LARP vs. RLRP

This isn't exactly a new interest, but it can count. Technically I came up with this ingenious role play in 2006...

Let's talk about LARPing. For those who don't know, LARPing stands for live-action role play. It's when you see people dressed up in costumes and acting out scenes as if they are characters from a story. It's all good fun! I've LARPed before, though it wasn't a fantasy setting. It was a court and I played a juror. Ahhh~ It was fantastic...I'll never forget it for two reasons. One because it was at a convention I went to when I was about...seven and all of us girls chased after the defendant after he escaped the court with the fake jewelry...because all of us girls wanted the fake jewelry. And two because...well...*ahem* I wet my pants that day. :|

Too much info.

Right, so! RLRP, however, can best be explained by using an amazing band as an example. This band is Gorillaz. Sure, I could use Alvin and the Chipmunks, but I don't like them. *Ahem*

So. The fantastic "music project", though I call them a band, Gorillaz are a four...uh, "manned" group created by Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlet. The picture to the right shows the "fictional" band members from right to left: Stuart "2D" Pot, Murdoc Niccals, Noodle, and Russel Hobbs. Recently there's also been a new member who is Cyborg Noodle, but we won't get into that.

The point I'm trying to make with these four (five, whatever) is that they're fictional, but treated like actual characters. They have interviews, Murdoc has Facebook updates, etc, etc, etc...but everyone knows that they're not real. That doesn't stop them from being popular, of course. And I myself treat them like real people, ignoring the fact that they have people behind and that events that surround them can't/never happened them unless it's, of course, necessary.

This is what I would consider a real life role play. You take fictional characters, events, even worlds and make them seem as if they really exist. It's a fantastic thing, really, and I've been doing it for years. Of course, I wonder how people will react when they discover it's all an...act of sorts, but what I do is blend the truth with fiction. Say a "character" dies and I go into a depression. Someone might have really died or I just really went into a depression, you see? In my case, I just actually went into a depression...
...and since I'm recovering, that person might be ressurected! See how it goes?

It's a fun thing, really, more enjoyable than LARPing, if you ask me. You can RLRP offline, online, and even in a LARP. So! There's really no "vs." going on here, but I do think RLRP is better than LARP.

And now I'm going to go check out Gorillaz's new album, The Fall! WHOO-HOO!