Loot Crate's Heroes Part Deux

This month Loot Crate revisited its Heroes theme, which has probably been my favorite crate thus far. Heroes 2 was DC comics heavy with a Batman figure and a Wonderwoman poster. It also featured a great exclusive hardcover edition of Regrettable Superheroes. To me, this box was a mixed bag. I loved some of the pieces and was totally ambivalent toward others. The big item this month was an adorable classic Batman statue from Quantum Mechanix. 

The speech bubble on the base has a tiny dry-erase board so you can write your own sound effects. The book Regrettable Superheroes is a compendium of the worst heroes ever to make it to print. A lot of them are ridiculous, some are gross, or stupid, and most of them are just super lame. I had a lot of fun with it and I definitely lol'd over a few of the particularly bad ones.

One of my favorite pieces though was the awesome Wonder Woman pin-up poster. I'm not a big fan of DC heroes in general but I've got a soft spot for Wonder Women and the vintage, Rosie the Riveter feel makes it that much better. This poster will definitely end up on my wall. Two symbols of female empowerment? Yes please.

On the fail side, there was a Batarang multi-tool (read bottle opener), Legend of Zelda sweatband and Spock hand car air freshener. After over a year of crates I have three air fresheners and three sweatbands. I'm kind of an indoor kid, I really don't have call for sweatbands, and Guy Fieri is not one of my style icons. Know what I'm saying?

Overall, I'm going to say a solid B on this crate. The small things felt a bit like filler, but the big things were a big hit. Another note, Loot Crate has now started to offer the "Level Up" service. There are different ways in which you can level up your basic crate be adding a premium item like an accessory (scarf, bracelet, etc), pairs of socks or a wearable (shirt).
For more information visit Loot Crate here

Catch up post, let's not lie.

So it's been a rough month-ish for  me blogging-wise. I'll start by apologizing profusely and begging your forgiveness, gentle reader. I started a new job out in the real world which is a huge opportunity that I'm really excited about but it's been a big adjustment schedule-wise. I spend a lot of time in the car now and I have less break time during the day, so keeping up with internet awesome-ness is a bit harder.

I have been hitting up the movies and hopefully tomorrow I'll have a summer movie post covering Jurassic World, Minions and Inside Out. It's been an interesting movie season this summer. I was surprised as how much I liked Jurassic World, in spite of its glaring problem, but I think it had a lot to with nostalgia. I found out I still have my raptor toy from the first one! Inside Out was deep and I cried a lot but not overall as enjoyable as I'd hoped. Minions was a bit of a disappointment and the amount of merchandising and advertising that's gone into its campaign is beyond ridiculous.

In gaming news, I'm deep into my second play though of Dragon Age Inquisition working on leveling up to play Jaws of Haakon and trying to 100% the shards. Also trying to get into Witcher 3 and Lego Jurassic World on 3DS. It's been a while since I played a game on the DS and it's kind of a refreshing change, plus the portability is nice in the summer. Lego games are always so cleverly done and adorable. I thoroughly enjoyed their Star Wars, Marvel Heroes and Indiana Jones games. They are fun to play alone, with somebody else and are family-appropriate, which is nice. An all ages game is great to have in case of family gatherings, ask me how I know.

Other latest obsessions include being ridiculously jealous of friends who attended SDCC last weekend and trying to live vicariously through their Twitter and Instagram posts. In the meantime my cosplay is coming along for Rose City Comic-Con in September. I'm contemplating a few work in progress posts along the way but we'll see. Its been a great reading summer. I finally got around to reading Ready Player One and loved and followed it up with Fangirl by Rainbow Rowell. I can heartily recommend both. Also, totally obsessed with Poldark on PBS. The title character Ross Poldark, played by the swoon-worthy Aiden Turner of The Hobbit (I describe him as the sexy dwarf) and BBC's Being Human, is the broody, swashbuckling hero period drama geeks like me adore. He's like Mr. Darcy meets Will Turner *sigh.* I threw myself down the rabbit hole on this one guys and I'm not even a little bit sorry.

