ALL THE WORLD’S A STAGE

Well, it has been awhile. My posts were intended to tell my readers the places I have visited and the games I played, the conventions I visited and so on….but what a world and look what it has become from one virus that brought us to our knees! I don’t know about you but things have definitely changed for me and when THIS is all over, it’s not really going to go back to normal, is it?

I’ve made so many online friends that I can’t possibly forget them once areas open up and I go back to volunteering at conventions and helping to run events at my favourite gaming store. I’ve got too many social connections I’ve made; people who have kept me sane during all of this and games that have kept me going and entertained while everything is shut down.

I’ve started so many online personalities from games that are thriving! Let’s take Lieutenant Tarah Pate, female Bajoran, works on the USS Stargazer as a medical officer who just recently got promoted to Lieutenant Commander. She wasn’t ready for the role, not in the slightest. She was perfectly happy being just a lieutenant and coming in contact with new species. What threw her into it? A battle between the Stargazer and the Dominion that killed a few of her crewmates, especially the Chief Medical Officer. The Captain found it necessary to throw her into the role instead and here it was. Tarah still struggles in the part, trying to get those that follow her to listen.

Then there is Ms. Kalani Phoenix, female human, teacher of the music class at a reputable college. Everything was normal with her; an alcoholic ex-husband who she was driving to AA on a regular basis and a class of young adults trying to find their way within the music industry. Until, two students in her class started to look different, act different but not in the way that it seems. Strange things started to make things known to her and a student in the college was in trouble and somehow, someway, she was able to pull Dara from the clutches of her captors and bring her to safety. How? She had become a Hunter in the World of Darkness and she didn’t understand nor did she know what to do with her world suddenly turning upside down.

Talk about school! Vea Buchannan, is a female human student studying to be a security officer in the Operations Division at the Starfleet Academy. She found out she was half-vulcan when she hit puberty, something her mother neglected to tell her, so she found it necessary to distance herself and focus on something else that mattered. She wanted to make a difference and becoming something more at the Academy was what she thought was best. With holo deck simulations and a heavy course load, she tries to thrive among the other students who also want to be their best.

In another era of Starfleet, in the original series, Lieutenant Aiida Nevens, communications officer, works on the USS Lexington. After growing up on the Starbase, with her mother working there and her father a part of Starfleet, it was only expected that she join the Academy and make her way up the ranks until she got a position on a starship. With many languages under her belt and the opportunity to use her expertise with other cultures, she joins the rest of the crew in unknown adventures.

Now space isn’t just for Starfleet. In the world of Traveller, Garin Tait, a young female human who travels in space with her crewmates working as a courier for a businessman. Dealing in the retrieving and selling of cargo, she tries to make her money until she decides that a life in space is no longer for her. As a medic with a few other skills, she keeps her eyes on the boys, making sure they don’t contaminate the ship with their need to explore other worlds.

Last but not least, we’ve got Trinity Cross, female human makeup artist working her way part-time as a waitress until she gets her hands on a good gig. She loves to party and experience whatever she can. She doesn’t like to stay in the same job, which is why contract work is most desirable for her. She was also somewhat of a flirt, going out on dates she found on her Minglr dating app. Until she met Corbin, a young attractive man with an eccentric personality. Somehow this guy captured her attention in a way she would have never realized. The fact that he spends his time travelling only a night and he finds a way to always be in her head, well in the World of Darkness when monsters really walk among us, you never know what is going to happen.

For a few hours a week, I enjoy playing other characters, in this crazy world we live in. I hope you are distracting yourself from this madness by delving into the other worlds before you. If not, you should try it sometime. There’s got to be something out there that you enjoy.

Jenn Andrew; Blogger, Reviewer and Gamer

Book Review: The Last Wish

I never played The Witcher game since I don’t have a PS4 in my gaming collection, but I did get the opportunity to watch the series on Netflix. I came across it one night when I was looking for something fantasy to watch and it was amazing. Once I found out that the actor Henry Cavill played the game and read the books, I was interested in reading the books as well. I don’t usually read a book that a movie or tv series is based on but lately I have wanted to see what the differences are.

