| Lil Pixel Sir |
| 86. Touring Honeybriar May 8th 2015, 05:07  Hello Lil Sir's! As you all know I role-play as a variety of ages (4, 19 and 25-ish). And in my Papa role, my husband and I decided to move to a community. I had misgivings. I will be honest. "Communities are just not my thing!" I would proclaim, time and again. Forever stating my need for privacy, my desire to do things on our own. A place to truly unleash my creativity on the small space of the world we call ours. But for all my protesting, I decided one day, to give in. We packed up, almost on a whim, I said goodbye for now to my beloved Blake Sea, leaving my sailing vessel the "Cinderfella" to languish in my inventory. And now my loyal Sir's, I am a convert. The koolaid has been consumed with relish and I am in love with where my family lives. So today, a kind of post that has not happened for a while, something of an article. A review. An expose and a bit of me having fun taking pictures. To start with let me just say that Lil Pixel Sir is in NO way affiliated with the community Honeybriar, that I will be talking about. I am not being paid by them or getting any kind of bonus for my time. I don't want those things from them at all. I am a proud resident of this community and this is something that I wanted to do for you my readers. Something new, something different and something that you and your family may want to look into! *cracks his knuckles ready to start* Here we go! The DetailsIn-World - Honeybriar Facebook - Honeybriar FB  When I was first dragged to Honeybriar by my niece Lyra, my thoughts were: "Wow! This is beautiful". And being quite a big 'stuff and things' snob, I was impressed with the quality of the homes and layout. In fact everything is very up to date looking and just simply pretty to look at. I doubt there is anywhere in this place that isn't good for a few happy snaps with the camera. Today I took my Honeybriar worship a little further and got on my bike to tour the whole place. I found a ton of things that I did not even realize were here and so, out came the camera and I got to snapping. While biking around (managing not to ride into any parked cars!), I was somewhat astonished about the sheer scale of the place, and how much work has gone in to make this a true role play environment. So I contacted the owner. More! I need to know more! I feel bad for the owner, having to deal with a sudden, impromptu interview by someone as scatter brained as me. But she managed it like a champion! So while I wandered taking pictures, Mrs Donovan and I had a conversation. It was great to get the information right from the horses mouth (so to speak... not calling her a horse O.O... she is human!).  The ConversationRiver: What inspired you to become involved in owning a community? It seems like a TON of work o.O Certainly not something I would think of doing. I mean.. she would have to deal with demanding tenants like me?! Even I don't want to deal me me! Have you met me?! Mrs Donovan: Well, to be completely honest with you my husband and I never ever even thought of owning a community. We actually lived on our own sims always... private. We lived there with our family though. Like a mini community. Small town, one sim, all of our family. Things shifted family wise in SL and we found ourselves here in Honeybriar (back when it was still part of Masoma). I had lived and worked in communities before as had Grayson (Mr Donovan). He never saw himself living in one again, yet here we were. And very quickly we both fell in love with it and over time it became home. When we heard the news of Cade and Lena retiring; our first thought was that we did not want to lose our home! So we thought about it a bit and we both knew that we had what it takes. That we could run Honeybriar and provide the residents with a place to feel home like we do. And so...we took a big leap.  I continued on my ride around town. Escaping being run over by a car... lets just say that footpaths are myth to me and leave it at that! Eventually I came across a fire department. I resisted the urge to set fire to a rubbish bin just to see what would happen... I also resisted the urge to try and drive one of the trucks. Instead it got me thinking about crime in SL. River: Family friendly places are often strict with a pg rated atmosphere. Although recently the trend has been to add a level of role-play crime, even in some cases to the extent of attempted murder (!!). What is Honeybriars policy on crime? Mrs Donovan: That is a great question. We have noticed in other towns, things like the "Masoma Mangler". I believe that is what it is called? Honestly we aren't big fans of that. But, in saying that; we do want some crime rp. The same crime you'd see in a small town. Sure there could be a murderer in a RL small town but we do want to keep the PG nature here. Crime like theft, drugs, speeding, alcohol related rps, and arson are all approved here. The only thing we ask community wise is that people get approval with ALL participating parties prior to the rp. And with drugs, we did not want to see people rping about drugs in group chat or growing large pot crops in their yards. We do have a policy that there are to be no crimes that involve children or innocent bystanders; as well as no rape/sexual violence and no forced violence of any kid. All these things sound great to me. Especially