Otherworldly

Deep in the desert, a tall gate reaches towards the sky. It is set in no wall and seems to offer entrance into nothing at all, yet legends warn against passing between the enormous pillars. Those who have, or so it is claimed, have never been seen again.

Out now at We Love Role-Play, the awesome Metatron Gate by Vae Victis is a huge piece of fantasy decor, with beautiful texturing and detail. Up close, there are swirls of energy along the insides of the pillars. The HUD allows you to mix and match 5 metal textures across different parts of the pillars.

The gate made for an excellent backdrop in this desert scene, where I am also showing off Rakshasa’s release for WLRP, the Roman-inspired Stefanos outfit (with a sword from LR Weapons added to it). The outfit is highly customizable in terms of the textures and colours, offering both clean and bloody or tarnished versions.

Another round of We Love Role-Play awaits you and my first picks for showcasing from the July round is an expansive Roman merchant set from Del-ka Aedilis and a collar from Drunken Brokkr. The merchant set includes a variety of excellent decor pieces for furnishing a Roman (or Roman-inspired) shop—or a kitchen, for that matter—and the collar works as a slave collar for a variety of settings as it offers texture options for both the leather and metal. I decided to setup a scene of a wealthy household’s slave girl shopping for her mistress; already her basket is full of previous purchases. I took some liberties with her dress from Senzafine (available at Midsummer Enchantment, which closes today), it is rather too fancy and more Grecian-inspired than Roman, and her pretty leather shoes from lassitude & ennui aren’t precisely Roman either.

The Tempest Bullwhip is the latest release from DICTATORSHOP. It features original mocap animations for both single and dual wielding, depending on which version you opt for (Standard, Advanced or Expert). Realistic whip sounds are included and you can customise the look of the whip with a tinting hud. To show off the animations, I just had to make a video. I had still planned to write a bit more about the whip and the sexy new dress from Petrichor & Ersch, but after my dog training today I have a nasty rope burn on the back of my left knee, so sitting down is rather uncomfortable! Of course, I have still added the credits at the end of the post.

A final adventure for this year, as the Fairelands are set to recede into the mists today. It has been a wonderful experience as usual and as much as I wish the sims would stay all year around, it wouldn’t be the same. I already can’t wait to see what the amazing worldbuilders and other creators will come up with next year! I will leave you with a video from Avalon and of course credits to everything can be found at the end of the post.

The magical isle of Avalon, Alia Baroque’s creation for this Fantasy Faire, became witness to a meeting between two fantastical beings. One, a fae called to this realm as the dragon nearly woke from his slumber. The other, a spirit horse lured down from among the clouds and starts by magic required to send the dragon back to sleep.

At the Jail & Bail for Alia, I bought the Ancient Spell version of the special skin. I was really curious to see how the sim would change if the dragon awoke, but alas, that did not happen. But I knew I wanted to create a post with this skin and when I got the opportunity to blog the Qamariki mod & texture kits for the Teeglepets, created by Tutto E Vanita, I had an idea for bringing the two together.

For the rest of the fae’s look, I used one of the RFL releases from deviousMind together with one of the new colours of the SteamWings released for the Faire and a crown from Les Encantades.

As for the Qamariki, I modded my Teeglepet Pegasus with the kit as I have a copy version of the Pegasus. The first time I tried I managed to skip one step and had to start over, but once I actually followed all the instructions it was not difficult at all as long as you have some basic understanding of how to use the editing tools. The Qamariki mod kit is available for most Teeglepets, including even the new Kelpie and Hippocampus pets. In addition to the mod kit, you need one of the special texture kits and the toughest part about that will be to pick your favourite. This is a really fanciful mod kit and the texture kits use glow and emissive marking for an ethereal appearance.

I love how the colours of this came together, all very warm and earthy. That gorgeously sexy little thing I am wearing is Kamille from Tres, available exclusively at We Love Role-Play. Kamille supports a nice range of bodies (here I am using the athletic Khara body from Inithium) and comes in 9 different colours and patterns. Each can also be either opaque or sheer and of course I had to experiment with the sheer version. I just love the look of it, not the least from the back.

I’ve got two other WLRP releases on display here. The major one is the Oasis decor set from Lore, which includes a well, a variety of pots, a bench and the whole surrounding enclosure. Wonderfully earthy and realistic textures and a great set for building a desert village centered around a vital well.

The pot I am carrying on my head, however, is from Lorien and includes a holding animation which I adjusted somewhat to go with this pose.

The sorceress welcomed them onto the roof of her desert citadel, with a view that stretched even to the distant ocean, and offered them refreshments, the juice of a glowing blue fruit that tasted unlike anything else.

The Tiane dress from Luas for We Love Role-Play called for a full-on fantasy mood rather than something more pseudo-historical. The beautiful jewel tones of the dress paired well with the fantastical Fenfruit set from Cerridwen’s Cauldron, which includes both the fruits themselves and two different beverages made from it presented in different flasks and flagons.

The ornate table, with its gorgeous mosaic top, and the leather pouf are both by Lore. The table includes a HUD with several different wood colours and even more options for the mosaic top, which manages to capture a really glassy look.

After a busy day, is there a better way of relaxing than in a warm bath? Dutchie‘s latest release lets you relax in a luxurious claw foot bathtub and includes all the additional amenities you might need—wine, for example!  I used the bathtub and the accompanying releases together with some beautiful bamboo arrangements from Kaerri, adding a touch of green lushness to the elegance of the furnishings. The bamboo is from a set called Shiburi which includes several different Japanese-inspired planters and they can be found at the Plaza event which runs for a few more days, until June 13th.

