Aug 31 RIP Duncan Campbell (@Lord Vile)

I just recieved word a dear friend passed away...
Our friend Duncan Campbell passed away on friday, August 31, at UMC in Las Vegas.

We got an email from his dad:
". Please understand we knew this was bound to happen. It still does not make it any easier. No parent should out live their child. I am proud of my son and the road he had to travel. I was the one blessed to call him my boy. You all will never know the strength and joy you gave to him, for that I am humbled to know that there are such people out there and I hope that what ever your faith you will be blessed."

I am still stunned and shocked by all this.
All thats happening right now is a flood of memories..
It is numbingly heartwrenching as all I have are nice memories to remember him by. Times with him were always filled with
fun and surprises. He is one of those people that you can't really find anything at fault with and all I can remember and
all of those memories are always him being so nice to me and everyone, being so cheerful, despite his brain cancer.

It's also doubly heartwrenching because you see, I got to be friends with Duncan in City of Heroes. His global was @Lord Vile.
And also on the same day, friday, August 31, the same game that brought us together as friends, was shut down.

While he did have villains, and be in character (and yes its not rp, just in *ahem* naughty character) he was a hero at heart,
and would join redside mishes/tfs just for us die-hard villains who couldn't do blue stuff.

When in real life he was bedridden and in pain, City of Heroes allowed him to go run and jump as fast and as far as he can,
be as strong and invulnerable as he dreamt to be... just like the super hero he wanted to be... be the hero that saved lives..
be the hero that brought smiles... the hero that inspired.

It also feels good when in some indirect way, ingame friendships and the game itself can be therapeutic.. such as when after
one of his operations, to check cognition and muscle-eye coordination, he'd get on one of his toons and its heartening to
see how he quickly can recover/remember.. he'd stil be in pain, but he plays with a smile. He's with friends after all,
sharing fun.

(Well... when among close friends, he was also known also to go Leeroy Jenkins and aggro as much mobs and not take a
scratch.. But hey, he can get away with it because he was being his super duncan self. And it was really hilarious what
happens to team chat with some profanities at times. We're all friends so during those times of crazy fun, team-wiping as we
were laughing so hard sometimes. It was all kewl.)

To us, his friends, he has been - and always wil be, a hero.
Just like in the game, he fought evil with strength and courage.
Just like in real life, he fought his condition with a strong heart, surviving as long as he can with a determined will.
(Maybe thats why at those times, in game, when hes doing his leeroy jenkins scrapperlock moments, he's all determind... set
mindlock.)
Just like in the game, when facing odds that were not in our favor, the important thing was that our teamwork, and doing what
we can -- while having fun -- was the thing that mattered for him.
Just like in real life, even with all the things he was going through, he was always there for us, and made us realize that
even when things go wrong or if we doubt ourselves, its not the "ending" that matters -- fail or succeed, it's how we got to
the end, by doing what we can, be determined, doing our best -- while having fun.

At the end of it all, we have people like Duncan to remind us that there is a hero in each and every one of us.

You wil be dearly missed and rememberd, my friend, my hero.



Rest in peace Duncan....
Rest in peace @Lord Vile: Obsidian Cure. Cool Breeze Man. Fission Gal. Burn Mistress. Tremor Lad. Thermal Anguish. Anti Gem.

I will be certain to add him to the memorial video I'm creating for those players who have passed on.

Michelle
aka
Samuraiko/Dark_Respite

Wow man, I'm really sorry That's such an awful thing to happen, and the date on which it happened is eerie. RIP Mr. Campbell.

Hey Fili. Ive heard very good things about you from others. This post proves it. Carry on brother. Its people like you that make living easier and make this game even more enjoyable.

Thank you, FiShy, for putting what is in my heart to "paper". I love you.

Farewell, Duncan.

the entire Jaded family, as well as I am sure the community as a whole will miss you.

Always a good friend, a good cheer, no matter the circumstances.
You were the embodiment of a hero.

