How to Keep the Disney Magic Alive Daily

If you’re as much of a Disnerd as I am, the overwhelming need to return to any of the parks can sometimes feel stifling. Particularly if you have neither the funds nor the vacation time.

Of course, you can ignore it, but as any true Disnerd knows, the longer you ignore it, the more the urge builds. In fact, often it will build to a point where every moment of the day, you find you have to talk yourself out of quitting your job, dropping everything, and hopping on the next flight to Orlando.

Figuring out how to combat this urge can be a difficult task. This is largely due to even your subconscious knowing nothing is quite as satisfactory as the real thing.

So what are some of the things you can do to help curb your Disney appetite without breaking the bank?

Watch your favourite Disney movies

Creating a point to connect with the magic can come from a variety of sources, but the movies are usually one of the best ones. After all, for most of us, they’re what initially drew us to Disney, and they give us the stories, characters, and music we love. What’s wonderful about them is it’s not difficult to find a movie that counters any mood, no matter how down, out, or anything you feel.

One thing my husband and I did was buy a shelf just for our Disney movies and place it so it faces into the seating area in our living room. That way, we never have to go searching when we want to watch something magical.

Visit the Disney Store

This one can get a little pricey if you are not good at controlling your money, but if you can keep a handle on your plastic, it’s a great way to take in some of the atmosphere without having to jump on a plane or drive for hours.

One of the best parts about visiting the Disney Store is most of the employees are usually Disney fanatics themselves. It’s a great opportunity to find another Disnerd to just gush about all the awesomeness of Disney with. And if they’re someone who takes advantage of their employee discount to visit the parks often, they’ve usually got great tips for things to see and do on your next trip!

If you can afford it, buying a new coffee mug or even seeing what’s available in the clearance section can help give you that ‘Disney merch’ rush! We’ve been slowly building our Disney mug collection over the years, and use that as our treat when we’re craving a trip.

Listen to a Disney song and Disney Parks playlist

One of the most wonderful things about the internet is you can literally get access to anything on it. For the Disnerd, this means not only the ability to create playlists of classic Disney music, but also access to piles upon piles of music from inside the actual parks. Want to visualize yourself whizzing through Space Mountain or taking a stroll down Main Street USA? Need to take a slow spin on the Carousel of Progress? Or maybe you just want the ambient music to Disney-ify your work day. Either way, there are a variety of great sources for compiling this music, or for listening to a Disney-themed radio station. Here are just some of my favourites:

• Spotify - It seemed like for a while, their Disney music was limited, but now you can find it all on Spotify. They’ve even licensed some of the official park music soundtracks, so you can easily create a mix of both. If you’re unfamiliar with Spotify, or unsure of what search terms to use, you can view my "A Spark of Magic" playlist to get started.
• 8tracks.com - On this site, you can find a lot of the full ride tracks, with the actual walkthroughs and not just the music. I think I have a list of over 200 songs on it, broken down by parks, types of rides, places in the parks, you name it! A good place to start is this main search for Disney Parks music. You can sign up via Facebook and save collections into one place, allowing you simply to play all the collections in one solid playlist.
• Sorcerer Radio - This station plays music from and related to the Disney Parks all day long. I find it’s great if you’re looking just for some ambient Disney park music. They tend to focus on specific sets per hour, walking you through all the different musical aspects of Disney. You can find out more here.

Plan a Disney Trip

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Whoever said you need money to plan a trip? Thanks to Disney’s super easy trip-booking site, you can plan as many Disney vacations as you want, without ever actually having to book any. In times like now, when I am literally having to stop myself from running to the airport, this is usually my go-to method. I can dream and plan, and then cry a little when looking at how much it would cost.

Planning Disney vacations is a whole lot of fun, and this gives you the opportunity to get ideas for when you can finally go--everything from which hotels you’d like to stay at, to what parks you want to spend time at, restaurants, and the most important part, what price point you would be looking at.

And who knows, maybe one of those plans you fiddle around with will end up being doable, and instead of hitting ‘empty cart’ you can choose "BOOK NOW"!

What are some of your coping tactics when you are bit by the Disney bug?

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'Pokémon Go' Isn't Dead Yet

We all know Pokémon Go took the world by storm last year. For the entire summer, it was all anyone could talk about. Whether it was stories about mass crowds going after special Pokémon at iconic sites, people trespassing, or the amounts of people engaging, it was everywhere.

There were a lot of positives to the game, which often were not highlighted by the media coverage. Especially in smaller towns, the way it fostered an environment of community was incredible.

Of course, as the excitement wore off, and everyone and their mother had taken over the same gyms 500 times, and had a bag full of Pidgeys and Ratatas, the game kind of faded away. For many of us, several feet of snow was the biggest deterrent, but by the time it all melted, there weren’t enough new developments to really push us back into it.

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But then, Niantic did something incredible: they introduced a new generation of Pokémon, started hosting more events, upgraded the gym system, added more gyms and Pokéstops, and essentially revamped the game.

While it’s certainly not oozing popularity the way it was last year, there is a core group of people who are still actively playing. There is also a number of people who avoided it because of the hype last year, but started playing since the latest improvements.

If you haven’t heard about Pokémon Go yet, or weren’t really interested enough to find out what it is, the concept itself is pretty cool. The game is a mobile app combining augmented reality with the popular Nintendo game, allowing players to catch Pokémon in real time and in real places, collect items, and even engage in battles with others throughout the world.

There are several perks to the game, the most obvious of which is it gets people moving. Last summer, when we had far more time on our hands, my husband and I walked an average of 12 kilometres (7.5 miles) a night! By the time fall rolled around, I had calves of steel.

The locations to find Pokémon and other facets aren’t limited only to popular monuments, but are stretched out through natural habitats as well. Where I live, we have a beautiful 10-kilometre boardwalk around a local conservation lake. There are a few Pokéstops dispersed along the trail, as well as many different Pokémon, the best of which are the Magikarps, as they are hard to come by around here and you need so many in order to evolve into a Gyarados.

Another great thing about the game is it encourages everyone to get out, get connected, and meet more people. One of the biggest comments I’ve heard is it has provided a way for people with social anxiety disorders and agoraphobia to get out in a way that is comfortable for them. It’s not always about needing to socialize; often people just randomly run into each other and end up chasing down Pokémon, battling gyms, or going to raids as a group.

