Fantasy Faire 2024 in Second Life - Last Stop

 Today I did an in-depth exploration of Last Stop, a Region sponsored by Teegle. 

Most of the build was submerged, with a deserted subway tunnel snaking along between scattered shops. It was all absolutely beautiful.  The fish swimming back and forth among the plants added a nice ambiance but weren't gaudy, florescent, or odd colors. I can remember when SL fish were just flat shapes, these fish looked real and three-dimensional. Second Life is getting better!

Subway tunnel in Last Stop

I visited all the stores very quickly, as I'm minding my inventory , but I stopped at DFS because they had something I hadn't seen before: llamacorns. I looked around to see if there was any way I could make a Relay for Life contribution from their shop, but couldn't find one. I think every shop at Fantasy Faire should have a way you could make a Relay for Life contribution without buying anything, just as a 'thank you' for them having a shop that was interesting, pretty or unique.

Llamacorns from DFS at Last Stop

Fish in subway tunnel, Last Stop

I did buy a Sass gnomie. You can never have too many gnomies. I also bought a Teegle dog

I was confused by a store with no name - just a logo. I was impressed that inside there were posters indicating that they could help you in six different languages, but I still had absolutely no idea what it was they were. I finally clicked for the free gift and got an info card explaining that this shop was advertising the Akipelago Group:

"secondlife:///app/group/165c25d2-7ff3-e3a6-54a3-2ff7bdb71010/about

The Akipelago is a not-for-profit group of sims is dedicated to artistic and natural beauty in its many forms including:    multiple worlds of breathtaking vistas; interactive and immersive sim-wide exhibits;  particle shows; music and dance performances; and of course, galleries of portraits and sculptures.   It is also a very large playground !  The Akipelago is comprised of:  Akijima, Akimori, and Akimitsu.  For any questions or concerns please let me know, and thank you for your time here in the Akipelago.  Everyone is welcome!

  - Akiko (◕‿◕)♡"

I guess everyone else in Second Life but me already knew what Akipelago was.

On the surface the Region was mostly water with some rocky outcroppings , and trolley lines heading out over the water to the horizon reminded me of scenes in Spirited Away.

Last stop at Last Stop

My favorite Region so far. 

The only negative was a store that disguised its exit as a solid wall. It was not alone among Fantasy Faire stores. I'm wondering if they are thinking that visitors will get trapped when they can't find their way out and buy more things?

 

Fantasy Faire 2024 in Second Life: Blogging About the Bloggers

 A few years ago, when I really wanted to be an Official Fantasy Faire Blogger, I read almost every single official Fantasy Faire blog post from the year before and tried to make my blog posts as much like some of them as I could. I was disappointed when I was apparently turned down when I applied to be a blogger the next year. 

I still like to read the official blogs - most of them are well-written and have excellent photos of the Fairelands and Faire Events. 

Looking at the Official Blogger List you can see that, of the categories Shopping, Exploration,  Blogger Challenge*, Story, and Character, Shopping is the major category. Bloggers post photos of their avatars wearing and/or surrounded by items available at the Faire, and they include links to the stores.

In an event with over 300 merchants I was wondering why I was seeing some of the same items reviewed over and over again, and then I found The Merchant's Guide to Bloggers. Apparently merchants fill boxes with items that are free to official bloggers.

I realize that I will never be an "Official" Fantasy Faire blogger because my photos do not meet my standards, and I have never been much of a fashionista. I don't have the patience to spend a lot of time dressing and shaping my avatar, although every few years I make an effort to get a new body and some new clothes. In the past I got so caught up in putting together a glamorous Second Life avatar I almost didn't recognize my own reflection in real life. 

I have added some of the Official Fantasy Faire bloggers to my 'follow' list so that I can read them year round.

Softpaw the Fairy Cat

Chic Aeon

and

Vloggers: Around the Grid Productions

Yes, I would still like to be an official Fantasy Faire blogger, but in the meantime I will just enjoy what others have written, and write what I like. 

The grapes would have been sour anyway.

--------------

*Blogger Challenge seems to be an attempt to get official bloggers to write about something besides shopping.

Fantasy Faire 2024 in Second Life: Help With The Quest

Fantasy Faire 2024, Using a flashlight in Thunnus Bay

Even after years of doing the annual Fantasy Faire Quest, there are still times I have problems finding the hunt objects.

Here are hints I've picked up along the way.

