There once was a little chicken. LasaLoraine was the name of this Glitchen. She loved to jump high and look for bugs (Beta). What she loved most was all the Glitchen Hugs. Mining and crafting were among her favs. Her big brother Artilect also loved those days.
**I wanted to post 3 pictures as well but my phone is not allowing me to add them. One is of the real life LasaLoraine kissing a huge ceramic pig while visiting Cincinnati, OH. The next was of the real life LasaLoraine and my son wearing chicken hats in a halloween store. The last was of my glitchen LasaLoraine in a jumping shocked pose and also the image I am wanting to get tattooed on my left inner ankle. Oh, and Artilect (my big glitchen and real life brother) bought me a Chicken mask that I have worn the last 2 years while taking my son trick or treating. This year I went as a funky chicken! I lobe Glitch...aka Eleven!
I used to be creative and a GREAT bug catcher (note the butterflies stalking me) [[[PLEASE don't fix that bug]]] But ever since glitch t-Ur-ned off I've been lost like a nub in the ancient lands. It would make my glitchmas to play- and I may even have a smidge of coding skills. Also, I like puns
Twas the night before Glitchmas And beyond Toxic Moon A dark rook was gloating Its revenge would come soon It had woken the Giants And their dreams had all fled When they forgot the last image All of Ur would be dead!
There came a great roar "Destroy all our homes? O.M.G.! Nevermore! We'll fight for our trees, Our rocks and our chickens, Back off, cruel crow! We're done taking lickin's! We can't possibly go, That would be quite preposterous! We'll fight for our world No matter the cost to us."
Quaffing potions and elixirs We came bounding and bouncing "Watch out, you old rook, You're in for a trouncing!"
And as one we all rose Waving spices and bubbles We all focussed our orbs And banished our troubles.
The Glitchen rejoiced As the rook cursed and grumbled But it could only observe as Into dreams Giants tumbled
And in every street, All over the lands Our Jethimadh Tower, The planks in our hands, The sloths in their trees, The cubimal races, The gems and the guano Reappeared in their places!
Twas the night after Glitchmas And tucked into their beds Eleven Giants lie dreaming Glitchen safe in their heads.
I posted the following Note on Facebook just after the End of the World. I re-discovered it today and wanted to share it with what remains of Ur. Given how well things are going with Slack, it was quite prophetic!
I have had the honor to play Glitch, a massively multiplayer online game, since its infancy in alpha development. Over the past three years, I have watched both the game, the community, and the company (Tiny Speck) grow in remarkable ways and have observed some of the most principled leadership and best practices imaginable.
Stewart Butterfield, Flickr founder, is someone to keep an eye on. His leadership of Tiny Speck and of the Glitch world is unlike anything I have ever encountered in any industry. We all know how important it is to "consider all stakeholders," but Stoot (as he is known in the game) set the bar to record heights. Throughout the game's lifetime, I always remarked at how truly interactive the developers and other staff were with the players. Through the message boards and in-game interaction, it was clear that Stoot himself was deeply embedded in the fabric of everything and had his ear to the ground. Never before had I seen such immediate, and large actions taken from the comments/complaints/suggestions of just a small handful or even a single player/customer.
And now the Glitch world has come to an end. As the PCWorld article describes, Stoot announced in mid-November that "the end of the world" was coming on December 9th and the game would be shut down. He had come to the conclusion that the game would never achieve the critical mass it needed to be profitable and sustainable, and there was nothing further he or Tiny Speck or the vast player community could do about it. Not only would the game be shutting down, but he promised to give REFUNDS to players who had purchased a subscription within a certain time frame. What company have you ever heard of decides to close shop before they actually run out of money and actually has enough money left over to financially apologize to its customers for its failure? For a leader who had been brave enough a year ago to send his project *back* into beta after release because it just wasn't good enough for prime time yet, this bold decision was not out of character.
In addition to the optional refunds (or charitable donations of refunds, which is also unheard of), Stoot also set up a "hire a Specker" page to help his Tiny Speck staff find new jobs and assured them he would do everything within his power to keep them well situated.
Talk about principled leadership and responsibility to ALL stakeholders! Through these actions, Stoot leaves behind a large swath of people, both players and staff, who would likely follow him to the ends of the Earth. We are all sad and grieving the loss of our community, but highly appreciative of the constant, transparent, authentic communication from Stoot and, unlike the wrath and outrage frequently expressed by others in similar situations, we feel a sense of closure.
(This was a story I wrote when many of us were obsessed with the glitch that allowed getting up in the attics of our houses. Posted in 2 parts as it is too long for the character limit)
"The Attic" had been something of a "destination of desire" for many of my friends lately. We were all fascinated, perhaps even a little obsessed. You see a new space and want to explore both the place and the questions that immediately arise: How do I get up there? What's up there? What can I do up there?
Much jumping and squirming ensued, and I finally managed to gain access (with a method no longer available.)
I got up there and I must say, I wasn't actually that amazed. I mean, I'd seen attics before and this was one of them. Nothing out of the ordinary, very much the kind of place you would imagine, woody, splintery, dark and seemingly empty. To be honest finally getting up here was a bit of a letdown. But I also knew that it wouldn't be too difficult, with a bit of work, to fix the place right up.
