Monday, May 5, 2025

Fantasy Faire 2025: Izumo

(click to enlarge)

STORYLINE: High in the misty mountains of Japan, there was an enchanted city time forgot. Rabbits could talk, guardian foo dogs turned their stone heads as you passed, and a neko named Soramaru soared through the clouds with the help of his magical umbrella. His only companion was his mischievous flying cat, Mikeneko.

Long ago, Soramaru had discovered the perfect way to make sure Mikeneko followed him: he tied a tiny bell to the end of a long ribbon connected to his wrist. The bell jingled, the ribbon danced, and the cat simply couldn't resist. The two were inseparable.

But it was not all game and games in the clouds. One afternoon, their cupboards were bare.

Soramaru sighed, “We’ll just have to get creative, Mikeneko. Why don’t we try fishing in the forbidden pool? They say it’s dangerous. No one dares to fish there. But that just means the fish will be huge and fat!”

Mikeneko’s eyes shimmered, and his fluffy tail swayed with excitement.

Soramaru peeked over the edge of the cliffside walkway to the sparkling blue waters far below. He licked his lips, snapped open his umbrella, and leapt over the ledge, drifting gently down through the mists. Behind him the tiny bell jingled softly in the wind.

Mikeneko hesitated at first, but the waving ribbon and its shiny bell soon had him chasing after it like a kitten for a toy.

Once below, Soramaru crouched by the water’s edge, hands hovering just above the surface, waiting for a fish to come too close.

But then, the water began to boil.

He slipped on the rocks and fell backward as a gigantic dragon rose from the pool! Then another, and another until there were eight heads snarling above him. The nearest one snapped its long sharp teeth at him.

Soramaru yelped and flung open his umbrella. With a rush of wind, he was quickly swept up like a dandelion seed with Little Mikeneko trailing close behind.

Back in the hidden city, safe among the pines and temple eaves, Soramaru sighed again.
They were still hungry.

He thought and thought, and then he had an idea!

“I’ll fish from above,” he laughed. “With a really, really long string! And I’ll ask nicely first this time, maybe offer a rice ball for the dragons too. Sounds good?”

Mikeneko listened carefully, then nodded his fluffy head.

Yes. That was a much better idea indeed.


The final days are upon us at Fantasy Faire 2025. So much to see and do, the time flies by so quickly. Today's post takes place at the Izumo sim by Gabriel. It's beautifuly crafted like an ancient hidden Japanese city, but also had a magical pool and oceanside ritual. (see pictures below). There is a sim hunt to find all the White Rabbits. He's tricky to find!

My image and story were inspired by items available at the Faire.  ...From Onedays, is the elegant Xia Lian kimono. It comes in several color styles, (I loved the PBR textures for the black ones, but white worked better for this image).  ...My adorable animesh companion is the Norwegian Forest Cat Calico by CKit Falconry. It has am amusing variety of animations, and you buy fun bonus items too. I look forward to see more for the cat!   ...The Rain Umbrella by Naminoke is Purrrfect for the feline kind. The little purple fish on it are animated and swim all around the umbrella. It also has a cool rain sound effect.   ...Also by Naminoke is the Abysinian Chesha mask. It's unrigged, so you can resize and add it anywhere.   ...The cute lore for the cat is the Shizuka RB cuffs that come with several wind blown poses. It's just cool. Cats agree. *jingle jingle*.  ...My Claws are by L'Emporio&PL, Werecat eyes By Snow, simple white bento tail by BareRose, and whiskers resized to fit a human head by Kinzart. Mary Poppins like pose by What Next.


On him, Soramaru:
Outfit: ONEDAYs Xia Lian, XIA LIAN, Legacy M [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Izumo)(279L)
Pet: CKit Falconry Norwegian Forest Cat Calico [animesh](Fantasy Faire: Harmonious Glade)(500L)
Mask: NAMINOKE *N*abysinian chesha men himo [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Galerie Gaillard)(280L)
Umbrella: NAMINOKE *N*Rain Umbrella_s-hanabi [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Galerie Gaillard)(200L)
Wrist cuffs: AIR Shizuka RB_purple [mesh](300L)
Hair: Wasabi Pills Draco Windblown Mesh Hair [mesh](250L)
Claws: L'Emporio&PL Oblio Vampire Claws male [mesh](350L)
Claws: L'Emporio&PL Damned Claws For Feet-B. Jake V2.0.BENTO-V2 [mesh](340L)
Eyes: By Snow Werecat Eyes (100L)
Tail: BareRose ::: B@R ::: White B-Tail [BENTO] (100L)
Whiskers: Kinzart KZK Frostbite Cat (past gift)
Ears: Aii SAVE THE EARS! Bento Fox Ears Snow [BENTO](past gift)
Head: LeLUTKA Kane Evolution [mesh](3990L)
Body: TheShops [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)
Pose: {what next} Rainy Days - Couples 3 (50L)

Location:
Fantasy Faire 2025: Izumo by Gabriel


BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shot, hi-res, midday sky.








Saturday, May 3, 2025

Fantasy Faire 2025: Holi

(click to enlarge)

STORYLINE: Deep beneath the Fairelands, in the dark waterways under the ancient city of Holi, slept the long lost brother of Krishna and Shesha. Early in their boyish adventures fighting demons on Earth, he had been struck down by the Unweaver and fell into a slumber that lasted over two thousand years.

But his feverish nightmare was finally broken by the sound of laughter. Rising from the shadows, he found people tossing colorful powder and chasing each other through the streets, their joy and mischief lasting from day into night.

Ah, the Celebration of Spring. With every burst of laughter, warmth returned to his old coils. Delighted, he shed his slumber like old snake skin and joined the celebration.