about the arson. I am looking forward to my first foray into the kitchen to cook something other than a microwave meal... and potentially needing the assistance of the fire department. River: What sort of active presence does the fire department and police department have on a day to day basis and how do your role-playing residents interact with these services? Mrs Donovan: Right now we are in interviews with a couple candidates for the upcoming Sheriff's department. We don't want to have a large police department in Honeybriar as it seems when there are large PDs, crime rps can get out of hand. Plus we want to keep with that 'small town' feel. The FD on the other hand are very well established. They are a great group of men and women who take their positions and the rps seriously. We have a full fire academy here in Honeybriar and every member of the FD goes through crucial training. Currently as the medical clinic in town is being finished the FD is also taking on the health related RPs with their EMTS. If there is a fire in Honeybriar (If in a private home or business the fire starter must get approval from the tenant) our FD responds swiftly and safely.  After I recovered my shock and then glee finding a gas station AND a 'The Wiggly Piggly' store. Which made me surprisingly happy. It is touches like this, that are scattered around the place that really make it like a town! I asked another role-play question. As someone who is actually very very new to role-play that is not as a four year old. This is something that interests me. I am learning that at Honeybriar, I am only limited by my creativity. Which should probably make a few people nervous! River: Can you tell me more about role-play here. Is there a storyline for people to fit themselves into? What are the limitations on the roleplay as you see it? Mrs Donovan: Well, the previous owners and original founders of Honeybriar did have a story line in place. But it was going to lead into a more 'supernatural' direction. That really is not our thing. So currently we're re-working all of that. :) The way I see Honeybriar is your typical US small suburban town. That leaves a lot of options for RP. Yes we are more of a family community but you do not have to have children to enjoy Honeybriar. I wouldn't say there are any limitations right now besides the above mentioned crime limitations.  Now, the way that I found out about Honeybriar is because my niece attends the school that is located there. So I had to throw in at least one question about the school! The region that the school is on also hosts a small outdoor mall. This mall is space that is dedicated to children's stores. So if you are a kid creator, jump over to Honeybriar to get a store space! I for one love to shop and I am also lazy. So please. Put your wares on my doorstep :D River: I know that you have a very beautiful school. Can you tell me a little about your 'idea' and plans for the school? Mrs Donovan: Honey Hill School accommodates all ages 3-18. We have a very active elementary group as well as a high school age group. My teachers amaze me. The way they can use their imaginations and come up with creative and very hands on lesson plans. It blows my mind. My idea of the school is to keep a reliable staff, teachers that will show up for classes always. That is most important, children deserve to not have classes canceled on them. Also to keep the school current with the latest things, HUDs, scripts etc, to make it a realistic experience. I want the children to be able to come and get the RP they desire playing a child or teen. I want them to go to school and learn new things and be able to express their individuality and their creativity.  I found a stunning park area that looks all set up for a band. The part I haven't shown is a more formal looking park with tons of flowers. I love the stage set up and the cafe tables set hidden in the trees. River: You already support the greater SL Family Community just by keeping Honeybriar alive. But what are ways that people who may be fans of this amazing town, but do not live or work here can be involved? Mrs Donovan: That is a great question as well! The thing about community is that is is exclusive. By renting here or working here you get all the community has to offer along with your rental :) So to answer that question; most all events hosted here will be exclusive to the people of Honeybriar. There you are readers! Now you HAVE to move here! *offers everyone Honeybriar brand koolaid*  River: What are your goals for the community? What can we The People expect! Mrs Donovan: Our main goals right now are to get people socializing and rping! We're working on a lot of events, as well as areas in town that are usable. My husband just finished an amazing public beach out on Coral Cay. We want to create places and things for people to do...and to use..and to engage with one another. That is what makes a community... A Community. So there you have it! One great community with owners that are ready to take it even further. My own experiences as a tenant have been great. The owners are fast to respond when there are difficulties. The covenant is easy to understand and doesn't take a year to read. And with so many options for role-play, literally everywhere. I have found my place in SL. I hope that some of you will find your place at Honeybriar too :) - River |