Hopefully there will be more regular posts to follow. I've got lots of thoughts and we've got ground to make up. There's also a Lootcrate due next week so look out for that review. Note to the crate fans, I did not manage to get a Comic Con box so there will be no review on that one. *muffled sobbing*

Unite! LootCrate pays homage to the team. (spoilers)

May's Loot Crate was all about teams. This month's crate focused on pop culture's favorite squads from the Avengers to the Power Rangers to the Justice league. Although heavy preferential treatment goes to Marvel on this one, just saying.
The big prize this month is a t-shirt featuring the green/white power ranger. In addition to being super soft and comfy, the design is just plain cool. Out of all the crate shirts I've gotten, this one is probably my favorite. Besides Tommy was always my favorite Power Ranger. He had that long hair and the bad-boy attitude. *Sigh*

With the Avengers: Age of Ultron out this month, May's crate also included a trio of Marvel/Avengers items. First up was a Marvel ice cube tray which makes ice cubes in the shape of Captain America's shield, Iron Man's face, Hulk's fist, and Thing's face. It is also made out of silicone which makes it an ideal mold for soaps, chocolate's or anything else crafty geeks could come up with.
Also included in the Marvel loot was a pair of shoelaces (I got the stealth ones: grey and black) and an Avengers decal in all white. The decal was super cool and nice quality.

Among other crate perks there was an exclusive variant cover of Bravest Warriors #1. Normally this wouldn't be a comic that I would pick up, but the art style is adorable and its definitely worth a read.  There was also a Loot Crate edition Mad Magazine which was meh. I never really read Mad as a kid so there's no nostalgia there, just shitty 7th grade jokes. The Rick and Morty puzzle was fun, because really when was the last time you did a puzzle? Yeah, me too. Last was a set of Team Fortress 2 pins which I totally adore because there's a Balloonicorn pin and a sandvich pin. DC got short shrift this month as the only reference to the Justice League was in one of the unite pin options. The pin either featured Batman shaking hands with Superman or Iron Man shaking hands with Captain America. (I got the Marvel one)

Overall top marks for May's crate mostly because the t-shirt and the Marvel stuff. I'm really a fan of the things that are more practical like the ice cube tray and the shoelaces and my problem with some previous crates was the profusion of stuff that was just for fun (like the Monopoly-esque Firefly universe money) but was destined to be taking up space on my desk.
To find out more information on past crates, subscriptions and to sign up visit Loot Crate.

The land of tomorrow (no spoilers)

On the surface, Disney's Tomorrowland seems like little more than a cash-grab, capitalizing on the theme from another part of the Disney parks as inspiration. The thought worked with the Pirates of the Caribbean franchise but failed miserably with other films. Remember Haunted Mansion and The Country Bears? Yeah me neither.  I was interested enough to see which side of the fence Tomorrowland fell on that I was willing to sacrifice a few hours to it. It was more than that. Tomorrowland is an entertaining and hopeful movie with a strong message. The advertisements for the movie are cryptic enough that there weren't many expectations going into it, which is a refreshing change from most films these days where you've seen a good percentage of the movie before stepping into the theatre. 

Let me start by saying that Britt Robertson and Raffey Cassidy are the future. They are the two female leads and own a majority of the screen time. Both are expressive, endearing and capable actresses who I'm confident we will be seeing a lot more of in the coming years. Robertson plays Casey Newton, a teenage girl looking to make a difference in the world. Casey is being raised by her NASA engineer father who encourages her to ask questions and dream big. Cassidy is Athena, the android resident of Tomorrowland, who recruits Casey to save the future of our world when the residents of the futuristic utopia have failed. The two have a good chemistry and it is nice to see some more strong, young female characters. Assisting Casey on her journey is Frank Walker, played by George Clooney, a man who has been expelled from Tomorrowland and has lost the enthusiasm for science and inventing that he once had. It is up to Casey to bring the magic back for him and for all of Tomorrowland by reminding them that the future can be anything you want it to be, while it is villian Hugh Laurie's job to stop them.

