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Build something over a period of years (10+ to sit at the table) and then give it away to someone on the qualification that they've expressed interest. When you've done that we can circle back to this conversation

tl;dr: not trying to convince Priestess to join the site since she seems to have made up her mind, I'd just like to address some of the concerns she's raised here since they're misplaced. Some of this I've already said to her via discord, but I'm not a fan of people judging things based on incomplete information and wanted a more thorough response on the forum. Actually, nah: I'm not here to tell you you should or shouldn't feel certain ways. Your feelings are valid, and being upset is understandable, and it's okay to not be okay with the change. Many people aren't, many people are. You have the freedom to express your sentiments on the change (as you have), but at the same time I can go like "damn girl, I know I put a campfire on the site banner but you don't have to call the whole site a trash fire ; - ;" (we do have two light themes which may be more accessible for reading for some) I can also say that you could've worded this sentiment more constructively. For example, you've mentioned on discord that you weren't a fan of reading long guides cause dyslexia. Because of that I'm going to look for fonts with better accessibility for an alternate theme. So, rude way to get that information across, but still useful feedback, so thanks! That's because captcha system is meant to ensure people who registered to the wiki had read (at least) the very first help page of the site -- What is Pretty Good Roleplay? Also, we don't actually require people to use the wiki. We have a scratchpad board for those who'd prefer to host character sheets and such on the forum, and people are allowed to link to content platforms like GDocs or Notions This is another thing that is mentioned in the second guide - Getting Started on PGRP. I don't think it's fair to judge a site when you haven't read the getting-started user guides, at the very least 🤷‍♀️ PGRP, as a whole, does not require character sheets. You only need a character sheet if you want to engage in a game that requires character sheets. In the same way you would've likely banned powerplaying Dauner from IOJ, other people can specify what kind of characters they want in their settings. It's a much better alternative than the board leader system where godmodders could just come and attempt to wreck cities at a whim, and board leaders would have to engage them in-character. Setting managers no longer have to tolerate nonsense like that -- which, I'm sure you'd agree, is a good thing! Players also have the option to use any setting as a backdrop for roleplay - setting managers are just not obligated to consider every thread canon. Valid decision, but -- we would've willingly given you a tl;dr or answered any questions you had about porting your area over... if you had asked with the intent to understand how to navigate the site, and not to immediately trash it based on first impressions. I've been working closely with a couple other Valucre members to help them port over their Val settings, and would've gladly done the same with you. Regardless - as I've also said on discord - sorry you feel this way, and if you ever find the patience to give PGRP a proper look, here's hoping you'll find it's actually an improvement from Valucre in so many ways! I'd be happy to elaborate how we've built in systems that discourage godmodding and toxic fixations on power/magic/combat. And to anyone else reading this and worrying about how Awful the new site could possibly be -- I suggest taking a look for yourself before judging! If you like it, come join us! If not - then that's fine, and it's okay to mourn the old site and move on to other places - but be assured that you'll still be able revisit your old content in the archive. ❤️

Needless to say, it was the first event of such an enormous scale I've ever participated in. And Mother Gaia, it was worth it. Surely, I had so much fun, I've polished my writing skills, I've interacted with many wondrous people here... I roleplayed as a turret. Ain't gonna forget that experience for a long while. It's a bit sad I won't be able to continue Vlad's Yh'mi storyline the way as it is. But still, it was one helluva ride for him and for me.

And with that... Fidelitas leaves the White Hand. I think that is a proper conclusion for him, having lost his faith (due to rng chance when he died in one of the nightmare realms, if anyone still remembers that was a mechanic!) A really really big thank you for everyone who had participated in this massive thread, and doubly so for those who had led your nightmare realms! It was an ambitious endeavor, if you recall at the start we had 20 players! People dropped off along the way, understandably, and I myself dropped the ball real hard at the end.. again, I apologize for that. Despite that, I hope the thread had brought you some joy to write. I know I have been swept up by many of the great action and emotional posts written here! I will look upon this thread with fond memories in the future. ❤️

This is my final post. After I hit submit I'mma bounce, unbookmark the site and just stop RPing altogether. So I'll never see the response. We tried. Well some of us tried. Kinda sus that Supernal decided to close the site the month we were thinking Jaist would come back. Ah well. Supernal did a great job with the site. Not really feeling the successor site though. Personally, I feel that instructing us that we have to make interesting characters and then telling us what we need to have in order to make those characters interesting is a red flag. So I poked the boat a bit to see what came loose. Some of the guys in charge are kinda cunts. Not gonna lie. I've seen this behavior before and fortunately I have nothing left to lose this time via RP held as hostage. Which I kinda feel is going to happen at the new site as I read the responses in sunset and sunrise. I'm 100% not going to complain about the site closing. I certainly don't have a right to seeing as I never voted for it. Good luck with your new project Supernal. It's different enough from Valucre to the point where it's not in my interest range, but your track record here make me believe you'll do well at it. I know I haven't posted this in a place for visibility. So whoever notices, notices.

