Wrapping Things Up (December Book Wrap-Up)

It's hard to believe we've come through yet another year, but alas, here we are! As December is considered by many WriMos (myself included) to be a "recovery" month, I did not do very much at all in terms of reading or writing as 2015 came to a close. My main focus was surviving finals and then taking a well-deserved break when they were over. And that's just what I did.

Writing
Most of the writing I did this month was various essays and presentations I had to give for finals last semester, but I am proud to say I did successfully get back to "Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide" over on Wattpad just like I intended. The story returned on December 19. In this month two new chapters have been released, and my readers seem satisfied. I'm hoping to get back to regular updates again this semester. I intend to use the rest of my winter break to get a good head start on writing chapters so they are ready to go when I need them.

My current stats for "Worlds Collide" are: 911 reads, 87 votes, and 51 comments.

Reading
I only read one book from cover to cover this month, and that was MLP: Discord and the Ponyville Players Dramarama by G.M. Berrow. It was a real quick, fun, easy read that I completed in less than 24 hours. I really loved the many references the book made both to the show and other forms of media. Discord has a pet goldfish named Q. High five if you get that reference, because it's the best one in the entire fandom.

I started to read The Divine Invasion by Philip K. Dick but stopped about 50 pages in. The only reason I started it was for school, and once finals week was over and I was no longer required to read it I just lost all drive to do so, basically. It seemed like an interesting story - and I may get back to it someday - but I was just too burnt out to care at that point.

Also, on a side note, my Reading Challenge on Goodreads was to read 50 books in the year 2015. I read 47 total. So I did not complete the challenge, but I got pretty close. 47 books isn't bad, considering the craziness of this past year. For 2016 my goal will be 50 again. I intend to make it this time.

And that about sums up 2015! Be sure to check back here in 2016 for more nerdy blog posts and book wrap-ups. This is going to be a defining year for me, personally. I can feel it! Happy New Year!!

NaNoWriMo Tag (November Book Wrap-Up)

I made it! I won NaNoWriMo for the second year in a row! Sorry that my wrap-up is a bit late, but honestly, once NaNo was over I just did not want to do anything for a while. I've been sleeping so much the past two days I'm pretty sure I don't know what "awake" is anymore. Anyway!

Writing
I wrote 50,115 words in 30 days during the month of November for NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month). My story was titled Jenkins and Smith and was my first attempt at crime fiction. It sucked, and I have no problem admitting it. But at least I tried, and - bonus! - Jenkins and Smith was the tenth book I've ever written. I've written ten books in my lifetime! That's crazy!

That was the only form of creative writing I did last month. I put "Worlds Collide" over on Wattpad on hold until December. My current stats for said book are as follows: 644 reads, 68 votes, and 36 comments.

Reading
Although November was primarily dedicated to writing, I still managed to read four books during my free time.

• A Canticle for Lebowitz by Walter M. Miller, Jr. (started October 23)
• Horrorstor by Grady Hendrix (started October 26)
• Talon by Julie Kagawa
• Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick

A Canticle for Lebowitz was, quite simply, a masterpiece. I gave it five stars. Horrorstor was my first time reading in the horror genre, and it was a good choice for a newcomer. It was definitely creepy, but not overly so. I liked it. Talon was extremely hard to get a hold of, but it was totally worth the struggle. Julie Kagawa never ceases to amaze and she has definitely gotten me hooked on her newest YA Fantasy series. I loved Talon. I have not yet finished Androids, but I have enjoyed it so far and will be proud to be able to say I have read it, as it is considered a sci-fi classic.

The NaNoWriMo Tag

This tag was created by Kristina Horner on YouTube.

1) How many times have you done NaNoWriMo?

• 2015 was my third year doing NaNoWriMo and my second year winning.

2) How did you first find out about NaNoWriMo?

• I'm pretty sure I had heard of it before this, but the first time I remember really looking into it was when I was a senior in high school and I saw a poster advertising it in the English hall. NaNo is also the reason I found out about Kristina Horner, too, if I'm not mistaken.

3) What was the name of the first novel you attempted with NaNo?

• The first project I attempted with NaNo was Restless. It was going to be a TMNT fanfiction about Leo x Karai and Casey x April, but I never got past 10k words. I'm not proud of my first year with NaNo, but it is there anyhow.

4) Give us a one-sentence summary of what you're writing (or wrote) this year.

• Jenkins and Smith: Criminal justice student Bryan Jenkins and high school senior Wren Smith team up to stop a dangerous crime lord's human trafficking industry.

5) What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?

• I believe it was Lauren Myracle who said: "I've always been told to write what you know. But I say, write what you like." The research and editing can come later.

6) Did you ever take a year off from NaNo? Why?

• Since beginning in 2013, I have never taken a year off from NaNo. I have not won all three years, but I at least attempted all three.

7) What's your biggest inspiration when figuring out what to write?

• My inspiration comes from everywhere. My inspiration for this year's novel came from Sherlock Holmes. My inspiration for last year's came from a video game series. My inspiration for my favorite novel that I've ever written (Follow the Raven) was a lesser-known video game with a beautiful protagonist (and I mean beautiful in the personality sense). I've also gained inspiration from other books, shows, and even just asking myself questions of "what if...?"

8) Read us the first sentence from one of your novels.

• "He would never have seen the murder if he hadn't been in desperate need of a cigarette." (From Jenkins and Smith, 2015)

9) Why do you love writing?

• Writing is the one thing I'm good at. It's the one thing I feel I can do well, something I can offer the world. I love creating characters and whole new worlds and dangerous villains and complex plots. I love all the mechanics of it as well as the pure, unadulterated joy that I gain from putting words on paper. I just love writing!

Again, I apologize that my November Wrap-Up is a couple of days late, but I consider myself to be in the "recovery period" of post-NaNo craziness right now. You can be sure to look forward to more regular blog posts this month! Happy Holidays!

NaNoWriMo 2015 Update #3

Wow! Thanksgiving Break has done wonders for my word count! When I got home on Tuesday night I was sitting at roughly 27,000 words, and now I am at 39,505. I can't believe I'm catching up! 50,000 is within sight! I'm actually going to make it! My challenge at this point will be filling up those last 10k words since I have already reached the climax of the story and am now in the denouement.

I would like to take this opportunity to thank Kristina Horner, a BookTuber that I follow. This is her tenth year doing NaNoWriMo, and for a while she was even further behind than I was in this year's endeavor. Despite the daunting amount of words she had to write to catch up, she has been determined all month long to make it to 50k and is now less than 10k to that goal. Her strong-willed determination to win NaNoWriMo has helped me feel encouraged throughout the month, even when it got to the point that I was 17k behind. Seeing her word count go up has helped me believe that mine could rise as well, and now both of us are going to make it to the finish line. So thank you, Kristina, for your encouragement this November.

I am currently at 39,505 words. And still going strong!

NaNoWriMo 2015 Update #2

I have not written a whole lot since my last update, and I completely blame college for that. Thanks to a test I was unprepared for, a book review that is due tonight that I still have not started, and a speech I have to give on Thursday, my time has been directed at other things this past week. I am currently 11,000 words behind in NaNoWriMo right now.

It also didn't help that I had a bad case of writer's block. I initially had planned for my story to kind of be in two parts, but once the first part was over and I entered the limbo when I introduce the next plot, I crashed into a cement wall and had to start digging through it to get to the other side and keep going. Fortunately I seem to have organized my thoughts a bit more and have now started down a newer, more exciting path than I thought I'd be taking. My novel's genre has also changed a couple of times over the course of this week, but I think it has mostly settled on thriller/suspense.

What encourages me is knowing that Kristina Horner - my role model in all things books - was even further behind than I am and is now catching up rather quickly. If she can do it, I can do it. I can still hit 50k.

I am currently at 17,136 words.

NaNoWriMo 2015 Update #1

The irony of my writing this blog post right now is that I am actually at a write-in, which is specifically designed to help participants focus on their stories and get words written down. In the past hour I have written all of 400 words (if that), and it's because there are two other people here with me - both boys - and they are playing their music very loudly and muttering to themselves and it is very distracting when I am the type of writer that needs total silence to get things done.

So, in light of this situation, I thought I'd at least do something productive and tell you about how NaNoWriMo has treated me so far.

I wrote 6,000 words on the first day, which was awesome. (I also only got three hours of sleep before teaching the pre-school class at my church, but y'know...sacrifices must be made.) Then I wrote a little over 2,000 words the following day, putting me three days ahead. After that I kind of slowed down a bit, writing a few hundred words here and there. On Thursday I got sick, so I only wrote one sentence. The next two days were just plain busy. My goal was to hit 15,000 words today (since that is where we are ideally supposed to be), but with the way this write-in is going and with work less than an hour away, I highly doubt that is going to happen. Maybe next time.

I am currently at 12,558 words.

Inside Out Book Tag (October Book Wrap-Up)

I am now 20 years old, NaNoWriMo 2015 right around the corner, and I have a ton of things to do before midnight (this is one of them). So here we go!