There is a definite overarching message to the movie. Things are in a bad way in the world right now and all we're doing is accepting them as immutable realities. The movie's answer is to dream big and strive to make a difference, that whatever it is that you do, you should try your hardest to do it well and see what happens. Also science is cool. The whole film has a Wall-E-esque vibe to it and the message seemed hardly lost on the audience. But that's ok too. The film has a clear vision and its nice to see it follow through.

I would have liked to see more of Tomorrowland itself as it was a brilliantly animated and picturesque blending today's modern sleekness so popular in Apple products with the kitschy space-era 60s futurism that Disneyland's Tomorrowland is so famous for. Its definitely the carrot on the string for Casey but it would've been nice to linger there a little longer at some point. Maybe on the Blu-Ray? 

All in all its a fun, feel-good movie with tons of Disney nostalgia. Even if the message is a delivered a little less than subtly and the pacing is a bit off, it is beautifully animated and well-acted and that in itself is worth spending a rainy Saturday on.

Happy 20th Bioware! Thanks for the feels

Today marks the 20th anniversary of my all-time favorite game company. I'm not sure how I'm going to put everything I feel about them into words but I though I should at least give it a shot. Now I want to start by saying I'm not an OG, I didn't play Baldur's Gate on the PC back when or even KOTOR when it first came out. Mass Effect was my entree into the world of Bioware games and the weight of that game hit me like a ton of bricks. After spending several hours wandering around the Citidel I was hooked. There was so much more to see than any game I'd ever played. I'd never played a game where I could spend that much time, never accomplish anything and come away feeling totally satisfied. I was totally floored at how much work went into the game and the world and the characters. I was pretty used to linear shooters or licensed games where I felt like most of the world building was done by tie-in media or easter-egg seekers in internet forums. I felt like I was meeting real people and developing friendships. My Shepard was everything I wished I could be, hoped maybe one day I would be, everything I was too scared to be in real life. She was brave, honest, pragmatic, and open minded. When Kaidan thought he lost her, I thought I lost her too. One look at his face and I burst into tears. I'd never cried over a video game before. I don't really cry over movies much even but that moment got to me. I found out what it was like to be hit with feels. All the feels. I found out what it was to be a fangirl. I got into fanart and fanfic and I felt less lonely in liking something than I ever had before. Shepard helped me find parts of my personality I couldn't express before. I moved and the Normandy moved with me. When I was scared or lonely Shepard wasn't. She is my ultimate hero and will probably always be the most important fictional person in my life.

Following Shepard there have been others, Revan, the Warden, Hawke and the Inquisitor. Each woman, and yes they have all been women, has her own place in my heart and mind. And it seems like no matter how many play throughs there are, the first iteration is the most important. She is the one who is mine. But each seems like a version of Shepard and an extension of me.
The worlds these women inhabit feel like a place to visit like a coffee shop where you do most of your writing or a vacation spot you can't stop going back to because it recharges your batteries like nowhere else. They inspire creativity. People want to carry little pieces with them, they want to be reminded in their daily life of a memory from the time they were someone else. That's powerful stuff. It sounds sappy but Bioware games changed my life. They gave me the courage to write. They gave me the passion to talk about something I love without caring about being judged. They helped me make friends and learn to talk to people.

So thanks Bioware. Thank you to all the writers, artists, voice actors, and musicians who made me laugh, cry, and fall in love. Here's to the last twenty years and many more fangirl tears in the future.

