History Literature / BinderOfShame

** Because of El Disgusto and his rampant worshipping of them and trying to play as one [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome even in settings where it doesn't make sense]], [=Ab3=] now twitches violently every time someone mentions the word "ninja".

** In "Reservoir Torgs", El Disgusto has developed one in regards to anything reminding him of how he'd lost the tip of his penis, going on a Stick of Pain rampage on Blobert Smith for using the word "half-cocked" and Weasly Crusher for using the phrase "cut off".

* BerserkButton: Because of El Disgusto and his rampant worshipping of them and trying to play as one [[ComplacentGamingSyndrome even in settings where it doesn't make sense]], [=Ab3=] now twitches violently every time someone mentions the word "ninja".

-->'''[=Ab3=]:''' “No. In fact the god Boccob appears before you and says that for your crimes you must go to the Tomb of Shartok the Unattractive and retrieve the Xenon Codex. If not he will destroy you and the world utterly.”

--> I had been torn between a very pretty and level headed brunette and a deeply disturbed redhead. For a time I couldn't decide which of the two I was date exclusively.\\

** Puns are also commonly used in dialogue between the various dramatis personae. An exaggerated example is when The Amazing Boosehound became "Rehab Boy" for a while, and he would repeatedly make these in a futile attempt to be funny. It annoyed [=Ab3=] such he yelled at Rehab Boy about it.

** [[Music/TheCure Blobert Smith]] is a Type-II diabetic who refuses to let his condition stop him from eating unhealthily, which is assumedly the reason he's "a Goth of size" enough to be referred to as "Blobert."

* BlemishedBeauty: Asenath is a ravishing beauty if you can look past her stunted right arm, which the narrator cannot. [[SleepsWithEveryoneButYou She boinks the entirety of Ab3's gaming group except for Ab3 himself,]] even [[ThePigpen the exceedingly nasty El Disgusto]] and [[TheFriendNobodyLikes infinitely contemptible Weaselly]] in retaliation for his blatant disgust for her.

* IncestIsRelative: On a few occasions, Deviant Boy has gotten away with KissingCousins as an excuse for perversions. At least two instances were cited: The first was with Weasly Crusher's character, and they had matching toe rings; the second was with Asenath during the "Trapped In Jedi Academy" episode and was mentioned as merely a footnote of the campaign.
** In "Trapped in the Jedi Academy," Psycho Dave had mentioned bloodline purity regarding the Force when explaining why Darth Vader would [[ParentalIncest want to marry Princess Leia.]] While it's possible this was just a reoccuring jape at the expense of Psycho Dave's Nazism (and Asenath's flipper arm when she "understood" Psycho Dave's version of Darth Vader), this and Deviant Boy's cousin-type characters suggest that [=Ab3=]'s group had no regard for the negative repercussions of incest.

* AndNowForSomethingCompletelyDifferent - "What Do You Mean You Lost My Wife's Kidney?" focuses on [=Ab3=] and his wife handling her first pregnancy. Most of the gaming regulars from the other First Edition entries barely feature in it at all.
** In "The Good, The Bad, and The Feces," [[spoiler: the entry centers around [=Ab3=] testing out a different group, only to cause a problem with one of the other people's toilets and feel guilty about it. Later, he realizes that the plumbing in the house has had to be fixed numerous times when he goes back to apologize to the present Game Master.]]

* DysfunctionJunction: The entire damned group, including [=Ab3=] himself. The primary reason he stuck by them is because he had "crappier friends" and "crappier pasttimes" which were more expensive to partake in, meaning his social options were virtually nonexistent.
** The epilogue and the extra chapter, both happening several years later, reveals that he's come to his senses and has found a group of supportive, likeable people to play with instead.

* HeelRealization: [=Ab3=] has one after he bonds with Annoying Girl while watching a movie with her when he planned to humiliate her, realizing he's become a {{Jerkass}} about to destroy the only happiness he has in his life. He has another one when the group mocks her, which causes him to realize that they are ''not'' VitriolicBestBuds and TrueCompanions, but just assholes who don't care about him.

* TheBully: Implied with Cheating Bastard, who uses his tabletop sessions in order to get a one-up on everyone else. It's taken to extremes in "Talisman - This Time It's Personal," where his showboating kept pissing everyone off to where Blobert's character's spell-reflection ability was the only way to effectively counter his abilities.

