A player sent this message moments before deleting his account. If he's who I think he is, then he's the guy who nearly died in the '92 riots. :\
Please, if any of you are in Arizona or have access to Arizona authorities, please help us verify that he is okay. As someone who has struggled with suicide for many years, I have to make sure that our players are okay. Please, do what you can and let us know!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UMP6bXnXdZMOut-of-Character from Kenley La Pointe (39 minutes ago)
Message sent to everyone in your realm (50 recipients)
Battlemaster was his life.
Reginald Denny sat in his makeshift office, casually watching the Arizona sunset through his trailer window. Not more than a folding chair and table of plastic, with a seemingly ancient desktop computer sitting atop, arranged carefully to maximize his available space. He stretched his back and uttered a faint sigh; it had been a long day of work, but now he was done and back home. Reginald switched his computer on, patiently waiting. His monitor began to flicker as the low hum of his pc signaled the time was approaching. He smiled.
Work had been extraordinarily tough today. It seemed a never ending parade of issues, both major and minor, had cropped up in a project long overdue. "Goddammit. Just let me get this damn boat fixed." A small job he took over three weeks ago had turned into a nightmare. Reginald was skilled in boat repair, and really anything with his hands, however a lingering brain trauma made a simple step-by-step process incoherent. Completing crucial steps out of order unknowingly, he turned a minor leak into a half destroyed, half rebuilt monster. He knew his client would be extremely upset, and the fear was starting to paralyze him. He was in debt and this would surely ruin his business. But, that was not a concern for now. Time for Battlemaster.
As the login screen appeared, he excitedly cracked the knuckles of his damaged hands. Boat repair and maintenance was often no easy job, but these injuries were from decades ago. The scars from his hands reached up along his arms to his chest. From there, they spread like AIDS in West Hollywood, completely, across his entire face and body. He could feel the cold stares of people when he went out in public, in the normally upbeat, party/tourist town of Lake Havasu. So, he stopped going out, only for groceries and work. A sad life, but his and his alone, and through Battlemaster he found a small measure of joy in an otherwise empty existence.
Reginald Denny
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Out-of-Character from Kenley La Pointe (39 minutes ago)
Message sent to everyone in your realm (50 recipients)
He saw his family page appear and took a deep breath. He had moves to make for his characters that he had planned for the past week; Reggie agonized over strategy and his attention to detail helped make many of his past goals in Battlemaster successful. Now it was time to see his latest plan through. Unfortunately for him, things would not go accordingly.
Aura, it was called by some. Anxiety, cold sweats, and the faint taste of metal. His mind began to float. Reginald knew this feeling well and knew it signaled an oncoming seizure. Epilepsy was another effect of the injuries he sustained long ago. The intersection of Florence and Normandie in Los Angeles flashed back to his vision as he lost control of his body. He saw four men approaching so he stopped his truck. He had no idea a riot was taking place. All Reginald knew was that he had a load to deliver in his dump truck, and he impatiently tapped the steering wheel as they approached. What could they want, he wondered. Maybe they'll explain why pedestrians had been throwing rocks at his truck moments earlier. Ripped from the driver's seat and thrown onto the rough, hot asphalt. One man held his head down with his foot as others took turns kicking him. He vaguely remembered a hammer impacting him repeatedly, but he no longer felt pain. He looked up and saw a man holding a fire extinguisher menacingly over him and he knew his life was finished. As he saw the pressurized metal cylinder fly out of one of his attacker's hands and towards his unprotected face, Reginald Denny was jolted back to present day reality. Aware, but unable to control his muscles, he looked at his computer screen. Dread fills his belly as he sees an unfamiliar page, the delete your family Battlemaster confirmation page. Just another 30 seconds and I'll be fine... He tried with all his might to throw himself to the floor, but to no avail. To his dismay, his flailing arms smashed into his keyboard, again and again. The seizure finished and he surveyed the aftermath. Family Deleted Successfully. He began weeping.
Now, a new reality had taken form, one devoid of Battlemaster. He was scared, crushed, and confused. How would he endure now? Slowly he began to feel a peace and euphoria washing over him. Perhaps there was hope. Perhaps there something more to life than a browser game. He smiled again. He had found his answer. Reginald stood up and walked across his trailer home to a small chest on the floor. Opening it carefully, he pulled out a Smith and Wesson .40 calibre revolver. He loaded a single bullet and put the gun mouth.
CLICK.
He cocked the hammer, but hesitated. I can always make a new account, right? A new family, a fresh start!
He began hyperventilating.
"Noooooooo!"
BANG
Reginald Denny
