People tell me that when I was with X, I was a different person. I never believed it. Last night, I finally realized when it happened.
2008 was a decent year. I had met my girlfriend and was continuing with my life as normal, or so I thought. The annual trip to Origins was excellent. Tea Kettle, Emperor and myself went, borrowing X's van to journey in comfort.
I played in the Hackmaster Wurld Championship with the crew, joining a party with Telemelia, my battlemage. We totally screwed the pooch, due to the unorthodox nature of the adventure. I was voted MVP not due to my own skills, but rather that I was the only one using a pre-existing character and could use the EPs.
Numerous calls from X later that day and throughout the weekend followed. She had her typical unexplained stomach pains. The hospital sent her away as usual after a day of tests finding no reason for it. She wanted me to come home.
As I was the driver of our trip, the only way that could happen is if I came back two days later for the guys, a second trip I couldn't afford. Instead of accepting it and letting it happen, she kept arguing about it with me. All weekend was yelling back and forth on the phone with me.
Then the magic happens. One of the teams who made it to the finals needed two extras. I was tapped, as the MVP of my table, as was A. Badass Hacker, generally accepted to be the most winningest HM player of all time.
I was to play a character whose player abandoned him. A dwarf with a crush on the elven mage of the 'opposition'. In character, I hit all the roleplaying points. I dominated the table in such a way that the other players agreed with because we were making progress. Out of character, the real quest goal had finally clicked, and I explained to the rest of the party exactly what we needed to do to win.
Rightfully so, in the aftermath I was selected the MVP of the 2008 Hackmaster Wurld Champions.
And I didn't care...
The finest moment of my roleplaying 'career' fell flat. I never claimed my artifact. I didn't renew my HMA membership, and I've never played at someone's Hackmaster table since. I quit my local gaming group, too.
It was because of her. In the back of my head, I knew she hated gaming and didn't want me to do it. Eventually, I got to the point where she couldn't stand me if I didn't game, and so I started to play weekly again.
Last night, I remembered. My dream was destroyed for what was, for a brief moment, love. I forgot my other love...
For what it's worth, I've always considered you as the MVP of our gaming nights. We could all tell the difference when X was around because Emperor had to pick up some slack, but we never gave up on you. You have always had an unparalleled control of both gameplaying and roleplaying.
ReplyDeleteMVP of the 2008 Hackmaster Wurld Champions was only your finest moment so far.