OP Look-alikes: Sanji



Stock image: Paul Mackenzie Crook



Butterflies

Tiny butterflies
Drifting through the pale, blue sky
Searching for the stars

Your argument is invalid

 

Rock on!

O_o



As you can see, reversing the "L's Grave" scene makes it 10x worse.



The Beauty of Being a Hybrid

At least in SOCal, if it takes longer than 2 seconds to identify a person's ethnicity, there's a chance that they're a hybrid. When you really think about it, our modern world is amazingly connected; in the past, my mother and father would have never met because they would have been on opposite sides of the world (China and Mexico/California [it used to be part of Mexico's territory]).

Yay, connectivity!

Why I like Skyrim

I enjoy playing Skyrim not for the quests (no, certainly not the quests), but rather for its "less hardcore" qualities. A spacious and beautifully designed world? Check! The ability to kill people and steal them blind? Check! Lots and lots of fun items (yay, clothing changes!)? Check!

Yep, Skyrim is awesome (and technically shares the same qualities of Guild Wars and Maplestory [though I quit Maplestory for various reasons that I may decide to discuss later]).

Avatar FEELS

An avid fan of ATLA (owning all 3 DVD box-sets), and its recent addition of LOK, I have a lot to say about the series. As I recently rewatched my box-sets (+ all Special Features provided) for the umpteenth time (I can recite episodes-including actions- from memory), I had a sudden impulse to share some thoughts on the series on my blog (though not quite to the extent that would cause any readers to stab themselves with their mouse). 

Avatar: The Last Airbender

•  *"The Southern Raiders"* "But we were too late: when we got there, the man was gone--and so was she." = Katara did NOT see the charred body of her mother, so shut up you ignorant drones, Tropers. [Also in "The Southern Raiders," I rewatched the few seconds after Zuko leaves Sokka's tent and did not see Suki sneak inside.]
• Speaking of "The Southern Raiders," did anyone else find Katara to be kind of overreacting during the whole episode? Aang lost his entire nation, and she's pissed because she lost one person to the Fire Nation? I get that losing your mother is horrible, but at least Katara still had some semblance of a family left.
• Some Tropers people have expressed their dislike of the Season 3 episodes, describing them as "filler" and "not relevant to the plot." However, not every little thing has to advance the plot (doing so would create a very unsatisfying pace among other things) and I personally found that they expanded more of my view on the characters and their situation (such as in "The Headband" where we discovered that not all Fire Nation citizens are as single-minded as they are portrayed and that they have been shaped by their environment and propaganda for the past 100 years).
• Some people have also beleaguered "The Drill" for similar reasons as the Season 3 episodes. I found "The Drill" to: skillfully show how Sokka's position as "the plan guy" has been enhanced, highlight how Aang's creativity in a fight has once again taken on a level, and set up the later foil in the Dai Li's cover-up. (And for those of you who hated "The Ember Island Players," c'mon, it was totally hilarious!)
• Shipping. Kataang did seem a little forced, but the signs were there if you looked closely enough (in "The Headband" Katara's jealousy when Aang was dancing with On Ji is a good example). As for Zutara: 1) Foe Yay 2) Pair the Hotties (though face it, if even the producers are in "the Kataang faction," there really isn't any hope for your ship also, Tenzin and his siblings). Maiko was actually the only pairing that I felt was the most natural: 1) When they were kids, Mai's blushing around Zuko showed that she had a crush on him 2) After being recruited by Azula, Mai expressed happiness in seeing Zuko again in the future 3) When Zuko regained his title, they spent happy times together (the picnic, the fruit tart bit, short on-screen encounters) 4) After "The Beach," their relationship seemed stronger than ever (and Zuko tends to bring out her more dormant emotions) 5) Mai defied Azula to save Zuko in "The Boiling Rock: Part 2" 6) The only reason people hate Maiko is because it either interferes with Zutara or has to do with this excellent analysis by deviantART's Booter-Freak.
• Sokka is awesome! He maintains the comedic relief ("Sokkasm" [Bryke]) and intelligence within the group while kicking some butt, Sokka style.
• Did anybody else notice in "The Day of Black Sun: Part 1 - The Invasion" that there are female Foggy Swamp benders? (or am I the only one who thought that the Foggy Swamp people were an all-men group)
• People keep saying that the swimsuits in "The Beach" were scandalous, but if you go to basically any beach nowdays, the swimsuits you see people wearing are much more revealing (meaning as long as any kid's been to the beach, they'd see no big deal between normal swimsuits and those featured in the aforementioned episode). Oh, and "The Beach" was excellent for showing the various hidden aspects of our favorite B-Plot characters (and providing yet another Chekhov's Gun for Azula's villainous breakdown later; "my own mother...thought I was a monster") 
• Actually, in "The Boiling Rock: Part 2," were those Mooks seriously going to cut the line with the princess of the Fire Nation onboard?
• Also, people keep referring to Toph as being "the youngest of the group," but in "The Blind Bandit" she tells her dad that "I'm twelve years old and I've never had a real friend" where Aang in "The Boy in the Iceberg" asked Katara "Do I look like a 112 year old man to you?" 12 = 12 /Aang and Toph are the same age.
• Did anyone else feel like there were a few too many of Toph's "I don't see like you do" spiels? (at least 4)
• When Aang took Ozai's bending away in the finale, were those beams of light real? I mean, Ozai looked scared when Aang started emanating light from his eyes and mouth, but was that "Oh my god, this kid is shooting light from his face!" or "What is he going to do to me?" I mean, after Aang took away his bending, a giant beam akin to the one from the beginning shoots up and pierces the clouds, so does that make the light real or was only the beam thing real?
• Just....the ending. Seriously. ATLA has the best animated cartoon series ending in the history of the cartoon industry. The music, the action, the emotional depth, everything is just perfect.
• Allow me to just take a moment to applaud the efforts of those who worked on the superior backgrounds and musical scores that really made this series even more epic.

