Parallel reality

[kjpepper]

When I was a kid, and still sometimes now, I used to believe that if you create a world and write it in a story, somehow by writing it you've created an alternate dimesion where such things are not only possible, but happening. When I was way older I was introduced to role playing, and for a few minutes, hours or whatnot, I'd live my character, experiencing her reality as my own between dice rolls. which, considering my aforementioned worldview, means that gaming for me is a little like Being John Malkovich, except a) it's not John Malkovitch b) You stay longer than 15 minutes and c) you don't end up next to the NJ turnpike when your turn is over. Just in someone's living room, consuming way more junk food than is good for you, clutching pretty colored blobs of plastic with numbers written on them.

It's a weird worldview, one where anyone who writes or GMs is temporarily synonymous with God (though I would like to think that God doesn't cackle maniacally when you're about to do something stupid, like poke te column of darkness with your finger), and reality is truly all about intent, which on most levels it is anyway. but then you think about the converse possibility, that somewhere there exist someone writing or roleplaying _you_. And you think ugh, why'd you have to make me such an emo navel gazing weirdofreak? Or whatever applies to you that you don't like.

Back to bed now.