Yoshitomi is a user that has stood the test of time - she's been on Tengaged '08 and she's truly seen it all.
Yoshi Tomi began her Tengaged career in 2008 determined to make it to the "big leagues" - to be a fellow Tengaged celeb among Stars at the time like Emmaleigh and Lexxu . By 2009 she had already experienced many of life's tough challenges: Stars drama, personal attacks, teen pregnancy, a brush with inner-city gangs. She thought that her mission was to help others overcome difficult times as she had been helped, molding her into the perfect user she is today.
"I think anyone who has been through as much Tengaged drama as someone like myself chooses the helping fields," said Yoshitomi, at the time a moderator. "I had always envisioned myself working one on one with the users, being there for them." Yet when she finished her moderation training with Biodork she realized she was heading in the wrong direction.
"I quickly found I was not the best person to do direct service work, and I was surprised," said Yoshitomi. "I think it was Shayybayy's taddling emails and constant fighting with Patrick7893 back in 2010 that just really made me realize I wasn't cut out for it. I still remember quitting my moderation job at the Tengaged conference meeting at the Hôtel Du Collectionneur in Paris. Genevere was there, EssexGirl was there, xxJaym had just arrived from her flight and the whole moderation team was there for the conference and for a second I almost didn't think I could quit. It took a lot of courage to stand before my peers and just look at Randomize in the face and say those two words - I quit." She recalls, a small glimmer in her eyes as she gets teary-eyed and reaches for a tissue.
After quitting the moderation position things seemed to be going great for Yoshitomi - although now at the bottom of the Tengaged social scene, having left a bitter taste in the mouths of the people in power after abruptly quitting.
Although none of that mattered - when she met RiDsTeR who at the time she thought was the love of her life.
"I'll never forget the moment when I met Riddy." She sighs, going back to that moment on that Carribean cruise where she met her former husband.
"Right when I met him I knew - I knew that he was the one. From that point things began moving very, very, very quickly. One second we were having cocktails, the next we were having sex, and before I knew it in less than a year I was getting married. Things moved insanely quickly...insanely quickly".
However, things took a turn for the worse quickly when Yoshitomi discovered the shocking truth behind her 'perfect man'.
"There were three in our marriage--myself, Ridster and his laptop. He had it with him everywhere, even in bed," said Yoshi, "And over the last few months he'd become really hooked on Second Life, which is a sort of online virtual reality game where users can just literally create anything."
Ridster was sitting up beside her at 4am in bed tapping away frenetically on his laptop--living out his fantasy through his avatar, or online character, called Troy Hammerthall when Yoshitomi opened an eye and caught sight of the screen.
"I saw Riddys little person having it off with another man in a dungeon on the screen," said a horrified Yoshi.
"I just froze with my head on the pillow, silently watching what he was doing. I felt sick to my stomach.
Without looking back Yoshi filed for an immediate divorce, never looking back.
"It was absolutely huge...my divorce with him. It was everywhere - the tabloids were going crazy. I remember being at home and getting a call from LexiVazquez who was at the grocery store at the time and she told me - 'Honey...you're on the tabloids" She laughs, now remembering the whole incident as comical.
"The tabloids were just absolutley loving it. Here I was in the middle of a divorce, just found out my husband was gay...and the worse part is that they were taking his side.
They were calling me 'THE BLACK WIDOW', 'A DRAGON LADY', 'A MAN EATER' all because I had left my husband over leading a gay sex life over the internet...the whole thing was just insane. But I tell myself that if I can survive that one...I can survive anything. I've seen it all in the T-World, been through it all, and then some. I'm here to stay, I'm an icon and there'll never be another Yoshitomi...tell you that much".
