Fantasy Faire: Reservoir Zero

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STORYLINE: A messy haired child hopped across the hot metal plates of the floating city, Reservoir Zero, past the graffiti reading "water is worth more than blood," and "count every drop."

He danced on his feet, "Hot! Hot!" and quickly tied two used feedbags to his bare feet.

In the distance, a dark clad towering man walked across the metal catwalk to the center pumping engine of the city's cistern. Fisher. A warrior from the War for Life.

Scraper smiled. He vaulted off to the balcony railing, swung on a thick trailing vine, and parkoured his way down with all the caution of a celebrity crazed fan.

Fisher was the eldest in the city with white hair, war scars, and black machine eyes that were impossible to read. He was the city's handyman, a jack of all trades. Someone who knew the old technology, and how to fix things.

Scrapper peeked out from behind the pump's flywheel. He pointed to Fisher’s strange oxidized hands. “Does it hurt?”

Fisher chuckled, he seemed to know the child was following him.

“When it does, it’s only a reminder I am alive.” He offered the child a bit of freshly cut sushi.

Scraper squealed excitedly and plopped down on top of a pile of cords, happily devouring the gift.

“What was it like?” He spoke with a mouth full of food. “When there was land?”

Fisher was quiet for a moment, looking out at the vast watery horizon.

“There were vines like we have here," he gestured to the towering shacks stacked upwards. "And so much more."

"Really?"

"Green plants as far as the eye could see. They grew on their own too,” he winked. “Without any effort by humans to keep them alive.”

Scraper gasped. “Wow. That sounds amazing. Do you miss it?”

“I do, and who I was before the War for Life, but that’s the past. What matters now, is the joy of survival. Every day is a blessing, no matter how different things are. Do you understand?”

“Uh...,” Scraper blushed. “Not really. But I think I know what you mean. Do you want some help?”

Fisher picked up his fishing net, “I would love the company. I can show you how to do it. Would you like to catch your own fish next time?”

Scraper nodded eagerly, and together they climbed to the lower level.

Congratulations to everyone who helped make this year's Fantasy Faire another wonderful, inspired event and raised funds for a good cause. I felt so inspired by the Reservoir Zero sim, I squeezed none more post to highlight it before the Faire ends tomorrow. ... You can read more detail on the sim here: Reservoir-zero.

The theme for this story is what happens after you survive cancer. This post's inspirations are my mom who is a cancer survivor, the movie Waterworld, and the Reservoir Zero sim. ...Fisher is a blend of items from the Faire. I used the OneDay's Hajime outfit and paired it with the fun Grasshopper Street Tiger Shimp Hat, and ERG tool belt. To show his battle scars are, Hexed's Broken blood vessels, Misteria Infected gloves with materials effects, and Curious Kitties dark eyes. His pose and swords (for cutting sushi), are part of UZME's Dual Blade pose set. From Wicked Made is the copper Sterling Gas Lamp (check out the fun hover lamp in the store too), and ERG's Verdant Ceiling Pipe Light with hanging vines for a perfect tone with Reservoir Zero's theme. ... From Starlit-Endeavor are the Venusion Sci Fi Props available at the current round of the Warehouse. They are PBR and full mod, so you can scale them up or down, however you wish.

On him, Fisher:

Outfit: ONEDAYs - HAJIME - LEGACY [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Heian)

Hat: Grasshopper Street - GHS Tiger Shrimp Hat [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Bến Tôm Rơi)

Belt: ERG - Legacy (m) Mechanic Tool Belt / Blogger Pack [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Reservoir Zero)

Tattoo: Hexed - Broken blood vessels Face  EvoX [BOM](Fantasy Faire: Reservoir Zero)

Tattoo: Misteria - Infected gloves - Rust  [BOM, materials](Fantasy Faire: Requiem)

Eyes, makeup: Curious Kitties - Dark Eyes - Face [BOM](Fantasy Faire: Amon Galadrann)

Sandles: Gabriel GB::Geta (male) White [mesh](gift)(Fantasy Faire: Heian)

Hair: Dura U109-HAIR-FAT PACK FA/ Male [mesh](380L)

Head, Lips, piercings: LeLUTKA Kane Evolution [mesh](3990L)
Body: TheShops [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) [mesh](5000L)

Pose, Swords: UZME - DualBlade Set#1(Fantasy Faire: Stoneveil Crossing)

Setting:

Street Lamp: Wicked Made - WM Sterling Gas Streetlamp(Fantasy Faire: Reservoir Zero)

Hanging light, vines: ERG - Verdant Ceiling Pipe Light [mesh](Fantasy Faire: Reservoir Zero)

Scifi props: Starlit-Endeavor - Venusion Sci Fi Props [mesh](The Warehouse)(1932L)

Location:
Reservoir Zero - Sponsored by Oyasumi, Fantasy Faire 2026

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky :

 

Cyber Fair: The Mind is a Battlefield (Escape from Club Apophis, 35)

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STORYLINE: The Jae Won University Stadium burned like a crown of thorns. Rows of plastic seats melted into crooked black smiles, and the scoreboard flickered above them, its numbers dissolving into meaningless static. Ash drifted through the dead wind like red snow.

