http://adamkun.tumblr.com/

valadilenne: Man, I really miss The Band That Played California...

Sat, 22 Sep 2012 03:03:12 -0400

Man, I really miss The Band That Played California Lady. You know, everyone was going nuts over The Fish-Lipped Guy, especially since he was in Tiger Beat all the time, but I have to say that I always preferred The Eskimo. He was the quiet one, but you could tell he was the real strength and raw talent behind those lyrics.

sweetvixenellie: theshopislocal: opallynn: absolutelybrochelle...

Sat, 14 Jul 2012 13:57:12 -0400

sweetvixenellie:

theshopislocal:

opallynn:

absolutelybrochelle:

duamuteffe:

smoonie:

:O

COSPLAY WIN!

(via Geeksaresexy)

Holy crap!

Oh gosh!

SCRUFFFFFAY!

OMG SCRUFFY.

second

I definitely agree with you on your criticisms of Korra wholeheartedly with a few minor differences here and there. But there is a portion of your post that is gnawing me and I would like to voice my concern. In truth, metal and lightening bending is still an extremely rare skill in the Avatar world, it's why not every earthbender (think hobos and the tournament competitors) can metalbend. also, if you take a look at the nick website, they did say that lightening bending is a skill not many know

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 16:45:21 -0400

Well I think Lightning is so difficult because of the requirements. You need a clear mind and soul. Few people are able to generate the peace of mind needed to accomplish it. Azula and Ozai were able to because they had no moral code save to get as much power as possible. Iroh had peace of mind because he knew he was doing the right thing by trying to stop his brother. Zuko, on the other hand, wasn’t able to because he never had peace of mind due to the duality of his nature and the potential inside of him for both great good and great evil. Which is why I say I would be surprised and genuinely peeved if he were revealed to make lightning. His very nature practically disqualifies him from the practice.

Metalbending is, in theory, easier to understand and master. Toph was able to do so so suddenly because of the unique way she saw the world. She was able to perceive the makeup of metal through vibrations. I would think it would be hard for anyone who doesn’t see as Toph does (or did; we still don’t know her ultimate fate) because they can’t see the particles they’re able to manipulate. Knowing they exist is step one in being able to metalbend. But you still have to be able to “see” them in order to manipulate them. And this is likely the hardest part of learning to bend metal. That and it seems to take a LOT of stamina, since I recall Toph looking a little worn out after doing it usually.

My main reason for this criticism is we see a LOT more of the subsets. General Iroh, Mako, Zolt… They’re all able to generate lightning. We see a scene where we see lightning is used to power Republic City. That takes a lot of firebenders capable of generating lightning. Maybe the fact we can’t see every single bender in Republic City skews it and makes it look like there’s more than there really are. Who knows?

I certainly hope I’ve addressed your points. As I said in my initial post, I’m not trying to tell people they’re wrong. I’m just pointing out some observations I made that might help get rid of some of this rage I’ve been seeing.

Thank you for the message!

Adam H.

Thoughts on Legend of Korra

Sat, 07 Jul 2012 05:21:00 -0400

Okay, recently the season finale for Legend of Korra aired, and the reception has been largely hit and miss. At least two people who I enjoy being around and respect have had negative views of it, and I’d like to offer my views to see if I can point some things out that they may not have considered. I’m not bashing anyone. I’m not saying “YOU’RE WRONG!” All I’m saying is, “Consider this idea”.

First of all, I want to make one thing crystal clear. Do I feel Korra is a flawless, perfect series? The Mary Poppins of modern animation? Of course not. It’s a good, solid, entertaining cartoon. But like all cartoons, it has its flaws. A lot of these flaws are because we as Americans seem to think if we shelter children from the facts of life (“death happens, deal with it”), they’ll somehow be better off. But I think people are focusing too much on the flaws and not the positive aspects of the show.

-On the subject of the love triangle between Korra, Mako and Asami, I have to agree that the relationship between Mako and Korra is largely contrived and rushed. I really like Asami. I think she’s a good character and a positive role model for girls. She’s pretty, smart, and strong willed. Korra, on the other hand, is the stereotypical tomboy. One of the people I know who had a negative view of the finale didn’t understand why Asami would choose to side with the Avatar and her friends after being left by Mako. First of all, I think the qualities I cited that make Asami such a wonderful, interesting character enabled her to separate her feelings for Mako as a love interest and her feelings for Korra as a friend as well as a love rival. In other words, I doubt Asami is happy with the end result. Who would be? But she realizes this didn’t happen as a result of machinations by Korra. Korra didn’t waltz in there planning to take Mako for herself. It just sort of happened. That said, I also believe Asami’s behavior following her learning about the kiss helped drive a wedge between the two of them. After all, it happened before Asami and Mako was an official couple. Don’t get me wrong. Asami opting to remain with Team Avatar actually surprised me. After all, it would have been the perfect plot twist: Asami, feeling down and out over the loss of Mako, would be the perfect target for her father. When she was at her lowest point, she should have been at her most vulnerable. So again, there’s valid criticism about the relationship between Korra and Mako, but I fail to see why that should automatically make Asami hate Korra. Just doesn’t gel guys, sorry.

