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