Blast From The Past - Bleu Ruse Cafe

By Cyfir (cyfiremmerich)

Back when I used to work at Fox Haven, there was a little cafe called the Bleu Ruse Cafe which was owned by Arcee Redclaw. It was a nice place to sit and chill and a great alternative to the bumping night-life of the club on the same sim. There were live performances and DJs, but it was much more relaxed than your typical Second Life club. The hosts were actually bartenders. The decor and atmosphere reminded me of a southern restaurant or bar and the staff were very hospitable. It all had a southern hospitality vibe to it. I loved hanging out there and I missed it so much that I asked Arcee to put a mini version of it on my current parcel. The cafe itself went through many alterations over the course of nearly three years and at one point there were two of them; one at Fox Haven and a bigger version on the emergency responder roleplay sim called Rochester.

I had a chance to sit down with Arcee and talk to her about her previous ventures with her cafe. When asked what inspired her to start Bleu Ruse Cafe she told me that it first came about because of an opportunity at Fox Haven. “When I first joined the community of Fox Haven there were a few empty buildings which the staff offered up for personal storefronts or places to relax. I’ve always wanted to run sort of. . .a cafe or small lounge, so I took the opportunity to do so. I turned it into a small lounge where people could play Second Life instruments or DJ and it grew from there.” She says that the growth of the cafe was thanks to community involvement. The French naming scheme originated from her French background. “Bleu Renard Cafe was a bit. . .weird. . .so I went with Bleu Ruse Cafe since it rolled off the tongue better. So, in a way, it’s ‘Blue Smart Cafe’ when translated properly.” The color scheme was inspired by the blue fox avatar that she originally used at the start. She still has the avatar saved in her inventory to remember things by.

When asked what she liked most about running the cafe, she told me that it was the connections that she made. “I met many of my closest Second Life friends through them finding their way to the place or through the ones who helped it to grow and thrive. I would have never imagined meeting all these folks. Every time Bleu Ruse Cafe is brought up, people tend to have fond memories of the place.” She feels like she did her job at making a fun and relaxed venue and I would have to agree. “BRC grew in a way that was unimaginable and astounding and it was never because of the amount of funding that I put towards it or the hours I spent remodeling. It was the patrons and the staff that made the place come alive.

It was a community, of sorts. From Ace Redclaw being my Security, Midnight Galaxis being my General Manager, and Raff aiding me with the DJs; it was thanks to them and the loyal patrons that BRC lasted as long as it did. With the closing of Fox Haven as well as Rochester, Bleu Ruse Cafe closed with them, but it’s memory as well as a smaller form on my parcel lives on today.

Cyfir

Reader Submitted: Blast From the Past - Fox Haven

by Cyfir (cyfiremmerich Resident)

There are many places in Second Life which inspire a sense of community, but Fox Haven was very special in this regard. Many of the former members are still friends to this day, even if they no longer use Second Life. Now no community is without controversy, and the main community ultimately ended up folding long after it left the Second Life platform, but I will not be focusing on that controversy out of respect for the parties involved. I will instead be focusing on the good times and what made this community special. It was my first true home in Second Life and I was once good friends with the founder. So let’s take a ride to the past and visit what was Fox Haven!

It all started with Slavasesh. He had felt that there wasn’t a safe place for him, his friends, and others to hang out at within Second Life. He ended up renting a parcel. The early members helped to name the community and it became Fox Haven. As the community grew, he eventually used his resources to rent a sim. The sim eventually included a city in the sky level and a forest on the ground level. It’s popularity grew and his one sim quickly grew to two interconnected sims and he began renting out homes on both sims. I first found the sim through a friend named Anthony. I soon ended up renting a home there and quickly became friends with the owner. I started out my Second Life career there, picking up stray prims, doing “sim checks” every day. I slowly worked my way up to other roles such as DJ, club manager, sim manager, and eventually sim co-owner along with Slavsesh and Digimbyte.

