Departing From The Norm (GASP!)

Hey, everyone. Lida here. You may have noticed that I haven't posted in this blog lately, mostly because I haven't been feeling well. I entered an Original Character contest on a site a frequent called Court-Records, and thus, I'm inspired to change topics and depart from my normal posts. Instead of my usual "Read Or Stay Away" posts, I'm going to make a list of what I look for in fanfics that star OCs (and even those that don't). 

•  When I look at an OC, I want to see one that stands out. They could do so with their personality, how they relate and speak to other characters, etc. If I'm writing an OC, I don't want people to go, "Oh, it's just another -insert canon character here-" or "Oh, it's just another Mary Sue/Gary Stu", and when I'm reading an OC-centric fanfiction, I don't want to have either of those thoughts. 
• Grammar and spelling should be decent in any fanfiction. I'm not looking for it to be perfect. It's not like we're professional writers with an editor to look over our work. I'm just saying that giving your fic a once-over before posting it somewhere would be a good idea.
• Canon characters acting in-character, or, if there are no canon characters and they're all OCs, that they are all consistent. A way over-the-top, emotional character shouldn't magically become calm, cool, and collected. If a canon character has to act out-of-character for your plot to work, I say, get a new plot. A canon character briefly acting OOC for one scene is forgivable, but for the entire story is bad.  Speaking of canon characters...
• In an OC-centric fanfiction, canon characters shouldn't just randomly be thrown in for no reason. If they serve no purpose in your story, then why have them there in the first place? 
• Finally, and most importantly, I'm looking for an OC-centric fanfiction that makes an effort to follow all of these things. If I notice you make an effort, it doesn't matter if you fall short on all of these things in my opinion, I will still read over what you've written and probably enjoy it. ^_^ 

Thanks for reading,

 ~ Lida.

Journey To The Fringe: Read Or Stay Away?

Hey, everyone. This is Lida_Rose, and this would be my second post about whether to read or stay away from a certain book based solely on the description. This time, I decided to look at Journey To The Fringe by Kelli Swofford Nielsen. As I understand, this is a debut author with a debut book, and I love it when I can look at this kind of thing because someday, I plan on writing my own novel. So, let's dive right in to the summary.

"Long ago, Stone Mages were revered in Lyria. They were men and women who could use powerful tradestones to harness their unique gifts of wind, rain, and earth to help those around them. But war with the Southern realm has threatened the mages with extinction. The truth about the tradestones has been lost, and the remaining magic is dwindling. When Princess Ivy, the beloved daughter of the king, is abducted, it seems that all hope for Lyria is lost as well. But when an unlikely group of loyal subjects embarks on a dangerous journey to the far-distant Fringe, the hope of restoring crown and kingdom is renewed. Among the group is Simon, a fool with wisdom beyond his years; Gilda, a nonmagical witch; Burr, a young thief; and Merrick, a jaded sea captain. Their quest will test their courage, their strength, and their friendship. But at the Fringe, they encounter a truth that will change everything they thought they knew about themselves, and this small band of heroes must embrace the power that is their birthright and stand together as Stone Mages of Lyria."

What? No unique gifts of fire? Darn it! At the risk of sounding like an arsonist, I like fire.  Anyway, let's look at the positives and negatives of this book description.

Positives: I already like the characters mentioned and am eager to see how they turn out in the actual story. Of course, there's near-extinction, war, and lost hope for a nation (or kingdom. Whatever Lyria is), which are always pluses in my book. Also, I like the character names and the idea that their worlds will all turn upside down. The fact that this is the first novel in a series holds promise for me.

Negatives: No fire. Also, the phrase "unlikely group" is kinda silly, isn't it? Of course the group that assembles to save her will be considered "unlikely" by others and will therefore have to "prove" themselves. That's how the world works. I also have an issue with "Their quest will test their courage, their strength, and their friendship." Couldn't that be changed to, "Their quest will test their courage, strength, and friendship?" And, for that matter, couldn't it be changed even further to, "Their quest will test them?" Perhaps I'm too harsh.

So, those are my thoughts on this book description. I do think that, as much as this story has potential to be awesome, it also has the potential to be cliche and tedious to read. However, it might be well worth the risk. For that reason, if I see Journey To The Fringe in the bookstore, I will pick it up and give it a fair shake, reading it instead of staying away in the hopes it will impress me.