sorta feels like you didn't really try 😕 I dunno. Everyone's being really nice and respecting your post but I'm inherently toxic, so maybe I can match your energy. Obviously do what you want, feel what you want, express yourself how you want, etc. Insults, though? lmao, be better. This is childish. The fact that the CAPTCHA was tricky proves that you didn't actually read the guides, right? Instead of complaining shouldn't you try and...read the guide? If you had, you'd know that the wiki is optional. Page creation there is different, so just use the forums? Why would you just trash on the new site? I spent ten minutes looking for the search button on PGRP, yet somehow I was able to go on with my day without crying. I honestly would have just moved on but you literally insulted @Dabi in the midst of your tantrum and that's just rude. If you have a problem with someone's writing I can't imagine why you wouldn't offer constructive criticism. I had a character who was winning a fight against a literal god but @Phoebe contacted me and we all wrote a more plausible thread together. It's as easy as that. If you want people to grow you've gotta help out. This is really disappointing, since I enjoyed writing with you. Omar and Lexa had interesting interactions, and suddenly I need to reevaluate my judge of character. Rip All in all, I'm glad you voiced your thoughts. Being unhappy about the transition is reasonable and I can sympathize. I don't want anyone to pretend to be happy about Valucre going read-only. People should be sad and should feel comfortable saying so. Still, in the same way Supernal didn't say: "fuck yall, I'm out" you could have been better. Your opinion isn't worthless. It actually carries weight. bye. What a way to see yourself out.

Most of what I'm going to say is what I sent to members of staff a little while ago. The sentiments I expressed were genuine so I see no reason why not to share them again as the backbone of my message to everyone else. ~ ~ ~ My colleagues / friends / friendly strangers with whom I share a hobby with / etc, For a little while now I’ve been thinking about the best way to serve up the site long term, which is really saying something in light of Valucre's longevity. Along with various other people (desolate has been there just about every step of the way; the people who have worked on this with me for long, early hours I can count on one hand) I’ve managed this project for something like or over 15 years. If I don't want Valucre to be one of those sites which eventually stumbles its way towards a handy abyss then I have to think about what it looks like to keep it going against the natural forces of entropy which conspire against us all. One thing I know for certain is that my personal commitment, which I recognize as being a considerable component in Valucre's success, can't be the same. It's not simply a matter of keeping the lights on or growing but of staying engaged and innovating while decoupling dependencies. To quote Edwin Catmull, it isn't that I feel Valucre has "arrived or that my work was done . . . I'd spent two decades building a train and laying its track. Now the thought of merely driving it struck me as a far less interesting task." Improvement doesn't always mean doing and having more, or getting and being bigger. So to that end: # Sunset and Sunrise 1) Valucre will become a read-only archive. 2) My attention and that of some staff will turn towards a successor project, which has already been created and beta tested. With this announcement it’s reached public access. I plan to allow the next month or so to serve as a transition period during which we'll work to explain and fine-tune the new platform and systems, after which registrations and posting on Valucre will be locked. Valucre will continue to serve its content, meaning stuff isn't disappearing and bookmarks keep functioning and all that, and members are encouraged to save off content they consider valuable, as has always been the case. When Valucre is read-only and the dust has settled on the new project, I plan to move the archive to a new host (the same place the new project lives). The cost savings in doing this and in managing the infrastructure myself (we’re lucky staff has the skills to do what we’ve done; without which we’d be having a different conversation) instead of through the provider translates into longer runtime for both the archive and the new project. The fact that any still interested members would be on the new project (or not! I know not everyone will agree, as not everyone has in the past with my decisions and this is a big one) will take a lot of stress off my shoulders if I run into any hiccups swinging Val over. There are a lot of reasons driving this and I’ll probably rant about them all over time but I think the most immediate concern to players are covered in the migration guide we've put together. One major thing I hope comes across in the experience is that, while still being fundamentally the same thing, still being a roleplay website and one with hopefully plenty of familiar faces, the new project is a new project. Is a departure in terms of both process and platform that trying to turn one thing into the other would have been a long and trying disaster. Anyway that's what we've done and we hope you enjoy the salty sweat and tangy frustration that went into this. I hope you'll come along for the ride but realize many of us are dealing with many things - pandemic, recession, juggling different high priority responsibilities like work and school and family and personal health, all of the usual things that see people pulled away for years at a time before doing a pulse check to find that yes, we're still here. See you on the other side!: https://prettygoodrpg.com/ https://prettygoodrpg.com/mediawiki/index.php/Guides:The_Valucre_Migrant_Guide_to_PGRP Please read the guide in its entirety! Click on the links, read the material. Compared to just recalling information I know this is a nontrivial effort but (one more time now!) it’s a new project with new (even if comfortable) structure and information. It’s not just a continuation of what came before. ---- Discussion thread:

It's a quote I borrowed from lean thought, in which change is pursued in order to improve. I don't think it applies to every facet of life. I think my quote is to be taken along the same vein as general statements like "Money is bad" or "Ignorance is bliss". It all depends on context. Money is good when you have it and need to buy groceries. Ignorance is not bliss when your wife is trying to talk to you. In our case, I presumed it was obvious enough that the change being talked about is the end of Valucre and the beginning of Pretty Good. And it really does boil down to two things: those who change with the site or those who resist that change. Valucre is going. Pretty Good is coming. No in between as far as I know. 'Resistance' need not be hostile, of course. Merely not joining the site means not changing with it, and not joining the site could even be for reasons that have nothing to do with roleplay. But I won't lie that I quoted what I did against Priestess' OP because, quite frankly, opinions and feelings aside there generally isn't much good practice in calling something a god-awful dumpster fire particularly when those who made that something did it for you as much as for them. Because, see, there is hostile resistance as well, and if Priestess' post wasn't confrontational then I need to caliber my definition of the word. If you agree with her opinion then that's fine, we are all entitled to them, but expressing such opinions with a mite more tact is generally the way to go.

'Nuff said.

Looks like I'll be going to the new site, after all. Too many people I enjoy RPing with are giving the place a shot... I guess I'll see you in PGRP after all!

