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*