Avengers: Age of Ultron or How AI is a Really Bad Idea and Will Probably Kill Us All *Spoilers*

So I finally got a chance to see Avengers: Age of Ultron today and I really enjoyed it. This is the second marvel film I've seen where I didn't have a concrete set of expectations as to what I was going to see. The first being Guardians of the Galaxy, where I had never read any of the comics, wasn't familiar with the characters and was really just expecting to have a good time. Age of Ultron is similar in that I hadn't had a chance to catch up on the Ultron arc so I just had the basis of the rest of Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). This film is darker than the other MCU films but still retains the Joss Whedon trademark one-liners that had the audience laughing out loud. There's a lot going on with film. It does a lot of heavy lifting tying the previous installments to the upcoming films and the Infinity Gauntlet and Civil War storylines, introducing new characters Scarlet Witch, Quicksilver, and Vision, and  still managing to be entertaining. The fight scenes are meticulously crafted and had the audience in my showing gasping aloud. Overall fan service abounds. Heavy spoilers from here on, so be warned.

Okay, now the elephant in the room. I don't really have a problem with the representation of Natasha in this film. I will give you that the romance sub-plot between her and Bruce was unnecessary. We already know that she has above-average skills of persuasion, and if there was an Avenger who could calm the Hulk it would probably be Nat anyway. That said, I don't think it detracted from her character in any way. I feel like her conversation with Bruce about her forced sterilization is more a moment in which they both mourn the loss of the ability to choose the path of their own lives than it is her admission of feeling like less of a woman because she is unable to have children. The whole section of the film at the farm is about each team member dealing with the nightmares the Scarlet Witch gave them and the full weight of what it means to be an Avenger. Each of them mourns the loss of normalcy and a sense of control, and I think Natasha's struggle isn't so different.

This movie also cements the wedge between Tony and Cap that preps for the Civil War arc. Steve is out of his element throughout the movie continuing where we left him after Winter Soldier. He continually struggles to adapt who is he as a hero and as a man to the realities of today's world and the enemies it faces. Steve is the past and Tony is the future, but Steve is learning quickly while Tony becomes increasingly paranoid. Tony Stark seems to long have been the fan favorite in these movies but his creation of Ultron makes him more a villain than he's been since the beginning of Iron Man. Ultron is a great villain and a great foil for both Tony and Vision. Spader was brilliantly cast in the part and is as menacing as he is snarky. He embodies a lot of modern fears about technology and anxieties about artificial intelligence. I love that he takes one brief look at the internet and decides that mankind has to go. Ultron's mining of Vibranium to make the giant floating island seems a little silly but I'm assuming that the Vibranium and the weird weapons dealer guy (played by a non-CG'd Andy Serkis) will feature more heavily in the upcoming Black Panther film. Like I said, there's a lot going on.

I liked the new additions to the MCU cast. In early stills Quicksilver came off super cheesy, but in the finished product he is likable and remarkably powerful. I feel like he was gone too soon. I can't wait to see where Scarlet Witch goes from here. She comes into her own late in the movie and as a new team comes together, she looks to be the most powerful apart from Vision. Oh man, Vision. So cool. Paul Bettany looks amazing as the synthetic human AI and has some of the best lines in the movie. I'm so excited to see what happens to him in upcoming installments although I can't help but wonder how the Infinity Stone makes its way out of his forehead into the Infinity Gauntlet. Overall, the new Avengers team assembling at the end of the movie looks promising as hell. The Iron Patriot, Falcon, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Captain America and Black Widow. It's a big step forward in terms of representation both of women and people of color in the MCU.

Overall, Avengers: Age of Ultron is a great movie. It's entertaining, well-written and well paced. Is it perfect? No. But it lives up to the first film and creates a valuable bridge between the last phase of films and the next.

Heir to the...Jedi?

