Well, it's not quite as 'inspiring' as AngelusAnimi's vids for #SaveCOH, but...

[Graphite]

Amazing, simply, Amazing.  It really brought a tear to my eye and broke my heart.

:'(

[Mr. Wentworth]

I could use a brownie right about now...

[Arctic Force.]

Wow...

[ObsidianPhoenix76]

I watched it while I was on my afternoon break. 

......

I had to sit in my car for an extra 10 minutes to stop crying, that way when I went back into my office my co-workers would not think I just lost a close family member.

What really got me was the ending...  I know I will be a friggin wreck when I see the lost connection message.

[Manga]

I waited so long to watch your video because I pretty much knew how it would make me feel.  It broke my heart all over again, just as NCSoft's announcement did on August 31st, 2012.  It also made me angry all over again, just as I was after that same announcement, and reminded me why I'm fighting so hard to try and save CoH.  Because it doesn't deserve to go away yet.

In the slightly more TMI category on this topic...

For the last month and a half I've been thinking from time to time why the sunsetting makes me so sad.  I had to really, really think about it, because occasionally I wonder if maybe those people who are easily shrugging it off have a more realistic perspective that I'm not allowing myself to have.  I came to the conclusion that what I'll miss most, the part that makes it so sad for me, is the thought of not *being there*.

Let me explain that a little more.  A lot of the time, I log into CoH and just leave it on, so even when I'm working and can't really play, I can still talk to people.  And occasionally, someone would pop up that I haven't seen in weeks, or months, or even years, sending me a tell out of the blue.  I'd talk to them for a while, try to add them to the latest global channels so they have incentive to come back and talk again.  Sometimes for hours, the backdrop of Paragon City keeping us company, sometimes pretty late when most players have logged off.  This even happened after the sunset announcement once or twice.

And that's what I thought about (once again) when I watched your video.  That after CoH is gone, I won't *be there* anymore.  I'll be playing other games and wondering where all of those people I hadn't spoken to in ages have gone, knowing that aside from some crazy twist of fate, I'll probably never find them again.

[Knightslayer]

I watched it while I was on my afternoon break. 

......

I had to sit in my car for an extra 10 minutes to stop crying, that way when I went back into my office my co-workers would not think I just lost a close family member.

What really got me was the ending...  I know I will be a friggin wreck when I see the lost connection message.

That both makes me both glad and sad I can't watch it right now (no sound at work). =/

[Atlantea]

I've watched this about 7-8 times now. And I still can't get through it without sobbing.

Why am I doing this to myself?

Because it's just that beautiful, that's why.

[Ponderer]

This video gives form to the weight upon my soul.  The weight that I will carry with me as this community, this experience, this part of my life fall to memory.

I will carry this burdening sorrow forward, knowing that it will help define and inspire me in times to come.  But right now, it is such a heavy thing to hold.

I cannot bear it.  Nor can I let it go.

[Atlantea]

Not even the most lugubrious, sinister, cackling-mad 4-color cartoon villain among my characters could keep from shedding a tear at that.

Near the end, when Anomaly broke down all distraught... I just wanted to reach out and give her a hug.

Same here.

I wish we could do the same for all our characters.

Or - as crazy and as meta as it sounds - that they could do the same for us - tell us it's going to be okay. That though we can't see them, that they and Paragon City live on. (My character Kara Skye is very good at hugs. She has wings, and doesn't just hug you with her arms, she draws you in with her wings as well.)

[Victoria Victrix]

This video gives form to the weight upon my soul.  The weight that I will carry with me as this community, this experience, this part of my life fall to memory.

I will carry this burdening sorrow forward, knowing that it will help define and inspire me in times to come.  But right now, it is such a heavy thing to hold.

I cannot bear it.  Nor can I let it go.

In all of my life as a writer, I have never, ever, completely lost a character.  The books are still there, even if they are out of print, and I still have the original manuscript in storage. 

NCSoft has done something no one, ever, has been able to do.  They are destroying at least five dozen of my characters and their stories, some among the most dearly beloved of my "mind-children" that I have ever had.  How can you properly mourn the deaths of over sixty of your friends, some as close to your heart as if you had given flesh and blood birth to them?

I don't think I will ever get over this.

[Ponderer]

In all of my life as a writer, I have never, ever, completely lost a character.  The books are still there, even if they are out of print, and I still have the original manuscript in storage. 

NCSoft has done something no one, ever, has been able to do.  They are destroying at least five dozen of my characters and their stories, some among the most dearly beloved of my "mind-children" that I have ever had.  How can you properly mourn the deaths of over sixty of your friends, some as close to your heart as if you had given flesh and blood birth to them?

