Drawing to a Close

The final day together, what a ride it was. It was the perfect blend of fun, awesome, and much needed mellowness after a night filled with as much excitement and fun that we had on Saturday. To be honest, I was rather surprised that I was able to get up at all that following day, considering how absolutely worn out I was after all that dancing and running around. There was a bit of a scare (as Vintage already admitted, there was a run-in with dehydration that came unexpectedly), but in the end, all things worked out, and this trip ended itself perfectly.

I find it a bit funny (but cool at the same time) that as it would work out, all of us ended up attending the same panels at the end of the final day (apparently, we are all interested in violence and how to plot it ;)). It made planning the next part of our day much easier, since we knew that there had to be at least one final chance for all of us to go eat together. Now, given that Stone was a director in the con, we knew he would have to stay over a while longer, and so we would have to find a way to keep busy until he could head out with us. It was about that time that word got around that a fellow Valucre compatriot was feeling left out, since they were unable to go- and so it was decided:

We needed to hold an Unvalucre from Atlanta session!

Despite some shitty wifi coupled with too many laptops trying to run at the same time, we had a rather good session. Many of you guys showed up to hang out with us, possibly against your will, given that a certain person disabled the site and gave a redirect link to the unvalchat in lieu of forum access- yeah, the number of people joining us ended up spiking after that, ha ha. I appreciated it, personally, as I really enjoyed sharing what we had going with all the rest of you out there. This weekend was full of incredible awesome, and it just nearly defied reason when you think about how well everyone clicked, and how natural it seemed for a dozen of us to be crammed into a small hotel room to hang out and have a good time.

It also gave me some time to work on the blog, though I still did not get that Saturday night update up until nearly 24hrs after the events had taken place (and here I am posting up the early Monday update nearly 48hrs late 0_o).

Anyway, I promised you a few pics, and unfortunately, I really do only have a few this time around. We were rather busy on Sunday during the con hours, and afterwards, we just weren’t thinking about pictures as much. I suppose that, by this time, we were just getting too used to hanging out to feel the need to snap off pictures every few minutes. ;)

Great group of folks down there- Rouini, Redemption, Blue Shoelaces, Vintage, Fallen Joy (she's hiding), Aleksei, Circa.Cipher, & Aperion.

Another great group of people down on this end: Corban (Taking a picture), Malum (hiding),  Ran Iji, The Hummingbird, and Aperion again!

I stole this from Corban's facebook (see, add me as a friend, and I am already borrowing your stuff!), this one he dubbed, 'Valucre's Last Supper'- I think it is appropriate :). All those pictured have been mentioned, save for Vasanti, who sits opposite the Hummingbird (sorta, Hummingbird sits opposite King, but all you get to see is his magnificent hand, but Vasanti sat next to him).

Is that it?

Well, in terms of pictures, yes, that is all I have left to offer. If anyone else had pics from that night, I will gladly accept them from you and put them up, but otherwise, what you see up here is all I got from that final magical night. Honestly, I really should have taken pictures of us who were playing Texas Holdem for Vb (Myself, Aperion, Blue Shoelaces, Malum, Redemption), because what could be funnier than people from Valucre gambling with Valucre monies. Beyond that though, Sunday was mostly chill, other than the scare we had at the end of the night (Props to Ran for all that running he did). The rest of the night slowly transitioned into the people drifting away, each going their separate ways as the time came on. For myself, it ended with Vintage and the Hummingbird crashed out while Aperion and I chatted it up for an hour, before I too had to rouse the others and make off for the airport. 

It was a great end to a great trip, and with that, I move on to the closing thoughts. 

Closing Thoughts?

What would be one of my blogs without closing thoughts? After all, we have had updates just chock full of highlights and tales of all the happenings that took place at Jordan con- and believe me, if you were not feeling the slightest bit envious, then I think I have failed in my job entirely. This went beyond simply being an awesome experience- this was much more than that. Others already touched upon it to some degree, describing how they felt they were among kindred spirits, the people who understood them and could share in that side of life that few others comprehend. This is true- this was our opportunity to meet others who understand that… clandestine life and culture we share.

