I'M BACK BITCHES

~syonanto — Sat, 21 Nov 2009 17:52:51 PST

Sorry, that journal title = my unnecessary urge to emphasize how amazing it is that I'm returning.

So yes, it is true, I'm back in time to go through the 1,014 deviations and 1,451 messages in my inbox! Once I tackle those, I can begin uploading new art!

So, what've I missed? Lay it on me - Avatar fandom stuff, I haven't been in touch with anything other than Racebending in the past 3 MONTHS. I know, it felt really weird not coming home to the comp everyday and signing on to dA to read new journals. I want details, people, details! XD

Also, do me a huge favor and feature yourselves. Any and all cool new art you made in the past two months, drop me a link with a short description for each (like, the title and maybe throw in a sentence if you can), and I'll come take a look! I've missed this place sorely .

Also, what's all this I'm seeing at the bottom of the page about limited time free journal skins? o.O Has dA gone mad? Allowing us to accessorize without grossly overcharging us children? :0

-
Still working on a couple of requests, including *IslandWriter's for catching my kiriban~ <3 Hurray for progress.

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

, or 's journals

Just a reminder: you do NOT need to sign up to participate!

SYON'S KATAANG WEEK '09
August 19: Mischief - [link] August 20: Skin - [link] August 21: Reunited August 22: Secrets August 23: Passion - [link] August 24: Spirit - [link] August 25: Destiny - [link]

Tell everyone you know~

-Syonanto

-
Still working on a couple of requests, including *IslandWriter's for catching my kiriban~ <3 Hurray for progress.

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

: iconkataangweek2009 : Without the spaces.

_{K... who else noticed the^bumpat the end...

Gawd I have such a dirty mind XD LMAO}

The problem was that the new stamp I made [link] is longer than the one I made last year, so it's a larger file size. And icons on dA can only be under 15K. So even when I split it in two, the files were too large to make into joint icons like this .

So please, feel free to use either of the icons! The single or the double, both are full of over 9000 Kataang power Hope you like!

KATAANG WEEK '09 PROMPTS
August 19: Mischief August 20: Skin August 21: Reunited August 22: Secrets August 23: Passion August 24: Spirit August 25: Destiny

Tell everyone you know~

-Syonanto

-
In other news, I'm still working on a couple of requests, including *IslandWriter's for catching my kiriban~ <3 Hurray for progress.

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

, and . We had over a hundred-something prompts to go through, and cut it down to 7 in just 3 days

NEW KATAANG WEEK STAMP: [link]

/edit.

EDIT: Do you guys want a new Kataang Week stamp/icon?
Last year's = [link]
I was thinking of possibly updating it with more Kataang scenes. Y/N?
PLZ VOTE IN COMMENT KTHNX <33333

Amidst the sudden burst of Zutara Week artwork spreading like wildfire across dA, I feel the need to remind fellow Kataang fans that our time is coming REALLY SOON.

Like, REALLY soon. August 19-25th. Mark your calenders!

, , and I are organizing it this year. Next journal will include the prompts!

For now, I'd just like to thank you guys for the prompt suggestions, and remind everyone that we want KW to be as great a success as last year- which was a BLAST!

It's almost party time.

ARE. YOU. READY?!

-
In other news, I'm still working on a couple of requests, including *IslandWriter's for catching my kiriban~ <3 Hurray for progress.

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

Tornado warning in my hometown

~syonanto — Tue, 04 Aug 2009 11:47:33 PDT

SWEET, finally something exciting!

((No worries, though, I've never heard of a tornado rampaging through anywhere near Mississauga before ))

Chances are it'll be a tiny one and just pass by Toronto or something and be gone before we know it. Toronto's next to Mississauga, but a lot bigger too.

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Kataang Week is coming up! The official one August 19-25th. , , and I are organizing it this year. Feel free to drop off suggestions for prompts in this journal or any of theirs!

For now, see ya'll later! I'll be updating this journal with the prompt suggestions as they come

Prompt Suggestions so far
History
Loss
Elemental Pull
Candle
Light
Breathe
Glory
Destiny
Poppy seed
Passion
Soft
Bliss
Lips
Hippies

The finalized 7 prompts will be posted in all 4 journals in about a week or so~

-Syonanto

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

[link]

Spin Master Takes Master Toy License on Last Airbender

TORONTO: Spin Master has signed a deal with Nickelodeon and Viacom Consumer Products (NVCP) to be the master global toy licensor for the forthcoming theatrical release The Last Airbender, from Nickelodeon Movies and Paramount Pictures...

"M. Night Shyamalan and Paramount have done an incredible job of adapting the mythology of Avatar, the Nick TV show, into an imaginative and visually stunning live-action big-screen fantasy adventure film," said Adam Beder, the VP of licensing for Spin Master. "As the world's most fun and most imaginative toy company, it's a natural fit for us to recreate the magic of the film into an original and creative new toy line that children will love..." [link] continued.

Well, I'll be adding that to my list of things to boycott.

In other news, refer to for official news on The Last Airbender live-action-movie-manga.

That's right. A manga of the movie based on the animated series. Del Ray pwned the rights. and are cowriting!

*Visit 's journal for more on the manga's plot.

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Kataang Week is coming up! The official one August 19-25th. , , and I are organizing it this year. Feel free to drop off suggestions for prompts in this journal or any of theirs!

For now, see ya'll later! I'll be updating this journal with the prompt suggestions as they come

Prompt Suggestions so far
History
Loss
Elemental Pull
Candle
Light
Breathe
Glory
Destiny
Poppy seed
Passion
Soft
Bliss
Lips
Hippies

The finalized 7 prompts will be posted in all 4 journals in about a week or so~

-Syonanto

---
_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

, , and I are organizing it this year. Feel free to drop off suggestions for prompts in this journal or any of theirs!

For now, see ya'll later! I'll be updating this journal with the prompt suggestions as they come

Prompt Suggestions so far
History
Loss
Elemental Pull
Candle
Light
Breathe
Glory
Destiny
Poppy seed
Passion
Soft
Bliss
Lips
Hippies

The finalized 7 prompts will be posted in all 4 journals in about a week or so~

-Syonanto

A late Half Blood Prince review!

I watched the movie on the second day after it's opening, but just didn't have the same excitement about writing up the review for it. Loved the movie in general, but I thought the beginning and end was pulled off rather half-heartedly.

My favorite scene from the whole movie was the lake scene. Best. Ever. It was so incredibly well done, dare I say even better than what I had imagined from the book?

Tom Riddle was eeeerieeee

Ron's role in this movie made me so much happier- no longer the OOC cranky guy from book 5! Alas, things will probably change for Deathly Hallows, then.

Hermione's anxiousness over Ron's sudden girl-popularity was hilarious.

Harry drunk off of Felix was HILARIOUSSSS. I CRIED WITH LAUGHTER.

"HI!"

I love book Ginny/Harry WAY better than what was done in the movie. Waaay too weird how she kept doing him these favors... first, feeding him, then tying his shoe laces for him... running around in her bathrobe... it freaks me out.
I loved the movie in general, though. Quite disappointed they didn't include Dumbledore's funeral! Or the Occlumency lessons. "No need to say SIR, professor."

And the scene where Greyback and Bellatrix show up at the Weaseley's?
COMPLETELY DIDN'T HAPPEN THAT WAY IN THE BOOK.

The Weaseleys' house is supposed to be under five gazillion spells by the Order to make it untraceable, which is why it's always been safe for Harry to hang there. But toootally randomly somehow halfway through the movie Bellatrix and Greyback (of all the people to team up in a duo) suddenly storm in, provoke people at random and then set the house on fire -______- siiiiiiigh.

This does not bode well for the next movie. I've a feeling they'll be cutting Bill and Fleur's wedding out or something now that the house is charring. Sure, it can be fixed, but it'd be strange since the Weaseleys are supposed to be rather poor.

I think the only reason they threw that fight in is because they completely cut out the professors VS death eaters fight that happens at the end of the book. Which was sad, because Neville was so awesome in those. EVERYONE was awesome in those, and I simply LOVED Ginny's awesomeness in that scene... but nooo, they decided to cut that out too.

Draco Malfoy... my goodness, I cried at Dumbledore's falling, but I think Malfoy almost outdid that one. Almost. Seeing him cry like that at the mirror was exactly the way I imagined. Which made it all the more heart-breaking to see it happening before my eyes rather than having to imagine it from reading the book.

There was a complete lack of Neville in this movie sad. Well, he'll have his golden moment in Deathly Hallows.

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lulzLive Chat with Rufftoon xD

~syonanto — Mon, 20 Jul 2009 12:06:16 PDT

[link]

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

Can this movie get any more lulzier?