Jihoon knelt in the dirt of the pitcher’s mound, his breath coming in thin, burning pulls.

Across the diamond, Lathandro twirled a charred baseball bat slowly in one hand. Casual. Patient. Like a man warming up before a game already won. He looked flawless in his white uniform, shoes clean, collar crisp, entirely untouched by the smoke and ruin.

"Do you hear them?" Lathandro asked lightly, his voice carrying over the crackle of the flames.

Voices echoed faintly through the smoke. Muffled. Distant. Real. Jihoon lifted his head. The sky above the dreamscape trembled.

"They’re worried," Lathandro said, a cruel smirk touching his perfect lips. "How sweet."

The scent of clove.

It drifted through the acrid smoke, ancient and entirely out of place.

Jihoon looked towards the scent.

Suddenly, the bat came down. Crack.

Light exploded behind Jihoon’s eyes. He collapsed into the dirt, tasting copper and ash.

"You don't deserve your best friends. You didn't even tell them your birthday," Lathandro continued conversationally, stepping over him. "But I understand."

Another swing. Crack.

"You were born under a bad star, the asteroid Apophis," Lathandro whispered, crouching beside him. "An ill omen. The day that almost ended the world. Imagine how they’d react if they knew you were always cursed."

The crack rang in Jihoon's skull.

"You always knew something was wrong with you. Too quiet. Too strange. Too afraid to exist properly. You watched life from the bleachers while better people played the game." He spread his arms to the burning stadium. "But me? I am the player."

The glitching scoreboard above the stadium spasmed back to life, letters crawling through static until they held in place.

HITS

AWAY: SOMEBODY: 347

HOME: NOBODY: 0

Lathandro glanced up at the board and smiled faintly. “Scorekeeping matters.”

Suddenly, the ground convulsed. A violent earthquake ripped through the dreamscape, collapsing a section of the bleachers. Jihoon’s real body was being moved.

Through the fissures in the sky, a voice bled through. Deep, broken, and wet.

Kyle.

“He didn’t want this! Look at him! Jihoon never wanted to be a monster!” Kyle’s voice cracked with a guilt so profound it made the ground in the dreamscape shudder. Kyle, the guy who treated joy like a personal insult, was weeping for him.

Jihoon flinched and closed his eyes.

"Oh?" Lathandro murmured, his eyes narrowing. He raised the bat. "Still clinging to them? Pathetic. Just forget them already."

Before the bat could fall, a new voice sliced through the haze, cold and sharp with fury. He knew that voice. The nurse from the hospital.

“You think MasterGin forced this upon him?” Her voice sneered from the waking world. “You think your precious friend is a victim? Look at the footage, you ignorant children. He begged for it.”

The melting jumbo screen flickered violently. Then a new image forced itself across the burning pixels. It was shaky halophone footage from inside the velvet madness of Club Apophis.

Jihoon saw his own face, his old, unremarkable face, looking up at the towering silhouette of MasterGin.

Something inside Jihoon recoiled. The words felt familiar. Like overhearing himself through a wall.

“I’m tired of being a nobody. Tired of being weak. I can't even tell the girl I like how I feel,” his old self on the screen whispered, his voice trembling with raw, desperate hunger. “I don’t want to be small anymore....”

"Forget it!" Lathandro roared, his composure snapping. He brought the bat down viciously. "Forget! Let it go! I am the one keeping us alive! Your life ended the moment you walked into Club Apophis. Mine is just beginning!"

The bat came down again. Crack.

The scoreboard clicked.

HITS: 348

Above them, the real world was descending into chaos.

“He's coming. Enforcers in the corridor,” Paine’s voice snapped. “Here. Take this. Go.”

Jihoon's heart sank. But then, a hand reached through the sensory void. It was warm. Small. Real. He felt it.

Minjo’s voice broke through the static, closer than the rest. “Jihoon.”

Her hand tightened around his. “I thought sunscreen would be enough.” The words trembled, then hardened.

