Nicholas Orvis
@nsorvis.bsky.social
47 followers 94 following 35 posts
Dramaturg, director, critic, and scholar working at the intersection of theater and games. Co-creator @dndramanerds.bsky.social. Opinions my own.
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Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
blackwallmancer.bsky.social
Found this on the AO3 subreddit, and I'm about to let it change my whole life (or at least work really hard to internalize it wrt my writing).
Someone's screenshot of a two-post twitter thread, from user blue (@bluewmist):

the fastest way to kill motivation is to make your identity depend on the outcome. it's called ego involvement. when failing becomes failing as a person, your brain starts avoiding the whole thing. not because you don't care, but because you care too much.

you don't need lower standards. you need less self-worth tangled up in your goals. the work gets easier when it's not about proving who you are.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
threnody.bsky.social
it would probably be sorta hard for just anyone to do it *this well* because it requires you to actually be normal about trans people, but still it feels important to state for the record that WE ARE NOT HARD TO STAND UP FOR AND ANY OF THEM COULD DO IT.
zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
zohrankmamdani.bsky.social
UNTIL IT’S DONE, Ep. 4: Sylvia Rivera

In the 1970s, queer New Yorkers had been pushed to the margins of NYC. Our trans neighbors faced immense cruelty. But in Sylvia Rivera, they found a champion.

As we combat Trump’s politics of darkness, her legacy can light the path forward.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
luxalptraum.com
TFW you paid $1400 to see Beckett’s most famous work without knowing anything about it
One Star Review of Waiting for Godot on Broadway
I recently attended Waiting for Godot on Broadway and spent over $1,400 for two Row C seats (103 and 104). I'm a longtime admirer of Broadway productions and even hold a season pass for Shea's Performing Arts Theatre, so I came in with genuine enthusiasm and high expectations. Unfortunately, this show was unlike anything ! have ever experienced —and not in a good way.
What I encountered was not the artistry, music, or emotional storytelling I usually associate with Broadway, but instead what felt like an endless cycle of nonsensical conversation between characters who seemed trapped in their own madness. I tried-truly tried-to find meaning, symbolism, or even a thread of emotional resonance. I stayed through the first half hoping the second would offer clarity. But by intermission, it was clear: this was a waste of both time and money.
Keanu Reeves is an actor I respect greatly, but I cannot fathom why he would agree to participate in such a disjointed, inaccessible production. His talent was lost in a performance that defied reason rather than provoked insight.
To anyone considering attending: unless you are drawn to highly abstract, nearly incomprehensible theater, I strongly caution you against this show. For the average, educated, thoughtful theatergoer, it is far more frustrating than fulfilling. In my opinion, this was the single most disappointing Broadway experience I've ever had - an unfortunate waste of money and, more importantly, of time.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
justinbaragona.bsky.social
Incredible.

Jack Posobiec references the earliest version of antifa -- the anti-fascists in the Weimar Republic who were opposed to the Nazi Party -- as the bad guys.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
olufemiotaiwo.bsky.social
repost this if an editor has ever saved you from yourself
blipstress.bsky.social
An actual hot take: Too many authors are afraid of editors watering down their voice or whatever and not afraid enough of editors letting you put any old slop on the page.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
keithwdickinson.bsky.social
Today is a day when arts degrees are worthless, but the product of those degrees is so valuable it would kill an entire industry if they were made to pay for it.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
violetriotgames.bsky.social
We denigrate play and make believe as frivolous and unserious so our language uses these terms to make facism seem unserious. How about we just call them for what they are...liars.
guyintheblackhat.bsky.social
"Cosplaying" and "larping" are real activities done by real people, and using these terms as slang for "pretending to be someone you're not, for political purposes" does indeed alienate those of us who take part in these activities.
nsorvis.bsky.social
Do you love bad decisions and non-Euclidean vomit-inducing spaces? Who doesn't?! Check out the continuation of "Start the Steal," our Stillfleet campaign on @dndramanerds.bsky.social.
dndramanerds.bsky.social
our campaign of @stillfleet.bsky.social picks back up as our intrepid team of voidminers descends into the Escheresque...

linktr.ee/dndramanerds
nsorvis.bsky.social
Sorry, probably our fault in theater studies - we told them to stop using "Kabuki theater" as a bad and racist metaphor.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
riseupcomus.bsky.social
Y'all, I am VERY excited to introduce you to one of my new favorite Tolkien artists: Kay Woollard (1924-2008).

Woollard first read LotR in '79 when she was 55. From then until her death, she was heavily involved in Tolkien fan culture, contributing illustrations to Tolkien Society publications.

A🧵
A recursive cover of Amon Hen, Bulletin of the Tolkien Society, with a hobbit reading a copy of Amon Hen with a hobbit reading a copy of Amon Hen, and so on A bulletin titled "A Long-Expected Party Progress Report: Preparation" depicting many hobbit chefs baking pies Christmas card of a Hobbit couple carrying their child on their shoulders through a snowy landscape A postcard titled "A Slumbering Pedlar" showing a sleeping Hobbit pedlar  resting on his pack of goods
nsorvis.bsky.social
This is the best map I've seen as far as correctly IDing "upstate NY."
jamellebouie.net
i’d day this nails the South as well
williamhazen.bsky.social
This is the most accurate depiction of the Midwest to date. Wichita has always felt like the last Midwest city while also being the first plains city.
nsorvis.bsky.social
I find both these people exhausting
nsorvis.bsky.social
This 25-year-old woman lived an unremarkable life until she encountered the Thing in the Woods one day. It spoke to her in a strange voice and though she fled and it didn't follow, she still hears it sometimes on moonless nights. Now her sweetheart's proposed to her, but she's uneasy...

(8, 2)
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
yasharali.bsky.social
Earlier this year, Dr. Jane Goodall sat down for an interview for Brad Falchuk’s new Netflix series, Famous Last Words.

The premise of the series is to interview people on the condition that the interview not air until the subject has passed away.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
elsahiltner.bsky.social
I keep talking to people outside of Chicago who do not know what is happening here.

So much has changed so quickly. It is hard to comprehend, even when you see it yourself, or see it on social.

We cannot allow this to be normalized.
peternickeas.bsky.social
Chaos in Brighton Park. This is representative of the amount / direction of pepper and smoke sent into the neighborhood, in this case, for no reason I can discern other than because they were leaving. Feds had a clear path out in a different direction, and residents were vocal but not violent here.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
dj-acid-reflux.bsky.social
One thing you will never think after reading a great book or listening to a great album or seeing a great piece of art is, “I’m really glad this person remained cautious while they were making this and guarded against being perceived as weird.”
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
lumpley.bsky.social
The thing I bring into my game design from Surrealist games is using off-kilter questions to startle the player into a moment of unfiltered creativity or reflection.

The thing I bring into my game design from Victorian parlor games is a rhythm of social awkwardness, suspense, and resolution.
Reposted by Nicholas Orvis
merriam-webster.com
We are thrilled to announce that our NEW Large Language Model will be released on 11.18.25.