Blah Monday

Crap, it's my day to write something.

Last night my throat randomly decided it wanted to be sore, and it is still persisting right this very second. Flurghvable

But who cares about that!

So. Today I'll be writing about

um

well

how about I share pictures of my trip to Japan back in spring? In honor of Drew, the lucky fucker.

LET'S BEGIN (this is going to be a really long post and this is only like 1/50th of the pictures I took)

Also I'm Crooked, hi.

One Piece is everywhere. Like, you think squirrels and mosquitoes and McDonald's are everywhere, but One Piece is everywhere everywhere.

Our group randomly stopped to coo at this family's dogs (there are two), and we all played together for a bit. Censored because it's polite.

FANTA FANTA DONTCHU WANTA

Your guess is as good as mine.

A deer park. At one point one of the teachers was surrounded by deer all trying to get food from her and they knocked her into a puddle and it was really sad and hilarious.

The gate to Kamisama's house, or so I was told.

This was so delicious you do not even know, my God.

We went...somewhere involving samurais.

There were a bunch of adorable rocks everywhere dressed up like dolls, some alone and some in little family groups.

The Skytree

CHICKEN OM NOM NOM

Look you guys it's a real foreign cat. It doesn't meow, it NYANS~

Below Tokyo Tower

Mini-Tokyo Tower

Bedazzled Tokyo Tower

Way up in Tokyo Tower

This is the first time I saw anything indicating Shibuya's actual real existence.

The Studio Ghibli Museum. Be jealous~

Honestly we couldn't tell if this was a guy or a girl, but like five of the girls in our group were totally about to follow him/her around.

WAIT WAIT WAIT IT'S REAL

Shibuya when you come out of the station, aaahhhhhh

AAAAAHHH HACHIKO

This is the Starbucks, along with several floors of DVDs/CDs/Books/Manga/etc, glorious glorious place. I stood in one of the windows and filmed the scramble for a little bit and people were staring at me but I didn't really care.

The 109 /sobs/

Yes you may stare at the poster.

HI WOW YOU'RE REAL

Oh the glory.

We only spent a total of two hours in Shibuya. It was so beautiful, and really quiet for a city.

Anyhow there's the Monday post. I'm gonna go swallow something that rhymes with shmacon and peggs, bye.

Istanbul Passage: A Novel. Read Or Stay Away?

Hey, everyone. Lida_Rose here. Welcome to my second blog post. I have decided to make my posts about whether or not I would read a book based solely on the book's description. I'll pick out the newest books on Amazon for this, and if one of them happens to be a sequel, I'll look at the two or more book descriptions and see if I'd read one, two, the whole series, or none of them. So, without further ado, I will look at Istanbul Passage: A Novel.

"A neutral straddling Europe and Asia, Istanbul survived the Second World War as a magnet for refugees and spies, trafficking in secrets and lies rather than soldiers. Expatriate American businessman Leon Bauer was drawn into this shadow world, doing undercover odd jobs and courier runs in support of the Allied war effort.
     Now, as the espionage community begins to pack up and an apprehensive city prepares for the grim realities of postwar life, Leon is given one last routine assignment. But when the job goes fatally wrong—an exchange of gunfire, a body left in the street, a potential war criminal on his hands—Leon is plunged into a tangle of intrigue, shifting loyalties, and moral uncertainty.
     Played out against the bazaars and mosques and faded mansions of this knowing, ancient Ottoman city, Leon’s conflicted attempt to save one life leads to a desperate manhunt that ultimately threatens his own survival. How do you do the right thing when there are only bad choices to be made?
     Rich with atmosphere and period detail, Istanbul Passage is the haunting story of a man swept up in the dawn of the Cold War, of an unexpected love affair, and of a city as deceptive as the calm surface waters of the Bosphorus that divides it."

Secrets and lies! Always secrets and lies! *Ahem* Anyway, let's take a look at the positive and negative aspects of this description.

Positives: Someone will die in this book, and it looks like the main character will have to go through a huge moral struggle. The line, "How do you do the right thing when there are only bad choices to be made?"  is one that I can relate to and serves well to suck me in.