For a moment she said nothing. The silence carried everything she couldn’t.

“I will not fail you again.” Her grip tightened. “I don’t care what they are. Vampires. Cults. Gods.”

A breath against his cheek. “I watched you burn. Your arms on fire reaching to me, begging me to save you. So that's what I'll do. This is not over.” A pause. “Do you hear me?”

He felt the whisper of her lips against his cheek. Warm. Human. Alive.

Her touch was real. A kiss.

A jolt of pure, living electricity shot through his paralyzed limbs.

"Forget her!" Lathandro roared, swinging the bat for a final, memory-erasing blow.

Jihoon moved.

He didn't dodge. He reached up and caught the barrel of the bat, his bare, bloody hands stopping the wood cold.

Lathandro's grip faltered. Something crossed his perfect face that had no name in his vocabulary. The firelight flickered across their mirrored faces. One majestic, one bruised and bleeding.

"I kept you alive," Lathandro hissed.

Jihoon tightened his grip on the wood, staggering to his feet. "I know," he rasped, looking his shadow dead in the eye. "But you’re not all I am."

Jihoon twisted. The bat tore free from Lathandro’s grip. With a snarl of all his pent-up rage, he swung it back and cracked it across Lathandro's flawless jaw.

The scoreboard shrieked with feedback. The team names scrambled like a broken machine, then went dark.

The beautiful boy spun and collapsed into the ash. Knocked out cold.

The moment Lathandro fell, the inferno shattered like glass. The nightmare purgatory of Jihoon’s death dissolved, replaced instantly by the familiar, damp neon of the alleyway outside his old dorm. A mechanical bark echoed through the brick corridor. Scrappy 2 bounded from the shadows, tail wagging.

Jihoon dropped the bat, his chest heaving. He screamed at the sky, "Minjo! I'm here!"

But the voices were fading. The heavy, rhythmic clicking of MasterGin’s heels approached in the real world. His friends were gone. They had fled. But he was still unconscious in the heart of Monstrum.

The alley lights suddenly dimmed. Neon signs flickered. A low hum vibrated in the ground.

Clap. Clap. Clap.

The slow, deliberate sound of applause drifted from the shadows of the alleyway.

Jihoon spun around.

A towering silhouette stepped into the dim light, draped in black, his golden dreadlocks arranged like a Pharaoh’s nemes. The air immediately chilled, smelling of ancient stone and clove cigarettes.

The Ruler of the Night looked down at Lathandro's unconscious body, then up to Jihoon, his gold eyes bright with something that might have been amusement if amusement could also be a threat.

"I have watched this infestation try to break you," the Ruler said, his voice a resonant baritone that vibrated in Jihoon's chest. "You have proven yourself. I did not expect such resilience from a human. It is fortunate your rescuers forced my Lucien to move you away from that cursed energy."

Jihoon backed up, his hands trembling. "Who are you?"

The ancient vampire took a slow drag from his cigarette, the embers flaring orange in the dark.

"I am known by many titles," he purred smoothly. "But you may think of me as the Instrument of Order. My servant, the Instrument of Chaos, has laid a claim on your flesh, but I see you are not entirely his." The Ruler extended a massive, armored hand toward Jihoon. "Let us speak of a mutually beneficial arrangement. A deal to balance the scales."

Jihoon looked at the extended hand, then at Scrappy sitting patient in the neon dark, then back at the oldest person he had ever seen.



When I saw STOP's robot dog, thought I had gone to heaven for a moment. Its perfect. And perfect for for this story as the dream symbol of Minjo, guarding poor Jihoon. Lovely. Just lovely. ... Blaze is his real name, and he comes in different color selections. You just wear him, and he's fully animated with cool sci-fi noises. The Hud can change its LED glow color. He's a good boy.   ....From Diaboli Designs is Voidcore boots. Like all DD boots, it comes with a hud full of texture options and texture animations. It's so fun. I went with a Lime Green ad Black look to match the jacket.   ...Savage's Yuri Jacket has backpack built in the back.  The front can your pick from several colors, and the back and backpack are black.   ...Matching the lime theme is the T-AB headphones by Lavu.  You can get in several colors, and then modify is even more with a hud. The headphones are unrigged and mod, so you can get a perfect fit.   ... In the background, I used the mod version of ZEROICHI's KABUKI X Backdrop. Its detailed L shaped set with built in lights and PBR textures. With the mod version you can tint, or move pieces around. It includes stand alone props bottles, and an option without built in lighting.   ...And a subtle detail in the back, is the EC3D neon sign of the Dog which I combined with the ZEROICHI's Love sign.  ... Just an another little nod to our Snow White (Jihoon) finally getting that kiss from his love (Minjo) that awakens, not his body, but his agency. -- My own cyber twist to the famous fairytale. 

