I want to express my gratitude to Sparkle, my friend and region developer, for bringing this pixel dream to life. Aurelias is the result of a collaboration of ideas and friendship, and I’m overjoyed to be able to share it with you all. This region was opened during the winter and will gradually thaw out in the spring. Our fondness for the seasons and precipitation sets Aurelias apart from other places.
We’re thrilled to welcome guests to the Aurelias region after months of work. We hope you enjoyed visiting our charming virtual town as much as we enjoyed creating it.
What’s on Aurelias? Begin your explorations in the town plaza and work your way out to more intimate and rustic locations. There are plenty of hidden nooks to discover and get lost in!
Please share any images or videos you take on Aurelias to our Flickr group; we’d love to see them!
In honor of Fantasy Faire, I typed in “wand” into my inventory and found this fabulous Unicorn Magic Wand from Insomnia Angel. I have no memory of ever getting this, so that means one of my friends probably gifted it to me because it was a gacha item.
And what does one wear with a wand? A crown, obviously. I pulled out Fairie Queen by Sparkle Skye, which has always been a favorite of mine. I should wear crowns like this all the time, because why not. I’m also wearing the Caroline Gown from Just Because, one of my recent favorite gown makers. The pricing is fair, it’s sold by body type, and this gown has a shiny PBR finish that really works here. You could style it futuristic or regal, the choice is yours. Back in the day, girls used to run all over the grid in full flexi ball gowns like it was casual attire. Shopping, dancing, standing around somewhere. We need to bring that back.
Now let’s talk about Fantasy Faire. I go every year, usually for Jail & Bail with Patch Linden or the Silent and Live Auction during the last few days of the event where I like to bid on Linden-sponsored items. Because of that, Fantasy Faire to me has always felt like a Linden-endorsed event.
That is why all this AI drama looks so bad. Last year, I watched a resident get bullied by Fantasy Faire designers and maybe others too for using AI to enhance photos. I’m not even sure they were an official blogger. They may have just been a regular resident who got piled on so badly they removed a lot of photos from Flickr. Fantasy Faire organizers said nothing discouraging the bullying. That was a bad look, especially for a charity event benefiting the American Cancer Society.
Previously, Fantasy Faire allowed AI use for designers in certain ways, while banning bloggers from using it. Designers could reportedly use it for marketing or decorations as long as it was not being sold. This year they changed the rules again and moved toward banning AI entirely, even for things not for sale.
Then came the DRD situation. According to DRD, they were privately given the green light by organizer Elizabeth Tinsley to use AI posters around their region build. Then later another staff member came through putting up red boxes to mark items for review or removal before opening. Things escalated, and DRD says they felt publicly shamed and harassed.
If that is true, then the problem is not AI. The problem is how this was handled. You cannot privately approve something, then publicly crack down on it later and expect no reaction. Any designer would be upset.
In my opinion, the aggressive anti-AI stance has no place in a charity event, and the selective enforcement looks even worse. AI is a tool. Whether people personally like it or hate it, using it is not against Linden Lab’s Terms of Service. Treating residents like they did something terrible over it is unnecessary.
Fantasy Faire should be about creativity, fundraising, shopping, and fun. Instead it keeps becoming drama over technology. They should release a public statement, explain what happened, and maybe apologize where needed. They also need one clear rule for everybody. Not one rule privately, another publicly, and something else depending on who you are.
They picked the wrong battle, and now it shows.
DRD Statement from their Discord server
We had something special planned for Fantasy Faire this year: our return after 10 years, with a brand-new region and a follow-up story to San Mora.
What should have been an exciting return took a very different turn in the final days. What started as a discussion around AI use escalated **far beyond that**. We were transparent from the beginning and had shown what we were doing early on, with approval to move forward, but 2 days before opening the situation shifted, and how it was handled crossed a line for us.
It escalated into repeated public shaming using hundreds of red glowing prim markers pointing out anything and everything, it reached a point of bullying.
Eventually the entire build was covered in nearly a thousand Fantasy Faire posters. **There’s nothing left of what we created.**
We literally filled the region with Orwell quotes about censorship and authoritarian control and now we’re being silenced and erased in real time. The irony is not lost on us.
This was no longer about being anti-AI or pro-AI. Everyone is entitled to their own stance on that, and we respect differing opinions. What this became about was how poorly the situation was handled.
Things have really changed in 10 years.** It no longer felt like a Faire for charity… it became a protest against AI.**
__We weren’t even allowed to set up RFL vendors to sell our build__ , meaning we were not allowed to raise money for RFL.(?)