As for the beautiful bathtub and the accompanying releases, it is available at FaMESHed for June. The bathtub comes in a PG and an Adult version, which means you will likely see it again as I explore the Adult options. This post, however, highlights some of the solo PG animations.  There are 20 of those (the Adult has 10 additional mature solo animations), including some with auto-attaching props (using the AvSitter experience) such as a book, a wine glass and a razor.

The tub includes options for the sound (which is very soothing and realistic!) and for the colour of the tub itself and of the metal. The metal options are also available on the mirror (which is available as a wall-mounted and as a leaning version) and on the lamp, whereas the side table has colour options. Both the bath caddy and the side table can be rezzed out either with or without props and the props seen on them are also available as separate pieces for full versatility.

Opera is this year’s grand vision from Alia Baroque, a place of “baroque decadence, whispering curtains, bucolic debauchery”.  So, when I dressed up in a dramatic ensemble combining pieces from Petrichor, Find the Fish and Seydr, it was to Opera I went for a background to fit the mood.

Petrichor released a huge amount of different items for the Faire and here I am using both the Arvylinde dress and the Kyrkonen Veil. The latter kind of makes me think of the Vorlons of Babylon 5 and I love how it, together with the tattoo and the halo from Find the Fish, give a very priestess-like quality to my avatar. Adding an extra touch of magic are the Flayre Eye FX from Seydr, a kind of animated “eyeliner” that curls like smoke under your eyes. Beautiful effect.

The Fantasy Faire is open and I’d like to invite you to join me in little bit of exploring of Nysaris, one of the sixteen shopping regions of the Faire. Accompanying me on my walk around Nysaris are my two companions, a wise owl and a fierce wolf.

As usual, you will find credits at the end of the post, including direct slurls to the stores at the Fantasy Faire.

The April round of We Love Role-Play opens today and you can whet your appetite with the Shopping Guide as well as with the blog posts that are starting to crop up. Such as this one!

For this post, I am mixing up the releases from lassitude & ennui, Moth & Moon and Misteria, the result being a fae who rides in the Wild Hunt, here on the prowl on her on with her black steed. The soft green skin from Moth & Moon blends nicely with the Dryad gloves from Misteria (BOM layers and appliers included), and the Wild Hunt shoulder piece from lassitude & ennui adds a touch of menace. This is not a fae you want to meet in the woods on the wrong night.

I am also using a new release that isn’t from WLRP but which deserves a special mention because I find it so neat. RVN Store is a new-to-me store which I came across at the Level event and they have several different add-on deformers for mesh heads. Now, I have seen deformers for mesh bodies before, which allow you to achieve shape variations that the sliders can’t do. But with such body alterations you run the risk of clothing not fitting, so I haven’t found them that interesting. But face deformers? I had not seen those before and I am excited. The set that I am using pieces from here is called Chic Cheeks and it alters your upper and lower cheekbones. Perfect if you like sharper cheekbones. I am also really intrigued by their nose deformers since I am a sucker for strong noses, so I may have to give those a try too.

How fortunate that I sent Ran to shop the Salt & Pepper retirement sale, because a few days later it turned out that a naughty priest was just what I needed for the couple pose “the Noose” from Be My Mannequin.  Clearly, the temptation of the beautiful concubine was too much for this man of the cloth. 

I am wearing the very revealing Keraves dress from Petrichor & Ersch, a one-piece outfit with plenty of texture options for the fabric and the gems. Here I went with gold and red to match the utterly stunning Theodora Circlet from Old Treasures. That has to be my new favourite piece of jewellery in SL. And it fits very well with the beautiful new Morgana hair from Magika, a must-have style.

Spring may be just around the corner, but the weather we’re having lately makes it feel much further away. Fortunately, with the lovely new trees from Fanatik I am able to enjoy some lush greenery in Second Life instead.  Fanatik has released two sets of trees, the poplars I am using in this post and also a Nordic pine set. The poplars include six different shapes and come in Winter, Autumn and Summer variants, with texture differences even within the ranges.  The sizes are easily modified, but of course the land impact will change if you do so. At sizes up to 10 meters, they are 1 prim each. You may also notice that the leaves do not cause alpha issues with the background even though that is a common issue when using a mesh surround.

Musa has a lovely set of five poses (plus mirrors) at We Love Role-Play and these served as the inspiration for this setup. A beautiful young girl, vaguely Grecian in her garb, dancing for unknown—perhaps imagined—audience. The Hypatia dress from Belle Epoque features an ornate metal harness and a short skirt and goes well with the Astrid foot wraps from Sass, especially in this kind of scenario. The texture HUDs for both pieces allowed me to match them up nicely.

The skin I am using is a brand-new Skin Fair release from alaskametro called Elle, for LeLutka EvoX. The alaskametro “Fit” body skin has also received updated shading for the Fair, so if you own that since before make sure to redeliver it. Also new, but a mainstore release, is Magika’s Cordelia style, a simple updo with an optional leaf accessory on one side that can be textured in natural colours or as metallic. For the decor I used Nomad’s Aqua Spadanae set, which was out for this weekend at a sale price.

Few were granted the honour of meeting with the King’s favourite in her private apartments, from where it was said she ruled the King and thus the kingdom. She was beautiful, garbed in green and gold, and very dangerous.

From Zaara comes the beautiful Kashmira Lehenga, consisting of a beautiful, embroidered top over a skirt and accessorised with a scarf.  The fatpack allows you to mix and match all the colours, for some lovely combinations. The elaborate hair jewellery is made by Antaya and the HUD includes a good range of colour options for each section, so it was easy to match it to the outfit. Finally, I added part of the Ceres tattoo from Nefekalum, with materials for an extra bit of golden sheen.  All these new releases are from We Love Role-Play, whereas the decor consists of older releases from Old Treasures, Del-ka Aedilis, Libertine and Paper Moon.