On him, Yoon Jihoon:

Jacket: Savage - Yuri Jacket, Legacy M [mesh](Cyber Fair)(250L)

Shoes: Diaboli Design - Voidcore Boots, Legacy M [mesh](Cyber Fair)(999L)

Pet: STOP - Blaze-Yellow [mesh](Cyber Fair)(1500L)

Heaphones: Lavu - T-AB, black heaphone [mesh](Cyber Fair)(239L) 

Rings: MANDALA - Legacy(M)_Ring []Sinra Rings season-3-HD [mesh]

Baseball Bat: Top Shed Model_Baseball Bat [mesh]

Hair: Raven Bell - Nova Hair Short w Bangs ~Shimmer~ [mesh]

Pants: AVEC TOI Kai Pants, Turmoil, LegacyM [mesh](595L)

Hairbase: Volkstone - Percy Hairbase / Dark Black [BOM]

Tattoo: 𝐒𝐀𝐂𝐑𝐈𝐋𝐄𝐆𝐄 - [p] the damned - bloody mouth [BOM]

Eye makeup: maledictus -  Lacrimosa - Blood [BOM] [BOM]

Tattoo: Hexed -  Lonely Soul Blood Mouth [BOM]

Tattoo: Broadwing - Mouth Wound - Fresh Bloody [BOM]
Skin: MUDSKIN - Hajimu - Scarface - Brow - WINTER [BOM]

Eyes: IKON - Perspective Eyes - Oxidation [BOM]

Head, bloody tattoos: LeLUTKA - Kane Evolution [mesh](3990L)

Body: TheShops - [BODY] Athletic Meshbody (Legacy)(m) (1.7.1) [mesh](5000L)

Pose: momomuller 3M_sc0_m_3 (40L)

Setting:

Skybox: ZEROICHI - KABUKI X Backdrop Ambientlight [mesh](Cyber Fair)(580L)

Neon sign: EC3D - Cyber Dog Static [mesh](Cyber Fair)(200L)

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky:

 

Cyber Fair: Glitch (Escape from Club Apophis, 15)

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STORYLINE: "Can't we just... wait? Until I get my paycheck?" Kyra asked, her voice tight with anxiety. She adjusted her visor, watching Lisa's face flicker with the telltale digital snow of a poor connection. On the screen Lisa's defiant grin flashed confidence, but Kyra's augmented eyes caught the tremor in her hands. The mask of flippant bravery was beginning to slip.

"And risk him coming back? No way. MasterGin's out of town, - rare window. We strike now while the viper's nest is empty. Your cybernetic body's our best bet, Kyra. Faster. Tougher. Built to handle obstacles. In and out, just like old times. Hey, you didn’t flinch sneaking into GNet’s server tower, did you? That was epic! We beat those foo-foo major outlets to the scoop!" Lisa winked, the gesture hollow against the tired smudges under her eyes. "And if you take a little damage, we just swap out the parts. Chop chop."

Her tone was glib, but fear bled through. Her stream’s sudden shift into a smear campaign was costing her dearly. The fans didn’t like her kicking poor Jihoon when he was barely alive. The sponsors were bleeding away. This was her last chance.

Her palms itched with the old thrill, -- the same itch she felt the night she crawled through a corporate skylight so Lisa could stream the CEO scandal live before anyone else. Kyra would do anything to see that beaming smile on Lisa’s face again. She turned from the flickering image of her best friend to face the new reality before her.

To her eyes, the edge of the Forbidden Zone was no line but a wound in reality. It shimmered like a heat mirage, but her enhanced vision detected no warmth in ultraviolet. The pulsing distortion bent the air like liquid glass. It smelled unholy. She felt sick.

"Lisa, my augments are picking up something strange. Do you see that warping? The air... it's like it's corrupted," her words barely audible.

Lisa's grin didn't falter on-screen. "What are you talking about? Looks the same as always. A big pile of nothing. Hurry up, before someone spots us!" The panic cracked through the false cheer. 

Kyra lowered her helmet, spun up the solar rotor at her back, ground her rollarblades against the gravel, then dropped into the crouch of a speed skater. She had always been the one who fixed Lisa’s problems, the silent partner, the fixer who never missed a cue. But her throat tightened before her wheels moved. 

Go fast. In and out. Quick.

Then finally, with the choreographed confidence of a head cheerleader, she launched herself into the Forbidden Zone in a burst of speed.

