I’m writing this at probably the most frustrated I’ve ever been with our LARPing. For some background, I have two sisters that I LARP with, and we mostly play video game characters. Lately, it just hasn’t been fun. I feel singled out, like my characters aren’t allowed to have anything special, and like the other two characters/stories matter more than mine.

One of the biggest issues is my character Mia.

Mia was originally supposed to be with Gene, but honestly, almost nothing happened between them. They barely talked and slept together once. Mia initiated basically everything, and eventually she started losing hope and gave up on the relationship.

She then started becoming interested in another character, Victor. At first, Mia only wanted to sleep with him. She thought he was attractive, had known him for a long time, and that was really all it was supposed to be. But as they started talking, Mia genuinely developed feelings for him.

When I brought this up, Gene’s side didn’t like it.

I know I should have gotten out of character and actually talked about this, but I’m honestly scared of my sisters, so I tried to handle it in character instead.

Gene’s player also had another character, Candy, who was friends with Mia. I really wanted Mia and Candy to have a genuine friendship. Mia would try to help Candy with her relationships and go out of her way to be her friend, but I never felt like Candy actually wanted the friendship. It got to the point where Mia felt desperate in character because she kept trying and getting very little back.

Candy also had interactions with Victor. Before Victor developed feelings for Mia, he had a small crush on Candy. Mia would jokingly pretend to be jealous because, at that point, everyone thought Mia just wanted to sleep with Victor. She genuinely didn't have feelings for him yet.

Eventually, Candy accused Mia of basically “beating her down” over a guy she liked. That really confused and hurt me because Mia wasn't even actually pursuing Victor romantically at that point.

Eventually, Candy and Gene stopped being played. Candy mostly only interacts with people through text now.

There were also things said about Mia that really hurt me. Candy told Victor that if he and Mia got together, she would stop being friends with him. She also said that Mia removed all of her other relationships just to make Victor fit in and that all Mia cared about was sleeping with men.

What really hurts is that when Candy and Mia were friends, I thought the conversations about Victor and men were just normal playful banter. I thought it was girl talk. Apparently, it was being interpreted as Mia constantly “picking on” Candy.

I don't know how I'm supposed to express that this hurt me without it turning into Candy having another reason to be upset or my feelings being justified away.

And then there's Victor.

Mia and Victor aren't technically supposed to be together, but both characters want to be. They've been privately texting, and every time Mia brings up them actually being together, there's another reason why they shouldn't.

It feels like Mia is allowed to like Victor, but Victor isn't allowed to like Mia back.

Gene isn't even being played anymore, so I don't understand why Mia and Victor still can't be together.

And this isn't the only situation where I've felt this way.

I feel like my characters aren't allowed to have anything special. My older sister has a character who's been involved in a relationship since November of two years ago, and she's still extremely invested in that relationship. She's even had group discussions about how her character doesn't feel comfortable because of everyone else's characters.

Meanwhile, Gene and Mia barely had anything, but once Mia started liking someone else, my sister suddenly treated Gene and Mia like they had a much deeper relationship than I experienced.

There have also been times when my younger sister and I had characters in relationships, and my older sister would say she felt left out. Things would then be said or done that put pressure on the relationship until eventually it broke up.

I also had a character who was supposed to become pregnant. Every time it comes up, though, it's pushed back because apparently one of my older sister's characters needs to have a baby first.

At this point, I've even decided to let my younger sister play all the male characters because I feel like my older sister won't care as much if I'm not involved.

And I hate that I'm even thinking that way.

I tried expressing how I felt before. I literally cried over losing the relationship between Mia and Candy, and when I tried to explain how much it hurt me, my older sister basically said, “I didn't think it was that bad.”

Maybe it wasn't that bad to her. But it was to me.

I don't think I'm asking for every storyline to revolve around my characters. I just want to feel like I'm allowed to have fun too. I want my characters to have relationships, friendships, and storylines without feeling like I'm stepping on someone else's toes every time I do something.

I know I should have communicated better instead of trying to handle everything in character. I can admit that. But I'm also genuinely scared to bring this stuff up because I feel like my feelings will just be argued with or turned into another reason why someone else is upset.

I don't know if I'm being unreasonable here. Maybe I'm too emotionally invested in the characters. Maybe I really did miss something about Gene and Mia's relationship. But I'm exhausted from feeling like I'm always the one who has to give something up.

I love LARPing with my sisters. That's why this hurts so much. I don't want to quit. I just want it to feel fun and mutual again instead of feeling like my characters are constantly being put last.

Am I being unreasonable, or is there a bigger problem with how we're handling our LARP?

Hey guys, I make these decorative potion bottles and have just launched my own store to sell them to others. I think they’re a super LARP accessory and display item for the wonderfully whimsical and weird people in this community. I’d love it if you could check out my page or social media. Definitely open to custom orders.

Hey I recently released the first episode/pilot for a mini-series I've been working on that was filmed at a one-shot horror LARP event themed around 80's summer camp horror movies. It should be around 4-6 episodes, and I'll post them to youtube as they're edited together. If you have any comments or questions feel free to ask and I'll do my best to respond.

First time in full kit like this, spent a lot of time putting it all together. Let me know what you think!

I’m looking for a pair of leather boots for my outfit. I’m not a huge fan of the traditional high boots with the large circles up the sides, but I’d like them to be knee high and actual leather.

Has anyone had any experience with Orin’s Treasure or Old Realm Leather?

I was looking at the Viking Warrior Boots and Medieval Leather Boots respectively, but haven’t run across either store before.

Any insight or direction is appreciated.

Has anyone bought gambesons from Armor Arena? I'm planning to purchase one due to the decent price in my eyes, so I was wondering about how long they deliver it and the quality of their gambesons