The introduction of raids has probably been one of the best actual in-game features. Though battling whoever has a gym can be pretty fun, once you’ve won that gym a number of times, the novelty wears off. You only really get something out of it if you keep the gym for 24 hours, so there aren’t a lot of perks.

Raids, however, offer a multifaceted purpose:

• You’re not just battling another player’s Pokémon and then taking over a gym, you’re battling a Pokémon that gets you stuff and gives you the opportunity to catch it. Often, they are creatures that aren’t quite as easily found or evolved, so it’s a great way to build up your Pokémon collection and increase your levels. 

• You get more experience points, helping you level up faster than catching Pokémon in the wild, spinning Pokéstops, or hatching eggs.

• Legen--wait for it--daries! LEGENDARIES! This has been both the most exciting change to the game AND the most frustrating. Raids with legendaries happen less frequently and they are much harder to catch, with just a 3% chance of keeping them in your Pokéball. You also only have a limited number of special balls to capture them with, and a limited amount of time.

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These new features do take some level of coordination, especially for the legendaries, as you need a large group of people in order to defeat them. But this also encourages a lot of community participation, and can make things exciting. If you have too many people, it often works out to split into teams based on your Pokémon Go affiliation, so the Mystics, Valours, and Instincts group together to get more items and a higher chance of catching the creature.

Niantic is promising even more exciting features as well, including the release of another Legendary, Mewtew!

If you’ve been looking for something to motivate you to get outside, while having fun, now’s a good time to get involved. Best thing? If you hate it, just uninstall it, and you never have to think of it again.

Have you been playing Pokémon Go since the recent updates? What are your thoughts?

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Marvel's 'The Gifted' Aims to Take on Our Current Divisive Climate

The political statements made by Marvel’s X-Men have been longstanding. In fact, one of the comic’s greatest characters was a man whose whole life was directed by the path and hatred of bigotry set by political leaders.

As a victim of the Holocaust, Magneto knew firsthand what hate and power could do. His own hate often pushed him to become the very thing he loathed; the rage against those who misunderstood what he was drove him to seek their destruction and elimination.

Over the years, some have believed the original idea of the mutants was to act as a parallel to the world’s view of all the disenfranchised—the Jews, the LGBT, the blacks—any minority which has faced political and societal persecution, bigotry, and isolation. It has been seen as a way to address the issues through the provision of something people would be willing to consume.

In an interview with BuzzFeed Brews in 2014, Ian McKellen admitted it was this concept that sold him on joining the franchise as Magneto.

"I was sold it by Bryan [Singer], who said, 'Mutants are like gays. They’re cast out by society for no good reason,'" McKellen said. "As in all civil rights movements, they have to decide: are they going to take the Xavier line—which is somehow to assimilate and stand up for yourself and be proud of what you are, but get on with everybody—or are you going to take the alternative view—which is, if necessary, use violence to stand up for your own rights?"

Whether the original writer of X-Men had intended for this specific parallel or not may remain a mystery, but it has most definitely been a sort of "open secret" behind director Bryan Singer’s plans for the franchise.

"I helped write the movie," said Zach Stenz, one of the screenwriters from First Class, in a Facebook comment, "and can tell you the gay rights/post-Holocaust Jewish identity/Civil Rights allegory stuff was put there on purpose."

Stenz added Joss Whedon purposely meant the "cure" storyline in the comics as a gay allegory. Singer adopted that goal into the movies. The line in X2, "Have you ever tried NOT being a mutant?" was a way to weave his own feelings of outsiderdom as a gay man into his work.

With all of this in mind, it should come as no surprise Singer’s latest X-Men project, a TV series called The Gifted, will take a hard stance on bigotry and dissecting our real, current political state one episode at a time.

On July 21 at the San Diego Comic Con, a new trailer was released, introducing us to the main cast. At least one character will be a familiar face for avid fans of the film franchise: Blink will set the stage as one of the main mutants in the show.

Unfortunately, Bingbing Fan will not be reprising her role, though I imagine it has more to do with her age than anything.

The trailer opens up with a teenager being dragged by his classmates into the showers, screaming for help. A female voiceover says, "You never know you're a mutant, until it happens the first time." As the teen screams with rage, the metal showers bend and break, and the high school dance is interrupted by flickering lights and the roof crashing down. Another mutant with blonde hair puts up a force field to save herself.

"On this day, everything changes—forever." The blonde screams for her brother, and the trailer moves forward.

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Meet Andy and Lauren Strucker, two young mutants coming into their own as their powers finally reveal themselves. Their father? One of the feds tasked with hunting mutants down. Now, everything changes as the hunter fights to save his family. The only people who can help them are the same ones he was hunting.

What we know so far:

• No-one knows whether the X-Men or the Brotherhood still exist. Which means, as far as any mutants who have managed to evade capture know, they are on their own. They flee for their lives and use their powers to try and survive.
• The feds are after the main group of mutants who have been hiding out together. They know who some of them are, like Blink, whose face is on a wanted poster.
• They're in a world that is fully aware of mutants and, it appears, is creating a greater divide between humans and their evolved counterparts. 
• The Strucker kids know who their dad is, what he does, and all about mutants.
• Despite her husband’s job, Kate Strucker, Andy and Lauren's mother, doesn’t hate or fear mutants.
• Eclipse (one of the mutants) is kinky?

Actress Emma Dumont, who portrays the mutant Polaris, told Den of Geek in an interview at the SDCC that the cast is proud of the challenge the show presents when it comes to the political discourse of today.

"Yeah, I’m going to say straight-up, you guys, our show's about bigotry," she said. "I'm sorry, but we see it in the first scene when Blink's running for her life and a cop could easily kill her dead with zero consequences, because of prejudice...."

In tackling bigotry and the political climate, the goal of the show isn't to cause division, but rather, to create empathy by helping us get to know the actual people on all sides of the issue.

Everyone from the mutants to the family on the run, as well as the government officials hunting them down, will have their perspectives portrayed throughout the story. According to Amy Acker, who plays Kate Strucker, the show was not designed to attack anyone's beliefs, but rather, to provide insight.

The aim is simply to open up empathetic conversation in order to close the gaps caused by our current divisive politics.

"I think it would be incredibly difficult to watch our show and not think about that in some respect," Stephen Moyer, a.k.a. Reed Strucker, told Polygon. "I bloody hope that people do watch our show and think about it."

Will you be watching when The Gifted launches in October?

Title image made using an overlay from IGN.

