Another successful Star Wars-themed month. I accomplished most of what I wanted to and I think I finally learned what is realistic to achieve in a month. Going forward, I will set out to watch one Star Wars TV show (versus trying to watch multiple) and focus on one video game at a time. I think I overestimated how much time I would have and it quickly became apparent that I was too ambitious. I wanted to share my recap for last month.
Books and Comics
I read Star Wars Phasma by Delilah S. Dawson and my review was posted a few weeks ago. I loved this book and it brought more background to Phasma as a character. I tried to read Star Wars Leia Princess of Alderaan by Claudia Gray, but I couldn’t get into the book, so I ended up putting it down and reading something else. For comics, I read Mace Windu issues #1-#3. Next year will be exciting because I finally got through my Star Wars backlog, so I will have more freedom in picking what I want to read next. Most of my Star Wars-themed months have focused on canon Star Wars books, but I’d love to go back and read some of the Legends Library books. If anyone has any recommendations on where to start, I’d appreciate the suggestions in advance!
Movies and TV
I am so close to finishing Star Wars Rebels. I finished season #3 yesterday, so I only have one season left. I plan on writing a post about my final thoughts on the series once I complete it. On top of that, Star Wars Acolyte’s first episode is set to air this month, so I want to devote the time to watching that series.
For next year, I may want to do a rewatch of The Mandalorian since it’s been a while or I will finally watch Bad Batch. I’m slowly getting caught up on all the series.
Gaming
I finished Star Wars: Jedi Survivor and I’m glad I did. It may have taken me a while, but it was worth it. I won’t offer any spoilers as I already discussed those at length in my review. I did play some of Lego Star Wars, but I mostly played Jedi Survivor. I’m not sure what my plan will be for next year. If I haven’t played Star Wars Outlaws by next May, I will probably play through that game or I could do another play-through of Star Wars Battlefront II.
It was a productive month and I think I have ideas on what I want to devote my time to next year.
For my husband’s 30th birthday, he wanted to get a group of friends together to go Axe-Throwing. There’s an Axe-Throwing place near our house, so we all got together to throw axes. I have been Axe Throwing once before and I was terrible. I will not survive a Zombie Apocalypse. I surprised myself because I actually didn’t do too bad. I felt our instructor did a great job of explaining how to throw an axe. I’d argue this instructor was better than the one I had previously.
My husband completely kicked all of our asses. With every throw, his axe stuck on the board. I went head to head with one of our friends and I won! I still can’t believe it. My husband was considering joining an Axe-Throwing league. I’m not sure if he will, but he would be great at it.
This was such a fun night out with friends. As we all get older, it’s difficult for us to find the time to get together. I cherish these moments so that we can all spend quality time together.
It has taken me five months, but I finally sat down and finished Star Wars Jedi: Survivor. I would go through spurts where I would play for a few hours at a time and then I wouldn’t play the game for months. When May came around, I knew I wanted to sit down and devote the time to complete the story. I’m glad I made the time to finish Jedi: Survivor, but I can’t deny that there were many moments where this game frustrated me.
Jedi: Survivor takes place five years after Jedi: Fallen Order. Cal Kestis has distanced himself from Cere Junda, Greez Dritus, and Merrin. While stealing military data on Coruscant, Cal’s ship, The Mantis, is heavily damaged. Cal flies The Mantis to Koboh, so Greez can repair it. While locating ship parts, Cal has a vision of two High Republic Jedi, Dagan Gera, and Santari Khri, talking about a hidden planet called Tanalorr. Cal wakes Dagan from a Bacta tank and is horrified to find out that Dagan turned to the Dark Side. After Dagan escapes, Cal realizes Tanalorr would be the perfect place to hide from The Empire. Cal has to team up with his friends to stop Dagan once and for all.
