I was at the bookshop the other day, and they were playing the Cowboy Bebop opening theme. Then I walked outside and saw a capsule-toy machine with Evangelion figurines. I think anime is taking over.

Due to the grand mess that is Avatar's scheduling, the novelisation of the finale has just been released, two months before the episodes will air. ARGH SPOILERS. Hopefully I won't run into any. X_x

I found a copy of the Gamecube version of Zelda: Twilight Princess, so I've been playing that a lot lately and making lots of Okami and Shadow of the Colossus jokes to myself. Just healed the last light spirit (is it just me, or did the ominous cutscene during that bit make no sense at all?) and I'm about to start the underwater temple.
The horse-riding gameplay seems so clunky after playing Shadow of the Colossus so much. (I know it was hard to get used to Shadow's horse-riding at first, but now it seems so much better...)

I want an Avatar t-shirt with the four element symbols on it. I'm not keen on shirts with pictures of the characters (for any fandom, really), but the symbols would be cool.

I also want a mug with "1Up" on it. Tea = extra life, yes?

Dad was wonderfully helpful and downloaded the new Avatar episodes for me while he was at work.

OMG THAT WAS SO COOL~~~

Awesome to get some Sokka+Zuko interaction, yay for returning characters, yay for Mai starting to get interesting at last....
On the other hand, potential not-yay for getting another completely new character coming along. Especially when there are already established-and-popular characters getting neglected.

...there's not going to be any more new episodes for another two and a half months. That sucks. ;_;

Argh, there are new Avatar episodes out on the Internet now and I can't download them because we're almost out of Internet for this month.... which doesn't end for another two weeks. ;_; I'm gonna miss all the excitement...

Been drawing lately! ^_^

My scanner fails. Badly. The colours always get messed up, and I'm not sure how to fix it. ;_;

~~~

Tried drawing Peppa-chan again - I really want to enter the Manifest mascot contest this year (and yes, I think I say that every year and then never get around to it, but ANYWAY). Redesigned her outfit a bit, don't know if that's what I'll stick with (I have some other ideas to try out; I'll have to draw her again)... actually I really like her original costume but it's kind of boring to re-use it, right?

And I decided to try out the not-really-Copic markers I bought!

( and this is how it turned out... )

Man, it's been ages since I used markers. Not since high school. ^_^;

Unfortunately the fine nib on the purple marker is wrecked (not my fault) and I discovered that when I tried using it on the drawing. X_x So that's why her left shoulder is darker than the rest of the purple bits. At least that bit was meant to be shadowed anyway.

~~~

Also, Avatar fanart! Not *really* a spoiler, but drawn after the latest episode.

( Toph & Zuko )

deviantART link (some spoilers in the notes)

...I've been fangirling over Avatar for more than a year now, and this is the only fanart I've done other than a few sketches. I should do more. I keep having ideas for art but they never actually get drawn. ^_^;

ZOMG episode 52 came out a whole several months earlier than we were expecting to get it! Hooray for the Canadian TV people! ^___^

*has been running around in a spazz for the last few minutes while waiting for it to download*

...

*has watched it now*

( cut for spoiler )

Argh, why did episodes 50-51 have to leak onto the Internet THE DAY AFTER my new Internet month, instead of when I had several hundred MB still free to spend? X_x

Meh. Downloaded 50 anyway. Resisting 51, for now at least.

ANYWAY. My usual several-cents-worth of opinions on episodes....