Join the **Fantasy Faire Fans** Group. It is fun to listen to the chat, and you can always ask for help.

Try to be as low lag as possible. While I love to see the elaborate Faire costumes, rendering them can slow things down. You don't really need to wear your toenail color Hud.

Set up folders in Inventory ahead of time and put items away while they are still listed as "Recent"

My folders are: "Fantasy Faire 2024" with two subfolders: "Quest Items" and "Shopping".  By the end of the Quest you will have dozens of prizes, so it is always a good idea, if you. have time, to open things right away and send thank-you's to the makers and givers of things you especially like.*

Use the "Help" button on your Quest Hud. It has some hunting hints. This year I learned that if the Hud  doesn't show everything you've collected the first thing you can do is reset it.

Can't find the Queen?  She usually isn't hard to find. Try using your map to see if there is a cluster of green dots away from the main area. 

Listen to dialogues. 

It's OK to ask for a hint in chat. 

Do not curse the Quest Organizers**.  There have been times when I thought that the hints were misleading or mean, but I have come to realize that they are just coming from a different perspective. I can't imagine how difficult it must be to set up such a complicated event. There will always be glitches. Try to stay calm and enjoy everything you see along the way.

Know what you are looking for.  In many SL hunts the hunt object is always a specific item, in this hunt the hunt item comes in many shapes, but there are some commonalities. Once you've found the first item, examine it and its surroundings. Who made it? Who owns it?How big is it? How far was it from the spot the hint directed you to?  Was it named as a hunt object, or something like "I'm just a rock"?

Take time to let the hunt object materialize. Depending on lag time, it can sometimes take minutes for a hunt object to show up. If all else fails, go away and come back later. 

If you can't see, lighten it up. This year some of the Regions were very dark. In the ink I saw a few avatars with their facelights turned up to "stun" and one avatar who was wearing a large shining globe. There are other things you can do to help:

• Turn up your computer screen brightness
• Use 'Environment' settings and see if you can set the world to mid-day.
• Turn off "Use Shared Environment" and choose a brighter environment. In one Region, I had to change the water to "Lassies Clearwater" to keep from bumping into things. (Be sure to change settings back afterwards.)
• Temporarily de-render things like underbrush and pesky buildings.
• Use the 'search area' option if your viewer has it. If you click on an item on the list and select 'edit' it will show up better.

Thanks to Ryan Schultz for some great tips on his website.

If all else fails, I notice that last year they offered an "Express Quest" HUD for L$5000 during the last days of Fantasy Faire. 

Have fun!

*Says she, who just noticed she had a few items from SLB20 in her inventory, unopened.

**I apologize for saying "I hope that when she tiptoes past the bears, she is covered with honey and the bears are awake and hungry."

Fantasy Faire 2024 in Second Life

 

In Duskfall Court at Fantasy Faire 2024

I've been gone from Second Life for a while, but I wanted to come back for Fantasy Faire, one of my favorite events.

Read about it here.

This year the Faire has 20 Regions and over 300 merchants. I love to see the new worlds that have been created.

The event will last through May 5th, and there will be film and dance, large and small quests, and much more. 

I started by stopping at Fairelands Junction, picking up a teleport hud, and doing a click-tour of each Region. Then I signed up for the Quest.

This year the Quest is titled "The Seven Layers of Joy". The Deluxe Quest package gets you the Quest Huds, but also costumes for dinkies, tinies, and human avatars. The costumes were made by Grasshopper Street http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Gallimaufry/135/175/32  .

Above: Wearing Grasshopper Street Juliet gown on off-the rack avatar. Although the costume came with a coif, I prefer the Dreaming Thicket Queen Anne's lace hair piece. Not shown: Theo, the Quest companion.

Duskfall Court Region is sponsored by Quills and Curiosities and Cryptic. The Region, buildings and landscape were crafted by Dacien & Marcel Blackwood, Crow, and Lemony Nova. 

Nostalgia by Cica Ghost in Second Life

http://maps.secondlife.com/secondlife/Mysterious%20Isle/112/113/27

At the exhibit you can get a free ventilator hat almost like Cica's Bug S4 has on.

I do not like to read reviews of movies before I have seen them, or of books before I read them, or of Art before I see it. I leave it to you to go and make up your own mind.

Perhaps inappropriate quote: 

"Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”  

Let us go and make our visit. "

from "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" by T.S. Eliot