I don't think I will ever get over this.

I cannot imagine losing so many, and so much.  I had only one, my one real character through all my time in City of Heroes, as an away from my writing.  Of course it was inevitable, as I worked with him and fought him through his struggles, a story bubbled up, took shape and flowered.

In all that time, though, I never put him to the pen.  The story was just my own, I don't know why.  I usually have an unshakable urge to share the fruits of my foolish imaginings, and a fear that I MUST put it down lest it all be forgotten.  Yet he was my compatriot, safe away in a lockbox in my soul.  Through my joys and my tumult.  Even as my fiancé lay comatose, before she had recovered, when I doubted that she may ever open her eyes to greet me again, he was there.  We stood together to face our challenges.  Now, in the deep of the desolate night when I find my thoughts haunted by slashes of doubt, or by the gripping worries of the day...I will still face them.

But I will do it alone.

[Rotten Luck]

:Sitting in the dark the glow of of the computer screen on my face.  Then a figure enters settling down on the bed and hands over a beer. "That one hell of a sad video" He says then takes a drink of his.  "Yeah, it's heart braking."

The figure sighs and looks over to me "How long do we have left?"  I look at the calender "42 days not counting today.  But who knows what time they pull the plug on November 30th.  I know I have taken a brake from you before.  Once by force but... this is different, you be gone..." sobs.

Rotten Luck looks over "Bull shit.  Do you think we live in a computer hard drive?  Do you think this pixel body or audio file is what I am?  I'm part of you even if you can't be hover over my shoulder like some little angle we will never be part.  I'm and everyone in Paragon is an echo of your and every players dreams.  A mirror on the best parts of yourselves or in some cases the worst parts.  You can no more cut us off then cut out your own heart.  And like the heart it true you won't see us in form anymore.  Deep inside you will still feel us.  The friends we made together are now heading to that Titan Network or other locations.  You find them again with that face book thing.. or twitter.   Remember kid we are Heroes and even if we fall into the darkness we will rise again.  In the comics the dead don't stay dead.  And as long as you and the rest keep us in your hearts we will rise again."

Smiles a smile only a dead man can produce.  "We are heroes all of us both in the system and out.  This may be when we are faced down in the mud, but we will stand again and we will keep fighting."  I sigh and take a gulp "But we are loosing.."  He laughs "Who ever said we will win?  All of you on Save City of heroes and the Titan network Knew that.  It's not the wining that's important it's fighting on in the face of loosing.  One day the words Remember Paragon will be spoken with the same fire people called out for the Alamo.  Okay maybe more so for you are all over the world the Alamo is important to only a group of Americans, but you get my point.  It's better we go down fighting standing proud as the darkness over takes us and we loose the connection.  Much better then being a coward and flee.  Now pucker up we have 42 days to bust some skulls!"  Looks to the computer screen "That goes for you too out there!  Your not loosing anything us characters are from you, with out you were pixels and raw data.  Your memories gives us life, your feelings are our souls.  That can't be taken away ever.":

There from the zombie man himself!

[Sailboat]

Connection lost...

Indeed.

[Rae]

I just wanna hug everyone in this thread :(

[Samuraiko]

Connection lost...

Indeed.

I spent some time wondering exactly what should display when the countdown finished... originally I'd wanted to use "Connection terminated", but "Connection lost" not only implied the potentially involuntary aspect, but also what else was being 'lost' along with the connection.

Bit of trivia - I shot the ending first. Otherwise I'd never have gotten through making this.

********

And thank you for all the kind words and compliments. I'm glad I was able to 'give form' to what a lot of people wanted to express and couldn't.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

[Knightslayer]

A very beautiful video indeed! And I agree with what others said, that choice of music was great!

[FeeFyeFoeFum]

Wow. Just wow.

Such a fantastic piece of art, makes me happy and proud to have been part of this game world and community but so sad at its passing.

And yes, I cried through it  :'(

FeeFye

[Lycantropus]

Oops - yeah, samuraiko.com and samuraikoproductions.com now both point to my business site. The new domain of my website is http://www.wanderingcrane.com and the video is available on the Multimedia>Videos page.

Please don't hotlink the actual file, though, if you intend to share it, or my bandwidth will scream.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Thanks much! Yeah, I noticed your new page link on the City Life forum. I'd just happened to check here first.

No worries about me hotlinking it :) I usually download a copy for my own records, then send copies of the file to a few folks in my SG who can't keep up with stuff like I do, but enjoy news about the game, and videos like yours!

[ROBOKiTTY]

This made me sad and angry all over again.

Ceterum censeo NCsoft delendam esse.

[Mister Bison]

A hot tear is shed
The testament of one's life
This is what we do.