~syonanto — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 10:08:57 PDT

It seems I'm a bit late, but here you all go anyways;

~New Last Airbender pics: [link]

~Promo Images: [link]

And now an excerpt from a very FACEPALM interview iF Magazine did with Shyamalan about the movie

"iF: Are you going to push for the political tone in this film as weÂve seen in your other films?

SHYAMALAN: Well, there is a lot in the mythology. What I did was remove anything that was too slap-sticky and cheesy -- the stuff that was there for the very little kids, but wouldnÂt work in a live action feature like the fart jokes. I grounded the thing a little more. I grounded KataraÂs brother for example [played by Jackson Rathbone] and it brought a great new overall tone to the whole movie. But the political tone is for sure intact and the one about a culture who is in an industrial revolution and use their way in their belief system and then decide Âwe donÂt need to follow the old way of thinking, the old way of seeing GodÂ. And the movie focuses on a higher power and the spirit world...
_{Continued at TheLastAirbenderFans.com}

It appears Sokka's character was too filler-y for Shyamalan, and much of the mythology in the show was too 'slap-sticky and cheesy -- like fart jokes' until Shyamalan purified it with his genius.

On that note, please visit Thanks!

And now, I've written a song for you all that goes a little something like this :

Do your loopies hang low,
do they wobble do they flow
can you tie 'em in a knot?
can you tie 'em in a bow?
can you throw 'em over your shoulder like a continental soldier
DO YOUR LOOPIES
HANG
LOW.

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

[link]

Introducing: Aang

~syonanto — Mon, 06 Jul 2009 12:07:39 PDT

Met him for the first time at Anime North 2008, and we've been chatting cosplay ever since. You've seen snippets of him here and there throughout my cosplay gallery, and perhaps even on cosplay.com as one of the best Aang cosplayers in North America _{imo XD}... and now he's here on DeviantART!!

~Introducing my friend Erick [link] , aka Aang

The Snippets:
[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]
...and more coming soon.

He's got lots of great Aang cosplays lined up, including original style and crossover versions ^_^. I'm sure he'll be uploading them soon enough, now that he's finally signed up for a DA account. So yeah, just thought I'd make this journal to help a buddy out he's got loads of potential.

Did I mention he auditioned for the role of Aang in The Last Airbender movie? And even cooler, he has martial arts experience and is one badass dancer
...of which I shall be uploading videos post haste! Muahahahaha~

In other news:
I've been made an official member of the Avatar Crew! I'm really honored They're such a great bunch!

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

[link]

what everyone's foaming about

~syonanto — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:15:34 PDT

EDIT: What everyone SHOULD be foaming about: [link]

I love Miyazaki

/edit

The Last Airbender movie teaser trailer, first shown at either the Transformers 2 premiere or on Entertainment Tonight- can't remember or care which, lmao- is now spreading like wildfire online.

[link]

And now, a quick review of what the trailer has offered thus far, without reference to all my problems with the movie in general:

ROFLcape Aang looks like a jedi. Wait, wait- he looks like the karate kid trying to be a jedi.
Unfortunately, the music sounds like a rip from Curse of the Black Pearl >.> I'm sorry, I'm a huge PoTC and Hans Zimmer fan, and if anyone can pick out those pirate chords, I can.
CRYING on the floor laughing at the narrator. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't get any more generic or cliched than that. Hell, it would've been far more interesting if they'd made Nicola Peltz (Katara) narrate, at least to grab the audience's attention. Because honestly the deep, prophesying voice ominously claiming "one boy... one mission... SAVE THE WORLD" trick has been used toooooo many times. Counting how many times would be painful. I can't count that high.

Delicious, delicious special effects. Very yummy indeed.
Elemental symbols have been altered, but of course they'd do that, it's a live-action movie, guys. No longer 2D! I like 'em.
The... candles looked pretty? Okay fine, fine, I'll be fair. Ummm... what happened to the rest of the Air Temple? Lmao wait, sorry, that's not a pro, it's a con. My bad. OH, here's one: I love Aang's tats. I like how they changed it, made it more detailed, and really don't mind that it's not blue. It feels more realistic, as ignorant as it is of me to say that. Because in real life the arrow tattoo (in Hinduism) really is the same shape as it is in the show, albeit painted red instead of blue.

Anyone else have any thoughts? True pros and cons about the trailer? I'd like to hear them .

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

[link]

new last airbender weapons pics

~syonanto — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 14:47:46 PDT

I got the news hot and fresh from 's journal

[link]
Oh my, it looks like they're finally doing something right! The world must be coming to an end

5/30/09
Behind the scenes Sokka and Katara: [link]

^{...OH MY BAD. Zuko and Yue.}_{Sorry guys, I know it must feel like a cruel joke but, honestly, if you weren't up to date on the movie news, you'd have made the same assumption at first sight TAT.}

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

liveaction Sokka, Katara behind-the-scenes!

~syonanto — Sat, 30 May 2009 16:55:20 PDT

Behind the scenes tidbits [link]

^{...OH MY BAD. Zuko and Yue.}_{Sorry guys, I know it must feel like a cruel joke but, honestly, if you weren't up to date on the movie news, you'd have made the same assumption at first sight TAT.}

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_{ANIME NORTH '09 PICS: [link]}

Anime North 2009 review

~syonanto — Thu, 28 May 2009 16:26:03 PDT

Sorry it took so long you guys, but I really wanted to post my review coupled with my sister's review of the Avatar live action movie panel (which she posted on [link]), and she didn't get a chance to finish it until this morning :3.

In a nutshell, here are some cool things Jessie Flower mentioned at the Question & Answer session:
She is a huge fan of Toph x Sokka. She said that she really wished they'd gotten together. She does NOT hate Suki. She simply loves Toph to bits
She wanted to audition for the role of Toph in the movie, but the voice actors weren't allowed to audition. They asked nicely. They pleaded. They weren't allowed.
Her favorite line was "I AM NOT TOPH, I AM MELON LORD" from Book 3
She's never seen so many Avatar cosplayers before. Anime North was her first anime convention. Next year she wants to come back, cosplaying as Fire Nation Toph .
She REALLY liked the fan art that I, =river-bird, *IslandWriter, ~Avatarded99, *toastmstr9 and ~insanelemon made together, and I included our DA links at the back so she can come check out our art some time! I was going to scan and send the autographed copy to the group, but my scanner is being CRAZY right now and I'm going to have to wait until the weekend to find a solution sorry!
I didn't get a picture with her because my camera ran out of batteries but I did find a picture of her with the fan art! [link]
She's an AWESOME singer. She's also very mature, and it's often easy to forget you're talking to a 14 year old! She's also really tall, hehe.
While the movie/voice acting business has been her main forte so far, in reality she wants to grow up to be a heart surgeon. No joke.
She knew that one of the co-creators of Avatar (likely Bryan) as well as Jack DeSena, Dante Basco and Sifu Kisu all expressed interest to come to Anime North this year... but they asked 2 weeks before the convention, and by then Anime North was too broke to accommodate them TT_________TT. But we asked her to let them know they should definitely come with her next year.

I have video recordings of the rest of the questions she was asked during the session, as well as her concert performances. All coming up this weekend!

Last but not least, I finally uploaded my Boycott video for racebending: [link] ^_^

My sister's r...

Anime North pics tsunami IS HERE

~syonanto — Mon, 25 May 2009 15:55:30 PDT
EDIT ONE: [link]

That link has all my pictures from Anime North 2009! Avatar, Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle, Axis Powers Hetalia, Naruto, Storm Hawks, and loadsss more, I could go on.

Jessie Flower videos (of her concert and her question&answer panel will be up shortly, I promise!!)

FULL REVIEW WILL BE EDITED INTO THIS POST TOMORROW HOPEFULLY XD STAY TUNED...

|END OF EDIT ONE|

May 24, 2009
So. Tired. Just got back, but it was a, um, EPIC BLASTTTTTTTTTTT

Also, still in shock, from:
-the Avatar photoshoots
-the Jessie Flower concert
-her Question and Answer panel
-getting her to autograph the Toph collab
-the avatar live action movie panel
-and how I somehow took several hundred pictures of everything Avatar at the convention this weekend
-......BRIAN AND DANTE BASCO POSSIBLY COMING TO THE CON NEXT YEAR?!

P.S. Sorry I haven't replied to all the comments yet from my last journal on Dev and Noah Ringer! I was at the Anime North convention for the past three days, and will get around to them as soon as I take a shower, rest my poor feet and finish my homework

...And upload all mah pics . So just hold on! Full report coming right up~~

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[link]
He looks young... which I absolutely don't have a problem with. I'm glad he's 12, and I'm glad he's amazing at martial arts.
_{Do I still wish someone oriental had been cast? Yeah. But it has nothing to do with Noah, and everything to do with fairness.}

To everyone attending Anime North (Toronto Congress Center, May 22nd-24th), the info for the Avatar panels has been added to the Programming Schedule [link] It's on the fourth page.

