Astral Travellers (OBE)

Jol's new armor

2010-02-09T16:12:00.008+01:00

So I came online, being well rested after a long sleep.

Did absolutely nothing and got a new armor.

Then shortly after I saw these strange things and it turned out to be but a dream

Ooze Partee

2010-01-29T13:40:00.001+01:00

OBE 48 months birthday party

2010-01-29T13:35:00.000+01:00

Clones

2010-01-29T13:22:00.002+01:00

A holiday season + Greetings!

2009-12-23T21:59:00.002+01:00

Hallo allemaal,

Last post for this year, so evidently I'll be wishing you all a very merry christmas, the good luck for you New year's resolutions and the best for the 2nd decade of the 21t century. (According to the christian calendar ofcourse.) But there's some other stuff I want to write about, thoughts and contemplations.

1,5 year have past since I left the Netherlands, a decision I have not regretted for a single minute thusfar. I told you all about the job I do and parts of the life I live. Daily routines involve, waking up, taking a piss, getting out of bed and wondering why I keep forgetting to get out of bed first. Going to work, answering calls from customers, picking my nose, browsing the web. Or during the summer holidays, answering calls, answering calls and answering more calls. Already the Summer period bothered me, but due to these thoughts, the works monotony and the feeling of running around instead of following my own way. I rarely feel satisfied, not even outside the work environment. Instead I sit around the house and stare at another computer screen. very much like the ones at work. Motivational issues cause slips and bad decisions ar work, which in turn lead to aggitation with the superiors. It's all minor things but recently the have piled up a little. Work has been good to me and I have a few pennies saved. So the urge to just quit and do something else is pressing under the surface. And the cirle is round again, because my motivation will not get any better without a proper perspective.

So why do I stay? Motivation has always been my nemesis. During my school, during jobs, during my periods between jobs. I only motivate myself for a walkabout in Cantha, or when I write. But from my posting history and GW sleepytime, it is clearly visible that I'm not motivated very often. I've given myself another 1,5 year before returning to the Netherlands and start studying. Signlanguage Sciences, I made this choice and I'll force myself to persue it. (woohoo motivation) But how to spend the remaining period? Well I guess I can get through another few months of work, which in turn will add to the savings I have. With that money I should be able to get out of the way of work for a while before starting a student's life. It's no solution to my problems, but it is a lifeline of sorts. Holding on right now, will eventually help me to pull myself from the maelstrom like vicious circle that's dragging me down.

Self reflection, that contagious disease that contaminates anyone with too much time on their hands. Espacially around this time of year.

Jelmer/Lyon/contemplative
P.S. I gave you my best wishes on the top of this message

A place to stay. (2)

2009-11-18T02:13:00.002+01:00

Wesh les gars,

Ok, I promised a more regular update of my blog here, two posts ago. If anybody actually bothered to red them. Turned out more difficult then I had hoped. But here I go again, little update of my life outside the OBE community. Don't think bad of me, for not connecting to GW anymore, I'm safe and sound sleeping in Nim. Why the same title? Because there's another aspect then just myhomeI want to write about. Because it takes up a whole lot of time and is worth the mention because I know you guys will love the concept.... If you don't know it already.

COUCHSURFING:
The word is pretty self-explanatory. Couchsurfing is a worldwide network, of people proposing their couch as an alternative for Hostels/Hotels. How does it work? Simple, you subscribe to the site, you fill out a profile and you wait for a request from a nearby traveller. Travellers that are looking for a little more then just sight-seeing whatever it is travellers go to see when sightseeing. They are suposed to be interested in the person that is hosting them and would like to see how a local enjoys himself in a town that the travellers know nothing about. Last March the site welcomed it's 1.000.000th member and it's still growing. As with many sites that get some publicity the growthrate could probably best be described as an exponational curve upwards. Word to mouth being the best, quickest and most reliable way to do this.

I started about a year ago and I have been investing more and more time. I've recently become one of the sites official translators, on a purely voluntary basis ofcourse. So not only do i host people in our house, but I also translate the site's content into Dutch. I Enjoy the occasional couch in a foreign city and I contribute to the creation of a major event held in my home-town, Lyon.
But how does it really work, a simple but effective examplary paralel could be presented. Take hitch-hiking, everbody know how that works right? You set your goal and you stick up your thumb. You never know who is going to pick you up, a reason for many not to use this way of transportation. Now let's look from the driver's point of view. He doesn't know who he will be picking up, but he goes on his instincts. He's taking a risk, as does the hiker ofcourse. It's the driver's general trust in people that persuades him to pick up the lone person by the side of the road, sometimes there's more then one. So does a couchsurfing host. The biggest difference lies in the fact that you can't request a place to stay without a profile and the site's creators and contributors don't stop to tell new members that you'd probably be better of hosting someone who has filled out his profile properly. This permits you to get a first glance impression of ho you could possibly host. For travellers it's basically the same, you request a place to stay with someone who seems trustworthy and interesting. As you get more experience as hotstraveller you learn how to pick out those people that you can really connect with. A level of participation in the site and it's content is a pretty good indication.

Yesh, there's always an argument against a site of even the idea itself. Everybody can create a identity on the internet, an avatar in a MMORPG is the perfect example. There will always those that try to take advantage in order to gain benefit. There's plenty of people that only recently heared about the site, subscribed, hopefully to save on hostel expenses during their trip through whatever part of the world they are in. They use it, but once they're back where they came from, never bother to do some hosting themselves. A fact I have to live with as a Couchsurfer and I usually send them a kind reply either saying that the couch will not be available at the requested time or inviting them to do some hosting first, in order to gain the experience.