Spoilers Ahead for Jedi: Survivor
One of my favorite parts about playing these games is the characters. Cal and his partnership with BD1 is so heartwarming. BD1 is the best buddy and keeps Cal company on his adventures. Merrin has a much bigger role in Jedi: Survivor which I enjoyed. Cere and Greez still have Cal’s back and reunite as the story continues. I liked the addition of Bode to Cal’s crew. Bode’s voice sounded familiar to me and it turns out that Bode was voiced by Noshir Dalal who recently appeared on Critical Role’s Candela Obscura. I loved Noshir on Candela Obscura, so it was a nice surprise to see him pop up in this game. I mentioned this in my Jedi: Fallen Order review, but I genuinely believe that these games provide essential lore for Star Wars.
In Jedi: Survivor, Cal unlocks new abilities. I like how this game prompts Cal into diving into the Dark Side of The Force. When Cal goes after Bode, Cal unlocks his Dark Side ability which replaced his previous ability. I’m curious to see how this will impact Cal in future games. Will Cal turn to the Dark Side permanently? or will Cal see The Light. Personally, I hope Cal remains a Jedi. Besides Cal’s new ability, there are several new Lightsaber stances to learn. One includes a more heavy melee attack while another stance allows Cal to carry a blaster. I leaned towards the blaster stance as I felt it was useful against the Stormtroopers and Battle Droids.
With the story, I liked the inclusion of The High Republic era of Star Wars. I think there’s so much potential to tell powerful stories before the prequels. Can we talk about Cere’s journey throughout this game? When their base is attacked, Cere confronts Darth Vader. Unfortunately, Darth Vader gets the upper hand and stabs Cere. Cal arrives too late when he senses Cere’s echo and holds her as she dies. This scene was heartbreaking, but so fitting to her character. I liked how Cal didn’t see what happened, but could sense it which plays into Cal’s powers as a Jedi.
Another interesting element of Jedi: Survivor is Bode’s story. Towards the latter half of the game, Bode betrays the group and takes the compass believing Tanalorr can protect his daughter. Once Cal chases Bode, Bode pulls out his red lightsaber indicating his previous history as a Jedi. What a moment! Bode’s character is so interesting to me because it reveals how morally gray the galaxy is when The Empire took over. Bode’s intentions are good because he wants to protect his daughter from the Inquisitors. However, he partners with The Empire because he doesn’t see a way out. I feel for Bode and while I’d say he’s a villain, I think he was shaped by his experiences and he couldn’t sacrifice everything to keep a rebellion alive.
While I enjoyed Jedi: Survivor, I wanted to share a few grievances I had with the game. The first would be the navigation. It feels like Jedi: Survivor made no improvements to the map. For each mission, Cal has a waypoint several meters away. Unfortunately, the area between Cal’s current location and the waypoint is black, so there really isn’t a great way to figure out where you’re going. I still had to use walkthroughs to ensure I was heading in the right direction. I wish these games had a navigational feature where there would be a yellow line or arrow on the ground guiding Cal to the next spot. This feature could be turned on or off in the main menu for those gamers who want to figure it out for themselves. This would have saved me so much time. While there was a fast travel option, I don’t think it addresses the issues I have with the maps.
Jedi: Survivor is as difficult or more difficult than Jedi: Fallen Order. While some of the boss fights seem more balanced, I found the save points were way more spread out. There were several times when I would face a group of enemies, be low on health, and end up dying because I didn’t make the wall run to the next area. This was so aggravating. While this didn’t ruin the game for me, it became a major reason why it took me so long to finish the game.
Jedi: Survivor is a solid sequel to Jedi: Fallen Order. I feel these games appeal to a certain type of gamer and that’s not me. I don’t have the time to grind through a difficult game. Going forward, I will probably play these games on the Story Mode difficulty because honestly, that’s why I’m playing these games to begin with. I want to dive into the story without feeling like I’m getting a ruthless game experience. I’m looking forward to the third game in the series and to the release of Star Wars Outlaws which is set to come out later this year.
I visited Tropes & Trifles for the first time during Independent Bookstore Day in April. This shop was packed! I’m glad to see so many people turn out and support local businesses. I didn’t end up buying anything because I like to take my time and shop. I knew I wanted to visit Tropes & Trifles again during a quieter time. I took a few of my girlfriends to Tropes and Trifles for a girl’s day and I definitely want to stop in again soon.
