What is bleed, and how do you deal with it?
Dystopia Rising NJ is a horror survival larp, which means we deal with serious themes like death, torture, and trauma of roughly every variety. We have a lot of high emotion scenes at our game, from in-character arguments between characters, to kidnap & torture by antagonists, to intense death scenes or gravedives dealing with the Mortis Amaranthine.
That’s why we’re talking about bleed on the blog today. In roleplay, the term bleed refers to when the line between you the player, and you the character begin to blur. Emotions from in-character interactions bleed into your everyday, or vice versa.
So why is it important to know what bleed is, how to deal with it, and what to do if you notice it? Nobody wants to get bad feels while they’re at larp, or wind up mad at their friends between events. However, with bleed these things can happen.
That’s why we’ve whipped up this handy blog post. This way you can see examples of bleed, tell when its happening to you or your friends, and find ways to deal with it.
Why bleed happens
Now that you know what bleed is, it’s time to talk about why it happens.
The easiest answer is that bleed happens because your brain can’t actually tell the difference between you having an intense RP argument for a scene, and having the same argument with your friend out of character. Bleed often occurs after high emotion scenes, whether that’s an argument, or you having an RP relationship with another player.
Your brain only knows about the hormones and chemicals that flood it during those scenes. This may leave you with lingering bad feelings, the emotions of having someone mad at you, or elation after a cool RP moment.
The important part here, is being able to tell when you are dealing with bleed so that you can wrangle your brain back into acting sensibly.
It’s important to be aware of bleed, because it can affect you in a variety of ways. You may feel angry, or hurt, by things that happened to your character. Likewise, you might start having feelings for someone if you are carrying out an emotional in-game relationship.
Before we talk about how to deal with bleed, we have a few examples of how bleed can happen and what that might look like:
Bleed due to CvC:
Dystopia Rising is primarily a CvE game (character v. environment) where you are trying to keep your character alive in a world that really wants them dead. However, DR does use CvC [Character v. Character] in a variety of ways.
Character A and Character B have butted heads for months, and character A decides to kill character B.
A character is fractured and much more violent than usual due to this
Characters involved in criminal or MI plot may be at odds with one another
Two groups of characters disagree on the best route to take, and are at odds with one another
Bleed due to personal triggers:
A trigger in this instance is something that causes someone to feel upset and frightened because they are made to remember something bad that has happened in the past. They can cause intense flashbacks, cause a fight/fawn/flight response from folks, or cause them to lash out.
Triggers are not just things you don’t like. It’s an important distinction. When dealing with a trigger, a person has a sensory reminder which can bring up bad memories or symptoms, and its serious if and when it happens.
At DRNJ we make an effort to let players know about possible triggers in specific scenes or plotlines ahead of time. We are also an 18+ game, which means we expect folks to manage their symptoms and remove themselves from a scene if it is too intense for them. After all, this is a game! We want everyone to have fun, and if something is about to make you have a panic attack, nobody will fault you from removing yourself.
At Dystopia Rising we specifically avoid any mention of new slavery plot, sexual harassment or assault, and kidplot in any attempt to mitigate some triggers. However, we are still a horror game. Our staff is trying to scare you, which may cause trigger based bleed by accident.
Sometimes a trigger catches you by surprise, and that’s when you can run into problems with bleed caused by triggers. We’ve outlined a few examples below:
A player has flashbacks to an abusive relationship after getting into a yelling match with another character.
A player hyperventilates during a scene with smokebombs and begins to have a panic attack because they can’t breathe.
A player goes nonverbal after dealing with something intense during a gravemind scene.
A player with medical trauma begins to have flashbacks after an intense medical scene
A player with PTSD is startled by loud noises nearby and has a flashback to being active duty
Examples of bleed:
Bleed can happen from your real life to your larp character, or from your larp character to your real life. It’s not always negative either. There are times when you may notice positive bleed from interactions at game.
That’s why we’ve outlined a few examples of what bleed might look like for you:
Negative bleed:
You and a friend get into an argument in character, you then find yourself angry at your friend like it was a real argument
Another player does something your character is mad about, and you take it out on the player OOC
Once home from game you experience drop because you don’t have the same support system at home that you have in game.
You begin to put more emphasis on your life at game, than you do on your life while at home.
You begin to view a player negatively because of interactions between their character and your own.
You RP a relationship with another player and begin to have feelings for the player away from game
Positive Bleed:
Becoming more confident at work because of interactions at larp
You’re able to explore aspects of personality without changing your day-to-day life
Picking up a new hobby (weapon making, crafting, etc) due to building your kit
Becoming more compassionate or sympathetic due to experiences at game
How to deal with it
Now that you know what it is, and why it happens, along with examples of what it might look like, the next thing to do is deal with it.
Most players, if not all, will deal with bleed at some point during their larp shenanigans. It’s important to know your own limits, and deal with it when it happens. There is a difference in how you deal with it, depending on whether you are at game, or at home.
Dealing with bleed at game
Dystopia Rising is aware that bleed is going to happen, and that at an intense horror-survival larp, you may need to step away for a few minutes. That’s why our game has several safety systems built in for players to take advantage of.
The OK check-in system
This is the easiest way to ensure that you aren’t accidentally overstepping someone’s boundaries while in the middle of a scene, without going OOC to ask them if everything is on the up and up.