Negatives: Well, it looks like I'd have to know some geography to understand this book. Blech. Geography. I have, like, no understanding of it whatsoever. Also, when the description mentions the job going "fatally wrong", was everything between the dashes really necessary? One last thing I take issue with is the phrase "unexpected love affair". I mean, come on. Does anyone really not expect love affairs in any book this day and age? It'd be more unexpected if there was no romance in this book at all.

So, based on this description, I'd say the book looks like it'll be an interesting read. The negative things I have to say are nitpicks, and this sure seems to be different from all the paranormal romances floating about. If I see Istanbul Passage: A Novel in a bookstore, I'll probably read the first couple chapters and see if it sucks me in.

So, to answer the question of whether to read or stay away from this book, I say I'm more likely to read than stay away from it at this point.

僕は匿名です

So yeah it's Crooked. Drew invited me to be an author/contributor/something, but it's saying there's an error and whatnot so I used the HUG email address and here I am.

I guess we're starting off with more in-depth introductions? Okay then.

っMy name is Trey, I'm 17, in the 11th grade, and I used to be really smart but this year has been a load of crap for me so I'm mostly an average student now.

っI live in Virginia where literally nothing happens.

っI have so very few hobbies. Reading, writing (sort of), video games, sleeping, arguing with people, and avoiding any and all healthy foods because my body is secretly suicidal.

っMost of my friends annoy me to no end. Actually I don't know why I hang out with them. There are only four or five I actually like. Wow I sound like a jerk.

っI wear glasses, my eyes/hair/skin are all some shade of brown, my front-right tooth is chipped, I'm 5'10", I bite my nails, my voice is annoying, and I weigh somewhere between 120 and 125 pounds (I never gain or lose enough weight to bypass either number).

っMy most frequently visited websites are Tumblr, YouTube, FanFiction, various wikis, and a bunch of other websites you really don't need to hear about.

っI actually love meeting new people, despite how much I can't stand a lot of them. I'm not as awful as I seem, I swear.

っI still love Cloud and RC.

っI'm learning Japanese and plan on living in Japan with NS.

っTWEWY is a beautiful creation.

That was way too much typing. I'm going to stop now.

Bye. っ_っ

Heeeere's Goken!

Yo! Guess I should introduce myself too. I'm Goken, short brown hair, blue eyes, sometimes glasses, look like a mixture of my mother and father, and I'm short in size. Small and lovable, that's me!

Nowadays, I'm just studying for exams... but I'm hoping to get back to spending hours a day on video games like I used to. New Virtua Fighter's out next week, and all... Oh! And Sleeping Dogs comes out in August!

Anyway, that's enough rambling about games you may or may not care about. When I get my life back, my posts should be more interesting. Maybe. Hopefully the new members will become as attached to Turnabout HUG as the rest of us have, and may our bonds remain strong forever more! Ciao~

Lida_Rose

Hey, everyone. This is Lida_Rose. Drew/Riu introduced you to Turnabout HUG and the vlog, so I guess I'll introduce myself. Here are some miscellaneous facts about me.

• I'm 21 years old.
• I'm female. 
• I wear glasses.
• I'm better at writing than I am at speaking.
• I tend to be redundant when I write this stuff.
• I really suck at drawing.
• I have more friends online than I do in real life. 
• I tend to be redundant. 
• While I love writing stories, I hate writing poems. Deepness. Blech. Who needs that? Am I right?
• I have my mom's body, but my dad's hair and eyes. 
• I love to read. Makes me look smart. 
• I am horrible at remembering names, but I can recall faces remarkably well. 
• I sometimes talk really quickly to the point where no one understands me. 
• People think I have a weird accent and am therefore from a foreign country, but I was born in the US. 
• I like bullet points. 
• I'm registered as Democrat, but I really don't affiliate myself with any political party. 
• I'm fairly moderate, but where I live, being moderate is considered liberal and saying you like a democratic president is like admitting you're the most horrible person to ever come into existence. (Okay, so that's an exaggeration...but only a very slight one.)
• There are three cats in my house. I own one of them. 

• I tend to be redundant...Oh, crap! 

There's not much more to say about me, so, I guess I'll open the floor to my colleagues. If there are any questions anyone has, I'll try to answer them in a future blog.

Love and cake,

~ Lida_Rose