The Avatar Movie Panel: 1:00PM in the Halton room.
The Avatar TV Show Panel : 2:00PM in the Toronto room.

So they'll be one after the other, starting with the live action movie- but in different rooms, so if you're planning on going to both (which I really hope you are ) then you'll have to run fast to get good seats for the latter!

AVATAR COSPLAY PHOTOSHOOTS

Saturday: 11AM & 4PM [grassy area in front of the Toronto Congress Center]

Sunday: 11AM [grassy area in front of the Toronto Congress Center]

AVATAR SPECIAL PRESENTATION
(finale on the big screen)

Saturday: 11AM-1PM in the International C room.

Yes, there is a clash between the Avatar finale showing and the 11AM photoshoot outside, but that's why we scheduled a *second* photoshoot for the same day at 4PM .

And don't forget, there's always the MASSIVE automatic photoshoot that happens right after the Avatar finale showing since pretty much every Avatar fan & cosplayer shows up to that event

QUATRE KOE CONCERT [JESSIE FLOWER PERFORMS]
Saturday: 1:30PM in the Plaza Ballroom is when Jessie Flower will be singing, she's the last out of the four performers. Remember to grab your entrance wristbands BEFORE then, though! Lineups for wristbands begin at 10AM on Saturday!

Jessie Flower Autograph signings
Saturday at 3PM & 5PM
Sunday at 12PM & 4PM.

So yeah, there'll be plenty of opportunities to get her autograph . And for me to give her the Jessie Flower Project . SO. EXCITED.

Did I mention we (,,,,,) finished the project as of yesterday?

Final phase... Edit: Noah Ringer's double

~syonanto — Thu, 14 May 2009 16:19:34 PDT

EDIT: Noah Ringer has a stunt double. [link]
An Asian one.

I guess Asian stunt doubles for Asian characters are okay in Hollywood, but Asians to play Asian leads aren't?

[ /edit ]

So, after nearly having a heart attack at discovering the Avatar Special Presentation (finale on the big screen) had been scheduled by Anime North to be at the same time I scheduled the Avatar cosplay photoshoot for Saturday, we've come to a sort of solution.

We're just going to have another Avatar shoot the same day at 4PM, same place - grassy area in front of the Toronto Congress Center . It seems like the best way to go about it without upsetting anyone.

The best part is that splitting up the shoots won't even matter that much, because the real shoot everyone shows up at, without fail, is the one that happens RIGHT after the Avatar Special Presentation xD. Enough fans will be attending that event to invoke a photoshoot right after the ending . And then if we want a better location to snap pictures at, there's the 4PM shoot later on that day.

Things are looking up!

The Avatar TV Series panel will happen on Sunday at 1PM, immediately followed by the Avatar Live Action Movie panel at 2PM. I'm all set with my printed flyers and bookmarks for the latter panel, and my sister's working on a special something for it too.

And finally, we're in the final phase for the Jessie Flower Project!
I'm so. Excited.

is working on the background coloring, which is the last part before I get the fan art back, touch it up, and then print out the copies!

Jessie Flower Project [link]
SCHEDULE:
Mar 28 to April 6 - Toph Line Art by ~syonanto DONE
April 6 to April 17 - Background Line Art by =river-bird DONE
April 17 to April 26 - Skin coloring by *toastmstr9 DONE
April 26 to May 3 - Clothes coloring by *IslandWriter DONE
May 3 to May 7 - Hair coloring by ~Avatarded99 DONE
May 7 to May 18 - Background coloring by ~insanelemon

Home run, baby!

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[link]

May 23, 2009 Saturday, Plaza Ballroom starting at 12:30pm

A once in a lifetime chance to see four amazing seiyuus (voice actors) at their singing best! Featuring Nobuyuki Hiyama, Jessie Flower, Victor Mignogna and Mark Hildreth.

Concert title fun fact: Quatre - 4 in French, Koe - "voice" in Japanese.

There will be a wristband policy in effect for this event. For further information, please visit the masquerade office during the convention.

That's right.

Jessie Flower. Vic Mignogna [link] . Mark Hildreth [link] . Nobuyuki Hiyama [link] .

Singing.

Together.

In a concert.

P.S. So the worry I'd been feeling earlier, that Jessie might not even be there? All gone. But, I'm still very, very grateful for all the support I got from those special people trying to make me feel better

P.S.S. In the words of my older sister,
"THE ONLY THING BETTER THAN TOPH SINGING WITH EDWARD ELRIC AND ZELDA AND HE-MAN IS.......
......NVM, THERE'S NOTHING BETTER."

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_{Jessie Flower Project [link]
SCHEDULE:
Mar 28 to April 6 - Toph Line Art by ~syonanto
April 6 to April 17 - Background Line Art by =river-bird
April 17 to April 26 - Skin coloring by *toastmstr9
April 26 to May 3 - Clothes coloring by *IslandWriter
May 3 to May 7 - Hair coloring by ~Avatarded99}
May 7 to May 18 - Background coloring by ~insanelemon

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, I'm still really frustrated with myself for being too busy so much lately, too much to pay the club the amount of attention it deserves.

Someone very kindly volunteered to help me run it from the very beginning, and if you're reading this- I've definitely decided to take you up on the offer! I just need to get some more things in order like handing out the prizes for the last contest already .

And then there's school, which I'm really busy with, not to mention Prom which is driving me insane with it's ridiculous price coupled with more nerves and stress than I need right now. Add the over-the-roof cost of Prom to the fact that my dad works 14 hours a day yet the family's still struggling to make ends meet, I'm riding a roller coaster right now. My job is crap. It doesn't pay, and the higher-ups are so corrupt.

In other news, Anime North 2009 is coming up in less than a month. I've still got to finish off Katara's boot covers and fix her arm ones.

In addition to that, I'm a panelist for two Avatar panels right now - Avatar TV Series, and Avatar the Live Action Movie... the latter being a tad more demanding of course, seeing as it's a totally new panel to the convention and a rather touchy, difficult one at that. Very few panels have been held around the world about it yet. I'm not saying I'm not up to the challenge- no way, I welcome it, this is a message I feel really strongly about getting across- but it does involve a helluva lot of work.

To begin with, there's research to be done. Like I said, it's a really delicate subject, so I need to make sure I get all my facts straight, which I'm in the process of doing. I just finished printing off forty copies of the Racebending flyer this morning to hand out at the convention. And then there's the whole issue of having to figure out how to deal with the population of attendees who will no doubt be TOTALLY opposed to the idea that racebending really is happening; some will have good arguments, no doubt, but others will definitely take it upon themselves to be as disruptive and loud and ignorant about it as possible.
And I've got to be prepared for that.

To add to my stress, it's never a good combination to be as nervous as you are excited, and that's the way I'm feeling right now about the Jessie Flower Project. On one hand, it's going so well right now that I could just melt with happiness. On the other, I fear something will go wrong- anything- and my months of planning and nerves and stress and god knows what else will all culminate into a massive breakdown X.x.

For example, I don't think I'd be able to take it if a few days before the convention, the website updates with the sad news that Jessie Flower became mysteriously ill or had some sort of schedule conflict and could no longer make it (because this has happened before with some of the guests in previous years). I would be devastated. Not only because of the loss of the Jessie Flower Project, but also because it's Jessie Flower, and omfg I want to meet her and get her autograph!! I think the saddest part is that even if she is going to be there without fail, she can't say anything about the racebending issue - as a person who worked on Avatar, she's pretty much sworn to silence; and I don't blame her, but it would've been so monumental to be able to have her carry on the AAW message.

And then there's schoooool and gahhhhh I bit off more than I can chew when it comes to extracurricular activities. I've got so much going on, and somehow I have to find a way to keep my marks up as high as possible through all of this. Because yes, I need to make the ultimate decision of which university I'm going to within the next 27 days. Or else.

=__________=" There's one other reason I'm really distressed right now, but I'm not going to mention it here because it really is way too touchy. If you'd like to read about it, it's on my LiveJournal page... same username...

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_{Jessie Flower Project [link]
SCHEDULE:

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_{Jessie Flower Project [link]
SCHEDULE:
Mar 28 to April 6 - Toph Line Art by ~syonanto
April 6 to April 17 - Background Line Art by =river-bird
April 17 to April 26 - Skin coloring by *toastmstr9
April 26 to May 3 - Clothes coloring by *IslandWriter
May 3 to May 7 - Hair coloring by ~Avatarded99}
May 7 to May 18 - Background coloring by ~insanelemon

---

[link] ) is coming to a close today . =river-bird'll be handing over the completed background line art to *toastmstr9 and the rest of the group soon enough, to begin Phase !

