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Not a real doctor

@simonb.bsky.social

400 followers 640 following 480 posts

Lapsed-writer, ex-DJ, wants to be an academic again (is, in fact a real doctor) , old goth, larp designer, neurodiverse like light through a prism, poet before sunrise. Poster-child for burnout (Complex, Brooding, Challenging)

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Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · Nov 20

“Don't bend; don't water it down; don't try to make it logical; don't edit your own soul according to the fashion. Rather, follow your most intense obsessions mercilessly.” (Kafka)

▶️larp
➡️Nordic
➡️Theory
➡️Writing
➡️Blockbuster
➡️Art
➡️Old-school UK system heavy base 6

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Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 1d

yeah, it is from 2007 at an anti G8 demo

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 1d

Brilliant! (except this photo was taken in2007, in Germany iirc)

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Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 1d

A quiet Friday morning on the edge of Fitzrovia, nothing but the drone of the a/c and the tapping of my keyboard and, inexplicably, the sound of running water; this is probably suboptimal.

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 5d

There is always going to be someone who *really* likes airlocks.

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 7d

Ah, Goodwins law:

"As an online discussion grows longer, the probability of someone's awful behaviour invoking Godwin's law approaches one."

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 7d

A Midsummer Night's Dream

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 7d

so it is probably fair to consider that it is not for minors. (I am not very good at writing marketing copy,and I have been awake for most of the night listening to the storm and trying to remember what colours look like while lying in a darkened room.)

Anyway, www.drivethrurpg.com/en/product/4...

DriveThruRPG - The Largest RPG Download Store!

Your one-stop online shop for new and vintage RPG products from the top publishers, delivered fresh to your desktop in electronic format.

www.drivethrurpg.com

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 7d

The game possibly contains sexual activity, violence against the body and the mind, sexualised violence, erotic violence, gentle intimacy, crossdressing, drug taking, raging lust, non consensual sexual activity, nudity, lack of autonomy, humiliation, gaslighting, madness, poetry, and revenge.

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 7d

We've cut the price of the the script book for Gothic to approx €22 (that is €10 off) until November 1st. In order to get a copy though you have to perform a strange ritual. This involves being signed in to DriveThruRPG AND setting the sinister sigil that shows adult content.

A black and white photograph showing a young woman in Regency-era dress trying to escape through the window of a haunted mansion. Alas, her attempt is doomed.

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Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 10d

I have updated my profile pic for October. I think @pummell.bsky.social took this one at WGT. The t-shirt is supposed to read 'Too Fast to live ...'

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Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 11d

It is a subjective and *personal* statement. I could probably do it (and make it entertaining) if I were working on a larp. That is because I know quite a lot and have some experience to share. Whereas my domain knowledge on TRPGs is _really_ limited

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 11d

In all seriousness I can think of few things worse than someone who is not an expert in a field,livestreaming Dunning–Kruger :D

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 11d

(I will not)

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 11d

Sometimes my brain unironically has thoughts like "Maybe I should write a TRPG, but live on Twitch." The thing is I don't need any more self-destructive hubris in my life right now.

So instead I will do a podcast about it.

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Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 17d

You asked about first vaccine though

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 18d

18th century ?

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 19d

Yesterday I took a train down to the South coast in order to eat Thai food by the sea. Reading Russo's 'The Celluloid Closet' because this larp design requires research into the 'cinematic history of sissies.' Most of the examples are from the 30s and 60s but I suspect B Movies of the 50s hold more.

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 20d

I deleted my academia edu account yesterday because of their new terms of use.

I hope that whoever came up with their product strategy starts Monday morning like a teenager who has not done their homework walking to school in the rain with a heavy backback of guilt.

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 23d

I played it , although the one which I came closing to solving was Pimania

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 23d

Ooo interesting, I’d not thought of this as an ARG until now.

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Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 27d

It has only been 12 weeks since we last went on this ride ...

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · May 21

Here is a reminder that in, role-playing terms, bleed is just bleed. It is neither good nor bad, simply an artefact of intensity and imagination. When we imagine something hard enough our brain can process it as though it is real. For example imagine eating food and it is possible that you will

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 27d

Post Dramatic Stress?

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 27d

The more you want to flirt with the edge in your design, the more you must invest in the invisible: labour of consent, rehearsal, and aftercare. It is like avant-garde jazz: the wilder the solo, the tighter the rhythm section must be. Without it, you are not radical, you are merely dangerous.

Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 27d

From something I have been working on recently ...

The paradox: to get to real intensity — that delicious, Hegelian moment where subjectivity trembles — you must be hyper-organised.

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Not a real doctor @simonb.bsky.social · 27d

More truth from Jonaya.

Jonaya Kemper @violetriotgames.bsky.social · 27d

I don't know what US designer needs to hear this, but Nordic larp is not an excuse to psychologically damage your players and call it art. That's not Nordic larp. It's also deeply unethical. If you're going to make a harrowing game, please PLEASE learn what the aftermath for the players can be.