It is not often that you get to sit down in person with someone and have a discussion on the finer points of T-1, or past exploits, or on writing and role-playing. No, generally these discussions are had with the people you only know through the computer, these discussions occurring over forums, messenger, and sometimes a video chat medium. If you were to try and explain this stuff to some outside observer, at best you will get a funny look, at worst a person who feels tempted to sock you in the face, purely because of your nerdgasming that they have no ability to comprehend or appreciate.

Yet, during this trip, those discussions happened, and it all seemed natural.

If this were the only thing we found in common, the trip might not have seemed so magical. Yes, it is nice to have a group of fellow RP nerds to have those goofy discussions with, such as tricks in T-1, or listening to Corban tell you about how his namesake’s character could destroy an army with a toothpick, but it would get to be a bit boring after a while. If that were all that we had in common, we would find that these things could just go back to being discussed online, and no more would need to come of it.

As it turned out, we have a great deal more in common than that.

That is perhaps what was most interesting of all. We did not run out of things to do, or talk about while we hung out. Our discussions moved fluidly, going from things that pertained to Valucre, role-play, other nerd activities, the con itself, and soon to things entirely unrelated. We were able to come up with things to do that had nothing to do with the necessarily ‘nerdy’ activities that we participate in, but instead a great many other things. We found we had much more in common, and that those bonds we all claim to share- well, they truly do transcend the bounds of what occurs online.

I am not someone who feels comfortable in large groups, or among several new people- I can fake it until I make it, but that is a conscious effort, not something I do naturally and on my own. I know this to be true of at least a couple others who came, especially evidenced by their initial shyness and silence. Meeting new people is scary, and you feel unsure of how it will go or how they will react to you. And yet… I can only speak for myself, in terms of what I felt, but I would say by the end of the day Friday, any initial apprehension I felt was gone- melted away by the end of that game of Cards Against Humanity we played that night. I realized that I really was among extended family, and that having known some of these folks for a number of years… it really did translate into that real life situation- it felt like I was among old friends I had known forever.

This was not the first meeting, but just a different sort of meeting.

I cannot speak for the feelings of others, but I did notice that a couple of our quieter, shyer people were opening up by the end of that weekend. They engaged with people a lot more, even as the amount of people present increased. To me, it was just one way of showing how much this felt ‘right’. These were the same people I knew from over the internet, and it was amazing how incredibly comfortable you began to feel around them. As Ran put it on the forums- you got to spend the weekend with some wonderful folks, sharing the same air, walls, and in some cases, beds, with these people.

Now, stepping away from the meeting itself for a few minutes, I must point out that the Jordancon was a terrific experience itself. There were great panels, wonderful people, and much to see. If you are someone who is interested in pursuing writing as a career (or even just to improve yourself as a hobbyist), there was a great deal here to take benefits from. It made this trip all that much more worth it, and if you are someone in a similar situation, I am just going to put it to you simply: Between meeting Valucre’s coolest members, and getting great writing advice and tips from established writers, there is absolutely no reason why you should not be there next year.

They are already putting together a great lineup for next year.

I cannot effectively put into words how great this experience was- partially because I am cannot think of anything that really captures how awesome it was, and partially because I am still suffering from travel fatigue- ha ha. The time I spent here both learning about writing and getting to hang out with people who are as passionate about writing and/or role-play as I am made this into one of the best experiences of my life. Talk about attending next year came up before the weekend even ended- you can be sure that short of something disastrous arising, I will be there again. We’re talking about trying to stay a little more organized next year- I intend to be involved in that process, to help people get out here, have a place to stay, etc.

Aperion suggested volunteering at Jordancon- I just might do that.

Interestingly, this experience is just the first of several planned. I am due for an air-hockey match with Rob this summer (you might beat me at chess, but I will get you on the table ><) and a meeting with a couple others for later on this summer as well. Strange, how this has turned into the first of many meetings to come, and how soon I will get to many more of you out there.

Valucre, you have shown me that you are my extended family, and I am glad to have met you.

And so, as the wind touches upon the final words of this blog, we find that this is not the end, for there is no ending as far as friends and family are concerned. This is not the end, but it is, an ending.  

Until next week-

Acies

A Night at the Ball

And so Valucre crashes the ball, and steals the show.