Writing
I did get some writing done this month, but not much. I wrote and posted chapters four and five of "Worlds Collide" over on Wattpad, and my hope is that I can get chapter six done sometime before midnight so that I can post it on November 2 before taking the rest of the month off. Despite recent struggles, the story still seems to be doing well with 441 reads, 54 votes, and 25 comments.

I somehow managed to get some basic outlining done for NaNoWriMo. Initially I was going to write the sequel to last year's story this year (as I've mentioned several times before), but then some new characters popped into my mind and said, "Hey! We want our story told next instead!" A battle between novels ensued with the newcomers coming out on top, so instead of "Rise of Sarama," I will be writing a mystery / suspense titled "Jenkins and Smith." Despite not having much experience in the genre, I am super excited to try it out. Here's to that glorious 50,000!

Reading
October was slow in terms of reading. I am happy to blame NaNoWriMo prep season for that. In any case, I did get three books read this month:

• The Dispossessed by Ursula K. Le Guin
• Roof Oasis by Marie Gilbert
• Saving Solanda by Marie Gilbert

The Dispossessed was the second book we read in my sci-fi class. I liked it much better than Where Late the Sweet Birds sang, though several of my classmates would disagree. I thought it was funny that they were all upset by the novel not taking place on Earth. That is the point of science fiction, people! Roof Oasis is just as good now as it was the first time I read it, and its sequel, Saving Solanda had a great story despite numerous grammatical and consistency errors. I enjoyed them both.

The Inside Out Book Tag

This tag was created by Kristina Horner on YouTube.

1) Which book brings you the most joy?

• This is a close tie for me - I really, really love Skulduggery Pleasant, but I also really love The True Meaning of Smekday. They are my favorite books ever and I never get tired of reading them. As a matter of fact, for Halloween this year I am dressed up as Valkyrie Cain, Skulduggery Pleasant's partner.

2) Which book disgusted you the most?

• I haven't read many books that have grossed me out. I suppose, looking back strictly within the year 2015, I read a book called Quarantine back in August that had some pretty vivid and gross descriptions of the virus that was going around. Honestly, that's the only thing I can think of right now. That and Roof Oasis, which described toddlers being eaten by zombies. Ick.

3) Which book scared you the most?

• The only thing I can think for this one is Coraline. When it was read aloud to us in one of my elementary classes I thought it was pretty creepy, and the movie confirmed its eeriness. There was also this book I read in junior high that featured one true scary story from each of the United States, though I can't recall the title anymore.

4) Which book made you cry the hardest?

• The first book that ever made me actually cry was Where the Red Fern Grows. The book that made me cry the hardest was The Iron Queen. I was so devastated at the way it had to end that I felt like my best friend had just died. My dad walked in on me reading that scene and kind of smirked at me, but us book lovers know: the feels are real.

5) Which book made you the angriest?

• The Truth About Us made me SO angry SO many times! On my Goodreads review I said, "I actually had to put it down a few times because of how worked up I would get." I was so mad at her father for being such a dork about the whole situation. Agh! It doesn't MATTER which side of the tracks you're from. Stereotyping doesn't help anyone!

There you have it! Happy Halloween, everyone! I cannot guarantee that November will have "posts" necessarily - instead it will most likely have updates on my progress throughout NaNoWriMo. The only real post I can promise at this point will be the book wrap-up on November 30. Wish me luck!

Saving Solanda: Book Review

I feel bad that it took me so long to sit down and read this book, seeing how I had it for a month before finally getting it done. I felt like I had a bajillion books I needed to read for school first and it took me all eternity to get through those. Whose great idea was it to read a 600-pager and a 400-pager at the same time? Anyway, before I go into my review, I want to say congrats again to my grandmom for publishing her second book! Also, I am going to be 100% honest about what I think. So here we go!

Saving Solanda is a sci-fi / dystopian novella that tells the continuing story of Roof Oasis. On Earth, The Leader is rapidly gaining power and appears unstoppable, though twins Michael and Lucy are going to do their best to prove otherwise. Meanwhile on Solanda, Queen Elizabeth faces a revolt unless she can successfully marry her daughter to a prince from a neighboring planet. Her daughter, however, has plans of her own.

In Book 1 the story was divided into two parts - one focusing on Lucy and the other on Michael. However, Book 2 does things a little differently in that it shuffles focus with every chapter. This book actually had chapters! That was a nice change of pace from its predecessor.

Some things I liked about this book are as follows: I really, really love the story of Queen Elizabeth and Princess Bird. I won't give spoilers here, but I thought their relationship was great and the way their joint story ended was perfect. I also liked the story of what was happening on Earth. Lucy's, especially, was very well done. I am anxious to see what happens to her in Book 3. Finally, I thought that Patty's character development was scary, but in a good way. The last line of this book gave me chills and promises that the next installment will be even more intense. I can't wait.

Some things I didn't prefer about this book: As I've said before, I don't care for language in anything, no matter the author, so there's that. My biggest complaint about this book would be the grammatical errors. There were so many of them that it was actually difficult for me to plow through some sections. Way, way too many commas were used in this novella. Use them sparingly! Also, there were a few things that were not very clear to me. One example is the dream Bird had about Potate. I had no clue that was a dream sequence, and when he was suddenly alive a few chapters later I was thrown way off track. Another example was Lucy and the baby. One minute she's in complete denial, and the next she's accepting him and naming him and crying for him? Maybe it's just because I've never had children or been pregnant, but I did not think that scene was genuine.

Overall, I gave this book a 2/5 rating, meaning it was okay. That is compared to the last book, which I gave a 3/5. Honestly, the grammatical errors are what did it for me. Clean up the commas and throw in some more editing time and this book would be as good as (if not better than) the first. That said, I'm excited for Book 3. Congrats again, grandmom!

Unpopular Opinions (September Book Wrap-Up)

Well, I am officially in full-on college mode now, which is the excuse I am giving for my only having completely finished two books this month. It is also my excuse for not having written hardly anything since moving into the dorms. I want to pick up the pace in October, and of course November is NaNoWriMo. Until then, my wrap-up for this month is going to be pretty short...but to fill the space I am going to do the Unpopular Opinions Book Tag! Yay!

Writing
September was a really slow month for me in terms of writing. Officially, I don't think I actually wrote anything new. I just typed up what I needed to for the kickoff of "Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide" over on Wattpad, which was released on September 24. The initial response has been positive, with 137 reads, 26 votes, and 11 comments for the first two weeks of its existence (I have included the week the teaser was out for these stats). Chapter Three will be out tomorrow!

NaNoWriMo prep season is halfway over! I still haven't read the book I read last year, "Escape to Utopia," but once I finish the two books I am currently reading I will make sure to get that done. I've got to start planning for "Rise of Sarama" this November! I'm super excited to get back into NaNo after having been away for a year. 50k, here I come!

Reading
As I mentioned earlier, I only completely finished two books this month. I am 120 pages away from finishing another, and almost halfway through the final one. Why I thought it would be a good idea to read a 600-pager and a 400-pager at the same time, I have no idea. Anyway:

• Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang by Kate Wilhelm (begun August 28)
• Smek for President by Adam Rex
• Afterworlds by Scott Westerfeld (120 pages left)

I am not going to list the 400-pager as a book completed this month. You'll see it as the first on my list for October.

Where Late the Sweet Birds Sang was the first book I had to read for my sci-fi class, and it was decent. It wasn't my favorite book in the world, but for a novel about cloning, it kept me interested and I really, really loved the last line. It's one of those books that you have to read to really appreciate. Smek for President was a book that I didn't intend to read all in one day, but I did, and it was so amazing. It was the sequel to The True Meaning of Smekday (the book that HOME was based on). The story of what happened to Tip and J.Lo after the Gorg left was beautiful and touching, and completely perfect in every way. I cannot recommend it enough. I love it so much. I am currently 80% percent through Afterworlds (according to Goodreads) and it is a really great novel. I can relate to Darcy a lot because of her dream to be a successful novelist. It's also interesting to learn about the stuff that comes after your novel has been accepted by a publishing company. All the ins and outs of it and deadlines and whatnot is a wonderful thing for me to know about ahead of time. Thanks, Scott Westerfeld!

Now...

The Unpopular Opinions Book Tag

1) A popular book or series that you didn't like.

• I cannot stand the Divergent series. I read the first book about a year ago, but I trudged through it and could not stop thinking about how boring it was and how much it reminded me of a Hunger Games fanfiction. I hate all the hype surrounding it. The characters are boring, Four is the most stereotypical male lead of all time, the plot has been done before, the action scenes were dull, etc. I could go on, but I think you get the point.

2) A popular book or series that everyone else seems to hate but you love.

• I had a really hard time coming up with the answer for this one. I finally settled on The Alchemist, which is a book that was required for us to read when I was a sophomore in high school. Everyone else in my class seemed to hate it for some reason or another, but I liked it a lot. The story was great. I wonder if everyone else hated it because they didn't understand what was going on.

3) A love triangle where the main character ended up with the person you did NOT want them to end up with OR an OTP that you don't like.

• *Spoilers* Okay. So in the Halflings trilogy, the main character is Nikki and the two boys that she is trying to choose between are Mace and Raven. I really wanted her to be with Raven, but she ended up with Mace instead! I was so mad!

4) A popular book genre that you hardly reach for.

