Wednesday, March 07, 2007

When good fantasy creatures turn bad

At the CSM, we're pretty sure that when Robert Boyd, of Broadlands in Carrickfergus, Ireland was arrested for robbery, the last thing the police were expecting was for him to come forward and declare that he was an elf named Beho at the time. Check that, a female elf named Beho. Although it certainly made the wig make a little more sense.

While Boyd denies that the robbery actually took place, he did admit that he may have "blurred that line between reality and fantasy" while involved in his Shadowrun role-playing game. Boyd also went on to say that he himself was not personally responsible for any crime that may have been committed, but accepted that perhaps Beho had meant to carry out the plans, securing herself some new lacy undergarments.

So he "may have" blurred the line? The 45-year-old Irish Boyd, who receives regular psychiatric treatment, firmly believed that he was a female elf in a futuristic world. He went on to believe that he was a "shaman" in the game world, and that Beho carried a small Japanese sword as a weapon (in reality, he is accused of robbing the lingerie store at knife-point). Heck, we're willing to buy into the notion that Boyd even went so far as to believe that when he, as Beho, was done stealing bras to make herself feel pretty, she returned to her home inside of a tree to make cookies and crackers for children worldwide.

Ultimately, one of the points made in the article actually doesn't surprise us. Apparently, Boyd told the defense counsel that the game was being played within his "small social circle". And, well, quite honestly, when a 45-year-old man firmly believes that he is a magic-using elf with a tanto and uses that alter-ego as proof that he didn't rob the lingerie store, we have no choice but to accept that his social circle must be quite small indeed.

Of course, it could have been worse. Not only could Beho have stolen the undergarments, but she could've brought along her allies. And, as we all know, there's just no way for a troll to fit into a camisole without some serious help.

It's not like Boyd is the only delusional one, though. If anything, he's lumped up with a number of cities in Vermont, who seem to believe that the vote of their towns really matters.

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