The image was posted to Beacon by the cast of Critical Role.
By the time this post is live, I may or may not have secured tickets to one of Critical Role’s live shows. I was at work when I heard about Critical Role’s live show announcement and could not be more excited. I told my husband repeatedly that if Critical Role was in the Chicago area or a city nearby, I would make the time to see them. My husband is so sweet and offered to go with me, so I wouldn’t have to go alone. Since I’m a Beacon subscriber, I get early access to purchase tickets. I’m trying not to get overly excited in case I can’t get tickets for their live show.
Another exciting portion of this announcement is their live show in Indianapolis. I quickly confirmed that Critical Role will be in Indianapolis the same weekend as Gen Con. This makes me hopeful that Darrington Press will also be at Gen Con promoting Candela Obscura and Daggerheart. It’s too early to tell if that will be the case, but I missed seeing Darrington Press at Gen Con this year.
No matter what happens, I’m happy to see Critical Role hosting live shows. I went to NADDPOD’s live show a few years ago and it was great to be around fans. TTRPG live shows are a unique experience and I’d love to be a part of the audience at one of these live shows.
CW: Violence, Torture, Flashbacks to SA, Emotional Abuse. (I will not go into detail about any of this in my review.
It took me two and a half months, but I finally finished reading The Serpent & The Wings of Night by Carissa Broadbent. I purchased this book at Tropes & Trifles after seeing the book described as “Hunger Games with Vampires.” I couldn’t agree more. I’d also add that anyone who enjoys Sarah J. Maas would probably enjoy this series. The Serpent & The Wings of Night has me hooked and I’m curious to see how the rest of the series will play out.
Oraya is a human woman rescued by Vincent, the King of The House Of Night. Vincent has been training Oraya to be more than her human self, so she can defend herself when necessary. Part of that training was to aid Oraya as she entered the Kejari, a bloodthirsty competition where the winner would receive a gift from Nyaxia, the goddess of vampires. Oraya is introduced to Raihn, a Rishan vampire and Vincent’s sworn enemy. Oraya and Raihn team up as they need to survive all the trials, each having their own agenda for winning. As they train together, their bond strengthens and Oraya is tested between her allegiance to her father and the love she’s developing for Raihn.
I am obsessed with all the lore in this book. I loved Obitraes, the three vampire houses, how they came to be, and how Nyaxia fits into this. As a Dungeons & Dragons player, Nyaxia was giving Raven Queen vibes. The similarities between the two are uncanny. The book has this darker tone and shows the horror the vampires inflict on humans and each other. I’m glad there was a map to reference with a glossary list of terms, so I could quickly page back and forth if I was ever confused about any of the terminology. If Carissa Broadbent were to write more books within Obitraes, I would buy them all.
As far as the characters, I loved Oraya. She was angry, scorned, and strong. She can hold her own against the vampires she seeks to destroy. The only thing I would have wished for is for Oraya to have something else about her besides only wanting to kill vampires. Her personality was a little lackluster because she only has room for vengeance and I’d like to see more from her as a character. Raihn is the stereotypical Romantasy male character and I’m here for it. I liked the banter Oraya and Raihn had. Also, I liked how much consent was present throughout this book. With vampires, there’s always a blurry line with vampires feeding from humans and I felt this book was respectful in developing Oraya and Raihn’s relationship.
I’m highlighting everything I loved about this book, so this should easily be a five-star book, right? I mentioned this already, but this book took me two and a half months to finish which is way too long. Every time I read this book, I’d read fifty pages and then not read for several weeks. It’s funny because every time I read a chapter, I enjoy it. This book has so much lore dump which slowed down the book for me. While the Kejari was interesting, seven trials were a lot. This book could have benefitted from cutting some things and the story would have been the same.
I’m hooked. There are so many cliffhangers and I’m curious how much will be revealed in the next books in the series. I rated The Serpent & The Wings of Night four stars on Goodreads.
Last weekend, me and my brother drove a few hours away to visit friends. Our main goal was to set up regular gaming days as we always talked about getting together more frequently throughout the year and it wouldn’t happen. Our main goal was to find time to play Kingdom Death, a horror cooperative miniature game. My first introduction to Kingdom Death was at Gen Con in 2019. The line for Kingdom Death’s booth is massive. I have always wanted to try playing Kingdom Death and it finally happened. I liked Kingdom Death and would play the game again, but Kingdom Death is not for the weak.