So I dove right in, bringing up a few random items, some cubis and even a pot of flowers. I took a break, looked around and was actually surprised and very pleased with the initial results. The formerly drab, dusty attic had quickly been transformed into a cozy new addition to my new house. My mind began to formulate possibilities for this newly claimed space. Piggy Parlor? Dance Nook? Meditation Studio?
I was taking another look around when I noticed something that had somehow previously escaped my notice. Over in one of the corners was a small pile of Hot Pepper. Next to the Pepper was a smudged scrap of paper, which read, "Do Not Touch! Property of"...
Unfortunately that was all I could read. The rest of the note was missing, torn away or perhaps consumed by hungry mice.
I read it again. "Do Not Touch! Property of" made no sense. These houses were brand new. Who could have been up here before me? No one had ever lived here before. I couldn't begin to make sense of it so I decided instead to simply carry on and keep at it.
I looked through my tool kit and found a hoe, a shovel and even a a barnacle scraper, but no broom. Improvising, I decided to use the what was left of the Note as a makeshift dust pan while picking up as much of the Hot Pepper as I could with the Scraper.
As soon as the scraper touched the Pepper there was a deafening roar. My hands rose to cover my ears as a burst of dark smoke filled the room. I began to gasp and cough as the temperature rose from pleasant to beyond scorching in a matter of seconds.
Throbbing pain filled my skull as I grew dizzy and my vision began to fail. I rocked back and forth, trying to keep my balance when suddenly, perhaps 5 feet in front of me a human form began to emerge from the billowing smoke. My brain struggled to identify the menacing figure that was now quickly approaching. Here I was, all alone and trapped in the attic with...whatever this was. I attempted to scream for help through my ceaseless coughing, but alas there was no one around for miles. I knew then that I was doomed to perish alone in a room that just moments before had been filled with little more than the potential for a fun-filled future.
I was on the verge of losing consciousness. With my last ounce of energy I managed (how I know not) to pull out my camera and take a snapshot of the rapidly advancing figure. Although I would surely perish at the hands of this demon, I wanted my last action on Urth to leave a record of this tragic, horrifying event in order that others might someday find my camera and thus be warned of the dangers lurking above us all.
My eyes closed as I collapsed. As I fell to the ground my skin began to smoulder and burn. Thankfully at that point I was plunged into a sweet, dark unawareness, sure only of my impending death.
How much time passed I do not know. All I do know is that I awoke. And to my extreme surprise I was not, as I very much expected, in any form of afterlife. Instead I was on my back, staring straight up at what was clearly the ceiling of my attic.
I sat up with some difficulty and looked around. The appearance of the attic had not changed since....since when? How long had passed? Hours, days, perhaps even weeks? Everything that happened, that seemed to have happened...was it real? I groaned as I struggled to stand. My breathing seemed fine, but my head was still sore. I reached bag and found a large, painful bump where I suppose my head must have hit the floor.
None of it made any sense. I thought back to the vision I had experienced. It must have been my imagination. I tried to remember what I had been doing before I made my way up to the attic. Had I been indulging in too much Hooch? Or Purple? Oh....maybe I had been mixing them in that strangely enjoyable cocktail I had recently invented.
I knew right then that I would not be partaking of any more vision-inducing cocktails any time soon. I decided that as soon as I got some food in my belly I would get back to work on the attic. As I moved to exit, something in the corner caught my eye.
I froze. There, exactly where it had been in my vision, lay a somewhat crumpled scrap of paper! And right next to it, to my horror, sat a very familiar looking pile of Red Pepper! I had, over the years, often read the phrase "My mind reeled" in any number of the poorly written adventure stories that occupied so much of my free time. At the precise moment when I realized that the Note and the Hot Pepper were back I gained an instantaneous understanding of this hackneyed phrase. I struggled in vain to comprehend the implications of my discovery. If the note was still there, or there again, or there at all...it could only mean that my "vision" was no vision at all, which was of course impossible. I could not begin to reconcile the conflicting possibilities. In my agitation I collapsed once more, pulling my hair and roughly slapping my face, hoping to escape from what was surely just a hallucinatory aftershock, a final apparition before the various substances I had ingested were done taunting me with their tortuous confusion. My mind reeled indeed!
There was no moment of realization, no dawning awareness of what had "really" happened or not. There was only confusion, followed by more confusion and finally, mercifully, a small island of clarity in the midst of the raging sea of bewilderment. I clung to this tiny speck of lucidity, still unable to comprehend what had happened but undeniably certain about what I needed to do. Keeping an eye on the Note and the Hot Pepper, I crouched down and did a quick scan of the floor. There! I reached out and wrapped my fingers around the scorched black metal body of my camera. The glass lens was shattered. Even after I slid the mangled digicam into my pocket my hand refused to let go. Whether this was because I was afraid I might drop it or because I was afraid it might be taken from me I can't say.
Finally, after glancing once more at the Note and nearby pile of Hot Pepper, I stood with some difficulty and focused, concentrating as best I could on leaving this accursed place. After a few shaky attempts I found myself at the front of my house.