When I started reading The Last Wish, I thought it was going to be a difficult literary piece since the series seemed to jump from one timeline to the next but the book was very refreshing. It was a good read and it delved deeper into the personalities of the characters and that’s what I like. When a book is made into a series, sometimes you lose sight of who the character is but Geralt came across as a man who seems to be alone in the world. Being a witcher is a lonely job and sometimes an ungrateful one, as people see him as a killer who isn’t needed anymore but he still travels around looking for work. If he is too good at ridding the world of monsters, he will be left without a job. I intend on reading the series as I think it’s worth it.

Jenn Andrew; Blogger, Gamer and Reviewer

STAR TREK ADVENTURES: STARFLEET ACADEMY

One of the characters I play in my bi-weekly Star Trek Adventures game is a young cadet named Vea Buchanan. In her second year, she is studying in the Operations Division at Starfleet Academy training to be a Security Officer with a focus on tactical and combat. This character is interesting to me because she was never interested in Starfleet at all until her mother confessed to her, when she was 14 and going through adolescence, that her father was a Vulcan. No one in particular but a Vulcan just the same. Thinking she was full human all her life and her mother putting stories in her head that her father was a deadbeat and took off, when she was the one who ran away. Vea’s mother had quickly moved to Mars from Earth when she found out she was pregnant, out of wedlock, no less. She was sure that would have outraged any Vulcan family, but something this important should have been shared with her daughter – the only family she had left. Vea could only speculate – was the Vulcan a curiosity during a casual relationship until it got too serious? If she had never started forming cuspidated ears and lack of empathy throughout her younger years, would her mother had even mentioned anything at all? Vea always had a love for the universe and what better way to explore it than in the Federation. Feeling the need to get away from her mother for what she believed was her betrayal, Starfleet provided a way out and a way to discover; she just had to get through the rigorous program once she chose her major.

She had an agricultural upbringing. Her mother left their homeland of Earth to colonize on Mars where Vea was born. Growing up with a single mother, she was told to look after their plot of land and animals at a very young age. When requested to look after the younger children, she never saw it as babysitting but more like protecting the weak. Bullies to Vea were also weak minded and could only be dealt one way, opting to use her strength which developed from puberty, to beat them down instead. One person tried to convince her of other ways of defence, and that was a good friend Shamara Durant. When she died defending the farm from an interstellar attack six months before her application was accepted into the academy program, whatever emotions she learned from her dear friend were buried from the loss and she had to be given the opportunity to fight back.

Standing 5’9” tall, 180lbs, she was muscular for her early twenties and always sought to be physically fit. Having to work in the fields demanded her physique to be healthy and strong. Her first year at Starfleet consisted of all the mandatory courses, with her interest leaning towards Security, Engineering and Science but her choice focused in the Operations Division within Security. She kept mainly to herself, deciding to concentrate on her studies and personal athletic and strength performance.

Vea didn’t care about her family origins until her second year, after the holodeck simulations, where her teammates went on about Vulcan abilities that left her annoyed and thinking about her heritage. Out of frustration, Vea felt the need to understand her Vulcan side and sought counsel.

Vea is in her second year at the Starfleet Academy at the San Francisco campus as a young officer cadet. After learning all she could about hand to hand combat, she wanted to advance her melee skill and requested to be transferred to a Martial Arts class run by a Vulcan instructor. Vea tries to keep to herself and concentrates on her studies, from time to time taking a moment to visit the main lounge to converse with her colleagues. Most of the time she is ready for failures and unpredictability, and is working towards being the best at her craft. Unfortunately, she finds herself getting heated when it comes to battle – be it hand to hand or phaser weapons.  During her studies, she is studying the following: Major: Security Systems and Ship Lockdown Procedures; Minor: Shipboard Tactical Systems and Interrogation; Weapon Skill: Hand to Hand combat switched to Martial Arts in second year & Phaser Mechanics and what she deems is her personal interest is the galaxy and all that it holds.  Interests such as music, cooking or reading fairy tales was just a distraction to my character.  She would rather concentrate on what was real around her, something she could fathom and understand. 

Since my late twenties, I have found comfort in playing tabletop/online gaming where you can become other characters and see where your imagination takes you.  It was very helpful during these times and is always a form of entertainment.

 

Jenn Andrew
Blogger, Reviewer and Gamer
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Abaddon’s Gate – #3 of The Expanse

I enjoyed watching The Expanse, which now continues on Amazon Prime.  It was because of that show that I decided to subscribe to Prime and kept it on because there are several good shows to watch.  Especially with the Covid-19 Pandemic, you are stuck in the house longer than you ever imagined – whether you’re working or have been laid off.

