The Valucre Blog: It Will Not Reproduce by Laying Eggs in Your Corpse

But no one ever said it won't show up in your bedroom late one night, holding on to a bottle of KY and a cucumber. 

Yeah, you know what I'm talking about. 

Okay, I promise the blog isn’t going to come after you like some creepy sex offender with a fetish for summer squash. The blog is not a living person or entity and it isn’t capable of being sex-offendery anyway, so no worries there. Now, if it were a real person, well- you might never know when it’s business time.

Anyway, welcome back to another update on the almost weekly blog- the updates that come all but once a week because going weekly just takes too much out of the old girl- you’d think this were a marriage. Unlike marriage though, this relationship includes lots of communication and happy thoughts, so you can expect plenty of updates this week and certainly better content than the lackluster efforts I put out last update.

So, let’s get this thing kicking!

What's Happening Valucre?

Coconino Barony: New Terrenus Setting- Well, don't I feel more than just a bit ashamed that I missed this in the previous update. Well, I can't take all the credit for missing that one, since a certain boardleader who is usually pretty good about letting me know about important new things dropped the ball on this one too, I feel entitled to give myself an excuse. Anyway, the new bit of lore says this stuff right here: 

Directly north of Ignatz is a loosely governed barony that includes a variety of different wetland creatures. Only a handful of the different kinds of creatures show any interest in being Terran citizens, and even then most are only nominally considered such. These different races congregate in secluded villages and rarely communicate with the outside world or each other. Due to the hostile nature of the marshlands and its inhabitants the Coconino Barony is among the poorest baronies in Terrenus. It's meager economy depends entirely on local trade . . . (continued in link)

Be sure to take a moment to swing by and check it out- you'll be finding new people, new quests, and other new additions to the lore.

The Beginning of a New Era- Hey, this looks pretty darn neat to me and if the chap behind this one is still looking for some people to come join him on this adventure. As the Cold Snap begins to recede, a man frozen in the wastes begins to thaw free and will definitely be a bit of a fish out of water- or a fish out of the ice... which is still water... sort of, though the context in this situation- ah hell, never mind! Anyway, this gentlemen would sure love some people to come write with him. That cool? 

The Great Plague Wars [Gods Must Be Crazy]- Indeed, of course the gods are crazy. Anyway, this project is a rather extensive one as well and still has some roles that need filled in. I believe this one missed out on a blog feature because it went up during a break week and just managed to drift beneath my radar until just now.

This role-play calls for eight individuals to help write the ‘backstory’ to Iselyer- that is, you will be playing out the events that as of right now are only mentioned in the lore. You will get to play the gods as they struggle to hold back the evil god Xaroc, with that ending already determined [SPOILER- it’s not a happy ending!] While the end to this tale is already known, what is missing is the middle- what happened in between the beginning of his rebellion to his eventual escape and rise to power? What struggle did the gods and the ancients and the newly birthed race of man go through in that process? These are the things for you to help with!

There are only eight god roles and as of the time I am writing this, the thread shows three roles left open. The request is for some strong and consistent writers to help build this lore, but if you want to get involved, there are some lesser roles as well. As of right now, it would appear that three of those roles are still open and the promise for more is also given.

If you would love the opportunity to help shape the lore and back history of Valucre’s newest board and help kickstart some additional activity, you ought to go to this thread. Really, I insist. No, seriously, go check that out now. >_>

Cold Snap is Over in About a Week- The big cool off in Terrenus is coming to a close in about a week or so, and I saw a little post from the big man himself saying that doubling up on loot right now can still be a thing- so if you hadn't gone out and tried to acquire some goods, this might be your prime opportunity to do so. Of further note, it was said that new threads starting during this time frame should account for the Cold Snap- so threads starting in the present canon that take place in the affected areas would need to account for the unusual weather- well, that too shall end. Which means that if you start a new thread next week in Hell's Gate in the present canon, you will want to note that everything is defrosting and warming back up. 