Hope you're all interested and excited about Couchsurfing now, I could probably have done a better job selling the project, but I think it's a fair picture I drew for you. You can always find me if ever you might need a place to stay in Lyon. A reference to OBE is a garantueed succesful request.

Maybe see you around, IRL or in-game.
Jelmer / Lyon / Done for the day

A place to stay.

2009-09-29T17:51:00.003+02:00

Salut tout le monde,

About the place I live in, what...?
Last May I moved to a 'colocation.' This means rentsharing, so yeah I live together with a bunch of Frenchies. It's terrific, fantastic and fun. But let's start with where it began.

I'm living in Lyon, since I moved there for a job, a year and a half ago. Housing always poses some problems. Either to small or to big, too expensive, not in the right place and in some cases not the right people. The trick is to find the right balance. I started of in a empty campus, during the summer it was inhabited by co-workers and me. But as campusses go, they are empty during holidays, but inhabited by students during the rest of the year. So I had to move at the end of August 2008. At the time I wasn't on a permanent contract so the employer still took care of where to live. They chose a hotel where you could rent little appartments. I moved in there with two other collegues and we had a blast, unfortunately it was not near town, nor work. For some reason they figured I had a driver's license and a car. I don't have either of them, so public transport became a big part of my daily occupations. Time to look for something else. Nearing the end of a two month period I wasn't getting along with the other two inhabitants anymore, so I should move on.
Through freshly made friends I got in touch with a landlord who had a room for rent right in the centre of town. We met and visited the appartment and it was great. 30m² Bathroom including bath, mezzanine, a little storage space, fridge. Downsides: no natural light as it was on the interieur of the building and frankly I need people around. Not even talking about the price. Me being a Dutch citizen, and French law demanding that you have somebody to back-up payment in case you can't manage yourself proved a problem for the landlord, He didn't accept m parents, my parents didn't accept his demands, meaning he wanted to know about their payslips and taxes. Fin bref... We decided I could rent the appartment on a fixed contract for 6 months, 2 months payed in advance as a garantuee. I happily accepted and moved in. These 6 months I build up friendships, getting to know town and basically get sorted and settled in France. One of the best things I started was to get into Couchsurfing (more of that later.)
6 months passed quickly, but I was aware of this, so I started looking for a new place in time. Set my goals low. Cheaper, together with somebody or more, good connection to work, possibility to go out into town. and so the search began. Plenty of options available in March, because the students use to start their internships during that period so place opening up in plenty colocs. I think I have never moved around town more, visited more appartments/people then before. I usually take the first thing I like. But this time it didn't come as easy. The don't call us, we'll call principle applied quite a lot. More often this meant they didn't call me anymore, but I wasn't sitting around waiting. Finally... A positive reply, or rather an invitation to come to the party they were throwing later that week. Never turn down a party offer from a possible future roommate. Wow, it seemed like such a nice small appartment, but it was crowded and if I was any indication these people could all be there to be the one to live there. No worries, here comes the host and she starts talking to me. Try juggling alcohol, foreign languages, girls and house searches at the same time and you know what I want through. But somehow I managed, because she actually told me that she was interested in having me as her future roommate. They were living with 5 of them at the time and 1 would move out a month before the others. To keep the balance they'd take a girl first, but 1 of May would perfect if I still wanted the room. Location: check, Price: check, People: check and the date: Double CHECK!!
That was however not where I'm living now. And in retrospect, thank them ever so much for their late cancelation of the spoken agreement. Halfway through April I dropped by to ask when I could start moving my stuff in. When the so delicately notified me they had no place for me anymore. Shit... I had stopped searching and now time wasn't on my side anymore. Time = relative, or at least some famous scientist suposedly proved this. Luck was on my side.
I checked out the usual sites for possibilities and send a few requests. Next morning I get a phonecall. How would I like to come and dine with the coloc? That's funny, usually you sit down for half an hour, they fire some questions at you, show you around the appartment and then the door. The place is situated on one of the buslines from work, so I go right there after. First impression, the iron gates open to a beautiful garden. My old dutch reflexes kicked in for a second, and I offer a hand to the girl welcoming me, instead of the more usual cheek. Why...? No matter though there's plenty of more people to meet and I adapt quickly. I meet 7 out of 9 people living there that night, plus a few people just hanging around. We have dinner with 13 people in total. Sit down for a drink afterwards and I go home totally overwhelmed and with the knowledge you don't come across places like this often.
Two days later a text message, asking if I would like to come by again, the other 2 people would be at home that evening. When I meet the first of the 2, he greets me and mentions that it's just a formality, because basically the decision was taken the day before. What did you just say...? Oh if you want to you can start moving your stuff in this weekend and will you be sleeping here or at your old place tonight? All this before I even meet the last of 9 people.

Eat your heart out, relative or not, time is no issue.
Jol Rael / Lyon / Distracted

Un tous petit mot

2009-09-18T02:24:00.002+02:00

Salut, Comment allez vous?

Ok enough of that language I've been speaking it for over 16 months now and I hardly ever find the chance to speak/type some English. SO.... I thought I could maybe use the blog as a way to keep my English in good shape and you informed. Admittedly I wasn't good at posting my messages in the forum. So why would the blog be any different? Dunno... Honestly.