• Dystopia / apocalyptic seems to be the genre these days, but I can't really get into it. I realized real quick that they are all the same and all end the same way, too. I read The Hunger Games and loved it, but nothing outside of it, really. 

5) A popular or beloved character that you do not like.

• I hate Nancy Drew. I know she's an older character, but she was popular for her time, and I don't like her at all.

6) A popular author that you can't seem to get into.

• Everyone really seems to enjoy John Green's books, but I never have the desire to read any. Especially not The Fault in Our Stars. I know that book will make me cry, and I hate books about cancer. Perhaps one day I will give one of John Green's books a shot, but for now, I remain disinclined to investigate his portion of the shelf.

7) A popular book trope that you're tired of seeing.

• I don't know if this counts as a trope or not, but something I am getting bored of is predictable endings. Perhaps it's because I read a lot of YA, but 90% of the time I can predict how a book is going to end long before it gets there. I always enjoy when a book is able to surprise me.

8) A popular series that you have no interest in reading.

• Harry Potter. Sorry, Potter fans, but I'm just not inclined to read it, or watch the movies.

9) The saying goes, "The book is always better than the movie," but what movie or TV show adaptation do you prefer more than the book?

• I actually preferred the movie version of Ender's Game to the novel. Perhaps it's because I didn't read the rest of the series, but Ender's Game felt like it was full of useless scenes, specifically those with his brother and sister back on Earth. The movie focused solely on Ender, was to the point, and left out a lot of the useless stuff from the book. I liked it a lot better, but that's not to say that I didn't enjoy the book as well.

Tada! That's my September wrap-up for you. I'll be back next month with more posts. In the meantime, I hope you enjoyed my TMNT-centered series. Booyakasha!

Is Karai Really Splinter's Daughter? (+Season 3 Review)

*Spoilers Ahead*

On August 9, TMNT Season 3 Episode 20, "Tale of the Yokai," aired, and brought with it so many feels. The Turtles being sent back in time wasn't enough...they were sent to the exact day that the Shredder attempted to kill Splinter for the first time. And of course, Tang Shen and an infant Karai were present as well. It was really difficult to watch this episode, mostly because we actually saw the death of Tang Shen for the first time, saw how it tore Splinter apart. Though Leo could have saved her, he let history take its course and we saw Shredder steal Karai away from her true father.

Or is he?

Hear me out. Of course, knowing that Splinter and the TMNT are good guys, we as viewers are inclined to believe his word as truth over the Shredder. So when he uttered those show-changing words in Season 2, "Karai is my daughter," both the Turtles and the viewers believed him. Even the Shredder admits to stealing Splinter's daughter away at the end of the first season.

BUT.

In "Tale of the Yokai," Shredder begs Tan Shen to take him back, saying that he isn't the man he once was (a total lie, btw). He promises to care for both her and the infant, saying he will take them to New York if she wishes. All of those promises are great and whatnot, but the thing I think we need to focus on here is the "take me back" part. Shredder's conversation with Tang Shen heavily implies that at some point, they were together before she and Splinter were, presumably quite recently.

Think about it. It takes nine months to make a baby, and Shredder was with Tang Shen before Splinter, at a fairly recent point in the past? I'm no genius, and I certainly can't climb through the screen to do the DNA testing, but that whole episode heavily implied that Karai really IS the Shredder's daughter.

And, in a way, that makes sense. Karai has always been the Shredder's daughter in past versions of TMNT (2003 and 2007 being the most obvious). In past versions, Splinter has not had any family outside of Tang Shen, the Turtles, and his Master Yoshi (depending on the series). It wouldn't be that big of a stretch to assume that Karai is the Shredder's daughter in the 2012 series as well, despite what Splinter says.

And really, I suppose only Tang Shen could know for sure who the father of her child was, but she is sadly out of the picture now, so for the moment at least, it will probably remain a mystery. Also, we really can't blame Splinter for believing that Karai is his daughter. He did win Tang Shen in the end, after all, and probably hooked up with her at about the time that she dumped the Shredder. The timing of it is really close, but after this episode, all the fingers are pointing to Shredder as the true father of Karai.

Either way, I REALLY want Karai to join the Turtles and be a good guy. Splinter has gone through too much for her to remain with the Shredder at this point.

This season was amazing. It brought us so many wonderful ups and downs, plot twists, new characters, etc. The Turtles' time in the woods at the beginning was really neat and was filled with great references to the 1990 movie, but they may have spent too long there. Taking back New York from the Kraang was an epic feat, and of course that brought in great new characters such as Hun, Rocksteady and Bebop, the Mutanimals, Mondo Gecko, Renet, and Bishop. (I was so psyched that Bishop was finally introduced; you have no idea. I may have scared the other girls in my dorm a little.) The Season 3 Finale introduced the Triceratons - characters from the 2003 show - and the Fugitoid (voiced by DAVID TENNANT - what what!!).

I am super excited to see what Season 4 has in store for us. Mostly, I'm just excited that Mona Lisa is finally coming to the show! (Remember earlier in Season 3 when I found a picture of this strange alien girl that I thought was her? I was wrong. She looks WAY more awesome than that!) I won't go into all the details here; instead, I will direct you to Andre's video that explains in detail what you can expect now that the Turtles are in space, the Earth has been sucked into a black hole, and Splinter has died at the hands of the Shredder. (The FEELS, though!!)

Happy third Mutation Day, TMNT 2012!! :D

TMNT Tidbits #1: My Shippings and the New Hun

I forgot to mention in my last post that since it's September, and September 29 was the day that the current version of TMNT aired on Nickelodeon, this month will be focused solely on the Turtles - much like Sonic back in June. Last time I talked about fanfiction, but now it's time for the real deal. Welcome to my first ever TMNT Tidbits - random things about the Turtles that I've wanted to mention but never had enough material for to create a full post. Here we go!

First up - and I know this is really late - but did anyone else catch that line in S03E15, "The Noxious Avenger," when Bebop and Rocksteady attempt to make a quick getaway from the Turtles and Bebop says, "I'm outie five thousand?" I am, like, 90% sure that that was a reference to Andre (aka Black Nerd) from YouTube, who does TMNT recaps for every episode. At the end of his videos, Andre usually says "I'm outie five thousand." I know he is a pretty big name in the TMNT universe right now, so I wondered if Ciro threw that in there on purpose as an honorable mention to him. If so...that is AWESOME!

Second, shippings. I figure I should talk about this at least once. The biggest debate right now is Apritello vs. Capril. I will probably go into more depth on this in another post, but to sum up, I was a fan of Apritello until S02E04, "Mutagen Man Unleashed," when Casey Jones was first introduced. It was an instant turnaround for me. The moment he gave her that smirk and said, "I'm Casey Jones," I knew he was going to win her over real quick and I became a Capril shipper. I just love his character. They are so perfect for each other.

The next biggest thing is Leo x Karai. To be honest, I have never truly shipped those two like a lot of Shellheads do. Even in the 2003 series when they were completely unrelated I didn't like them as a romantic couple. But especially with this 2012 series, I really see them more as brother and sister than anything else. Plus...that's kind of what they are. Just saying.

Mikey x Renet is a new thing to me, but I love it so much. I am so used to Greg Cipes and Ashely Johnson's characters being paired up in every other show (Teen Titans, SRMTHFG!, etc.) that it's pretty much natural to put those two together at this point. I didn't like Renet in the 2003 series, but Ashley brings something totally brand-new and likeable to the character, and I completely ship her and Mikey now. More, please!

Raphael x Mona Lisa is my OTP for the TMNT series, but I can't say much about it since we haven't met Mona in the current show yet.

Finally, HUN. HUUUUUUN. I love Hun! I was so excited when I found out he would be introduced in Season 3. The 2012 version of him is really different from the 2003 series in terms of physical appearance, but his affiliation with the Purple Dragons, ridiculous loyalty to Shredder, and overall character seems to still be intact for the most part, with some minor exceptions. 2012 Hun is much more vocal about his battle scenes, whereas 2003 Hun would just stand there and start choking his enemy without any pretense whatsoever. He was all business - a quality that the new Hun has, but not as much of. Honestly, though, I love the rivalry between Hun and Casey Jones in this new series, and I fangirl every time Hun is in an episode. He is one of the greatest TMNT villains ever. Now if only we had Agent Bishop...

Anyways, that's pretty much all I have for this time. Kind of random, I know, but that's why it's called Tidbits! Join me next time when I address a huge question that was raised a couple of episodes ago...is Karai REALLY Splinter's daughter? Dun dun dun!! Find out why I'm skeptical in my next post!

The Struggles of Writing TMNT Fanfiction

**WARNING: Spoilers for my Wattpad readers!!**

As you probably already know, I am a huge fan of writing fanfiction. I have been writing Sonic fanfics since I was twelve years old, and started sharing them with the world when I was sixteen. Over on Wattpad I quickly became one of the leading names in Sonic fanfiction - an honor that I don't take for granted in the least. I could not have gotten to where I am now without my readers supporting me and voting for my trilogy.