As mentioned, Kingdom Death is a horror, miniature game. Unlike Warhammer where players go up against each other, in Kingdom Death, players have to work together to set up a settlement, build resources, and go up against monsters. I was warned that Kingdom Death is brutal and that’s absolutely the case. I went through three characters who all died by the end. To begin the game, each player is given a sheet to name their character and provide basic stats. I jokingly named my character Mariah as I thought it would be funny to name my character after myself knowing they wouldn’t live long. After setting up our characters, we did a prologue section where our group went after a White Lion. After succeeding, we made camp and began to create our settlement. I had rolled for our group and rolled a 1, therefore, our settlement was much smaller than we would have liked.
This is where things started to deteriorate for our group. Our characters had to begin a hunt to collect resources to make weapons and armor. We went up against another White Lion and I had wounded the creature. To make matters worse, I gained the White Lion’s testes, which made me the permanent target for the lion. Oops. As such, I was mauled and my character died. Our whole group kept rolling so poorly that we all ended up being TPKed (total party kill). As we returned to camp, we gained resources, but in a settlement encounter, two more members of our settlement were killed, so only four people remained. This meant that if we didn’t survive the next encounter, we would lose the game since everyone in our settlement died.
What I enjoyed most about Kingdom Death is how players have to work together. I struggled to get into miniature games in the past for a multitude of reasons. I found it difficult to keep my armies straight and predict how my opponent would move their army. With Kingdom Death, we all struggled together, so I found it bound us together when times were tough. Another thing I loved about Kingdom Death is the minis. The minis are horrifying. The Screaming Antelope is disgusting with its belly opening into a huge mouth with massive teeth. The White Lion, while basic, is a menacing mini. There are multiple other creatures and bosses we didn’t have time to face, but my friend showed me those minis and they are detailed. I could see myself buying and painting Kingdom Death minis in the future even if I don’t play them.
I wasn’t sure what to expect from Kingdom Death as I went into the game not knowing much. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed our session. I can understand why the game is as popular as it is. I would be open to playing Kingdom Death again. If I do opt to go to Gen Con again next year, I will swing by Kingdom Death’s booth and maybe I will purchase a mini this time.
I have quickly been incorporating audiobooks into my routine. I listen to audiobooks the most while I’m at work and if the audiobook is interesting enough, I will listen to it while driving. I had With Love, From Cold World by Alicia Thompson on hold since August? I heard mixed opinions about her books, so I wasn’t sure how I would feel about this one. I was pleasantly surprised! With Love, From Cold World was so cute, and I plan on reading more of Alicia Thompson’s books in the future.
Before I get into the review, I just have to say, that it’s so odd when female audiobook narrators try to mimic male voices. The audiobook narrator especially during the intimate scenes was trying to lower her voice and it did not work. It was so CRINGE. Can we please have more male audiobook narrators out there? Please and thanks.
Lauren Fox works at Cold World, a winter-themed theme park in Florida. Lauren enjoys what she does, but she contemplated going back to school. Lauren has been bickering with her co-worker, Asa Williamson, as he constantly bothers her. Lauren and Asa are paired up to create a proposal to help generate more revenue for Cold World. Lauren and Asa’s partnership develops into something more as they spend more time together.
I liked both Lauren and Asa as characters. They both had interesting stories and perspectives that I think contributed to how they interacted with each other. In romance, I think it’s easy to have two characters, they hook up, break up, and then stay together in the end and that’s the whole book. In With Love, From Cold World, listening to Lauren and Asa as they talked about their pasts, I felt for them! They both had been through so much and I think they bonded over their hardships. At first, I wasn’t fully convinced they would be good together as I initially thought they were better off as friends. By the end of the book, these two were adorable together.
Besides the romance, I thought there were so many memorable moments. One scene that comes to mind is Lauren berating Asa’s parents for abandoning him. I listened to this while driving home from a friend’s house and was like “YES LAUREN”. We love seeing the female lead calling out Asa’s problematic parents. Besides this scene, I liked how the theme park served as the setting for the story. If this existed in Florida, I’d go to it, why not?
With Love, From Cold World was so cute. Besides the cringe audiobook narrator, this was a book I looked forward to listening to. To avoid any more cringy audiobook narrations, I’m going to read Alicia Thompson’s physical books in the future. I rated With Love, From Cold World four stars on Goodreads.
It’s been a bit since I last played a Nancy Drew PC game. This is the eleventh Nancy Drew game I played and I still am not halfway done with completing all of them. I was contemplating which game I wanted to play next and figured Midnight in Salem would be a good pick since it takes place in Salem, MA. Midnight in Salem is a departure from the previous Nancy Drew games, but I don’t think that’s bad.