Just saw the updates on everything! As of right now I'm not too sure if I'm going to move to the new site or not. I'm still going through a freight-train of mental/emotional stuff right now, and as with some others here, I've also been through this site-shift thing with other boards and it's a fairly alienating thing for me, sadly. However, I'm keeping the old and new sites bookmarked just in case I feel better enough later on to give it a go. I'm sincerely sorry to everyone who had threads with me here -- I didn't see this proverbial freight train coming, so I got just as blindsided as my threading partners probably did with my sudden disappearance, but I still feel I've let people down. I really, genuinely enjoyed y'all's talent, and for the few posts I did make and the few interactions I did have, I had a ton of fun. Godspeed, friends, perhaps our paths will cross again. Be Excellent To Each Other <3

You know, I'm really upset about this change, it's too confusing and there's a lot to be-- Oh, look, the answers to all the questions I had, and contingency plans. Cool.

I gave it a look. Read through rules, guides, and a couple threads. I’ll keep an eye on the new thing until the end of the month just in case enough changes for the better, but right now my decision is no. Biggest issue? It looks like a decent amount of people already bled away. That’s not a me problem and no amount of shouting hype at me is going to change that. I’ve been here long enough to see forums merged and there really didn’t seem to be any issues. But that’s not really what’s happening here. I clicked expecting a new project and what I found were the chosen cannon Val port overs. True, there’s a process to submit your settings for remnant status but contemplating submitting it and it not making the cut when others did has to be stress inducing. The new project section should be new. I would have suggested people continue Val threads in the non pgrp cannon emergents section. Not because that is the RP you want to see on the site, but because the purpose of the non cannon section is to retain the player base while keeping the cannon content on their radar. When I came to Val I disregarded the stuff I had done before, read through the settings and wrote up characters relevant to what I found interesting. It’s not a hardship to do it again, but I require my interest to be sparked and hype isn’t enough.

I’ll give it a look. But this seems like the opportunity to drop this RP thing for good.

Shit, I've spent less than a year typing out the stuff about my setting, and I still hesitated at giving you the permission to turn it over to someone else on the off chance that I rack up twelve consecutive months of inactivity. 😄

changed my mind. I'll just be lurking on the new site. Not fully up to writing there yet. Judge me all you like, i'm indecisive lol still love you guys nonetheless ❤️

Heya everyone! Big apologies for disappearing.. motivation for writing went away for a bit. I am well, and have no excuse to give other than "was not feeling it", a poor reason, I know. I would have been alright if someone else brought the thread to its end.. Thank you very much for your patience everyone, and I'm sorry. But the final post is up, and I hope @Akiris will see it at some point in the future! Feel free to post an epilogue for your characters in this thread if you wish.. I will be doing so for Fidelitas tonight.

Welcome to Valucre! It is with deep regret that I inform you that this site is on its last legs, as the admin has announced plans on archiving the site within the near-future. But worry not! For he has simultaneously announced a successor project for us to enjoy our roleplay experiences on a new and better site. Thus, may I direct you to the successor of Valucre, the Pretty Good RP?

Just so everyone (everyone relevant at least) understands why I may have some delay in postage, given that I'm in a few threads and had the audacity to Interest Check yet another one just the other day... Behold: This is what happens when you stick your hand in a drinking glass to wash it. A noble endeavor, most certainly, yet glass can be a flimsy material, or so the evidence supports. As I scrubbed and twisted within the amorphous depths to get to the bottom, my hand forced the glass apart in an instant. Well, despite what Hollywood would have us believe, what with all the punching through and jumping through windows, glass is as sharp as a razor blade and it does not play around. Sliced an absolutely juicy depth into my finger and bled as profusely as a juicy plum. Those are four stitches in my poor little pinky and they come out next week. Typing is difficult; I'm a QWERTYer, not a hunter-pecker, and this little guy is in some pain and faces some challenge with movement. Fret not! I should be good to go well before a week when it comes to roleplay. Just wanted to do my due diligence and inform the folks round these pards. Stay uncutty, my friends, and keep those fingers fabulous!

@Mickey Flash catch! You're up! I think we might just finish our thread before the site closes down.

