big clothes and hairstyles in Second Life, and her jewelry can stand up to the biggest look. In addition, I have amazing hair from Wasabi Pills which came from an old Arcade Event, but which might still be available at the myriad of yardsales that bloom every month, or a similar style might be found in her Main Store. I love her pull-back styles for their casual elegance, which work well with a variety of styles.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Wasabi Pills, Melissa (The Arcade)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Bliensen + MaiTai, Pixiedust
Jewelry: Elemental, Moonglow
Dress: Luas, Cenedra (RFL Donation Item)
Shoes: De La Soul, Cthu Shues (RFL Donation Item)

Pose: Glitterati

Location: Fantasy Faire: Mourningvale Thicket
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Blackwater Glenn

I awoke once more in the Fairelands, in Blackwater Glenn. It was a dismal and quiet place with the echoes of ages gone past in the tumbling down walls and sturdy but uneven wooden pathways. I had no memories of the time before - it was like a fog I had vanished into - and even the clothing I wore seemed strange on my skin. I peered into the depths of the nearby water, and they returned not my face but instead glimmers of gold and orange which cut through the darkness. In the distance I heard laughter and voices, but where I had landed in the shade of some mushrooms all was quiet. Now and then a shimmer of dust, faintly phosphorescent, fell.

It was some time before walking felt anything but alien.

For lack of a goal, I found myself drifting off of the path frequently - at first to examine the enormous fungi which sprouted up by the sides of buildings too old to mind them. Sometimes there would be people there, looking as if they had grown out of the houses themselves, offering up fine clothing, food, places to rest and relax, all for some thing they called a "linder" or a "linden." The food tempted me first, savory treats whose scent called to me more strongly than anything else yet, and it seemed the strange, light items in my bag, numerous as grains of sand, were enough to make a few cuts my own.

The first bite was like being named by an old friend who had changed beyond recognition.

My sense of time was as absent as my sense of self and place, but it was longer than between waking and eating before I found a clearing with small clumps of people in chatting circles, none of which seemed primed to part for me. Whirls of translucent butterflies lured me deeper into the swampy areas, grasses grown high and scratching against my arms and wings as I walked. Abandoned wrecks lurked here, half stuck in mud which clung to my feet like I was being called home, and I paused with my hand burning against the metal of a car as I spotted from whence the butterflies had come - a towering mushroom edifice which dwarfed, and perhaps birthed, all which had come before.

It lured me with it's colors, calling to me with each dapple shift around the spectrum, but I felt as disconnected looking at it as I did the moment I woke nameless, pastless, under some of it's lesser children.

( More pictures here. )

Credits:

Location: Fantasy Faire: Blackwater Glenn
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default
Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

2014 Fantasy Faire: Lost in the Swamps

For the first time in a while I'm taking pictures without shadows, and it feels kind of weird. Lag, and the limitations of large events make demands on my CPU, though, and I think these turned out well despite the lack of the latest effects. I went with the sim default of windlight, a warm and caramelly sunset shades with a warm reddish glow from the sun. I have more pictures of the sim proper, but I'm going to say a few words about what I'm wearing, throw in a brief tutorial, and call it a night.

My hair is a release from Ploom for FaMeshed, and I completely adore the curls in it, especially with how they work with her ombre shades - check out those tips. I went with a darker rainbow - I know, out of character for me - but the look seemed to demand it. The one issue I had, easily solved, was with the forehead line - which anyone who has played with their shape knows can be a fraught area. I tend to have a sloping and huge head in general, and so when I first put on the hair it didn't fit neatly at the edge. I was able to change it without a significant effect to my face, though, and I thought I'd include a little graphic covering what I changed for other people who ran into a similar problem, with this or other hair. The changes were pretty simple - I changed my forehead angle from 9 to 0, and my Head Stretch from 50 to 36. Easy peasy, gorgeous hair line. You can see how much of a difference it makes below.

The dress I'm wearing is a recent release from Asteria Creations, and it's one of a series based around this cool, asymmetrical dress. Her last release included a cute bolero with a fringe, but I'm partial to these smooth likes with the angled bands that look like bent sun rays. I also quite like the three quarter sleeves, which are an attractive length and fit well with SLink hands, since you don't have to worry about the side of the hand coming through the cuff. The dress comes up very high on one side, so keep your stockings and lingerie handy - I ended up pulling out some of my favorite webby stockings from G Field, an old purchase form one of her Halloween specials. I also cycled through a number of different styles of shoe before settling on these boots from Lassitude & Ennui which I picked up ages ago, but which remain some of my favorite rigged, calf-high boots. I especially like the detailing, which you can see more clearly in this picture.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Ploom, Becca (FaMeshed)
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Mons, Eyeliner Smokey2
Wings: Deviance, Sidhe
Hands: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands
Nails: Bliensen + MaiTai, Pixiedust
Dress: Asteria Creations, Voyaque Assymetrical
Stockings: G Field, Halloween Spider-web
Shoes: Lassitude & Ennui, Flutter Boots

