All of Gen Z is larping. It's not what you think it is

LARPing, or live-action role-playing, might conjure up visions of Dungeons & Dragons costumes and renaissance fairs. But across the internet, young people are repurposing the word "larping" to call out someone they think is inauthentic.

LARP stands for live-action role-playing. It is a form of interactive game where players physically portray fictional characters in a real-world environment. Instead of rolling dice on a table, participants wear costumes, use safe prop weapons, and improvise actions and dialogue in real time. [1, 2, 3]

The Traditional Hobby

As a hobby, LARP combines improvisational theater, social gaming, and collaborative storytelling. [1]

Settings: Common genres include medieval fantasy, post-apocalyptic survival, and modern supernatural horror or mystery.
Rules: Organizers (often called gamemasters) set the plot, environment, and physical combat rules, such as using foam-padded weapons to simulate battles.
No Audience: Everyone present is an active participant rather than a spectator. [1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

  Modern Slang Meaning

Online and on social media, "larping" has evolved into a slang term meaning to pretend to be someone you are not. [1]

Inauthentic Behavior: People use it to describe someone acting "performative" or posing—such as claiming deep expertise in a fandom or anime without actually knowing the source material. [1, 2, 3]
Lifestyle Pretending: It can describe staging a false lifestyle online, or acting out a persona that does not match one's true identity or background. [1, 2]

If you want to see what an actual live-action role-playing event looks like in practice, watch this guide:

 

Going to a fitness class just for the photos is larping being a pilates girl. A summer internship is larping a corporate 9-to-5. Coming into Manhattan from Long Island for the day is larping New York City.

What is the "Panama Project" and how did it reveal the destruction of thousands of ancient books to train AI?

On April 30th, Marçal Font received an order that caught his attention at Librería Fénix, a landmark for the trade of antique books in the Catalan city of Badalona.

"I've been a secondhand bookseller for 20 years, so I've had millions of strange purchases, which means I'm not alarmed anymore," he tells BBC Mundo. He is also a poet and professor of Comparative Literature at the University of Barcelona.

The order came from a company located in Canada, but this wasn't the first time the bookstore had shipped Catalan books abroad. "We send books as far as Japan, it's not unusual; but the (purchase) pattern was strange."

When a new series of orders arrived at the beginning of May, Font decided to investigate for fear that it was a fraud.

"It's not common to look for who buys from us, but in that case we started looking, mainly because the orders came in a window of one hour or 40 minutes. We had three or four emails asking for a random number of books. And the associated shipping costs were outrageous."

'Harry Potter' actress earns more on OnlyFans than in her entire film career

The life of a film star may seem very alluring, but the paychecks aren't the same for everyone involved. A multi-million dollar franchise like Harry Potter has its big-name child and teen stars who will never have financial worries again, but that luck wasn't shared by everyone.

Jessie Cave , whom you surely remember for playing Lavender Brown in the Harry Potter saga , made headlines when she revealed that her OnlyFans account has become her main source of income. In just one year, the actress has generated more revenue through the subscription platform than she did during her entire acting career.

An unexpected turn in the face of economic desperation In an interview with The Times , the 39-year-old actress explained that she opened her profile in 2025. Initially, her goal was to raise around £5,000 (about 116,000 Mexican pesos) to get out of a financial bind while she decided on the direction of her professional career.

Cave confessed that he made this decision after a moment of "complete despair" following a failed audition, while dealing with financial problems and raising his four children:

"I couldn't go to work, for example, in a supermarket because I can't afford childcare, and I also don't want people shouting Harry Potter spells at me while I'm working at Tesco ," the actress said.

Karol G releases "No me arrepiento de sentir tanto", her sixth album with Drake and Bruno Mars

It's rare to see a single album bring together Drake, Bruno Mars, and the lead singer of Cigarettes After Sex. Karol G achieved this feat on Friday, August 7th, with the release of "No me arrepiento de sentir tanto" (I Don't Regret Feeling So Much), her sixth studio album. This 14-song project, released by Bichota Records and Interscope, confirms the Medellín-born singer as the most influential Latin pop artist in the global music scene. The simultaneous release on all platforms capped a week of building anticipation among her fans worldwide.

The impressive array of guest appearances is the obvious headline, but also a map of the album's ambitions. Canadian artist Drake appears on "Ahí"; Bruno Mars joins the Colombian singer on "Still," the first song of her career performed entirely in English; Greg Gonzalez, frontman of Cigarettes After Sex, lends his ethereal touch to "Después de ti"; and Spanish artists Judeline and Rusowsky complete the lineup on "BBY WOW." The tracklist was revealed just on August 5, as reported by Infobae , and it was enough to spark a global conversation.

Beyond the names, the album proposes a fundamental shift. Where her previous albums celebrated partying, this one explores heartbreak, loss, and personal rebuilding—a change the artist herself foreshadowed when explaining the title: "I don't regret being who I am, loving the way I do, laughing," she said when presenting the project. The singer has shared that many of the compositions emerged from a period of introspection, between solitary walks and long days of writing.

The groundwork had been laid months in advance. "Matadora," produced by Tainy and Cashmere Cat, served as the first single, and "Después de ti" had its live debut in April during the Colombian singer's performance at Coachella. The strategy of releasing tracks gradually kept the project in the media spotlight throughout the summer and prepared the audience for an album that was more confessional than danceable.