Daring not enter, I made my way to the street sign and without looking grasped the first name my hand encountered. Moments later I was pounding on a door. After some delay the door was opened and there stood a sleepy looking F....., rubbing her half-closed eyes as I pushed past inside and immediately locked the door behind us.
That was two days ago. F..... looks at me with a strange expression every time our eyes meet. She says she believes me, but I'm not sure that she does. I'm not even sure I believe me. The one thing I do know is that she is getting tired of me sleeping on her couch. And of course my own Yeti Beddy is soooo much more comfortable than her lumpy Love Seat.
F.....thinks I should get it over with, try and fix my camera and see what, if anything, is on there. Did I even take a shot? What if I did? What if what I see there is even worse than what I remember? What if there is no photo? No photo could mean anything...I still wouldn't know.....anything.
I know it might help to see either way, but I'm in no hurry for another look at whatever I encountered up in The Attic. And I'm certainly not quite ready to go /home yet.
Fin
+++++++++++
ETA: Please note that though I am the poster of the events related above, I am not the Glitch to whom this happened. By chance I happened to hear about this strange tale from a mutual friend, proceeded to contact the Glitch involved and conducted the interview you have just read. Signed on this day of our Giants, Hairday, 10th of Bruise, Year 21: The Cat Face.
Man, I was thinking I'd come up with some great knitting project to do and hurry up and create it and I see I wouldn't even be the first to do that! Y'all are awesome.
So heres my entry. Hope you dont mind that I took some picture from this forum :P. I tried to make a little special video about Glitch and ended up with this:
Not really happy how it turned out, but I just couldnt continue editing this video cause it just takes so much time. I hope some of you still like it.
Although not nearly as creative as most of you other Glitchen, I made this emobear back in the fall of 2011. We took a few trips to the ocean together, tossed back a few brews, shared a few laughs. He lives in a cardboard box now, here's hoping he gets back on his feet someday soon. https://www.flickr.com/photos/zoom1487/6196254317/
I survived(barely) the Great Glitchen Dispersion and found a home away from home in Manyland. There I have carved out a little niche that helps fill the void til once more I can return home. (Please, please, with cherries from my fruit tree) If I can figure out how to get past all the red tape and not lose my place in the line here in the bureaucrats office I will try to post some of the pictures to show. Oh and by the way if you ever stop by to visit Manyland look for me there. I am Ms Cinn Ur. It is suppose to be missing Ur although many take it to mean Ms Sinner... ah well guess it could go either way.
Glitchen and Elevensies, lend me your wool-gathering!
Twas upon these dark days three years ago, that the internet lost its very core of creativity. The heart that once beat erratically, and with grand randomosity, was stilled in mid-triple-bound. Long were our hours of darkness, held as captives of a rookian reality, thick with drudgery and common sense and divisible numbers. Our trees did not talk, our abodes lacked butlers, and the pigs simply yielded various states of bacon.
But lo! The glimmer of hope! Like a dropped Mirror with Scribbles on It by a note that says, "Enjoy this random gift, you lucky biped!" A sudden sense of amazement and wonder is upon us! For as we have gathered in wounded community, so let us unite in the optimism and celebration of this sacred invitation. Let us rejoice, as a distant portal is discovered that promises entrance to the vast and wonderful world of side-streets and exits.
(Though it is a small door, we all have mastery-level experience with keys, having been exposed to circular, triangle, square, and hexagon ones of a variety of colors.)
And with the passing of keys, so shall joy go forth in the land. May the infectious smiles begin to reign and assist in restoring this once beautiful world of happiness, cooperation, and Prisencolinensinainciusol.
May such lullabies of gratitude and victory erupt from us all, as the giants among us dare to dream again.
** blink blink** Where am I ? All I can see is hazy blue, pink, purple, and yellow like a Distant Sky... I can't see or move my body,or any others near me! What can I feel? {I must remain calm}
..Wait ... I recall .. this must be the un-betwixt, from the Great Un-Imagining...
I am present..........almost forgot this feeling of stillness ....
At least I still have my memories and my imagination .. joy....
Such lovely memories of sharing Ur with newly met friends, some became best friends...
How I loved my house, my garden, street, Sensei Rock, my butleress Jade. Ahh,decorating ...
... Recall..........Almost forgot this feeling of comfort ....
I know what to do now,.... I can survive- I must take refuge in my bittersweet memories until the Eleven Giants dream again and re-imagine me into a new Ur...... I must remember , to remain ....
