Lawd Above! Hey, it's da Valucre Blog, Innit.

Wotcha valucre, a 'special' update- this one's for ya (you kna 'oo ya 're). 

Blimey! What’s dis, da only tradishunal Valucre blog update fer dis monf is da last fer da month? Well, wiv da Valucre awards, da blog was turned a bi' mixed up, an' given what i' is a short month, we’re back ter da last update ov da monf again- funny 'ow what works out. Nuff said, yeah?

I kid, I kid- no full on updates in rhyming cockney- after a while, it even starts to grate on me a little. Anyway, yes this will be the final update of the month as it so turns out, but we will be back in March with fresh content and more promises for changes that never happen at the pace they are promised (I really have to stop taking my lessons from Tebo ;P ).Lor' luv a duck! All da bollocks aside. Know what I mean--er, all the bullshitting aside, let's get this blog going. 

What's Happening Valucre?

The Chosen: Round Three Continues- ;-;

Veelos Event - Fete Ghede- I feel like I should have covered this ages ago, but we were neck deep in the Valucre awards stuff. Let me start by saying that the amount of work put into this event is just jaw dropping *amazing*. Hats off to those who did all the legwork in planning and development. Anyway, here’s the scoop my readers: Get this, vital port town under limited supervision, unchecked crime still in full force, combined with a new drug, dead magic users and fortune tellers, and the invading presence of a very familiar evil… recipe for disaster? All your missing is a bit spice- oh wait, got that too, in the form of a headless witch given life again who with the aid Pale Kings, looks to burn the city to the ground.

A new drug called Banda is making the rounds, turning ordinary folk into giggling, murderous psychopaths intent on setting everything aflame. The drug-afflicted murderers, who vomit their infected blood into the mouths of others, force  those that declined the drug to join the merriment. Soon, the delirium spreads and even the unwilling are participating in the city’s ruin. Most of the guard is lost, the only hope a small thieves guild holding out against the onslaught. Of course, all this is just the appetizer, a distraction meant to keep you sated while the main course is cooked up. What’s in store for you? Well, let’s just say that D’eon never fails to deliver. Want to play a hero, a bad guy, or just some poor schmuck stuck in the middle? Read up here.

Open Event at the Gaian Academy- Hey, remember how the Gaian academy sort of got destroyed? Yeah, bad times for the academy, but things are looking up now! The academy is getting back up on its feet, kicking off a new year of success, and moving forward. They are opening new expansions and welcoming the new ties with the recently discovered land of Nich’e, where new field trips and other opportunities will come abound. And hey- if you want to be in an RP thread with a half-naked woman running around, you can fulfill your teenage fantasies here. Come back to school- they promise (sorta) you won’t almost die this time.

Idiocrasis- Well, the biggest nerd gathering today for Valucre was Jordan Con, but this might rival that yet- an RP where you play yourself, in that old traditional tavern setting. It’s been tossed around, but the idea looks fun and it’s a good way to chill out with some more casual stuff. Believe it or not, character sheets are a must, but after that, it’s open posting. Put up a bit about yourself (first post of the interest check has a sample) and go join the fun- especially if you miss the IRL meeting opportunities. Click here govna!

A Cruise With Sky Pirates- A cruise, a wonderful, pleasant, perfectly ordinary cruise- nothing could ever go wrong. It's not like the captain of this airship is some swarthy swashbuckler looking to rob the passengers blind. It couldn't be that the ship is entirely manned by this pirate crew and everyone on board has been duped into taking a cruise to lighter pockets. No, never could be that you might have an opportunity to get in on a role-play as a passenger or as a pirate, or as a pirate pretending to be a passenger- or perhaps a passenger being a pirate, or best yet, a passenger pretending to be a pirate who is pretending to be a passenger masquerading as a goat milker... wait, I lost track of this. Hey- lots of opportunity to RP here and it involves Sky Pirates- enough said!

Get Ready Terrenus- A brand new island is on the way, the name you’ll soon have on the tip of your tongue- San Yara, a recently discovered land by Terrenus traders. Trade agreements were quickly made and this city has been brought into the fold of Terrenus, though its governing of the land is loosely based, given the distance between the island and the mainland. This new land will be unlike anything seen in Terrenus and feature new religion, culture, creatures, politics and more. The land is not fully set up yet, but you can find out more from this thread. 

Raven's Landing: Stolen Birds- An ill-timed calamity indeed, Raven's Landing has found their best breeding pair of their Ravens, Ospreys, and Crows stolen right out of the rookery. Normally, they would have some foot soldiers hot on the thieves trails, but they picked a poor time for Raven's Landing to have such a calamity- their troops are spread out, defending the shore lines in preparation of a rumored pirate attack, which also required they beef up military presence on shipping vessels. There has been numerous bandit attacks in the outlying areas, and some places further to the northwest required assistance as well- disastrous timing! Some topnotch rewards are offered for this gig, so I highly suggest you get on down and see what you can claim- only a couple spots left! 

Featured Read of the Month- I have a good one- nay, a great one for you folks this month. The story is only just beginning to unfold, but already it has begun setting the stage for something bigger to come, all while giving good focus to the unfolding events. It’s definitely one of the best reads I have had in a while and when I say I thoroughly enjoyed it, I mean that I sat here eating it up. Wish the thread had more posts to it, but I suppose like any good story that is in progress, I will have to wait for the continuing updates. One of the three writers of this one is a blog regular, but he’s definitely not the only one bringing powerhouse writing to this thread- all three are fantastic.

Congratulations to Discord, King, and The Hummingbird for being the authors’ of this month’s featured thread!

