Day: May 31, 2020

F.E.A.R. is the first region-wide design Yoon (Onyxxe) has attempted, as she notes in her profile and through her blog. While the name might sound as if it references a place that is intended to invoke a sense of dread – and is actually taken from a Stephen King novel (Doctor Sleep) – Yoon uses it in one of its two more familiar forms: Face Everything And Recover (the other being – for polite company – Forget Everything And Run), a term often used in dealing with addiction. In selecting the acronym, Yoon notes:

Another thing I did was attend a webinar from a UK health organization, helping people with anxieties and more … It was like someone shaking me up and telling me: You RUN instead of FACING it. Hiding in too much protection is safe but not always the best choice. So at that very moment I decided my RUNNING was over again. I kept my head together and spoke with and to myself a lot to get it back in shape for being the ‘Face Everything and Recover’ mind.  

– Yoon on the origins of FEAR as a region name

Given the resultant Homestead region design offers a place of rugged solitude, perhaps of a Scandinavian or North American origin, using it as a means to confront her anxieties and need to hide in isolation may seem odd, but it really isn’t.

This is because throughout this design, Yoon lays herself open in many ways. She has clearly put her entire creative heart into the region’s look and feel, which can be revealing enough; but it it also clear that she has poured her own desires and artistic soul into the look and feel of the two houses within the region – notably the larger of the two. Thus, in opening the region to visitors, she is figuratively baring her artistic heart for all to see, an act that absolutely requires facing one’s fears and pushes her into the spotlight.

And the results really are gorgeous. Backed by off-region mountains that don’t quite meet the landscaping but which nevertheless offer a feel for this being a mountainous coastal area, perhaps the upper reach of a fjord, they help present a place where water tumbles from falls to roll and tumble down a shallow rocky slope into the landward end of the fjord’s watery tongue.

As noted, two houses sit within the landscape, both on the edge of the rapids-like outflow of water. Both are open to the public, with the A-frame house on its high deck the nearest to the region’s landing point. It is easily reached by walking the south-pointing raised board walk that extends away from the latter, and over the first of several stone bridges to be found within the region. It is a house was a light, cosy look and feel set within a parcel offering a late evening / sunset environment.

The larger of the two houses – one that seems to have recently caught the eye of a number of region designers, as we’ve encountered it several times of late (and it is actually a design that is very well integrated that I’d love to make use of myself, although it is probably a little too roomy!) – also sits within a twilight environment setting. Here it forms a home-come-art studio, featuring a rich vein of 2D and 3D art from both the physical and virtual realms, with both it and the A-frame also revealing Yoon’s appreciation of the late David Bowie.

There are a number of places to set and / or enjoy the views across the region scattered around the setting await discovery. Getting to those on the east side may appear to be less than obvious at first glance due to the presence of the big house and the fact it has no obvious point of egress on that side, but just walk around it over the grass and you’ll find your way to where a further bridge spans the water to reach the eastern headland.

Highly photogenic, F.E.A.R. is rounded out by a rich sound scape and accompanied by Yoon’s blog post mentioned above, and that comes as recommended read. Our thanks to Shawn for the recommendation to visit!

SLurl Details

• F.E.A.R. Face Everything and Recover (Joep, rated Adult)