After a day of hitting numerous panels and crossing paths long enough to grab food and whatnot, the majority of the Valucre crew came back together to attend the Tar Valon Ball. Our dressed was a mixed bag, due to different rumors circulating as to what the theme was and was not. As it turns out, there really was not any such theme, so it worked out nonetheless. :P

Now, it has to figure, we get everyone together to head out to a dance, and only myself and the Hummingbird went out on to the dance floor... at first. See, when you point out to others that the overweight guy and the clumsiest member of Valucre are the two out on the floor, people start to feel a little silly. Of course, a couple others took some stronger encouragement (nudging and up to getting thrown into the throngs, ha) but pretty soon, we had every single one of the attendees out on that floor. 

Now, an interesting thing happened- with about a dozen Valucre folk out there dancing, we started takiong over the entire dance floor, with the majority of others standing back and watching. Well, that is all but this one creepy fellow. You'll be seeing him in the upcoming pics, but this guy was just one of the first weird people we encountered. This guy was working his way into dancing with our group, trying to grind with our womenz, and at like he belonged there. Creepy as all get out, and it led to three of us (Corban, Ran, and myself) all to begin our prepping- there was very nearly a real T-1 fight. Especially with the addition of a couple other weird people trying hard to hit on the Valucre women. 

Now, the Valucre womenz were not the only ones. Much to my chagrin, I had an older women wink at me (apparently blow kisses ((blehhh))) and later on another girl trying to join me everywhere I went, despite clearly being with another person. Poor Malum was hit on by the organizer of the ball herself, who kept calling him adorable, wanting him to stay, asking him to stay longer, etc. So, if we can do a what did we learn session from this night, we can conclude that Valucreans know how to take over a dance, and that we are some sexy mother fuckers. 

Speaking of which, the pics!

[Dance Attendees: Acies, The Hummingbird, Aleksei, Vintage, Cira.Cipher, Vasanti, Fallen Joy, Redemption, Ran Iji, Corban, Aperion (as a director), Malum (part of it).]

The attendees:

At the Ball itself

Princess Jasmine???

Fashionable

Not sure what was going on back there...

Yep, this writer is a major dork

Sometimes, things got a little inappropriate

Nette really did get her dance...

And what would this be, without the creepers.

We had a couple other creepers, but it looks like we did not get pics of them. This one was, by and large, the absolute worst. Just look at how he was always trying to get in on our group- male and female, it did not matter!

That is the blog for Saturday night, an update for Sunday night will probably show up monday afternoon.

Valucrecon Day Two: A Convention of Awesome

And There is Still More to Come...

We are now through with day two of the con, and many more memories are cast and forged. The convention itself took off as of this morning, and I'll tell you, some of the stuff here is pretty damn awesome, especially if you are a WoT fan like myself. I saw some absolutely amazing artwork, people rocking elaborate costumes, in addition to all the fine content they are presenting. As for the group, we all went our separate directions during the daytime portion, hitting up the seminars that each of us wanted to attend, but there were a couple different points where everyone regrouped, one such time being when Jana Oliver (A published author) came out and chilled for more than two hours, and later on when we all met back up in the hotel room for some Crimes Against Humanity (the game!).

Tomorrow is going to be an even busier day, with much more on the schedule to appeal to the aspiring writers, as well as the Ball at the end of the day. You can be certain that there will be a great deal of pictures stemming from all of that, but in the meantime, I have plenty of things to be showing you for today as well. :)

Crimes Against Humanity, our group certainly proved that there is something severely wrong with all of us. King, Vasanti, Malum, Rodger, Bloosh, The Hummingbird, Circa.Cipher, myself, and later on Vintage all participated!

King and Aleksei were fighting over who get's to keep stone. 

                                      

This conflict was resolved via a compromise not ending well for Stone

Kat 'pimpin' her 'bitches'

Sometimes, we see things differently (left) than Kat sees them (Right). 

This is King's Ass. Yes, this is how it turned out when he turned it towards Nette. Even his ass is a better T-1er than you.

Some things need no further captioning ;)

Dinner at Red Lobster

Valucrecon Day One: A Gathering of Fifteen

Wow, that is a lot of Valucreans! 

