The Bard Queen's Garden - Quest at the Fantasy Faire 2020

The Queen's Garden had been busier than usual lately. Hestia had felt the presence of first one, then another. More and more, coming in pairs and groups, until the essence of thousands of souls drifted through the leaves, sparkling in the morning dew. Something had called them thither, as a guardian Hestia was sure she should know what... "Must have been too long trimming the henbane..." she mused to herself, "Can't for the life of me remember..."

It had something to do with the time of year, always as the bluebells were in bloom the people appeared. Year on year, some of them felt familiar. She had never actually seen them of course, the garden existed on countless planes, it was often more difficult to find anyone you were looking for than it was to avoid them. Wandering along the twisting paths her gaze swept the curves of the stream, attention caught by jugs and pots left out unattended. "What on earth?" 

This incongruity was milder than previous years... a small, distant chime of memory began. "Things out of place... bluebells in bloom... Strange things, strange souls. Old souls, new souls... things out of place, people out of..." Hestia snapped her fingers as understanding clicked. "The Quest!" 

There had been no looming dread, no worry and whispers among the Fairefolk as in previous years, the garden had been blooming with more beauty than ever, and here was the cause. The quest was not having to rescue or rebuild, it had taken a new form, thanks to the Bard Queen. Now these thousands of souls were helping the garden to grow, and new life was bursting from all sides.

The Fairelands Quest! Each year a Fairelands Wide search, guided by a helpful HUD, and video messages fom the Bard Queen herself. You can find the HUDs at the TP point of each Fairelands SIM - including a deluxe HUD which contains quest outfits for males and females for just L$350, 100% of which is a donation to Relay for Life. Given the AVALANCHE of gifts from the amazing and generous Fairelands creators you receive on completing the quest, the indepth rummage through SIMs letting you find amazing nooks and crannies you may otherwise have missed, and the camaraderie you build with others also searching, this may just be the best purchase you can make at the Faire.

All items listed are 100% donation to Relay for Life

Halo :  :[P]:- Boen Halo [Thin-Sparkle] RFL
Sirens Lore
Hair :  Raven Bell - Umbriel Hair [Crystal] and Head Sparkles
Auxentios’ Pass
Skin : ND/MD Boo BLUSH
Cassiopeia
Tattoo :  :[ET]: Wisps - Fantasy
Lunafae
Eyes:  A.D.D.Andel! Galaxy Eyes- RFL
Zodiac
Outfit :  MALified - The Bard Queen
Zodiac
Nails :  DP - Koffin Nails - Maitreya HUD - Fantasy Flutter Keys
Lamented Fens
Staff :  :[P]:- Tsubome Staff [Static Right] RFL
Sirens Lore

A Quiet Time - Fantasy Faire 2020

The streets were quiet.
They had been quiet for days...
Days? No, Cerys' foot nudged the drift of detritus forming a strange high tide line along the cracked pavement. It had been a good while longer than that.

The people had receded, retreating back into their places of sanctuary.
Alarms had sounded, voices had blared, some speaking sense, others quite the opposite.
Some had learned what others had already known, they were not the masters of their own universe.
Some would never learn. Others held onto hope that even this wouldn't matter.
Cerys gazed out into the fenced off remainder of wilderness in the midst of the city and wondered what it had been like, when such things happened in the past. Were they better off now? Better able to cope?

There were comforts to be found even in the links of that chain of thought. Particularly among the trees, with the soft sounds of nature awakening all around. Each day there was this escape, normalcy rebranded as freedom for one precious hour. Technology, crtiticised for so long, by so many, for isolating and desensitizing, was bringing people together. People were reaching out to those they had not sought for years. New ways of communicating were bringing people together, even while they were apart. Individuals and groups undervalued and marginalised in the day to day, were in this day, today, showing their inexpressible worth by keeping the true neccessities of life going.

By keeping apart, while reaching out; focusing on what we have, and those we love, we can get through this. 