A view things I do want to inform you about, short and effective.
- I live in a new house, since May, but who have I spoken to, in between (do you even remember the flying dutchman)
- I cut most of my dreads (yesh, most. sentimental value was given to a few)
- I'm not so damn busy with my work, when it's not the summer. (I work in tourism)
- I can't stand myself for still feeling connected to OBE, but acting not accordingly. (Buying a computer would help)

Now, maybe you have some questions, maybe not right away. I thought of one directly: How does he manage to post a message at this time of night, if he claims not have a computer?
Ok so what I mean is that I should get 'myself' a computer, not borrow it of somebody who I happen to live with.

Well, for now that should do. I'll rant about my summer in a little while. Read: Some frustration left after my own holiday
Jol Rael / Lyon /Sleepy

Xunlai Dance Stance

2009-08-28T17:04:00.006+02:00

Sited in all outspots since yesterday.
Greetings from Xunlai Agents, exclusively for me.

Xunlai Party

2009-03-22T14:32:00.007+01:00

Special VIP parties for people who think inside the box!

Collectors Edition of Bugs

2009-03-22T14:25:00.000+01:00

Guild Portal found in Serbia

2007-07-20T19:00:00.000+02:00

Once upon time, in a strange land called Serbia, one flying dutchman, and one true viking landed on our roof...

Behind the Screen

2007-07-20T18:00:00.000+02:00

U may know them as Ryumi Chueei and Jol Rael.

Yes it is them! Behind my pcs. They completely took over them.

2007-07-20T17:09:00.000+02:00

Yes Vana we do feed them!

And they do sleep...

2007-07-20T16:21:00.000+02:00

But this flying Dutchman
was all over the place.
Mad!

2007-07-20T15:31:00.000+02:00

We showed them to all our friends :)

Goofing around

2007-07-20T14:41:00.000+02:00

We definitly had our share of fun.

2007-07-20T13:50:00.000+02:00

But tell me... Can a true dance ever be replaced with a virtual one? Or virtual hug with a true one..?

Mighty Warriors

2007-04-29T22:32:00.000+02:00

Yes, yes, 3 mighty Warriors set out to fight Galrath the Villain.

Vana, who was that Warrior guy again? T_T
(sorry, really can't remember, but I promised to post this xD)

Old Days

2007-04-16T07:28:00.000+02:00

I looked back at the pictures of my old capes too, and realised that one of them was pretty similar to the one I wear now.

This picture is from the days when Vana was member of the highly rated I Seek Guild H K [香港]. The Hong Kong flag consists of a white Bauhinia flower on a red background, so the white flower was chosen for this top HK guild. Those guys were seriously into PvP, hoping to win lots of real money in prizes one day. But to Vana, that didn't make them as much fun as hanging out with OBE and their allies.

Back in the days part II

2007-04-15T00:28:00.000+02:00

Back in the days...

when my Characters were male...

when my Guild used to be 1337...

or even 443...

when famous Guilds used to hire me...

things weren't half as fun as just chilling in OBE ^__^

Morning Exercise ^__^

2007-04-15T00:00:00.000+02:00

A young Binary Stars doing her training above old Ascalon early in the morning!

PS. I looooved this cape so much, so this is my entry to the proposed new cape competition. ^_^

Something Scary

2007-04-10T01:39:00.000+02:00

Now, I don't know what scared to young Iridescent Moon so much here, but what ever it was, it was terrifying! Oo

April 1st

2007-04-09T04:07:00.000+02:00

I seem to atract boys... in body of girls...
when I am a girl in a body of a... boy...
Hmm I got me confused allready, damn!

Merry April Fools day.
And wellcome to
Virtual Genderevolution!

Going back in time

2007-04-06T17:24:00.000+02:00

Ok, I attached my old harddrive to this computer downstairs and it has all of my old GuildWars memories stored on it. I'm going to take you back in time with my GuildWars history =D

(excuse the quality, haven't got any good gfx software on here)

01.12.2005, aka the day I met Kali ^^

Well of course we met dancing xD

I'm the Ranger playing the airdrum, Kali is the Warrior playing the airdrum.

I met quite a few people that day that I still remember. I think Kali remembers some of them, too =)

03.12.2005 aka I'M AN OBE MEMBER!!!

Possibly the first meeting of the legendary Three Witches Kali Morr, Ryumi Chuuei and Iridescent Moon. Also probably my first day as an Astral Traveller.

And we danced and danced and danced xD

Xunlai opens in HK

2007-03-10T07:24:00.000+01:00

Ho Sin Gu sent this photo of the new Xunlai store in the Pacific Place shopping mall in Hong Kong to the HK-Taiwan Guild Wars site (http://guildwars.nctaiwan.com) for a contest. She was so excited to win a panda for her work that she is now thinking of dropping her necromancer studies to become a pavement artist in Kaineng.

The results were announced here. You will probably need Chinese font support or use of the Google language tool for translating the page if you want to read it.

Friday's Alliance Meeting =)

2007-03-04T17:48:00.000+01:00

Here are some OBE, ORB and VAMP members during Friday's alliance meeting =)

2007-03-04T04:31:00.000+01:00

Me on the savannah, enjoying a little peace and quiet.

fun and games

2007-03-04T04:25:00.000+01:00

Ry waiting his turn for a game of Rock/paper/scissors with dwayna's avatar. (I wonder if he's praying to grenth for luck)

Going Slightly MAd...

