While jogging at Liberty Park two days ago, I passed the LARPers (Live Action Role Play), as I have done many a time on my strenuous exercise attempts there.
My first thought whenever I see them is how brave they are. My immediate next thought is what nerds they must be.
Aren't I sweet and totally non-judgmental?
These people, the ones who LARP out in public for the world to judge, the ones who go home and ace "Dungeons & Dragons" like it's a second grade spelling test, the ones who don't care what you think of them -- they are my new heroes.
I'd never have the guts to put on a robe and carry a shield out on the grass to fight a pretend battle that most passers-by will secretly laugh at. Even if I loved it. They have guts. One day, these people who I myself judged, will be the "cool" warriors in movies like "Lord of the Rings" or "Chronicles of Narnia." What then, Sam? Will I still be thinking they're nerds then? Nope. They're pretty rad, actually. Just practicing their craft, like everyone does, only they get crap for it.
Well, LARPers...to me -- you are nerds no more. Go do what you do.
(Obviously, the moral of this lesson is to be who you are and OWN it! Uhhh!)
-Sam
That's awesome that they posed for you! I am so proud of you--out running. Sniff. You are such a good little Sloth.
ReplyDeleteThey did NOT pose for her. I'm pretty sure she got those off the internet. She was too afraid to be seen with nerds like that!
ReplyDelete-Elise
That's actually foam fighting, probably BMCS (belegarth.com). It's not LARP as there is no real backstory or anything role play about it, other than the few members who create a backstory for a character. It's a full contact sport with full power hits leaning heavily on skill. Foam-fighters practice their skill regularly for events, both regionally and nationally (you'd be suprised how good some of these guys are), while larpers play a game based on how strong you character is on paper. One of the easiest ways to tell is LARPers use latex weapons that look close to their real counterparts, and foam-fighters use boffer-weapons made out of foam around a solid core so, in a cloth cover so's you can hit hard without risk of serious injury. And yes, at least one of those pictures is from a net source, as the action pic is in street clothes, while the pose is in "period" garb.
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