"Hey you!" ... The good intentions and the pain... Lay drowned now in the pouring rain. ... It's not raining. It's not... anything. Was this death? "You can't pass here. It's not your time." There was a faint light far ahead in Cerik's vision. A voice, as if speaking from far away, entered his ear. "Sir Knight. I am Alexios. General of Aligoria, and High Commander of the Shadow Guard. I am here on the behest of Princess Sibyla. Allow me to take the Dead-Eye Monocle, and bear it into the cave just up the peak in your stead. I swear on my honor, I will collect the power dormant there with the Monocle, and then return it to you, empowered." The knight gave a weak nod of assent and a muffled yes- in reality, at least. Wherever he found his mind in, it had been much a stronger response there. ------ In reality, General Alexios had nodded in his turn and then spoken to Maria. "Forgive my sudden appearance, my good lady. Even now, the Princess moves to engage Imryll Duskbane-" A loud pop sounded as a wave of power breifly washed past them. Above them, a sphere of white fire and a sphere of black fire collided, a figure within each hard to make out but visible. "-and it is up to you which you will support. You can, of course, choose to try and slip away while they are so engaged. But if you choose that path, I must warn you of this." He pointed to the west. Over the ocean, there was what seemed to be a wall of solid darkness slowly but inevitably approaching- tearing up the land before it and sucking it into the void, where it fully disappeared from view. "You will have to escape from that. And I cannot guarantee you will find sanctuary on your own. Aid the Shadow Princess, and I swear to you that we will lead you straight to sanctuary after the First Sage of Light is dealt with. Whatever you choose... your actions will make it clear. Either way, I will be making good on my word to the Knight." He knelt down for a moment, gently removing the monocle from beneath Cerik's helm. Then, with a couple worried glances at the encroaching wall of darkness and the battle above, he began to climb the surprisingly gentle slope of this part of the mountain to the cave visible beneath the peak. ------ "You have to live for what your future holds." "My... future?" Cerik looked around. Images of a time past came into view around him. Marcygate. The order of knights, his king, his first love Luanda. Each broke away into pieces that moved away from him and faded as he moved to touch them, as if they were mirrors he had just shattered with a great blow. The guardian of the underwater ruins where he found the monocle. Salida. The deserter. The cultist leader- the cultist leader did not fade. Instead, he smiled. Then, he opened his mouth and Maria's voice came forth. "Plus that cultist leader would be disappointed! Don't let some cheap shot be your end!" A cheap shot... Cerik looked down at himself for the first time in what felt like forever. Through him and his armor, his very own sword Farcutter, crackling with electricity. The memories of what had just happened returned to him. Reaching for Salida's hand- sudden pain and betrayal. Mad ranting the last thing he heard before consciousness had faded from him. ... The surroundings before him shifted. Two paths unfolded before him. One toward that faint, distant light. And the other, deeper into a darkness that seemed all too blissful. At the fork of these paths stood his best friend of old. The one whose death had set him on the path of an adventurer. He spoke with a neutral expression. "Which will you choose, Cerik? Will you get back up and continue the fight? Continue to stand against evil in all it's forms? Or will you allow this to be your retirement? Let the embrace of death overtake you, reunite with me and all the rest that you have lost in your years?" A decision of great weight and import. Perhaps the greatest decision the knight would ever make. Reduced to a simple fork in the road. At another time, he might have laughed at the strangeness of it. But he didn't, and contemplated the choice before him. Maria's voice echoed all around one last time, loud and vibrant now. "You're a knight, aren't you?" ... A knight. ... You are a knight, Cerik Windshade. ... You have found your goddess. You are on the verge of an even greater power to combat the powers of evil. Would you truly let it all end here? ... "... No. My friend, there is not really a choice here, in the end. I am a knight. And a knight never gives up the fight until peace is clearly won." His old best friend smiled widely, stepping forward and clasping his shoulder. "I suspect that's what you'd choose in the end. Godspeed, Cerik. And one day? When the time comes for you to take the other fork... I'll be waiting for you with our favorite drink readied." Cerik grinned and returned his friend's gesture. "Better double that, my friend, I have no doubts that my thirst will be grand at the time. I can't say I look forward to that day right now, but I can promise I'll have a smile when we once again unite." With that, Cerik strode forth on the path toward the faint light. ------ In reality, Cerik sat up with a groan. Farcutter laid beside him, bloodied but no longer thrust through his lower torso. Amura floated nearby, Maria stood a short distance away. And above him, two beings of great power clashed. White fire and black fire. White fire... the First Sage of Light. He wasn't sure where he had picked up the title, or why he felt a revulsion upon hearing it. But he knew what he had to do. He clutched Farcutter in his right hand, and turned toward Maria slowly and with a wince. "A knight such as me... one would expect I would choose to support the Light without hesitation, no? But Light is not inherently good in every single instance. I have a feeling, Maria, that this light above us is not good, not just." In his left hand, he drew forth and tightly clutched the Storm's Eye. The air around them perceptibly began to shift as Cerik exerted his will over the weather around them. "If this Shadow Princess gives me an opening, we can end this in one blow. Coordinate your magic with me, and a swift victory will be assured. All I need is a couple minutes." He looked across the ledge, where two figures in white armor that almost seemed to glow approached with weapons in hand. White wings spread wide behind them. "... and it seems I'll need you to buy me those minutes. Our troubles should be over after this, I hope."

Speaking of porting, I think I may be interested in collabs in the future. It might be pretty cool to have some of the Yh'mi creatures make a cameo or two in Orbis Noctis. (My current WIP project on PGRP)

I think that is something that works well for me as well. You can keep the story you were working on, I keep my original setting. I'm cool with that.

"Ha ha ha! Sounds like quite an adventure. I cannot imagine myself searching all day for a dog. I'd probably have spent all day at some tavern making a partying mess of the place, while my lackeys did all the searching" Dauner chuckled. "Besides, why didn't you collect your payment? You could have easily taken what was enough to make up your payment from her house once she was gone, and a little extra for the trouble. Not like she'd ever be needing any of it anymore, right?" Dance! Guess it was about time to make things hectic. Like the old saying goes, 'The party's where Dauner's at!' "Well, guess I don't have much of a choice anymore." Dauner made his way to the violinist. "Hi there! Could you by any chance play us something?" he asked. The violinist, seeming to having understood, agreed, and began playing a wilder tune. Extending his arm as he bowed, Dauner looked to Kiki. "Care for a dance, m'lady?"

Thanks, @Mickey Flash, it's been fun RPing with ya! I'm always open to Discord RPs, or just chatting! We're friends on Discord, right?

*Hug*

Its been a wild past week... Sorry for my slow updates here... >_> I know this is like the worst timing but hey I am trying!