My excitement for this thing just keeps building, as you might've noticed.

_{<<

New set photos are up on LastAirbenderFans, I'm guessing from either the Southern Air Temple or Roku's Temple:
[link]

Looking good to me, but yeah, that's all I'll say about it because I really, really don't want to get into discussing how many issues I have with this movie any more than I already have.
You guys know how I feel about it, so it just goes without saying.

And I don't know if you heard, but the actress for Kanna has been cast: Katharine Houghton [link]
"Houghton was spotted stepping off the plane last week at the Philadelphia International Airport as the cast and crew of the live-action Avatar movie returning from filming in Greenland. Houghton will play the part of Kanna, the grandmother ("Gran Gran") of Katara and Sokka."

...Once again, no comment.

In other news, Frank Marshall, producer for The Last Airbender, is on Twitter. Here's a quote from Aang-Aint-White on LJ:

"We have been told that Frank Marshall, one of the producers of The Last Airbender, has an account on Twitter. We've also been told that many of our supporters have been sending him harassing messages.

While we understand that this is a rare opportunity to communicate more directly with the producers, rude behavior reflects badly on all of us. It's far better for our movement if we are polite and precise with our words, and present a unified front.

If you have a Twitter account and want to help, you can use this message:

@LeDoctor I want Airbender to be successful, and so I'm asking you to address the public's concerns with its racially insensitive casting."

Well, I'm off to Twitter.

P.S. Also- people who're saying Aang-Aint-White is "the new Zutara"?

Yeah, no.

P.S.S. My Twitter username is the same: Syonanto

---
_{Jessie Flower Project [link]
SCHEDULE:
Mar 28 to April 6 - Toph Line Art by ~syonanto
April 6 to April 17 - Background Line Art by =river-bird
April 17 to April 26 - Skin coloring by *toastmstr9
April 26 to May 3 - Clothes coloring by *IslandWriter

AVATAR: "Last Chance"...
~syonanto — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 14:10:38 PDT
[link]

[link]

LOL. I saw THIS [link] and then suddenly it was all so clear. If the Fire Nation royalty is going to be brown, I demand that Deepika be Mai.

So yeah, her name's Deepika Padukone, and she's pretty damned famous in Bollywood. Recently starred in a movie called Chandni Chowk to China, in which she had to double as a half-Chinese, half-Indian woman (it was part of the actual story). I think she pulled it off pretty well. She's an excellent actress, and has a number of awards for it under her belt.

More images of her from Chandni Chowk to China:
[link]
[link]
[link]

But she's waaaay more famous for her first ever big screen internationally acclaimed Bollywood movie called Om Shanti Om. I watched it. Om Shanti Om was... freaking awesomesauce tearjerker heavenlymusic to the max .

And I totally think she has some very similar facial features to Mai, minus her ginormous eyes
[link] Same eyebrows. Same long, thin nose. Long narrow face and ears, even. She's also VERY tall, and lean.

DID I MENTION SHE'S TRAINED IN MARTIAL ARTS AND CAN THROW KNIVES LIKE NO OTHER?!?!_{I'm serious. She really can.}

I hope you're reading this, Manoj. Deepika must be Mai.

Thank you.

_{P.S. >.> Manoj... Shyamalan. Manoj Night Shyamalan. For those who take a little longer to catch on.}

EDIT: New set photos! [link]

_{Jessie Flower Project [link]
SCHEDULE:
Mar 28 to April 6 - Toph Line Art by ~syonanto
April 6 to April 17 - Background Line Art by =river-bird
April 17 to April 26 - Skin coloring by *toastmstr9
April 26 to May 3 - Clothes coloring by *IslandWriter
May 3 to May 7 - Hair coloring by =Avatarded99}
May 7 to May 18 - Background coloring by ~insanelemon

--
Future Plans
Submit all Kataang Week entries 2/7 complete
Upload TophxSokka artwork 0% complete
...

Last Airbender images surface EDIT: Yue?!
~syonanto — Wed, 01 Apr 2009 07:42:17 PDT
EDIT: According to Last Airbender Fans.com, Seychelle Gabriel is as good as cast as Yue. [link] << Check it out.

Yeah, I'll just... wait until it's officially confirmed. Then you'll hear exactly what I think of it .

Old >>A glimpse of the Water Tribe set-in-the-making: [link]

New >>Fire Nation soldiers in the Water Tribe: [link]

"LAF Exclusive: Photo of 2 Fire Nation Soldiers
_{Posted to Exclusive News on March 28, 2009 11:53 PM by NightBender}
We recently got our hands on a pretty cool picture snapped at one of the production warehouses or sets for the The Last Airbender. It's of what appears to be 2 Fire Nation soldiers, and in the background you can see ice-blocks from what we assume are parts of the Southern Water Tribe set."

Sooo... I'm happy one of the guys is Asian. There, the one in the background.

>.>;

*Coughs* ANYWAY. I like that Shyamalan or whoever's in charge of wardrobe has clearly made a good attempt at staying authentic for the armour design, etc. The white guy's facial haircut... is very Zhao-esque. Well, Fire Nation-esque, to be exact, and I suppose I appreciate the effort to stick to details from the show.

Some people are not so happy about the color of their armour. Frankly I have no complaints yet simply because after all the hell so far, I didn't exactly expect these people to get the rest of the movie pure perfect. But I do appreciate the effort... though it might just be because I have such low expectations to begin with.

Nonetheless, it seems the Fire Nation will now have brown people as the royalty, and a mixture of other races as the commoners and military...? Whatever. Moving on. According to this picture, it appears that the Fire Nation colours won't necessarily be the bright reds and oranges that remind one so strikingly of China... it will be black. I wonder why... -_-

Once again, this is all just speculation based on the image.

There'll be some filming in Philly this week, in fact, on the 5th of April, so more images will probably surface then. I'll save further speculation for that time.

_{Jessie Flower Project [link]
SCHEDULE:
Mar 28 to April 6 - Toph Line Art by ~syonanto
April 6 to April 17 - Background Line Art by =river-bird
April 17 to April 26 - Skin coloring by *toastmstr9
April 26 to May 3 - Clothes coloring by *IslandWriter
May 3 to May 7 - Hair coloring by =Avatarded99}
May 7 to May 18 - Background coloring by ~insanelemon

--
Future Plans
Submit all Kataang Week entries 2/7 complete
Upload TophxSokka artwork 0% complete
, , , , and . A note as been sent to all of you regarding emails.

PLAN
~A4 sized paper (or maybe larger, depending)
~Collab a Toph fan art with a bunch of other artists (it'll be passed along to each artist to complete the background line art, toph coloring, then background coloring, finally passed back to me when it's finished)
~Print two copies of the finished art
~Give one copy to Jessie Flower, and then get her autograph on the second copy and bring it home.

SCHEDULE:
Mar 28 to April 6 - Toph Line Art by ~syonanto
April 6 to April 17 - Background Line Art by =river-bird
April 17 to April 26 - Skin coloring by *toastmstr9
April 26 to May 3 - Clothes coloring by *IslandWriter
May 3 to May 7 - Hair coloring by =Avatarded99
May 7 to May 18 - Background coloring by ~insanelemon

I will complete the Toph outline by April 5th and be sure to send it to =river-bird by the 6th of April.

**Alright guys, we've got a tight schedule! I hope you're all okay with the amount of time I gave you to work on your individual parts.

Please send your completed part to both me & the next artist on the list by the last day of your time slot at the very latest, or else someone might not have enough time to complete their's.

My email is worth.millionz at gmail.com - you can send me the JPG version of the file and I hope everyone is okay with working on their parts in Photoshop and then converting it to JPG to send on to the next person? Everyone knows how?

Finally, I'm really happy and grateful so many of you were interested in doing this . Feel free to note or email me absolutely any...

Jessie Flower's autograph- interested? hell yeah.
~syonanto — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 18:11:44 PDT
***EDIT: Please specify your top 2 of the 3 categories available that you might like to do. Background line art, background coloring or Toph coloring.
Thanks!

Toph's voice actress, Jessie Flower, is coming to Anime North (Toronto, Canada) May 22nd to 25th.

I was thinking of doing something like what did with the World Travelling Avatar Book, except faaaaar smaller scale, and- well, digital xD.

I was thinking of arranging a 4-person Toph art collab, to give to Jessie, and to get autographed. What do you guys think of the idea?

~A4 sized paper (or maybe larger, depending)
~Collab a Toph fan art with a bunch of other artists (I guess I'll start it off with the line art, then it'll be passed along to each artist to complete the background line art, toph coloring, then background coloring, finally passed back to me when it's finished)
~Print two copies of the finished art
~Give one copy to Jessie Flower, and then get her autograph on the second copy and bring it home.