The Fantasy Faire is a wonderful escape from reality. The reason we do it, the heart of it all, is so embedded in reality as to make it inescapable. We do this to raise money to further cancer research. We do this because in this virtual world, this second life where we are free to do anything and be anything we want, we still want to help make things better here in the real world. So please. While you are indoors, if you are feeling trapped, or isolated, double click that icon. Step into another world. Buy something beautiful that makes you smile. Think of the difference you are making, to the world. 

Items shown are 100% donation to Relay for Life

Hair : Wasabi // Anaia Mesh Hair
Zodiac
Skin : ND/MD Boo Eye+ LIGHT-NO brows-
          ND/MD Boo eyebrows- rose
Cassiopeia
Face tattoo and dermal piercing : !TLB - Aelia Tattoo and Dermal
Eyes : !TLB - Lyric Eyes/Green
Autumnium
Necklace : [ riseDesign ] RFL Rock On Necklace
Melusina’s Depths
Tattoo : GERMINAL - Cracked Reality Tattoo
Auxentios’ Pass
Dragonfly : =EagleDesigns= Dragonfly Friend - Orange Red
Elemaria
Top : Grumble - Summer Heat Cami
Agra Adara
Pants :  Trinity Clothing - Cane's Grunge Overalls
Melusina’s Depths

Wedding invitation

The sound of the high heels on tiled floor echod through the building. But there weren't any patients in the lost asylum and even the last caretaker had been fired five years ago. Now Lucie was scampering through the building. It should have been her who would marry Jonas, not Sarah. She had been with Jonas for such a long time and he had asked her so often to marry him but Lucie always said no. Jonas, well Jonas was ok but she did not want to be bound to him when somebody better would come around and she was sure that Jonas would stay with her anyways. She made so many jokes about him when phoning with her friends and became less careful so that one day he heard her talking about him. He was hurt, but what Lucie wouldn't have expected he was way too proud to show her his emotions. And then he met Sarah, who was just friendly and kind. Jonas fell quickly in love for her and was more than glad not to have to pretend to be anybody he wasn't. And it was so comfy not to have to deal with hidden evilness all the time. Lucie was of course sure that he would come back to her. In Lucie's opinion Sarah was just vulgar and without any class but for Jonas she was the world. When she got the invitation to the wedding Lucie thought that Jonas and his fiancée only invited her because of kindness and that they did not really suppose that she would accept to come. But she wanted him to know what he would miss so she invested into a very expensive and sheer gown. She wanted to look better than the bride. When she arrived at the location which had been on the invitation she had to admit that she surely had been a good teacher for Jonas when it came to evilness.

The Hilarie gown from Entre Mares is a big partly sheer gown. The long train lets it look impressive in every ballroom. I had some problems with adjusting the primparts to my usual shape but luckily ND/MD released a model shape to their Eboni skin. The dress comes on the pants and shirt layer. The primparts are no modify and no trans and contain no resize script. The dress is also available in light blue, black, gold and white. Entre Mares will have a fashion show at Dec. 3rd 5pm with a special gift for guests. Which will be a great opportunity to see how their gowns look on an avatar.

Dress: [Entre Mares] Hilarie/Pink (950 L$)
Skin: ND/MD EBONI natural Skins natural (990 L$ for one makeup or 1999 L$ for four)
Shape: ND/MD EBONI - TOP MODEL (640 L$ contains 8 versions non mod 1250 for mod shape)
Poses: Purple Poses (10 L$ for one pose)

The picture has been taken at Deviant. There is a lost asylum on the top of the hill. Its worth to explore it.

Black swan

The black swan caught Jade's attention when she was visiting her palace in the north of the golden empire. The empire has been reigned by her family for ages and it was planed that Jade would be the next queen. She was not really glad about this but was willing to bear the duties which would come with that title. As all future queens she was sent on a journey through the empire to get to know the different parts and to meet as many citizens as possible. It was very exhausting and Jade was angry at herself that she accepted to reign. But she knew that somebody had to and did not want that somebody would gain the power who would not care about the empire. So she finally got to the last corner of the empire and during an event where she had to meet many of the local notabilities she saw the swan. Jade followed the animal into the forest and was stunned. She never had been alone in a forest and this was a lost one. People said she had only been a few minutes in the forest but for Jade it was like hours. Her trip to nature changed her a lot and when she finally became queen she took care very well of the lands and a black swan was her heraldic animal.