In February of this year I decided to branch out a little and begin writing fanfiction for another fandom: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I was optimistic that it would be fun and relatively easy; I know all of the characters and series and differences between like the back of my hand. My action and battle scenes have definitely improved over the last few years. I was following a character I had already used before. It shouldn't have been difficult, right?

Wrong.

Don't get me wrong - I love TMNT. I like the oneshots I've written in years past. I even like the really crappy fanfic I wrote a couple of years ago that I will probably never let another soul read. But when it came down to crunch time and I was releasing chapters for the public and attempting to continue a story my readers were used to taking place on Mobius, suddenly my brilliant idea for an epic crossover-like event didn't seem so brilliant after all.

There are a lot of challenges when it comes to writing TMNT fanfiction just by itself, let alone trying to combine two worlds. One of the biggest obstacles I've had to face is the version of the Turtles that I am basing my fanfic on. "Dude, This is No Vacation" features the TMNT as we saw them in the 2007 movie. Keep in mind that it was only one movie, and the characters were older and living different lifestyles at the time and etc. Trying to harness the more matured and serious characters of the now adult Turtles is hard when you - like so many others - are used to the 15-year-olds we see on TV every Sunday. I find it especially difficult to nail Leo and Donnie. Leo went on a one-year plus hiatus before the events of the 2007 movie that really changed him as a character, brother, and leader. Attempting to show his maturity is not easy when you watch the still-growing Leo on TV every week. Donnie is even harder because we don't see that much of him in the movie. We know that he got a job while Leo was away, but since my fanfic takes place after the events of the film, trying to re-integrate him into the world of crime-fighting when he isn't as used to it as he used to be is nearly impossible when you consider that his character has certainly changed as well. How might he handle things differently now than he did when he was younger? I just don't know.

The good news is that Raph and Mikey are pretty much the same, just older. I can play around with their characters a little to show their maturity here and there, but ultimately, Raph is still a lone wolf and Mikey is still a goofball. And Splinter? Don't even get me started on how difficult it is to portray him. Though I envision him as the Splinter from the 2007 movie, I draw on many traits of the Splinter from the 2003 series to help me write his character as both a strict sensei and loving father. Not easy!

Another difficult thing about writing for TMNT is the action / battle scenes. I have gotten better at writing them thanks to my practice with Sonic fanfiction, but TMNT action is much different than Sonic action. I have had to rely on different battle scenes from different movies to help me write accurate one-on-one battle action for the Turtles' universe versus the Sonic universe. (Fun Fact: The Karai vs. Kay battle scene in "No Vacation" was loosely based on the Turtles battling the Shredder in the 2014 movie.)

Besides writing TMNT just for itself, trying to add elements of Kay's past life on Mobius is a whole other battle to be won (no pun intended). There were several points while writing book one that I beat myself up for one reason or another, most prominent being that I was still focusing heavily on Sonic when it was supposed to be a TMNT story. This bothered me for a long time until I began to realize something: this is MY story, and if it's going to be a crossover, or focus more heavily on Sonic, then that's okay! My readers will like whatever I give them - most of my readers are from the Sonic fanbase anyway. Sometimes I still worry about the crossover thing, but in the long run, I started out writing this series just for myself, and I want to keep it that way as I finish it. My readers will stick around. They haven't failed me yet.

One final problem I had while writing "No Vacation" is the fact that I spent a LOT of time focusing on Kay instead of the Turtles when, again, it's supposed to be a TMNT fic. Towards the end of book one I began to branch out a little into omniscient third person instead of the limited I'd been doing up until that point, and my hopeful goal is to continue that as I move into book two this week. That way my readers will get plenty of Kay, but also plenty of Turtles.

Speaking of book two, a lot of fun things await my readers as Mobius and Earth clash in "Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide." I intend to make it longer than the first book, add more of the omniscient POV (as I mentioned above), add way more action and drama, etc. As I mentioned over on Wattpad, war is about to begin...and not just between the good guys and bad guys. Sparks are going to fly and chaos will reign in my newest TMNT fanfic, coming this Thursday, September 24. I am super excited to share this new book with my readers, and I think they will really love where I plan on taking the story. Here's hoping for the best!

Summer Reads (July & August Book Wrap-Up)

OK, I will admit, I have been lacking on the blog posts this summer. The Sims 3 was my excuse in July, but this month was vacation and moving into the dorms at college and then getting settled into a new routine, so...yeah. Only three posts this month. But I'm going to try and do better next month; I even have something fun and special planned, so be sure to stay tuned!

Writing
In July I finished typing and posting the final chapters of "Dude, This is No Vacation" over on Wattpad. I posted the epilogue (and its cliffhanger) on the morning I left for a one-week vacation, so I didn't get to see anyone's reaction until I got back. The response was overwhelmingly - and a little surprisingly - positive. I was elated to hear that so many people enjoyed my first TMNT fanfiction. It was definitely a weight off my shoulders (for reasons I will state next month). This will be my last time posting stats for "No Vacation." As of right now, they have mostly come to rest at 5,162 reads; 402 votes; and 107 comments. Not bad for a first attempt at writing TMNT!

In September I will begin posting "No Vacation's" successor, titled, "Dude, Worlds Are Gonna Collide." I'm excited for all of the things I finally get to reveal to my readers with this one. I'm hoping it will be more exciting, intense, and character-growing than the first. It's about to get real.

I still have not really looked into writing outside of fanfiction thus far, but especially now that school has started back up again, I would really like to get serious about it. That, and NaNoWriMo is rapidly approaching, so I get to start planning for this year's novel, "Rise of Sarama." I'm super excited to return to the world of Soren and Mira that I created almost a whole year ago. I'm also really stoked to read what I wrote last year in preparation for the sequel. I might wince several times, but that's okay. It's part of the process.

Reading
In July I did not read very much, but I picked up the pace again in August, coming to a total of seven books for the two months combined. These are the novels I read:

• Beauty and the Beast: The Only One Who Didn't Run Away by Wendy Mass
• Prince of Shadows by Rachel Caine
• Quarantine: The Loners by Lex Thomas
• Kathryn: Days of Struggle and Triumph by Donna Fletcher Crow
• Rules of the Red Rubber Ball by Kevin Carroll
• Elizabeth: Days of Loss and Hope by Donna Fletcher Crow
• The Truth About Us by Janet Gurtler

Quarantine was more of a thriller than the "killer of a thriller" that I read in June, Project Cain. Apparently it is a modern take of Lord of the Flies. If that's the case, I'm way more inclined to read the classic novel because Quarantine was amazing. It was a perfect blend of suspense, action, and horror. Both Kathryn and Elizabeth were books that I would not have chosen for myself, but my grandma saw them and got them for me, so of course I gave them a try. They ended up being pretty good! They were equal parts romance and historical fiction with great morals woven in as well. I literally just finished the final book on my list about two hours before beginning this post. My goal was to read 15 books this summer (June, July, August), and The Truth About Us was the 15th. Mission accomplished!

That's all I have for now! Next month I'm starting another special series of posts that you'll probably be interested in. (I bet you'll NEVER guess what the focus will be this time...wink wink!) Haha. See you in September!

The Happiest I've Ever Been

So in case you all didn't know, today marks Connor Franta's five-year anniversary of being on YouTube! Connor was the first YouTuber I subscribed to (way back in the summer before my sophomore year of high school). I was there before he hit one million subscribers and have enjoyed the ups and downs with him since then. A couple of years ago Connor created a tag that I really liked the idea of, so to celebrate his anniversary, I'm going to complete it here on my blog! Lucky you!

Connor calls this "The Most" Tag. I think you'll understand the concept as I start getting into it. Here we go!

The most scared I've ever been was when my grandma (my dad's biological mom) came to visit us one spring and nearly died. I don't remember exactly how old I was, but I think I was in 5th or 6th grade. I woke up one night and the first thing I heard was my grandma calling for my mom and for help. From there everything seemed to drag on forever; I realized real quick that she was having trouble breathing and my mom called 911. I sat downstairs in my room crying and praying hard for my grandma's survival. Apparently there came a point where her face was turning blue and her eyes began to roll back in her head, and just when my mom thought grandma wouldn't make it, the ambulance arrived. The EMT workers quickly got her hooked up with an oxygen mask and rushed her to the hospital. And to top all of that off, my dad wasn't even around when this happened. He was away for some military thing at the time. Thankfully my grandma made it out after a few nights in the hospital, but it still scares me just to think about it. Last year when I went to Philly I had the chance to visit her - something I am extremely thankful for.

The happiest I've ever been was when Luke asked me to our senior prom. I had liked him since we were freshman and over the years we had slowly gotten to know each other. My crush was rapidly becoming something much more, but Luke continuously showed signs of indifference towards me. Then, on April 1, he asked me to prom in a way that only Luke could. I didn't believe him at first; one, because it was April Fool's Day, and two, because he had never seemed interested in prom at all. Ever. Not even a little. But lo and behold, we bought couple's tickets the next day and went together that weekend. We weren't "official;" he was just my escort. But it was still the happiest day of my life. Luke and I are now sophomores in college together, and while he has never made another move like he did at prom, I still love him so much. That will never change.