It no longer felt like something we wanted to be part of.
We donated the sim to FF to do with it what they wish and to remove the name Reservoir Zero, because that is NOT Reservoir Zero.
**We made the decision to step away completely**. We’re not going to compromise our work or vision just to fit in.
**So here’s what we’re doing instead:**
We’re moving the full, uncensored version of Reservoir Zero to our own sim.
This summer, it will become the **full apocalyptic experience** we originally planned… a proper continuation of the story.
For now, we’ve already started setting things up there together with a few amazing merchants, and we’ll be hosting our own Relay For Life charity event and party very soon.
We’re sorry for the sudden change and any disappointment. **This wasn’t how we wanted our return after all these years to go.**
But we’re looking forward to showing you the version of Reservoir Zero that actually reflects what we built.
Thank you to everyone who reached out and had our back, it meant a lot.
Happy Mother’s Day! The last couple of days have been pretty busy, I meant to blog this outfit for days now but I didn’t get around to it until now.
Mon Tissu released so many new pieces in some gorgeous colors, but I wanted to make an outfit with just the Cream & Gray colors, to create this Grayscale look. This gorgeous Gathered Frills Blouse works includes a sculpted ruffles attachment and sculpted sleeves. I spent a bit of time stretching the Scattered Birds Skirt to fit me, although it does come with an alpha layer to hide the buttocks area 😀
I was craving ice cream, when I came across these delicious Fizzberry eyeshadows from Lusty. The colors are named after yummy food, and I love that each of them is two-tone, and so pastel-y and gorgeous.
The Magic of Oz sim has these cute little food dispensers thing near where I rent my shop. I wanted a piece of plain toast, but the dispenser gives you a random food item for 20L. Sooo… I got Charred Toast first 🙁 After the second try, I scored a piece of Strawberry jam toast, but that’s good too!! Mmmm.. The toast has a HAPPY face!
I’m playing around with PS this morning, since I’ve just installed a billion brushes, courtesy of Ryker Beck 🙂 When I reinstalled my PS a few weeks ago, I lost all my brushes so yah… sadness! But I’m happy again, I’m so easily pleased 😛
Went on a small shopping spree yesterday. One of the items I got was this new skin from JM:Mai. It’s sooooo cute.. I <3 you JM:Mai Skins!!! I’m wearing the Byeol skin, but there are at least half a dozen different skin lines at the shop.
What I’m Wearing:
JM:Mai – Byeol 05 Skin Kin – Blossom [White] hair MS – Free hair Band Honey Kitty – Vanilla eating cookie necklace Winter Moon – Nautical Waste skirt Winter Moon – Daitny Blouse (pink) Armidi Gisaci – Unisex Classic Moccas (Baby Pink) (ps. I’ll never get sick of wearing these!)
Could this be the new me? Every time LeLutka drops a new mesh head, I hope that it’s one I can stick to, cos I love change. I feel more flexible when I can make many different versions of myself, to go with any skin. My favorite head right now is the Avalon head, but I’ve worn that for a while now and I think I’m ready for a change. The last mesh head release, Gaia, was a bit too youthful for me, but I still thought that the head shape was very pretty. I probably could have made it work, with a few more shape tweaks.
✿ cheLLe ✿ brings you an adorable set of Bunny Ears headbands! One of the first things I made in SL over 3 years ago was a headband — so I’m excited to get back into making ’em again.
This (Pink) Bunny Ears headbands set includes 4 ears style per color. These headbands have mod/copy perms so you can fit it to any head size or hairstyle.
✛ Colors Included ✛
Light Pink – Medium Pink – Hot Pink
These are especially adorable if you want a playful accessory to add to your costume or casual look.
Elikatira – About | Just | Glory (TDR Blue Exclusive)
Elikatira releases three new adorable hairstyles, two at the main store and one for TDR Blue! I love these hairstyles, so lovely and casual.
Check out this new Little Suede Dress from Fishy Strawberry! I think the texture is so realistic and fantastic. I’m normally not a fan of “nipples” drawn onto clothing items, but I really like the effect on this dress, it’s very subtle and oh-so-sexy! I’m also wearing the Echo headpiece (white crystals) from LaGyo for an extra princess-y look.
I’ve been wearing the new Edith shoes from Nardcotix for a week now, and I just love the color choices! I’m only showing less than of of the colors available cos they’re so many to choose from. The HUD is scripted to change size, skin tone, nail polish colors, and more.
The sculpted foot on this is lovely, and the HUD is very easy to use. I know a lot of people struggle with skin tone matching, so grab a demo first and be patient 🙂