... What is not forgotten is never truly lost ........**blink ....blink..nod***
Well, the giants must be smiling down on me! Here are the snaps. (Sorry, I mean links to the snaps...sigh. Do I get points for at least figuring out how to get the links? ) http://snapshot.manyland.com/t8f9sct5md.png, http://snapshot.manyland.com/d98ksz3sxu.png, http://snapshot.manyland.com/eqdqyet5ey.png, http://snapshot.manyland.com/tu7y6zxbwe.png, http://snapshot.manyland.com/n4nvqri6w3.png, http://snapshot.manyland.com/epkt98tbee.png, http://snapshot.manyland.com/avfpyys5tp.png, I have integrated into Manyzen society but for me once a glitchen, always a glitchen, and a glitchen I will forever be. I assure you I have been a model gltchen manyzen spreading glitchen warmth and cheer. Telling everyone who would willingly listen (as I have said, my name there is Ms Cinn Ur, missing ur not Ms Sinner, has turned out to be a very good opening hehe) of the wonders of the lost Ur and the hopes of regaining it someday. I swear I am on no watch list, and have never dealt with any shady characters. Well, I do remember doing business in a back alley once but that was to obtain necessary papers...oh, and yes I did try to smuggle a package once or twice but never anything else, honest! Now for the last snap link, as Dorothy said while clicking her heels together "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's..." http://snapshot.manyland.com/t65xurmsvy.png Hope to see you all there soon!
My sister, who was Persephone on Glitch, and would be so happy to get into the Alpha, made me a Christmas ornament of my Glitch, Girlgeek, as a comfort after the game closed. The funny thing about our characters was that she hadn't seen mine when she signed up for the game, and ended up choosing the same skin tone and facial features. I love this thing so much!
I made some Zille and Grendaline themed accents over on Flight Rising...
(like Morgue said below, Glitch meant a lot to me at a really difficult time in my life, and I can't wait to see it reborn. ♥)
Edit: thought I'd make a quick Friendly-themed one too, because I love Friendly! Also, Friendly and cute nocturnal bat-dragons were obviously meant to be.
i made this shortly before glitch closed; it's me in jal, one of my favorite areas second only to my birthplace, chakra phool. glitch meant so much to me and i miss it every day. it helped me through a lot of rough stuff, and lately life only seems rougher so i really would love to be there for its rebirth.
if i have time before the contest closes i might redraw it but until then here's me more recently:
here's hoping i did the img codes right because my brain is fried
Wrote a poem, about the end, around the time of the end, hope you like it
The wind blows, the tress whisper Come back, they say. The heart tries and tries, but fails. The chickens whimper, the butterflies swoon, so full of milk and wheat neither can move. How do you escape something that can't be escaped? How do you bring back what appears to be lost? The bubble trees itch, waiting for a Glitch. Pet me, pet me, they cry. But you can't pet what doesn't exist. The Alakol Mountains scream for fun and skydiving but you can't jump off what we all considered lofts. The gardens cry, their tears no more refreshing than the Glitch that can't water them. As the horse draws neigh, the sloths slow, slower than a crawl time as well. As the end draws close, closer than we want to believe, closer than anyone expected, closer than Stoot wanted to ever believe, an astronomical thought hits us. Maybe we dreamed this, all the laughter, random kindness, crabs and music, the infamous Yeti, the Unity. The end has arrived. But some Dreams can never be forgotten, and this was one.
Okay, so I've spent every day since this post went up wracking my brains for a truly spectacular way to demonstrate my passion, my creativity, my INHERENT WORTHINESS to join the Alpha community. Of course, this was always going to be a tall order, given how outrageously creative the Glitch community has always been, and how darn many of us are itching to get our little feet back on solid Urth.
So first I was going to draw a beautiful picture, showing me, Miss Coco, frolicking in the meadows with you, the Eleven Alphateers. I was so happy to be there! You were so happy I was there! Oh, how we laughed and laughed! It was truly glorious. I had gel pens.
But then my butler, Prudence, sidled up beside me and, with a gentle *ahem*, reminded me that I have absolutely no drawing talent whatsoever. Like, literally the only thing I can draw is a cartoon bunny. Just the head. And it only has one expression. It's actually pretty creepy.
So the drawing wasn't going to work out, but I was undaunted! I cannot draw, but I can definitely write, so I set out to write an epic story of Ur and me and you and the Giants and how happy we all were to be together again. This took up much of my week, as I confined myself only to a quill for maximum authenticity. The epic was shaping up wonderfully, but then things started going inexplicably awry. The Giants started saying things that, frankly, were rather inappropriate for a public message board, and then Tii got drunk and Pot started slapping a piggy and--
Right. Honestly, the less said about it, the better.
Slightly daunted at this point, but still determined to persevere, I decided I could write something else. A song! With a familiar tune and clever lyrics, something about Ur and HOW BADLY I WANT TO GET BACK THERE. But then I took a break to browse this very same thread, and lo! Other people had already done songs of just that sort--and dagnabbit, they were freakin' brilliant. I laughed like crazy and then I cried because I was completely out of ideas. Consumed with angst and longing, I was briefly possessed by the spirit of Adele (HELLO FROM THE OUTSIDE, AT LEAST I CAN SAY THAT I'VE TRIED)
Thankfully, at that moment my remaining chickens gathered around and pecked my knees until I snapped out of it.
So here I was, out of imagination and without a quoin in sight, thread possibly closing at any time. I was rather thoroughly daunted as more and more beautiful examples of Glitchen creativity, ingenuity, and humor pile up (though I spent a happy hour exploring it all).
But I am not a Glitch who gives up! Okay, so maybe I don't have "artistic abilities" or "craftiness" or "the ability to rhyme." However, you know what I do have?