Maria wasn't even sure how to react to the crazed woman's ramblings. She had heard people say absurd things before when standing on deaths door but she had never quite heard such claims from them before. Was the artifact really capable of that? Cerik's goal was upgrading it but she didn't see that much of an upgrade as being possible... As she ponders the meaning of the merchants words the second blade of fire fizzles out of her hand the embers being carried off by the wind. She regains her composer as the ally to the merchant makes a move. It was clear by this point her words were likely insane ramblings… She couldn't rationalize how it would have happened but stranger things have occurred. His words were ones coming from betrayal and she felt sympathy for him. He didn't deserve what happened if he was controlled. "I am sorry I can't save you. You don't deserve death here. I will let him know." Is all she can really stumble out in response. She didn't know what else to say to comfort him but even if he had done wrong at least he made a right choice in the end and all deserve the chance for redemption. Hearing Salida's words now Maria looks down at her weapon then to Cerik. He was in no position to fight now and she had no idea what those two forces were. She doubted her ability to carry him far as he was a knight in armor and she was never focused on strength. She sighs a bit and moves over to him. Maybe the forces would pass by if nothing else maybe he'd wake in time and be able to fight. "Hey you! You can't pass here. It's not your time. You have to live for what your future holds. Plus that cultist leader would be disappointed! Don't let some cheap shot be your end! Your a knight aren't you?" She plants her weapon in the ground as she says this before standing back up and scratching some things in the ground to prepare for what may come if the forces do notice her. She may not be the strongest mage but any one with a sense for magic can be deadly when given enough time to prepare.

Kiki giggled at the sight of her date playing with the children, and she giggled when he returned to the blanket, "You're a childish one, Dauner A. Light," She says that as an observation, not a reprimand. She carefully lifts the lid of the food basket and inspects the foods within, finding them fitting for her taste. She picks up a baguette and and a jar of what is labeled as strawberry jam. She breaks off a bit of the bread and spreads the jam on it with a tiny silver knife. She takes a bite. Delicious! "You know, I still feel as if you're hiding things from me," She speaks after swallowing. "But you seem like a powerful mage, and those types are real used to keeping secrets. I don't blame you for not trusting me. After all, we're still technically strangers to each other." She takes another bite. "Still, I hope we'll stay in contact or at least meet again after this weekend." The piece of bread with jam is swallowed in full and she goes on to prepare another. "But, I also know powerful mages have a lot of good stories. Would you mind telling me some? Like, what was it that happened in Nu Martyr? I live there between jobs. Maybe I was present for the event?"

Grel did not attempt to maintain focus as the redhead's words turned to white noise in his ears. He was thinking about other things, like how would she react if, in a moment of passion, he bit into the mouthful of flesh between her breast and armpit. The hybrid inspected his fingernails, making them change color, and elongated and shortened his fingers from spindly to stubby. He looked around the hall they passed trough, determining that whoever they hired to do interior decoration must've been a blind hobo, and nearly kept walking when Pearl stopped in front of a large painting. The woman depicted in it was... elvish looking. Meaning she was all gentle facial features and light hair and pointy ears. Not his type. And neither was the other one. Sixteen years old? Total jailbait, for whoever got stiffies for women who had as many curves as a square. Still, whenever Pearl turned to face him he would nod or put on a smile. He didn't want his chances with her plummeting because he let show that he didn't like getting long history lessons from someone he viewed as another potential number to add to his body count. And besides, it seemed all this talking made her happy. So he would just need to keep her yapping and she would eventually fall into his grasp. Easy enough. Before his quarters she offered to stop calling him Nutmeg, and he thanked the stars for that. "It was Spinel, Commander. Like the gem." He said, taking her arm and planting a kiss on her knuckles. He winked at her, a smile curving his lips. "And don't worry, if I ever find myself in need of a strong, war-weary woman to save me during my stay here, I'll come knocking at your door. I still have to pry those battle tales out your lips, but the history you shared with me today will keep me sated until tomorrow." With that, he entered his room, giving the woman a small wave as he closed the door. "See you tomorrow, Commander~!"

Heads up for any new members-- Valucre is sunsetting We're moving on to a new site and you're all more than welcome to come. Join us on Pretty Good Roleplay!

So yeah y’all I have the same pfp name and everything. @supernal thank you very much friend!

How long had it been? Days, weeks, months? The whole situation seemed like a long, horrible nightmare. Malaysia had been repeatedly tortured at the hands of their enemies; consistently drained of her blood only to be restored again. They kept her weak; until they didn't. She was rescued by Ayden and Alukai. Her husband and brother were such a welcome sight, and seeing them ignited a forgotten fire within the Imperial Goddess. She was in for the fight of her life and she had to give it one last go, because unlike the memories that she had been plagued with for months, this was real. Alukai and Ayden were actually in the Underworld, they were within arms reach, and they had come to save her. Together they succeeded and escaped back to Vdara, and once landing on the cold floor of their throne room, and before she and Ayden were carried away to the infirmary, Malaysia had caught a glimpse of her children before passing out; Aremis and Anastasia were alive. Her suffering was not in vain. The next few days were a blur and despite having her enhanced healing abilities, fatigue and exhaustion wore her thin. Malaysia did not want to wander far from Ayden as he continued to rest and recuperate, but she did wish to feel the sunlight on her face. Wrapped up in a navy blue robe, bare feet hit the golden tile floor of their bed chamber where both she and Ayden had been moved to under the watchful care of their physicians. It was more comfortable here for them and their physicians felt it would be a welcome site after all the king and queen had been through. With a soft glance over her shoulder, she looked at her husband, as if to make sure that he was still there and that this as not some evil trick or dream. She thought about reaching out to touch him, to reassure herself of his tangible form, but she did not want to wake him. Pushing off from the mattress, Malaysia slowly made her way through the double wide french doors that led the the balcony. Long, navy blue curtains danced in the cool morning breeze while rays of sunlight poured down on her. Crimson tears welled up in closed eyes as she felt the warmth of the sun hit her skin, and she let out a huge sigh. Just like everything else, it was all very surreal. While being held captive, the thought of never being able to see her family and her home again crossed her mind several times. Deep blue hues opened, releasing her tears as they slid down her face leaving bloodied streaks in their wake. Her hands grasped the bannister to support herself as the she leaned heavily into it. Her shoulders shuttered, Malaysia wept.. in fear and in relief.