How does that sound? My main concern is the amount of time left until Anime North, possible file corruption as it's passed further along, etc

SCHEDULE:
Mar 23 to April 6 - Toph Line Art (~syonanto)
April 7 to April 20 - Background Line Art (available)
April 21 to May 4 - Toph coloring (available)
May 5 to May 18 - Background coloring (available)

Altogether = 4 artists, one being myself.

Anyone interested, please let me know ASAP. I'm going to have to personally decide who I can give the opportunity to, because time is short and I need to be able to trust they can do a good art job and make it snappy and are dependable. My apologies in advance to everyone who doesn't make it!

People interested so far:
for background line art or coloring
for Toph coloring
for background coloring
for Toph coloring

--
Plans
Submit all Kataang Week entries 2/7 complete
Upload TophxSokka Valentine's Day artwork 0% complete
Upload my kiriban art!!!!! 50% complete
Pre-order my Anime North three day pass! 100% complete!
push for a MaixZuko week!! 0% complete

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---
[link] If you love Kataang, READ IT. Kthnx.

March 16, 2009
I just wanted to draw attention to this: [link]

*_* BEST Maiko cosplay I've seen right up next to [link]

So, I was wondering what you guys would rate as the "best of the best" in terms of Avatar cosplay- specifically, shipping? Remember, both cosplayers need to (a)look the part, not just one out of the two, and (b)have reasonably well done costumes.

I'll throw down a couple I think should definitely be in the top:
^{Ships were listed in no particular order.}

Kataang:
help me outtt

Zutara:
[link]
[link] _{LOL EMBER ISLAND.}

Sukka:
[link]

Tokka:
[link]

Maiko:
[link]
[link]

I was interested to see what you guys thought since the favorites some of the cosplay images get here on DA are so random sometimes >.> and often have NOTHING to do with the costume quality or how similar the person looks to the character.

Please only provide links to images on DA. Thanks

--
Plans
Submit all Kataang Week entries 2/7 complete
Upload TophxSokka Valentine's Day artwork 0% complete
Upload my kiriban art!!!!! 50% complete
Pre-order my Anime North three day pass! 100% complete!
push for a MaixZuko week!! 0% complete

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---
[link]

Possible. As in, just a rumour, 'cause it's a picture without a credible source, let alone in english. It's from a spanish blog. Here's a fan's translation:

"I've found out I live in the same city as Noah Ringer, it happens that I run into someone who knows him very, very well, and that person told me about Noah. Basically, Noah's a very special and unique boy. He's very talented and brilliant. I've seen some pics of him and he's the living image of Aang. I don't have any picture, in consideration to Noah Ringer [*] and the fact that Paramount hasn't published any so far. [* Not sure about that line 8/] At any rate, Noah's a very realistic guy. He's a good kid. I mean, he's got many things that parallel Aang, he's odd and wonderful at the same time. He's got a great heart and a sincere soul. Noah likes drawing and martial arts, he's looking forward to appearing in this movie.

About the skin color of the other actors, don't worry, anything can be done in Hollywood, like changes in the skin tone."

If they'd just left it at "Noah likes drawing and martial arts," I would totally be jumping for joy right now, and 100% hopeful that maybe the casting wasn't a complete load of crap after all. The kid looks the right age, and from what I've read, he's more than ready for the role of Aang.

"...About the skin color of the other actors, don't worry, anything can be done in Hollywood, like changes in the skin tone."

That statement, right there, makes me want to bang my head repeatedly against electrical fencing.

I mean, look at the latest news, with the actors for Zhao, Ozai and Iroh. Pretty damned impressive considering how screwed up the choices for the main characters were. Things were looking up. But it's statements like the one above that ruin everything. Do you see what this movie is doing?

This is the impression people are getting from this movie! Don't worry, it's Hollywood!! Hollywood's allowed. Yellowface? Tokenism? Naw, it's just Hollywood, it's not like it's going to have an impact on millions of people internationally the way it has been for a century now!

I am so glad I'm a part of the Aang-aint-white movement... it's the only reason I haven't given up completely on all this.

--
Plans
Submit all Kataang Week entries 2/7 complete
Upload TophxSokka Valentine's Day artwork 0% complete
Upload my kiriban art!!!!! 50% complete
Pre-order my Anime North three day pass! 100% complete!
push for a MaixZuko week!! 0% complete

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---
[link]

Shaun Toub = Iroh = [link]
Aasif Mandvi = Zhao = [link]
Cliff Curtis = Ozai = [link]

Hot off of ~swan-swan's journal xD.

I'M LIKING THE NEW CASTING DECISIONS, YOU GUYS.
I wonder if it was the same casting director as before? x3

In other news, I'm soooo behind on Kataang Week, but not to worry: I plan on completing all prompts and have a bunch of sketches that are simply waiting to be colored

--
Promises:
- KataraxAang art 100% complete
Plans
Upload TophxSokka Valentine's Day artwork 0% complete
Upload my kiriban art!!!!! 50% complete
_{It's been taking me forever, probably because for once it is not Avatar. There, I said it}
Pre-order my Anime North three day pass! 100% complete!
push for a MaixZuko week!! 0% complete

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

[link]

THIS IS CRAZY, I'M SO EXCITED.

--
Promises:
- KataraxAang art 100% complete
Plans
Upload TophxSokka Valentine's Day artwork 0% complete
Upload my kiriban art!!!!! 50% complete
_{It's been taking me forever, probably because for once it is not Avatar. There, I said it}
Pre-order my Anime North three day pass! 0% complete
push for a MaixZuko week!! 0% complete

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

[link]. If you live in that area, this is your chance to show your full support for this amazing cause!

Enough with the tokenism already! Once again we're looking at yet another movie where the Asian is the villain, and only Caucasians play the heroes.

This new casting call is specifically for people of Mogolian, Cambodian and Laotian heritage.

In the words of Aang-Aint-White on LJ,

"Paramount is trying to put a bandaid on this problem by casting Asian actors in minor, background roles, in a world that will still be saved by three white heroes. Now is the time to tell them that that isn't good enough.

The pre-production window is closing. This is an excellent opportunity to show Paramount in person that their audience -- not matter what their own race may be -- won't support this project as it stands."

--
Promises:
- KataraxAang art 80% complete
Plans
Upload TophxSokka Valentine's Day artwork 0% complete
Upload my kiriban art!!!!! 50% complete
_{It's been taking me forever, probably because for once it is not Avatar. There, I said it}
Pre-order my Anime North three day pass! 0% complete
push for a MaixZuko week!! 0% complete

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

...

KATAANG WEEK 2.0
~syonanto — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:57:08 PST

YESSSSS.

March 8. Panda Lily
March 9. Blush
March 10. Vulnerable/Strong or Strength/weakness
March 11. Tradition
March 12. Comfort
March 13. Love of Life
March 14. In my arms

[link]

In other news, did anyone else watch the Oscars last night?
THEY WERE FLIPPIN' AWESOME.

SLUMDOG MILLIONAIRE, FTWWWWWWWW~~~

And most importantly: I finally got my pencil powers back, and can get back to drawing fan art yayyyyyyyyy

--
Promises:
- KataraxAang art (Kiriban catch prize) sorry it's taking so long!
Plans
Upload TophxSokka Valentine's Day artwork
Upload my kiriban art!!!!! It's been taking me forever, probably because for once it is not Avatar. There, I said it
Pre-order my Anime North three day pass!
push for a MaixZuko week!!

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

- KataraxAang art (Kiriban catch prize)
Tokka Week art!

Plans
discover fun way to celebrate SINGLES AWARENESS DAY February 14th, y'all!
TophxSokka artwork for Valentine's Day
push for a MaixZuko week!!
work on Anime North convention cosplay (DOBS Katara)
schedule Avatar photoshoots for Anime North
PLAN FOR PROM I've found a dress I really, really like. But it costs da moneh. So this requires much work on my part, in terms of earning at least half the money, and pleading with my parents. LOL.
There's still 4 months until prom, but doods, the prices JUMP during prom season, so now's the best time to shop!
I also need to scrounge up $30-$40 for the limo my friends and I are planning. I think it's a pretty good deal for a ride to the ball and back, plus it's a pretty snazzy looking limo, but like... T____T it's still a lot of money.

So here's an average of how much "leisure" spending I'll be doing in the next couple of months...

Anime North: $40
Prom Dress: $160
Accessories: $20
Shoes: $35
Limo: $40
Total: $295

Holy...

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---
[link]
Hehehe.

GUESS WHO DID HIS HOMEWORK, Y'ALL.