Cold, hard cash.
That's right, friends. This totally legit, absolutely legal eleven-currant bill is all yours, and there's more where that came from, baby. Oh yeah. Let's roll!
Hey, do you think you can just get a work of art out of an alpha tester just like that? Snff Snff
Go find yourself some Poetry Polisher.
Ahh!!! now that's better. *drops a paper*
One day I wandered long and far to the place where groddle riddles are My head was heavy, my steps petite, such a long journey with no meat to eat. The mountains loomed, the tree trunks towered, I barely survived, bean and cherry powered. I finally caved in mud and peat, and prayed for something, a riddle to beat, when a friendly being appeared in the sky a granite angel with a winking eye He gave me a blessing, he gave me a chance I found I could jump and hop and dance. Weeee!
Comments
Oh how I sit and wish
it's been many many yeears
since I've been
Oh how I sit and wish
but i guess there must be a
GLITCH!
LasaLoraine was the name of this Glitchen.
She loved to jump high and look for bugs (Beta).
What she loved most was all the Glitchen Hugs.
Mining and crafting were among her favs.
Her big brother Artilect also loved those days.
**I wanted to post 3 pictures as well but my phone is not allowing me to add them. One is of the real life LasaLoraine kissing a huge ceramic pig while visiting Cincinnati, OH. The next was of the real life LasaLoraine and my son wearing chicken hats in a halloween store. The last was of my glitchen LasaLoraine in a jumping shocked pose and also the image I am wanting to get tattooed on my left inner ankle. Oh, and Artilect (my big glitchen and real life brother) bought me a Chicken mask that I have worn the last 2 years while taking my son trick or treating. This year I went as a funky chicken! I lobe Glitch...aka Eleven!
and a GREAT bug catcher (note the butterflies stalking me)
[[[PLEASE don't fix that bug]]]
But ever since glitch t-Ur-ned off I've been lost like a nub in the ancient lands.
It would make my glitchmas to play- and I may even have a smidge of coding skills.
Also, I like puns
And beyond Toxic Moon
A dark rook was gloating
Its revenge would come soon
It had woken the Giants
And their dreams had all fled
When they forgot the last image
All of Ur would be dead!
There came a great roar
"Destroy all our homes?
O.M.G.! Nevermore!
We'll fight for our trees,
Our rocks and our chickens,
Back off, cruel crow!
We're done taking lickin's!
We can't possibly go,
That would be quite preposterous!
We'll fight for our world
No matter the cost to us."
Quaffing potions and elixirs
We came bounding and bouncing
"Watch out, you old rook,
You're in for a trouncing!"
And as one we all rose
Waving spices and bubbles
We all focussed our orbs
And banished our troubles.
The Glitchen rejoiced
As the rook cursed and grumbled
But it could only observe as
Into dreams Giants tumbled
And in every street,
All over the lands
Our Jethimadh Tower,
The planks in our hands,
The sloths in their trees,
The cubimal races,
The gems and the guano
Reappeared in their places!
Twas the night after Glitchmas
And tucked into their beds
Eleven Giants lie dreaming
Glitchen safe in their heads.
Principled Leadership - On Closing Up Shop
December 11, 2012 at 3:04am
See article for reference: http://www.pcworld.com/article/2019337/this-is-how-you-shut-down-your-mmos-servers-for-good-glitchs-graceful-exit.html
I have had the honor to play Glitch, a massively multiplayer online game, since its infancy in alpha development. Over the past three years, I have watched both the game, the community, and the company (Tiny Speck) grow in remarkable ways and have observed some of the most principled leadership and best practices imaginable.
Stewart Butterfield, Flickr founder, is someone to keep an eye on. His leadership of Tiny Speck and of the Glitch world is unlike anything I have ever encountered in any industry. We all know how important it is to "consider all stakeholders," but Stoot (as he is known in the game) set the bar to record heights. Throughout the game's lifetime, I always remarked at how truly interactive the developers and other staff were with the players. Through the message boards and in-game interaction, it was clear that Stoot himself was deeply embedded in the fabric of everything and had his ear to the ground. Never before had I seen such immediate, and large actions taken from the comments/complaints/suggestions of just a small handful or even a single player/customer.
And now the Glitch world has come to an end. As the PCWorld article describes, Stoot announced in mid-November that "the end of the world" was coming on December 9th and the game would be shut down. He had come to the conclusion that the game would never achieve the critical mass it needed to be profitable and sustainable, and there was nothing further he or Tiny Speck or the vast player community could do about it. Not only would the game be shutting down, but he promised to give REFUNDS to players who had purchased a subscription within a certain time frame. What company have you ever heard of decides to close shop before they actually run out of money and actually has enough money left over to financially apologize to its customers for its failure? For a leader who had been brave enough a year ago to send his project *back* into beta after release because it just wasn't good enough for prime time yet, this bold decision was not out of character.
In addition to the optional refunds (or charitable donations of refunds, which is also unheard of), Stoot also set up a "hire a Specker" page to help his Tiny Speck staff find new jobs and assured them he would do everything within his power to keep them well situated.