The instant her blades touched the dusty stone, her body became a stranger. Breath stalled—not from lack of air, but lack of command. Hands, throat, lips were present and unresponsive, as if a directive had been issued and immediately revoked. Signals to her artificial limbs jammed.

 

A frantic voice shattered in her comm. "Kyra? You’re freezing... what's wrong? C'mon, don’t do this..." The sound fractured into a digital screech, splintering like glass. Her vision hiccupped. A moment vanished. Then Lisa again, torn by interference: "...remote reboot signal... why isn’t it taking?" Another gap. Her body unzipped, metal sinking against metal. Lisa returned, raw with panic. “Damn, this place is... messing with the signal! Kyra, can you hear me? Force a hard reboot! Now!"

A suffocating claustrophobia seized her. Her body, the perfect machine she'd built was now a deadweight, a lifeless thing with no power. Kyra was awake inside a corpse. She could feel the rough grit of the pavement below her wheels and the cool wind on her shell, but her nerves were dead ends. On the outside, she was a statue, a monument to a glitch. Inside, a terrified animal pacing its cage. 

Her body, frozen unnaturally at the start of a race, gleamed just inside the border, a perfect mannequin abandoned mid-step. Inside, her mind thrashed. Out there, past the rippling distortion, something shifted. Not wind. Not stone. Something watching. If it came closer, she would meet it like this—unmoving, unarmed, unable even to scream.

CyberFair is back! *does a happy dance* Today's post continued the Apophis series, this time focusing on Sleepy Dwarf, of the Snow White tale, but in the cyberpunk twist, it becomes Glitch. Kyra is athletic and she wearing the fantastic Abeabi AB36 roller boots. They come with a brilliant Ao that really sells the roller vibe, with multiple animations, and of course a hud to change out the colors and textures. ...From GACKIGANG is the Neko 1 suit that includes helmet, suit, transparent jacket, and armor. It has fits for Legacy and Reborn, Texture hud, with LED lights. The helmet has a 3 hologram option, and has a hold pose too. Very nice! Did you see the cat kneepads? lol ... Keeping Kyra powered up and moving fast is the G-Blade Mk1 spinning propeller by geek. It has PBR textures and options for lighting effects, textures, and animated textures. ... From Volga is the cyber beautiful Elektra Skin. (Bonus, there are cool Addons you can purchas: Neonix and Glambot masks). ...Providing more hints of cybernetics, are the Hexed Cyber Eyes, and MJN Exoline tattoos. The eyes have metal base with colored enamel iris in several colors. The Exolines comes is several versions to best match your skintone. ... From FaeTal are the Btye earrings, with fits for Lelutka human, elf, or Swallow ears, and a texture hud.  ....The vortex effect is amazing, its by Mindgardens Creations and really does look like a 3 dimensional illusion of a spiraling hole, but its a flat surface. it uses fancy Advanced lighting tricks and projectors to create it. I hide the stone board to make it double as the force field of the Forbidden Zone. ...Thanks to Aarya for the help and letting me Cosplay her for this post.

On Her, Kyra:

Helmet, suit, armor: GACKIGANG [GG] Neko, Halogram, LegacyF fatpack[mesh](CyberFair)(600L)

Skates: abeabi AB36 roller boots, white, Legacy F [mesh](CyberFair)(249L)
Wing: geek G-Blade V2 PBR [mesh](CyberFair)(699L)

Earring: FaeTal Byte, LeL Human Female[mesh](CyberFair)(199L)
Eyes: Hexed BOM Cyber Eyes, pink [BOM](CyberFair)(190L)

Skin: VOGLIA ELEKTRA Skin, EvoX, Icy With Brows [BOM](CyberFair)(699L)

Tattoo: [MJN] ExoLines, icy [BOM](CyberFair)( L)

Gloves: ContraptioN Dapper Dandy's Glove, LegacyF  [mesh]

Scalp: no.match EvoX hairbase  NO_DEAR WHITE  [BOM]
Head, eyes: LeLUTKA lel EvoX LILLY 3.1 [mesh](3990L)
Body: TheShops Legacy female [mesh](Linden Labs starter avatar)

Pose: DevinVaughn created inside Firestorm's poser.

Setting:

Vortext: Mindgardens Creations MG - Xyphoria Astral Stone Portal [mesh]

Torii gate: MAke a MArk Japanese City Complex #26 - main torii [mesh]

Stone Path: xin. ishidatami 1 [mesh]

BONUS IMAGES: inworld raw shots, hi-res, midday sky