I'm not really sure how I feel about Heir to the Jedi which is why its been almost a week since I finished the book and I'm just now getting the review up. There are some really strong and creative aspects of the book but overall the story is forgettable. Heir to the Jedi (HTTJ) is the newest adult novel in the new Star Wars canon (and by adult I don't mean nsfw but not intended for children or teens, although how much fun would that be right?), although just by publication date. It was originally announced before the old EU was rebranded as Legends but it happens to fit in the timeline of the new canon. HTTJ takes place in the months after the Battle of Yavin and falls in with the other new additions, namely the three Marvel Star Wars storylines that are currently under way: Star Wars, Darth Vader and Princess Leia. All of these are excellent and I can wholeheartedly recommend them. It focuses on Luke as he's getting over Obi-Wan's death and coming to terms with his connection to the Force. What makes HTTJ unique, and hard to love, is its first person narrative. The whole book is told from Luke's perspective which is hard to get used to both for the reader and, it seems. The effect is that the book doesn't really feel like a Star Wars story. That and the vocabulary is awkward and not very in-universe. For example, how does the kid who grew up on the dirt-poor desert planet of Tatooine know about ice cream? He doesn't/shouldn't. After so many years of the EU the Star Wars vocabulary is established; fresher for shower, chrono for watch, caf for coffee and the like. So far the other novels have kept up with this tradition but Kevin Hearne is new to the franchise and I would love to know whether it was a conscious decision by the author or the editor to break with tradition. Dear god I know its pedantic, but these are the things that bother me while reading.

HTTJ is not without redeeming factors. Luke is at his most likable in this book and Hearne really captures the feeling of young, slightly dorky "I'm Luke Skywalker, I'm here to save you!" Luke rather than the dour Jedi master that we'd become so used to in the old EU. He feels like the Luke I fell in love with as a little girl. Luke's inner voice feels young and his infatuation with the other main character Nakari is sweet and endearing in sort of a puppy love way. He's also struggling to find his way and without Obi-Wan to guide him. He's coming off being the hero of the rebel alliance but its really done nothing to bolster his sense of self confidence. He's making little headway learning about the force and he's trying to grapple with his relationship with Darth Vader, the man he believes killed his father. He's trying to do what he can to help the rebellion but he feels like he's not as important as Leia. Luke and Nakari are tasked with retrieving an expert mathematician/hacker from Imperial custody and delivering her to a deserted planet to live in safety with her family. Along the way they are chased by imperial agents and get sold out by those they think they can trust. There is everything we hope for in a Star Wars novel but there is a greater focus on lesser known species and planets. 

Nakari is Luke's sidekick, love interest and biggest fan. She is an excellent character, and probably this book's brightest spot. She is a badass, confident, smart and creative. Their personal interactions are both awkward and endearing, although I personally could have done with a little more actual romance. Nakari is sort of a mentor to Luke and a cheerleader rather than a damsel in distress. 

The plot overall has some pacing issues, each battle scene is separated by and few pages of dialogue in a way that seems formulaic enough to be more at home in a video game than a novel. The entire book can be spit in tho three missions each with a different location. Perhaps this story my have been more effective told as a comic than a novel. The feeling of "what's at stake?" is largely missing. We can't argue that Luke and Nakari's mission is of vital importance to the success of the rebellion. 

The major problem with the book is also its biggest spoiler so here goes...

*

**

***

**

*

Nakari dies at the end. For no reason other than to cause Luke pain and give him a chance not to give in to the dark side. It's ridiculous. He could have had another reason, maybe anger or fear. It's just really unfortunate to waste a dynamic female character just to cause a man some pain. We've seen a few women in Luke's life get killed off in the old canon, but it always felt like it was because he was supposed to end up with Mara, but now there is no Mara. I just feel like it was lazy storytelling and I was hoping for more in the new canon. It proves that Lucasfilm/Disney/DelRay aren't listening to female fans yet, and that is really unfortunate.

Overall, unless you're a huge fan of all things Luke Skywalker, I would give this one a miss.

Many Bothans died to bring us this information

There's been a lot of big news in the Star Wars universe in the past week. Last week LucasFilm announced release dates for Episode VIII as well as the first of several planned stand-alone films, entitled Rogue One. Filming on Rogue One begins this summer in London and release is set for December 16, 2016 just less than a year after the premier of The Force Awakens. It will be directed by Gareth Edwards best known for his work on last year's Godzilla. The only star announced so far is Felicity Jones, who garnered an Oscar nod for her work on The Theory of Everything earlier this year.   Episode VIII is scheduled for release May 26, 2017, forty years and one day after the opening of A New Hope. It will be written and directed by up and comer Rian Johnson.