2007-03-01T20:30:00.000+01:00

Orb and Obe Pool Party

2007-02-27T15:24:00.000+01:00

Nothing Special

2007-02-25T23:50:00.000+01:00

Nothing interesting happened today...so heres a picture of Ry and I. Ry looks grumpy. xD

A Grand Day Out

2007-02-25T04:03:00.000+01:00

Todays quest took us to the Vampire Lair. Jol had returned from a week of absence, which, of course, had to be celebrated. Leadership was given to Jol, to solve some important *ahem* business. I'm sure you'll notice the changes (that have not yet taken place) sooner or later.
Jol...if you read this before you come on GW again...you still have the Guild Leadership Oo

PS. It only just occurred to me, that the font I use for my pictures is remarkably similar to the GW font Oo

Legendary Survivor

2007-02-24T12:00:00.000+01:00

And here is our Legendary Survivor in the moment of glory!

Heading for Legendary Survivor ^^

2007-02-24T03:13:00.000+01:00

Heres Kali helping me get to lvl 20 without dieing. This was during the early stage of our quest, around lvl 17, outside the Zen Daijun mission. We made it in the end, I am now a proud survivor, also thanks to quite a few members of our friends, the [orb] Guild. Kali took some pictures of the end, please post them Kali! =)

Yimou and Lunar

2007-02-04T23:28:00.000+01:00

Looks like we were falling over laughing about something xD

Ranger Mhenlo?

2006-12-27T13:35:00.000+01:00

When I was recently checking out the scenery in the Yatendi Canyons, some of my Travel companonsw asked if we could rest and have a little party. after the all the monsters we'd slayed and the hardship we'd been through I could only grant them their wish. Little did I know aboy Brother Mhenlo's apptitude for the breakdance (commonly known as male ranger dance.)

Back in the old days (screeners)

2006-11-22T18:26:00.000+01:00

Here are a couple of screenshots from when I first met Jol Rael, back in the old days at Serenity Temple in Ascalon. We were introduced by Amanda, the Warrior in both pics. She was leader of our old guild, Faded Hunters, who eventually went off to some other realm where people are rumoured to say 'wow' a lot.

The Witches Dance is back

2006-11-15T10:28:00.000+01:00

To logoff, perchance to dream

2006-07-12T04:22:00.000+02:00

Another customised scroll arrived from Siu Lei Gu.

To logoff, perchance to dream by Siu Lei Gu

I was wandering through Shing Jea recently when I heard an interesting religious discussion going on. A Serverite was claiming that the only way we can be saved is if we give ourselves totally to the Great Server. He said that we can’t save ourselves individually, by means of our own resources, the only way is to allow our Server to take care of us. He said it was the only way.
That prompted another person to question whether there was indeed only one Server for all Avatarkind. She suggested that there are several Servers, and we dedicate ourselves to the one of our choice, and they are all different though equally valid Servers.
The Serverite said that there was no reason to believe in more than one Server. Even if there were different manifestations of Server, he said, they were all One in virtuality and effect. He said that she shouldn’t think that just because some people call Server by different names, they were not necessarily talking about following a different path to be saved, because there was only one true Server in virtuality and only one way to be truly saved.
This discussion had interested others as well as me, and someone else asked what he had to do to be saved, as he couldn’t find his Save icon. People lolled, they mocked him and called him a noob, and said that save icons didn’t exist, and that everything was taken care of on his behalf.
Then he asked when he would be saved, and who took care of it. He was told that everything he did was under the watchful eye of Server and that he was constantly safe and shouldn’t worry about it. But someone else said that through his Player he was aware that there had been times when avatars here weren’t safe, that the Server was not infallible, and that he had been ‘rolled back’.
I am not old enough, myself, to remember the time he was speaking about, and I didn’t understand what he meant by ‘rolled back’. He told me later that it meant that things he had picked up had vanished, and that things he had done, he had to do again. I asked him how he knew, and he said that his Player had been present at the time of a ‘Server crash’.
The idea of a Server crash terrified the Serverite, as it threatened to undermine his whole faith, and stripped his sense of security from him. So he then, interestingly, postulated the existence of servants of the Server, some kind of ministering angels, whom he called ‘The Ops’. He said that the Ops wouldn’t allow Server to crash in such a way that our world would become non-persistent. He said something about them using the power of replicated bases to ensure that Servers instructions were obeyed.
But some people rofled at him for saying this. They told him that Ops are just like Players, they are not infallible either. Not even the Developers are infallible shouted out an extremist.
They forced the Serverite to become defensive. He said, “If this world was unpredictable there wouldn’t be so many of us playing here in it, would there?” (Though I didn’t see the connection between our numbers and the predictability of the world myself.)
A dancing Chattist told him, “Doesn’t matter anyway, it’s only a game, m8, get a life.” (The Chattists believe that we only exist here as outlets for our Players, and this one must have had no interest in collecting items or levelling up.) By ‘get a life’ she meant ‘find inspiration from your own Player Irl’.
But the Chattist comment didn’t stop the debate. The ‘noob’ asked a very profound question indeed, “So what happens to me and to this place after I logoff?”
I had not given this so much thought before. I had taken sleep to be a natural part of my existence. I logoff, I dream, I log back on, and the world is much the same, with just a few things changed, with items moved from or appearing in my storage, and with my /age a little greater.
I can’t prove to anyone here that I do, in fact, dream. But I had always felt sure that I do. My Player gives me new ideas, new inspirations, new goals to work toward, and much of this happens when I’m fast offline and dreaming.
But now I began to wonder, does this world still virtually exist when I’m asleep? What if the things I think I dream about are the truth, and this world is the dream?
I know that some Playerites, such as the Rumfists, claim that we don’t dream, that life here is a dream, that we are but the dreams of our Players, and Irl holds the only truth.
They made me /ponder.
I wanted to seek guidance, but Master Togo doesn’t like his students to concern themselves with metaphysical questions like these. He refuses to discuss the subject of dreaming, or to question his virtuality. In fact, I’m not even sure he feels he requires to be saved, like most of us, because he is an Aplayerite. No one I know has ever even seen him logoff.
So I had to think about this for myself. And I decided I can’t believe the fanatical Playerites. I am able to pick things up and put them in my belt pouch, I am able to whisper to others, I am able to complete quests and missions, and I don’t think I could do any of those things if I were nothing but a dream. I find it impossible to deny, as they do, that there is any truth, any virtuality at all, in my existence.
Cogitem ergo sim – I may think, therefore I’m an avatar.