Talk about principled leadership and responsibility to ALL stakeholders! Through these actions, Stoot leaves behind a large swath of people, both players and staff, who would likely follow him to the ends of the Earth. We are all sad and grieving the loss of our community, but highly appreciative of the constant, transparent, authentic communication from Stoot and, unlike the wrath and outrage frequently expressed by others in similar situations, we feel a sense of closure.
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu152/wickedsharp/grady-2_medium_zpsd4hqjnny.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu152/wickedsharp/grady-3_medium_zpsnoqpam6v.jpg
http://i643.photobucket.com/albums/uu152/wickedsharp/grady_medium_zpsjavwp619.jpg
(Why can't I figure out how to make images show up
"The Attic" had been something of a "destination of desire" for many of my friends lately. We were all fascinated, perhaps even a little obsessed. You see a new space and want to explore both the place and the questions that immediately arise: How do I get up there? What's up there? What can I do up there?
Much jumping and squirming ensued, and I finally managed to gain access (with a method no longer available.)
I got up there and I must say, I wasn't actually that amazed. I mean, I'd seen attics before and this was one of them. Nothing out of the ordinary, very much the kind of place you would imagine, woody, splintery, dark and seemingly empty. To be honest finally getting up here was a bit of a letdown. But I also knew that it wouldn't be too difficult, with a bit of work, to fix the place right up.
So I dove right in, bringing up a few random items, some cubis and even a pot of flowers. I took a break, looked around and was actually surprised and very pleased with the initial results. The formerly drab, dusty attic had quickly been transformed into a cozy new addition to my new house. My mind began to formulate possibilities for this newly claimed space. Piggy Parlor? Dance Nook? Meditation Studio?
I was taking another look around when I noticed something that had somehow previously escaped my notice. Over in one of the corners was a small pile of Hot Pepper. Next to the Pepper was a smudged scrap of paper, which read, "Do Not Touch! Property of"...
Unfortunately that was all I could read. The rest of the note was missing, torn away or perhaps consumed by hungry mice.
I read it again. "Do Not Touch! Property of" made no sense. These houses were brand new. Who could have been up here before me? No one had ever lived here before. I couldn't begin to make sense of it so I decided instead to simply carry on and keep at it.
I looked through my tool kit and found a hoe, a shovel and even a a barnacle scraper, but no broom. Improvising, I decided to use the what was left of the Note as a makeshift dust pan while picking up as much of the Hot Pepper as I could with the Scraper.
As soon as the scraper touched the Pepper there was a deafening roar. My hands rose to cover my ears as a burst of dark smoke filled the room. I began to gasp and cough as the temperature rose from pleasant to beyond scorching in a matter of seconds.
Throbbing pain filled my skull as I grew dizzy and my vision began to fail. I rocked back and forth, trying to keep my balance when suddenly, perhaps 5 feet in front of me a human form began to emerge from the billowing smoke. My brain struggled to identify the menacing figure that was now quickly approaching. Here I was, all alone and trapped in the attic with...whatever this was. I attempted to scream for help through my ceaseless coughing, but alas there was no one around for miles. I knew then that I was doomed to perish alone in a room that just moments before had been filled with little more than the potential for a fun-filled future.
I was on the verge of losing consciousness. With my last ounce of energy I managed (how I know not) to pull out my camera and take a snapshot of the rapidly advancing figure. Although I would surely perish at the hands of this demon, I wanted my last action on Urth to leave a record of this tragic, horrifying event in order that others might someday find my camera and thus be warned of the dangers lurking above us all.
My eyes closed as I collapsed. As I fell to the ground my skin began to smoulder and burn. Thankfully at that point I was plunged into a sweet, dark unawareness, sure only of my impending death.
How much time passed I do not know. All I do know is that I awoke. And to my extreme surprise I was not, as I very much expected, in any form of afterlife. Instead I was on my back, staring straight up at what was clearly the ceiling of my attic.
I sat up with some difficulty and looked around. The appearance of the attic had not changed since....since when? How long had passed? Hours, days, perhaps even weeks? Everything that happened, that seemed to have happened...was it real? I groaned as I struggled to stand. My breathing seemed fine, but my head was still sore. I reached bag and found a large, painful bump where I suppose my head must have hit the floor.
None of it made any sense. I thought back to the vision I had experienced. It must have been my imagination. I tried to remember what I had been doing before I made my way up to the attic. Had I been indulging in too much Hooch? Or Purple? Oh....maybe I had been mixing them in that strangely enjoyable cocktail I had recently invented.
I knew right then that I would not be partaking of any more vision-inducing cocktails any time soon. I decided that as soon as I got some food in my belly I would get back to work on the attic. As I moved to exit, something in the corner caught my eye.
I froze. There, exactly where it had been in my vision, lay a somewhat crumpled scrap of paper! And right next to it, to my horror, sat a very familiar looking pile of Red Pepper! I had, over the years, often read the phrase "My mind reeled" in any number of the poorly written adventure stories that occupied so much of my free time. At the precise moment when I realized that the Note and the Hot Pepper were back I gained an instantaneous understanding of this hackneyed phrase. I struggled in vain to comprehend the implications of my discovery. If the note was still there, or there again, or there at all...it could only mean that my "vision" was no vision at all, which was of course impossible. I could not begin to reconcile the conflicting possibilities. In my agitation I collapsed once more, pulling my hair and roughly slapping my face, hoping to escape from what was surely just a hallucinatory aftershock, a final apparition before the various substances I had ingested were done taunting me with their tortuous confusion. My mind reeled indeed!