I actually never originally wanted to be in any role of power, but I was fond of everyone there and I really believed in the spirit of the community and wanted to contribute in any way that I could. Thus, I took on any role and helped out with anything I could. All the core members of Fox Haven were close and supported each other and helped each other grow. At one point, a user named Acey had a previous partner and friend pass away. The community came together to support him and keep his head in the right place. In his own words: “Fox Haven as a whole provided me with a place in Second Life that felt safe where I didn’t feel afraid to approach people because everyone was friendly and I could almost always count on someone there to cheer me up by making me laugh with jokes or funny gestures; sharing the latest creations or gathering in their houses and watching media together. I didn’t have many real life friends at the time so it definitely contributed to a positive state of mind, knowing that these random avatars in SL weren’t just pretending, they genuinely wanted to hang out and have a good time. I felt welcome.” This was a sentiment that most members, including myself, agreed with and it’s what kept us logging in every day to hang out or do our part to keep the community thriving.

One of the biggest contributors to the sim was a pink deer named Dawny. Even when he left Second Life to focus on his real life business, he would return to donate L to keep the sim going. One of the first clubs on the sim was named after him and called Up ‘til Dawny’s. Even with Dawny not around, the name stayed for much of the sim’s life. At one point I had messaged Dawny on FurAffinity and he was surprised that the name was still in use years later. The club featured many talented DJs, a couple of which were DJs and producers in real life. I learned how to DJ and make flawless transitions between songs from one of them. The club was mainly a great place to chill and have a good time with friends. It eventually got a new name (Future Haze) and a beautiful new sci-fi minimalist building with a fish tank glass floor created out of smart objects by Digimbyte.

As time went on, it got harder to keep two sims going and Slavasesh eventually moved to just one sim. I was there at his real life house when he purchased and originally set up the new sim. However, Second Life was changing, and smaller tight-knit communities were suffering. On top of this, real life was pulling Slavasesh away and it got to a point where it wasn’t worth keeping a full sim going for a hangout spot. Despite this, Slavasesh kept the sim going as long as he could, because he didn’t want his friends to no longer have a home on Second Life. Despite his commendable efforts, it got to a point where he just couldn’t keep things going, and many logged in one day to find the sim gone. However, the community lived on in Discord, and many of the core members are still friends to this day and keep the core values alive.

Cyfir

Looking Back at Furry Desires

By Bixyl Shuftan

Skylark LeFavre is known in the Sunweaver/Angels community as both a DJ and the manager of the Happy Vixen Beach club. But before she joined up with them, early on in her time in Second Life: Furry Desires.

"First club I worked for before I had my own successful club (was) Ari Sen," Skylark explained to me, "I was a highly paid pink Kani pole dancer. The owners were DJs, and my friends. But drama from a patron divided the club. Now my ex-bosses and friends have their own club, 'Hearts of Gold,' the space phoenix steampunk club. Without them, I would not (have)  taken an interest and learned everything I know. They  set me on my course. The money poledancing then was good, like 10 to 15,000 Linden dollars. But it left me feeling empty. I needed more. I talked with a friend, and we started Furry Desires."

"This was back in early 2009. We were a hangout. We accepted furries, humans, nekos, pretty much anyone. We handled all griefers silently. The owner of the 'Scuzzie Fuzzies' avatars line did security. She also made the final club building. I was co owner and a hostess many loved, complimented about my notices after each event. We had a place for people to cuddle and sit. We had a floor for skating too. Our danceball was made from scratch, well, most things were. We had a smart dance ball. You had furries, humans, taurs, ferals, tinies, etc. The danceball would see what you were and it would choose the appropriate dance for you."

I asked about the danceball, and Skye talked about the person who made it, "Byrnt was a telecommunications programmer. when I ran and hosted events ... (he) made danceballs that networked with ours. This was literally the beginning of using things via UUID. Somehow it saw the kind of av you wore and selected poses meant for it. It never ever made a mistake."

Skye told me he ran into Brynt about three months before the opening of the club at the Isle of Wyrms. Another of the people there was Tsume Serapis, "a friend I met at Alchera Medieval RP. She was our DJ manager. Byrnt more or less set up the image of the club as it was to be run and I had a lot of people skills and kept everyone  happy  and wanting to come back. It was us and the DJs we hired. I did all of the hosting on top of managing." When they encountered a problem, "We ... thought on it and came up with new ways to handle it without letting anyone know. I was the one who delt with the Av vendor people. ... We also had a mall for other things Byrnt and others made. ... Furry Desires (also) had a penthouse suite."