Midnight in Salem begins with Nancy investigating a room in a castle. Her father, Carson Drew, asks Nancy to look for a book. When she finds it in a hidden compartment, a thief shows up to steal the book. While Nancy does her best to recover it, the thief gets away. Meanwhile, Nancy is called to Salem to help investigate a fire set on a historical building. Someone in the town is blamed for the crime, but Nancy is not convinced she did it. As usual, Nancy talks to the townsfolk, goes on a ghost-walking tour, and discovers the true culprit.
I mentioned how Midnight in Salem was a departure from the previous games. The controls in this game were noticeably different. To view an area, I had to hold down the right mouse and move it around to see an area versus the point-and-click motion from the previous games. At first, this was clunky and I did not like it. However, once I was used to it, it was fine. Another noticeable change was Nancy’s smartphone. Instead of logging her tasks in her journal, she has her phone which lists her task list. Most of the Nancy Drew games came out in the early 2000s, so I liked how this game made her character more modern. With the tasklist, I felt the tasklist was short and concise. In previous games, there would be eight or nine tasks to complete. This task list featured broad goals and it made the game way more straightforward than other games I played in the franchise.
When I played Midnight in Salem, it reminded me of Ghost of Thornton Hall because there were jump scares in both games. To be clear, I do not do well with jump scares or horror games, so while I may think this game has jump scares, some might disagree. I thought it made for the perfect game to play before Halloween.
With this being a more recent Nancy Drew game, I liked the inclusion of achievements. There are 23 achievements to unlock. Most of them are story related and there are a few that I didn’t unlock when I first played the game. I like the inclusion of achievements because it adds replay value to the game. If I want to play this game again, it gives me something new to unlock.
Midnight in Salem has some mixed reviews on Steam and I get it. This game is different than other Nancy Drew games. Once I got past the initial shock of this being a different game, I found myself enjoying this game a lot. I loved the setting, the mystery, and the history revealed throughout Nancy’s time in Salem. I’d put Midnight in Salem towards the top of my list of favorite Nancy Drew games I have played.
Before the pandemic, I used to go to these comic conventions called SpringCon and FallCon. Hosted at the Minnesota State Fair Grounds, they focused heavily on comics and featured local comic creators. I’m not exactly sure why, but this event went through a hiatus in which this convention didn’t happen. I’m not aware of the exact reason, I’m sure the pandemic had something to do with it. I’m happy to say the convention has returned and is trying to gain traction in the Minnesota convention scene. I tabled at FallCon with Twin Cities Geek and hope to see this convention back at the Fair Grounds.
FallCon is a different type of convention than other conventions I have been to. With the heavy focus on comics, this event doesn’t have gaming or a ton of panels. Instead, it’s like an indoor market where vendors are set up. Vendors range from local comic book stores to independent artists, and booths like Twin Cities Geek handing out free stuff. Since that’s the case, I would highly recommend bringing cash to spend. I like walking down the aisles and seeing what I find. I stop and flip through comics in bins or I listen as someone tells me about their comic and why they created it.
I wouldn’t say FallCon has a big cosplay scene, but that doesn’t stop me from cosplaying. I was mulling around what cosplay I wanted to wear and settled on Jessica Jones. I cosplayed as Jessica Jones at Twin Cities Con one year and it’s nice that I have everything in my closet to pull from. I wore a black body suit, faux leather jacket, black gloves, light blue jeans, and black combat boots. I like this cosplay because it’s subtle. For those who aren’t familiar with Jessica Jones, you would think I’m wearing my normal clothes. As I was leaving the convention, someone stopped to take my photo. I wasn’t expecting it as this is a pretty normal cosplay.
Part of the reason I love tabling at conventions is talking with people. All it takes is for someone to walk by our booth, make eye contact, and by me saying hello, they come over to talk to me. I tell them about Twin Cities Geek and what we do. It’s entertaining and it makes the day go by fast. With FallCon, there were fewer people there than I had anticipated there would be. Having fewer people attend means less money is spent on vendors who are paying for a table to be there. I wasn’t there on Saturday, so I hope Saturday was busier. It felt oddly desolate for a convention when in years past, there would be several groups of people walking up and down the aisles.
With that said, I was glad I made it to the convention. It reminds me why I love reading comics and why I am glad to be a part of this part of the geek community.
After watching Deadpool & Wolverine, I was reinspired to finishwatching X-Men The Animated Series on Disney+. I have been watching X-Men on and off for close to three years. I would watch a few episodes, then take a break, watch a few episodes, then take a break. I decided enough was enough and I devoted time to finish the series. I’m glad I did because I think the show still holds up all these years later. Instead of writing a traditional review, I wanted to share some of my favorite episodes from the show.
