Otherworldly

It was the Sunray mirrors from the Plastik that gave me the idea for how to play with the light in this photo. As it happened, I also came across a windlight setting called Sunrays, and with a bit of tweaking I reached a result that I liked. Also featured in this photo is new lingerie from Voluptas Virtualis, new hair from Truth and a new-ish sofa from Noble Creations.

A couple of days ago we jumped ahead into summer with temperatures that made sitting at the computer a low priority. Today is a little cooler, enough that I was inspired to do some photos again. This set features a mix of fantasy items items from the Fantasy Gacha Carnival and We Love Role-Play, plus an amazing hair from Stealthic that will be out on the 15th at Kustom9. I headed down into my caves from Fanatik again for the perfect surroundings, and added a touch of magic with these eerie swirls from the Plastik. I also got some more mileage out of the Mythril Role-Play HUD for putting together these pose combinations.

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.

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.

For the second time in a short while, I head underground for a video, now to show off the full cave system from Fanatik as well as the nifty crypt chamber add-on. My intrepid explorer outfit has been exchanged for another guise suitable for hanging out in caves and secret chambers: a dragon(ess). This gacha by the Plastik offers some very cool accessories for dressing up as a half-human, half-dragon creature. The picture is completed with a fantasy skin from Stargazer Creations.

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.

A very image-heavy post today. My idea of one “on location” shot and a couple of skin shots quickly fell by the wayside as I wanted to show more details of the decor used in this photo and as I really wanted to do a tone comparison for this skin since it is more of a full review. The skin in question is one of three new faces from alaskametro for Skin Fair 2018 (which opens on the 9th) and I’ve paired it with a new outfit from the Dreaming Thicket and a decor set from the Plastik.

Spending the morning at the stables is always a good way to start the day. I am helping start up a horse that has been resting after an injury and this time of the year the cold weather can make that a rather “exciting” affair. Fortunately, she’s very well behaved and has been keeping all hooves on the ground. I suppose I should add a “knock on wood” here, because you never know.

My Second Life is rather undressed at the moment; I have ended up with a variety of more or less naughty things to review. In this post, a harness from Voluptas Virtualis plus decor from the Plastik and Roawenwood. I will need to feature the Roawenwood item in more detail later on, I didn’t have a playmate on hand for these photos. I’ve also made another shape for Vista’s new Diana head, this time for an alaskametro skin.

Now that I have started doing vlogs, I seem to come across opportunities for doing them on a regular basis. Take the Performer Chair from Dutchie (PG version here), for example. How could I not showcase this with a video? It is great for photos, too, but that’s the beauty of combining blogs and vlogs, I can do both. Video is also a great way to show off the rigging of mesh clothing, such as this new bodysuit and harness from the Plastik.

Apparently, we have a spot of bad weather moving in, with wind and rain or snow. Typical, when today started out so nicely and I had planned to take the dog tracking tomorrow as well. Fortunately, we did take advantage of the good weather today to do some training and tracking, though usually our dog expects more of the same next day when we’ve done something fun the day before. But tomorrow sounds like it will be a day for cozying up indoors, so I should have plenty of time to browse through the Blush event when it opens. Judging by the previews I have seen—one of which is the focus of today’s vlog—it will have some very nice things on sale. In addition to looking at the release from the Plastik for Blush I also showcase the latest VIP gift from Truth to show why its a great group to join.

Time has rather run away from me this week, in part because I’ve ended up spending too much time trying to reorganize and clean up a room to fit in a treadmill for our dog. As a result, I have been waltzing around in the new gacha set from Voluptas Virtualis for a few days without getting around to doing the blog. In the end, I ended up deciding to show off some of the options included on the HUD through a video. This also allowed me to demonstrate the bento animations included with the Snowlace Cookies from the Plastik. I also took the opportunity to highlight some perennial decor favourites.

There’s not many hours left of 2017 now. I am taking a little break before preparing the rest of tonight’s dinner (a quiet thing at home; my mother was the one who always did the big parties, and I find I cannot quite follow in her footsteps) to make what likely is the last post of the year for me. While there are a lot of other things competing for my attention right now, Second Life continues to be a nice outlet for my creative impulses, and I am looking forward to what 2018 will bring. I am particularly excited about Animesh, but I am also hoping for some nice surprises since LL has said that they will be making considerable investments in SL over the next few years.

I am also going to give Sansar more of a try. So far, we’re not getting along when it comes to the controls and the character customisation options are too limited for my tastes, but it does look gorgeous. I have also downloaded and setup the trial of Marvellous Designer that was offered to all Sansar account holders, to see if making clothing for Sansar is something I could learn. In SL, I will stick to shapes, but I do plan to try and do some more as well as rope Ran into making male shapes, now that he’s got a few mesh heads.

Alaskametro has recently released several, sparkly festive new items that fit the season perfectly. One of these is the shimmery Kristal bodysuit, here worn without the optional underlayer to make it less sheer. To make myself feel a little cosier, I added a cardigan from Cynful; the size I am using is actually for Physique Hourglass, but for a loose fit like a cardigan it worked fine on Physique Original too. The decor in the scene comes from Noble Creations, Senzafine and the Plastik.