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Three New Harry Potter Books to Grace Our Shelves This Fall

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2016 was an incredible year for Harry Potter fans thanks to the releases of Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child. After years of waiting for new stories from our favourite magic-wielders, we were left salivating for more.

Would J.K. Rowling continue to quench the thirst of fans by giving us more wonderful stories?

Last week, we received the answer, and it was a very loud, very excited 'YES!'

In a press release from Bloomsbury, the British publishing house behind the HP series, it was announced that 2017 would see two more books hit the stands, as well as a new version of a fan-favourite.

Harry Potter fans around the globe rejoiced at this announcement, excited for an additional glimpse into the wizarding world responsible for one of the largest fandoms.

These two books will be released as part of the British Library's Harry Potter exhibition, A History of Magic. The exhibition will be open from October through to February 2018, with the books being released during the earliest portion of the event.

The first book is called Harry Potter: A History of Magic - The Book of the Exhibition and will carry readers directly into the parts of this fictional world we have yet to really dive into. This one is the official book of the exhibition and has been declared as a "once-in-a-lifetime" collaboration between Rowling, Bloomsbury, and museum curators.

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According to the information available on Bloomsbury's pre-order page for the book, it "promises to take readers on a fascinating journey through the subjects studied at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry."

Ever fancied learning a little bit more about Herbology, the details of the students' studies in Potions and Alchemy classes, or even Care of Magical Creatures? A History of Magic will walk you through each of these courses of study, while each chapter of the book will also showcase artefacts from the British Library, as well as collections of exclusive manuscripts, sketches, and illustrations from around the Harry Potter archive.

If this book is everything the publishers are promising, it will create a whole new level of indulgence for fans, bringing this amazing world almost within our grasps.

Harry Potter: A Journey through a History of Magic is the second book, and will mainly focus on the more mystical aspect of Rowling's fantastical world. Alchemy, unicorns, and ancient witchcraft will be just some of the topics readers will learn more about. And just like Harry Potter: A History of Magic, this book is also available for pre-order.

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The British Library describes it as "an irresistible romp through the history of magic" and promises it will be packed with J.K. Rowling's previously unseen sketches and manuscript pages. It will also include some of Jim Kay's illustrations and artefacts from the British Library.

The final Harry Potter book to be announced for release in 2017 is an illustrated version of Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. This will not be the first illustrated version of installments from the original Rowling series--both The Sorcerer's Stone and Chamber of Secrets were previously published in all their artistic glory. Like its predecessors, Prisoner of Azkaban will be illustrated by Jim Kay, pretty much guaranteeing it will look incredible.

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It is currently available for pre-order through Amazon and set to release on October 3, 2017.

Which of these books are you looking forward to most? Will you be pre-ordering them or waiting for their official release?

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Nerdy Ambient Soundtracks for Your Day

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If you’re anything like me, doing anything with complete silence is impossible. It’s too easy to get distracted by the lack of ambient noise, or, even worse, with the wrong type of ambient noise. It’s especially bad if I can’t stand the music playing or the sounds around me are not inspiring.

Though I don’t always need actual music, certain sounds can make a world of difference.

I fall asleep to the Solitudes albums because their natural sounds and calming music are wonderful and help coax me into a peaceful, meditative state to sleep.

But I’ve always thought, wouldn’t it be wonderful if the ambient noise, music, and sounds I listen to could be from the places that make my inner fangirl come to life? I mean, if I could write my articles sitting in the Gryffindor common room, or spend time reading while listening to the sounds of the Normandy’s ship buzzing around me, I’d be in heaven.

Sounds are a major part of my existence. It is those ambient sounds and extra noises within the shows, movies, and games I love that help transport me into their worlds. Those worlds light the fire of inspiration in my heart. They are my muses.

Recently, a friend sent me a link to a place that made all my dreams come true: ambient-mixer.com.

Not only does this website allow you to create your own ambient mixes, but it gives you access to a whole library of user-made ones, including hundreds to indulge your fangirl needs in.

Depending on what you are looking for, there are a range of options for each setting. Some include music, some are just ambient noise. Each mixer also contains sliders for the different ambient noises contributing to the atmosphere, allowing you to increase or decrease different aspects to suit your desires.

Although I’ve only been using it for a few weeks now, these are some of my favourites:

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Gryffindor Common Room - Harry Potter

There are a number of options for the common room, but I like this one in particular because of the addition of the Harry Potter theme music in the background. Sometimes I’ll turn that portion up a bit, other times I’ll turn it down. When I really need to get my concentration focused, I will close my eyes for a moment and imagine that I am really there, hanging out in front of the fireplace, curled up with a good book, just listening and taking it all in.

Often, I will play this track while at work, drowning out the awful music and sounds of the dealership around me. It brings a bit of nerdiness into my every day life, making me feel a little less frustrated with living in the real world.

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The King’s Throne Room - Disney’s Atlantis

This is one I find super inspiring. It’s kind of like a mix between a Solitudes track and sitting in an actual port. Not only is this one great when I need something incredibly calming, but it also doubles as a great mix for doing meditation, deep thoughts, or just doing breathing exercises. Plus, it’s not too difficult to imagine you’re about to chill in Atlantis when you let the sounds carry you away.

The ambient backing track is beautiful, soft yet sharp sounds encouraging peacefulness and clarity. The sounds of the chains clanging together in the port are just frequent enough to carry you away. Everything about this one screams calming and focus, and although it is a little less peppy than one might expect for something inspired by Disney, I feel like it fits quite beautifully with what I would imagine the actual sounds of their Atlantis world to be like.

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Daenerys at War - Game of Thrones

Need something to put you in a more somber mood? Or maybe you just feel like taking yourself to a place of mystery, dragons, and epic battles? This mix is fantastic for that. Part of the reason this one appeals to me so much is that, as a writer and an author, sometimes I need something to take me to a darker place. If I’m in a particularly good mood, I can often forget just how dark a scene needs to be. This is the kind of ambient sound that is great to send me there.

The deep, soulful music carries a sadness to it--you just know something dark and devastating is going on. The sword-fighting keeps your mind active. You can’t just disappear into the sadness with battles going on around. It drives that deep feeling of the need to take action, to push forward with a relentless rage, channeling all your hurt and sorrow into the task at hand.

(©Tabitha Wells)

Walking Down Main Street USA - Disney

If you’re a fellow Disnerd, this particular track probably doesn’t require much explanation. I am one of those weird people who says that Disney World is my happy place. There are literally times I have become so overwhelmed with the desire to be in Disney that I have broken down in tears. It is the one place where I truly feel at home.