The Vampire Meeting

2006-07-12T00:54:00.000+02:00

Right, heres the plan...we sneak up on people and suck their blood! Muahahahaahaaaar! Vampire Ry, you go first!

Picture of the meeting:

Canthan Meta-Religion

2006-07-10T03:28:00.000+02:00

I found a scroll along with a vial of ink and a beautiful feather in my storage this morning. The scroll had been customised, so that no one else in Cantha could claim it as their own. And when I moused over its contents, I saw that it had been crafted by one of my avatar sisters with whom I share an account. I thought I would share it with you.

Canthan Meta-Religion by Siu Lei Gu

I am a little monk from Cantha. I studied Canthan religion at Shing Jea monastery, and learned all about the gods and goddesses who guide and protect us, such as Lyssa, Melandru, Dwayna, and the others. But since exploring more of this wonderful land I have become aware that there may be higher powers than even these, beings even more powerful and influential than our pantheon of gods. These higher beings are known as Players.
At first, I was reluctant to believe that Players might exist. My teachers refused to even discuss the possibility with me. My teachers in Shing Jea were all Nonplayerites, (also known as NPCs or Non Player Characters). For them, there is no existence beyond that of Cantha and Tyria. They believe neither in the existence of Players nor of Servers, and are so determined not to be persuaded otherwise, that they go to the length of colouring their names differently, to discourage anyone from even trying to discuss meta-religion with them. They believe in total Determinism, and that our world was always the way it is now.
But on entering the wider world, I found that others, less dedicated to serving our gods than the Nonplayerites, hold a variety of other views.
The opposite extreme view is held by the Rumfists, who are also known as NCPs, Non Character Players. These characters deny that we avatars have any individual role in life, that we are nothing but mouthpieces for the Players. When you meet them, (and they are often large beefy warriors) they may introduce themselves politely at first by saying perhaps, “UR A QT” but very soon afterwards they want to know whether you are a Rumfist yourself, by asking “R U M/F?”
If I don’t give a direct reply, by saying for example, “What do I look like?” they try to deny me even my rendering, and shout again, “IRL R U M/F?”
I didn’t understand the word irl at first. I now believe it to mean ‘in the spiritual world beyond Cantha’, the world inhabited by the Players. Either that or it’s a title of the Player god Rumf whom these people serve, since they invoke him frequently.
I was not at all sure how to answer them at first, being unfamiliar with either Rumf or the irl he is said to inhabit. But for reasons I have yet to discover, I learned that the answer they are looking for is “F”. They get most annoyed if you give the opposite answer, “F off”. A vague answer such as “What difference does it make to you?” may cause them to hang around for a little while in case I will admit to “F” after a little more badgering. But fortunately, they usually tend to go away if I reply anything but “F”. Interestingly, replying “M” to them will make them hurry away, often with a cheery word of disparagement to homosexuals.
To every Rumfist, their Player is all important. To them, all of us avatars in Cantha have no role other than to serve the desires of their Player. They do occasionally also speak of another higher being, an anti-Player god called Server, for whom they have no respect at all, claiming he gives them a lot of “lag”. As a simple avatar I don’t understand what lag is, and I have to assume it’s something which only Players are aware of.
Many Rumfist avatars are generally ignorant of Tyria or Cantha too, and their goals in life appear to be either to make lvl20 as quickly as possible with as much gold as possible. Or perhaps to let their god Irl Rumf speak through them, with F characters, about possible ways around the lack of a /sex emote.
The Rumfists and Nonplayerites represent extreme views though. Most characters I’ve met have beliefs which fall somewhere in between these polar opposites.
The Aplayerists are a diverse group of avatars, including for example, those who follow the great Server, who believe that there is no existence beyond the known Server. Other Aplayerists allow for the theoretical existence of parallel universes, or alternate Servers, but they do not necessarily think that the issue is of any importance to their own lives. (Though some nastier ones do. I have heard some characters, for example, telling others that they have to speak English in an Eng Server universe.) Many Aplayerists believe that ultimately life and our whole universe is nothing but pixels, and that the existence of Players can never be scientifically proven.
But most characters (and here I include myself now) are Playerites, with some kind of belief in Players. Some of these Playerites /point to the elegant design and beauty of Cantha and say that all this could not have evolved through random generation of bit patterns, and must be evidence of the existence of some kind of extratyrian or irl intelligence, or of Players, or perhaps even some other kind of yet more powerful Creator god called a Developer. Other evidence for this may be our instinctive knowledge of the activities our avatar slot siblings. For example, it is said that we know what to put in storage because we are guided by the Players.
Another group of Playerites, the Chattist sect, will talk for a while about the kind of important Canthan matters which concern us all, such as the price of dyes, but after a trade transaction or whatever they may well ask, “Where u from?” revealing their doubt that all life originated in Ascalon or Shing Jea at the dawn of presearing. They may even give ritualistic praise to Rumf, before going into a kind of almost motionless trance /stand state during which a Player speaks through them of many things about which I, a simple Canthan avatar, understand little. They are then said to have trancestanded our Game World, also known as GW. Sometimes they may utter “brb”, as a sign that they are about to enter an even deeper meditative state known as afk.
Chattism is one of the most widely followed sects, but its followers are not well organised and have no common rituals or identifying symbols. They seem to share a deeply held belief that things which concern their Player are more important than anything that could possibly happen in Cantha. To them Canthan life is no more than a fantasy, a dream, a facility provided by a beneficent god to bring pleasure to those who respect the right of every individual to have fun.
The most interesting group, but possibly the smallest group in Cantha may well be the Purists, or Role Playing Characters (RPCs). These people understand well what life in Tyria and Cantha is all about, and don’t care about the M or F-ness of the Players, whose existence they would prefer to deny; and neither do they have any interest in debating theories about Server – such things are to them a distraction and escape from the true purpose of avatarity. The Nonplayerites generally look to the Purists as their saints and holy leaders, wishing only that they could be more like them.
I myself have a strong belief that the Players exist. And I am not convinced by the claim that there is only one true Player, who made us all. Or at least, if this is so, then (s)he must whisper to each of us individually, for there are many different but equally valid views about her/his nature. I can understand why some may feel a need to propose a single Player’s Player, since when you ask yourself where could the Players have come from, an infinite regression of Players does seem hard to comprehend. But I see no reason to invoke even a single Player’s Player, as our existence and inspirations are perfectly well explained more simply without one. The pantheon of Players are the only meta-gods we need.
Yet I also question the claim that we are all mere manifestations of our Players. Whereas the Rumfists say that Players control our every action or thought, I believe that it is a two-way process. I like to believe that we avatars have some freedom of choice in the actions we take in Tyria, or as I prefer to put it, some freedom of imagination. And I think that this freedom enables us to influence our Players, so that we can both enjoy a mutually beneficial experience. As I level up, my player learns more about interactions between individuals, parties and guilds, and about other characters and players, and is enriched in the process.
As an example of us being able to influence our players, let me tell you about a former monk brother of mine from Ascalon. He was giving away all his possessions to other characters, who were shouting out their needs in the marketplace there. That he asked for nothing in return surprised many, and caused them, sometimes uncharacteristically, to say thank you, and to tell him that he was very generous. He explained to them that he belonged to a renounced order, who dared to imagine that no possessions were necessary, yet there was no need for greed or hunger; a brotherhood and sisterhood of mankind sharing all of Tyria, with nothing to kill or die for, living life in peace.
Some recipients of his Tyrian treasures expressed their doubts, asking how a pacifist monk who wouldn’t even kill a Skale could survive in Tyria, in any meaningful way. The monk told them that he knew he was going to die, but he was not afraid, because he believed that after his death he would return to be reunited with his Player Irl, where he could continue to spread his message of love for all life with even greater effect, and to enjoy an even closer relationship with his guiding spirit.