Night of the Sentinels Part 1 – Season #1 Episode 1
Night of the Sentinels is the first episode of the series. In this episode, the Sentinels attack and go after Jubilee. Jubilee is eventually recruited by the X-Men after the attack is thwarted. I picked this episode as a favorite because it starts the series with a bang. On top of that, Jubilee becomes a valued member of the X-Men. Jubilee develops a great friendship with Wolverine throughout the episodes. She brings youth and positive energy to the X-Men which I think they needed.
Repo Man – Season #2 Episode 5
Repo Man is the fifth episode of the second season and focuses on Wolverine. Wolverine goes to meet a woman from his past and is captured. Through flashbacks, we see Wolverine being injected with Adamantium which explains his increased healing factor. Wolverine is helped by several allies to escape the facility.
One of the many reasons that X-Men The Animated Series holds up is how great the show is at highlighting classic comic storylines. If someone is ever new to comics or to the X-Menin general, this show is a great way to introduce someone to the characters. Wolverine is often seen as the face of the X-Menand his story is tragic. He has powers, but because he can be healed so quickly, it makes him close to immortal. That’s a lot to grapple with and that’s what makes Wolverine’s story so interesting.
A Rogue’s Tale – Season #2 Episode 9
In A Rogue’s Tale, this episode focuses on Rogue and how she came to be. When Rogue gained power, her father was abusive. Rogue is forced to flee and struggles with her powers.
When X-Men 97 was released on Disney+, fans critiqued the series for making the X-Men “woke”. I can’t help but laugh. The X-Menhave always been political. Charles and Magneto represent two ideas of fighting for basic rights. Charles serves as the pacificist who doesn’t want to hurt humans even though some truly hate the existence of mutants. Magneto offers a hint of brutality and why should he protect humans when they hate him. It can’t get more political than that. The X-Men are all about fighting for equality.
With this episode, the look of Rogue’s father reminds me of Trump supporters. Rogue’s father is wearing a baseball cap with the American flag. He believes he’s a patriot because he loves his country, but can’t even learn to love his own daughter? I think this episode is one of the more tragic episodes in the series and it’s done so well.
No Mutant is an Island – Season #3 Episode 8
This episode is a Cyclops-focused episode where he confronts Killgrave! For those unaware of who Killgrave is, he’s a villain with mind-control capabilities. He was played wonderfully by David Tennant in Jessica Jones. I wasn’t expecting to see Killgrave in this series, so I thought this episode was a pleasant surprise.
Nightcrawler – Season #4 Episode 8
In Nightcrawler, this is what you would expect as Nightcrawler’s introduction in the series. While in Germany, Wolverine hears rumors of a demon in the area. When Wolverine confronts the demon, he realizes he’s also a mutant named Nightcrawler. Wolverine and the other X-Men protect Nightcrawler from the other townsfolk. This was another solid episode. I like how this series focuses on each member of the X-Men and how they get their episode to shine
Family Ties – Season #4 Episode 13
This episode centers around Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver discovering Magento is their father. Scarlet Witch is one of my favorite Marvel superheroes, so any episode that features her front and center will automatically be a favorite of mine.
Old Soldiers – Season #5 Episode 7
Old Soldiers is a flashback episode where Wolverine teams up with Captain America during World War II. During their mission, they encounter Red Skull, another classic supervillain in comics. This episode was unexpected, I did not think any of The Avengers would appear, so I had to add this episode to my list.
This post ended up being much longer than I anticipated! I consolidated my list and removed episodes I originally had. If you have been watching X-Men The Animated Series, let me know in the comments which episodes you liked the most.
CW: Suicide, Claustrophobia (will not be discussed in greater detail in this review).
I finished reading We Sold Our Souls by Grady Hendrix last week. I’m not sure what I just read. I don’t read horror often and I don’t mind weird books, but I still want to understand what’s happening. If I had to summarize We Sold Our Souls to someone, my summary would be all over the place which is how it felt reading this book. We Sold Our Souls was interesting, however, it’s my least favorite Grady Hendrix book I have read thus far.
Kris Pulaski is broke, working at Best Western, and unsatisfied with her life. In the 90s, she was a part of a moderately successful metal band called Dürt Würk. That is until Terry Hunt, the leader singer, threw the rest of the band members under the bus for a solo career. After a horrific event, Kris is led to believe that Terry could have sold their souls away for a successful career. After escaping a rehab center, Kris is out for revenge.
For a book that’s supposed to center on a deal with the devil, that’s not a central plot point to the story. Instead, there are references to “Black Iron Mountain” and this organization finding vulnerable people to make deals with. There’s a sleazy-looking lawyer who has connections to the devil, but I don’t know if he’s a demon in disguise or if he’s human. There are also these white creatures that feed on souls. If this all sounds odd, it’s because it is. Nothing felt fleshed out or explained and I’m left feeling lost.
