Consumption, collection and inertia
This has been an interesting week for me, so I'm gonna try to get a post out before I catch a long-ass flight that will make me blogless for the next two weeks. I feel like it's important to try to collect my thoughts before it all settles down and just becomes "an idea I wanted to write about" and it sinks into my unfinished posts folder, along with the Vaesen review I've been trying to make for what, almost a year now.
Anyway, the interesting week came about mostly through Elmcat's Death of a Hobby, Taskerland's GAS-lit and Marcia B.'s Steps to Demonetize the TTRPG Hobby, linked in both of the previous posts. It also coincides with my aforementioned trip to the US, where I'll likely be able to get some new ttrpg books with having to pay explosive shipping prices. Finally, it coincides with the first time in my life in which I'm not running any games, but rather participating only as a player in four games, two monthly and two... less well-scheduled ones.
silence
sounds of stuff being shoved into travel bags, dishes being washed
more silence
Unfortunately, travel preparations took too long and I don't think I'll be able to communicate everything I wanted with this post, but I think now (and all the time) is a good time as any to evaluate how capitalism shapes our choices and bends our value judgments, self-importance, and so on. I have more ttrpg books then I'll be able to play and I'll have more ttrpg books then I'll be able to read, but I'm just desperate to get another fun book during my trip. Because like, getting people to play while juggling my (and their) adult life responsibilities is hell, and bringing a new book for us to tinker with has made games happen quite a few times already.1 If I don't engage with ttrpgs by reading blogs, reading new books, getting myself a new pair of cool dice every now and then and, like, just play calendar management simulator until I can get a new game going, my spark might fizzle out.
Well, maybe it already did, and that's why I need to try to buy new stuff to rekindle it? Or maybe it's easier for me to try to find this sweetspot since I'm very far from a whale, or someone who backs kickstarters - as someone who can't really buy stuff impulsively due to the geographical barrier? On the other hand, I derive a lot more joy from interpreting someone's work while bringing it to the table, instead of creating my own worlds... In any case, the world's in a pretty rough place right now and while I yearn for the beautiful demonetized hobby we could have, if getting that new cool zine is what's going to get your friends together on the weekend to have fun on the table, I guess you should try that.
This is not a response, an analysis and honestly, it barely scratches the surface of a commentary about all those cool blogs I listed prior. Go read that instead, I have a flight to catch!
anb
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Notice how I omit the times that it didn't do that. This is called a bias!↩