                        

  
Free Epic ATLA music videos: 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fYZrt1bfkR4
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HFSdA0jC0bE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otX-mKvPZJQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KNuLRxAeT78


Legend of Korra (Season 1)

• Korra is awesome and all, and I know that she's supposed to be a foil for Aang, but I personally think that Aang was a better Avatar. I think that being locked up isolated by the White Lotus wasn't a smart move if the end goal is supposed to be an Avatar that's "for the people." Also, she needs to go into the Avatar State before they end the show or that'll be seriously lame. *edit* Eh, lots of things could have been better. Aang had to help her go into the Avatar State, which seemed kind of weird...
• Amon's totally faking everything he says, man. My guess is that he's actually a bender and never had an altercation with a rouge firebender. *edit* Called it.
• Also, I don't think what Amon does is energybending. In the ATLA finale, Ozai looked and acted as if he was exhausted--not even being able to stand up. The absence of an extremely fatigued look (Lightning Bolt Zolt immediately tried to attack Amon whereas Ozai was unable to even stand upright) as well as the Energy Beam that were both present when Aang energybent points towards the idea that what Amon does is merely an advanced type of Chi-Blocking. *edit* Boo-yeah, Bloodbending!
• I believe that Bolin is the reincarnation of Sokka. (some of his facial expressions and actions are like seeing Sokka all over again) 
• Bumi seems to take more after his Uncle, hahaha!
• Why did this new animator decide to seriously drop every man over the age of thirty's jowls to his chin?
• In conjunction with that previous question: SO. MANY. BEARDS.
• Oh, and what happened to Aang in the past 28 years (during Korra's spirit-induced flashback) to make him so grumpy/not fun-loving anymore?
• Does anybody know why Aang was tangible looking and not all "blue-ish glow + translucent" like the Avatars in ATLA were?
• Makorra has a 90% chance of being canon, and I'm totally cool with that (woo, passion!). Borra could become canon, and I would be totally cool with that (yay, happy Bolin = Win!). Masami could continue to be canon, and I would be totally cool with that (they make a literally beautiful couple ["Pair the Hotties"]). Linzin might become canon again, and I would be totally cool with that (one word: UST). *edit* Makorra wins! (Though I think he and Asami should have officially broken up, I suppose that "I care about you" bit seemed kind of final....)
• Ah, yes, Linzin. 1) Really, Pema, how would he be "spending his life with the wrong woman" if he chose that woman in the first place? You just wanted that woman to be you, didn't you? Also, Toph was awesome and her daughter is hereditarily(?) awesome and I'm totally not biased. 2) Tenzin, you bastard, if you really didn't feel strongly enough about Lin in the first place/felt more for Pema, then why didn't you cut it off yourself and ask Pema instead of making the whole ordeal so AUGH? 3) I agree with the theory that Tenzin and Lin's drifting apart was caused because of their conflicting "goals" in that Lin didn't want to have kids and Tenzin needed to make sure that there are Airbenders after he dies. 4) Once again, UST. (Enough of it so that Pema was rightfully worried about Tenzin and Lin having an "old times" moment during the Airbender Island invasion because it probably brought back memories of her play for Tenzin)
• Does anybody else think that Asami looks like June? (and experienced increasingly shabby treatment as the series went on?)
• I wish we could have seen Zuko's daughter at least once.
• Considering how all of Katara's other predictions from Aunt Wu came true, shouldn't she have died after Rohan (her fourth grandchild) was born?
• Why did Korra lose her other elements except for Airbending when Amon took her bending away? Think of it this way: you have 3 apples, but someone squishes them all. You then find an orange. Korra unlocked Airbending after her other elements were removed, therefore it wasn't affected at the time/removed with the rest of them.
• I think that Tarlok's reveal about Amon was kind of a butt-pull answer, but it did connect and wrap up the seemingly misplaced Yakone plot.
• Oh, man, Tarlok's suicide decision was emotionally distressing. The whole Noatak and Tarlok's past was already depressing, but just....emotional pitfalls, man.
• Did anybody else think "Flame on!" when General Iroh II ejected from the plane?
• The extreme technological advances made over the span of LOK seems to be a bit too farfetched; it reminded me of the recent(ish) Captain America movie...which isn't a good thing.
• How did Tenzin and his family get captured if they escaped on Oogi? By the new and previously unknown aircraft!
• ATLA's ending was better. I felt that LOK's ending was kind of unsatisfactory: Korra received a thorough stomping from Amon (even getting her bending taken away) and the final scene looked no different from any other (no different view pans, no emphasis on anything, just BLAH). The only noteworthy part about the finale was the heart-wrenching suicide part and that Lin got her bending back...
• And we never did find out what happened to Zuko's mother (or who Lin's father was).