** Asenath also counts as zig-zagged variant of OnlySaneWoman, if one were to discount the fact she often encouraged Deviant Boy; she tried to tell him about her previous relationship with El Disgusto but only got the chance during "Reservoir Torgs," seems to react appropriately to Blobert Smith saying the wrong name in bed when they were a couple, and brought cleaning supplies to one of the tabletop games El Disgusto was hosting.

** Psycho Dave: Given Psycho Dave's personality as a Neo-Nazi, it's implied his Killer [=GM=] tendencies are reflective of a SocialDarwinist philosophy. Whomever can't keep up with the brutality of the campaign is likely looked down upon in his eyes, especially when he frowns upon there not being difficult things to do when anyone else manages the campaign/session. [[spoiler: His departure from the group is indicative that his behaviour grew increasingly sadistic and abusive, with him bringing a shotgun to keep the players playing in his final game.]]

* DysfunctionJunction: The entire damned group, including [=Ab3=] himself. It mentions that [=Ab3=] went into deep denial and actually convinced himself that this was just what a roleplaying group looked like, that this is how friends treated one another. That was the first reason he stuck with them, the second being he did not have better hobbies at the time on account of having worse friends (such as Kid Snotrocket) with worse pasttimes like going to crappy strip clubs. [[spoiler:He comes to his senses and kicks them out when they start badmouthing his new girlfriend. The fact that they allegedly slipped him acid that same day probably didn't help]].

* JerkWithAHeartOfGold: What ultimately separates [=Ab3=] from the rest of the tabletop group, outside of him being the point of view in each story, is that he actively tries to do good. He always had a delusion that maybe there was some good in the group he was with after all, only to be repeatedly proven wrong as even some of the more tame individuals - notably Blobert Smith and Weasly Crusher - show that they're ultimately unpleasant people in the finale.

** Given Psycho Dave's proclivities, there would have been some commotion if any member of the cast was non-white.

* LaserGuidedKarma: Collateral Darren's exits out of each campaign are commonly the result of him being arrested for something, to where the police recognize the tabletop group that he is a part of. The only exception to this exit modus operandi is the [[spoiler: finale. [=Ab3=] just kicks him out after he admitted to slipping acid in his drinks to see what would happen.]]
** In spite of his constant game-busting antics, Cheating Bastard has also gotten his fair share of comeuppance. [[spoiler: In fact, the rest of the group expel him after they find out he was cheating at a game of Talisman, which only happened because he provoked Blobert Smith into tackling him to the ground. "What Do You Mean You Lost My Wife's Kidney?" implies he "found Jesus Christ" and returns to at least put his shoplifting to productive use for the rest of the group.]]

* OffscreenKarma: El Disgusto is a genuinely awful person who treats his friends like garbage, beats his dog, and [[ArsonMurderAndJaywalking will play as a ninja no matter the system or setting]]. Despite the comeuppance he gets in-tabletop, we only hear of what happens to him through casual exposition: his college money is spent on vet bills for the oft-victimized dog, Lamont, and his parents dislike his abhorrent behaviour so much they kicked him out of their house with a court order.
** [[spoiler: This unfortunately gets subverted, when casual exposition mentions El Disgusto having suddenly inherited money from his family members and dog dying in a "freak Bounce House" incident. As a direct result of this inheritance, he gets to play EverQuest with impunity.]]

* DwindlingParty: A non-fatal example. While no one dies, the tabletop group loses members once its members have greater difficulty reconciling the differences between themselves. "Trapped In Jedi Academy" implies Psycho Dave to have been shunned by the rest of the group since he un-subtly threatened everyone with a shotgun.

* DwindlingParty: Implied. Once Psycho Dave is out of the picture, the main tabletop group of First Edition begins losing members fast due to a garden variety of different reasons.

** Weasley Crusher's status as an ExtremeDoormat was ruthlessly exploited by the other tabletop group members, where his characters would almost always be killed off first. It's implied he was regularly considered TheLoad in tabletop sessions. On Weasley's end, he might have had the exact same issues as [=Ab3=] where the tabletop group he was gaming with happened to be his only good social contact.

* HateSink: All of the group is horrible in some regard or another, but El Disgusto and Psycho Dave are consistently the most loathsome.

* WorldOfJerkass: The Albany gaming scene is generally presented as this, though it's not overtly spelled out.