A New Library

"What is this on the table?" asked the little centaur.

"It's a model of our new library," the professor answered. "Look closely," she added, pointing with her staff. "The top and sides open so you can look in." She touched the top and sides to demonstrate and they opened slowly.

"Ooooh!" squealed the child.

The little centaur peered inside. "It's certainly a marvel," she murmured.

"That it is," the professor agreed. "Look how detailed it is, and it only has a land impact of 10!"

"After it's built, can I have the model to use as a dollhouse for Centaur Barbie?"

"That depends on how well you do this term"

"I'd better start working on my conjugations!"

The professor smiled.

Credits:

Links are to stores that are now at Fantasy Faire

The Prairie Library is a historic miniature made by Little, Big Designs.
Medieval Room Backdrop is by The Olde Attic

The Little Centaur is wearing Jinx's CenTEENYtaur and Arabian Nights Set with Tiny Inc's Dinkietaur avatar

Her top and necklace and bracelets are from Layali by Designs by Isaura 

Her hair is Little from Magika

The Professor is wearing Jinx's Cen-Lightaur andArabian Nights Set

Flag tail is from Cinnamon

Twilight Rain centaur skin is from Lunistice

Her skin is Eir in Amethyst from Ab Fab

Her Lavai Horns and Tsubome Staff are from Petrichor (formerly Plastik)

Her top and bracelets are from Devious Mind (gacha prizes)

Jewelry is from The Looking Glass (gacha prizes)

Hair is Andrew from Astrology

A Curious Incident at the Faire

Those of you who have met me know that I am not given to flights of fancy. My eyes play no tricks on me, and my sensibilities are not romantic in the least. And yet, for those very reasons I am certain that I did see something strange.

I had gone down to the faire grounds as I normally do this time of year to eat the lunch that my dear wife had packed for me. I was just opening the flask of coffee when I noticed some movement. I looked up and saw a striking woman dressed in the latest style.

She was standing across the lily pond. I was sitting in the shadows, and she gave no sign that she saw me. I thought nothing of it and unwrapped my sandwich. When I looked again she had turned and was walking towards the waterway. I must confess that I stared because she seemed to have tentacles coming out of her back.

When she reached the embankment, she lifted her skirt and climbed over the barrier. Then she sat down in the water, fully clothed. I pondered on this and had to admit that it was logical for a tentacled creature to seek water.

She went back to the shallow part of the pond and I had to stare again. Her hair had fallen down and her skin was green. Perhaps the water had dissolved whatever makeup she had been wearing or perhaps she was undergoing a metamorphosis. She noticed her green skin and looked annoyed.

I must have gasped inadvertently and she saw that she was not alone. She leapt up and ran to the nearby cliff. Without even looking back, she dove gracefully into the sea.

I took the last bite of my sandwich, chewing hard, as if to convince myself that what I'd seen was as real as the bread in my mouth. And then I saw her hat laying on the ground near the trees.

Credits:

This scenario took place at Fantasy Faire's Lunafae sim

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lunafae/140/196/23

Now at Fantasy Faire:

Outfit is Duchess of Devonshire by Belle Epoque 

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sirens%20Lore/171/147/63

Updo hair is Wanita from !!Firelight!!, the Fantasy Gradient edition

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Heliodor/40/110/74

Other accessories:

Elf ears are Noldor by Swallow

Twisted ears are from LD tinted to match the green skin

Necklace is Iridescent Opal by Dellybeams

Bento tentacles by [vaak] (gacha prize)

Green hair is No_Attention from No.Match

Green skin is Gaia from SB, Alien tone

Body is Maitreya

Head is Strong Face W001 by Genus

Wishing for a Cure

Fantasy Faire is an annual event in Second Life that has been happening for 12 years. This year it lasts from April 23rd until May 10th. The Faire is a showcase of original builds, amazing avatars, and talented creators who come together in support of the American Cancer Society. Last year's Faire raised $68,000.

A good part of this amount comes from shopping at the Faire. Percentages of the price of certain items are set aside as donations. There are also donation kiosks and fund raising events. I'm going to be doing a series about what I find at the Faire.

This photo was taken at Fairlands Junction. My inspiration for the outfit was Akira Kurosawa's film, "Throne of Blood", which was an adaptation of "MacBeth". I particularly liked the witch character, and that she wore white. I chose this lovely kimono with long loose hair, then tried it with a headdress and with a hat. The kimono comes in a variety of colors and consists of three pieces. It is from Ade yakko [Ay]. The headdress in the picture at the very top comes in silver and gold and has color change flowers. Stars sparkle around your head and glowing strands swirl behind you. The second hat looks very plain until you click it. Then flowers bloom on top and petals fly around your head. Both are from Air. In the top photo, I'm also wearing fantasy makeup from LuluB! These items are all at Fantasy Faire now:

[Ay] http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Autumnium/89/208/64
Air  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Lunafae/78/214/70
LuluB!  http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Sirens%20Lore/30/30/63

I'm also wearing items that are not at Fantasy Faire to my knowledge:

Solstice Hair from Moon
Fleur v 3 skin from Alpha.tribe
Noldor ears from Swallow

Winter Ice Castle Ball

I'm trying to document what I do in Second Life. Last night I went to Nyree Rain's Winter Ice Castle Ball. This is what I wore:

I found a beautiful china pattern that I could never afford in real life, so I got a full perm tea set and made myself some expensive china. Here I am this morning in the trailer park enjoying the sunrise with my fabulous tea set.