Icing takes part in the Vintage Fair and created a set of wonderful dresses because of that. This is the pink version of the dress. It comes with a fitting hat with veil. The primparts are mod and its possible to make the skirt smaller, which means it also fits small avatars. The systemparts of the dress come on all layers. There is also an alphalayer included which hides some parts between the thights and the hips so that the butt can not poke through the skirt.
The pose is a new release from juxtapose. They are still available at their store at Jersey Shore for 50 L$

Dress: *ICING* Just Swing - Pink (275 L$ will be sold at the Vintage Fair)
Shoes: Ingenue :: Dianthus :: Blush (100 L$)
Hair: Magika [Hair] Break (250 L$ for one colour set)
Necklace: *ICING* Princess Pearl Set (195 L$)
Skin: ND/MD EBONI natural Skins natural (990 L$ for one makeup or 1999 L$ for four)

Pose: Juxtapose - Handy Dandy Poses (5 poses for 50 L$ at the moment but better hurry)

The picture was taken at Athan.

Modeling in red boots

Evie wasn't rich enough to afford models to pose in her clothing. Luckily she was also not rich so she had to decide if she would buy cloth from her money or food and mostly she bought cloth. Which was not always healthy but good for her shape. So she was able to model the clothes she created. After a while she started to sell many of them. Which allowed her to buy more cloth and to create dresses which were even more stunning than the ones she had been making when she was broke.

Diapop and Somapop moved and has a nice dollarbie in their new store. Its a shirt and shorts in brown with a diamond pattern on it. The set comes with a fitting belt and its possible to mod the primparts to make the smaller. The new store of Diapop and Somapop reminds a bit on an empty factory building and is worth a visit.
Virtual/Insanity has a lot new items and the choker with the cross is one of them. The set includes two versions, one with a bigger cross and one with a smaller one. Those who do not want an inverted cross can modify the choker and just turn the cross around. There are also a fitting belt, fingernails and a legband avilable.
The red boots come from bax. They still have the wonderful service that they fit the boots in the store which is just so comfy and useful. Beside the great customer service the boots are of course awesome. Its possible to choose between four colours for the leather and several colours for the heel, sole and some more parts of the boots. Its possible to fold the boot-tops down (with several options for the texture inside of the boot-tops) or to hide the top part of the boots.
The skin is the Eboni Skin from ND/MD. I had to look how it would look on my normal shape and love the result. The hair comes from Magika. They have new colour sets now which contain a lot of colours at once.
The pose comes from Miamai. It belongs to a set which will be sold at the Vintage Fair which starts tomorrow. Its a great set of modeling poses.

Bodysuit: * [DIAPOP] * all by myself ::vintage brown:: (1 L$)
Choker: [VIRTUAL/INSANITY] HEAVY CROSS Choker - Girl (175 L$)
Boots: BAX Prestige Boots Red Leather (875 L$)
Hair: Magika [Hair] Break (250 L$ for one colour set)
Skin: ND/MD EBONI natural Skins natural (990 L$ for one makeup or 1999 L$ for four)
Pose: Miamai Model Pose Editorial (15 Poses for 600 L$ sold at the Vintage Fair)

Terror Frogs

The weather was perfect, the guests would arrive soon and her hair was as she wanted it. But suddenly Elise heared a frog. This was one of the worst things which could happen. A jazz concert with the constant croaking of a frog would be really annoying. First she tried to spot it in the water. But there were only fish in the water. The croaking seemed to come from an other corner. She allready started to nestle nervously at her necklace. The frog would ruin the whole concert if she would not find it soon and she had put so much work into the organisation of the event, but had not supposed that a frog could ruin her plans. Elise searched and searched finally she decided to take her glasses out of her clutch maybe she would find the frog with its help. She did not find her glasses in her clutch but a frog.