The saddest I've ever been was when I left Great Falls, Montana to live in Wyoming, where I am now. It's six hours away from here but I have never been back. One day I fully intend to return, though, if only for a weekend road trip. As a military kid, I was used to moving. But I had lived in Great Falls for 90% of my elementary career (1st-6th grade) and was all geared up to attend Treasure State Academy that fall. The next thing I know, we're packing up and moving to a town I've never heard of to start up a church called Vertical. That was the darkest, saddest day of my life. I've since matured and grown to like where I live, but Montana still holds a special place in my heart.

The proudest I've ever been was probably when I won NaNoWriMo for the first time last year (Novemeber 2014). I had tried it the year before and completely failed, but the second time around I really put my butt in gear and got it done, crossing the finish line with 50,076 words. The novel, "Escape to Utopia," is currently under revision and its successor, "Rise of Sarama," is the project I'll be working on this November. Psyched!

The craziest I've ever been? I can't pinpoint one exact moment but I know for sure that when my friends and I were seniors, we did some pretty crazy things. There were a lot of late nights and soda highs - just general chaos took place whenever we were outside of the high school...and sometimes even within! It was one of the best times of my life. I'll always remember the fun we had and the hookups and breakups that constantly seemed to be taking place within our circle. Things have gotten calmer and more stable now, but get us hyped for something and there's no stopping the chaos blast we leave in our wake. (Sonic reference!)

The most passionate I've ever been can't be restricted to just one point in my life because it spans over the years. Ever since I was in 3rd grade I've been passionate about writing. That's when my dream of being a novelist was born. I am now working to make that dream a reality! My passion for Sonic and TMNT are both extremely intense and has stuck with me for years. Both have gotten me through some really tough times. My passion for my circle of friends exists all the time, though I don't often show it. They, too, have been there when I needed them most. I am who I am today because of them. I'm passionate about many things, but my love for all the things/people listed here are the most intense.

The sickest I've ever been (that I can remember) was October of 2013, when everything that could possibly go wrong with me did. I had the worst sore throat in the world, I was vomiting, my body temperature was constantly in flux, I had the mother of all headaches, etc. I did go to the doctor for this, but strangely enough, I didn't have strep throat or the flu or anything, really. It was just a bad virus. I missed four days of school because of this sickness and had to spend what would have been a nice three-day weekend making up all the work I'd missed that week. Thankfully I have not experienced anything like it since, nor do I ever want to again.

The most tired I've ever been. I can't remember a time that I was really, truly, asleep-standing-up tired. I'm pretty good about getting sleep. I do know that last summer when I was coming back from Philly, I had to wake up at 4AM EST to get on a 3.5 hour flight, spend an hour connecting in Denver, then board another 1.5 hour flight home. When I arrived in my hometown it was just a little after noon, but I was still on EST so it felt more like 2PM, which meant that I'd already been awake for ten hours. I was exhausted, but did my best not to nap too long so I could adjust to my time zone again more quickly. It worked. I was free of jet-lag in two days.

I don't know when I was the angriest. As a child I definitely had anger issues that were addressed, so I'm sure my parents could provide an example, but I do my best to forget about my past before Great Falls. I do get irritated at things a lot, but I don't really explode into a Hulk-rage over them anymore. I honestly don't know the answer to this one.

The most excited I've ever been goes hand-in-hand with the happiest I've ever been: when Luke asked me to prom. Check back there if you need a refresher.

That's it for now! Tomorrow I'm moving in to the dorms at college, which I'm super excited for. See you next time!

Summer Class Review + Looking Ahead

This summer (June 1 - July 26) I took a 3 credit class to help me get a head start on my sophomore year of college. The class was Intro to Women's Studies. I thought it would basically be history from a woman's perspective, or maybe focus on the contributions women made to history that we kind of gloss over in standard textbooks. Instead it focused on the history and different types of feminism, and how without it, women would not be able to do many of the things we take for granted today. It was definitely an eye-opener, and though I was only taking it to fulfill my sociology requirement for my degree, I ended up really loving it. Intro to Women's Studies quickly became one of my favorite classes as well as one of the most informational ones.

My brother definitely thought I was crazy for purposely choosing to take a class during the summer, but it was just one class and it helped me get ahead for this school year. Because I took Women's Studies I only have to take four classes this semester, which gives me a chance to really focus on the ones I like: creative writing and science fiction. I'm so excited to finally take creative writing this semester. Back in May of 2014 when I was planning for my college career I saw that the earliest I could take it was my sophomore year. At the time I thought it would be the longest wait of my life, but here I am a year and half later actually getting ready to do it! Time flies.

I'm also looking forward to moving into the dorms in a week and getting out on my own for the first time. I couldn't live on campus last year because my financial aid went all wacky, but this time around I knew what to expect and made it happen. That, and I received a lot of scholarships for this school year that I was not even expecting. They are really going to help me even beyond my community college. The leftover FA I get this year will help me make it to university later on down the road. My parents and younger brother are going to help me move in a week from now, and after that I'm on my own for the first time. Of course my family will still be in town if I need them, and I'll see them at church on Sundays, but other than that I can really start to make my own choices.

Last year there were many events I wanted to attend that I could not because of how late they went. My parents had a curfew for me. This time around, though, the only curfew I have to worry about is the one I set for myself. Of course I completely intend to plan accordingly; if I have a morning class I will make sure to get to bed at a decent hour. Lucky for me, though, most of my classes are in the afternoon or evening. (I learned my lesson about morning classes last semester.) I'm also looking forward to having a roommate and making new friends. Last year my social life took a nosedive, but I've used this summer to kind of collect my thoughts about the situation and decide what I want in friendships and relationships in the future. I feel ready to get back into the swing of things and start fresh. Luckily I made some friends as a freshman that will still be around this year to help me get started in building a new social circle.

Most of all, though, I'm looking forward to really staring to get serious about my career as an author. I believe my creative writing class will help me with some of that, as well as participating in NaNoWriMo this November, but ultimately I know that it is all up to me to make it happen. I write decent fanfiction, but lately that seems to be all I've been writing. I have grand plans for my fanfic characters, but I also really want to get serious about writing real fiction and putting my name out there. It won't happen right away, but the journey of a thousand miles begins with the first step. I intend to throw myself into the deep end, choose a project, and see it through to the finish line, no matter how hard it is. Regardless of what the world tells me, I CAN be a published author. God gave me one talent, and I plan to use it. Look out, world. My characters are about to break out of prison!

All in all, it's been kind of a busy summer, but I'm looking forward to moving on campus and going back to school very soon. This is the year I get my AA in English. This is the year I begin to make my dream a reality. This is the year of change.

Also, my brother started high school this past week. Where does the time go?

The Sims 3

Yes, I know it's the middle of the month. I kinda failed the "one post a week" thing, but hey, it took longer than expected! I honestly meant to get a post out last week like normal, but then...The Sims 3...

I've owned The Sims 3 since the beginning of the year, but about a month after I got it, my computer just decided it couldn't keep up all of a sudden and began to lag. I stopped playing the game with the hopes of finding a computer with a better graphics processor (or whatever it needs), but six months later, that computer is still sitting on the shelf. It, too, is missing just one part. Meanwhile, my game sat on the shelf and waited patiently to be taken down. Finally the desire to play got so bad that I just didn't care about the lag anymore. I popped it in last Thursday and have been playing ever since.

To be fair, The Sims 3 has been waiting for its opportunity to shine for half a year now. Yes, it's interfered with my blog posts and fanfiction writing, but I don't really mind so much. I'm ahead of my schedule for both reading and writing. As far as blog posts go, I actually used up pretty much every idea I had LAST month, during the Sonic Spotlight. I have a couple of ideas lined up for July, but beyond that, I'm going to be winging it.

Once upon a time, when I was a pre-teen, my grandma on my dad's side gave me The Sims 1 Deluxe Edition as a gift. Dad installed it, and grandma taught me how everything worked. She even taught me a couple of cheats to go along with it. I loved the game instantly and would play for hours and hours on end. Over the following years, I would occasionally get into "Sims mode" and pick up the game after not having played it for a while, then turn around and play it for weeks at a time before letting it wear off again.

A few years ago I was walking through Walmart with my dad and I found the PC games section, where I saw several more Sims games and expansion packs. One in particular, The Sims Life Stories, stood out to me. I wanted to get it and asked for a long time, but my dad was always wary about my buying it. Eventually the product was discontinued and disappeared off the shelves entirely. By the time I turned 18 and could actually buy another game, the only one that stood out was The Sims 3 Generations, but I would have had to get the base game in addition, which at the time cost more money than I was willing to spend.

Then voila! For Christmas of 2014, I received a gift card to Game Stop. I originally went for Sonic and was even considering a TMNT game when I stumbled upon The Sims 3 Starter Pack, which was only $20, versus the $40-something it cost before The Sims 4 was released. I debated for a bit, then decided to go ahead and give it a try. I don't regret the purchase, even though it has the tendency to take over my life for several days at a time.

I have only installed the base game at this point, again because I'm waiting on that new computer. My current one has finally begun to keep up and the lag is not as frequent or annoying, but I know the second I install even one expansion pack, that will be the end of playing The Sims until further notice. So I'm waiting - a bit impatiently - for that to happen. Meanwhile I've downloaded Riverview, which is a town you get for free upon registering the game. I haven't played in it yet, but I'm planning to soon.

