When The Going Gets Tuf

There is always something to be said about the power of the internet.   After so many decades doing this, the MMO thing,  I can truly say that there are people in the world that will undoubtedly disappoint you.  But just as stark a contrast are the people that you bump into that will also inspire you and touch your heart.   I have had the amazing pleasure to make some very long-lasting friendships across the world,  as part of TLP.   The people you see here, in this screen shot…  I am so proud to say embody those friendships.  All for very different reasons!  What we have here in this guild, in this gaming family, cannot be easily duplicated.  And there is a real strength in that.  One that far supersedes mere pixels on a screen. 

Corathan (Nick) has been at my side through thick and thin stemming back from Ultima Online.  We developed such a close friendship that when he needed a change in his life, outside of his own small world, I offered him a stay at my home in NY.  To let him experience something other than where he had been most of his life,  helped him understand himself more and grow as a person.  He truly is one of my best friends.  He will always have my back and I know that to be unequivocally true.

What can I say about my boy Demoneyes?  He brought me into Albion Online, but even before that when I first met him in ArcheAge,  we connected on the mere fundamental truth that we were both South American!  He’s just a fun, lively, carefree guy.  He just likes to have fun!   I introduced him to a whole other world through TLP, introducing him to my friend Garvey and helping him get set up with streaming.  I invited him to join Nick (Corathan) and I (and Eckhart, Cips, and more of us) to TwitchCon 2016 and it was a time that none of us will soon forget.  I will always support all that he does and goes for!

Ahhh my quirky little co-GM Elysium — the cat lover.  He has truly been at Eckhart’s side for nearly two years now.  He saw past what other people would tell him and made his own decisions about the friendship he had built with Eckhart, despite the many haters.  He has done more for our chapter than most,  always helping others,  always helping the guild, and always bringing his oh-so-poignant sarcasm to the mix.  The truth is we truly love him and value him as a person and friend and we couldn’t do any of this without him!

And ThugLife — you know he was part of our original Beta 1 chapter and then he decided to part ways with TLP for a while, along with Tuf and others.  But he has returned to TLP because he has learned that there are things far more important than being number one of a leader board in a game.  His loyalty to Tuf and his friendship with him means a lot more to him than the pixels in any game.  That’s admirable and I can’t wait to get to know him better.  I can definitely see all his virtues clearly now.  But everyone grows, everyone learns, and what is life if not opportunities to do just that!

Finally, there is the big guy… Tuf.  I’ve grown quite close to Tuf,  I know last beta was a difficult time for him personally and when its just me and him in a channel talking,  he knows that I truly understand him.  I have had my own shares of hardships in life very similar to what he went through.  But to honor those that he cared for so deeply, he has stood his ground here to stick it out with us in TLP despite what may come.  We’re such good friends that we can hurt each others’ feelings and still be able to say, “Hey that hurt my feelings.” And we’ll talk about it, forgive, and move forward.  I really value that.  Even when other people who called themselves his friends let him down, he didn’t let that get him down… he just got going; pushed forward.  There is little that I wouldn’t do for him.  If he ever needed my help in any way,  I’d move mountains or rather icebergs.  Even from allllllll the way up there where he lives in SIBERIA!  <3

At the end of the day,  these games that we all play come and go… but friendships are what can last lifetimes. No matter where you are, no matter what you do,  this gaming community can and will have a lasting impact in your life if you let it and value it!

<3 Dani

 

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