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!