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

OMFG...OMFG. JESSE AINT ZUKO FO SRS
~syonanto — Mon, 02 Feb 2009 13:08:50 PST

[link]
[link]
[link]
[link]

And Jessica Andres is going to be Suki. xD I have no idea who that is- heard she's from Gossip Girl?

I am very, very happy right now. VERY HAPPY

For those of you who think Dev looks NOTHING like ZUKO, please observe: [link]
Manip by

I definitely see Zuko in there

My sister actually called me from university on her cell phone to tell me the news as soon as she read it. Holy... this is all still just sinking in.

Jesse isn't Zuko anymore due to conflict with tour dates. Mhmm. Sounds believable enough, but I wonder: he had already started martial arts training alongside Jackson for three hours a day, every day... did he really give up a Hollywood movie because of some tour he could easily postpone? Celebs postpone tours all the time, it just seems like sort of a feeble reason to provide, and to then be replaced by an actor who is most definitely not white...

Ah well, I'll leave my musings for later. Right now, we CELEBRATE~~~

Whether you admit to it or not, Paramount, we fans made a difference

Let me hear you roar!!!

AANG-AINT-WHITE FTW

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---
-me.

You and I both know there's no one true answer to that question. It's technical, and complicated. So naturally, I was immediately, graciously helped by two loyal members of the Aang-aint-white community, who in turn supplied me with the following scenarios as a reply:

Why are you attacking the kid actors; it's not their fault they are white!
We're not.
We're criticizing the producers, who did not think children of color were suitable to play in a movie based on their own cultures.
It's not those kids' faults that they're brown, either.

So, are you saying that white people can't play Asians? Isn't that reverse racism? If these Caucasians are actors, then why can't they just "act" Asian through makeup and costumes?
Why can't Asian people act in Asian parts before they're offered up to non-Asian people?
It sends the message that white people can play more authentic Asian characters than Asians themselves.
Yellowface was the practice of 'acting' Asian. It promoted horrible and demeaning stereotypes.
Asian actors should have the same opportunities to play Asian characters as white actors have to play white characters.

The voice actor for ____ isn't a person of color, so the character must be white, too.
Yeah, and the voice actor for Appa, Dee Bradley Baker, isn't really a "sky bison."
The voice cast was still more diverse than the current movie cast.

Maybe the selected kids just happened to be the best actors for the job?
Except by writing "Caucasian or any other ethnicity" on the casting sides, the production made their preference for Caucasian actors clear form the beginning.
Normally when ethnicity is left open-ended, casting sides read "Any Ethnicity."
These guys labeled non-Caucasian kids as 'Others.'
The casting side for extras reads "All Ethnicities". See the difference?

Saying "Whites aren't allowed" is racist.
We're asking for a diverse cast that is actually representative of the source material. It's not about boycotting 'whites.'
Caucasian actors are all that are allowed in the film right now, it's the minority actors who aren't. That's not racist at all?

Thank you, jedifreac on LJ. [[link]

Therefore! I can now say, with much relief and renewed zest, that my worries have been put to rest. I can now say with complete confidence that I believe the casting choice was wrong, is wrong, and that Asian actors should be cast. If our voices continue to go unheard and no changes or apologies are made, I will not support The Last Airbender, and I will happily purchase a pirated version of the movie for a couple of bucks the day after it's released in theatres

AANG-AINT-WHITE FTW

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---
will be frequently updated with any major news concerning the cast and their interaction with the media. It's not really a club, because the account was made for more of an educational purpose rather than encouragement of random art related to that subject, you know?

So! Please feel freeeeeee to send the icon around DA! I made it initially because a lot of people supported the stamp I made of it, but couldn't use it since they didn't have subscriptions sadly, that includes me.

Thanks!

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

ATLA: JESSE... you've really done it now. T_T
~syonanto — Sat, 24 Jan 2009 12:20:51 PST
Fast forward to 12:00 - [link]

It's a clip from a radio interview Jesse McCartney gave about The Last Airbender.
Got the link from 's latest journal and all I can say is...

AN ANIME? MADE IN ASIA.. THAT THEY BROUGHT TO AMERICA... GREAT WORK OUT...

Oh dear God.

OH DEAR GOD.

(those were part of the description he gave about the movie)

In other news, go check out 's latest journal if you haven't already! Featuring new official Nick Avatar comics, which she worked on as well

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

Jackson Rathbone interview (on Sokka)!
~syonanto — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 14:52:55 PST
EDIT: 's latest journal, GO GO GO. Avatar comics!!!
---

Here's the article, [link] much thanks to ~swan-swan for finding it .

From the article: "It's just an action-packed, epic film," he beamed. "I'm starting to do martial-arts training, which is going to be so much fun, and we're doing a lot of interesting work with the green screen. It's such a mythical world. We get to go to Asia, go film abroad. It's just going to be such a blast."

All I can say is, it feels great to know he's a fan of the show. His enthusiasm and excitement for the film will help me keep my hopes up despite the "bit of controversy" of the casting. Anyone else ticked off by the choice wording? >.<

From the article: "Due in theaters in summer 2010, "Airbender" has already begun to face a bit of controversy over the casting of white actors like Rathbone, Ringer and McCartney to play Asian characters Â a concern the actor was quick to dismiss. "I think it's one of those things where I pull my hair up, shave the sides, and I definitely need a tan," he said of the transformation he'll go through to look more like Sokka. "It's one of those things where, hopefully, the audience will suspend disbelief a little bit."

It's official. Jackson's a true Avatar fan. If someone's willing to shave half their head for it, there is no way you can still claim he "isn't good enough".

I still would have preferred some Asian/ethnic representation, but how can you argue with spirit like his? :]

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

[link]

I've got nothing but love for that video

EDIT: OHMAIGAWD I just read the epilogue (ending?) to 's beautiful, beautiful Water Tribe comic!

Anyone who reads Water Tribe,

~*~ SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING SPOILER WARNING ~*~

That is one seriously amazing comic. I enjoyed every page. I LOVED THE "ENDING" XD. The spirits... it was genious. Loved it, loved it, loved it. Zhao is just too funny. Anyway, she's said that though this is the epilogue, she plans to continue Water Tribe. I suppose it'll be a new season- however, it won't be as quickly uploaded as this one was. And it'll take place in the Fire Nation, well, at the beginning, anyway.

Anyone else wondering about Nauja? "Infuriating man," ha ha... I loved that ending. It's so irresistably cute how he annoys the hell out of her . And so now I'm left wondering what lies ahead, for Zhao/Nauja? Will they get together, and how?

Whatever happens, I'm prepared to wait however long it takes for the new "season" to begin, because I know it'll definitely be well worth the wait .

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

and for catching it!

The big 7,777 is steadily approaching, and I thought I'd offer anyone who catches it a free fully colored Avatar fan art, just in case I'm not here to catch it myself.

As for the pageviews themselves, zomg, thanks everyone~! 8D You all rock my world. In celebration I already have a very special artwork almost ready- and for once, it isn't Katara/Aang fluff I hope you all like it!

Also! I was wondering what else you would like to see me try my hand at. I would've done a poll, except I'm not subscribed anymore, so please do feel free to suggest any favorite pairings you'd like to see me draw in your comment!

Who knows, I might just end up fulfilling a request as a surprise... :3

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

((Aside from Kataang and Maiko

Avatar Nick Mag Continues!
~syonanto — Sat, 03 Jan 2009 17:02:49 PST
I'm overjoyed

[link]

After reading that,
need I say more?

---
_{I recently started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note =]}
---

Let's all be generic
~syonanto — Wed, 31 Dec 2008 16:15:03 PST
So, happy new year everyone!

I have loads to be thankful for, but I'm not going to bore you with a super long list of all my goals or stuff like that for this past year x3.

I just want to thank you guys, all of you, for watching me, for all the wonderful comments and favorites on my artwork, and most of all for being so good to me. A lot of you guys had my back during the times when I felt really down, whether it was because of my art, real life, or other people here on DA- and I can't express how much I appreciate what you've done

So! Here's to a brand new year, a fresh start, and here's to hoping it'll be better than the one that has just passed us by!

Okay, now stop reading this and go run and watch the count down with your friends and family! MUCH more important x3. I'm serious. Go! Run! I refuse to be responsible for your missing out on such a magical moment!

...You call that running?

Epic fail.