For the most part, Tropes and Trifles is a Romance book store. There is one shelf with books from other genres, but the rest of the shelves are organized based on sub-genre. There’s a Paranormal section along with a section for Dark and Historical Romance. I like how this was organized because I could gravitate to sections I was the most interested in. Some of the books had rainbow hearts on them meaning they featured LGBTQIA+ couple or representation. This was lovely!
Tropes & Trifles was such a cute shop! The furniture, the aesthetic, it all fit perfectly together. As I mentioned, all of the shelves were labeled and there was a section with recommendations from the employees at the shop. I like this because it brings my attention to books I may not have known about earlier. The shop was spacious and I felt I could meander around without bumping into anyone.
I purchased three books, a sticker, and a coffee mug by the end of my visit. I joined their frequent readers program, so for every $100 I spend, I get $5 in store credit. For someone like me, this will add up quickly much to my husband’s chagrin. I can absolutely see myself reading more Romance and Smut going forward.
I have found myself playing in more one-shot Dungeons and Dragons sessions in between our main campaign on Mondays. One-shots are such a great option for testing out character classes to see how each class plays in combat or a roleplaying scenario. I thought it would be fun to make a checklist of all the classes I played in a long-term campaign, classes I played in a one-shot, and classes I haven’t had the chance to play yet.
Classes I Played in a Campaign
Blood Hunter
Sorcerer
Paladin
For this portion of this list, I count any classes I played as for five sessions or more. I played a Blood Hunter in Curse of Strahd, I’m playing a Sorcerer now, and I played a Paladin when I used to play in Adventurer’s League at a local game store. It’s difficult to choose a favorite class. I am loving Sorcerer right now and it would not surprise me if I ended up playing a Sorcerer again in the future. Paladins are another great class. They can be so versatile with being able to heal, be in melee combat and have the ability to Smite which allows for extra damage to be dealt. It’s been fun to play as all three of these classes in various campaigns.
Classes I Played in a One-Shot
Barbarian
Bard
Cleric
Fighter
Ranger
Rogue
Warlock
Out of this list, I think I had the most fun playing as the Cleric, Ranger, and Warlock. For the Cleric, I made a Death Domain Cleric and named her Freya. I took Banishment as a spell and tried to use it as often as I could. I like Rangers as a class, but I like when they can be homebrewed into something else. Warlocks and Blood Hunters are similar in a lot of ways, so it isn’t surprising to me that I’m drawn to Warlocks as a class.
I would want to give Barbarian another chance. My Barbarian ended up getting decapitated in the one-shot and I wasn’t rolling well, so it was a bummer. Fighters and Rogues are two awesome classes especially if you’re looking for a combat heavy class. Bards are so good. I have had a Bard in every long-term campaign and they are very powerful.
Classes I Have Never Played…. Yet.
Artificer
Druid
Monk
Wizard
Out of this list, I’d want to prioritize both Druid and Wizard. Druids are clutch. The fact that Druids can change out their spell list is so vital for a story. Wizards are also incredibly powerful, but they can be squishy meaning they can be hit easily and may need to be healed often. After playing a Sorcerer, I may want a break and play a class with a bit more durability.
Playing at Bad Wolf Adventure Studios has provided me with a lot more roleplaying experience in a short period of time. I’m curious to see what types of classes and characters I will play as or create in the future.
Critical Role dropped some major news to fans as they launched their own streaming service. Beacon will be Critical Role’s streaming service where fans can subscribe to unlock exclusive content and discounts on future merchandise. When I found out about Beacon, I activated my free trial. I wanted to share my initial thoughts about Beacon and whether the cost is worth it.
Before Beacon‘s launch, I was watching Critical Role on YouTube since I didn’t have Twitch. While watching on YouTube works, there is a delay between when Critical Role streams their episodes and when the episodes are available to watch on YouTube. Their main campaign streams on Thursdays late at night and I don’t have the bandwidth to stay up till midnight to watch the full episode as it airs. Additionally, YouTube has ads every thirty minutes which lengthens the time it takes to watch an episode of Critical Role. With Beacon, I can watch each episode with no ads and the episodes will be available immediately. For me, this has made watching Critical Role so much easier.