Pose: !bang

Location: Fantasy Faire: Blackwater Glenn
Light Settings: Sim Default
Water Settings: Sim Default

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only

Rust in the Moonlight

I have been planning this post for weeks, ever since I saw the chest lace from Aisling at We <3 RP, and I'm so thrilled to finally have pictures so I can share it with you all, albeit later than I had hoped for. This look is a sort of unholy alliance of Aisling and Alchemy, and eventually they will take over the grid in a wash of amazing As, and we will all be kneeling in supplication and look really awesome. Starting at the top, this amazing headdress was a rare in her gacha at The Secret Affair (now closed), and I was lucky enough to get two of the Mother of Dragons headdresses, which is completely amazing, and then I was lucky enough to meet up with someone who had two of the Hear Me Roar headdresses, and by the end of our meeting we were both feeling very bouncy. The gacha isn't (yet?) available at the Alchemy store (which is lovely, even under construction), but hopefully it will be as I want many people to be able to enjoy this headdress/crown combo based off of a creamy colored dragon like Viserion. I especially liked the nose guard with the hanging chains, which gave it the air of a military helmet while retaining the delicacy of a queen. The curving horns around the face are also a lot of fun, though it can make it difficult to match with hair - I ended up focusing on bangless styles, which worked the best with the shape of the headdress, and found that I could layer it into my hair for verisimilitude, with little strands caught up in the tines.

The dress and armor pieces are all from Aisling, from We <3 RP and The Secret Affair (both closed). The Secret Affair gacha is in place at the Aisling Mainstore, which is awesome and tempts me to try once more for the gorgeous headdress that matches the jewelry and armor pieces. The Lady of Highgarden are available in black, gold, and silver in shoulder, arm, and hand armor (commons) a necklace for each metal color (rare) and a headdress which I believe is texture changing (ultra rare). The chestlace, which isn't yet available in the main store, has all of those metal colors plus more via a HUD system and is editable - something which came in handy when I was trying to fit it over the Quarth dress that had been available at The Secret Affair and hasn't made it to the Mainstore yet. The delicate open lacework matched so well between these different items that I simply couldn't resist trying to fit them all together, and I think I managed to do so pretty well. I had to resize the hand flowers (which were HUD controlled and not editable, but the HUD allows you to expand things along a single axis) to fit over my SLink hands, but the resulting effect was largely realistic and natural. I think the slightly lighter shade of gold added some texture and variety to the overall look. The rigging on the dress was well done with the fabric falling naturally, and the texturing remained solid in most reasonable poses - no dress likes a Captain Morgan pose. I also liked the varieties available - multiple metallic highlights, the shoulder flutters which can be various levels of transparency, and in the case of the exclusive release for The Secret Affair, an entire second set of textures for this aqua gown. I am really pleased with Aisling's continued work in accessories and their foray into clothing, and am vibrating in anticipation of their next releases.

My Sax Shepherd Designs shoes, which I've been unable to take off since I got them, are now almost finally available to everyone at the Fantasy Gacha Carnival - also known as Deo's Wallet Cries - which is open on the fourth. The shoes themselves are commons with the anklet as a rare, which I think it an elegant way of adding a little value to the rares without depriving people of awesomely colored shoes. They both fit over the SLink high feet, and like so much of Sax Shepherd's stuff, they come with a HUD which lets you change to bunches and bunches of colored jewels, really adding to it's re-wearability. I particularly appreciated the natural stone effects he included, which make the jewels appear burnished. Mother of Pearl is a relatively rare jewel effect, as is opal, but you can see how well they are fitted into the band of the sandals to really make them look natural.

( More pictures here. )

Credits: 

Skin: Izzie's, Irene
Hair: Magika, Bliss
Crown: Alchemy, Mother of Dragons
Ears: Illusions, Seelie Ears
Eyes: De La Soul, Rainbow
Eyelashes 1: SLink, Mesh Lashes
Eyelashes 2: Flugeln Brise, 05-A
Eyeshadow: Elymode, Metallic Aqua
Lipstick: Izzie's, Fuyu
Wings: Sax Shepherd Designs, Filigree Wings
Hands & Feet: SLink, Rigged Mesh Hands & Feet
Nails: A:S:S, Glamour Silk
Dress: Aisling, Quarth Lady (The Secret Event)
Chest: Aisling, Chestlace (We <3 RP)
Bracers & Necklace: Aisling, Lady of Highgarden (The Secret Event Gacha)
Anklet: Sax Shepherd Designs, Fairy Tale Tease (Fantasy Gacha Carnival)
Shoes: Sax Shepherd Designs, Fairy Tale Tease (Fantasy Gacha Carnival)

Pose: Don't Freak Out

Location: Rust and Stardust
Light Settings: Phototools, Moon Light 4
Water Settings: Mirror Water

Photographed by Deoridhe Quandry
Post processing: Cropping, only