There was no moment of realization, no dawning awareness of what had "really" happened or not. There was only confusion, followed by more confusion and finally, mercifully, a small island of clarity in the midst of the raging sea of bewilderment. I clung to this tiny speck of lucidity, still unable to comprehend what had happened but undeniably certain about what I needed to do. Keeping an eye on the Note and the Hot Pepper, I crouched down and did a quick scan of the floor. There! I reached out and wrapped my fingers around the scorched black metal body of my camera. The glass lens was shattered. Even after I slid the mangled digicam into my pocket my hand refused to let go. Whether this was because I was afraid I might drop it or because I was afraid it might be taken from me I can't say.
Finally, after glancing once more at the Note and nearby pile of Hot Pepper, I stood with some difficulty and focused, concentrating as best I could on leaving this accursed place. After a few shaky attempts I found myself at the front of my house.
Daring not enter, I made my way to the street sign and without looking grasped the first name my hand encountered. Moments later I was pounding on a door. After some delay the door was opened and there stood a sleepy looking F....., rubbing her half-closed eyes as I pushed past inside and immediately locked the door behind us.
That was two days ago. F..... looks at me with a strange expression every time our eyes meet. She says she believes me, but I'm not sure that she does. I'm not even sure I believe me. The one thing I do know is that she is getting tired of me sleeping on her couch. And of course my own Yeti Beddy is soooo much more comfortable than her lumpy Love Seat.
F.....thinks I should get it over with, try and fix my camera and see what, if anything, is on there. Did I even take a shot? What if I did? What if what I see there is even worse than what I remember? What if there is no photo? No photo could mean anything...I still wouldn't know.....anything.
I know it might help to see either way, but I'm in no hurry for another look at whatever I encountered up in The Attic. And I'm certainly not quite ready to go /home yet.
Fin
+++++++++++
ETA: Please note that though I am the poster of the events related above, I am not the Glitch to whom this happened. By chance I happened to hear about this strange tale from a mutual friend, proceeded to contact the Glitch involved and conducted the interview you have just read. Signed on this day of our Giants, Hairday, 10th of Bruise, Year 21: The Cat Face.
So heres my entry. Hope you dont mind that I took some picture from this forum :P. I tried to make a little special video about Glitch and ended up with this:
Not really happy how it turned out, but I just couldnt continue editing this video cause it just takes so much time.
I hope some of you still like it.
Cya
https://www.flickr.com/photos/zoom1487/6196254317/
Twas upon these dark days three years ago, that the internet lost its very core of creativity. The heart that once beat erratically, and with grand randomosity, was stilled in mid-triple-bound. Long were our hours of darkness, held as captives of a rookian reality, thick with drudgery and common sense and divisible numbers. Our trees did not talk, our abodes lacked butlers, and the pigs simply yielded various states of bacon.
But lo! The glimmer of hope! Like a dropped Mirror with Scribbles on It by a note that says, "Enjoy this random gift, you lucky biped!" A sudden sense of amazement and wonder is upon us! For as we have gathered in wounded community, so let us unite in the optimism and celebration of this sacred invitation. Let us rejoice, as a distant portal is discovered that promises entrance to the vast and wonderful world of side-streets and exits.
(Though it is a small door, we all have mastery-level experience with keys, having been exposed to circular, triangle, square, and hexagon ones of a variety of colors.)
And with the passing of keys, so shall joy go forth in the land. May the infectious smiles begin to reign and assist in restoring this once beautiful world of happiness, cooperation, and Prisencolinensinainciusol.
May such lullabies of gratitude and victory erupt from us all, as the giants among us dare to dream again.
Where am I ? All I can see is hazy blue, pink, purple, and yellow like a Distant Sky...
I can't see or move my body,or any others near me! What can I feel? {I must remain calm}
..Wait ... I recall .. this must be the un-betwixt, from the Great Un-Imagining...
I am present..........almost forgot this feeling of stillness ....
At least I still have my memories and my imagination .. joy....
Such lovely memories of sharing Ur with newly met friends, some became best friends...
How I loved my house, my garden, street, Sensei Rock, my butleress Jade. Ahh,decorating ...
The beautiful places, faces, jumping, critters, glorious music, imagining ,tinkering ,parties..
... Recall..........Almost forgot this feeling of comfort ....
I know what to do now,.... I can survive- I must take refuge in my bittersweet memories until the Eleven Giants dream again and re-imagine me into a new Ur......
I must remember , to remain ....
... What is not forgotten is never truly lost ........**blink ....blink..nod***
I have integrated into Manyzen society but for me once a glitchen, always a glitchen, and a glitchen I will forever be.
