The joke in this story is universal on the surface because everybody knows how a screw you gag works or the M Night Shama-lamma twist. Go ahead, read it first before continuing.
I think the closest mainstream example to the link would be the first act of Pscyho. You get all invested in Janet Leigh’s character and story…then she’s stabbed to death in the shower by Norman Bates as the movie is really about him.
In the D&D world, this enthusiastic player is an infrequent nuisance. They write an overabundance of material which practically hijacks the game into it being all about their character; the other players and the Dungeonmaster (part referee, part movie director) be damned. It’s something in my hobby called Central Character Syndrome. It works fine for a novel, TV show or movie but D&D is an ensemble game. Not every week focused on Captain Picard’s problems.
This also reminded me of an incident at the local gaming convention a couple years ago. I chose to play in a superhero game and the character provided to me came with a novella. It was exhausting to read for a three-hour session. Even proponents of Strasberg Method Acting would’ve told this host to dial it back.
What can you do? Some people have imaginations they gotta’ turn loose. The key is to gain some compromise which is an art with some D&D players.