We Sold Our Souls reminds me of Kill Bill if Kill Bill took place at a metal version of Woodstock. Kris is trying to explain how dangerous Terry is and no one from her former band believes her, so they lock her up in a rehab center. Kris breaks out and begins her revenge. I liked following Kris as she got closer to confronting Terry. I think it’s easy for the reader to root for her to succeed.
Without spoiling the book, the ending is left to be interpreted and I hate that. The pinnacle confrontation occurs on stage at this music festival and something big happens. Some of the fates of the characters are unknown and it feels unsatisfying. On top of that, there are also unanswered questions about the devil and how these deals are made. It was frustrating. I think We Sold Our Souls could have been a longer book if it could have expanded on some of these story points.
I struggled with how to rate We Sold Our Souls. It sounds like I hated the book. I wouldn’t say I hated the book, I think this could have been a much better book if things were expanded on. I rated We Sold Our Souls two stars on Goodreads.
As a side project, I have been reading and editing all my old posts. I have a long way to go until I’m finished, but it’s been interesting to see how much better my writing has gotten and what I choose to write about. I decided to formally create a cosplay category which has now been updated on BizarreBrunette! I am looking forward to writing more about cosplay in the future and writing about cosplay regularly. This doesn’t change much except all of my cosplay-related posts can be found under the cosplay category on the home page.
I have a few cosplay-related posts I plan on writing about soon, but for now, it will be nice to have all my cosplay content in one organized place.
While at my local comic book store, I picked up a few issues of Thunderbolts written by Collin Kelly and illustrated by Nico Leon and Jackson Lanzing. Before reading Thunderbolts, I didn’t know anything about this superhero group. Led by Bucky Barnes, Thunderbolts feels like a much tamer and more heroic version of Suicide Squad. There was a recent teaser trailer posted online for the Thunderbolts* movie set to release in 2025. I watched the trailer and was pleasantly surprised and excited about the film.
While the trailer is three and a half minutes long, it serves as a build-up to who is a part of the group. Yelena Belova (played by Florence Pugh) is shown knocking on Red Guardian’s (played by David Harbour) door. At first, he’s disinterested, but he decides to show up. From there, there’s a scene showing fan favorite, Bucky Barnes (played by Sebastian Stan) along with disgruntled John Walker (played by Wyatt Russell) who is uninterested in his mundane life. The group gets together and meets Bob (played by Lewis Pullman) who is trying to figure out why they’re there. The lights go out and a timer counts down with the group realizing they have been set up, but unclear as to who would want them gone.
I’m not sure how comic book-accurate this is, but I like the interconnections between the members of the Thunderbolts. Seeing Yelena and Red Guardian together again is fun, I like the banter they have together. l liked the Black Widow movie a lot and it seems like it’s been forgotten about in the Marvel universe, so having the Thunderbolts keep some of the characters around brings everything together. I love seeing Lewis Pullman in this who oddly enough plays another character named Bob. For those who are unfamiliar, Lewis Pullman was in Top Gun Maverick and his call sign was Bob. With both Bucky Barnes and John Walker appearing, this movie will link back to The Falcon and The Winter Soldier. I completely forgot about Ava Starr (played by Hannah John-Kamen) from Ant-Man and the Wasp. It will be interesting to see how these characters interact with each other.
Besides the cast, I don’t know anything else about this movie. Is Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s character the main villain; I’m not quite sure. After the first two and a half minutes of the trailer, it shows various action scenes between Yelena breaking into a government lab and Bob being shot at, there isn’t much else I know about this movie. With that said, I love action films, so I’m sure by seeing this movie in theaters, I will be entertained.
Re-watching the trailer, I think Thunderbolts is going for the Suicide Squad vibe, but it feels off. If I had to decide why, I don’t genuinely believe all of these characters are bad like I do with Suicide Squad. An exception could be made for John Walker. For Bucky, I see him as a victim. Yes, he’s a contract killer, but he also had his mind wiped. I don’t want to justify his actions necessarily, but I don’t see him as evil. Yelena could be put in a similar category. For Suicide Squad, these are comic book villains and I don’t see that with the Thunderbolts. It’s not like it makes me like this group any less, I wouldn’t think of these groups as one of the same.
I’m looking forward to this and I’m interested to see more trailers the closer it gets to the movie’s release. We have had a lull in superhero films which has been a nice break, but I’m curious to see what Marvel has planned in the future for their superheroes.
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