-Continuing with the subject of Asami, some criticism has been leveled at her father Hiroshi as a character, saying he went from a mild-mannered inventor to full on evil genius in a matter of seconds. Here’s the thing. It’s supposed to be out of left field, folks. Hate does things to people that we’ll never understand. Hiroshi nursed a grudge against the bender that killed his wife for years. He was a perfect target for Amon in theory. I doubt it just suddenly decided he wanted to get rid of all benders. I sincerely doubt the first thought in his head as he found out his wife was dead was to eradicate bending. The fact his hatred twisted him to the fact that he would attack and try to hurt his own daughter makes him a rather tragic figure and an interesting character. Let’s be honest. If you watched The Phantom Menace without having seen the original Star Wars movies and had no idea Anakin Skywalker would grow up to be Darth Vader, would you have seen that coming? Of course not. (Note: I am not, in any way, encouraging people to watch Episode I or any of the prequels, as they suck on toast. No, really. Avoid them like the Black Plague. Thank you.)

-About how Korra got her powers back… And learned Airbending. Well let’s cover Airbending first. Korra obviously had what she needed to do it by the time the series begins. The fact is, she was using Fire, Earth and Water as a sort of crutch. Water because it’s her “native” element, and Fire and Earth because they are related to her personality. Air was the exact opposite of her in terms of personality. Why would she need it when she had three other elements at her disposal? Clearly, she wasn’t going to learn it until she had no other options. Her epiphany about Airbending came because Amon basically snatched away her crutch, forcing her to consider new options. When the only tool you have is a hammer, every problem looks like a nail. Amon severing her connection with the three elements necessitated her gaining the fourth.

-How Korra got her powers back. Again, I agree with criticisms that it was rushed. I think it could have at least been expanded into an episode or two. But the primary issue people seem to have is that it just happened via Deus Ex Machina. Fair enough, I’ll grant you that.

But how is that any different from the ending of the original Avatar? Does the giant Lion Turtle showing up suddenly to teach Aang Energybending make any logical sense plot-wise? Absolutely not. It was clear to me from the first time that I saw the finale to the original Avatar that the Energybending thing was contrived to make a “happy ending” that didn’t involve the Fire Lord’s death. Was this Nick being overbearing? I don’t know. But it was definitely another instance of society trying to shield things from the harsh facts of life. The fact of the matter is, the Fire Lord SHOULD have died. Not graphically. Not even on screen. But he should have died. All the misery he has caused, all the misery his kin have caused, and his only penalty is his power is taken away? WHAT?!

So again. Fair criticism. But let’s be honest and call a spade a spade. Avatar was just as guilty about it as Korra.

-Speaking of Aang, I want to get this off my chest. I’m sorry, but Aang was a terrible Avatar. Yeah, he was just a kid, I know. But let’s look at it like this. He KNEW the fate of the world was riding on him taking out the Fire Lord. And he was willing to damn the world just to protect himself and feed his “spiritual needs”. Aang’s refusal to kill the Fire Lord was basically him turning his back on his duties as Avatar. Korra might have been headstrong and stubborn, but Aang was a selfish brat willing to let the world be destroyed and enslaved by a mad man just so he wouldn’t feel guilty about ending the life of one man whose actions had caused the death of thousands, maybe even millions. And he was always looking for justifications for his bad behavior. Do you know how many times in the series I said “I KNOW YOU’RE A VEGAN. STOP PREACHING ABOUT IT, ASS!”? Let’s say it was more than once. “I don’t eat meat! So logically, that means it’s okay if I don’t stop this raving lunatic!”

-Another criticism was how the Avatar State came to Korra. Again. I agree with the premise it was rushed. You’ve got a valid point there.

But you have to remember that the reason why Aang had to work so hard to master the Avatar State was because he had at least TWO very negative experiences with it. Remember that when he entered it at the North Pole, he basically massacred an entire army because he was under the influence of the State and La. Then he was provoked to enter the State by the general in the Earth Kingdom, who deliberately tried to hurt his friend (and love interest). The kid was terrified of losing control of himself, so he was reluctant to learn and master the State. Korra, on the other hand, did not have that emotional baggage with her. She had no preconceived notions of the Avatar State. Should she have mastered it so easily? No, probably not. But to say she should have had the EXACT SAME PROBLEMS as Aang did is just plain silly.

-About the ending of Tarrlok and Amon… To be honest, I have mixed feelings. On one hand, they build up this hope of the brothers banding together to surpass their father’s influence, only for Tarrlok to seemingly randomly decide to kill them both. However, I think there is a likely explanation for it.