With Beacon, Critical Role created its own Discord server for fans to connect. The Discord alone is worth the monthly cost of Beacon. When I signed up for the trial, there were about 6,000 members, now it’s up to almost 12,500 people in Discord. I have talked to several other fans about other TTRPG systems, cosplay, and other geeky interests that expand beyond Critical Role. It’s been a great way to connect with the fandom and chat with others with similar interests.
While I do like Beacon, I do want to be up front about some bugs I experienced recently. The first is Beacon didn’t keep track of where I left off on an episode. Since Critical Role‘s episodes are hours long, it’s annoying to have to remember what time stamp I left off on. I will say that this has been fixed on my end and is no longer an issue for me. Another thing I noticed was how there isn’t a progress bar on each episode. For example, when I log into Disney+, there’s a purple bar below the episode showing me that I finished watching the episode. To my knowledge, I’m not seeing this within Beacon. As a completionist, I like being able to see progress in what I’m watching. I hope that this is fixed in the future.
The big question is whether Beacon is worth the cost. I think it boils down to how big of a Critical Role fan you are. I think Beacon is worth it because it gives me access to all of Critical Role’s content including Candela Obscura. If you’re a casual Critcal Role fan or the idea of adding a streaming service is cumbersome, I don’t think you would be missing out by skipping Beacon. I am happy for Critical Role as I think this is a big step for them and I’m excited to be included as a fan.
I can’t believe Free Comic Book Day was almost two weeks ago. May is going by so fast! Free Comic Book Day was on the same day as Star Wars Day / May the Fourth Be With You. For Free Comic Book Day, I went to two comic book stores. I didn’t take pictures, so this will probably be a shorter post than usual.
The first comic book store I went to was Mind’s Eye Comics. Mind’s Eye Comics recently moved and is now located in the Burnsville Mall. Their new location just opened, so they were still doing a lot of setup. This location is bigger than their previous location which is nice because more space means selling more comics. When I entered the store, I noticed a rack with jean jackets. The jean jackets had been refurbished with comic art on the back. I was smitten! I will be back to purchase one because they look cool. I ended up buying one graphic novel and many single-issue comics.
The second comic book store I went to was Issues Needed Comics in Apple Valley. Issues Needed Comics is another favorite comic book store that I go to. They have a good selection of single-issue comics especially from indie creators. I always find something interesting whenever I visit and this time was no exception. I purchased even more single-issue comics.
Thanks to Free Comic Book Day, I have a nice stack of comics on my nightstand that I’m slowly getting through. It was a solid day and it reminded me that I need to go to my local comic book store on a regular cadence.
I will never get tired of saying this; Captain Phasma as a character deserved better. When Phasma was introduced, I immediately gravitated toward her as a character. Her appearance is next level with the chromatic armor that she wears. The fact that she has such a strong presence in Finn’s backstory and could tell that his programming was wearing off shows how intuitive Phasma was. Captain Phasma should have lived into Rise of Skywalker, so Finn could have an epic showdown with Phasma, but I digress. When I heard about the Phasma novelization, I knew I wanted to read it eventually. The Star Wars novelizations have been a hit or a miss for me, but I’m happy to say that Star Wars Phasma was a hit.
Captain Phasma is a ruthless and formidable opponent. She uses her expertise to train Stormtroopers to fight for The First Order. Vi Moradi, a Resistance Spy, is sent to Phasma’s home world of Parnassos to gather useful intel about her. While heading to the rebel base, she’s captured by The First Order. She’s interrogated by Cardinal, a high-level guard who wants to take Phasma down as he sees her as competition. Vi relays everything she learned about Phasma to Cardinal in the hopes of buying her freedom and helping Cardinal eliminate Phasma.