That's right, through rain and shine, turbulent rides and flights that seemed like they would never happen, fifteen members of Valucre managed to converge together and all in one place, and like old friends meeting after years gone by, the flow of conversation came generously and without awkwardness. We were laughing, joking, talking about Valucre and things unrelated, just 15 different souls from different places and different walks of life, linked by one common place- and apparently much, much more. 

This first night went without a great deal of activity, because getting here for some of us was a battle in and of itself. Lightning storms and heavy rain delayed The Hummingbird's and mine flight to Chicago, where we were to transfer off for Atlanta. Once we finally made it to Chicago, we were delayed yet again, and thus ended up in Atlanta much, much later. Meanwhile, Redemption and her group braved that very same weather, driving through that nasty mess in pursuit of making it to this con. We came together later in the day and with a great deal of weariness- our exuberance still came forth in abundance, but it is clear that any excitement will have to come later this weekend. 

So, who made it, and what did we learn?

Well, you had:

Acies, The Hummingbird, Aperion, Malum, Aleksei Vintage, King, Vasanti, Ran Iji, Corban, Circa.Cipher, Redemption, Blue Shoelaces, Rouini, and Fallen Joy.

Now, as to what we learned...

Ran Iji and Corban are in fact two different people 

However, they are working on it.

 You do not want to know what the next step entailed. All I can say is that Corban ended up face down on the bed..

.

We learned that Vasanti does in fact smile:

Too late! Next time, perhaps you will think about that before forgetting to check the blog during the weekend of updates, or skipping out entirely on the Jordancon.

Of course,  we did a lot more than just learn. We had some serious fun. With that, I leaving you with a montage of photos:

These two are silly. 

None of us are sure what Corban was doing....

 

Kat liked this pillow A LOT

Stone and Aleksei, long lost siblings

Annnnnnd what did Bloosh think of the meeting today?

 

This, and much more to come. Stay tuned. :)

    

The Wheel of Time Turns, and Ages Come to Pass...

Leaving Memories That Become Legend

Legends fade to myth and even myth is long forgotten when the Age that gave it birth comes again. In one Age, called the Third age by some, an Age yet to come, an Age long past, a wind of change rose up from the ranks of Valucre.com. The wind was not the beginning. There are neither beginnings nor endings to the turning of the Wheel of Time. But, it was a beginning.

That wind blew from the furthest reaches of the north and the deepest passes in the south, it rose from lands to the east and it flowed from outpourings to the west. From where it came mattered not, for it was where that wind blew that created the pattern. The wind touched upon a car filled with laughter and voices, baked goods and the immeasurable excitement of young folk chasing fate. Soon the wind carried past several airborne pieces of metal, each with many lives and many paths, this pattern concerned with only a chosen few. 

Other still it touched and passed, guiding men and women from all parts of the lands to come together. 

Welcome to your Valucre/Jordan Con Special Edition Blog ;)

What's Happening Valucre?

Valucrecon- Absolutely, this is heading up your What's Happening for the week. Valucrecon (Well, really a Valucre gathering at the Jordan Con) is officially beginning. Already, one member has gone out and met another, and it certainly did not take long for the first death threat to be ushered- how many more of those to come? With many more soon to fall into suit with these meetings, you can expect much more excitement to begin brewing. This writer himself prepares to leave in a mere few hours and make a quick trip up to PDX. So, what is on the itinerary at this point? Jordan Con stuff of course, but some of us are talking Six Flags and a trip up to Senoia, to go check out The Walking Dead filming sites. Now, there is talk of potential felonies occurring should Norman Reedus be present, but rest assured- I will stand back and laugh.

Anyway, as a final treat, take a look at the shirts we are going to be wearing (SPOILER)

The Chosen Continues - Some are fast, some are slow, but many are still on the go. If you somehow missed this with each and every update, pay attention now- Chosen is still there for you to watch and there is much to be discussing in the lounge.

Gaian Academy Field Trip- Looks like Supernal is trying to get some activity in the Gaian academy back underway, by way of planning some field trips and such. If you were always one for doing the school based RP, and like a bit of extra flair to it, get yourself on the next trip.

Dead Eye's Monocle- Per the Terrenus rules of engagement, with another artifact saught, others might join in and either fight with the protagonist, or try to capture the artifact before he does. How you might participate is left to your discretion- within reason of course.