I have high hopes for Rogue One especially considering that Jones is the only star thus far. I'm hoping the rogue in the title refers to Rogue Squadron, an elite flight of X-Wing pilots founded and led by Luke Skywalker after the Battle of Yavin. Rogue Squadron was a staple in the books of the old expanded universe and it would be great to see them on the big screen, especially in the command of a woman. I'd love to see Jones as a Jaina Solo-esque character. It's possible, although highly unlikely that she could be Jaina. Although this is purely speculation, there is nothing to say what era the film is set in, all we know so far is that the story line stands apart from the main saga. I would love to see a few nods in upcoming stand alone films to the old EU. Those stories and characters are so dear to the hearts of so many fans that it would be nice to see that they haven't been completely discarded.

In addition, LucasFilm and Disney Publishing have announced that more than twenty upcoming books across all genres will lead up to the release of Episode VII in what they are calling the "Journey to Star Wars: The Force Awakens." All works released during this period, including comics, novels, children's activity books and reference books will be included in canon and will drop hints to the plot of The Force Awakens. It appears that there will be a fair amount of fodder for speculation enthusiasts. Many of the stories will retell parts of the original trilogy while others will fill in the time between Return of the Jedi and The Force Awakens. I am interested to see if there will be a novelization released before the actual film like there was for The Phantom Menace. Also released this week was the cover art for Star Wars: Aftermath. Aftermath should be really exciting, as it represents the first new EU novel set after Return of the Jedi and has been touted as introducing people and places that will have significance in the new trilogy.

At the moment I'm working through some of the new comic arcs, Star Wars, Princess Leia, and Darth Vader and I'm about two-thirds of the ways through Heir to the Jedi. I couldn't be happier. The art in the Marvel comics is superb and the writing is tight and witty. Heir to the Jedi is an interesting departure as it is written in first person from Luke's point of view. It takes place right after the Battle of Yavin and it focuses on Luke's mourning the loss of Obi-Wan, his uncertainty of his force abilities and his anxieties about becoming a Jedi without an teacher to guide him. It is a unique portrayal and I am enjoying it. A full review will definitely follow :)

Sources: Star Wars.com, IMDB

Rachel Bach's Paradox Trilogy Review

Rachel Bach's Paradox trilogy is a sci-fi story set in a distant future where humans have colonized multiple worlds and have divided into two distinct cultural groups, Terrans and Paradoxians. Terran culture is much like our own, while Paradoxian culture is highly militarized with a government and religion that revolves around its sacred king. Deviana Morris is a Paradoxian mercenary with dreams of joining the most elite unit of armored soldiers, the Devastators. When given the chance to join the crew of the Glorious Fool, a group of misfits under the command of the mysterious and famously unlucky Brian Caldswell, she jumps at the chance. Surviving a tour with Caldswell may be her ticket straight to the top, but even with her custom armor and guns, Devi is not ready for the adventures that await her in space. 

First of all, I love that the Paradox books are sci-fi novels featuring a female lead character written by a woman author. Not as rare as it used to be, thankfully, but still notable and awesome. More than that, though the books are well written, the characters are engaging and the universe well thought out and fully realized. Devi is likable as a protagonist. She is a no non-sense badass in the model of Ripley from the Alien films. As the plot unfolds, however, Devi discovers that she is a better person than she gives herself credit for and she becomes more well-rounded. There is also a romantic subplot that is subtle enough not to bore the hard-core sci-fi fan but sweet enough to make my inner fangirl squeal. The battle scenes are intense and the pacing is good overall.