                              

Free Epic LOK music videos: *Warning: watch up to episode 10 or be prepared for spoilers*

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hr93snVuwms

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgVKKtIrIpg&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qKlAU76sadY&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vXIKupNUmJE&feature=player_embedded

*I actually have a lot more to say on the two series (muahaha, who's stabbed themselves with their mouse already?), but I have temporarily forgotten what I had planned to write. Later updates upon remembering.

Hmm...

Did anyone else notice that suspiciously ghost-like smudge?

 

The brain is a strange thing...

On Tumblr, people always say that this mini-sand storm looks like a seahorse, but I just see it as an adult Nuka.

Those wacky Ancient Egyptians

Hathor was a cow.
Osiris was Mufasa.
Almond was a god.

The deal with deviantART

Some of you may know of the art portal deviantART. In dA, the usual ways of gaining a lot of Watchers (equivalent to Tumblr's Followers) are:

1) Favorite a whoooole slew of deviations/artist's galleries: chances are, some people will Watch you out of grattitude or to talk to you about the type of deviations you faved (yay, shared fandom!).
2) Even if you're a mediocre artist, submitting a ton of drawings to a well known (or cult favorite) fandom is a good way to catch the attention of other mediocre fanartists for that fandom.
3) Another option for mediocre artists is to make friends with people in their shared fandoms (usually by commenting on every deviation/artist's page that contains said fandom). Lots of friends.
4) Be a good artist and gather watchers who like your style or the characters you draw.
5) Be a really good artist, and watchers will come naturally.

Extra tips:

• Draw in either a unique style or (for fanart) draw the characters close to exactly as they appear (Bonus: improbable situations not normally seen in canon)
• Try to be original with your ideas (whether for OC's, poses, or backgrounds)
• Specialize in characters that have a severe lack of fanart ("Otherwise Unpopular")
• Join a shipping faction and make alliances with those onboard your ship

Visual Mind Screw

 

I have a theory

After reviewing many years spent with my young cousin and my new young cousin, I have concluded that: kids = dogs

What makes me think that? Well:

1) Gets extremely excited when you come home
2) Always want you to play with them (even if you're busy)
3) Can be put on a leash (those kid "harnesses")
4) Have to be told "no" frequently when doing something wrong
5) Will run out of the house if the front door is left open
6) Will only eat certain things (my dog has been known to chew on vegetables and fruit, then spit them out)
7) Occasionally makes messes
8) Can be very loud at times

Haiku is a fine art indeed

I often wonder
Whether life is just a dream
A long, endless dream

The sun sets at dawn
The fish fly in the forest
I am Overlord

Yearbook Day!

Yearbook distribution day: where every person 10 people ahead of you turns into your best friend.

On a similar note, isn't that one person who always sidles up next to you from behind as the line goes on really annoying?

Also, I only just realized that a yearbook has a wealth of possible character hairstyles.

Let me tell you a sordid tale....

Ah, yes, the story of why I made this blog in the first place! It was another fine day in SoCAL, and I was ready for another afternoon of reblogging that which I enjoy on Tumblr. As I logged in once again (after Staples "fixed" my computer a few years back, it can't play sound and frequently freezes and restarts itself), something horrible happened: I was to be locked out of my Tumblr forevermore. The real tragedy of this is that I had actually garnered quite a few followers, so making an entire new account was out of the question for a max lazy person of my ilk. And thus, several months later, I created this blog!

It says to install that dang software over and over, but I already did!! Several times!!