P.S. I've started taking Avatar cosplay commissions! If you'd like to learn more, drop me a note
_{Also, I finished Page 3 of my Avatar comic XDDD wooooot~}

---

Happy Holidays + Tagged + COMMISH?
~syonanto — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 11:52:37 PST
Happy holidays everyone! It seems everyone's celebrating something this time of year, religious or not.
I know I'm thoroughly enjoying the flood of hilarious Avatar-themed christmas deviations

Also- I was totally going to do a celebratory deviation for the spirit of the season and whatnot, but I fell behind since I was working on my entry for the contest... so I'll just save it for the big 7,777 kiriban coming up! If you catch it, free art for you~

Also: I have a question to everyone who's done commissions before/ is doing them now. I was thinking of doing a few cosplay sales, but I've never done it before and wanted to know the ups and downs of commissioning? Have any advice, warnings, tips? Especially for sending the customer the finished product outside the country, payment process, etc. I'd really appreciate all the help I can get. Thanks!

Anyway, on to tagging:

I was tagged by ^^

RULES!

1. Pick a character. They don't have to be your own.
2. Write five facts about each character.
3. Tag five people.
4. Go to their pages and tell them they have been tagged.
5. Have fun!

Character: Paix

1. His name is French for 'eace'
2. He's an immortal, and I role play him at a medieval/fantasy RPG called Decalage [link]
3. I have like a hundred different doodles of him in my sketchbook, but only ever uploaded five of them, and only ever completely colored one of them for DA.
4. He's a pansy. As in, he's enormously powerful in terms of magic, but he's a complete goof when it comes to hand to hand combat
5. His abilities mainly consist of weather manipulation, healing, and casting illusions.

I tag:
anyone who reads this XD

---

LMAO! [Jesse/ATLA]
~syonanto — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:54:06 PST
^{Next kiriban: 7,777! Free art if you catch it 8D}

[link]
ROFL. Fast forward to 2:15.

Someone threw a bra at Jesse McCartney at his Kissmas Bash Milwaukee 2008 performance.

Look what he does. LOLOL

Edit 2: This kid to play Young Aang? (The Storm) [link]
HE'S SO ADORABLEEEE <3 APPROVED.
Got the news hot and fresh thanks to =Ethereal-Glutton / aka Avatar_Mom <3

_{Edit: Sorry if this popped up twice in your inbox, I think I accidentally double-clicked submit XD my bad!}

---

Jesse as Zuko = win. ((Edit: or is it?))
~syonanto — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 14:52:45 PST
[link]

Get to see Jesse's acting skillz exclusively when he was in Law and Order.

I'm so, so glad he made me eat my words he's going to make a great Zuko.

_{....Despite his strangely melodious voice XD}

Anyway, no one was able to catch my tricky 7K mark, but no worries! Next kiriban is at 7,777!

And thanks, ~LataraTheWaterBender for trying, you're totally getting a free art piece for your efforts. Let me know what you'd like

EDIT: I don't think I made myself very clear. Not picking an Asian dude to play Zuko?

EPIC FAIL.

But what I do want to say is that I think Jesse has what it takes to pull off Zuko. Am I happy that they picked pop-star-pretty-boy-making-out-half-naked-in-someone's-pool-with-topless-girls-Jesse to play Zuko in general? Absolutely NOT.

Am I happy Jesse McCartney knows how to act- and act well? Hell yeah! I'm also happy he looks like Zuko. YES, people, he does. I know you're finding it hard to believe right now, and I did too, but then I made [link] in order to poke fun at the casting directors, only it just made me realize he really does look like him, minus being white. Seriously.

I'd have to say Jesse's the next best guy to play the part, aside from an Asian guy. Sorry if you don't agree with it, and I totally understand where you're coming from for this I was there.

---

ATLA live action = REPENT.
~syonanto — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 15:00:05 PST
EDIT: Whoever catches my 7k kiriban gets free artwork! Someone please catch it, it's really close, and number 7 is really important to me~

AND LOL DRAGONBALL LIVE ACTION MOVIE TRAILER: [link]

Do you think we're being to harsh about the cast picking? Maybe we're being unfair?

So I slept on it. I thought it through. I know I said everything in my last journal in my rage, but I'm NOT going to take back any of it, because my anger had basis. As it does for the rest of the fans who are enraged by the casting decision. But I will say this...

To be fair, it's too early to start outing Jesse. All LULZ at casting him aside, it is possible that these kids they picked are die hard AVATARDS like you and me! Think about it. DREAM COME TRUE, PPL. So. I'm taking a leaf out of ~swan-swan's book. I'm going to give them the benefit of the doubt. I'll be fair... but I'm not going to like it >.<

And to those claiming the whitewashedness outcries are selfish and made of noob, here is what I've been saying in reply:

"You're completely right. BUT.
All of Avatar is pretty much supposed to happen in a completely Asian based world. Are they now going to make the rest of the water tribe white, too, in the movie? Will Yue be white? Yue?!
I'm sorry, I completely agree with you that their acting ability is far more important, but I absolutely do not for one moment believe that out of the hundreds who auditioned for Sokka and Katara, they couldn't find one person of color who could act well and looked the part. For all the good reason that we should give them the benefit of the doubt, I still can't bring myself to get over the fact that in a show practically preaching multiculturalism and bleeding with diversity, they still some how 'accidentally' ended up with an all white cast."

All the same, no hard feelings. Like you said, we're still at the very beginning, and in my opinion even that article is too unclear about the actors and how they were picked to start boycotting the movie altogether, as others have been claiming to do. I just really hope these actors know what they're getting into. That whole paragraph you had up there about them possibly being huge Avatards themselves? That would be a dream come true. Nothing could be better than that, and as soon as I saw Jesse would be playing Zuko that's what I was wondering. But it being Jesse, I found it really hard to believe he might be an Avatard, and I admit that's totally unfair to him. Key words I keep forcing myself to repeat: benefit of the doubt."

---

ATLA live action= WHAT THE EFFFF.
~syonanto — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 14:22:20 PST
[link]
I don't believe it. NO, NO, NO, NO,
NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO WAY.

NO.

NO, NO, NO.

Jesse McCartney? SKDOUAERFBCJKVBAIELRUG?!

EFFING NO.

If this isn't a hoax.... then here is my message to the multitude of Avatar rabid fangirls around the world: your purpose in life is now clear.

THEY WILL HAVE THEIR REVENGE FOR WHAT SHYAMALAN HAS DONE TO AVATAR.

THE RABID FANGIRLS WILL AVENGE US.

Because sadly, they're all we have left to fight back with.

....

Now that I have that out of my system...

Everyone else in the cast looks alright, I guess. I think the girl playing Katara has the ability to pull off Katara-esque expressions of hope or sadness, but damn it all she looks anything BUT feisty, ferocious, or determined. You can't have a Katara without those.

Guy playing Sokka. Looks alright. The beauty of it is that so long as you can genuinely pull off Sokka's jokes and have the ability to pull off more serious scenes even while playing a character who's naturally humorous, then it should be okay. From the picture, it seems the guy cast for Sokka might be able to do all of those things. But I don't know yet.

What I do know is that I will now go watch Twilight. And pray to the lord that he's a decent actor. Before I lose ALL HOPE WHATSOEVER (then again, I think I already have).

Aang. Still looking for pictures. He's the most important to me for this because if he doesn't look like Aang, I'm going to fucking KILL SOMEONE. He's the freaking main character. You have one last chance to make things right, Shyamalan. I hope for your sake that you didn't screw up Aang's casting, or else NO ONE will be looking forward to this movie WHATSOEVER if the main character himself looks like some wishy-washy kid off some block. We need someone who can pull off light-hearted humor and strong determination, enough to match Aang's in the show or else it won't work.

Seriously. I pity you right now, Shyamalan. Almost the whole fandom was rooting for you until just a little while ago. We believed in your abilities even though we were fully aware of the less impressive details about your movie making career.

We placed our trust in him, and so far he's given us nothing.

---

BAM.
~syonanto — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 11:50:46 PST
Been working on some new Kataaaang, and it has me in an awesomeeee mooooddddd WEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE.

Sorry about that... but hey, at least now you know how good a mood I'm in, besides the fact that it's now officially that time of my life when I'm supposed to be stressing to the max about university applications due at the end of the month, followed by exams.

But I feel perfectly untroubled

This is not good, people. If you read *river-bird's journal, you'll know good and well by now that procrastination is baddd, especially in the face of exam time. But I figure I can put things off just a teeeeeny bit longer since we're looking at a good two weeks of winter break before all hell breaks loose. I plan to reap this pocket of peace in my otherwise chaotic life for all it's worth, and hopefully the result will be a massive splurge of fan art YAY.

So, how are you today? Thinking of doing some Avatar fan art? No? Well, if you're looking for something cool to do in your free time, I highly recommend watching Storm Hawks. Awesomeeee, hilarious show. Love it loads. And if you're looking for something a bit more serious, you better start watching Heroes right now if you haven't before.

In fact, if you haven't before, I don't care what it is you're doing right now. GO WATCH IT, DAMN YOU. It's EPIC. And normally I hate using 'epic' in any of my sentences whatsoever because it's so irritatingly overused that it's lost most of it's value- but this time I'm going to say it because it's just that brilliant a show!