( cut for spoilers, and because it got kind of rambly )

~~~

Ooh, and FmA chapter 77 is out now too. Do I download now, or wait for scanslations?

...stuff it. I'm downloading. I can't wait to find out what happened after last chapter.

Just watched Avatar episode #44. Cool episode overall, but what's looking really interesting is some new hints about the White Lotus society - sword-master guy is obviously part of it, so I'm guessing that's how he recognised Aang. Though that makes interesting suggestions about where the society's connections run, because everyone thinks the Avatar is dead, and Iroh would (so far as I can imagine) be the only one who would know that he survived... so how did he get the message across? It'll be great to see how it all turns out.

And in the complete opposite direction of train-of-thought.... shipping woes. Because Sokka/Toph is cute and BEING BLATANTLY HINTED AT and I like it, I really do... but what about Suki? WHY ARE WE NOT EVEN GETTING A PASSING MENTION OF HER, and why are you going and hinting at a new girlfriend for Sokka? (Well, okay, it's all one-sided from Toph and Sokka's probably oblivious to it, but STILL.) This had better not be a precursor to finding out Suki did die in that last fight, or to her dying in some future battle. Because that is NOT FAIR to Sokka. Not after Yue dying.
Darnit, I hate love triangles where I want both sides to win. Because someone likeable is inherently going to be left out. X_x

Anyhow. Next week's episode looks fun. ^_^

Internet is no longer in short supply! I can watch Avatar again! ^__^

Episode 42
...is made of so much squee. Aang and Katara dancing was awesome. ^_^

Meanwhile, Zuko needs to get over this idiot streak of his. Sooner rather than later. And not be mean to poor Iroh. ;_;

Episode 43

Filler~~

The whole polluted river spirit thing makes me think of the Stink God/River God from Spirited Away. Even though there's not a great deal of parallel between the two.

Things are looking Not Good. Not Good Not Good Not Good.

Gyaaaaah~~~

I so guessed it Azula-tachi before they got revealed though.

And Zuko's dreams were weird. O_o

Back to Avatar! ^__^

31: The Desert

Hee~~ hallucinating Sokka~~
"Hey, who set Toph on fire?"

So much of this episode was in dark places! And the computer I was watching it on first has a really dark screen so I couldn't see what was happening! X_x It was practically black. The other computer is fine though.

32: The Serpent's Pass

This is loading slower than the other ones... saw recaps at the start and waiting for the rest to download.
Suki is in this episode? And Jet? Double awesome.

And having watched it...

EEEEEESHIPPYNESSSQUEE~~~!!!

And it sounds like Jet might have turned good-guy? Ambiguous-good but still good. Hopefully.

33: The Drill

Oookay. So Jet's not turning good. Or he might be good in the larger scheme of things but still Not Good so far as our antihero is concerned.

"Team Avatar!"
Heh.

Been on an Avatar-watching spree again. Just watched "Zuko Alone".

...

*wibbles*

I think this is the first time I've cried watching Avatar.

(Still trying to figure out exactly what happened in the backstory, from the hinted goings-on that we actually saw. I wonder if we get further explanation later on, or if they specifically have to avoid explaining it clearly because of censors?)

Zuko is a really interesting character. As someone on avatar_fans commented, he's unusual because his redemption has nothing to do with the "good guys", he's on his own. Well, with Iroh, mostly, but still seperate from the other group.


I'm sure there are other bits from the other episodes that I was going to comment on, but I've forgotten them. X_x

Toph is cool.

NO MORE AVATAR FOR YOU, MISSY.

But, gyaah... I knew I said I'd stop at the end of season one, but I kept going. Only for two episodes, I just really wanted to see certain minor events-spoiled-by-poking-around-fandom happen... (hee, Zuko~~ ...you're turning into a fangirl. Stop it. and the bit in the cave~~! and I'm liking Sokka more and more. Poor Sokka. Heh.)

But yeah... seems like something may happen in the next episode to air in America that is going to be a major spoiler and doubtless all over everyone's icons and such and I've already been spoiled as to what well might be happening, but at least it's not definite, hope it's not what it seems unless they handle it really, REALLY well... so yeah. Totally avoiding the fandom now until I've caught right up to America on the episode front.

So..... homework it is. Horrible horrible homework. X___x

So I go to watch Avatar episode 18...

"Sorry, this file has been removed at the request of the copyright owner!"

GYAAAAAAH.

IT WOULD HAVE BEEN UP THIS MORNING. I WATCHED EPISODE 17 THIS MORNING.

*wails*

I can watch the last five minutes of episode 19, but the first two parts of that have been eaten by the copyright monster too. Probably not worth the spoilers. And it'd only leave me on a cliffhanger for episode 20 which isn't even there!

...this sucks.

EDIT: Found an alternate source. Yay for episode-sourcing communities!

Why yes, this constant rambling IS just another excuse to put off my homework for as long as possible...

Okay, so "working like crazy for the rest of the day" manages to involve watching more of Avatar. And I have one thing to say about that:

EEEEEEZOMGSHIPPERSQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE~~~~~~~~~~

Aang and Katara are just adorable together.

THEY CANCELLED AVATAR. ;_________________;

Hello? ABC? How about you show at least the entire first season before you take it off air? You'd so better not skip straight to the start of season 2 when it comes back on.

Oh well, it's off to YouTube....

(On a random note, does anyone know how big YouTube files actually *are*? It never says it on the page itself... and I don't want to go and download episodes and *then* find out they're absolutely massive.)


Grumblings aside, tonight's episode was awesome. That was one of the craziest fight scenes I've seen! And I loved seeing some interaction between Aang and Zuko.

Avatar is my latest obsession. It's not the best show ever - there are dodgy bits and occasionally woeful scripting, but there are so many awesome bits to make up for it. I like all of the major characters so far (not counting villains, anyway) and it makes me laugh so much, and cheer for the characters in the fight scenes, and generally get emotional and silly (and thus make sure I don't watch it while family members are around).

And it was partly inspired by Miyazaki films. That's cool. (And occasionally shows it rather clearly... homeless forest-spirit-turned-monster attacking the villagers? where have I heard that before?)

Random Aang/Katara hints are adorable.

And I think I'm turning into a Zuko fangirl, darnit. Why is it always the weird-looking ones with tragic pasts? ...oh, wait, I think I just answered myself.