Sunset Valley (the town in the base game):

As of right now I'm playing with my seventh generation of Sims, who are the descendants of the two I started with. I have mostly stayed within the athletic, science, law enforcement, or part-time career tracks. Once I did venture into culinary with one of my Sims, but shortly after that I decided I could not effectively manage seven Sims in one household, so I had her and her husband and son move to another house to lighten the load, if you will. Shortly after that, both grandparents died within 24 hours of each other, so now I have a household of four.

The seventh generation I'm playing with consists of two boys - a teen and a child - who were both adopted. I was so excited when I saw the older boy was a black kid. I've been trying to expand my gameplay to other types of Sims instead of staying within the same kind (tan, brown or black hair, purple eyes), so when the adoption service gave me a black boy I was elated. The younger child is a blonde, which is a type of Sim I've never gotten to play with before either. I'm excited to watch these boys grow up. The hard part will be deciding which one to follow beyond the teen years.

I tend to only choose one Sim at a time to really follow through their life story. With my first generation, it was their third child. With his family, it was his first child. Usually I raise all of the kids until they are young adults, at which point I choose whether I want them to marry and then pick one to continue following as they have kids and get jobs and whatnot. With the last generation (six) I decided to follow the older of the twin girls.

Another thing I tend to do is choose the same traits over and over. I think that partly has to do with the fact that in my mind, traits are genetic, and so I automatically choose the same ones. But with these adopted kids, I really have more freedom to create brand-new Sims and explore what life is like for them. Maybe I should keep that in mind.

Anyway, The Sims 3 is really fun and is totally the game to blame for the lack of a blog post last week. I'm looking forward to trying Riverview, exploring new traits, and installing expansion packs when the time comes. See you next post! *goes back to playing The Sims 3*

Speed Reading - What a Novel Idea! (June Book Wrap-Up)

Despite it being Sonic's birthday month, June felt rather slow for me. I'm not entirely sure why; I certainly had plenty to do between work, school, reading, writing, baseball, and the like. Maybe it's because I've been so excited for July's session of Camp NaNoWriMo. Perhaps it's due to my struggles in writing this month. Whatever the reason, June was kind of slow for me, despite getting a lot done.

Writing
My goal for June was to finish writing my first full-length TMNT fanfiction, "Dude, This is No Vacation," which I did. (Finished WRITING it, not typing/sharing. The rest of the chapters will be posted weekly until the end of July.) The story in its entirety is 25 chapters long, with a prologue and epilogue. I have actually really struggled to write this book. It's my first full-length TMNT fanfic, as I mentioned above. I've based it off the 2007 movie, which is hard to recreate since it was a stand-alone story. It follows a Sonic fanfiction trilogy that I worked on for years and loved writing. And - here's the kicker - the more I write TMNT, the more I dislike the story I've created. OK, that's not exactly true. I like the idea of where the story is going to take me. It was just this first book that gave me trouble. I had to set up the world, work through some unfun issues with my protagonist, and build up to the more exciting stuff that will happen in Book Two. I have to admit, the last few chapters were my favorites and way easier to write because I was able to really get things going with the plot and with the characters. (No spoilers!)

Anyway, long story short, I finished my first TMNT fanfic and will spend Camp NaNo beginning to write Book Two. (I'm not revealing the title and cover yet - sorry!) My current stats for "Dude, This is No Vacation" are as follows: 3,788 reads; 298 votes; and 82 comments.

I don't even want to talk about my writing beyond fanfiction.

Reading
I read eight books this month! EIGHT! I believe that's a new personal best. I had a lot of time to kill at work this month (since no one comes in during the summer and I worked a 40-hour week to cover for my boss). Plus, CrushYourTBR was hosting a 24-hour readathon, which I totally knocked out of the park. These are the books I read this month:

• What Is He Thinking?? by Rebecca St. James (started May 31)
• A Work in Progress by Connor Franta
• Project Cain by Geoffrey Girard
• The Last Best Kiss by Claire LaZebnik
• Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay
• Dreamtreaders by Wayne Thomas Batson
• Openly Straight by Bill Konigsberg
• Doctor Who: Prisoner of the Daleks by Trevor Baxendale

A Work in Progress was a book I'd wanted to get my hands on ever since it was announced. It was an amazing, inspiring read. It's incredible how much one can take away from a single chapter in the memoir, let alone the whole thing. I highly recommend this book. Project Cain was disappointing. The reviews for it called it a "killer of a thriller," and while it was about killers, I felt absolutely no thrill in reading it. There was no suspense or mystery. The author's voice was extremely apathetic. There was no dialogue. I'm not kidding. NONE. I felt very let down after finishing this novel. The Last Best Kiss and Of Beast and Beauty were both amazing love stories. I can especially relate to the protagonist in the first one.

In addition to the real books I read, I also decided to crush my Sonic Graphic Novel TBR (in honor of Sonic's birthday month), which consisted of:

• Sonic Select 1
• Sonic Select 3
• Sonic Select 9
• Sonic Saga 5: Evil Reborn
• Sonic Saga 6: Mogul Rising

I was glad to finally get through these novels and learn more about the world of Mobius pre-SGW. I had already read Evil Reborn in the comic series as it was being released, but it was neat to have it all in one place. Mogul Rising explained a lot of things I hadn't known about a major villain in the series, and each of the Sonic Selects explained bits and pieces of minor characters as well as providing entertainment with funny snippets from full-length stories.

Well...that's it for June! Sonic and Shadow's birthday month has come and gone, and with it, the June Sonic Special. I hope you enjoyed reading about the Blue Blur this month as much as I enjoyed writing about him. See you in July for more nerdy posts! And as always, celebrating 24 years of Sonic the Hedgehog, I'm up, over, and GONE!!

Boom! Sonic the Hedgehog's 24th Birthday

Well guys, it's finally here! June 23 - Sonic the Hedgehog's birthday! Today marks 24 years of the Fastest Thing Alive, the hedgehog that brought light into my life seven years ago. I can't put into words how much Sonic means to me. I know those around me don't understand and probably never will, but Sonic came into my life at exactly the right time and has helped me through some really tough life changes. In seven years, he has been my one constant. I can't thank him enough for always being there when I need him.

I'm so proud to see how far Sonic has come in just one year! Since June 23, 2014, Sonic Boom has aired, a new line of merch has been released, Sonic Dash has gained 100 million downloads, and for the first time ever, the kids in my Sunday school class know exactly who Sonic the Hedgehog is. And they like him! (Duh. Who wouldn't?)

Despite the apparently terrible gameplay, the Sonic Boom games sold, and a third one is in progress right now! Sonic Boom: Fire and Ice is coming this holiday season. I suspect this game will reveal a bit more about the workings of New Mobius, but I could be wrong. The first two games had great storylines (which is what I look for in a game, being a writer) and were apparently prequels to the TV series, though I don't entirely understand how. The two are totally different. Still, Lyric was a great new villain to introduce, and Shadow was there to cause trouble as well. (I hope we see more of him in Fire and Ice.)

Meanwhile, the new TV series is doing well! Millions of people tune in to watch the Blue Blur every week. A second season of the show is even being considered. Even though only 26 episodes have aired (half of Season 1), we have learned much about the way New Mobius works versus Mobius Prime. Both Mobians and non-Mobians alike can appreciate the humor, adventure, and action in every episode. I can't wait to see more once they finally air again.

In addition to that, a Sonic the Hedgehog movie was announced late last year and is in production as we speak. It will most likely be live action / CGI, though that has not been confirmed yet. Also, it has been rumored that there may be some Sonic Boom movies coming our way as well! That would be so amazing.

As far as gaming, Sonic has recently made the switch to mobile devices, though console games are not ruled out entirely. Sonic Dash, Jump, and Runners have been received extremely well, with Dash gaining over 100 million downloads (and I was one of them)! Each of these games are actually games, not just an endless time killer as many seem to believe. Dash actually has missions to complete, which get you Red Star Rings and bonuses for your overall score. These Red Star Rings can help you buy characters (I'm aiming for Shadow right now - 29/60 complete!) and other prizes. Players actually run through three different zones and face two different bosses. The levels get increasingly more difficult depending on your skill level. Dash was the first to usher in a new age of Sonic gaming, bringing a fresh perspective and appreciation of Sonic and his friends.

Sonic is slowly but surely gaining popularity. Shortly after Sonic Boom aired last November, the kids I teach in Sunday school began to recognize the hedgehog I advertise 24/7 and can now talk to me about the show and their favorite characters. Kids at VBS this summer recognized him as well. It makes me so happy to see the next generation of Mobians rising up. I'm also excited for the new line of Sonic merch that is coming soon. More items to collect, more shirts to wear! (As of right now I only have one Boom shirt.)

The Fastest Thing Alive has come a long way. Even though he and his friends and his world are now changing to reach the kids of today, Sonic is still Sonic, and he is still my one constant. He means so, so much to me. And he is NOT DEAD. For a while I thought he was winding down, reaching the point where he would fade into legend as a great gaming icon. But the introduction of the Boom universe and mobile games have given him the kick in the pants he needed to make his great comeback. Sonic the Hedgehog lives on - 24 years and counting! I cannot wait for more episodes, more games, the movie, and everything else that is coming. SONIC IS NOT DEAD. Take that, non-Mobians. You know who you are.