Of Monsters and Men


The thread starts out with King’s character conversing with an NPC while watching the slave auctions, waiting for a prime sample to it the block. The conversation halts abruptly when a new slave is brought out, one who fights back defiantly and spits in the NPC’s face. As it turns out, this one is a former Edgemaster (The Hummingbird) and still feisty as can be, a prize among slave masters looking for one they can ‘break-in’ themselves. Elijah (King) marks this slave as his chosen product, sealing the deal with a ‘kiss’. It is about then that the business associate, a succubus, comes in and steals the attention of everyone male. She turns heads and intoxicates everyone with her presence, drastically shifting how everyone behaves.  

The auction of the former edgemaster begins, leading to record highs on the bids, everyone intent on claiming this one for their own. Melkavia (The succubus, by Discord) uses her innate talents to twist a man into buying the slave for them. The edgemaster purchased and now in their possession, Elijah takes the man back to their dwelling, where he is introduced to the already broken and trained slaves of the household. Elijah decides not to waste time, getting acquainted with his new piece of property by starting off with some torture that in this world of the damned- is a form of shaking hands. 

Ripping off his thumbnail. 

This story has only just begun, but the writing is stellar- make sure to check it out. 

Lore of the Week!

Lore pages are being overhauled, and this section will likely reflect that as well- stay tuned... 

Newly Awarded!

The regular awards are not back yet, but we just had a slew of awards go out for this year's awards of 2013. The results are posted, but if you somehow missed them, here are the results:

Most Improved: Black Rock Shooter

Hero of the Year: Theoren, played by Deviant

Villain of the Year: Alexander, played by King

Best New Member: Refrigerator

Rp of the Year: The Tea Party

Rper of the year: Aleskei 

Fan Favorites: Acies ab Vesania, Aleskei, King, Pasion Pasiva, Praetorian, Supernal, & The Hummingbird

Congrats to you all!

New Members and Returns! 

This section is being renovated, so I got nothing for this week, sorry. >>

Other Highlights?

You change the content your new posts shows- Yep, if you haven't figured it out on your own yet (or you are brand new to the site), you can change up the content you are looking at under new posts by clicking on the varying options to your left. You can search the forum, new members, or the portal. You can change up the time periods and apply filters- it is really quite helpful!

Did You Know-  Sticky threads. They are there for a reason and they have some important meaning- turns out, they might be getting overlooked. Take a look at the rest of this update here. You can search for all the 'Did You Knows' by going to this place. 

Closing Thoughts?

Courage.

You might be asking yourself right about now- hey, what does this have to do with writing?

Everything of course.

It takes courage to begin seriously working on that novel of yours, and it takes even more to tackle the long an arduous process of editing the damn thing. It takes courage to face this thing before you, to wrestle it into submission and put something that flows on paper. Talking about writing and courage is something that could go on for pages upon pages, so doing that today is not my goal (nor something I would want to do in a single writing session). Instead, let’s think about daring to write, even when you know it sucks.

Okay, maybe it doesn’t ‘suck’, but I bet even in your least frustrated moments, even when you feel ‘okay’ about your writing (do us writers ever feel that way?) you could name dozens of people who are better than you. You will have an easier time naming off a dozen people who outclass you by miles than you will naming published authors you feel you outdo in quality (okay, E.L James is a given). When we get to thinking about the giants in the world of writing, it’s easy to get intimidated, dismayed, frustrated by how far behind you are.

Temptation burns, and soon that acid in the back of your throat becomes a constant reminder of your desire to quit. The question is- are you going to pop a tums and then grin and bear it, or are you going to throw in the towel and call the quits?

Quitting is easy, oh so easy. All you got to do is just relinquish the effort, ignore the urge, and despite how consuming and maddening it is, that urge will go silent, when put off enough. Sure, it might kick and scream for a while, but if you smother it with a pillow, soon all you’re left with is this twitching body- and hey, twitching isn’t so hard to ignore. Quitting is easy, but finishing- well now, that’s the trick.

Practice courage- the courage to suck, to be leagues behind the best writers and those you emulate and respect. Have the courage to hold yourself to compare yourself to their level and fall far short, that next level seemingly miles away. Have that courage to keep writing, keep getting back up, brushing off the dust and going back to working on that story, because that story is –your- story. Who else can tell it but you?

Sure, the writing you put out might not be great- and it will never be the best. Because there can only be ‘one best’ and when you account for billions of people writing throughout this day and age and all of history- the odds are so abysmally tiny that you’ll be the one, you need to toss out that notion now. You will never be the best. You’ll most likely never reach the level of ‘amongst the greatest’- but perhaps you can be good. Perhaps you can be great- but no matter where you land, the stories you write will be that unique part of -you-.

There will be a uniqueness to those characters and tale that come from you, genuine work that is all your own and not borrowed from elsewhere. That’s the material we want, that’s what we need to see. Don’t be afraid to dig down deep, into the darkest reaches of yourself and give to the world those unique tales. This is courage in writing- being okay with mediocrity and that constant battle to improve, that long lasting journey towards being okay, or decent, and perhaps- just maybe great. That journey is long and hard, but it starts with being brave.

Being okay with failing.

Being okay with sharing the most vulnerable parts of yourself.

This is your craft, this is your work, but if you have something important enough to you to be shared and told, make sure that the story never goes unheard.

Have courage.

And if you struggle at first- its okay, keep pushing, keep growing. This entry is as much for all of you as it is for me. We're in this together- let's take this journey and go. 

Stay writing my friends.

-          Acies

"Start telling the stories that only you can tell, because there’ll always be better writers than you and there’ll always be smarter writers than you. There will always be people who are much better at doing this or doing that — but you are the only you." ~ Neil Gaiman