The topic of this post has been sitting in my head all weekend and I've sat down to type this a couple of times now and the first few times I keep thinking that it looks too much like a commentary regarding either Erik's "recent" dealings with the
Evil DM, or
Satine Phoenix drama....hell maybe even
Zak Smith bullshit.
No....this is about my own personal RPG bully and as much as I'd love to put this asshole on full blast, I have to realize that this is clearly a double dumb-ass on me situation. I let this fucker move into my head and set up shop rent-free. I thought that I managed to evict him, but evidently he had a key to the back door.
Now I'm not sure how much to share here, mostly because it's a lot of "who gives a shit" for Tavern Patrons. The TL;DR version is I had someone in my old gaming community bully me online to the point where I had to take the nuclear option and quit. I spent all of my vacations, and a LOT of money, volunteering for this company/community, for friends (I thought) and in the end it didn't matter for shit......
There's a reason I pretty much stick with OSR games now, which is a shame 'cause I did really like that "old" system. It's literally been years since I've even picked up one of those game books, aside from when I reorganize my shelves....
Of course, the natural question is "Why is this even an issue this weekend?"
Well, glad you (didn't) ask. So my own personal dick-head popped up on social media....again probably my fault for even subbing to that group....and lamented the loss of the old gaming community, the same community he shit all over in an attempt to make my life hell while shoring his own ego up as some burgeoning RPG writer. Anyway, in this post he lamented the community's loss and propped up his statement by mentioning the passing of one of its members some years ago.
That add-on got a lot of traction, as one might expect. Thing is this kind of activity was in-line with the asshole's MO. The whole post was like ripping off a scab on a wound I thought had been healed....evidently not.
Now I don't know about everybody else, but I'm into playing RPGs because, well, it's fun. It should be fun!
Aside from those actually trying to make a living from producing RPG products (...and even then), do we really need people trying to make a name for themselves as some kind of RPG Persona? Most of these RPG bullies have this need for attention at the core of, well everything. At least that's my impression. If it was really about the game then they'd be, well gaming.
I'm not the guy for giving advice, but I can pass on something I've been told...and evidently can't remember without being reminded: "Resentment is like swallowing poison and expecting the other person to die." I know, I know....add this to the laundry list of things I need to work on.
Surprisingly enough I feel better getting this topic off my chest and hopefully off of my mind and get back to the only thing that I think might work, just ignoring these fuckers. I didn't engage my bully on social media and while I'm kind of fucking this up by posting here, but I'm taking advantage of the opportunity to vent.