Everything Old is New Again

Baked on Mesh is a new feature in Second Life, available now on both the official viewer and the Firestorm viewer. Basically, it allows us to wear system clothing and skin on mesh bodies. This is exciting because I, like many others, have favorite clothing and skins that were never available with adapters. So, how do you do it, and how does it look?

BOM ready mesh and system layers are coming out, but if you want to wear something that's not BOM ready, there is a work around. Just wear this with your mesh body and head: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Bake-on-Mesh-skin-applier-Omega/14391590 , click it, take off your alphas, and wear your system layers.

This is how it looks:

I'm wearing a BOM ready system skin from 7 Deadly Skins along with MOCK makeup on a system tattoo layer. The dress is from Skye Qi, and is system layers and a flexi skirt. My head is from Genus, and my body is from Maitreya. Hair is from Exxess, ears from Swallow. Note: If your system skin is not BOM ready, the hands may not line up with the nails. You can fix that with these gloves: https://marketplace.secondlife.com/p/Rose-Nail-Gloves-White-Modifiable-Bake-on-Mesh/17933441 Toe socks are also available. Here's a photo showing nail gloves on the right:

You may have to wear Omega System relays for your specific head/body. If you see system hair on your head, wear a bald base, usually a system eyebrow layer. If you look like this, it means you are still wearing an alpha:

If you look like this, it means you're not on a BOM enabled viewer:

Pre mesh creators take heart, your clothes and skins may find a new following. Please put your clothes on Marketplace if you decide you don't need an inworld store anymore. If you want to learn how to make your own mesh, I recommend joining the inworld group, Blender Benders, to find out about free classes, both in Blender and in Avastar, a program for making mesh clothing in Blender. Or you could team up with a mesh creator to continue making original creations. Some of those pre mesh creations are still favorites and our new alts want them.

Phantom Obsession

When I first saw the 1925 silent film version of "Phantom of the Opera", I wasn't haunted by Lon Chaney's unmasked face, or even by the unrequited love story. They affected me, but what I really wanted was Christine's bed:

I always called it the swan bed, though it's shaped more like a boat. Christine, held against her will, hardly notices it, but I was captivated by the shape, the trailing drapery, the utter wonder of it.

So what happened to it? In a stroke of genius, Norma Desmond has it in "Sunset Boulevard" (1950). Gloria Swanson played a silent star trying to make a comeback, surrounded by memorabilia from her Hollywood days. And yes, it was great seeing Buster Keaton and Erich Von Stroheim again, but seeing the bed was even more thrilling.

I started Second Life in 2008, and thought, "Maybe here I can have the swan bed!" But no one had built it. In 2009 I tried to build it myself and got this far:

I tried again in 2011 with a bit more success, though it still wasn't what I wanted:

I'm telling you this to let you know that this bed is something of an obsession for me. In 2015 DRD did a Phantom gacha. I played it until i got the bed. It's nicely done but the design is a bit different, more masculine:

Skip ahead to the present, and I'm taking a Blender class. There was an assignment to make a bed. Can you guess what my first thought was? I still can't do the baroque carving, but I'm getting closer.

Sex, Art, and Fashion

Last night I found this stunning mesh riding habit at We Love Roleplay. The Lady Worsley riding habit is a collaboration between Belle Epoque and Jinx, and the skirt is rigged for Water Horse's drafts and light horses. The riding habit is available in a number of colors. You have to buy each skirt separately: the walking skirt, the light horse riding skirt, and the draft riding skirt. I wish there had been an option to get all three skirts in one package. But what if you have a riding unicorn or one of Cheval d'Or's add-ons? And who was Lady Worsley anyway?

Seymour Dorothy Fleming was an 18th Century aristocrat. She married Sir Richard Worsley when she was 17. She was painted by Sir Joshua Reynolds in her riding habit, which was designed to match her husband's military uniform. The marriage was unhappy, and she had many lovers. She and her husband separated and when he died, she married her current lover who was 21 years younger than she was. You can read more about her and find out about book and movie versions of her life here.

Reynolds was known for his full length portraits, and was knighted for his contribution to the arts. Here is the portrait:

The mesh version of this riding habit is not the first to be offered in Second Life. Amethyst's Accessories offers it for classic avatars. Her package includes a walking skirt and a side saddle skirt, in addition to the astride skirt which drapes over the horse's back. It is designed to fit AKK horses, and is adjustable. Here is the side saddle version:

The mesh habit is rigged for the Water Horse riding horses. My favorite horse at the moment is the Friesian add-on from Cheval d'Or. It works with the WH riding unicorn. There's no demo of the riding skirt, so does it work? The skirt made for the light horses fits the Friesian fairly well, though a little clipping happens in back. It's worse on the unicorn.

The Friesian is on the left.

What happens if you get the walking skirt and try to ride side saddle in it?

Thankfully there's a demo for the walking skirt. It sort of works, but has an unnatural looking wrinkle in the lap.

Will the draft riding skirt fit the Cheval d'Or add-ons? Not really. Here it is on the Marwari and the fit was similar on the Friesian. The back drape didn't clip at all but it was much bigger than the horse.

The skirts fit well on the horses they are designed for. The gold is shiny, and the outfit is lovely. I'm going to wear it often on my Friesian/Unicorn.

Credits:

Mesh riding habit is now at We Love Roleplay
Classic avatar riding habit is on Marketplace
Cheval d'Or Friesian is also on Marketplace

Update:  I have since acquired Cheval D'Or's Arabian add-on. The Lady Worsley riding habit works beautifully on it.