Dollieh Sanctuary

Looking at the photostories I was reminded of my halcyon days when I lived with two of my best friends and a third best friend visitied frequently...

It all started on a rainy Sunday. I have alwasy had a very active fantasy life. daydreaming myself into all kinds of roles... including Illy Kuryakin from Man From U.N.C.L.E. (not the current film! Gods no! The classic Sixties show with david Mc(drool)Callum!)

Mama had dropped me off at Jon and velda's apartment (this was before I moved in) and I noticed that they were dressed... "strangely" John was in an old fashioned suit with a scarf around his neck, and velda was in an ancient wedding gown. The conversation was slow, stilted, as if my arrival had interrupted something. Even though we had been besties in high school, things seemed to lag badly... then out of the blue, Velda looked at me and asked "Do you playact?" "What?" said I

"You know... put on costumes and pretend to be someone else." Velda explained. Well, I had been doing THAT *inside my head* ever since I could remember! But putting on COSTUMES? WOW!!! "Yes!" I said eagerly... and so it began! Jon would put on scratchy vinyl records as soundtracks to our adventures! I became Angelique, Jon was Barnabas and Velda was Josette. When Nola, another school bestie came over, she became Countess Natalie (Josette's mother) and we swapped roles around and played the nights away! Since then terminology has changed. "Playacting" became "Cosplay" or Live Action Roleplaying (LARPing) and my partner and I STILL do it! Most recent public LARPing has been in the Vampire the Masquerade universe and now we do it online in SecondLife.

SO... do any of you still roleplay? Do you use costumes? Do you play at home, in a park, join groups such as SCA or reconstructionist societies? Do your dolls share in the games? Do you play characters that you also "run" as dolls? Do you LARP at conventions?

Isn't it FUN? Back then we were CERTAIN that people would think we were crazy, and call the men in the white coats! Now... it's almost mainstream!!

Swan
(Which by the way is the name of my LARP character from Phantom of the Paradise)

There is, or was about five years ago, a LARP community near here. A friend of a friend is involved. We ran into one another at a Con, were told all about it, and that's the last I heard about it. My friend and I talked about it but never really got involved. I think it does sound like it would be fun, especially if it were sort of run like D&D with a DM and a storyline. One year at DragonCon there were so many Firefly cosplayers we actually did this spontaneous in-character photoshoot that went on for hours. It's magnificent fun.

Are you anywhere near these friends so you could visit and hang out with them? That would be fun to reconnect.

Regrettably, no. They are now in Missouri and California, and I am in New Mexico. Alas. still... it was a LOT of fun!

Swan

I used to be involved in a number of LARPs set in White Wolf's World of Darkness (happily even a Canceling the Dreaming one) when in grad school. For one summer I did bbiggerLARP before my schedule changed. I love costuming at conventions. It's all so fun!

Eseme

I'm in Italy and I've been lARPing for ten years now. I met my partner playing and I still play a lot ^^. I play in a quite large organization (my sister and my brother-in-law are masters in it, I used to be master in another one and my sister played then), and we go away for a whole Sunday or even a week end and we live in another world for a few hours.

I'm planning a BJD SD doll that will shell my current character, Meike Hannelore Pappenheim, a noblewoman, priestess of the goddess of life.

https://scontent-mxp1-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hp ... 9560_o.jpg

This is 1/3 of my group of players, I'm the one in the centre of the lower row, my sister is the third from left on the row above me ^^. I'll have a friend make the clothes I wear there ^^

https://www.facebook.com/pages/Le-Terre ... 68?fref=ts

Here you can see tons of photos!

My sister already has two dolls that shell her character and her husband's ^^. I want to make mine and make photos all together .

just started LARPing recently actually, so that's pretty fun.
but i like dressing up in general. gets me out of the monotony of wearing a uniform 5 days a week. >.<