Genesaris Artifacts Updated- New artifacts are still going up and now there is record keeping as well- so if you are interested in some potent and special Genesaris artifacts and are unsure of what is still open, you can look them up and see if anyone is currently after it, or if someone already owns it. If  neither is the case, consider that your chance to get something going! 

Halcyon Broken [Renovatio Event]- Another plug for an awesome event with tons of work put in by the 2013 RPer of the year- just to lend a little 'street cred'. 

To Recap, Renovatio has become stricken by a plague started by Alexander (#Villain2013). People are dying off with little ability to fight and their deaths lead to a transition from lifeless corpse to shambling undead. People are bailing out of here left and right as rumors of no cure persist. Worse, Renovatio also endures the loss of the Grand Kommandant, the very force that keeps them skybound (it is a floating land). Random earthquakes and other natural phenomenon create unsettling conditions and an inevitable fall will soon follow- short of some kind of miraculous intervention. 

This RP is designed to be absolutely open and free to sandbox- come in and play the hero looking to save the day or come in and make the situation even worse- totally up to you. All that is asked is that anything you do comes with effort and work, so that whatever your choice is will come with legitimate action and dedicated work to add true value to your contributions- a fair request for such an open platform for RP. If this all sounds great to you (I wish I were not so busy myself) you can come to this thread for more details. Good luck!

Valucre Awards Debriefing: Still Going- Process is still ongoing and young. Involvement has dwindled a bit but I hope people will keep contributing in going forward, so we can come up with something that satisfies the majority. Expect a new set of polls soon to decide on what awards are added and which ones might be cut.

Jordancon Coverage 2014- You know it! Just like last year, I plan to provide the updates and the news about what all is going on at this  year's biggest Valucre gathering- the unofficial 'official' Valucre meet up (it's as close to a Valcon we got right now folks). If you followed last year, you'll remember that you got my usual snarky humor covering the day's events with tons of pictures and opportunities for insider information. At one point we had an Unval-Chat party going with four different laptops hooked up with webcams running so that other members could join in the fun. This year, we're spreading our legs by getting a 4 bedroom house instead of a hotel room, so you can bet that we'll have more to cover. Hell, I myself am not even sure yet what we'll be doing, so stay tuned for updates.

Speaking of which- What do you guys want to see during the Jordancon coverage? Do you want me to try do some brief interviews, get people to tweet as IC entities attending a mass gathering of Valucre's finest, dig up dirt and blackmail material- hey, any suggestions are welcome (just don't expect me to use all of them or even entertain the really silly or illegal ((seriously illegal anyway)) stuff).

Valucre Blog: Opening for an Assistant, and Those Changes- I know, I keep talking about changes and then not producing them. Well, change is sometimes a lengthy process in which you know you will be tossing some things up, but won’t it be that you just haven’t gotten to the point where those changes are ready to come about. There will be changes with the site and with the software we use for these things and so much of my changes are contingent upon other changes first taking place- which means that while I can promise them, I can’t really deliver until other preliminary steps are taken. And, hey, all of us involved in this stuff are working on our own time for free- which means things get done as we’re able to do them. I know I’d love to get paid some good wages to do this stuff- hell, I’d cut back my OT and work on Valucre stuff instead if I had the chance- but that’s not reality. Valucre is a free site that isn’t generating profits and so it is donated time that gets things done.

So- changes, they’re coming, I just don’t when.

What comes with the changes? Well, a new look for one thing. We’ll have the lore back up by then (I hope) as well as some other features maybe. I’ll be revamping how we bring in the new members and hey- I’m taking feedback! If you guys want to see something that isn’t here right now, LET ME KNOW.

Anyway, blog position:

This blog gets to be a lot of work sometimes, especially for a guy who works 60 to 80 hours a week, drives an hour out of town 3 times a week (spending 2hrs on two days and 5hrs on that third day being at that place), has started taking college courses again, manages storytellers and participates in a ton of RP. Not to be tooting my own horn here, but I barely manage to sleep 3 to 4 hours some nights, let alone get some time to put together this blog ahead of time. Much of the time, this sucker is cobbled together the night before its morning release, which means it might get rushed, it might be lower on the quality I want it to be, and it rarely gets proofread- not cool.