There are a number of places to listen to sounds and music from Disney World, with plenty of playlists that include tracks from the rides, clips from different areas of the parks, and more. What makes me love this ambient mix so much is that it’s a single, ongoing track putting you directly on Main Street USA. You can play it all day, soaking in the magic and joy those sounds give you when you’re truly there. It’s like sprinkling pixie dust on your day, no matter where you are.



What places would you love to listen to ambient mixes from to take you away from everyday life?

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'Smashing the Patriarchy' One Fandom at a Time

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'Smashing the patriarchy' is a phrase we hear often these days. Women (and girls) who are tired of being told women are incapable of doing certain things or being certain things because men say so are giving those men the proverbial finger.

But long before the catchphrase became our battle cry, 'geek girls' were ahead of the game.** Whether it's your typical comic book/video game geeks, or girls who are interested in typically male-dominated, 'nerdy' fields like the sciences and mathematics, we've been fighting that battle for generations.

It's incredible to see how far we have come in some areas, while disheartening to see how much worse things have gotten in others.

Growing up in the '90s and early 2000s, I heard all the time about how 'geeky' things weren't for girls. About how comic books were for boys, video games were for boys, and it was time for me to just grow up. I was told guys wouldn't like me because I wasn't interested in clothes, or being girly, or really anything feminine.

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Though hearing these things is frustrating, it’s not the worst thing we’ve had to fight against. The attitude of many boys in the geek world is very disheartening. Although there are many who are incredibly welcoming and open to diversity, there are a large number who still treat it all as if it were a giant boys’ club.

There seems to have been this idea perpetuated over the years that anything nerdy or geeky was for guys only, as if they had the sole claim to enjoying these things. Even before the term ‘fake geek girl’ was coined by guys whose masculinity was apparently threatened by the mere thought of a girl sharing their interests, guys were demanding girls provide proof they actually liked the things they were claiming to like.

‘If you’re really a fan of Star Wars, what happened to Boba Fett after falling into the Sarlacc pit?’

‘If you’re really a fan of the X-Men, how did Scott Summers die? Who was Nightcrawler’s mother?’

‘You know XYZ was around long before the movies, right? Bet you’ve never seen any of the original stuff.’

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Things became quite volatile for girl gamers as well when online gaming was really taking off. There, we had to learn to take a stand for ourselves amidst guys who couldn’t handle girls playing online. Even when we could hold our own, sometimes it still wasn’t enough. In the early days of online forums like 4chan and reddit, there was a thread where guys would post a girl’s gamertag to ‘blacklist’ her from online games, particularly Halo.

At one point, after I started climbing the ranks, I made the mistake of going on the mic. My teammates turned on me, guys got angry and started calling me insanely derogatory names, and I would get booted out of game after game. I hit the point where I couldn’t even log in to a match without being greeted by name-calling, guys making sexual comments, you name it.

In general, female geeks have to fight for every inch we get. We’re constantly being asked to prove our geek cred, as if having different genitalia from men automatically means we are incapable of fully grasping the things we are into.

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A few years back, the ‘fake geek girl’ crusade began; the idea that a girl must fit certain criteria in order to qualify as a true geek grew rampant. Every single thing a girl didn’t know, hadn’t done, read, seen, or played, immediately became a reason to revoke her ‘geek card,’ despite how much else she might be interested in.

We were told how geek girls should actually look--because no girl who wears pink and makeup could ever like video games and Star Wars, right?

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But through all of this, fangirls of all shapes, sizes, and interests alike have done something incredible--we’ve never let this form of patriarchy win or force us into accepting their terms. And why should we? One thing the world of sci-fi and fantasy has gotten right more often than the Hollywood scene is the creation of strong, independent, incredible female characters who bow down to no man.

We never caved to the males who said we couldn’t be these things because we had incredible role models to look up to from day one.

The only difference now is girls and women seem to be becoming more comfortable at stepping up and shouting our geekiness to the world. We’re learning to embrace ourselves publicly instead of hiding.

While many of these men who dislike us would like to think we hid because we were afraid of being proven to falsely carry the geek label, it was mostly because we didn’t want to have to deal with all the things that came with publicly being a geek girl. The constant questioning, the constant proving--all the things that would take us away from our time spent doing the things we loved.

So what’s changed? In my opinion, it boils down to the idea that we’ve literally got zero f***s to give now. We know who we are, and thanks to the explosive nature of the internet, we have ways to connect with other women like ourselves and share with them.

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I'd also like to think this ability to publicly embrace these things has grown because of the many allies we do have in male geeks who aren't threatened by women. As geeks in general become more confident, these haters lose power. And that's a pretty awesome thing.

No matter how much some men would like to believe otherwise, we women have played a pretty big role in geek culture for a very, very long time. Although female leads may not have gotten as big a spotlight as males, women have been heavily involved in the production, art, writing, and design of comic books, movies, and video games pretty much since the beginning. This whole culture they claim belongs to men was partially shaped by women to begin with.

We don't need approval to be who we are. We don't need their okay to cheer for strong, female leads taking the reins. And most importantly, we don't need to apologize for making sure we have more representation in our culture. We are awesome, and we're not going anywhere.

** Being "ahead of the game," in this piece, is in reference solely to the idea of smashing the patriarchy and not to feminism in general.

What makes you proud to claim your title as a nerd, geek, fangirl, or all of the above?

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Moana Is the Role Model We've Been Looking For

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Growing up, one of the biggest criticisms I heard of Disney princess movies was that they gave young women unrealistic expectations. I often dispute that empowering messages were available in most of them if you were willing to look hard enough. As the wise Rafiki once said, you need to “look beyond what you see.”

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These days, however, Disney has taken a whole other route with their princess movies. This pathway doesn’t require nuance or looking beneath the surface to find the messages that lift up our young women and tell them they can follow their hearts, dreams, and strengths. The focus has shifted from young women needing to be saved or led by a strong male to women who pave the way themselves. The ones who inspire them are not lovers (or potential lovers), fathers, brothers, or male mentors--they’re grandmothers, mothers, or even each other.

There is nothing wrong with the princess who falls in love and fights alongside her man, but those stories are in abundance, leaving the girls who aren’t interested in romance on the sidelines. Not every story needs romance, especially when dealing with young girls and teenagers discovering their paths in life.

