I would like to announce my retirement from competition effective immediately.
However, this does not mean I am leaving you all behind! I will of course remain with TSC in whatever administrative capacity I am required in or asked to fulfil.
Taking back the Advance 3 championship has been my last and greatest of all my achievements here at TSC - a list which includes probably about half the site's championships held with a record seven at once, a few speedruns over at SDA, and my individual level videos here. Why is this my greatest then? Because the desire is gone. I have little left to give competition, and certainly nothing left to prove. That and Quartz was a worthy foe to overtake. >_>
On that note, I know I had the championship yesterday, but I felt the need to set him a target. I didn't want to put this up and look highly silly the next day when Quartz got around to rings, so I've set him a difficult, but certainly not impossible task to regain the championship. And I know he's up to it, too.
I must give some words of thanks to those who have helped me along the way:
Rolken - Where would any of us be without you? You've done so much hard work and put aside hard-earned for us to pursue what really is nothing more than a hobby - and one that gets you laughed at at many places too. Over the past four years you've shown outstanding leadership and integrity in all your dealings with other people. Anyone aspiring to be a great leader of people (myself included) - look no further.
SM - My mentor in the early days (and I imagine mentor to many other than just myself) on competition and running the place. I owe much of my recent rise through the admin ranks to you giving me my start as a mod of the old Sonic Legacy board, and much of my rise through the competition ranks to your strategies and advice.
NintenDan - My great rival from the early days. Who could forget the battles over Sonic Advance which you invariably won... Also our respected challenge runner in the GameFAQs days. I tip my hat off to you for actually getting a life while the rest of us kept on playing games X)
sonicam - I've particularly enjoyed my battles with you over the years. Your determination will serve you well in your later years... as long as you never play Sonic Adventure again. :D
stanski - You proved to me that the impossible was possible. Again and again and again and again! also S3&K >> S2 yeah you heard me!
Aitamen and Thorn - Two quarters of the mystical Quadrinity. That's right, the SECRET IS OUT :O
Seriously though, we've always provided each other moral support when required, and we will continue to do so, right guys? Rock on.
RPG - Of course, I save the last word for you. Still my "brother separated at birth" after all these years, my greatest rival and my best friend. I think the best way to sum him up is through his own words: "You can't have manslaughter without laughter".
Witty, yes, but fucking stupid. And that is why he is an inspiration to us all. :D
I'm going to conclude by telling a bit of a story that I never really told anyone here... not even RPG!
Not long after TSC started, in December of 2003, my parents split up. (This much most people know.) I can remember going to school in the last few days of grade 9 from a motel in the city. The whole situation brought out the worst in everyone. Both my parents tried to convince me and my brother that the other was not capable of bringing us up right. For me, it came out in rather darker ways. During this time I seriously contemplated suicide. The details of which probably don't need telling.
Obviously, the happy ending is that I'm still around, and far from being contemplative I'm looking forward to what is ahead of me. It's a state I never dreamed I could attain in those dark days, and I know my mental state is still far from where I want it to be, but I haven't felt this good about the future for a very long time.
And I attribute much of that to you, the people of TSC. You may have your label which says you're slightly or considerably more important than the average Joe but when it comes to open, honest discussion none of that counts for very much if you contribute to the discussion. It's this aspect of TSC that I love even more than the competition, and for which I am eternally grateful to have been, and continue to be, a part of. It is people like you who have restored at least some of my faith in humanity. That there are people out there who don't accept mediocrity. It is an honour to have been associated with such great people as well as great players.
So, on my final high in Sonic competition, I bid the competition adieu... and the community, welcome back.
EDIT: Forgot something >_>
I know you've earned the right to be skeptical of me thanks to NintenDan and Rayku and the like. I'd say my motives are different though. They wanted out so they could get a life or something, but sonicam showed you can have both. I would really love to play a game just for the sake of it being a game again. This place has warped my sense of what a game is and I preferred the old sense. :(