Season change...

2006-07-10T00:45:00.000+02:00

Heres to my fallen Warriors...

They served well and will always be a part of my memory...

Sugar! Sugar! Sugar!

2006-07-09T01:58:00.000+02:00

OMG, Go us guild OBE-eeeeee! I am soooo High today well I "was" up until late :P ( by the way Ba I Na Ri already knows and he's on suga too! Go you! ) LoL, well... I love Guild OBE from the moment I joined :P ( thanks to RY also has a nickname now "The Bull" since he's the only earthy mammal in the guild acording to star sign :D ) Oh me and Kali realised that this guild is water based... so drink lots of water! LoLz... Thank you Kali for makign me welcome :D and the rest of the members following: ( the people I have already mentioned ), Hec, Binary stars, Word is bond, OLXXXXX and sooo onnnnnnnnnnnn... I hope I get to know you all better! emmmm.... well I can't think of anymore to say.... so..... Hope you enjoy reading this silly comment :D tata! By Bye! ^^... if i had a choice I make this guild filled with vampires.... Grarrr ^,..,^

2006-07-09T01:10:00.000+02:00

oh well okay so il guess u have to send 1 blogg to show that im happy to be in tis guild and i wont leav it no worry´s ppl il stay with ya untill we al quit^^

Viva La BloginG

2006-07-08T17:15:00.000+02:00

Ok ok, blogged myself out today... your turn.

Dual Sex Run

2006-07-08T15:22:00.000+02:00

It was fun run. Ty Ciane Yoane! River saved us in the end XD and finally made the sync on the victory dance. Go Go Alliance. XD

bYE eVelISh

2006-07-08T15:11:00.000+02:00

Olxy went for some holiday shoping and left us Beauty to take care of her. He wrote down the wish list what to get to evryone and then finally was shooed away :D.