Brave and Frozen set a new standard in this way. Both featured female leads who either showed no interest in romance (Elsa) or felt they should be able to explore it when they were ready and on their own terms (Merida).

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The latest princess movie to hit the theatres didn’t even introduce the concept of romance; our leading lady was focused on finding her place in the world instead.

Moana is a princess I wish I had had growing up. In a time when everyone was focused on boys, love, and mushy stuff, it would have been nice to have someone who showed me these things didn’t need to enter into the equation.

But not requiring romance is only one facet of what makes Moana an incredible character for girls and young women to aspire to. The qualities she possesses in both her flaws and her strengths contain lessons to help any young woman navigate towards her chosen direction in life.

One of the first things that stood out to me about this fierce princess is that she wasn’t afraid to question the status quo. In fact, even when she received an answer, she still kept asking because it simply didn’t make sense. As her island was dying around her, with food supplies running low, the logical solution was to expand. Not only did her father not want to hear of it, he feared the idea. Moana felt in her heart that fear wasn’t a good enough reason, and so she pushed to find answers. She sought after the truth on her own, even when her parents were unwilling to give it to her. She recognized that those older than her had wisdom, and she sought out different perspectives on the issues.

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Moana’s love and passion for the water burned fiercely on her heart since before she even understood what it was. She knew where her skills, heart, and talents lie, and pursued them wholeheartedly. Her parents didn’t support her--in fact, they discouraged the natural talent and passion within. They didn’t fully understand, and because of her father’s experiences, they worried she would be hurt, so they did what they felt was best. Despite that, Moana allowed her passions to grow. When the moment called for it, she embraced her calling fully and ran after it, heart and soul. She knew where she needed to go, and she did it. Even without her father’s blessing.

Although she likely couldn’t put words to it, Moana recognized that courage isn’t the absence of fear, but the ability to move forward through the fear. She was relying on a magic she didn’t understand, a guide in the stars she had just learned about, and her own untrained abilities to hunt down Maui and restore the hearthstone. She was visibly afraid. But nevertheless, she persisted. She took a stand and fought for what she knew was right--even against a demi-god several times her size.

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Most importantly, her actions were not driven by selfish desire. She recognized her responsibility to her people--people whom she loved and wanted to serve as their leader--and learned how to bind that together with her passions. Albeit at times clumsily, she figured out how her responsibilities and her passions could come together to help others. Her own well-being was often set aside if it meant she could help--and save--the lives of her family and people. She recognizes that when she combines all these parts of herself, that is when she truly finds herself.

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There are many, many, many things about Moana that could be highlighted as reasons why she stands out as a role model. These are just the ones most apparent during my first watch-through of the movie.

And of course, we can’t forget the fearless companionship of her faithful rooster, Heihei!

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What were some of the traits Moana possessed that you feel can inspire young women during their lives?

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Three Female Leads Who Started Me on the Fangirl Path

As a young girl, I was an avid reader. There was no such thing as Netflix, the internet still took twenty minutes to connect (and disconnected at every phone call), and female leads were hard to find. I was that kid who read everything in search of a book that I could read over and over, one that had a female lead I could daydream about one day being.

By the fifth grade, I had consumed nearly every book in our school’s library and still hadn’t found the heroes I was looking for. I didn’t entirely know what would define these women I was in search of, but I knew they would stand out when I found them. And stand out they did.

There are three specific characters who come to mind whenever I think back to where my passion for other worlds, stories, and ideas began. All three were very different from each other, from different time periods, and in different stages of life. Each one took control of her own destiny for different reasons and each one did it in her own unique way. One thing they all had in common, however, was that none of them let circumstances, rules, or expectations get in their way.

Although these books were written for younger readers, if you have the chance, I would recommend taking the time to read them. These powerful stories are inspiring, and each of them, in its own way, helped set me down the path to becoming a professional writer.

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Dove and Sword by Nancy Garden

Although Joan of Arc is not a fictional character, this story is a fictional take on the life and story of one of history’s most famous female warriors. Everything is told through the eyes of Gabrielle de Domremy, Joan’s childhood friend in this tale. Gabrielle is courageous, determined, and a woman worthy of admiration for her own merits, but it was Joan who captivated me.

Joan believed with her entire being that God had asked her to lead the army and fight, and she did it. Despite the odds, she pushed through and held fast even during her capture, trial, and death.

Ultimately, this work of fiction was the catalyst to a nearly ten-year obsession with Joan. While her real story was every bit as captivating and heartbreaking, Dove and Sword was the book I always came back to. Gabrielle’s perspective brings a level of depth and humanity to Joan’s story that the history books couldn’t. It took her out of the pages and brought her to life.

Joan was the first woman to teach me that following your convictions, regardless of what the world says, is one of the most important things you can ever do.

Emily of New Moon by L. M. Montgomery

Emily was my kindred soul, my spirit animal. I don’t recall who gave me the Emily books, but they were a series I wasn’t entirely sure I wanted to read. Written by the same talented Canadian author behind the Anne of Green Gables series, this trilogy was far less-known, despite having a TV show for a few years. I was skeptical because Anne of Green Gables had never held my interest the way so many claimed it did for them.

Still, I decided to give it a try, and within the first few pages of New Moon, I was hooked. Emily Starr reminded me so much of myself, though she was far bolder than I ever was as a child. In a time when girls were still frowned upon for excelling in school, Emily embraced her intelligence, recognizing her love of writing early on. She wrote as much as she could, whenever she could, no matter how much trouble it got her in.

Over the span of three books, you get to grow with Emily. When you meet her, she is a young, orphaned child, alone with two cold-hearted aunts, having nothing but her wits and imagination to rely on. As the series progresses, you walk with Emily through puberty, love, loss, and the pursuit of her dreams.

Her classmates and aunts often consider her to be foolish, but she still follows her heart in everything. Her circumstances, being fairly poor and with no super-reliable support system to lean on, never hold her back because she refuses to let them.

For me, Emily introduced me to the idea that a fictional character can become a dear friend, one who stays with you for the rest of your life.

The Song of the Lioness Quartet by Tamora Pierce

This was the first series to really introduce me to the world of fantasy, thanks to the main character, Alanna of Trebond. The reader meets Alanna at the age of 11 when she and her twin brother are being sent away for their life studies. As a girl, Alanna will be sent to the monastery to learn how to use The Gift and become a great sorceress, while Thom, her twin, will be sent to the palace to be trained as a knight. The only problem is Alanna hates learning magic and wants to be a knight, and her brother wants to become a sorcerer.