I assure you I have been a model gltchen manyzen spreading glitchen warmth and cheer. Telling everyone who would willingly listen (as I have said, my name there is Ms Cinn Ur, missing ur not Ms Sinner, has turned out to be a very good opening hehe) of the wonders of the lost Ur and the hopes of regaining it someday.
I swear I am on no watch list, and have never dealt with any shady characters. Well, I do remember doing business in a back alley once but that was to obtain necessary papers...oh, and yes I did try to smuggle a package once or twice but never anything else, honest!
Now for the last snap link, as Dorothy said while clicking her heels together "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's..." http://snapshot.manyland.com/t65xurmsvy.png
Hope to see you all there soon!
For sleepy giants.
Here's the ornament on my tree:
and
For comparison, here's girlgeek:
http://www.glitchthegame.com/profiles/PUVE0P38UUC3P2O/
http://i.imgur.com/ke6WyGO.png
I also made the 'Last Days of Ur' video on Youtube, but that's a sad video about the game ending, so I won't be posting it here.
(like Morgue said below, Glitch meant a lot to me at a really difficult time in my life, and I can't wait to see it reborn. ♥)
Edit: thought I'd make a quick Friendly-themed one too, because I love Friendly! Also, Friendly and cute nocturnal bat-dragons were obviously meant to be.
if i have time before the contest closes i might redraw it but until then here's me more recently:
here's hoping i did the img codes right because my brain is fried
(ps nathracha made the grendaline skin for me!)
The wind blows, the tress whisper
Come back, they say.
The heart tries and tries, but fails.
The chickens whimper,
the butterflies swoon,
so full of milk and wheat
neither can move.
How do you escape something that can't be escaped?
How do you bring back what appears to be lost?
The bubble trees itch,
waiting for a Glitch.
Pet me, pet me, they cry.
But you can't pet what doesn't exist.
The Alakol Mountains scream for fun
and skydiving
but you can't jump off
what we all considered lofts.
The gardens cry,
their tears no more refreshing
than the Glitch that can't water them.
As the horse draws neigh,
the sloths slow, slower than a crawl
time as well.
As the end draws close,
closer than we want to believe,
closer than anyone expected,
closer than Stoot wanted to ever believe,
an astronomical thought hits us.
Maybe we dreamed this,
all the laughter,
random kindness,
crabs and music,
the infamous Yeti,
the Unity.
The end has arrived.
But some Dreams can never be forgotten,
and this was one.
So first I was going to draw a beautiful picture, showing me, Miss Coco, frolicking in the meadows with you, the Eleven Alphateers. I was so happy to be there! You were so happy I was there! Oh, how we laughed and laughed! It was truly glorious. I had gel pens.
But then my butler, Prudence, sidled up beside me and, with a gentle *ahem*, reminded me that I have absolutely no drawing talent whatsoever. Like, literally the only thing I can draw is a cartoon bunny. Just the head. And it only has one expression. It's actually pretty creepy.
So the drawing wasn't going to work out, but I was undaunted! I cannot draw, but I can definitely write, so I set out to write an epic story of Ur and me and you and the Giants and how happy we all were to be together again. This took up much of my week, as I confined myself only to a quill for maximum authenticity. The epic was shaping up wonderfully, but then things started going inexplicably awry. The Giants started saying things that, frankly, were rather inappropriate for a public message board, and then Tii got drunk and Pot started slapping a piggy and--
Right. Honestly, the less said about it, the better.
Slightly daunted at this point, but still determined to persevere, I decided I could write something else. A song! With a familiar tune and clever lyrics, something about Ur and HOW BADLY I WANT TO GET BACK THERE. But then I took a break to browse this very same thread, and lo! Other people had already done songs of just that sort--and dagnabbit, they were freakin' brilliant. I laughed like crazy and then I cried because I was completely out of ideas. Consumed with angst and longing, I was briefly possessed by the spirit of Adele (HELLO FROM THE OUTSIDE, AT LEAST I CAN SAY THAT I'VE TRIED)
Thankfully, at that moment my remaining chickens gathered around and pecked my knees until I snapped out of it.
So here I was, out of imagination and without a quoin in sight, thread possibly closing at any time. I was rather thoroughly daunted as more and more beautiful examples of Glitchen creativity, ingenuity, and humor pile up (though I spent a happy hour exploring it all).
But I am not a Glitch who gives up! Okay, so maybe I don't have "artistic abilities" or "craftiness" or "the ability to rhyme." However, you know what I do have?
Cold, hard cash.
That's right, friends. This totally legit, absolutely legal eleven-currant bill is all yours, and there's more where that came from, baby. Oh yeah. Let's roll!
Go find yourself some Poetry Polisher.
Ahh!!! now that's better. *drops a paper*
One day I wandered long and far
to the place where groddle riddles are
My head was heavy, my steps petite,
such a long journey with no meat to eat.
The mountains loomed, the tree trunks towered,
I barely survived, bean and cherry powered.
I finally caved in mud and peat,
and prayed for something, a riddle to beat,
when a friendly being appeared in the sky
a granite angel with a winking eye
He gave me a blessing, he gave me a chance
I found I could jump and hop and dance.
Weeee!
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/CWPwZjlU4AAOv64.jpg:large
I hope you like it!