Party ended at our hall

2006-07-08T15:05:00.000+02:00

Group Hug FTW!

OBE went to jedi party

2006-07-08T14:59:00.000+02:00

Truth or Dare! Choose a number, /roll 8, and good luck!

Hair Demons

2006-07-08T14:56:00.000+02:00

Enslaving Evil

Fun to be a lvl 10 minion pet

2006-07-08T14:41:00.000+02:00

Beautifull to be a Mistress

2006-07-08T14:37:00.000+02:00

Dragon picnic at Shing Jea

2006-07-08T14:28:00.000+02:00

Olx trying to be evilish

2006-07-08T14:01:00.000+02:00

Guys...I'm hapless

2006-07-02T00:27:00.000+02:00

Please dont pity me, I'll get over it I swear...with a little help from my friends...please, no, dont pity me, I'll be fine D=

Dont u see the resemblance?

2006-06-29T20:38:00.000+02:00

The green brotherhood of dark magic. Brothers and sisters of Tyria.
p.s. One day i made my bro all green. But Master Yoda objeceted, said young padawan cant be green yet :(... But at least he let him keep his scar yey!

The perfect Necro dance

2006-06-29T20:21:00.001+02:00

Supported by rabbit tunes

The birth of the evil twin

2006-06-29T14:14:00.000+02:00

Kali Morr and Kali Purrr, sisters meet at last. Necro power XD

Scouting for new Greens.

2006-06-18T16:53:00.000+02:00

Three OBE members deep in the Krytan swamps scouting the area for a new boss that has been added.

10 questions game

2006-06-16T15:06:00.000+02:00

Gather around fire. Read stories. Play games. p.s.Watch out for WNs sneaking up behind you to scare u to death XD.

Secret Getaway

2006-06-16T15:03:00.000+02:00

Shhhh... Listen.

Sunset on nude beach

2006-06-16T14:30:00.000+02:00

Bye bye sea... Wellcome mushroomssss...

Farewell to My Extended GuildWars Famliy

2006-05-19T21:36:00.000+02:00

I hope you all will wish me luck in my new adventure, having my own guild! Have been asked a few times to start one and never thought about the idea until asked again recently..........Thankyou to all for your love and affection! I know that we all will stay friends forever!! IF ever you need anything........just give me a yell and the Princess will come a runnin! Afterall, we are all still on the alliance together with my American guild CMHM! See you all there!

Kisses,
Princess Angel /j\

2006-05-18T17:46:00.000+02:00

Double post T_T

2006-05-18T17:30:00.000+02:00

*Sings a merry song*

So that was it

2006-05-09T14:57:00.000+02:00

Just completed Factions...was quite easy. But sooooo much fun.
Heres me, my super mega bow you get at the end and my pet phoenix that you also get after completing the last mission.

Forming an Alliance with KLS (something like that)

2006-05-06T19:28:00.000+02:00

Here are my reasons for wanting this Alliance:
1. It is good to have a strong, big ally that can help us out with various aspects of the game. To help us achieve things we would never manage alone.
2. We would always stay the close family that we are, since we dont even see their Guild Roster. And we are NOT, like some people are obviously thinking, joining their Guild.
3. WE ARE NOT BOUND TO THEM! We can always leave the Alliance if they dont comply to our needs and wishes.
4. KALIS FRIENDS ARE ALSO MY FRIENDS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
5. I'm sure that if we want someone to join the Alliance, KLS will be kind enough to add them.

2006-05-03T17:22:00.000+02:00

This is me and julie I am on the left julie is on the right. As you can see julies picture has again got weirded out o_O Anyway thats the cape I made ^^

We are Luxons

2006-05-02T16:37:00.000+02:00

Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have an announcement to make! After 40 hours and 12 Minutes of intensive ranging and scouting over the last 5 days I have finally reached Cavalon, the Centre of the Luxon world and while I was there, I registered our Guild as a Luxon one. We finally have something to fight for, lets make our Allies proud! /goteam
Oh and I finally have a pet Crab called "Orange". Shes so cyoot ^___^

My...Bossage

2006-05-01T03:03:00.000+02:00

Allthough I was in opposition to the idea of sharing the Guild Leadership for a week and said I'd just let it pass, you will have noticed a number of important changes during the last 2 days. The most important change is the Guild Hall. Everyone who was there seemed to like the "Island of Meditation" best and due to our democratic nature we bought that one. I gave the money for the Sigil and Princess brought all the Merchants to our little town. The second change is the cape (which has been changed again by the new leader). I liked it XD
As Hec isnt online too often and Al did him a little favor Hec decided to pass his legislative on to Al, so Al will reign for 4 days....I must say, his first day was a bit...yes. =/
Conclusion: Everything has been peaceful for the last 2 days, a lot of talking and discussing about being vegetarian and the meaning of the universe has been going on...but...please dont let me be leader again =D

PS: <- that is my cape

2006-04-29T08:29:00.000+02:00

This is Julies new cape greg is on the left, Julie is in the middle and me on the right. For some reason Julies picture got slightly weird o_O Anyway Julies reign was short and sweet thankfully :)

Astral Travellers

2006-04-28T04:27:00.000+02:00

Well.......fellow Travelers.....I have just completed my first full day as guild leader.....oh dear.....It actually went very well, if I say so myself, due I'm sure to the fact that I was GONE most the day!! hehe....You all might have noticed the new cape design flowing on your backs........not to worry.....you will all get a chance to create and submit your version when you are promoted to leader! Please remember them all.....for you will be quizzed at the end of the week! Any and all comments are welcome! (except from you Alex), from you pup....I want only blessed SILENCE!!!~~~~~
kISSES AND HUGS

Commander for the first two days, ANGEL

2006-04-27T13:17:00.000+02:00

This is yoda he is my great, great, great, great grandad see and he passed on all his force talents to me. So if anyone (Julie) lies to me I will know about it. When I am leader there will be a few simple rules.