Renovatio | artifacts- More and more lore seems to crop up on the side of Tellus Mater as of late, and it looks like the board owners have created some more scenarios for you to get involved in. A powerful weapon could be yours, if you have what takes.

Valucre Trivia Question!

So far, this is even less popular than the Valucre Question of the week. Alright guys, work with me here ><

Last weeks Scenario:

While Genesaris has suffered more than one terrorist attack, one stands out above the rest due to the sheer magnitude of damage caused.

The question and answers:

1. What City- "Celin City"
2. Who was responsible- Youkyou (Played by Paradigm)
3. What happened to that person(s)- he was thought to be dead, but was rescued at the final moment. 

So, you need a new question for this week...

Let's do a Wheel of Time Trivia piece instead.

What is the name of Valan Luca's Circus?

Find out your answer tomorrow. 

New Members and Returns!

Welcome, Lifeless Vigor


Welcome, Sapphire

Welcome, LilyHobbit

Welcome, Virgo Proxy

Welcome, Crystalloid

Welcome, The Celfoid

Returns:

Welcome Back, Pumkin


Really short week 0_o

Works out well for me though, I have only so much time for this blog today!

Other Highlights?

What, aside from the kick-ass meeting soon to be occurring?

User Groups- Seems like it should be a given, but it does seem that we get people who do not realize there are user groups and you can do all sort so meeting related things, with ought having to eek out another 90k.

Did You Know- You can keep track of your character's progress over time. If you need a resource to better track how he is growing up, I say go for ti.  Get more details from this thread here and you can check out all the rest of the Did You Know Archive over here.

Closing Thoughts?

Safety in a not so safe world...

Typically, these closing thoughts of mine bear some sort of relevance to writing, the site, or life in general. Consider this one of those that branches out more towards life itself, instead of just encompassing writing and/or role-play. It seems like every time we feel like we can start to breathe again, something happens again to remind us that things in this world are not doing so well right now. We are blessed to live in a country whose problems are often small in comparison to those in other places, but the fact remains, there is a lot of stuff going on out there, and a lot of potential danger- both abroad and here in our own backyards. I'm not saying that we all ought to start living in a state of panic, but would just like to put out there- we should be paying attention.

Many of us are out traveling today. A few days ago, an unthinkable event took place, rocking the city of Boston and the country as a whole. This was a traditional, yearly gathering, and I expect that an act of Terrorism (Domestic or foreign is irrelevant) would take place that day- it's simply not something we have to deal with on a regular basis here, and its something that becomes further and further from our minds as time goes by. Yet, even if it were not an actual act of Terrorism, there are a lot of 'bad' people out there. If not someone looking to incite fear and cause widespread harm, it might have been a predator in search of goods to steal, or someone to victimize...

When things go well, we become complacent- I have seen it both on the grand scale (here in our country) and on the small scale (my work place, when things go well for too long). People grow accustomed to things going nicely, and they come to have an expectation of  a continuance in that trend- sadly, this is rarely the case, and eventually, something does happen. When it does, those who let their guards completely down are the one's who get bit the hardest. Sadly, I am sure I sound like someone telling people to be out hiding their kids, hiding their wives, and to be expecting everyone to be raping everyone else out here--not the case, I assure you! I mean to point out, that there is living life without stressing the small stuff, and then there is allowing yourself to become an easy victim.

Recent events have reminded us, in the most harshest of ways, that there are in fact many people out there who are willing to cause serious bodily harm- or worse- to others for reasons only understood by them. These people will not care if you are local or a visitor, young or old, rich or poor, nice or mean. If you are an easy target, nothing else beyond that fact will matter. Do not allow yourself to be an easy target.

How does this all relate to the blog itself? Well, I already stated that we have a large group of people out traveling today, and while I am 98% sure that no one attending today means harm for anyone else (can never be certain of these things :P ), there are other people about us as well. Most of us are going to be out of our element, in surroundings unfamiliar to us, traveling from place to place and residing in places different than what we are used to. Do not assume that every smiling face is just some friendly person giving you a nod in hello. Do not assume that the gracious person giving you a hand with your bags is just someone acting out of the kindness of their heart--these people exist, but then again, there are those who pretend to be these very people.