Eboni is the latest skin release from ND/MD. It is available in four skintones with four makeups in each of the skintones. The sets also contain tattoo and underwearlayers for the cleavage or pubic hair. There are also several shapes available which fit to the skin. This is the skin in natural. Moonlay one of the two designers and owners of ND/MD painted the skin nearly completly. Only for some parts of the face he used textures from a picture. The quality of the skin is amazing. Its possible to use it for many different looks it only depends on the hair and the other accessories which are being used. I decided to create a classical look. For that I choosed the shimmy dress in red from Icing. As accessory I choosed a necklace from Icing too. Its a simple pearlnecklace which fits to many dresses. The clutch belongs to an other dress from the same store.

Outfit:
Skin: ND/MD EBONI natural Skins natural (990 L$ for one makeup or 1999 L$ for four)
Shape: ND/MD EBONI Shapes (640 L$)
Eyes: ND/MD Mooneye-NAOMI (50 L$)
Dress: *ICING* Shimmy - Red (250 L$ or 1500 L$ for the fatpack)
Necklace: *ICING* Princess Pearl Set (195 L$)
Purse: *ICING* Hearts Desire Clutch Purse (belongs to a dress for 295 L$)
Hair: .:EMO-tions:. * FABIENNE * black (245 L$ for one colour or 990L$ for the fatpack)

Poses: Purple Poses (10 L$ for one pose)

Swearwords

The books did not like swearwords. It was something Eyleen should better have kept in mind. Now she had strange feeling that her skin was changing. She did not dare to stroke with her fingers over her cheek, else she would have felt the pulsating slimy material into which her skin was transforming. There were enough warnings about swearing around books. Swearwords were seldom used in books so books easily had the need to defend themself against the possibility that a swearword might get into them. Eyleen would need to apologize for having sweared maybe then the books would take back their spell so that her skin would be fine again.

Likka House sent out a halloween groupgift. Its a top with fitting skirt in two versions. The primparts have a resizescript and the top with the flower should go well with jeans as well. ND/MD take part in the second haunted forest hunt. One part of their gift is a female skin with alienlike spots on it. Beside the skin the gift also contains a female shape and fitting eyes. The skins from ND/MD are all very well made so this hunt is a chance to get one of theirs for nearly no lindens - all huntitems of that hunt are 1L$. The hair is a groupgift from Dura.

Dress: [Group Gift] LIKKA*HOUSE Flora-halloween (0 L$)
Skin: ND/MD Alien - Haunted Forest 2 (1 L$)
Hair: *Dura* Group Gift (0 L$)

The pose comes from Purple Poses and the picture has been taken at HALLOWEEN FUN.

For the birds

Finn was waiting for the right moment then he would start to play his flute. It was important to catch the right moment for that at least as faun. His tunes would let the trees grow bigger, the flowers become more colourful and the bushes would carry more berries at the end of the summer.

In the right moment he started to play. It was important to start playing at exactly the right moment. Else the berries would be ripe to late or to soon. Both would be against the natural balance. Finn mainly cared about berries. He normaly ate only fruits. Other Fauns cared about other plants.

Nila, his sister, cared about flowers. She loved how they looked and spend even time among them while she wasn't playing for them. When she heared the first tones of Finn's flute she knew that she also needed to start playing. She always had problems to find the exact moment. She felt guilty when she recognized that she left her flute at a tree. But she luckily was quick.

With some wide jumps she was back in the forest and found the flute. She had used it to play for some squirrells who had asked her to take care that they would have more nuts this year. Later she would help Finn to let more berries grow. Some birds wanted some and Nila loved animals as much as flowers.

Some time ago I blogged the awesome Cyborg suit from ND/MD. The faun avatars come from the same store. They are complete avatars that means the set includes the legs, shapes, skin, clothing hair, eyes, ears, horns, tail and even a flute. The tail and the horns come in two versions one with facelight and one without. The fauns are small the girl is 1,3m or 4 feet and 4 inches tall the boy is 1,35m or 4 feet 44 inches tall. Both avatars could be worn with or without the dots on the skin as those come on the tattoo layer. The clothes come on the undies layer (if you need them on more layers send the designer a message and he will make them for you). The hooves are resizeable so it is possible to wear them with a bigger avi. The skin also fitted my normal shape and its of course the same with the ears, horns, tail and eyes. It is amazing how well the clothing and the skin are shaded. The lights are placed exactly where they should be and I love the huge brown eyes.