"This did not happen overnight," Skye told me, "It took a lot of work and a lot of time. We were each doing more than one job. We came up with new ideas then thought on them on the best way to do them. Mind you back then there were no dance poles, no contest boards. We simply didn't need them. We were a family safe club, we didn't do nudity or sex, and we were a hangout. People came for fun times good  music and the company. The atmosphere was family oriented. No one ever talked abouty unhappy things. People back then knew what to keep out of places like ours."

The club went on for a while, but then trouble came, Skye explained that Byrnt, "had enough to retire on until his job was cut, and the house fire" after his home had already been damaged, "from Kirinia sucked up all he had. He moved to ******** with his parents and went on disability." For a time, the sim and club continued, "it went on for three months after he lost his job. How? Tips. A sim paid for by tips. You tell me that is not a mark of a  legend? In the end though, we closed it with intentions of reopening it when we could."

Skye did say it was "likely" the club would be back one day, "Byrnt came back to SL, said he had been  learning to do stuff to make things to sell to retore  Furry Desires, and wanted me to resume my place." But Skye felt if the club came back, it would be far from the same place, "Furry Desires was the best years I ever had on SL. Not a day goes by I don't miss what we had. I see what clubs are now, and there is just no way for us to adapt to what clubs are. Furry Desires coming back, (we) will have to make changes we don't want. No one comes (to clubs) for what we offered at Furry  Desires. ... What I want may never exist angain the way I loved and remember."

Besides The Happy Vixen, Skylark also DJs at the Eternal Desires club, and occasionally at Club Cutlass and Club Zero Gravity. But she never forgets the place she helped run years ago.

Bixyl Shuftan

Bay City: Reminiscences

 By Gemma Cleanslate

Bay City. I cannot believe it is seven years since Bay City appeared on the map. I remember visiting the newly formed lands that were almost empty at the time. My early recollections are of an open area with tree lined paths a large pond with plants around. I recall empty marked roads waiting for traffic and well ordered canals with bridges connecting the areas. I am sure I took a ride on a boat along the canals and also a ride on a trolley car that gave me an overview of the lands. I think I passed an industrial area along the ride. It is hard to remember much more. One thing I do  delight in, I learned to bowl there in Bay City. It was great fun. I wish I could access the article I did at the time for the SL Newspaper, but it is lost in the mist of the internet somewhere. It was in my early days so everything new was a great adventure . 

 

“Bay City is a mainland community, developed by Linden Lab™ and home to the Bay City Alliance. The Bay City Alliance was founded in 2008 to promote the Bay City regions of Second Life™ and provide a venue for Bay City Residents and other interested parties to socialize and network.”  I took that quote from the profile of the Bay City Alliance Group description.

The Bay city of today is so different from back then. It is a vibrant community holding events that are lots of fun and inviting everyone to attend. The Fairgrounds in the North Channel  is the place for great vintage car expo, flea markets,  parties for the Moles of Second Life every year. Citizens are very fond of the Moles who built the regions . There is a party to chose the Miss Bay City every year and so much more. Actually you can read all about the history of the area in the second life wiki . http://wiki.secondlife.com/wiki/Bay_City

 

I went over to look around again before their 7th anniversary next weekend and reminisce on the early days and the massive changes that have taken place. I stopped off at the community center but it was early and no one was there yet. If you visit there you can pick up their flag, a tee shirt, see some artifacts of the past and events and read abut the history on placards set up by Marianne McCann, a prominent citizen. On the wall there is an excellent map of Bay City as it is today. Click and you will get a list of the  landmarks.  I stopped over at the Harbor which is a vibrant area full of boats.There is an infohub at Moose beach where I made a visit. I took a look at the Hau Koda airport and the Cafe Deco. The Amusement Park is a fun place to visit as is the Bayou Theater. I missed the canal trolley sorry to say, but will go try to catch it when I can.  I was able to catch the other trolley for a ride along the roads . 

 

At the end of the line I found my bowling alley in Handa. This was the point of my first visit those many years ago. It was a great thrill! Ah, the olden days...  I am so looking forward to the parade along route 66 on Sunday May 17 at 12:30 PM SL time ! It will be a great time! 

 

Hope to see  you there in Bay City! http://slnewser.blogspot.com/2015/05/press-release-bay-city-celebrates-its.html

 

Gemma Cleanslate