Thus, Alanna of Trebond becomes Alan, Thom’s younger twin, and they trade places. Only their two closest confidants, who have raised them since the death of their mother, know about this.

Alanna is captivating. She is on fire, in her soul, in her heart, and in her personality. "Stubborn" and "determined" are hardly strong enough words to describe her. She was everything I hoped to become one day.

The thing that stands out the most about Alanna is she never aims to prove anything to anyone, other than herself. The idea that she can’t be as good as the boys rarely ever crosses her mind. When it does, it comes in the form of a fear she quickly squashes.

But Alanna is more than just a girl determined to become a female knight: she is also the one chosen by the Great Mother Goddess herself.

What captivated me about Alanna was her ability to eventually reconcile her destiny with her dreams, and make both flow together, entwining the strands of each so that they worked. She was never defined or controlled by her destiny, but by her boldness and desire to be exactly who she was without ever changing for anyone.

Alanna taught me to be bold in my dreams and to never let anyone tell me that my gender should restrict me from fulfilling them. In life, whenever I have doubted following my heart, I have always thought back to Alanna for courage.

Perhaps one of the most incredible things I learned from each of these three women was the power and positive influence of having fiction become a big part of your life. We all know the possible negatives, and they’re reinforced daily by people who do not understand fandoms. But when it comes to the right stories for each of us, they not only stick with us, but they become a part of us. They live within us, guiding us and, as odd as it may sound, helping us to create stronger roots for ourselves within reality. Most importantly, I strongly believe they help to take us outside of the boxes we are all placed within in society. We learn about how to break those walls down and expand how we view ourselves and the world.



As a fangirl, who were the characters that first introduced you to the world of fandoms, whether you knew the word or not at the time?

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A Beginner's Guide to D&D

Dungeons and Dragons--and by extension, Pathfinder--has been making a comeback over the last few years, with more people taking the opportunity to try their hand at it. The game was incredibly popular during the late '70s, '80s, and early '90s, fading more into the background by the early 2000s. For a while, although people knew about it, D&D was more of a niche activity than something large groups of people were actively playing.

However, in more recent years, people have been talking about it more, and the number of people playing is once again expanding. Even people who wouldn’t consider themselves geeks have been experimenting with it, as the game offers a unique experience that board games cannot. Although it may be limited to my small-town point of view, more women, at least in rural areas like my own, are getting into it too, joining groups that were once dominated mainly by men.

There are many reasons these tabletop RPGs can be appealing. They are far more interactive than a video game, they allow you to be more creative, and they can provide a strong social element. These games are also a lot of fun, especially if you land with a group you can jive with well.

If you are a beginner, there are a few things to consider that can help cultivate a greater experience transitioning into tabletop gaming.

Invest in your own set of dice. Usually, people will be able to loan you dice, but finding a set of dice you love and can take with you to each of your games can help you feel more connected to your own character. Much like your character, your dice become uniquely yours. Most comic book or gaming stores will carry at least a few collections, but there are also hundreds of places to get incredibly unique dice sets online. Amazon carries a vast variety of options for decent prices, or you can check out some dice-specific websites to order customized sets.

Find out what kind of DM/GM you have. The Dungeon Master/Game Master does not have to follow a specific rule book on how they lead the campaign. Some DMs/GMs prefer to have players roll for practically every action/interaction they wish to complete. Others like to allow more role-playing into the game, leaving rolling for specific actions or communications.

For example, if a DM wants you to roll for everything, that means rolling for how long it takes you to get from point A to B and whether you successfully pull up your pants, walk in a straight line, draw your weapon, carry a normal conversation, etc. A DM who limits what you roll for usually isn’t so concerned about getting you to drop a D20 on determining if your character can put one foot in front of the other. In these cases, rolling will come into play for battles and feats like successfully crossing a tightrope or distracting the potions master with your wood while your cohorts steal his wares.

As a beginner, knowing which category your DM falls into is important because it can be a factor in how you assign your character stats. If you have to roll more often for basic functions, you may want to put higher stats in a trait that will help with those rather than stacking up traits for specific functions only.

Familiarize yourself with the edition’s races/classes. Depending on what edition you are playing, or whether you are playing Pathfinder instead of D&D, both the classes and the races available can vary. Every class has access to different traits, bonuses, and feats, as does every race. Some classes do not work very well with some races, while other races can sometimes receive bonuses for being combined with certain classes.

Character creating often goes far more in-depth than it would in your typical video game because there is no existing outline for your character. Everything from race and gender to appearance, history, lifestyle, etc. is essentially in your hands. Your DM may provide specific requests for you to keep your character within certain parameters, but essentially, you’re in control. Familiarizing yourself with the available classes and races can give you a better idea of the direction you would like to go.

Fortunately, there are plenty of guides online, as well as PDFs available for most editions, so you have the ability to do your research without having to locate hard copies of the books. There are also many handy websites that can walk you through the benefits of each of the different classes and races, as well as provide you with different ideas on how you can play them.

Get creative with your character. Before you even receive your character sheet and start rolling for your stats, start thinking about who your character is. If you want to be a love-sick hobbit obsessed with tall elves who casts spells using a purple, sparkly wand--go for it. Maybe you want to be a half-elf who tries to steal from everyone you encounter. Or a dwarf who tries to sweet-talk your way out of everything. Don’t be afraid to get creative and have fun with it.

You can choose to play it safe and stick with the kind of character you are most familiar with from video games, or go wild and be adventurous right off the bat. Whatever makes you feel most comfortable and excited, go for it.

Adding things like weaknesses also helps to present a well-rounded character. It can be anything from a serious weakness (like asthma) to an allergic reaction to the colour pink, an obsession with eating unicorn poop, a drug problem, an Achilles’ heel--anything. Give your character quirks, personality, and then get in their heads so you feel comfortable role-playing them.

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. If you aren’t sure how something works, you don’t understand how to do your character sheet, or you’re genuinely confused about something, ask the DM or a seasoned player. Most people are genuinely willing to help newbies get a better understanding of the game. When there are a few new players in your group, it may be beneficial to see if the DM is willing to run a small side campaign with all the newbies. This can help give you the opportunity to become more comfortable with how the game plays. Either way, the more you ask and learn, the easier it will be to fully engage yourself in your campaigns.