Happy birthday, Sonic. I love you so much. Celebrating 24 years of the greatest thing that's ever happened to me, I'm up, over, and GONE!!

Chaos Emeralds in Sonic Boom? (Theory)

I've wanted to write this post for a long time, but I figured I'd save it for Shadow the Hedgehog's birthday since it really has more to do with him than anyone else in the Boom universe. That said, happy birthday, Shadow! 14 years ago today, Shadow the Hedgehog (my favorite Sonic character of all time) was introduced in Sonic Adventure 2: Battle, for the Gamecube. Though the game creators intended for SA2B to be his only appearance (he was supposed to die at the end), they ended up bringing him back in Sonic Heroes due to his popularity among Sonic fans. Today he remains one of the most popular secondary characters, but he'll always be #1 in my book!

Shadow has been rebooted along with other popular Sonic characters for the Boom universe, reverting back to his original anti-hero / villain role. He is fiercely independent and an incredibly powerful individual, though he does not appear often. Something I noticed almost immediately, however, was that in the new Sonic Boom games, Shadow uses Chaos weapons against Sonic and his friends every time they battle. But wait a minute...the creators of the show confirmed that there would be no Chaos Emeralds in this new series. But wait another minute...using Chaos weapons is impossible without the existence of the Chaos Emeralds. What the what?

I have a theory about all this.

After watching and scrutinizing every aspect of the Boom universe I could get my hands on (games, TV series, comics, etc.), I have come to believe that the Boom universe is a pre-Chaos version of Mobius. That means that Sonic, Eggman, and whoever else have not yet discovered the Chaos Emeralds and their power...except for Shadow the Hedgehog.

New Mobius is - from what we've seen so far - a world in which technology is just starting out and Eggman wants to use it to conquer the world (or at least Bygone Island). It is a relatively peaceful planet without any real threats. Eggman is a joke at this point; the only real villain we've seen so far is Lyric, and even he paled in comparison to villains we've seen in the Prime universe. Sonic and his friends live normal lives as normal Mobians. They are more hometown heroes than world famous Eggman-beaters. All that to say that neither party knows about the Chaos Emeralds. If they did, things would be drastically different. But somehow Shadow found them. Or at least one of them, since he only needs one to activate his Chaos powers.

It is not possible for Shadow to use Chaos anything without at least one Emerald, which means at least one is on New Mobius somewhere. My official theory is this: even though the creators confirmed that the Emeralds would not be included in the Boom universe, they are still there waiting to be discovered. Most likely they are scattered throughout the world, hidden in various places, waiting for someone to discover them.

It's actually kind of interesting to see a pre-Chaos version of Mobius. We hear about it all the time in the Prime universe but never really see it like we are now. It's nice to now that the Emeralds are there for Sonic when he needs them, and it's also nice for long-time Sonic fans to have something familiar to hold on to, since pretty much everything else has changed.

The existence of the Chaos Emeralds also suggests the existence of the Chao, since the two are connected, which I explained last week.

Now I want to address another matter: Shadow the Hedgehog. As mentioned before, we don't see much of him at all in the Boom universe. Just glorious moments of him coming out of nowhere to fight Sonic and then retreat, basically. He has not shown up at all in the TV series or comics yet. Despite his lack of screen time, there is a lot that we can learn about his rebooted character. Thankfully he is the same personality-wise, but there are other things that I believe have changed now.

As of yet, it is unknown whether Professor Gerald and Maria ever existed, though theoretically the former would have had to since Eggman is still around. For you non-Mobians out there, Prof. Gerald was the man who created Shadow in the Prime universe. On Mobius Prime, Shadow was given life by the Black Arms' blood and powered by a single Chaos Emerald (meaning when he gets a hold of all seven, you had better watch out). He is considered an organic being and is immortal, much like Mammoth Mogul in some respects. In the Prime universe, Shadow is physically 18 but has been alive for roughly 50 years, give or take.

In the Boom universe, I believe he is younger, and inorganic. Here's why.

Prof. Gerald probably existed at some point in the Boom universe in order for Eggman to be alive, since Gerald is Eggman's grandfather. But there is no evidence for that, and there is certainly no evidence that Maria was ever around. Though Maria is literally the only reason Shadow is alive in the Prime universe, we don't know what events took place in Shadow's creation story now that things have changed. And since it's very obvious that any Chaos Emeralds on New Mobius are currently hidden, it would have taken Professor Gerald years to find a single one and then use it to power his creation. That, and I strongly believe that the Black Arms do not exist in this universe, which implies that Shadow cannot be organic in any sense of the word. This means that he is most likely an android in the Boom universe. And since it would have taken Professor Gerald longer to find just one Emerald, Shadow was most likely created when Eggman was either a toddler or possibly even before then. Since Eggman is younger in the Boom universe (roughly in his early 20s), it is safe to assume that Boom's Shadow the Hedgehog is about 20 years old.

In short, the Chaos Emeralds DO in fact exist in the Boom universe (as well as the Chao), Shadow is most likely the only individual who knows of their existence, and he is now a young android instead of an organic immortal. But hey, it's just a theory.

Until the writers prove otherwise, these are my thoughts and I'm sticking to them. Also, I'm just going to state for the record that I'm STILL WAITING for Shadow to show up in the TV series! Just saying!

Fun Fact: Shadow helped me discover who Sonic was. Quickly after I discovered the Blue Blur I started watching Sonic X, which was the show on the air at the time. The moment Shadow was introduced in Episode 33, I fell in love with him and have adored him nonstop ever since. He is the best of the best, the Ultimate Life-Form. And I can't wait to see more of him in the future.

Happy birthday, Shadow! I love you! <3

Sonic Tidbits #1: Silver, ShadAmy, and Endless Possibilities (100th Post!)

Hello everyone! Welcome back to another Sonic-centered post! This week I am introducing a brand-new type of discussion called "Sonic Tidbits" in which I briefly cover a variety of topics that all relate to the Blue Blur, his friends, and his world. Let's go!

I'm going to start off with a rant. Sorry, but I'd rather get the negative out of the way first. Recently there was a short film posted online titled "The Hedgehog." You may have heard of it. If not, I'm not going to post a link for you to go watch it. To summarize the basic idea, "The Hedgehog" is about a boy who wanders around an empty town in a Sonic costume, sees a man in a field, follows him home, and starts going through the his things while the man commits suicide in another room. My complaint about this film is that they involved Sonic in it when it has nothing to do with him whatsoever. The kid goes around in a Sonic costume for unexplained reasons, and for another unexplained reason, the man has two Sonic dolls in his home. He holds one of them as he commits suicide. This film made Sonic look like a bad guy, which really irks me. Sonic is not to blame for the man's death; however, the filmmakers certainly implied that he was. That is unacceptable.

And that's all I'm going to say about it because just thinking back on it makes me want to punch a hole in the wall, and I watched this two months ago. Ugh.

Anyway, on to a lighter topic: SILVER!! You know, I got to thinking a while back, why did Silver get sidelined so badly? He's only ever been a major character in one game (Sonic 2006), and while I agree that the gameplay was horrible, Silver was not. He was a great character, and tons of fangirls love him even today. He needs to make a comeback! Seriously! Even Charmy has made more appearances than Silver has (and, sorry, Charmy is kind of a pointless character in the games). I know that Silver is a major part of the comics right now, but it's not enough. He should come back at least as a walk-on role or SOMETHING. Give him some speaking lines - an important part to play. Have him deliver a vital message, jump out of nowhere and save the day, anything. Just please bring him back. He deserves it, and it's not fair that he has been kicked to the curb simply because his premiere game was a gameplay fail. (Plus, it would give his new voice actor something to actually, y'know, SAY.)

Let's talk about Sonic Boom for a minute. I actually have two things to address here. First and foremost, where are the Chao? Tons of Sonic fans love the Chao and really miss the Gardens in the games. When it was announced that the Chaos Emeralds were not going to be part of the Boom universe, I automatically knew the Chao were being ditched also, since the two are connected. But since I realized that the Chaos Emeralds may still be around after all (I'll be posting about this next week - finally), it got me wondering about where the Chao are. Now, I'm not saying that they actually exist in the Boom universe. I may be totally wrong about that. BUT if they did, where would they be? My guess is that since we really don't see much outside of Bygone Island in the TV show, there's a really good chance that they are out there somewhere waiting to be discovered. Mobius is a pretty big place - who knows what kind of amazing things are beyond the island? In the Boom games we do see Sonic and his friends branch out a little, but with an important mission to focus on, they don't really have time to just explore their world. They may have walked right past a Chao Garden - or even a Chaos Emerald! - and not even known it. Now that Lyric has been defeated and with Eggman only a minor threat, I wonder if Sonic and his friends will ever think, "Hey, remember that one place we went? We should go back for a visit" and then just explore from there. It would be really cool to see more of New Mobius and what it has to offer.

