I am a fighter...

spikers14

I have been asked by many why I “live” in a fantasy world. I do often seek solace from the world. Not in drink or drugs, but in fantasy. I am sometimes afraid of the world because it hurts me. In a direct fashion, people I love have sometimes hurt each other in word and action. Indirectly, people lying, killing, and stealing invade my sense of the ideal world. I live in a city enshrouded by it. I am jaded from these influences, but the world is also afraid of me. The world doesn’t want to see me stand and take action. The world wants me to sit idly by, watch it happen, or call for aid. Unfortunately, I am sensitive to the plight of humans. I can feel suffering and pain, even when I don’t see or hear about it.

 

The world today does not call on righteous fighters. Crazy and fanatical by psychological definition, those who stand up for good are merely evaluated, ostracized, or in the best of cases, turned into local heroes. On multiple levels, the world seeks to destroy any who play on either side (good or evil) and quietly amalgamate them into one giant force. That’s the world we live in today. Science and logic tend to trump good and evil. Supernatural forces are explainable attachments in the psyche of men and women everywhere. When confronted by good or evil, many people turn their heads or do not recognize it. “This battle was over long ago, friends”.

 

In today’s form, a crusade is fantasy. Evil has too many nooks to hide in, too many tools to cover its tracks. I cannot fight what I cannot see, though I’d prefer to fight with sword and shield. The visual of physical or magical force supports my notion that I stand for good and seek to defeat evil: a simple premise, but one worthy of dispatch. So I repeat this notion in video games. Over and over, I can down my foes with magic and sword. I easily identify them. My foes have been laid before me. In my head, I am the righteous fighter. A sometimes lonely fighter, I divulge my purpose and claim the world for the good people living there. I despise evil and seek to vanquish it.

 

A bit cheesy, I realize. I live in today’s world as much as you do. I know how crazy this sounds. I am glad this medium exists. I can maintain my own perception of being God’s fighter while not outwardly having to claim so. The downside is I fight a war nobody can see. My cause is silent, except to my virtual comrades. From the outside, I am crazy or slightly off-kilter. I am detached from what is happening because my world is virtual, not tangible. I don’t deny that fantasy affects those living in the real world. But good is good…no matter the origination point.

 

 A fantasy battle can be consuming. It is a parlor trick on the mind. Once the mind believes, we believe. By and large, this is a good thing. I like walking down the street believing I would help somebody in trouble. Crossing over the notion that I am more or less victim to the real world drives me, but another battle is laying in balance: to understand that, in reality, I am neither a skilled fighter or magical. I am just one person. What I ward against would likely destroy me in a matter of seconds.

 

The altruistic battle is in carrying over appreciable attributes to both worlds. I can live how I want in the virtual world, while always within the constraints of the real world. If I gain consistent morality between both worlds, then I must be careful of application. The two methods differ greatly. As long as I don’t start carrying a real sword down a real street, I have maintained a semblance of balance. I am indeed living in the real world. My shirt is not chainlink. That Kool Aid stain is not blood. I am ok. I go to work and love my family. I protect them from harm as much as any modern man has ability to do so.

 

So to the many that ask me why I live in a virtual world, the answer is simple. I am a fighter, but the planes I fight on are two-fold. Should I meet you in the real world, I am likely to greet you. Should you cross my path in virtual battle? Then identify yourself as friend or foe, good or evil. I am an RPG’r and hopefully for the better.

 

lifesbrink

Well-spoken, my good sir!

madazz

I have never, ever posted anything like what I am about to post.

 

Nerd.

Souldrainer

Do your tax forms say "fighter" on them? No? Then you are not one. If you want to make a living out of fighting, you can.