In any case, I decided to read the series since many are stating that the books are just as good. Written by two authors – the joint pen name of authors Daniel Abraham and Ty Franck. When I read each book, I think back to the similarities and their are only minor differences from the books and the show.  In the third book, Abaddon’s Gate, a ring has formed that sends many curious factions to investigate – Belters, Martians and Earthers, as well as the religious factions.  James Holden is at the forefront and with the help of the manifestation of Miller, he tries to talk everyone down from killing themselves so they can save the universe.  

The alien lifeform that created the ring feels threatened and if the other ships don’t power down, they seem like a threat.  Well, like anything else that is threatened, it’s going to lash out.  In this case, it means the destruction of everything – inside and outside of the ring.  Ashford doesn’t believe that and he was willing to take the chance of destroying the ring before it had a chance to destroy them all.

To me, the biggest difference in the books from the series is the inclusion of Bobbie Draper.  When Holden touches the core, “his consciousness ascends and he learns about the creators, who were a galaxy-spanning hive consciousness.  He realizes the creators were sending fire through the Rings and blowing up entire star systems to try and quarantine something from coming through. The station has been waiting two billion years for the all-clear to re-open the wormhole network. Miller says the station is in “war mode.”” When the Martians show up in the series, Bobbie is there with them to take Holden away, when Martians show up to try to take down the broadcast on the Behemoth, Bobbie is there as one of the gunners.  I like Bobbie in the books and I’m glad they wrote her character in more of the episodes in the series.

For the love of science fiction and reading, The Expanse series is a must read as it is creative, exciting, intelligent plot, diverse characters and factions to explore and filled with mystery, drama and in-depth character development.

 

Jenn Andrew
Blogger, Reviewer and Gamer
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LARA CROFT SERIES

I love the idea of a strong female adventure character that doesn’t take crap from anyone. Women can be just as dramatic and capable as any man in the movies.  Angelina Jolie held the title and was the best Lara Croft I saw and then came Alicia Vikander, when Angelina turned down the role for more movies of that character.

Do you remember the comic book mini series Lara Croft and the Frozen Omen from Dark Horse Comics, written by Corinna Bechko and published by Mike Richardson?  It had five comic books in total to finish off the story.  A dangerous tale involving Ms. Croft and her search for obscure artefacts, in this case ancient ivory that holds the key to both salvation and destruction.

Lara Croft and Carter Bell have to stop a group of cultists from causing world-wide cataclysmic devastation.  It’s always the end of the world with her, isn’t it?  Lara has to run from possessed people that want to do her harm, in hopes of finding answers she needs.  It’s challenging but she always endures.

Whether the main hero or protagonist is a male or a female, I love a good story.  It is great to see a female lead, especially given our history of male action heroes or anti-heroes.  A duo of both genders works just as well for me, with each one giving their best talents to drive the story.

 

Jenn Andrew
Blogger, Reviewer and Gamer
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ROLL20 – A PLACE FOR RPG GAME PLAY!

Since Covid-19, I have had to work from home with reduced hours and therefore had to fill my days with something to do.  At the time, my in store gaming was at a halt because everything shutdown, until now that things are coming back within specific phases.

Roll20 has kept me sane and introduced me to so many more characters, outside of the traditional Dungeons and Dragons.  I have found myself discovering much more than I expected. From science fiction role-play games to other types of fantasy and horror, I have delved into character creation and found parts of myself that enjoyed immersing in different identities.

I’ve played one shots, a few bi-weekly games and popped in and out of others as an NPC.  The ones I have cherished and continue to play, are the ones that keep me entertained throughout the weeks and months until I get back to the reality of when it all goes back to some normalcy.

World of Darkness– a horror type game of monsters that roam around in our world and some of us can see them. My character just started to gain the ability to see things that were hidden before.  Ms. Kalani Phoenix, a college music teacher who also runs the music club after school, starts to see people for who they really are.  She has to determine what to do with her unexpected powers and try to figure out where they came from.  Her life has changed forever.

Star Trek Adventures – I have the luxury of playing in two types of games: Star Trek Academy and The Stargazer.  As Vea Buchanan, a half human, half vulcan female cadet in Star Trek Academy, she is learning to become a Security Officer.  During the trials and tribulations of blossoming from a young student into hopefully what becomes of an official, trained officer in the Operations Division in Security. With not too many friends, Vea is trying to work towards her accomplishments.