Suddenly, a boom roared above. He looked up, awestruck, as a shimmering lotus flower rained light over the crowd. It filled him with wonder and hope. If humans were capable of such marvels, maybe with their help the Unweaver, his old nemesis, could be defeated after all.


IT'S FANTASY FAIRE TIME! Or what I like to call, "the Super Bowl of virtual worlds." It's not to be missed!  This year the sim designers have outdone themselves, with stunning sim designs using PBR for new levels of realism. I feel like I'm inside a slick video game. And all for a good cause, raising money for The American Cancer Society's Relay for Life. Check out the Fantasy Faire website for daily blog posts, a calendar of events, roleplays, jail and bails, live performances, Faire radio, tabletop games, LitFest, shopping guides, the interactive Hud based Quest game, and more: FantasyFaireSL website.

This post was inspired by the Holi sim and Hindu mythology.    ...For the Holi Naga, I used the wonderful Pandora blue skin by Aki, Entu. It comes with dot tattoos and 2 stripe patterns for face and body. The ear texture is a free gift. Other blue and purple skins are available.   ...The intricate halo is a wearable prop by AIR. It comes with a modify hud.   ...The floating Orbs are by The Little Bat. They come in left and right, and both trigger a hold pose and animation. A texture hud lets you change its color.   ...The Sunscale Naga tattoo is by AERTH and comes with material shine applier, and textures to match the amazing Aii Sunscale Naga tail.   ...Speaking of, the Aii Sunscale snake tail (see in pictures below) is stunning! Easily the best Naga/Lamia tail in SL. Like all Aii products it had a wealth of texture options and ability to hide or show various parts. It has PBR and shimmers beautifully in the lights. The tail uses a clever combination of Leg bones and Tail bones to animate the tail. It comes with an AO hud to display and animate the tail properly.   ...Bonus, when I need a static tail, (shown below), I use the Lamia by deviousMind.   ...Additional fun tattoos for the face are by Star Quake with a forehead fade and eye makeup Dessen by Faeble.   ...The haunting eyes are Magici by Patrichor. These eyes replace your normal ones, and have several rig options to fit every humanoid head. The texture hud allows a crazy amount of options, from single color to fades, shadow, highlights, animations, pupil, iris, etc. It's a lot of fun to play with and perfect for all fantasy creatures.   ...{anc} has many of the best atmospheric effects, the Holi smoke clouds, confetti, and fireworks just more examples of excellent mood setters. I especially love the fireworks. It's a mesh object with animated textures. A steal of a deal if you ask me! And money goes to Relay for Life.

Like all Fallen God creations, the Holi is extremely detailed with much thought invested into it, personality, a strong theme, and it's fun to explore. As you explore, you may spot some NPCs that are part of the Holi Helping Hands region Hunt. To start, go to Houses of Color 1 and 2. There are also gifts for your own colorful powder to throw at the landing. Plus a special sale going on this weekend at Fallen Gods' store at Holi. 


On Him, Holi Naga:
Skin Face: [Aki] Entu FACE EVOX - OCEAN [BOM] (Fantasy Faire: Mire of Whispers)(750L)
Skin Body: [Aki] Entu Legacy Male Toned - OCEAN [BOM] (Fantasy Faire: Mire of Whispers)(400L)
Ears: [Aki] EVOX Ears [mesh] (Fantasy Faire: Mire of Whispers)(gift)
HaloAir Holi halo_CM [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Holi)(150L)
Orb, pose: The Little Bat !TLB Summoning Orb [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Galerie Gaillard)(150L)
Scale Tattoos: AERTH Sunscale Naga tattoos Lightclay [BOM](Fantasy Faire: Galerie Gaillard)(550L)
Tail: Aii Sunscale Naga [Bento][mesh](Fantasy Faire: Galerie Gaillard)(3,000L)
Face Tattoo: Star Quake [sQ] Xerath Face Fades_plain [BOM](Fantasy Faire: Holi)(199L)
Eyes: Petrichor :[P]:- Vaera Eyes Magici, EvoX Rig [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Mire of Whispers)(399L)
Makeup: Faeble Dessen 16, EvoX [BOM](Fantasy Faire: Yuum Baalal Grotto)(399L)
Hair: barberyumyum L19(02) style1 [mesh](300L)
Outfit: BareRose ::: B@R ::: Mahakala C2 [mesh] (190L) 
Arm band: Fallen Gods SOLARIS male, Arm Snake [mesh]
Arm band: NOCHE Roman gold cuffs, Legacy [mesh]
Claws: V/. VoluptasVirtualis ChrysalisGrasp, Legacy [mesh](400L)
Static Tail: deviousMind !dM Lamia - NagaTail, GARTER CITRINE [mesh]
Lipstick: TOP1SALON HD RGB LIPSTICK, EvoX (HD Applier)
Shine: BLAXIUM Sun is Up Body Shine, Legacy (Applier)
Tattoo arms: CURELESS [+] Dragon Halfbreeds / HalfbreedScales Blood, Fatpack [BOM](1499L)
Shoulder tattoo: {Soleil et Lune} Auralia Scales EvoX - Silver/Tint [BOM]
Head: LeLUTKA Kane Evolution [mesh](3990L)
Body: TheShops [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)
Pose: yzk mens pose 6

Setting:
Smoke: {anc} smoke / Holi smoke [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Holi)(999L)
Fireworks: {anc} Firework "diadem" (Holi pink) [animated mesh](Fantasy Faire: Holi)(199L)
Fireworks: {anc} Firework "diadem" (Holi yellow) [animated mesh](Fantasy Faire: Holi)(199L)
Confetti: {anc} paper confetti 2Li (allcolor) [animated mesh]

Location: 

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shot, hi-res, midday sky.