Today and tomorrow shall be epic days indeed- a gathering of Valucre family meeting for the first time, and it will be a tragic shame if one of them were hurt before arriving, or unable to arrive at all. Please, I implore that everyone use common sense, be mindful of their environments, and give limited trust to those you do not know. In a world where as I sit in the airport I have heard an overhead warning from the Sheriff of Portland telling people to report any suspicious people or unattended bags, we sometimes have to remember, there are people who are willing to- and even want to- hurt us.We cannot always stop it from happening, but you can do a great deal to reduce that risk.

Stay safe Valucre-

- Acies

"Authors who never give you something to disagree with never give you anything to think about." 

 ~Michael LaRocca

It Came to Pass, That One Week from This Very Day, the Veil Will Drop

And No Longer Would they Be Strangers...

Well, wouldn't you know it, exactly one week from now, at the time I stroke these words, I will be arriving at PDX to prepare for a lengthy flight to parts unknown! Yes, an adventure of sorts, a journey literally spanning across the country, from the west coast to the east, a trip that shall take no less than eight hours by plane, the fastest mode of travel. To what lofty goals do we travelers ascend? Why, none other than to form the greatest party ever seen, of course. No less than 16 Valucreans shall converge upon Jordan con and show all that dare challenge us the strength of our mettle!

Behold, the might, fury, and greatness of Valucre. Malum's beard alone is a WMD! Now, hopefully he can get that through customs...

Well, fortunately, Circa Cipher volunteered to be a mule if necessary.

Alright, all that nonsense aside, this is your weekly addition of the blog. I am not certain how the blog will go up next week- I intend to have it all written out ahead of time, and will have to find a way to post it. After all,  I cannot be certain that I will have the ability to post it from the airport, and posting it on the plane even less likely. First, I have to get lucky enough to get on a plane with Wifi, and then if it has it, I have to pay $8 just to utilize it. Well, I'll find a way. I always find a way!

What's Happening Valucre?

The Chosen Continues - Yes, those matches continue, and two more have recently begun. One member was late to the party (missed the threads going up) and another joined late, to replace the one who never deigned to show up at all. So, with all matches but one going, you have plenty to watch and track, and much you could be discussing in the lounge.

Random Encounters: An Alternative System for Fighting NPCs- I thought I would give this another plug, because it is definitely a useful resource, and it looks like there are a couple of RPs out there that already intend to tie it in. It's giving me ideas of my own, now if only I had the time to utilize them. We'll see how it goes, but for now, look into this alternative system, and see if you like it!

Grand Spring Festival- Well, by this point, you might be asking if this is recycling day. In a way, yes, because there was not all that much new activity to mention. However, this has not had any visible responses other than by Carlos and myself, so I thought I would try to generate some more interest for it. Get the details over here.

Life's Roll- Hey, something new, and speaking of alternative style games coming about with the dice roller in place... this pun intended role-play will put more reliance on the random luck factor than just simply saying your char does it all. The system is well done, and it already has a few takers on board. If you are looking for something new and of a different flavor, I think this deserves a looking over. You never know what may my come up on that die...

Dying Games, the Second- This had a popular turnout the first time around, but some stalling occurred and unfortunately, it lost its steam. Well, it is back and running again, and this time the intention is to get right into it. Gladiatorial matches, gambling, behind the scenes nefarious play... all that and more will be going on as bare-bone fighters go to take on the challenges thrown their way. Do you have what it takes? Or Perhaps you have money to blow and wish for the prestige of owning the best gladiator of them all. Either way, see how far you can go.

Celin Catacombs- Hey hey, VB opportunity. If you enjoy doing the canon quests, someone has began the quest to take on the criminal activity plaguing Celin city, and is looking for 5 able bodied adventurers to give him a hand. So far, it looks like he has three people on board, so there is room for a couple more. Good luck!

Valucrecon- Yes, I already mentioned this in the introduction, but I want to really get the word out on this, and some plans surrounding it. As this is a major event in the history of Valucre, I intend to keep all informed of the great and epic things that we are doing. Sure, we intend to spend time getting into some great seminars for writing, but what would be a gathering without spending time doing the fun stuff? Nightly blog updates shall show you what you are missing, and perhaps entice you to come out for the next time something of this magnitude happens. I'll be doing my best to give you decent updates, but these will be mini updates. To keep track of these intended events, you can follow the countdown in this thread.