I imagine you want to know what this might entail. Well, here’s some things I might have you help me do:

• Assist in compiling RPs for “What’s Happening”, writing up important details and providing a link. 
• Assist in organizing and managing the ‘New Members and Returns Section’
• Cover Forum Highlights 
• Assist in preparing Lore highlights
• Cover closing thoughts in instances where I am unable to produce content, or provide closing thoughts if you have an idea you’d love to see run in the blog.
• Contribute to the Aesthetics and design of the blog if you are artistically inclined.
• Assist in other areas as they come up- I can’t predict everything >>;

So, what are we looking for in a blog assistant? I need:

• A creative person (Alright, that qualifies pretty much everybody)
• A person who is reliable 
• Someone with good attention for detail
• Someone with strong writing skills- not to make anyone feel bad here, but I might want you to cover closing thoughts from time to time, or if you have a great idea for it, I would love to run your thoughts- which means we need so quality writing in there. Strong writing means I hope to see you can organize your thoughts, present a strong voice, express your ideas clearly and in ways that keep the writer entertained, and have a pretty good grip of your grammar and conventions- I can edit, but if I take your stuff and make it look like it got in a fight with a rabid pen, you’re not saving me much time. ;-;
• Perhaps most importantly: You got to have a good sense of humor. 

Think you fit those requirements, well then you should consider applying.

Other Highlights?

Valucre FAQ- Now, you might be thinking: Hey, this bastard already covered this before- well of course I have, but it went down for a while and now it is back! So, if you noticed before that it wasn't available, it is now back up and ready for use. For those of you who are newer and haven't taken a gander at it, you can find things like our RP and Valucre FAQ as well as our walkthrough and guide to canonization- handy stuff! You can find the FAQ on the header bar at the top of Valucre.

Did You Know-  There is such a thing as Randomizers- threads that you can use to either determine a random effect for your thread or to request that someone come toss in a random element- it's actually pretty darn cool. More details here. 

Closing Thoughts?

I find it more than just a little tempting to do a follow-up closing thoughts on the idea of pushing personal boundaries and writing from someplace that you find yourself feeling a little- or a lot- uncomfortable. It’s been the hot topic of the week and it would be appropriately timed, but I have decided to go a different route today. The fact that so much conversation has taken place (much of it good, despite a few off topic segues) that I think jamming more of it into the blog is just too much. I don’t want to take a good topic for discussion and wear out its welcome by beating the now deceased proverbial horse it rode in on. Let the body lie in peace, right?

Let’s switch gears.

Why don’t we talk about art?

Art… makes you think of paintings or drawings, right? Maybe you have other experiences in the art field, which have broadened your definition of it to include things like writing, acting, and music. We often associate art with creation, creation of a product that we can evaluate and scrutinize; we can think about it, talk about it, distill it back down to the core components and then looked at from the broad picture once more. Sometimes the creative process doesn’t produce something so tangible- the actors involved in putting on a play do not create some physical representation of their work, short of a recording maybe. The same for music as well- while we can write the notes and the words, the specific instruments to be used and even perhaps record the final product, that music itself, the product of blending notes and instruments, words and flow- its true self exists only in the moments its played.

I might sound a little pretentious here, so let me scale this back a tad. What I mean to get at is that art does not always have to produce something tangible and physical. Prior to the days of recording, things like plays and songs had no means of preserving the final product, though we could create physical products from their individual parts- it was the human element and action that brought it all together and made the thing of beauty. Regardless of this inability to maintain that product, we recognize it as art; we see it for the thinking it inspires and the thoughts evoked, for the emotions stirred and the manner in which it touches us. Art is not always so much a finished works but an idea, a concept.

That said, why don’t you ponder this:

Role-playing, is art.

Bold statement? Maybe, but I stand by it 120%, and when I say it I don’t say so because the manner in which we choose to portray it involves writing (an accepted art form) or that it can be acted out (another accepted form of art) via LARPing. I mean to stand and affirm that the act of Role-playing is in and of itself an art form- one with the potential for great beauty, harmony, thought, and inspiration. While in our case the product is in the writing, in other cases there is no writing to preserve it but only the memories of those who witnessed it, but as stated before, lack of a product does not mean art has not been created.

