Well I've had stuff stolen before, it's annoying especially when you're playing the type of char that will help pretty much anyone. I've been stolen from by ahole types who make thieves just to grief people on the mud, and who never last more than 100 or so hours and then auto delete.
What made this one resonate in a bad way was that it was done by a thief who my char had helped since they were young, and who then kept on keeping on even when asked to stop. And in the end, they too deleted after a bit and all I asked of them was to never speak to me again. Not because I could never get the stuff back or something adjacent or whatever, but because of the betrayal of trust.
Insofar as bouncing back goes, I'm not sure. It's a fair point, because the dent had resonated and the proverbial twist after the dagger was driven home was that it was Imm instigated. Not hard to steal from someone who sits in the Inn most of the time, though lots seem to think it's impossible to steal there. So having an Imm push for it just told me I needed to avoid the roleplay aspect of dealing with certain Imm-controlled npcs that might visit. One look and I stopped being a character to interact with and instead became an abject lessen or curious target. But then emissaries of shady types need to follow their rp too so.
I never saw Whiysdan again sadly, though I did feel I'd tainted the character so didn't go after it like I probably should have. But the meltdown was that someone I (my char) considered a friend, would do it. Granted, I the player didn't appreciate an immortal mandate being given to piss in my post toasties but such is life.
In the end I had fun, and hopefully helped others out and made the mud more appealing for some. As the staff knows all too well, it makes a hell'uva lot more sense to focus on those you can please than those you can't. Sorry if I missed the bar. (Pun intended.)