Try not to take the game too seriously. Once you start playing, personalities can clash, people can be jerks. Remember, everyone is trying to get into character, and some will purposely create characters who are slightly less than likeable. Try not to take their actions personally--it’s a game and everyone is there to have fun. If one player has their character coming after your own, keep it in character. Maybe they designed their character to dislike your race or certain traits you show.

When something happens to your character that you don’t like or a game doesn’t go the way you thought it should, remember it’s not the end of the world. Turn it around into a way to enjoy it.

If there is a genuine issue, talk to the DM or other players about it directly.

Have fun. Essentially, these games are really just about having a good time and escaping from reality for a while. They’re an opportunity to experience a different kind of adventure, exercise your imagination, and spend an evening challenging yourself creatively.

Work to create the kind of gaming atmosphere you want to enjoy yourself in. This could mean taking over a table at a local gaming shop or library with a group of people, pigging out on junk food, and ignoring the world.

It could also mean hosting the games at someone’s house and having a potluck dinner once every few weeks so that everyone can enjoy the game over some great home-cooked food. Whatever type of experience it is you are looking for, look for a group of players who want the same thing. You may even surprise yourself by making a few new good friends through it.

Have you been thinking of playing, or are preparing to play, D&D or Pathfinder for the first time? If so, what questions do you have as a beginner?

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May the Fortieth Be With You: Celebrating 40 Years of a Galaxy Far, Far Away

On May 25, 1977, Star Wars released in theaters, effectively changing the sci-fi genre and Hollywood forever. Forty years later, Star Wars is beloved around the world for its adventure story, outer space action, and most importantly the plethora of characters that expand the story beyond the silver screen. In celebration of the 40th anniversary of this phenomenal franchise, we're sharing our favorite characters that inhabit the "galaxy far, far away."

H.A. Titus

When I sat down to write this, I knew I probably wouldn't win any points for originality or geeky cred for picking out an obscure character. But what can I say... ever since I first watched Star Wars when I was a kid, I've loved Han Solo.

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True, there are times he's incredibly annoying. Every time I watch the "I love you," "I know" scene, I just want to smack him.

And let's not even start on my dislike of his and Leia's relationship in The Force Awakens. (We'll stick with saying it was pretty much the only disappointment in the entire movie.)

But even when he's around a bunch of Force users who clearly outgun him, he keeps a cocky grin on his face and is always ready for a smart-mouthy quip. His knowledge of the seedier side of the galaxy has saved his friends multiple times. And even though he talks tough, he's there when people need him, ready to do what he has to in order to make sure his friends survive.

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It's no wonder that my favorite Star Wars EU novel is Scoundrels (and if you haven't read it, you need to! It's a fabulous science fiction heist starring Han, Chewie, and a whole host of their sticky-fingered friends. Plus the twist at the end is phenomenal), and that my most eagerly anticipated 2018 movie release is the Star Wars Story starring our favorite scruffy-looking nerfherder.

Andrea Weisner

I’ve been a fan of Star Wars as long as I can remember, and as I sit down to write this, I think back over all of the wonderful characters I’ve been introduced to. Many of them have taken turns as my favorite, and any of them would have been a good choice for this collaboration post.

But then I also think of the ones not everyone knows about from the Expanded Universe… many of which no longer are considered canon. And to be honest, even after a few years, it still breaks my heart to see them pushed aside after being fan favorites for over a decade. None moreso than the Solo children: the twins, Jaina and Jacen, and little Anakin. As much as I adore the boys and would love to write about them (someday!), I always find my heart going back to their big sister: the one affectionately known as “Jaya."

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In the stories in which they were small, she was the leader and took such good care of them, despite her young age. You could always tell her number one priority was her family. Her brothers’ safety came above all else. But her heart wasn’t all that she inherited from her parents, though. She was an amazingly talented pilot, and the future of the Jedi Order lives on through her.

Being who she was, life was never easy for Jaina, but that never stopped her for long. And watching her grow up and face all that she had to… her story will always stick with me. The story of her and her brothers is one of those heartwarming, heart-wrenching, and so well-written ones, that it makes me want to improve my own writing. I’d say more, but dare not, for fear of ruining the books. You don’t have to read them, but I do ask you to at least consider giving them a chance. As interesting as I find Kylo Ren, these three, especially Jaina, are so much better.

Kristen C.

In any fandom, if there's a sentient robot, there's a really good chance it's going to be one of my favorite characters: Data from Star Trek, Marvin from The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, C-3PO and R2-D2 from Star Wars. They're always the funniest, the smartest, the most socially clueless, and, to me, often the most relatable. It's almost as if writers don't believe that combination of sass, logic, and helpfulness can be present in a human being. It can, I promise.

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No matter how often my favorite Star Wars character changes (sometimes it's Han Solo, sometimes Boba Fett, sometimes Poe Dameron… you get the idea), I'll always love C-3PO and R2-D2. Their camaraderie and surprisingly entertaining banter through all that they go through is evidence of one of my favorite friendships in the franchise, and the fact that they fight and always make up warms my little robotic heart.

R2 manages to be one of the sassiest and most loyal and dedicated characters in the films, even though he doesn't ever speak. (Well, he makes a lot of beeps and boops, which you could argue is a language, but he speaks no words that we understand.) C-3PO, too, is sassy and loyal, and his constant pessimistically optimistic worldview speaks to me on a deep level. He's always stating facts and missing societal cues and trying to make the best of any given situation, and it's always made me happy to know that someone can be that logical, that oblivious, and still be funny and polite and, more importantly, can have friends. Even if he is a robot.

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Travis Craig

My first thought upon seeing FN-2199, whom you might know as TR-8R, was that he stood out. Most stormtroopers aren't worth the dirt they stand on. Their armor is useless and their aim is deplorable. The internet is rife with jokes about it.

But FN-2199....

He did something that most characters don't do.

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Most characters in the Star Wars franchise are important because they are made so by their place in the plot. Obi-Wan is important because he is Luke's mentor. The Emperor is important because he’s threatening the galaxy. Several characters are noteworthy for one reason: we’re told they are.

But let me ask: what did Luke do to become so important? Nothing, really. He happened to have some interesting connections, but beyond that he was unremarkable. He’s important because we’re told he’s important. If it weren't for his incidental connections, what would have made him worth paying attention to?

Or, getting back to Episode 7, what made Rey a memorable character? She was in the right place at the right time. She found the one droid in the galaxy intimately connected to the plot. Beyond that, what makes her special?