My second topic concerning Boom is this: ShadAmy (Shadow x Amy, for you non-Mobians out there). Don't ask why, but when Boom first started airing and after the two games came out, I had this thought in the back of my mind: "I bet there's gonna be some ShadAmy in this new series." Honestly, I have no idea why I thought that. Maybe it had something to do with Shattered Crystal, when Amy had been captured and Sonic assumed Shadow was working with Lyric. Shadow was pretty quick to defend himself and then go after Lyric on his own. I know that was mostly because of his pride, but it still made me wonder if it had anything to do with him possibly liking Amy in this series. (Just to be clear, I'm not a ShadAmy fan. As I explained last month, I'm SonAmy all the way.) Having seen more of Boom now, I'm pretty sure the creators will stick with SonAmy, and Shadow will stand alone as he normally does. But even though Shadow has reverted back to his I-can-kick-all-of-your-butts-without-anyone's-help attitude, there is still a lot we don't know about him in the Boom universe. (Again, I'll be going more in-depth on this next week.) Just some food for thought.

Finally, "Endless Possibilities." I've mentioned this once before, but I've gained many more readers since then, so I want to bring it up a second time because it's important to me. The title of this blog, as you've probably noticed, is "Endless Possibilities." I chose this name in part because there is no limit to the type of content I post on this blog. But mostly, I named it after one of my favorite songs by the same name - the theme for the game Sonic Unleashed. This song meant a lot to me as I journeyed through high school and still means a lot to me now. Its lyrics are just what I need sometimes. Sonic is, always has been, and always will be my inspiration. I love him more than words can describe. If you want to listen to the song (and I encourage you to do so), click here.

That's it for this week! Check back here on Friday, June 19 for a very special and thought-provoking post about my Chaos Emerald theory in relation to Sonic Boom. You might be surprised! Celebrating 24 years of Sonic the Hedgehog, I'm up, over, and GONE!!

Sonic Comics Review: Characters, Plot, and Return of the Freedom Fighters! *Spoilers*

Welcome back to Endless Possibilities! It's June now, which means this month I'm bringing you guys something special. Since June is Sonic and Shadow's birthday month, I'm going to dedicate the next 30 days to posts exclusively about Mobius! I finally dig into my theory about the Chaos Emeralds in relation to Sonic Boom, talk about a variety of topics in my all-new "Sonic Tidbits," and celebrate the fastest thing alive with you as we wait for more episodes to air (seriously, why did they put a pin in it?). Let's get started!

This week I want to discuss recent events in the comics. June marked the start of the epic "Worlds Unite" crossover event that will go all throughout the summer, but before that, Sonic and his friends were already dealing with some pretty tough stuff! Hunting for the Chaos Emeralds was made more exciting by introducing a variety of new characters as well as bringing back old ones (Scratch and Grounder - what what!!), and seeing Sonic become the Werehog was certainly a surprise.

The post-SGW plotline was kind of difficult for me to keep up with at first, mostly because I was still reeling from the fact that a lot of my favorite characters have been permanently erased from Mobian history. But now that I've had some time to adjust, here's the gist of it: After the first crossover event and SGW, Sonic returns home to find that he is the only one who remembers how things were before. With Nicole's help he is able to remind a select few of his friends about what life was like prior to Mega-Man, but it doesn't do any of them any good. Characters who were once Mobini are now full Mobians (like Sonic's dog Muttski, who is now named Ben...what the what?) and the now divorced Freedom Fighters have a whole new problem to face: the world is breaking apart due to the aftereffects of the SGW, and in an unfortunate set of circumstances, Sonic absorbs a significant amount of Dark Gaia energy, turning him into a mindless, raging werehog every time the sun goes down. Meanwhile, Shadow meets and battles his brother Eclipse in an effort to keep him from launching an alien invasion on the planet, and Knuckles hunts down the shards of the Master Emerald to save his island before it's too late. All of this leads up to the second crossover event, which is happening now.

First off, when the Second Genesis Wave (SGW) came through several issues ago, I was really saddened to hear that many of the characters I'd grown to love over the years now no longer exist thanks to a previous Sonic artist who claimed the rights to them. Julie-Su, Geoffrey St. John, and others like them have now been completely removed from Mobian history, which means that Knuckles' daughter will not exist, which means the future is going to change drastically. (Unless "Worlds Unite" brings on yet another world reset.)

As upset as I was to lose these beloved characters, I was also really excited to see that brand-new ones were being introduced as well. First and foremost, Eclipse the Darkling was introduced as Shadow the Hedgehog's brother (yes, you heard me right). It's still weird for me to think of Shadow as having a sibling, but Eclipse fills the role extremely well. We've already had a couple of Shadow vs. Eclipse battles, which were epic. (I may or may not have been fangirling the whole time those were going on.) Secondly, an entire underwater civilization was introduced. We've had those before, but the writers never really expanded on them until now. (Gotta say, I immediately developed a crush on Razor the Shark. Y'know...)

In addition to that, the Casino Night Zone was brought back into the spotlight when Breezie came into the comics for the very first time!! I was stoked to find out that she was becoming part of the the new storyline. Breezie was first introduced in Adventures of Sonic (the TV show) back in the 1990s. She was a robotic villain made to look like an organic hedgehog to fool Sonic, and it worked for a while. Unlike her TV counterpart, however, the Breezie that was introduced in the last few issues of the comics is - as far as we know - actually organic. No robot parts whatsoever. Following close behind her was the re-introduction of the now-retired Super Special Sonic Search and Smash Squad (aka S5). That means Scratch and Grounder are back, baby!! (Oh, and Coconuts.) I fangirled for the longest time when I saw that S5 was returning along with Breezie, and I fangirled even more when they made the cover for the first time since the 1990s! As stupid as they were in the TV show, I loved Scratch and Grounder and was sad when they were kind of kicked to the curb several years ago in favor of newer badniks. Now that they're back, though, I've noticed that they actually seem smarter than they were before. Scratch, especially. He seems more intelligent and appears to have developed morals (as much as a villain can, right?). I really hope the writers decide to keep Breezie and S5 in the spotlight at least for a little while. They deserve it.

As far as characters that have been in the comics forever, it seems that the SGW caused all of them to default back to the way they were in the very beginning of Mobian history. For example, Knuckles guards the Master Emerald at all times and never leaves the island unless the situation is dire. The Chaotix are led by Vector once again, with Espio and Charmy close behind. Mighty and Ray are off doing their own thing and, as I mentioned before, Julie-Su no longer exists. (But now Knuckles has a new female companion that I'm sure was meant to replace her as his love interest...I just can't remember her name.) Princess Sally is back in action, and so far I'm liking what I see! She's more of a leader now than she was before, and I think a lot of that has to do with her backstory changing. She is now Crown Princess, so she will eventually take over the kingdom one day. Before SGW, she was second in line for the throne, right after her older brother (who now no longer exists?). I think the added responsibility helped her get her butt in gear and do what needs to be done.

Also, Silver made an appearance in Sonic Universe #75, which was awesome. He was just kind of there all of a sudden, and both he and Sonic were like, "What the heck?" But a race for the Chaos Emerald quickly followed, leading to the single most amazing reference in all of Sonic comic history. If you're a Mobian, you'll understand this, and if not...it would take too long to explain. Sorry. But when Silver and Sonic were chasing after Metal (who had the Emerald), Silver grabbed hold of him with his psychic powers for just a split second before Metal broke free, turned around, and said, "It's no use." TO SILVER. I died laughing. XD

At this point in time, I would like to point out something that I think is very important in relation to the comics. A couple of years ago, around the time of the First Genesis Wave (FGW), the Freedom Fighters were broken into two separate teams for the first time ever: Team Freedom and Team Fighters. Team Freedom was to stay in one location and take care of local issues, protect the people, and hold off enemy forces while Team Fighters went abroad and helped people all over the world while hunting down Eggman and bringing an end to the Great War once and for all. The team has been split up for a long, long time, and because of this, things just aren't the same anymore. Sonic of course ended up on Team Fighters, but he carries the spirit of Team Freedom in him as well. While he may not have changed, others around him have.

However, as of Sonic Universe #75, Sonic has declared that the two separate teams have become one again, and the Freedom Fighters are back in action. To me, this was a huge declaration. After splitting up to take care of separate problems and being apart for the longest time, the long-lived Freedom Fighters are united and strong once more. Sonic has been a Freedom Fighter FOREVER. Like, Sonic the Hedgehog #0 kind of forever. (To put that in perspective, there are now over 270 issues of Sonic the Hedgehog...and that's just the main title!) Even after Princess Sally decided to split their forces into two units, Sonic never became anything less than a full member of both sides. I'm so happy that he finally decided enough was enough and had them go back to the way they were before. It's about time! And it was a good decision, too, because with this second crossover coming up, Sonic is going to need the Freedom Fighters behind him now more than ever.

I cannot wait to see what new events this crossover brings us! But I swear, if a THIRD Genesis Wave comes through...

That's all I have for now! I'm finally all caught up on the Sonic comics and I eagerly await the next installments, as usual! Next week I'll be introducing my very first set of "Sonic Tidbits." What is that, you may ask? Well, come back next time and you'll find out! Celebrating 24 years of Sonic the Hedgehog, I'm up, over, and GONE!!