Four Horsemen Studios Mythic Legions

[Alt]

The LCBS owner was doing an interview several years ago to promote Planet Comicon. Off-camera the reporter was trying to push for a scandalous quote about cosplaying being silly dress-up. He just mentioned that the local con wasn't even the biggest cosplay event in the area. She bit hard on that bait and she asked about it, getting ready to take notes. He hit her with, "Have you never been to a Chiefs game?"

It's true.

Weekend warriors going to paintball. People who think they're pickup artist f*** boys failing at the club. People I have business meetings with claiming they are knowledgeable business owners who know the market.

The world is full of cosplaying.

 

[Reefer Shark]

Yeah, my experience with other nerds is they're worse than non-nerds. It has always been the case. You could probably put a qualifier on, as someone told me recently looking at an old photo, I looked more like the antagonist in a teen movie than someone who would have been in Lambda Lambda Lambda.

Oh you read X-Men, but you like that writer? You haven't read that run of Batman? Oh.

You like that sci-fi show? Um.

That's the movie franchise you like?

That's you paid to see that band?

Anime fans love to criticize taste when you don't align.

The amount of dismissal I have seen in the local dungeons& dragons and game store scene if you don't like critical role or hazbin hotel (shared talent).

I especially find that Nintendo and Star Wars fans out in the wild love to try and one up you and maintain some sort of apex predator status over you.

Simply put, just because you like something, You are liking and enjoying it wrong.

I'm not saying it's like Streets of Rage where I'm fighting these people off every time I walk through electronics boutique, but I will say that anytime I see something I could potentially make a connection with in social circumstances, it is my experience that the majority of people treat it like a competition or a tastemaker challenge.

I know I'm not alone in this because a lot of the people in my current circle have become the circle because they also have dealt with people like that. One of my best friends and co-creators is a young lady who had never been able to talk about Star Wars and Resident Evil with anyone until she met me because everyone else was really judgmental and dismissive of what she liked and why.

To me, those people want someone to play ball with, but they've been so used to being belittled by other people in their life , they have become what they hate.

I don't know too many nerd-hobby people in my "physical" life, and I can totally relate with your friend finally being able to talk to someone about Star Wars. I mean, I get a few people at work who like the movies, but not into it at our levels, you know? And conversations can only go so far.

So I was at a physical therapy session a couple weeks ago, and somehow my therapist and I connected on our Star Wars love - man, it was the best feeling to just be able to let loose in a free flowing conversation with such a positive person about our shared love for Star Wars and all the detailed lore - Im not sure Id ever had that moment before and it was actually pretty special for both of us, and now we have this connection. But sadly my Physical therapy is coming to an end and Im not sure I'll ever see him again.

 

[AceofKnaves]

Some sports fanatic starts mocking my interest in cosplay

I’ll preface this with “not all sports fans, noted”.

BUT.

By FAR the worst nerd-judgment vitriol I’ve dealt with has come from sports nerds. And YES, sports nerds are just nerds like any other nerd.
And that, specifically, has been the main source of conflict for me.
I have been RAGED at by sports nerds, specifically when they have mocked cosplay and I’ve been all “respectfully, you are literally cosplaying your favorite sports guy right now, his name is on the jersey you are wearing.” Result: SCREAMING. “HOW FUCKING DARE YOU, THIS IS NOT COSPLAY, I’M NOT SOME GAY NERD I AM A SPORTS FAN!!!!!!!!” Which, honestly, I had to gut-laugh at, because holy shit, you fragile fucker. And this has happened many many MANY times in my life, not just over cosplay but over EVERYTHING. I cannot remotely take someone seriously who is wearing a basketball jersey with the name of a famous rapist on it (yeah, fuck you, Kobe, you are only “famous” in my book as a dead rapist) and trying to lecture others about being a nerd, as if they aren’t doing the exact same thing but also INSISTING that society go along with it like it’s “normal” but other forms of nerdery are not.

It’s the thing I respect the least about [some] sports nerds: the assumption that their special interest is “legitimate” and others’ are not.

 

[Alt]

I don't know too many nerd-hobby people in my "physical" life, and I can totally relate with your friend finally being able to talk to someone about Star Wars. I mean, I get a few people at work who like the movies, but not into it at our levels, you know? And conversations can only go so far.

So I was at a physical therapy session a couple weeks ago, and somehow my therapist and I connected on our Star Wars love - man, it was the best feeling to just be able to let loose in a free flowing conversation with such a positive person about our shared love for Star Wars and all the detailed lore - Im not sure Id ever had that moment before and it was actually pretty special for both of us, and now we have this connection. But sadly my Physical therapy is coming to an end and Im not sure I'll ever see him again.

Get the boombox and play the Cantina song outside of his window, while you stand there in an Endor trench coat.

 

[TheGillMan]

I’ll preface this with “not all sports fans, noted”.

BUT.

