LARP!

Send us Fan Mail A leather bar reopens, the music is loud, the basement dungeon is calling, and everyone is carrying a name they can’t say out loud anymore. That’s the emotional engine behind “Cruising For Sex In A Burning Building,” the live action role-playing game Jon and Moss designed to explore leather bar culture at the height of the HIV/AIDS crisis. We talk about why LARP is more than costumes and foam swords, and how immersive storytelling can become a powerful tool for queer history, community memory, and honest conversations about risk. Jon and Moss walk me through the game’s premise, the research behind it, and the design choice that makes it both intense and playable: adapted Ars Amandi style mechanics that translate kink and cruising into minimal but meaningful touch. We get specific about what can be represented well in a short run time, why they avoid gamifying HIV transmission, and how teaching techniques player to player turns “transmission” into a theme about knowledge, care, and legacy. We also dig into how physical space shapes immersion, from a plain room with dim lights to a real dungeon setup with unexpected historic artifacts. Then Ask Edge gets practical. I answer listener questions about shifting from sub to Dom headspace, affording leather events when hotels and travel are brutal, and what to do when your leather persona feels stuck in the garage. If you care about BDSM consent culture, leather history, LARP design, or the way queer communities keep finding joy under pressure, this one will stay with you. Subscribe, share it with a friend who loves games or kink, and leave a review so more people can find us. Relevant links: Cruising for Sex in a Burning Building event website joncole.itch.io beatingthebinary.itch.io Ars Amandi Just a Little Lovin' Twin Cities Leather Stockholm Scenario Festival Support the show Ask Edge! Go to https://www.speakpipe.com/LTHREDGE to leave ask a question or leave feedback. Find Edge's other content on Instagram and Twitter. Also visit his archive of educational videos, Tchick-Tchick.