Yamal acquires Shakira and Piqué's palace in Barcelona

Lamine Yamal, the Barcelona star, lives in a luxurious mansion valued at more than 10 million euros, which features an outdoor pool with a waterfall, a private football pitch, a cinema room and numerous luxury facilities.

According to the Spanish newspaper "Sport" , Lamine Yamal, who has just turned 19, has become one of the youngest players to lift the World Cup, as well as a figure who arouses great media interest.

His meteoric rise in European football has generated increasing curiosity about his private life, especially regarding his current place of residence as a Barcelona striker.

Lamine grew up in the Rocafonda neighborhood, in the city of Mataró, before starring in a remarkable rise with Barcelona and the Spanish national team.

Yamal made his debut with Barcelona's first team in 2023, when he was just 15 years old, and a few months later he appeared for the first time with the Spanish national team, becoming the youngest player to score a goal for them.

Since then, he has won three league titles, the European Championship and the World Cup, becoming a key player for both club and national team.

The young striker currently resides in a luxurious mansion in the city of Esplugues de Llobregat, within the exclusive Ciudad Diagonal residential complex.

The property is valued at over 10 million euros and previously belonged to Shakira and Gerard Piqué, making it one of the most iconic places in the Barcelona universe.

The house was designed by architect Mireia Admetller in 2012, and has an area of ​​more than 3,800 square meters distributed over three floors and two underground levels.

The Italian island that expects a tourism boom after the premiere of The Odyssey

For years, Favignana has been a favorite destination for Italian tourists, drawn by its crystal-clear waters, picturesque bike paths, and the relaxed pace of Mediterranean life. Now, this small island off the western coast of Sicily is preparing to achieve greater international recognition. Part of Christopher Nolan 's film The Odyssey was shot there, transforming the destination into a cinematic representation of the legendary island of Ithaca. The production sparked a surge of interest among foreign travelers. "We believe that all of western Sicily could become more attractive to American visitors thanks to The Odyssey ," stated Giacomo Incarbona, president of the local hotel association. Mayor Giuseppe Pagoto, meanwhile, took a more practical approach to the potential increase in tourism. "We will have to prepare for greater demand, starting with cleaning the beaches," he said. In addition, the authorities plan to open an exhibition dedicated to The Odyssey in a former tuna processing plant. Its opening is scheduled for the European autumn. While preparing to welcome more visitors, Favignana still offers the opportunity to enjoy the sun and its scenery during the last weeks of summer. 

Ulysses' island awaits a wave of tourists after the premiere of Nolan's film

Standing on the ferry while waiting to dock on the Greek island of Ithaca, Giorgia Ongarato can't help but talk about the Odyssey, the epic poem that inspired Christopher Nolan's cinematic success.

The Italian lawyer says her dream was to visit Ithaca, the home of Ulysses in the poem.

Dressed in a t-shirt that reads "Odyssey" next to a verse, she explains enthusiastically: "I studied Greek when I was a child and I studied the Odyssey."

Although she made it clear that the film was not her gateway to the story of Ulysses struggling to return home after the Trojan War, the 50-year-old says she is also a fan of the film, which she calls "wonderful".

Businesses and authorities on the island now hope that the film will inspire many more to follow in their footsteps.

Ithaca is far from the main tourist centers of Greece and, despite its crystal clear waters and spectacular bays, it has never been a regular stop for travelers.

Its interior is rugged, covered with olive and cypress trees, and is surprisingly calm even in the middle of the tourist season.

Although the film has sparked interest among many, it has also generated some controversy in Greece.

There are no Greek actors among the main roles and locations far from Homer's homeland were chosen above all.

Although some parts were filmed in Greece, not a single scene was shot in Ithaca.

Nagasaki, the 81st anniversary of the atomic bomb worries pacifism advocates

A huge plume of smoke rises after the explosion of the second atomic bomb ever used in warfare over the Japanese port city of Nagasaki, Japan, August 9, 1945. - AP Photo
As Japan commemorates the anniversary of the 1945 atomic bombings , its leaders are pushing for a new debate on nuclear weapons that challenges the country's traditional pacifist stance. 

 The Japanese Constitution renounces the use of offensive military force, and successive governments have maintained for decades a commitment not to possess nuclear weapons, not to produce them, and not to allow their entry into the country. 

 That commitment is now under pressure, as East Asian neighbors, particularly China, bolster their military capabilities and doubts persist about the reliability of Tokyo's main security backer, the United States.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has refused to clarify whether she will maintain the position known as the three non-nuclear principles , and last month Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi called for a "no-taboo debate" on the issue. In December, an unidentified senior government official suggested in an off-the-record session with local media that Japan should possess nuclear weapons . 

 The comment was widely reported by major Japanese media outlets, including public broadcaster NHK and the Asahi Shimbun newspaper, and sparked public criticism. "If I look at it cynically, I can't help but think that maybe she really wants to change," says Satoshi Tanaka, 82, an activist and symbol of Japan's anti-nuclear commitment, who survived the 1945 attack on Hiroshima. 

 The country commemorated the 81st anniversary of the Hiroshima bombing on Thursday and will do the same on Sunday to remember the attack on Nagasaki. The August 1945 offensive carried out by the United States caused the deaths of more than 210,000 people, many of them from the effects of radiation exposure.