If The Mummy and Mad Max were combined into a Star Wars story, that’s what I felt Phasma was. I think this book gives Phasma an extra edge that I don’t think the movies really did justice. Phasma is a warrior and was seen as a leader by her tribe on Parnassos. She leads a group of people to Brendol Hux’s crashed ship and the group has to fight their way off Parnassos to live a better life. An interesting scene involving a fighting arena shows Phasma’s capability of being a brutal leader. In Star Wars novelizations like this, it’s easy for the side characters to be forgettable. This book created characters that all served a purpose in the group. There was Siv who’s a warrior, but also the healer. Torben is the brute, and Gosta is the younger woman who doesn’t have Phasma’s edge but is still not someone to mess with. Brendol Hux was irritating and fit every stereotype about First Order officers. The Stormtroopers even had personalities and were given names by Phasma’s group. It was easy to keep everyone straight and care for everyone in the group.
The reason I read the Star Wars novelizations is to become more enriched with Star Wars as a franchise. I felt Phasma as a book had essential backstories for some of the characters in the sequels. I can’t reveal much without spoiling the book, but now that I have read Phasma, I feel like I could rewatch the sequels in a new light knowing what I know from this book.
I wasn’t sure what to expect with Phasma, but I enjoyed this book. This might be one of my favorite Star Wars novelizations that’s been published since Disney bought Star Wars. I was waffling between rating Phasma four or five stars. The only thing I’d add is this book was a little slow at times, however, once I dedicated time to read multiple sections at once, I ended up reading 250 pages in one sitting. For now, I’m rating this four stars, but I could see myself changing this rating in the future.
As part of my May 4th plan, I mentioned how I wanted to finish watching Star Wars Rebels. I’m halfway through the show as I finished season #2 last weekend. I love Rebels and have quickly grown attached to the characters, Lothal, and seeing them succeed against the Empire. Chopper is one of my favorite droids in Star Wars. I wanted to share a few of my favorite moments from the series thus far. There will be slight spoilers for both season #1 and season #2 of Rebels.
Let’s start with Chopper because why not? Chopper is murderous, chaotic, and sassy. While most droids I would argue are Lawful Good, I’d rate Chopper Neutral Good or Chaotic Good. Chopper has killed people and will defend his friends. I think Chopper serves as a good contrast and adds something different to the other droids in Star Wars. In the episode The Forgotten Droid, Chopper is separated from the rest of the group after seeing a replacement for one of his legs. He ends up being sequestered on a ship where he meets AP-5. AP-5 originally wanted to turn Chopper into the Empire, but they became friends. At the end of the episode, AP-5 is injured by an Imperial officer leading to a touching moment between AP-5 and Chopper. Don’t mind me getting emotional in a children’s Star Wars series. This episode was great to watch because it shows how Chopper can survive on his own and how he has empathy for others.
While I spent a whole paragraph talking about Chopper, I think the other characters are interesting. There’s Kanan, a former Jedi whose master was killed in Order 66. Hera, a fighter pilot from Ryloth, joined the Rebellion which caused tension with her father who was focused on freeing Ryloth. Sabine Wren, a former Mandalorian who always seems to have more than enough explosives on her person. Zeb, a Lasat guard who was recruited by the rebellion. Finally, there’s Ezra, who joins the team in the pilot episode as he tries to steal from them while on Lothal. All the characters have their moments to shine in the various episodes.
The last thing I wanted to touch on was Ahsoka’s appearance in the show. I knew Ahsoka was in Rebels, but I didn’t realize how big of a role she would play. I finished watching the episode where Ahsoka realizes Vader is Anakin. How heartbreaking! Ahsoka was going to find out one way or another, but it doesn’t make the moment any less devastating. In the last two episodes of season #2 when Ahsoka, Kanan, and Ezra are looking for the Sith Holocron, I think those two episodes were arguably the best episodes of the series to date. The fact that Maul reappears, uses Ezra, and blinds Kanan, wtf!!! I can’t believe none of that was spoiled for me and I’m glad it wasn’t. It still came as a shock. Ahsoka and Maul have such a fascinating dynamic and I didn’t realize they would be reunited on the show.
Star Wars Rebels has been fun to watch and I’m intrigued as to how the rest of the series will progress and add to Star Wars lore.