Question of the Week!!!

The Final Question of the week went up, and I think I only had one response to it. Feel free to send suggestions in if you have any surrounding what could be used to replace this question of the week. Otherwise, this section is officially retired.

A Reminder- Changes in the prizes!

Since VB never went over so well, and people were uncomfortable with me handing out gift cards and such, I decided that I would turn over the opportunity for you to leave your mark on the blog! Your chance to shed some light on what you might be thinking, what you want to show off, and how you would like to see the blog go for a week. I think it's a cool opportunity, so answer that trivia, refer some readers, and watch for other opportunities!

Valucre Trivia Question!

Last week, I threw out the first Trivia question. I had one person take the time to answer, and he got two out of three! So, in case you forgot, the question was-

About a year and a half ago, 'The Architect' made his way towards an infamous prison in the company of trusted allies, disguised as homosexual lovers. They sought to validate rumors they heard pertaining to this prison, and they found much more than expected.

1. Who were the characters involved (3 involved)

2. What Prison did they break into?

3. In reference to what they sought, what answer did they find?

And the answers: 

1. Faustus (Faustus), Cain (Amenities), Fossil (Desloate)
2. Dead Peak Prison
3. They sought a secret entrance, based on rumors of break-ins. They found this to be false, but also found that the worst criminals are kept in some mysterious place called the void. Further, Terrenus scientists are using the prisoners for experiments.

Well, let's see if more of you will answer this week!

The scenario:

While Genesaris has suffered more than one terrorist attack, one stands out above the rest due to the sheer magnitude of damage caused.

1. What city was it?
2. Who was responsible?
3. What became of the one(s) responisble?

See if you can answer!

New Members and Returns!

Welcome, Amina

Welcome, A q u a m a r i n e

Welcome, KamisamaDoll

Welcome, Wolfthal

Welcome, Deeecember

Welcome, Sikis1312

Welcome, Retro

Welcome, Sleeping Giant


Returns:


Welcome back, Skinflies

Welcome back, Favrielle

Well, it really seems like this week was a bit of a slow week. Eight new members is nothing worth complaining about, but it is a bit on the low side. Either way, we are glad to have our new members. May they all find the RP they seek.

Other Highlights?

Alright, I was willing and happy to be doing this the last week, but here we are again, having to give into this entitled behavior. Highlights on top of everything else! A content filled blog and plenty to come next weekend. Sigh...

Daily Weekly- This under used resource can line your pockets with VB and help push some influence on to the canon. Do you want to get some news out there? Perhaps put a certain spin on events, thus creating tensions or favor for certain interests? Hey, this a great place to do that! Send in a submission or join on the staff!

Did You Know- You can setup cloud tags for your thread? This makes it easier for people doing searches for certain kinds of content to find your thread- or to help you find your thread at a later time. Get more details from this thread here and you can check out all the rest of the Did You Know Archive over here.

Closing Thoughts?

Success

It is something that most people want, and I have listened to many people talk about it- hell, I have heard myself talk about success plenty enough. Success and the definition thereof tends to vary with the individual you are speaking to, but whatever the exact variables, success is their measure of having achieved in life what they set out to accomplish. What a person wants to be successful in depends on their ideals, aspirations, hopes, dreams, and a number of other factors. Perhaps the most common one on Valucre in some way pertains to writing- but certainly not all. I have heard from more than one member that their primary purpose for being on Valucre is just to enjoy the role-playing- and that’s perfectly fine. However, if you were to ask them if there is anything they want to succeed at, I would put down money on the bet that the majority have something.

Another common thing, inside this very vein of discussion, is that not only are people good at talking about success, and how much they desire it, but the rather lack of effort a person makes in trying to reach that success. Now, let me stop right here and raise my own hand in acknowledgement- yep, I don’t work hard enough at the things I want to succeed- if anything, there are too many things I focus on and I tend to spread myself thin. Sure, I have some things I am succeeding in, slowly but surely, but when it comes to the things I feel passionate about, the things that I hold close to my heart- I am not doing enough to try to reach those, and I am reaping what I have sown.

