There's something in the room.
You're not quite sure where in the room, but the feeling is so intense that you'd dare not turn around to investigate.
You can sense it. It's like that feeling you get when you just know someone is behind you. We've all been there, but here at TL, you may find that it's been happening a lot more often...
The truth is, a mysterious pachydermic force has blown through the hallowed halls of our great site. This feeling you are experiencing is not of a presence in the room. No, it's a presence from beneath the room.
Somewhere in the depths, somewhere buried deep beneath these forums, a leviathan once stirred. To this day it has been scarcely discussed in public for fear of upsetting the beast, but today I bring you the full story.
For centuries, there have been fables of threads locked away in the most secret catacombs of the TL labyrinth. Buried, but not lost, these threads hold many secrets. It was said that one such thread told a story of a creature. A creature of vast unimaginable ESPORTS power. As legend had it, this graceful beast had the power to both unite nations under its motivating charm and rock them to their knees with sobering truth. This lumbering giant, however, lived imprisoned for untold millennia as simple text in a thread. Scrawled in a post in the dead language of Aschii, it waited for someone to take notice.
Well, take notice we did.
intrigued at the rumours, TL staff decided to investigate.
No one was really prepared for this journey into the depths beneath TL... as... quite honestly, it smelled real funkie down there. Nonetheless, a crew was assembled and outfitted with all the right gear necessary to brave depths so Chill, they would turn a man blue. The trek down was long and arduous.
Over time, complacency struck, and many of those tasked with this investigation found themselves passing the time by playing children's games... To this day, numerous Tic Tac Toe boards can be seen scrawled on rock edifices as one descends Beyond the black abyss.
Almost oblivious to the danger that lay beneath, the crew continued to travel deeper Into The Wild and ominous womb of the beast.
Suddenly, the creature appeared before us, first, in a rather crude and basic form. It seemed harmless... simply text in a post. To many, the rumors of its vast power had clearly been exaggerated. This gentle beast, while cute, was not the ESPORTS messiah we had hoped for.
That was, until it transcended. A transformation began, and the creature cast off its text shackles and entered the 2D realm.
A powerful cry rose from the depths and could be faintly heard across the land:
"The competition in SC2 thus far has been a farce"
And as it adorned itself with a headband of azure and ivory, it was born.
To some, this was a wild beast... a thing of nightmares.
To others:
If I did that right, most of that will make no sense at all. That's probably about as close to an answer as you'll get to the "Where did Elly come from?" question.
In truth, the real reason I'm posting this blog is so that I can celebrate my new icon with my favourite pachyderm: Elly.
As some of you may have noticed, this elephant has been bounding gracefully throughout the fields of TL, adorning news posts, popping up during various downtimes and helping you rectify your mistyped URLs.
So, to help you get better acquainted with this lady who not only has a lot of junk in her trunk, but uses it as a tool to carry things, here are some wallpapers of the art I created in her name:
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No Text: 1920x1280 | 1600x900
1920x1280 (with text)
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1920x1280
Yes, there are others, but I'm not gonna spoil you with all of them.