Thank you Dark_Respite for undertaking that memorial video task. I am sure it will do all of those who have left us too soon great justice.

I met Duncan a few years ago. Not in person but in Paragon City. He was a voice on Skype and a toon on my PC's screen. We were SG mates playing for hours at times. He was a friend.

I'm POPS the "old man" of the SG and Duncan would always have some "Old Man" comment for me that would always make me laugh. He was a generous man who helped many others and never asked for anything in return. A simple "Thank You Duncan" was a prize he cherished. He valiently fought the disease that eventually took him from us with never a complaint. His compassion and concern for others and his wish for their happiness were his trade marks. His fight against his diesase showed us all his courage and determination. It showed us he was not just that "Hero" toon we saw on our screens, he was that real life "Hero" he always wanted to be.

Farwell my friend POPS will remember the many hours we spent bashing evil villians and laughing at the "Team Wipes" we'd somtimes cause, the SKYPE joking and comments. MANY good times that will last in my memories for a long, long time.

POPS from SCS @poptimus prime

Well, oddly (and ironically) enough, this is my first post since this game's beta boards (more than ten yrs. ago). I used to write short narratives about the heroes that I wanted to create/be---and eventually did---as the game lived out its own life. Throughout the game's inception and into the many years that followed, I felt that I finally a had something (a conduit if you will) which gave my creative energy an arena to manifest itself. I can't tell you the relief I finally felt in 2004 to have such a therapeutic/ cathartic exercise available at arm's reach...which is now, of course, coming to an untimely end.

What I didn't know, was that there were just as many people out there that had the same "creative energy" as I did. For me, the kinship was immediate and spiritual with many of the same ilk. Indeed, I have met around 6-7 great/best friends in person...with many others that I would consider heartfelt ones. Around 5-6 yrs ago (I can't remember exactly) I think it was "QC" who introduced me to Crimmey, Rich, PoPs, Duncan and Mini (and others) of the SCS SG. Since that point, I was a "solo" player, who had lost touch with many of the initial friends I had made in 2004 (and before). Moreover, I had been in the same sg since I started--one that I created--so I was always apprehensive of joining another. However, there was something about these people that pushed me out of my comfortable virtual "bubble". They were humane, friends, family, supportive and simply cool folks with a great sense of levity. I joined SCS soon after...

Bar none, Duncan was a player of immediate stature in-game...he was always in command, never caught with his "virtual" pants down (as it were). But behind the pixilated facade of his numerous characters was a person of immeasurable human capital. He was simply a "giant" of a person...the personification of all superheroes into one human.

Likewise, Duncan was just as "monolithic" in person with his kindness. He had capacity to give amazing gifts to those he barely knew/talked with. It blew me away when for no apparent reason he bought QC, Rich, Crim and I (and countless others I think) a free account to Champions. (He had no idea what the game was going to be like...he just knew we were passionate suckers for "supe" games. I was floored...) He never, not once, asked for thanks or any return gestures of kindness. These displays of generosity and philanthropy were many and done with such an altruistic soul...

I also remember how unassuming Duncan was in general. He simply "jelled" with everyone he met...nary an enemy in the mix---never! Hell, I never remember a negative word being ushered from his lips at all. Flat out positive to the core...

Nevertheless, I can only provide this snapshot of the unbelievable person Duncan was...for that is all I really know of this great human being. I regret not knowing him in real life...for he, without doubt, would have been the type of person that is a "game changer" to have in one's life. Those are few and far between...

So, what I can do is make a pact with the person he was and stood for. I literally started this game two days after it went live, and I will play to the last hour of the game's "life" with the thoughts of the man being honored (on this thread) in my mind..and with the imagery of Duncan's deeds as a human, cemented in my soul for the rest of my life.

Cheerio brother Duncan...and remember to get your cape when you walk through heaven's gate!

Best, and with love...

~BuGskull (Daniel Dunn)