But look at Han Solo. You know what made Han Solo cool? Everything. He comes into town with a badass attitude and an itchy trigger finger, itchy enough to shoot Greedo. Even if he weren't involved in the story at all, he would have stood out. He made himself important.

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TR-8R stands out for the same reason. With a badass-dom rivaling Han’s, he stands up to Finn, unleashes his baton, and beats the daylights out of him. When he was finally struck down, I was heartbroken. Why kill off the coolest character in the movie? And he IS the coolest. He freaking earned it. He didn't need to have special connections or be in the right place at the right time. He isn’t interesting because we’re told he is; he’s interesting because he shows us he is. TR-8R did something. Something captivating. Despite having barely a minute of screen time--if that--he earned what most characters need to be given: intrigue.

I really hope he lives. I really hope he comes back for revenge. I really hope he still has that baton. And I really, really, hope that he gets the story he deserves. Because he earned it.

Tabitha Wells

I was six years old the first time I saw Star Wars. They had just released the limited edition VHS set containing hours upon hours of interviews, and my dad thought it would be the perfect movie to test our new surround sound system on. From the moment the opening credits rolled across the screen, I was hooked. I wanted to live and breathe Star Wars.

A few years later, my parents gave me my first Star Wars EU book—Young Jedi Knights: Lightsaber.

I must have read the book at least fifteen times during the first month; everything about the story and characters captivated me.

There was one character in particular who laid claim to my heart and my imagination—Jaina Solo. Although her twin brother, Jacen, was easily my second favourite, there was something about Jaina that drew me to her.  The most obvious reason was her resemblance in personality and characteristics to her mother, Princess Leia. Leia was the first to become a hero in my mind, so it was only natural the same things leading her to that position for me would also draw me to her daughter.

Jaina was everything I ever wanted to be, combining charm, good looks, wit, cunning, and intelligence into a powerful adversary and Jedi. Loyal, protective, and determined, she laid out the kind of woman I wanted to model my own life after.

Perhaps one of the most powerful connections to this character has been that I essentially grew up with her. Though I was a few years younger than Jaina, she grew as I grew—the books released as she battled her teens and entered into young adulthood coincided with my own timeline.

There was a depth to Jaina I didn’t see in many of the other characters in the EU. While each character certainly was deep and well-rounded, few faced the kinds of struggles and battles Jaina did. Her turmoil and suffering only ever fueled her to become stronger, wiser, and more capable.

More than anything, my obsession, passion, and love for Jaina are what triggered my goal to one day join the ranks of authors responsible for the EU. And, if there is anything she has taught me, it’s that with the right amount of determination, you create your own destiny.

So on this Star Wars anniversary, I raise a glass to the character who lit the literary fire in my heart.

Jaime Heller

When it comes to Star Wars, I have a lot of favorite characters. Just when I think I've narrowed down my list, I'm reminded of another character I adore. If I have to pick just one, I will always say Darth Vader. But since we discussed favorite villains last year for Revenge of the Sith, I'm going to discuss my second favorite character, who is my favorite character of the prequel trilogy: Obi-Wan Kenobi.

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It's fitting that Obi-Wan and Darth Vader are my two favorite characters of the Star Wars Universe since their stories are heavily intertwined. That's part of what I love about both of them. Their stories connect and come full circle: Obi-Wan trained Anakin, was betrayed by Anakin, and trained Luke to restore their broken relationship. Obi-Wan puts up with a lot of garbage (no, not just the Millennium Falcon and its pilot) over the course of the Star Wars saga. He's betrayed and abandoned; he loses a lot and sacrifices a lot. But he sticks to his ideals, and he keeps going even after everything. He's dedicated to helping people because he believes in people. He trains Anakin, and then Luke, despite what other people tell him (I'm looking at you, Yoda) because he can see the best in people.

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Obi-Wan is also cool. His lightsaber skills are awesome, and he's actually one of the most powerful Jedi to grace the silver screen. He defeated a Sith while he was still in training, fought Count Dooku twice, destroyed General Grievous, fought his best friend, and more. Plus, there's the sass.

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Obi-Wan is one of the sassiest characters in Star Wars, if not in pop culture. He likes to make jokes and add a dramatic flair to everything he does. (I mean, come on, who else dramatically dies in front of his ex-best friend in order to turn into a Force ghost to help out his ex-best friend's son become a Jedi?)

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Obi-Wan is a memorable character for both his wisdom and skills as a Jedi. He's chock-full of humor and has a huge ego. All these traits, and more, make him one of my favorite characters from the Star Wars saga and definitely the best character from the prequel films.

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Sky Destrian

There are a lot of characters I adore in the Star Wars universe--Obi-Wan, Poe, Rey, Finn, and even Anakin--but the one I come back to time and time again is Leia Organa: general, politician, princess, sister, hero.

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I often wish I had appreciated Leia more while I was growing up--it’s a longstanding fandom regret of mine. I was exposed first to the prequels, so I often latched onto Padme as my first choice for a female hero to emulate. For whatever reason, I preferred her over her daughter. (Apparently liking both never crossed my mind.)

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However, looking back, I remember moments where I still saw Leia as a hero. I loved her in the Battle of Endor especially. I saw her as a strong, competent leader who was able to fight back. When she killed Jabba the Hutt, it taught me that women could have power over their abusers and that we didn’t need to let them hurt us--in a world where I was very afraid of people who might hurt me, that meant a great deal to me.

As I got older, I started seeing how impactful Leia was as a character, both to myself and others. By the time I got to see Leia, I was incredibly lucky to have seen a bunch of kick-ass female role models already. But when Star Wars first came out, that was absolutely not commonplace. Leia was the first of her time, and once I got old enough to realize that, I was absolutely in awe of this amazing space princess.

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When Carrie Fisher passed away, it absolutely broke my heart. I still can’t think or talk about it without choking up. Not only was Leia incredible, but so was her actress. Carrie Fisher imbued everything she had into life. She was an advocate for mental illness and a strong, conquering force. She was hilarious, she was witty, she was lovely. She will be greatly missed.

Her legacy as Leia was incredibly powerful for young fans around the world, especially girls who needed a role model to look up to. It was incredibly powerful for me. I will never forget Carrie Fisher, and I will never forget Leia. I will always love that strong, sassy space princess who wasn’t taken in by the wiles of a scruffy Nerfherder (well, not at first) and who grew into a general who commanded an entire Resistance.

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Which character from Star Wars means the most to you? Share with us in the comments! And May the Force Be With You!

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