The blog has been on a bit of hiatus these past few weeks, as Atlanta Champs and WFTDA playoffs came and went. We’ve been scouring for things to talk about through the offseason, and most of our skaters have been pretty quiet in the recent weeks, so the pickings have been slim. For the next few months, we’re going to try showcase some of the fun things that skaters are doing in their off-time or during the offseason, starting with the group of us that brought the Dirty South fire to DragonCon.
A phrase that I frequently used as a newer derby skater was “I found everything I never knew I was missing,” in reference to both the community and the support that derby brings. I refer to my friends as “my people.” In derby, this usually stems from similarities in hobbies and opinions, as well as the ability to be open, accepting and generally caring people. One of the more frivolous and fun aspects of it, though, is finding a group of people who not only share your love for an ever-growing sport, but who also completely geek out over the same other things that you do. Being a part of ARGs D&D group (with the likes of Queen Loseyateefa, Tanya Hyde, Alicia Brains, Evil Olive, Ida Backoff, Violent Beauregaurd , Scout SnipeHer and Jean-Juke Picard as DM) is a fantastic example. One of my most favorite parts of being with the Atlanta Rollergirls is how many of us are complete and total nerds!
Rosie Derivator-
Rosie as her “spirit animal,” the Rabbit of Caerbannog
“My parents are giant nerds. My childhood was filled with Gauntlet, D&D, the Xanth series and Red Dwarf. My sisters and I still yell things like “Blue Valkyrie needs caffeine badly! (Well, she says Green Elf, but that’s because that was always her character) Blue Valkyrie is about to die!” and pretend to spritz things in the room saying “This is mine, and this is mine, and this is mine!” or calling each other Smegheads. As I got older, it was never a matter of IF I was going to DragonCon eventually, but WHEN. We didn’t have much money growing up in Ohio, and then life got busy with the Navy and derby, so it wasn’t until 2013 that I was able to be in Atlanta on a DragonCon weekend and until 2015 before I was able to actually go. I remember being driven through downtown in 2013 as we
Cosplaying Neon Katt from the anime RWBY
were house hunting, my face pressed against the window like a kid at a Christmas display, looking at all of the costumes and wishing we could go. “Those are MY people,” I sighed wistfully. And I had no idea how right I was. Last year, my first year attending, was an absolute whirlwind blast of cosplay, gaming, shopping and shows. This year, meeting up with some of my favorite derby people while at DragonCon was like the icing on the already delectable cake. This Venn diagram intersection of two of my favorite groups of people has become one of my favorite Atlanta memories and will surely be one of my most anticipated events each year. I look forward to more years of cosplaying, now with my derby friends, especially as one of my favorite anime characters- IN SKATES!”
Walt Hitman-
Walt in the Dragon Con parade, with a young Kylo
“I’m a lost girl: I never grew up. Never plan to. And, Dragon*Con is a wonderful excuse for me to play dress-up once again. My favorite part is always the parade. While my costume is beautifully made, the parade is my favorite because for a few hours, children see me as Darth Maul. I stop by every child dressed up as a Star Wars character, tell him or her that he or she is awesome, and to keep up the good work. The joy in their eyes makes everything worth it. So. Next year. I will again wake up at 4:30 in the morning to begin the 4-hour makeup process. I will again bake in a parking garage for over an hour just to begin marching. I will do all of this because sometimes someone just needs a Sith Lord to say, ‘My Lord Ren, I hear that you are doing good work. Keep it up.'”
A photoshoot with Walt as Darth Maul
Alicia Brains didn’t have much to add when it came to words, but we’re pretty sure her Barb costume says it all:
Brains as Barb from Stranger Things
Hopper found Barb!
The Atlanta Rollergirls have quite a few awesome things coming up over our offseason, so look out for pictures from our 1st Rolling of the Bulls event, ramping up for our participation in the ATC 10-miler and, for those of you who appreciate the Stranger Things references, an entire post dedicated to our own derby demogorgons. If you have ideas for things you’d like to see in the blog, feel free to email rosiederivator@atlantarollergirls.com!
