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Page 1067 — Suffering Foretold

There's a thought in my head – "It's not often you face a villain that you really hate" – that leads down a fascinating rabbit hole.

I was watching some other tabletop streams and VODs the other day, and there was a moment where a sweet, fun-loving player gave into their anger for a hot minute and did something rather atrocious. When gently called out on it later on, the player believed themselves sort of in the right but couldn't really defend it. And my thought at the time was, "Yeah, that's common."

Do we actually not experience very much genuine anger and hatred in these games, despite being waist-deep in "monsters" and "villains"? (Assuming ideal group conditions, of course.) Are we unprepared for the moments where real hate consumes us? Is that where we get the murder-hobo archetype, or nice people momentarily turning into monsters and not being able to come to terms with what they did after? We're expected as adults / young adults to be able to contain and control our emotions, after all, and knowing who you'll become when the consequences are virtual and you're beyond your limit is kind of impossible.

Sorry, didn't mean to get all goth and go on a tangent. …Well, I committed this to the Author's Note, so I guess I did. But I find it fascinating that, for a moment, this game sometimes gives us a glimpse into the abyss inside ourselves. Usually without any greater cost than weirding out your friends and becoming a running gag for a while.

Transcript:

Discord: As much as I'd love to shuffle on top of your heads all day… Metaphorically speaking… I guess it's time to give you the hint that gets this trainwreck rolling. Listen well, because I'm only going to say this once.
To retrieve your missing Elements,
just make sense of this change of events.
In twists and turns lay my master plan,
undeciphered by pony nor man.
Each path will guide you to your greatest fear,
alone with your weaknesses, crystal clear.
If they haven't given up, cheated, or ran,
then find the Elements back where you began.
SFX: (BEEP.)
DM: … The murals seem to have finally stopped moving. So… what do you think?
Fluttershy: I think it's… interesting…
Twilight Sparkle: I think we're in for a frustrating time. There'd better be some very fulfilling catharsis at the end of all this.

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Posted previously at: 2019-09-18T18:48:29