You can use the OK check in system at any time during a scene, and we highly recommend it if you haven’t negotiated a particularly intense interaction before it pops off. You can also return to a player post-scene with your hand on your head to denote you are OOC in order to check in with them post-scene to ensure everyone is on the same page.
Any player in a scene can initiate the OK check-in, and it uses 3 hand signs, held up at chest level:
Thumbs Up: Green light, good to go, I am still having fun and engaging with this scene.
Flat hand/hand shaking back and forth: Yellow light, things are getting iffy, let’s slow things down or redirect this scene.
Thumbs down: Red light. Stop this interaction, completely shift this scene, I am not having fun, I’m getting bad feels.
Leaving a scene:
If at any time you need to leave a scene because you’re getting into a bad headspace, or you aren’t vibing with it, there is an option. Simply put your hand at your brow angled down, look down from the scene, and you can walk off.
You will not be penalized for leaving a scene. After all, we want you to have fun! If you aren’t enjoying yourself, then taking yourself out of a scene may be your best call.
If you are in the middle of a scene that included CvC aimed at your character, or incited by your character, you will need to speak with a guide to properly see how things shook out. Simply explain to the guide that you had to leave the scene for personal reasons, and they’ll work to ensure everyone in the scene knows how it shook out.
Decompression area:
The staff at DRNJ is aware that you may need to take time away from the game without leaving site. If you need time to decompress from an intense interaction, or scene (or for any other reason) we have a decompression area. You can go sit down, vibe, even watch some videos on your phone until you feel ready to return to play.
You will not be penalized for taking advantage of the decompression area. It’s there for anyone who needs a few minutes as themselves instead of as their character.
You can also throw on a green headband to denote you are OOC and hang out in your bunk if you’d prefer to curl up while you decompress. Just remember that you cannot interact with characters while you are OOC.
Dealing with bleed at home
In some cases you may not notice bleed until you are home from game, and rested from an intense weekend running from zombies in the woods. If that happens, we have a few tips.
Gamedrop
If you get home from game, and over the next few days notice you’re in a really bad headspace, you may be suffering from gamedrop. Our brains flood our brains with chemicals during game. We’re surrounded by friends, and our lives at game may look very different than at home.
Once we’re home we can feel the drop, the same way some folks experience drop after a convention, or great party. With that in mind, we have a few tips for making it easier to deal with.
Eat well, hydrate & rest: Make sure you eat a good nourishing meal, or treat yourself with your favorite sweet snack. Hydrate with water so your brain can function, and try to get a full night’s rest. These 3 things can make drop much easier to handle.
Reach out to friends: Your friends don’t hate you, even if your brain tries to convince you they do. Reach out, or plan a movie night on discord if your larp friends aren’t local.
Pamper yourself: curl up with a book or good movie, hang out with your dog, but above all be kind to yourself.
Take breaks:
If you start to notice a lot of bleed, especially post-game, or you’re avoiding real life issues in order to attend larp, it may be time to take a break.
Nobody wants to be told they should stay home from game, but sometimes your brain just needs a break. If you’re constantly angry, aggravated, or sad about game, consider taking a break even if it’s just a game or two. It can allow you to reassess whether you’re actually having fun, or whether you’re just attending game because it’s what you’re used to.
Taking games off during extreme weather (the heat of mid-summer, or those snowy 14 degree weekends during winter) can help you reset your brain, rebuild pieces of kit, and take a break from the intensity of game. After all, it’s likely you’re eating less, sleeping less, and running around more during a DR weekend than if you’d simply stayed home.
Separate IC and OOC
As we mentioned waaaay back at the start, your brain doesn’t intuitively understand the difference between IC and OOC when you’re in the middle of things. However, you can use your logic brain to snap it back into focus.
When playing a character, try to build a wall between you the player, and you the character. After all, we’re all humans with jobs and experiences…that don’t include dying and coming back to life, growing crystals in our brains that let us do magic, or running from zombies who really wanna eat you.
By separating player from character, it becomes easier to see where bleed is occurring. Once you know it’s there, it becomes easier to deal with, even if emotions have been high.
Process your emotions:
Since your brain doesn’t actually know the difference between IC and OOC, you may notice emotions that linger after game.
In the same way that you have to process the death of a loved one, if you or a friend perm at game, you need to process that shit. Feel your feels, deal with them, and then move through them.
This doesn’t just apply to grief either. Process the emotions from game however you are best able, whether that means talking to friends about what happened, journaling, or just vegging out and playing your favorite video game after the event.
Reach out to friends
One of the best parts of larp is meeting new people, and making new friends. If you’re feeling particularly rough after a game, reach out to your friends. In many cases hanging out with your people can help you deal, especially if had a rough game.
DRNJ also has a feedback form and meeting for players after each game. If something gave you bad feels (or good ones!) pop us a message through the form, or come to the feedback meetings on our Discord to let us know what went wrong (or right).
What now?
That’s it! What bleed is, why it happens, what it might look or feel like, and how to deal with it at game or at home.
The important thing is to be aware of bleed so you can deal with it if & when it happens, rather than letting it derail a good weekend, or leave you feeling bummed once you get home.