By FAR the worst nerd-judgment vitriol I’ve dealt with has come from sports nerds. And YES, sports nerds are just nerds like any other nerd.
And that, specifically, has been the main source of conflict for me.
I have been RAGED at by sports nerds, specifically when they have mocked cosplay and I’ve been all “respectfully, you are literally cosplaying your favorite sports guy right now, his name is on the jersey you are wearing.” Result: SCREAMING. “HOW FUCKING DARE YOU, THIS IS NOT COSPLAY, I’M NOT SOME GAY NERD I AM A SPORTS FAN!!!!!!!!” Which, honestly, I had to gut-laugh at, because holy shit, you fragile fucker. And this has happened many many MANY times in my life, not just over cosplay but over EVERYTHING. I cannot remotely take someone seriously who is wearing a basketball jersey with the name of a famous rapist on it (yeah, fuck you, Kobe, you are only “famous” in my book as a dead rapist) and trying to lecture others about being a nerd, as if they aren’t doing the exact same thing but also INSISTING that society go along with it like it’s “normal” but other forms of nerdery are not.

It’s the thing I respect the least about [some] sports nerds: the assumption that their special interest is “legitimate” and others’ are not.

Oh, I've definitely experienced this. I said on another thread, but it bears repeating: I've pointed out to those types of folks that nerds cosplaying are at least a bit more in touch reality than that type of sports fan is, not believing that somehow they have any impact on the outcome of things. No nerd has ever said "I'm wearing my lucky Jedi Robe to see Episode III so Anakin won't fall to the Dark Side". Don't see too many nerds painting their bodies like Mystique from the X-Men films then spending hours in sub-zero temperatures either.

 

[Damien]

Sports fans can be so weirdly superstitious, too. Which is, honestly, adorable. Like, I've never for a moment thought that if I wore my RED underwear today, Marvel might write a better Wolverine story. But sports fans will unironically think wearing the red underwear today will make their team play better.
And hold on to your fucking ass if the team wins, because that person is wearing that pair of underwear every game until the team loses and then they'll assume the magic underwear have failed and burn them or something.

Crazy goddamn weirdos.
I say it with love. Sort of.

 

[Alt]

Sports fans can be so weirdly superstitious, too. Which is, honestly, adorable. Like, I've never for a moment thought that if I wore my RED underwear today, Marvel might write a better Wolverine story. But sports fans will unironically think wearing the red underwear today will make their team play better.
And hold on to your fucking ass if the team wins, because that person is wearing that pair of underwear every game until the team loses and then they'll assume the magic underwear have failed and burn them or something.

Crazy goddamn weirdos.
I say it with love. Sort of.

I've always been allergic to the "We did it" inclusion in the sports world.

You ate a hot dog and drank beer. The Jays did the game on the field. Sit your ass down.

 

[Damien]

I've always been allergic to the "We did it" inclusion in the sports world.

You ate a hot dog and drank beer. The Jays did the game on the field. Sit your ass down.

Yeeeah. I love that FOR people who can do that. If it's what makes them happy then okie doke. But I don't understand it at all, and I think creating that sense of 'we' was actually a toxic and underhanded way of justifying why the -actual- 'we' spends millions and millions in tax dollars building their bullshit stadiums so they can be even richer at no cost to themselves.
It's like when your boss says 'I think of this place like a family.'
Yeah, you sure do. But only when you don't want to pay me what I'm worth.

 

[Alt]

I'm going to follow up and acknowledge that it isn't just Sports that does the inclusion.

A comic site I did some freelance writing put me in contact with a guy who would regularly refer to all the big creators by first name. Geoff. Jim. Dan. And it was always in a context like he was sitting at TGIF with them, weighing in and being privy to the inner workings of editorial and the bullpen.

He didn't know any of them, of course. Had never even shaken a hand at a signing.

But his faith in Geoff Johns was stronger than the disciples in Jesus, and if you spoke ill of Geoff or his stories, he'd play the aforementioned superiority card on you.

To this day he still takes credit for DCs sales numbers and wins as a brand, dumps on Marvel. He doesn't even write or edit for anyone anymore. Just a fan. Has the same attitude with AEW (good) vs WWE (the enemy), and other brands and products. Anything WWE does is dumb, anything Tony Khan does is genius, They, together, are geniuses. A true product of my Binary America Brainwashing rant.

It's weird.

 

[Alt]

Yeeeah. I love that FOR people who can do that. If it's what makes them happy then okie doke. But I don't understand it at all, and I think creating that sense of 'we' was actually a toxic and underhanded way of justifying why the -actual- 'we' spends millions and millions in tax dollars building their bullshit stadiums so they can be even richer at no cost to themselves.
It's like when your boss says 'I think of this place like a family.'
Yeah, you sure do. But only when you don't want to pay me what I'm worth.