In The Stargazer, I play a female Bajoran Medical Officer, Tarah Pate, in charge of the Cybernetics Division who is going to get the chance to study the Borg and all its components.  She is very excited to be given this opportunity, especially when it’s her second assignment in Starfleet.

Traveller is a sci-fi game unlike Star Trek.  It is geared more towards the feel of Firefly where most of the characters are from the military or merchant class and geared toward obtaining and selling cargo.  I have the opportunity to play with seasoned game masters who alternate between Classic Traveller and Homebrew, but each has its own flare to the game.  My character Pandora was the first I played, who was of high standing and found herself on a merchant ship called the Skumbucket.  I get to play a few different characters but they all find me buying and selling cargo to the highest taker.  You can listen to one of the instalments on this youtube channel:     

https://youtu.be/xvCgniFdD70

Palladium Games – Heroes Unlimited is a game where mutants can either be on the right side of the law or the wrong side.  I play a female human doctor, Dr. Briar Swift, turned bounty hunter after her brother’s murder. In hopes of finding his killer, she searches the dregs of humanity for clues.  She uses her medical skills to help people and her talent to hurt those who harm others.  She has mutant powers that she keeps hidden as much as she can but help her greatly when she is a bounty hunter going by the name of Wrayth.  As she comes closer to the answers she needs to find the killer, she makes acquaintances with some questionable mutants along the way. 

I am having a great time trying to fill my days during our times of social distancing and keeping safe.  It’s websites like Roll20 that help us stay entertained until we get back to our normal lives.  https://roll20.net/

You should give it a try and play a one shot game that lasts a couple of days or join in a game that may last a lifetime where you end up with a new set of online friends.

Jenn Andrew
Blogger, Reviewer and Gamer
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1361969-jenn-andrew
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The Kwon Conspiracy during COVID-19

The Corona Virus (COVID-19) hit us pretty hard and we didn’t see this coming.  Businesses closing, conventions being postponed or cancelled, the few requested to work from home, social distancing becoming the new normal, self-isolation is the new condition, medical personnel in the line of fire and the death toll seeming to rise each day from city to city, country to country.  Everyone has something to say about COVID-19, the virus of 2020, so let’s take this out of the newsroom and into a personal approach.

As a community, we’re hitting Twitter, Facebook and Instagram and through social media, we’re keeping ourselves involved, active and sane.  People sharing their lives in lock-down, keeping us close, providing words of encouragement and hope that this will all be over soon enough.

It’s been four weeks since I stepped into the office and quite frankly, I thought given enough time, we can take care of this virus.  We are so technologically advanced that something like this will be a pinch to clear up.  Didn’t happen.

Now I have to change my mindset.  What we had is slowly becoming a thing of the past unless the brilliant medical minds are doing everything they can to combat this thing…and this is a thing…a mystery, it seems.

Well, it didn’t take a snap, so in order to absorb this crisis, accept what is, do what your told and we should bounce back stronger and wiser than ever.  That being said, I have turned towards better eating, more exercise and those hobbies that have eluded me during my busy lifestyle. 

One this if for sure, I’ve never seen so many home exercise programs being spilled all over Instagram in my life.  I have fallen victim to jumping on that bandwagon and am currently toggling between a few programs, one of which is Centr, run by Chris Hemsworth’s team.

Like most, I have also turned towards Netflix and Amazon Prime to waste my days.  One series on Prime that took my attention recently is The Kwon Conspiracy – Treadstone Season 1, with Jeremy Irvine, Tracy Ifeachor and Omar Metwally.

It’s an action adventure from the world of Jason Bourne, where agents across the globe are “awakening” to resume deadly missions and they don’t even know it until it happens.  The program is called Treadstone – a covert program that uses a behavior-modification protocol to turn recruits into nearly-superhuman assassins.  The first episode follows John Bentley in East Berlin who escapes being captured by the Soviets and it’s a fast ride from there.

I usually give a new show a few episodes to see if it is a keeper to watch to the end of the season and the 2nd episode was just as riveting as the first.  It blew me away with the suspense, the action, the characters and the storyline really takes you right into the heart of the series.  I can’t wait to see how many sleeper agents there are, what the government is going to do about them and how the series is going to turn out.

Distraction, distraction …. that is what I need right now.  Focus on something else while the healers and the powers that be try to fix this problem and save the world.