That’s just it- people talk about wanting to have success, but most people do very little of what is required to have that success. I honestly am not sure why that is- I suppose the reasons might vary from one person to the next, but the overall truth is that people are not doing near enough to achieve their dreams. True success, reaching out and plucking that very thing you desire more than anything else, takes more than just some want and a bit of work. No, achieving success requires a lot of work, a lot of dedication, and a great deal of energy. It might require losing sleep, getting up early and going to bed late, it might require every ounce of grit you have to spare- because getting what you want, what you truly want, is never easy.

Nor should it be.

There is a video in our ‘Amazing Things’ thread that talks about this very subject. In that particular video, as an athlete talks about what it takes to achieve success, he said something I found very powerful, and it resonates with me. I often think about it, sometimes when I am trying to do something difficult, and sometimes when I think about the long-term picture. It especially comes to mind when trying to reach some goal is difficult, or just seems out of reach. Now, this is more than a quote, it is a story- a story about a man who wanted to achieve success, and a guru he sought out. The story went like this:

“There was a young man that wanted to make a lot of money, right? So he went to this guru and told him, “I want to be on the same level that you’re on.”

The guru told him, “If you want to be on the same level I’m on, I’ll meet you tomorrow at the beach.”

So the young man got there at 4 A.M, all ready to rock and roll, got on a suit when he shoulda wore shorts. The old man grabs his hand and says, “How bad do you want to be successful?”

He said, “Real bad”

The old man says, “Walk on out into the water.”

So he walks on out into the water, waist deep. So, to himself, he’s like, “This guy is crazy”

He’s thinkin’, “I wanna make money, he’s got me out here swimming. I don’t want to be a life guard, I want to make money.”

The old man says, “Come out a little further.”

He walked out a little further, out to his shoulder area. He’s thinking, “This old man is crazy, he’s makin’ money but he’s crazy.”

The old man says, “Come out a little further.”

He came out a little further, it’s right at his mouth and he’s thinking, “I’m about to go right back, this guys out of his mind.”

So the old man said, “I thought you wanted to be successful?”

He said, “I do!”

The old man said, “Walk a little further.”

He did, he walked a little further. The old man grabbed his head, under water, held him down, the guy was kickin’ and scratchin’, still holding him down, he had him held down and just before he was about to pass out the old man raised him up.

“When you want to succeed as bad as you want to breath, then you’ll be successful.””

Upon looking this up (to keep my information straight)- I can tell you that this was Eric Thomas, a former NFL cornerback (pro-bowl and all-pro 1988) and now a motivational speaker.

He parallels this with asthma, or other breathing conditions, where you lose your ability to breathe, and your lungs are burning, your heart is racing, and your back cramps up with this horrible pain, and that panic sets in. The harder you try, the more out of reach it seems, but desperately, desperately you cling to that shred of hope that the next time you draw breath, this one is going to get through. In those scary moments, as the world is blurring and there is just so much pain- you care about nothing else. Nothing else matters, other than just grasping that one breath that is going to make everything all right. I suffer from asthma myself, much worse when I was young, much better managed now as an adult, but when I was young, I had some scary close calls.

Talking about wanting success as much as you want to breathe- yeah, I can relate to that, because I have been there. I have been on the brink, where you just feel like that there is nothing else that could possibly matter in that moment, then finding a way to survive, finding some way to get that bit of air.

When you desire success this badly, only then will you achieve it.

It makes me think: I do not truly desire success- not yet. I like the idea of success, I want the idea of success, but with the effort I do make, with the way I lackadaisically approach trying to succeed, I must not yet truly want to achieve it. No, someday, when I truly commit myself to that thing I think about, that idea of success, and I can long for it in that same way I long to draw just one breath, when my lungs are closed and my world is spinning-

That is when I will want success.

Perhaps then, I will get it.

These are the closing thoughts for the week folks, be prepared for an early update next week, and then a weekend full of Jordan Con updates. Only 7 days (168hrs) until I am sitting on a plane bound for Atlanta!

Looking forward to meeting a bunch of you :)

- Acies

"Talent is cheaper than table salt. What separates the talented individual from the successful one is a lot of hard work." 

 ~Stephen King