I believe that making everyone pick Packers and hate Vikings, and you can sub whoever you want in, makes it easier to keep class and states divided when ICE in MPLS happens, because Fuck those Vikings/Twins. Etc.

I have heard and seen it many times solely for that logic. It keeps everyone antagonistic and tribal. Divided stays conquered.

 

[fac]

If you don't understand that if I don't wear my team's shirt while watching the game my team may lose and it will be my fault, I don't know what to tell you....

I also suspect that 95% of sports fans will say that knowing full well it is ridiculous. But it's part of the engagement. Kind of like arguing over the logic of some Trek technology or the accuracy of some outfit.

I don't think wearing a jersey as a shirt is cosplay per se though, in the sense I don't think people are "playing" a favorite player or dressing like they are on the team, anymore than wearing a concert T-shirt means they think they are in the band, compared to dressing like a band member. I think there is a difference in wearing a Trek T-shirt and wearing an outfit that makes you look like an extra on set. I almost never see fans dressed in a full sports uniform like they could step in and play.

Who knows if the guy in the sports outfit is in the only group he feels accepted and equal, who maybe had to deal with the smart or wealthy kids looking down on him as a kid, and resents the "nerds" for how he was rejected. We should assume that things matter to people for reasons we can't always see, and attacking anyone or appearing to dismiss or look down on others for what they enjoy is not good.

My sense of most of the various "your fandom is stupid" interactions I think fall into people being defensive that their thing they probably take too seriously is justified as something an adult does and other things are for kids or less rational people. They will quote the money involved as being investments, or the rarity or popularity of the fandom, or the perceived by them sophistication of their area - you even see it within toy collectors who will argue over which scale is "better" or whether it is a premium collectible or just a toy. I think a lot of people struggle a bit, especially if others have questioned their hobby, to need their hobby to accepted as having meaning, and sadly one way they handle that is try to put other hobbies that are similar in a lower tier and the people who are fans.

And I say this as someone who admittedly finds people who dress up as a Jedi as a little odd, the same way I find the people who face paint and go to every game as a little odd. Or let their collection take over their home as compared to take over part of it. Or watch every game at the expense of other social activity. There seems like there is a level for every fandom that seems to get too serious or an obsession, but I realize I just may not understand it's importance to those folks as I worry abit about the balance in their lives.

 

[fac]

And as @Alt notes, some people seem to start to believe that are part of the clique or an insider, and will imbed in their consciousness that their favorites are also great people that would love to hang out with them and appreciate their hero worship. Getting it back to this thread, there are I am sure some 4H fans who take supporting them as a personal imperative. As compared to just liking their products or appreciate what they do.

 

[docsilence]

I used to joke around that I needed someone to explain to me how you could be into muscular men in colorful tight pants fighting each other (superheroes) was more nerdy than muscular men in colorful tight pants fighting each other (football).

But again, I question how the hell I got to the point in my life where I'm so intolerant of intolerance I just don't have people who shit on things other people love in my life anymore.

Actually, I have a theory: a fucking asshole is a fucking asshole and it doesn't matter what they nerd out about. Don't tolerate fucking assholes in your life and you won't have fucking assholes telling you your action figure collection or signed Nomar Garciaparra jersey or My Little Pony tattoo makes you a loser.

Don't just be the person you want to be in this world; tell the people you don't want to be to fix their hearts or die.

Annnyway. To stay on topic, I just bought a spare dwarf body on ebay for the blond-bearded head I'm getting from BBTS and hit ship on the head, the snake shaman, and the Cosmic Legions trooper dude an hour ago. Hoping the eBay body shows up before the BBTS shipment so I can mess with it and try to make it feel more distinct. (Got a good deal on the cavern dwarf 2 body.)

 

[Damien]

Actually, I have a theory: a fucking asshole is a fucking asshole and it doesn't matter what they nerd out about. Don't tolerate fucking assholes in your life and you won't have fucking assholes telling you your action figure collection or signed Nomar Garciaparra jersey or My Little Pony tattoo makes you a loser.

Yeah, this.

I think the hardest thing to teach yourself is that people can like what you like, but not be like you. Someone can really love Superman and still be a miserable prick that never learned a single lesson that Superman comics taught. That's just how it is, for reasons I'll probably never understand.


The dwarves are literally the only figures in this line I've considered buying since I stopped buying Mythic Legions figures. Except for the lion-helmet guy that came out.. but isn't out yet.. somehow... I did order that guy because he looks cool.

 

[Alt]

Yeah, this.

I think the hardest thing to teach yourself is that people can like what you like, but not be like you.

Generally why I just experience things and keep it to myself. I don't want to have a discussion about the movie, I saw it and I had fun for 2 hours and my life went on. I don't care what is happening on rotten tomatoes or what? Some dude on Reddit wrote an essay about, especially when it's just being regurgitated by someone elsen trying to justify why they won't even see the movie.

I like what I like and I don't want to talk about it.