Tarrlok and Amon had a really crappy childhood. No bones about it. I think Tarrlok felt that the only way to break the cycle their father had started was to basically terminate his bloodline. In other words, no matter what they resolved to do with their lives, the fact is they would be potentially perpetuating a cycle of misery and hate. I seriously doubt Yakone had any intentions of revenge until he learned his sons were Waterbenders. His revenge consumed him, and it eventually corrupted his sons. And while they both realized they were in the wrong, I believe Tarrlok just realized the only way to make sure this never happened again was to completely destroy Yakone’s bloodline.

As for criticism of Tarrlok suddenly turning a new leaf, keep in mind this.

One episode doesn’t mean one day. We have no idea how long Tarrlok was in captivity when Korra and Mako found him. He had awhile to contemplate things. And I think he realized that while he had been originally pissed that Korra foiled his plans to rule Republic City, that didn’t mean he truly hated her. Maybe he did hate her, but time alone gave him time to reflect. My point is, we have no idea how long he was in captivity. Days, at least. Possibly weeks.

-The final point of criticism is the “plan” to take care of Amon. One of my friends says this relied on information they might not have gotten. Keep in mind, the plan wasn’t always to unmask Amon as a bender. The plan became that when they got the information from Tarrlok. It’s not valid to criticize them for relying on a shakey plan when we have no idea what plan they would have come up with in the information’s absence.

Now that I’ve defended what I think are some valid ideas, I’d like to share some of my personal criticisms. One major plot hole I observed was the fact that everyone and their pet goat seemed to be capable of using all aspects of any given element. All Firebenders, for example, are shown as being able to make lightning. All Waterbenders are shown to be able to heal. And all Earthbenders (Save poor Bo Lin) are shown to be able to metalbend. In the original Avatar, it was clearly stated that these are all rare skills that require years of training and special skills, and that few Benders are born with even the POTENTIAL to do this. And even if you are one of the lucky few to be born with this amazing potential, each skill requires certain things. Lightning takes a crystal clear mind. Which means it makes perfect sense for Azula and Ozai to be able to make such powerful lightning so easily: they were both absolute sociopaths who had no qualms committing murder and genocide.. It also makes perfect sense for lightning to be a skill that eludes Zuko, since the point of his character is inner turmoil. In fact, if it is ever revealed Zuko learned how to generate lightning, I will be very disappointed. Yes, he’s resolved many of his issues, but still. Toph only learned to metalbend because she was blind and saw things other people couldn’t, leading to a sudden epiphany. But everyone we see in Republic City is shown to be able to use these highly specialized skill sets. What the Hell, Avatar World?

In closing, I just want to restate what I have said throughout this. I am not saying all criticism of Legend of Korra are invalid. I’m not saying anyone is wrong. I’m not saying Korra is a perfect series. The fact is, both Avatar and Korra had their flaws. But the flaws do not stop them from being wonderful cartoons that we can enjoy. One of my favorite cartoons from the 1990s is Gargoyles. Again. Flawless? No. But it was still enjoyable. And I feel the same way with Legend of Korra.

aogami: random loli I drew. Doop

Mon, 28 May 2012 03:01:26 -0400

aogami:

random loli I drew. Doop

teekayart: Free Art Giveaway!So in thanks for 300 (actually...

Sat, 12 May 2012 23:27:11 -0400

teekayart:

Free Art Giveaway!

So in thanks for 300 (actually 288) followers I’m going to be doing a giveaway for FREE art. Ask boxes must be open in order to claim your prize, if not, it’ll go to the next person. This will end on the 18th! Now, here are some really simple rules.

Followers will get a colored images

NonFollowers will get line art.

Reblog only once! I will check for this.

Likes count, but you’ll get a smaller image. (Unless you reblog as well)

Must have an image ref, sorry! I can’t work from text.

Holy Shitsnacks!

Sat, 12 May 2012 02:12:27 -0400

Holy Shitsnacks!

teekayart: kytastro: its people like the top guy, who piss me...

Fri, 11 May 2012 01:03:04 -0400

teekayart:

kytastro:

its people like the top guy, who piss me off.

I want to marry ice cream.

blazerdesigns: May Giveaway: Legend of Zelda merch + Sale Hey...

Sun, 06 May 2012 13:14:32 -0400

blazerdesigns:

May Giveaway: Legend of Zelda merch + Sale

Hey fellow tumblrers & tumblrettes, this month I’ll be giving away three of my LoZ fanart merchandise to three lucky winners. As a bonus, I’ll be having a sale on Hylian Shield and Full Heart Container necklaces in my shop for the duration of the giveaway.

Prizes

First draw: Rosewood box inlaid with the Hylian crest

Second draw: Full Heart Container necklace

Third draw: Hylian Shield necklace

Rules

Reblog this post once

Likes/follows do not count

Giveaway ends May 15th, Saturday at 10pm PST

Winner will be announced and contacted on Sunday

It’s dangerous to go alone, reblog this!

omocat: always

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 21:39:57 -0400

omocat:

always

I think I’ll start posting pictures I’ve commissioned here.

Wed, 18 Apr 2012 21:08:51 -0400

I think I’ll start posting pictures I’ve commissioned here.