Now, lest anybody this is a totally biased review, and don't get me wrong I love these books and will probably read them over and over, there are a few things that are a bit problematic. One is the path of the romance. Without giving away anything, things seems to turn around pretty fast for no discernible reason there that "twue wuv." It feels a little bit artificial at times. The plot itself also comes to sort of an awkward end. There was a little too much book left after the climax and a even then a few things are still left unanswered. That said, there is always room for another book. *wink wink, nudge nudge* Bach (who also goes by Rachel Aaron when she's writing fantasy, in case you were wondering) has not ruled out the possibility when asked. Squee!

Overall, the Paradox trilogy are a fun read. Each book is hard to put down and Devi is an awesome female character to cheer for. Pick them up today, you won't be sorry.

Coming soon... a review of Rachel Aaron's Legend of Eli Monpress series. 

LootCrate takes a look back

This month's LootCrate theme was rewind. It was jam packed with all the nostalgic things nerds of a certain age loved back in the day in all their pixelated, low-res glory. I am a sucker for all things retro myself and this month didn't disappoint. I really like that the crate themes have broadened a little bit and gotten away from being quite so gaming heavy. I also appreciated that more of the items in this month's crate were really usable. 

This month included an exclusive tee featuring Voltron. The blue-on-black is subtle and has kind of a Tron-esque vibe that I love. I'm definitely going to be getting some serious mileage out of this one.

I really like that there are more usable items in this month's box. The 8-bit sunglasses probably won't replace my daily wearers, but they'll be fun for specific outfits and they're UVA rated so they're not just for costume. Probably my favorite item this month though is the Space Invaders tie from Black Tie Geek. I'm already working to put together a work outfit to feature it but it would also make a great headband for those who are not so necktie-inclined. The comic notebook is a small blank book pre-divided into panels for at-home comic artists. It even includes a small stencil for all the thought bubbles and sound effects.

Next up is this little guy, a 10-doh! figure by Squid Kids Ink. Its a little anthropomorphized NES cartridge. He's even got his own little zapper. Each one of these little guys features a parody of a classic Nintendo title. 

Last, but certainly not least this month's comic was Marvel Star Wars #1. This is Marvel's first Star Wars comic since 1987 and it was a great opening effort. The story takes place after the events of Episode IV and features Han Solo, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker sabotaging an imperial weapons depot. The art is outstanding and the storyline seems promising. I will definitely be picking up the other books in this arc.

All in all, this month was probably my favorite crate so far. If you're interested in a subscription or more information on LootCrate visit them here.

Bless me geek gods for I have sinned

I committed one of the ultimate sins of fandom today, especially as a fangirl. In the world of GamerGate, fake geek girl accusations and gatekeeping, it's important to spread the love and understanding within the fandom(s). But unfortunately that's exactly what I didn't do today. So here's the story and then I'll talk about why this is problematic. 

So I have a coworker who is a big fan of radio contests. She enters any and every contest she becomes aware of and frequently wins free tickets to concerts, sporting events and other conventions. Today she announced to me, the office's resident geek, that she was trying to win tickets to this weekend's "Wizard World thingy." For those who don't know, Wizard World puts on comic conventions across the country. Now this is where things went sideways. Rather than congratulate her on her interest in the nerdier side of life, I bristled. I felt, still feel, that entering to win tickets to something which you don't really want is silly and robs someone who really wants to go but can't afford to the chance to enjoy something they love. So anyway, I asked her why she'd want to go. "For the people watching," she replied cheerily. "Why," I asked, pressing further, hoping to make her either look or feel like an asshole, "so that you can point and laugh?" "So I can see all the people in their costumes, and they had a meet and greet with Bruce Campbell." "You don't even like comics," I snarked. "I sort of do," she replied. My next inclination was to administer a quiz, but another coworker interrupted and that, mercifully, was the end of it.