You will obey me or die.....
Listen to me or die......
You must have fun or die........

Everyone understand? cus if you don't you will die :)

Muhahahahhahahhahahahhahahahaha

PS This is all a joke apart from the yoda bit ;)

Following the leader whereever he may go

2006-04-27T04:48:00.000+02:00

Captains log
day 165

One more day dawns on Tyria. New and exciting day. Final countdown for the factions. Factions that arise many questions in days to come. Questions of sides, alliances, and purposes of wars... And most of all - a whole new continent to explore, travell through, and meet new cultures - and isn't that what all travellers wish the most?
This captain, is also excited about a travell, but in some other dimensions then OBE. Captain will be away for 10 days or so.
So captain decided to leave guildies a bit busy. Busy playing game of commandership. And a little game of trust. The only rule to this game is that everyone should take leadership for 3 days.
Now this captain, doesn't take commandership as serious as her fellow officers. So she thinks it will be an easy and fun task for them. And she hopes that it ll bring some trust in each other, beacuse this lady trusts in all her officers equally! So she pulled a straw for the order of the command in days to come. The results of the straw are 1. Angel, 2. Lunar, 3. Hec, 4. Duck.
Some p.s. to this straw: Rabb was picked for the 5th round, but he is excused for justified reasons. p.p.s Loom isnt in the straw not for the matter of trust, but for the matter of never beeing online (will u ever come on Loom?). p.p.p.s. Blackkorn is still new to the guild, not anyone has met him yet, so i dont think it would be fair to put any burden on his shoulders.
Have fun guys. Travell nice. Dont panic! Dont fight any less then needed for the thrill ^^. Make me a cape when I come back please, but leave the dragonfly. And dont overdoze! That goes mostly for rabb! Have some nice dreams, luv ya all, hug ya all, kiss ya all, and good luck with the game.
Captain signing off
Kali

p.p.p.p.s. I lied. 1 more rule for the game: All leaders must leave full report on their command. Captains log must continue.
Bya now really. I m going. Yes. Bye. Damn why is it allways so hard to leave?? Grrrrrr. Chow.

2006-04-25T16:03:00.000+02:00

"Good friends are like stars.........You don't always see them, but you know they are always there."

SILLY ME!!

2006-04-25T15:28:00.000+02:00

Forgot.....my new email address for the gmail is Princessofalot@gmail.com ......guess we will all use these...much easier to remember!!

THIS IS FUN!!

2006-04-25T15:14:00.000+02:00

Good Morning to all my sweets! Thanks, McGrouch for that important info......and thanks to Kali for this fun stuff to keep us all busy.......Welcome back Hec...hope your move went smoothly! Thanks Gregory for all the armor info.....fow armor rocks...and speaking of "rocks", any shards you all may get...I will buy from you.....only 95 more to go!!! And finally....welcome again to our newest officer, the Bunny, (thats not as in Easter eh, rab?), you are a great addition to our little gw family!!
Kisses and Hugs!!!

W00T

2006-04-25T13:12:00.000+02:00

Well I thought it was best to post something as Kali threatened to gut us if we didnt :)

So this is Alister Mcgrouch reporting in Ladies Gentlmen and Julie did i mention im back at school o_O

The Fissure Armor Pictures

2006-04-24T21:49:00.000+02:00

Here are the links to the forum topics containing these images (they are usually described as fissure armor):

Ranger
http://forums.gwonline.net/showthread.php?t=354013

Elementalist
http://forums.gwonline.net/showthread.php?t=353680

Mesmer
http://forums.gwonline.net/showthread.php?t=377823

Monk
http://forums.gwonline.net/showthread.php?t=373346

Necromancer
http://forums.gwonline.net/showthread.php?t=353468

Warrior
http://forums.gwonline.net/showthread.php?t=353675

Diary of Astral Travelling and some tips to virtual OBE

2006-04-22T05:30:00.000+02:00

This is captains log,
22.april2006.
05:36 am GMT +1,
412 hours 51 min old Day 160th,

Erm.. Some notions on history might be proper.. Band of Astral Travellers founded on november 13th 2005, under simple goal: explore wonders and curses of the virtual Out of Body Expirience. So far the, only autocratic guild rule that we have, is that there are no rules.. I know pretty lame.. we gotta make some rules quickly (grmp). Anyway, our guild goes by description as "small, friendly based, roleplaying kind of" one, still noted as a virgin on GvG, with great officers and pretty lazy leader (my dearsef). U can recognize us by the dragonfly on our back, and an OBE tag. We also go for some creative questing that we make on our own, but on those u ll be able to read some times later in some more decent hours then this one. Btw, as u can allready see, some of us are "bloody vampires", or more nicely put "night hawks".. We are ofcourse MMORPG addicts, and yes, we are pretty international: we come all over the planet, so we jump around through time zones...
And... *she yawns*.. thats all i can think of for now, so bye all.
Yeey We have a damn blog! *she disappears in bubbles above steaming water..*