@Mickey Flash o/ Been a fun ride friend!

Pearl felt Nutmeg squeeze her arm slightly through her elbow sleeve chainmail, and she wondered if he was testing her muscle strength. She said nothing about what could have been a harmless and innocent act, but she was starting to think that this male was more complicated than she knew. He quickly interrupted any thoughts she might have had about who he was as a person by bringing up her favorite subject… her home. Now she would be able to talk about something she loved, and she could not resist the little history lesson she planned to give. Her version was not quite the same as the history books, however. For she added her own version of things and her own firsthand knowledge as well. “Well, the land started out as a place called Lothrei. Dragons supposedly took over the land thousands of years ago. They killed and consumed everything, until the inhabitants of Lothrei had to wage war. After the dragons were defeated the land was run by the elves. They live for long periods of time, are usually fair of mind, and strong as well. Queen Nylam was the ruler of the land not six years ago. She got sick and while she was ailing a group of rebels from some other dimension forced a takeover. They were called Rainbow Bridge. They brought guns, tanks, cars and such to the land. They soon left though, back to the dimension they came from.” She paused as she recalled those times. “I was hired by the head of Rainbow Bridge to be the military leader then. When he left so did my position, though Skacharm allowed me to continue on in the military until I earned the spot back.” She shook off those personal memories, walking along the wide hallways. She stopped in front of a painting of a very beautiful elven woman. “This is a portrait of Queen Nylam. The queen died, and another had to take her place. That was Queen Malia.” She moved down a portrait to another beautiful elven female, only this one was younger. “She was sixteen when that portrait was taken.” She paused letting Nutmeg soak it in. “The young queen was unsure of herself and her ability to lead, and it showed. Many different assassination attempts happened around that time. It was hard to keep her safe. We agreed that she needed to be trained to protect herself. She went into hiding.” She kept walking along, her hand atop his sleeve absently, as if they were old friends. She could not help but feel closer to the male when talking about her home, her leaders. “I helped train her, you know. She is very good with a bow and arrow.” She walked slowly, her eyes off into another time instead of the area in front of her. “She came back to rule and had two attempts on her life before she got to blow out the candles on her eighteenth birthday cake. Needless to say, she was not allowed out much. Then the Spirit Wars happened.” A shiver went through her, and she shook it off. She gave him a false smile as she recollected where she was at. “She was sucked into another dimension, and though she was only gone for two years here it was over one hundred years for her in that dimension. She does not talk about it much. I think it must have been a horrible place to live.” She stopped in front of a room with a nice view of the courtyard. “I believe this is where you are to stay the night.” She freed her arm from his casually and clasped her hands together in front of her. “I will be down the hall there,” she nodded down the long hallway, “about three doors down. There is a bell by the bed for the servants if you need something.” She held her hand out for him to take for a handshake. “It’s nice to meet you…. Um, you do not like to be called Nutmeg, do you? What name was it that you gave me? I’m sorry, but I forgot.” She gave a sheepish shrug to admit such a weakness but being in her home and talking about it made her fell a little less on guard with him and a little more friendly. @500bees

Once more for the people in the back.

Thanks for sharing! I definitely noticed that there seemed to be a curious discrepancy of style between the parasitic monsters and the organic-inorganic hybrid things people were stumbling across. That's cool that it was two competing horrors, and the characters were caught in what was effectively a battle/hunt between them. I was admittedly looking forward to what was going to come next for Taylor, and perhaps even more now that I see what could have happened. It totally would have been good with me if she got hopelessly mutated by the star or something. lol Oh well, nevertheless, thanks for all your work running this thread up to this point!

@stuv @500bees @supernal Roll call! You guys mind replying here if you intend to be continuing this roleplay on Pretty Good? Still reply even if I’ve witnessed your migration to the new site. Just helps me keep track and others see!

@Mystic_Lhoth @ticklefarte @Dabi Roll call! You guys mind replying here if you intend to be continuing this roleplay on Pretty Good? Still reply even if I’ve witnessed your migration to the new site. Just helps me keep track and others see!

When you want to log in but your email is locked due to ‘Preventing Unauthorised Access’: why

So... we have a few weeks/near a month to finish this. At this point it doesn't matter if it gets canonized or not lmao (since the Lagrimosa setting as a whole is not carrying forward, just bits and pieces at discretion), I just want to finish this as my last hurrah on Valucre (except maybe a solo thread regarding Aligoria). 10 more posts from me, 11 more from you. If we don't quite reach before Val hits the archive, we can certainly play out what remains to be done on the new site, if you're down. I'm already working in the end of Valucre to this thread because it seems fitting and fun lol

Posted out of order, hope that's okay. I hope it might be the push we need.