Faun: ND/MD - LITTLE FAUN BOY (1800 L$)
Fauna: ND/MD - LITTLE FAUN GIRL (1800 L$)

Poses:
{Just A Pose} Simply Hippy
Juxtapose - Munchkin Poses
The pictures have been taken at Ode except the 3rd one which has been taken at Loch Haven.

NX-74/7PQ

NX-74/7PQ was in love. It was the only logical conclusion she managed to find. She was not sure if she should be happy or confused so the cyborg decided to have both emotions. NX-74/7PQ had not supposed to feel those feelings anymore. She had been a victim of the 3rd imperial war. When being asked if she would be willing to be transformed into a cyborg she had been more than willing and there hadn't been much left of her human body anyways. The scientists were always surprised how well she was able to deal with her cybernetic parts and even more about how well she dealt with the pain. Of course none of them ever talked so much with her to find out that she had given birth to three children. And the pain she had gone through at every birth had been way more intense than having to deal with new limbs.

But now she was in love and did not know what to do. On the one hand it was painful but on the other hand it was a great feeling. Should she tell him about her feelings or not? She prefered to keep her emotions for herself. On the other hand he was a cyborg like her. NX-74/7PQ found herself giggling like a 14 year old girl. She had given up most of her human body but did that mean that she also had to give up her human emotions? She hardly remembered her old name she had given it up as well as the nightmares of her children. Although most of her body was cybernetic she still ate normal food and to her big surprise the other cyborg seemed to search for her company. She found out that his name was MR-X47/11Q. Some time later as they were on a mission together to save some alien artefacts he told her that his name was Peter. Hers was Anne.

The creativity people share in second life is amazing. Sometimes there are items which are simply surprising in the quality of the textures. The items from ND/MD definitly belong into this category. The store sells all kinds of skins, shapes and more. The suit, the facemask, the shape and the boots come from their Scifi line. As written before the quality of the textures is stunning. The suit has many details and the metal looks like polished metal should look. The suit comes on the undies, socks, undershirt and gloves layer. So its possible to wear other layers over it for example a jacket to take care that all cybernetic parts are kept warm. The boots come with two kinds of bootlegs a bigger and a smaller one. They go of course perfectly with the suit and although they have high heels they are stable enough for any adventure in outerspace. The mask connects perfectly with the suit. And also the connection lines of the parts of the suit are nearly not visible which shows very well how impressive the quality of the designs from ND/MD is. The suit is sold in many versions. The store also sells cyborg skins and the items are not only available for women. There are versions for men as well - and of course the boots for them aren't high heels. The hair is the Vicky Hair from Wasabi Pills. To let it look a bit more cyborgish I put the glow on 0.2 and the shinyness on low. I would never have had such an idea myself but the creator of the suit told me that it would look great, so I tested it and had to agree. As skin I used Posy Pale Kitty from Adam n Eve.

Outfit:
Suit: ND/MD : Galaxia SILVER SUIT (990 L$)
Boots: ND/MD CYBER BOOTS - GALAXIA (320 L$)
Facemask: ND/MD Galaxia Silver Mask (340 L$)
Shape: ND/MD GALAXIA Silvermoon Shape (640 L$)
Skin: Adam n Eve Skins - Posy Pale - Kitty Bewbs (1000 L$)
Hair: /Wasabi Pills/ Vicky Hair (250 L$ one colour pack 1500 L$ for all colours)

The poses come from Niqotine Poses, this store was one of the most amazing posestores ever. I use their poses quite often but do not mention that they come from that store as the store is closed.They sold great fighting poses, wonderfully naughty couple poses, girlish girly poses and more. The pictures have been taken at Tochigi Japan Cybercity a great sim Sian recommented to me.