Random stops are among the best parts of going on a road trip. I don’t know about you, but I can’t drive thirteen hours without getting out of the car besides stopping for gas. For my last ABQ post, I wanted to highlight all the road trip stops on this trip.
Denver
To start off, there was no way that I would be able to drive from Minneapolis to ABQ in one day. That’s why I added Denver as a stopping point. From Minneapolis to Denver, it’s about a thirteen-hour drive. The drive itself is easy, but long. At this point in my life, I am done driving through Nebraska. I have done it four times now and I think enough is enough. Nebraska is such a long state and there isn’t a shortcut. I will say that I could have driven into South Dakota and cut south into Nebraska, but because that’s not a direct route, that also would have felt long. In the future, if I want to revisit Colorado, I will be flying.
Taos, New Mexico
If there was one recommendation I received from friends and family, it was to visit Taos. Taos is a city in the North / Central region of New Mexico known for its architecture and art. One of the most surprising things for me was the drive to Taos. After pulling off the interstate, I imagined the drive would be freeways. I couldn’t have been more wrong. We drove on narrow roads with rock formations and dark green forests on our left. There were several streams where a few people pulled off to fish. If that wasn’t enough, I saw a little brown dot on the side of the road and it was a groundhog. It was something out of a cartoon because the groundhog was on its two feet with its front feet pressed together. There were so many groundhogs! We could see them scurrying on the side of the road.
Upon arriving in Taos, Taos was a cute town. The main strip is where all the shops, restaurants, and art galleries are located. We arrived on Sunday, so unfortunately the restaurants and shops were closed. I recommend visiting Taos later in the week or the weekend to get the most out of the city.
Buc-ees
Buc-ee’s is the best gas station I have ever been to and there was a Buc-ee’s on our way home! For those who don’t know Buc-ee’s, visiting a Buc-ee’s is an experience. Buc-ee’s is a chain of gas stations mostly in Texas, although they have locations in other Southern states. I first went to a Buc-ee’s two years ago when me and my husband went to West Virginia, South Carolina, and Savannah. One of the funniest things about Buc-ee’s is their advertising. There will be billboards that say “242 miles to Buc-ee’s” as a reminder to not forget to stop at Buc-ee’s. While driving north through Colorado, I saw a Buc-ee’s billboard. I was so excited, that I had my mom look up where the Buc-ee’s was to see if it was on our way. Sure enough, it was outside of Fort Collins which we would be driving through anyway.
My mom at this point was along for the ride. She has heard me talk about Buc-ee’s but has never been to one herself. Buc-ee’s are a gas station times one hundred. There are at least 50+ gas pumps and each Buc-ee’s is huge! There’s a walking Buc-ee’s beaver mascot to take pictures with, people are making prepared food to purchase and there’s a full clothing store. I could have bought a Buc-ee’s bikini with the beaver logo on the top.
My mom was enamored! I’m telling you, it is worth it to stop at Buc-ee’s. It’s so beyond a regular gas station that it’s more of a running joke now. I took a picture of the outside of Buc-ee’s and sent it to my husband who was jealous that we found a Buc-ee’s on our trip. My mom has now been converted into a Buc-ee’s fan.
This was such a fun find and honestly, a highlight of the day considering that the whole day was spent driving to our final location on the trip.
Cheyenne
The final stop on our trip was Cheyenne, Wyoming. Wyoming is a state I had never been to before, so I wanted to cross it off the list. Cheyenne is the capital of Wyoming and it’s the most populated city in the state. When I was looking at pictures online, Cheyenne had a few art murals and cowboy boots spread out throughout the city. I knew I wanted to go on a scavenger hunt to find all the art murals. While the weather could have been nicer, I still had fun running around and taking pictures. To end our trip, me and my mom went to Black Tooth Brewing Co. to have a few beers and listen to live country music.
Reflecting on this trip, we accomplished a lot in a small amount of time. As far as future trips, I think my next trip will be Gen Con in August. Me and my husband have been mulling around the idea of flying to Seattle or Portland for our third wedding anniversary. I’m looking forward to having three full months of downtime where I can catch up on my hobbies, make time for friends and family, and enjoy the warmer weather.
Bizarre Brunette 