Igni stepped into the ballroom fashionably late, looking around with a mixture of delight and bewilderment. Creatures were everywhere. Two-footed, mostly, but all brimming with magic. Pointy ears, glowing eyes, and enough skin showing to make a dragon blush. Seeing people always dressed made them look downright odd without clothes. The staff were doing their best to get the fae creatures into coats, but there were so many of them, and so disinclined to wear the items of clothing offered that their efforts were largely in vain. One poor fool approached Igni and offered her a dark coat. “My lady, please, the dress code…” he faded off when he saw the coat would never fit her anyway. She gave him a sympathetic look, but strode past towards the table of food. Carpet was there, allops in one hand and a nearly empty plate in another, looking about like a child looking for a way to cause mischief. “Congratulations on your catch!” Igni said, accepting a drink from a passing waiter in a clear, slender glass. She took a sip and frowned at it, then nodded in satisfaction. “Are you going to name your little friend there? You seem the kind sort. Of all the creatures to be caught by here, if I were an allop I think I would prefer you.” She smiled warmly. @ThatWeirdBlobThing

÷ When the OBELUS account was first created, the intent was to interact with the site purely in-character in order to retain the mystery. In light of the recent announcement of Valucre’s sunset, I’ll be speaking more directly to you. Back in 2018, when we first proposed the project to supernal, we saw the lack of a shared, world-wide canon as an issue. The Obelus project was originally intended to facilitate the creation of a consistent, unified plot that encompassed most (if not all) of the places and lore on Valucre. Much has changed since then, particularly our priorities and perspectives on Valucre and roleplay as a whole. Three years after the account was created, the Obelus project will be ending with the sunset of Valucre. While we were never able to accomplish our original goals, the Obelus project was not without its successes. Through this account, we were able to facilitate several ARG puzzles that saw the involvement of many members of Valucre. It was a delight watching users pore over our puzzles and work together to unravel the narrative of the Spiros siblings. We were also able to run a group thread about the death of Elendaron and see it to completion, with positive feedback from all users involved. The initial support from and eventual April Fools collaboration with Grand Mainframe was also a highlight of this project. All in all, the Obelus Project was able to push the boundaries of forum roleplay and introduce Valucre to unique types of gameplay. It has been a good run, and the creators have agreed it’s for the best to let it retire. To be able to speak more candidly - it would only be fair to reveal who was behind the curtain all this time. If you wish to retain the mystery for yourself, feel free to skip over the spoiler below. For those who felt disappointed by the lack of a proper ending for the Grand Election, I hope these “official” art pieces may be of some consolation. Humanoid ARG character designs Obelus says goodbye (and may or may not have caused reality to disintegrate) While the Obelus project is ending, I intend to eventually start other ARG and ARG-adjacent projects with similar experimental gameplay on Pretty Good Roleplay. I hope to see you all there - especially the other ARG creators ( @Grand Mainframe @elixir @AD AM ) If you have further questions or messages for OBELUS you may post them below.

I’ve been on this site for around 5 years - some users have been here for more, and others less. But to quote the migrant guide (which I wrote most of): “... ultimately, all things come to an end. Valucre's end is less it dying, and more of all the great ideas behind it being reborn into something better and brighter.” I’ve seen two extremes for large-scale RP site setup. They’re either very open and freeform, which breeds amateur godmodding murderhobos, or they’re too structured, with too many barriers to entry, and at worst become an elitist circlejerk of veterans. Valucre is in many ways a successful attempt to find the middle ground between the two - it avoids super high barriers without sacrificing quality engagement, and over the years many users have built wonderful things and played amazing storylines on here. But Pretty Good Roleplay takes all this to the next level, far exceeds what Valucre had, and strikes the golden balance. Whereas I've seen roleplay on Valucre focused on the world and things you can do in the world, or things you can gain or take away from the world, PGRP takes a step back to frame things in the bigger picture - how should a game world be built? How can you build a game world that is both fun to manage and fun to play in, one that supports fulfilling long-term storylines but doesn't lead to burnout? Instead of the bureaucracy that often plagued the board leader system, game managers on PGRP have full liberty over settings they create. Instead of viewing settings as merely places characters can travel to and do whatever they please in, PGRP frames them as games where the game manager has full control in defining what kind of storylines they support, what kind of approaches they encourage (whether it's combat, socializing, or others), their canonization process, and other useful criteria. In the end, play-by-post roleplay is a game. Different players want to play different kinds of games, and different game managers want to run different types of games. What PGRP did is built a freeform system that supports game managers who want to run the games they want to, while making it easier for players to find games that they want to join. At the same time, that system rewards sustainable, dynamic game management and encourages sustainable roleplay. ✨ The migrant guide goes into these things in more detail but it's all pretty amazing and I'm excited to see what stuff you guys create on there. I’ll see you on the other side :)))

Destruction, interference, assimilation, hijacking, anti-magic, magic jamming, at the end of the day it’s all magic. Through countless fights and an endless cycle of building and breaking magical systems, Ashton had come to understand this fundamental truth. And from this fundamental truth he came to understand a second, and perhaps even more important truth; systems hate chaos. Magic requires precision and order; the slightest tweaking of variables makes it wildly dangerous or in some instances utterly useless. Changing a single value can break a spell, or cause it to backfire. It’s this randomness, this lack of order, that Ashton hopes to introduce and capitalize on with his latest spell. Michael, who stands tall, braving the cloud as it engulfs him, confident in his own ravenous power, assuming that his magic will protect him from the glimmering dust, allowing it to ebb past and around him, has miscalculated. Although, to be fair, so has Ashton. It isn’t instant, the reaction of two magical systems interacting, but Michael’s devouring barrier is the catalyst that procs the transformation1. There is a brief but intense flash, the ground heaves, and rubble rains from the sky. The thunderous roar that accompanies it is indistinguishable from the concussive impact blast that follows, the timeframe between the two is simply too small to measure. The simple truth is that, as much as Ashton would have preferred to inject chaos directly into Michael’s system, it’s much easier to create a system that reacts randomly. The reactive field he created, with no known outcome in mind, converts into a blast of lightning. The 30’ cloud, which Michael stands three feet deep in, explodes2. With both fighters off center, it becomes a directional charge, one that launches Ashton toward Michael, and presumably launches Michael away from Ashton. And although the bombardment of ionized particle and searing plasma is without a doubt damaging, the bulk of the energy is expelled as a shockwave which lifts and hurls not only the fighters but the ground itself, several dozen feet.

