Every thought I have is fascinating.

About 40 years ago, an actor named Darin DePaul played D&D with a bunch of other actors who were in a play with him, including a particular woman we'll call Susan. Darin played a gnome named Sprigg who was the only survivor of their adventure because he ran and hid. When the fight turned against them, he felt like what his character would do is run for his life rather than fight to the death.

Darin and Susan fell completely out of touch after the play ended.

40 years later, he became friends with a much younger voice actor named Matt Mercer, and as Matt does, he started talking extensively about D&D. Eventually they realized that the Susan from Darin's past, whose character he had left to die, was Matt's mother (This had happened before she even met her future husband, long before Matt came along.)

So Darin guest-starred on Critical Role (Matt's live-stream game,) playing the very same gnome 40 years later, still hidden and half-insane from being alone and from the guilt of abandoning his friends. Matt's story gave Sprigg a chance at redemption and closed out a story arc that had started 40 years prior with Matt's own mother.