There will be people who disagree with me, but that’s part of the nature of art- defining what it is and what truly identifies it is a subjective rather than objective task, as there has never been a single accepted definition. How I perceive and see art might vary with how you see and understand it, and that’s fine. The hope for me is, at the end of the day, we have much more in common with our thoughts on it than we have in differences. Let us rally around what we can agree, and use that strengthened bond to help us agree to disagree on the rest.

I tend to see art as a concept and idea, a way of looking at life and eliciting something from people. It is expression, but in that expression we take what you have brought from within yourself and upon examination, we see what it elicits from ourselves. We role-play for fun (I assume most if not all of us do anyway) and some say they do so as an escape from the sometimes repetitive and dull rituals of life, using it as a bit of escapism to help muddle through those slow times, or those hard ones. It benefits you in this way, but very rarely is a ‘role-play’ one sided- to be honest, if you are RPing by yourself you might as well call it writing instead of role-playing.

While you gain benefit from the role-playing, you lend benefit to others as well. You contribute to their needs as much as they contribute to yours, even if each of you have differing needs from each other. Even here, there is a spirit of art taking place, an exchange of ideas and expression, a form of collaboration to build something and help each other grow- it is in this act that I personally see something artistic. There is something beautiful in the way how we can come together and work, how we have come so far as a species to have developed the capability- take a little bit of developmental or evolutionary psychology- you’ll be amazed by what degree of intelligence and brain functioned is involved in us ‘all getting along’.

Getting beyond the collaboration and the harmony of working together to meet our needs and to accomplish goals, we look to the RP itself. RPing, even just through the simple portrayal of a role, builds a story. We play as characters that react to their environment and their situations, so even if we do not actively build such elements, the actions of our characters themselves help develop the details of which. We create stories, whether we think about it or not. Even with one person leading, so much of that story entails the characters and their actions, it goes back to why we call certain characters the protagonists and some the Antagonists:

One pushes the plot, the other ‘antagonizes’ or holds it back. Both are profound influences on a story.

Another way of looking at it is to look at two of the main components they identify as parts of art:

Form & Content

Form looks at what is actually there- what is the product, or what are its components or how is it put together. What are the colors or images, or what are the words and how do they flow, what is the rhythm to the music or the way the lyrics meld with the rest of the song? Form does not necessary require a physical product, but rather just some form of product we can examine and think about. The form is in the ideas presented and the story it’s comprised of; the details in the characters, the points of the plot, the elements of the story which are clear and obvious. Written down or not, the role-play produces form by thinking about the elements of its story and the identified traits of the characters.

Content takes a deeper look and sees how these aspects of form weave together, and how these ideas might blossom into hidden thoughts and messages, such as the way with metaphors and allusions, or deeply hidden messages or thoughts. Hell, even that creepy little video “Don’t Hug Me, I’m Scared” has a wealth of hidden content once you get past the use of Sesame Street like puppets and the later occurring bizarre and unsettling content. The elements of its form create nuanced layers of content that I have personally spent hours discussing. Our role-plays produce content through the ideas behind character motivations, examinations of people and their choices and actions, things that perhaps you did not think about at the time- but it still exists.

To get down to the point, what I want people to think about- and even embrace- is what you are doing is a form of art. You are creating an idea, a thought, a portrayal of people and culture, and it amounts to something. The practice is good for you on psychological and spiritual level, and it can be enriching and fulfilling. In realizing that what you do is a form of collaborative art, you can truly explore ways to improve, add to it, and appreciate it. Art has existed as far back as the days when we still lived in caves, even then, it was a piece in our lives. It fulfills higher levels needs, and it adds to our lives.

Realize that even you are an artist- even if you aren’t writing books, painting pictures, acting in plays or playing music.

Embrace your art. :)

-          Acies   

"Art is not a thing—it is a way."  ~Elbert Hubbard