"Everybody! All toget-hrrkkk!" Sheryl gasped, her words of encouragement cut off by the insectoid queen's counterattack. She could feel her throat being squeezed by an invisible force, and she desperately attempted to fight back, the only way she knew how. It was not real. She was not being choked. Well it sure as hell felt real. The Knightess grit her teeth and held her breath, a master of air now being deprived of it. It pissed her off. She struggled, but she was still aware of the situation. The Queen was being overwhelmed, slowly, but surely. She might have been able to overwhelm the will and power of any one of them on their lonesome, but together, she was losing out. Just one more push. Even as her vision went blurry Sheryl kept up her pressure to try and hold the Queen in place, to make sure she could not escape any attack from her fellows.

Charlie's request would practically go unheard due to the chaos that seemed to be overwhelming the Queen. It seemed like she didn't have a window to wrest back control of the battle, her every opportunity being halted by one or more of those she wished to kill. Then suddenly, some unseen force ripped her arm right off her body, causing the warped world they were in to shift. Charlie started to see the hazy visages of people he thought dead. Vlad, Fideltas, Ilene (who was somewhat relieved to see for reasons you all know too well), and Ed. They seemed a little roughed up, but not beaten. Vlad was holding a flame thrower and the unmoving carcass of a creature resembling the queen lay on the ground in front of them. "The hell?" said Charlie as he squinted, wondering if he were merely imagining it again. Yh'mi had been playing with his mind on a near constant basis, so he unwisely chose not to pay too much attention to them or the opaque, tentacle-ridden cavern that now seemed to surround them. He only focused on the things that seemed tangible, like the now furious Bug-Queen that was now getting to her feet. Her eyes blazed with hot, yellow anger as the larvae became even more frenzied. Charlie quickly found out that his mind-warping flames no longer worked as the previously turned larvae vehemently refocused their festering hunger back on their intended targets. Charlie slung blue flames at them as they barreled towards him with alarming speed, but his new power no longer had any effect. "Seriously!?" Charlie yelped as he turned and ran away from the approaching cascade of death. He found himself quickly approaching Soryn, who didn't seem to be moving at all. "Move it ***hole!" he said quickly before running right into him and carelessly shoving him to the side. Despite Charlie's smaller frame, the heat he'd accumulated had significantly beefed him up and would have caused the shove to send Soryn airborne and to the floor several yards away. Charlie kept running as the horde drew closer to the journalist's body, and he would have kept running had the figure of a small handicapped girl not appeared a distance in front of him. Charlie skidded to a halt as his head began to hurt. The look the girl was giving him was a broken one. Not of disappointment, but of the fresh realization...of crushed hope. It didn't suit her. It didn't suit her at all. Charlie looked behind him to see Soryn's motionless form on the ground, the larvae almost to him. He then turned to look back at the girl, but she was gone. The way was clear. He resumed his run. The larvae were now descending on the journalist in masse, a few feet and less than a second between him and their next meal. But they would sink their teeth into nothing but the snowy ground. Just before they could engulf Soryn, two hands grabbed his arms and yanked him away. The mass of larvae made for a second pounce, but Charlie stepped in front of them. The larvae came down on him like a four-hundred pound mound of rocks. Rocks with teeth. They bit and snagged at him as he struggled, trying to tear him apart. But his act only bought the immobile Soryn a few extra seconds before more larvae piled in front of the mound that sat atop Charlie. They prepared to pounce on Soryn again. Suddenly, a bright-orange beam of fire blasted out of the mound engulfing Charlie. It hit the wave of larvae approaching Soryn and blasted them to pieces. The reason more didn't immediately follow up would become obvious as the mound of larvae atop Charlie began to smoke and sizzle. Then melt. The larvae's soupy remains cascaded down Charlie's blinding hot form. His entire body was now a luminescent pillar of fire, the heat coming off of him causing the massive swarm to instinctively try to go around to get to Soryn. With a guttural, primal yell, Charlie knelt and swung his body and hands upwards. Massive jet's of fire erupted from the floor in front of him, immediately incinerating any larvae trying to advance in their direction and causing their remains to rain down in seared chunks. Charlie fell to his knees, but then quickly got back up, his body still burning brightly. It would seem like he was just standing there and gazing ahead, but his mind was elsewhere. His eyes flicked in every direction as he saw his life playing out before him. He remembered the poverty, the starvation, the fear, the kindness, the acceptance, the love, and the hope. He wanted to linger on the hope, but it just kept right on going to the doubt. Then the failure. Then the death. The sting of death. Then the evil. His evil. He was such a different person than before. Nothing like the boy his family knew and loved. His eyes stopped flickering and slowly focused on the queen. It was people like her that created people like him. People like her that destroyed people like him. He felt his hate fester back to the forefront of his mind, and all he could see was bright red. "It's because of YOU!" he shouted with a strained, ethereal, voice as he began sprinting towards the queen, picking up unnatural speed. "YOU DID THIS TO ME!!" Charlie charged towards the queen like a flaming cannonball, balling his fist to send her high into the air with a powerful, explosive, punch to the gut. Although the blow would not kill the sturdy queen outright, the pain and injuries alone would daze her and leave her open in the air for another strike. @Dolor Aeternum