Jenn Andrew
Blogger, Reviewer and Gamer
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The Churn by James S.A. Corey

I’ve been watching The Expanse and I was so excited to hear that the series survived and had another season. One of my favorite characters is Amos. He’s bad ass, built for strength and looks after his team but he’s also troubled and seems screwed up, looking for meaning in what he does. The series gives you hints of his character, but he almost remains a mystery.

The Churn provides the insight into Amos’s past when he lived in Baltimore. The novella spans over two days, where the reader is given the opportunity to see what life is like on Earth.  If you love the character as I do, you’ll delve into the backstory of Amos. Try to understand him and see what he had to go through and what the few people who loved him did for him.  They put him on the road toward healing and personal growth and understanding.  I don’t think he even realized it until after he met Naomi and the rest of the crew.  It’s a touching story about Amos.  You think he’s naturally full of violence and hate but his story runs so much deeper than that and you feel for the character even more. 

I have been on the side of the Roci crew members since the beginning when they came from the Canterbury.  I don’t see The Expanse as just a science fiction series.  It has many storylines and subplots that bring all the characters together.  Its very much character driven and in some way,  you end up connecting with them.  We don’t have to experience space to know their hardships, their loss and their triumphs.

Jenn Andrew
Blogger, Reviewer and Gamer
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THE FUN OF LARP!

By definition, Larping is “a live action role-playing game (LARP) which is a form of role-playing game where the participants physically portray their characters. The players pursue goals within a fictional setting represented by the real world while interacting with each other in character.”

With the D&D and Pathfinder games I play, I am most interested in Larp.  After scouring the internet, I found many different kinds of LARP from fantasy and goth, to apocalyptic and paranormal.

Here is a link to a great article on the mechanics of Larp:  Larp Info

In my area, I found an interesting Larp that doesn’t encompass me having to make armour or carry weapons or go to great lengths to create a costume.  I am most comfortable with something I can start with where I can pull outfits from my closet or Halloween costume bin.

Post Mortem is a live interactive theatre experience inspired by sci-fi and Lovecraftian horror, exploring the dangers of unchecked human hubris and ambition and the inevitability of death and decay. 

The story is set in a modern, contemporary world that appears to be very much our own, until you scratch the surface.

You are a member of the Department of Occult Research (DOOR), a specialist of the strange. Along with a team of your peers, you have been assigned to investigate the sudden disappearance of one of the agency’s top field agents, missing after months undercover in the backwater compound of a violent doomsday cult. For more information, check out this website:  http://postmortemlarp.weebly.com/

As much as I love Science, I would rather play a character of the occult – similar to Constantine (Demon Hunter and Master of the Occult).  Therefore, Post Mortem is a Larp that most intrigues me.  I had the chance to meet people who experienced this before, as well as the creators, and I am excited to become a part of this when the opportunity arises.

For anyone who tabletop games, some may take it to the next level and leave the tabletop temporarily to venture into the interactive; where you physically play your character.  For someone like me who dresses up every Halloween to celebrate and will soon be cosplaying some of her favorite characters, LARPing is my next step.

Venture out!  Step out of your comfort zone and experience something new, if you haven’t already!

Jenn Andrew
Blogger, Reviewer and Gamer
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/user/show/1361969-jenn-andrew
Writing: http://www.whimnotes.wordpress.com

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Listening In and Other Stories

This book is filled with short stories you really have to look into and analyse or you’ll lose the obscure message the author is trying to convey. Tales of characters trying to find their way through life and understanding the mysteries of what life has to offer.

Eight stories of disturbed, interesting, and a gallant of mixed emotional characters, depicted in stories of intrigue, wonder and shock. Short stories like the Bank Statement, Silent Reel, Listening In, Tattoo, Life Beneath the Piano, Collecting Faces, The Soul Mouth and Angel Fish – all drew me in to how each character absorbed their life and what it meant for them each to have lived it.

There were three stories that stuck to me. In Bank Statement, I could feel the mother at odds with herself on what she should do with her son’s wealth. In Tattoo, Tess was so obsessed with the reasoning as to why the girl got the tattoo in the first place. In Collecting Faces, at first I didn’t know the character was a prostitute and I like the way the author wrote the story through her eyes and emotions.

I have to admit that these short stories aren’t the usual work I read but I got a chance to see another point of view and a different side of literature.

 

Jenn Andrew
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