Now I feel that my behavior was problematic. Gatekeeping is a major problem in nerd culture. Because nerds tend to see ourselves as underdogs because of exclusion and bullying that they have experienced in the past, we tend to be very protective of the things we care about.* We tend to feel compelled to keep people out of the fandom who may not seem worthy. I'm not sure if this due to a fear that someone who might be mean or threatening may get in to the sanctum sanctorum or to the comforting feeling of superiority or power that being on the inside affords. I myself have thrive on the drunken power of knowing more than others. It feels damn good. I felt a mixture those feelings today; superiority, judgement, and most of all, butthurt. How dare she invade a space that has been mine! She was not worthy! *waves flaming sword of judgement* Worthiness has nothing to do with it. We should all be accepting of those who show interest in the thing that we like. Were you born with an encyclopedic knowledge of Star Wars? I think not. I'm sure there was some kind person, maybe a parent or and older sibling or friend who invited you in, answered your questions and was patient with you. We all could be that person for someone else. We should also learn to understand that a member of another fandom may feel just as strongly about their fandom as we do about ours, rather than judging him or her based on the fandom's relative popularity to others. We should be trying to grow nerd culture so that other people don't have to go through the feelings of being left out or being the only one who likes x or y. I let down the side today, I'm sorry guys. 

tl;dr Gatekeeping is bad...mmkay?

*I am making broad generalizations about nerd culture based on my own experience, I am aware that these vary greatly on the individual level. Bear with me.

Thoughts on Dragon Age: Inquisition

So my New Year's resolution was to write more, which I have to say I am failing at miserably. Though to be fair I have had a plague of a cold for a week now which has left me doing little besides sleeping, catching up on Legend of Korra and playing Dragon Age. I just hit the 40 hour mark so I figure I'm maybe half to two-thirds of the way through this play through. I'm definitely not what you'd call a completionist on an inaugural play though. This time I'm just soaking in the plot, getting comfortable with the combat system and falling in love with the characters.
Inquisition is my first Dragon Age game, which is weird for me because Bioware is my favorite studio. Mass Effect is my favorite game of all time followed by Mass Effect 3, 2 and Knights of the Old Republic. I played the demo for Dragon Age II back when but I felt lost playing it. The lore was too intense for a demo and the combat was too button-mashy. I never picked up DA2 and when presented with the choice of purchasing either it or DA:O I chose to sink back into Mass Effect again. But the hype was so epic for Inquisition that I was drawn in. I hadn't been gaming much lately and I wanted to revisit that obsessed fangirl feeling that Bioware games have always brought me, so I picked it up. Holy shit did it not disappoint. I'm hooked.
Inquisition is so pretty, even on the Xbox360. Thedas feels huge and there's so much to do, it's easy to feel overwhelmed and lost! DAI is easy to role play in. Wandering around the Hinterlands after the opening of the game feels so real. Its so big and there are huge mountains and forts and rivers and every few minutes some farmer or refugee is asking for a favor. You feel what the inquisitor feels, lost and put upon. I found myself talking out loud to my tv a lot, especially when I found the first dragon. There was a lot of screaming and running away. Then I sang the running away song from Monty Python while Solas slightly disapproved.  But now, this far in, my inquisitor feels like she's beginning to surround herself with friends, building a support system and coming into her own as a hero and as a person. I feel like she's definitely got her favorites; Dorian and Cassandra are her besties. And then there's Cullen *sigh* Cullen is my inquisitor's love interest and the scenes they have together are absolutely adorable. Their romance blossoms slowly as they fumble over each other like the big dorks they are. He's like a romance novel hero: strong and handsome, sensitive and haunted, capable and perfect. If only he was real. *ugly sobbing*
Quite simply, Inquisition feels as close to a perfect game as my mind is able to imagine. It is as big as Skyrim but it is filled with fully realized, fleshed out characters that are so engaging you'll wish they were really your friends. I have so many feels about this game but I feel like I should wait for a spoiler post when I've actually finished. If you haven't already, buy it, on any platform and play it as much as your can, you won't be sorry.

Oh Cullen you sexy beast <3