In other news, I was watching the latest Smallville episode a couple of days ago, and I cried. It was amazing. Indredibly DEPRESSING, but yes, quite amazing. As always

P.S. I FORGOT TO MENTION. Go to 's journal. The canon Avatar book, Love Potion #8, is supposed to come out REALLY SOON. People have apparently been recieving some of their copies early. IF YOU KNOW OF SCANS SOMEWHERE OR HAVE THEM, PLEASE TELL MEH T_________T

---

river-bird

So yeah. I thought I'd use it to it's fullest extent one last time T_T

Oh subby, how I shall miss you. I could write a poem about this, LOL, but I'll spare any poor soul who actually took the time out of their busy lives to read this journal entry.

I need a better job. -____-"

Anyway, my life itself is getting quite hectic.

Overseeing the contest voting for , at the moment tallying votes as they come in.

Lots of culminating projects due for each of my classes.

I kind of put off working on le nameless avatar comic since I've been so busy lately, too I'll get back to it eventually.

EDIT: LOL it's goneee. I guess DA timings are totally off compared to mine

Oh noes... tagged.
~syonanto — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:45:11 PST
I was tagged by:

1. What does your deviantART name mean and why did you join this site?
ÂSyonantoÂ is Japanese for Âlight of the southÂ. It was the name the Japanese occupiers gave Singapore when they laid siege to it during the great Depression, so it was a kind of an honorific for the brave men who defended Singapore valiantly, but were overcome in the end because it was, after all, just a small island. Singapore is where I spent most of my childhood. Japan is the source of anime, manga and wonder. Language Art and History are my favorite subjects. Put it all together, and you get Syonanto .

2. What fandom were you obsessed with when you joined and what are you into now?
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle was the first fandom I really joined, but since it isnÂt as popular a manga as many other big name graphic novels, it wasnÂt really that big a deal to join its fandom. I simply joined DA to upload various artworks I did of my favorite character, Fay D. Fluorite.

But now, itÂs Avatar: the Last Airbender, as you know well enough by now ^^

3. How many watchers do you have now?
IÂve been on DA for a good year now soÂ 74.

4. Name 3 of your favorite artists on DA.
*kaoru-chan *inma ~DS-Hina

5. Do you comment, fav, or both?
Both, almost always.

6. Do you participate in clubs' contests here on DA?
I just recently started participating in contests, and even more recently created DAÂs official Mai fan club - ~mai-fans

7. What is your most popular deviation?
ÂI support their FriendshipÂ

8. What are you favorite non-anime TV shows?
ATLA, Heroes, Smallville.

9. What are the things you wish you could draw better?
Proportions, and most definitely backgrounds.

10. Summer or winter?
Winter, always.

11. Rain or Sun?
Sun

12. What's your favorite type of music?
Rock, alternative, heavy metal. Jpop and rock, too.

13. PC or Mac?
PC

14. Anime or Manga?
Manga

15. Coke or Pepsi?
Whichever has more sugar.

16. Read or TV?
Read, for goodness sake.

17. How many hours a day do you spend on DA?
Several more than I should.

18. Name a hidden talent
I can instinctively tell the exact moment when a commercial ends on YTV XD

19. Flash or traditional cartoons?
I guess both.

20. What is your favorite fast food restaurant?
Tim Hortons, I think.

21. What are your top 3 favorite books?
The Harry Potter series
Memoirs of a Geisha
The Road

22. Wii or Playstation?
Playstation. Video games were made for lazy people, the Wii defeats said purpose and therefore epically fails :3

23. Name 3 of your favorite bands
Linkin Park, Evanescence, Do as Infinity

24. Are you a fast, slow, or medium typer?
Pretty fast

25. Do you like Denny's?
No idea what that is.
26. What is your favorite emoticon?

27. What do you want to be now?
A novel editor

28. If you could eat one person, who would it be?
I dislike the Twilight series, but damn could I take a bite outa Robert Pattinson TwT

29. What character would you hate to be stuck in a room with?
Kyo Sohma. I would baaadly want to run at him and glomp him, but wouldnÂt be able to without causing him to transform into his kitty self :3

30. When is your birthday?
November 4th

31. Favorite type of ice cream?
Chocolate

32. Last book you read?
The Old Man and the Sea by Ernest Hemingway

33. Which store would you max out a credit card at?
Chapters, orÂ yeah, Chapters.

34. Do you buy / sell / both on eBay?
Nope, never bought or sold anything from eBay.

35. What is the most annoying thing people ask you?
ÂAre you okay?Â
Dude. If you were pushed to the point that you had to ask that question, perhaps it means that no, IÂm not okay.

36. Favorite all time TV show?
Avatar: the Last Airbender. Hands down. Other than that, probably Smallville.

37. What was your favo...

So I bought new shoes today...
~syonanto — Sat, 15 Nov 2008 14:20:23 PST
And wow do I love the feeling of walking around in brand new shoes! No, they aren't designer, or fancy, or anything like that. But the best part is that they're incredibly comfy, and look pretty damn hot <3

Yeah, that really is all I have to say.

...Oh, and I finally finished page 2 of my fancomic.

So how are you today?

by is pure awesome :3.
Also, I topped off Avatar Month with my first deviation to include everyone in the gAang comments are appreciated!

's comic contest!
Thank you so much to everyone who supported me, and congratulations to all the other winners! The lovely *river-bird rewarded me with a one month subscription, which I'm still getting the hang of- nevertheless, thoroughly enjoying XD.

This is going to be such a thank you journal. I'm just so grateful to everyone for being there for me personally as well as supporting my artwork! Tomorrow I'll officially have been on deviantart for one full year~~~

...And my birthday's in two days

Also, I recently jumped over the 6000 pageviews cliff, and in celebration, I'm totally up for doing some free features. *_* This new subby has so many shiny uses. So go ahead and comment if you'd like to be featured! Include a link to two of your best deviations that you'd like to see in this journal- you don't even have to feature me in return

Anyway, I was responding to a journal about the whole Zutara-driven Sozin's Comet movie remake project thing that's been going down recently. Here are my two cents...

I feel it's a bit of an insult to the creators, don't you? In my opinion, making fan art or fiction of whatever pairing you support is the respectful way to fulfill one's fantasies. But when you actually go and mess with the creators' child, you're not only crossing the line signifying the whole reason copyrights exist, you're entering a realm in which the majority of people will be offended by your actions. But all in all, I think the people responsible for this project really need to have a look at this stamp and think about it, long and hard

[link]

Also, I opened DA's first official Mai club! Join if you love her <333

---

Think Mai's kickass? then PLZ READ. [EDIT:WOAH]
~syonanto — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 12:37:11 PDT
EDIT: WOAHHH. You guys are AWESOME. 26 new members within 24 hours of the club's official opening!!!

Also- the second part of *river-bird's contest_{which I entered}has begun! Please vote for the funniest submission here [link] Thank you
-

Not really sure how else I can put this, aside from-

>>>>>PLZ JOIN! <<<<<

I'm pretty sure you won't need any persuading, to be honest...

I don't need to tell you how awesome Mai is.

I don't need to go on about the things she's done, and the things she's said.

Most importantly, I don't need to remind you of her impeccable role in Avatar.

---
I'm an Airbender!

The Sky Bison taught the first airbenders how to bend the air around them. While they cannot fly, airbenders can soar in the air for long distances by using a glider. Most important to airbenders is the concept of non-aggression. When they fight, they do not attack but defend themselves through circular movements that confuse their opponents.
Which Element do you Bend?
and I were all sitting around on the carpet waiting for a panel to start...

[link] LOL.

I know this sounds like such a crazy lie, but honestly the Deathnote was the only paper we had for him to sign._{no, we didn't add a date beside his signature! XD}

I'm pretty sure I mentioned this before, but Justin Ridge, one of the main animation directors for Avatar: the Last Airbender was there

We had originally obviously asked for a signature since that's what we'd been in line for, but incidentally the ~dangerousladies threesome had been directly ahead of us in line and managed to persuade him to draw us all some sketches! I was wearing my Katara cosplay, and though my sister told me to ask for a different character, I'm pretty sure he heard me protest that I wanted Aang... and then he also happened to hear me call Aang my lover LOL.

Here's a pic of him laughing at me while drawing me an Aang sketch [link]

Guess who else was at FanExpo?! Lex from Smallville. [link]

*_* Why do I love bald guys so much? And why do they all miraculously grow hair in later seasons of their respective shows?!

Anyway, here's an ATLA cosplay group picture from FanExpo, featuring myself, , , and .
[link]

End transmission!

P.S. The second part of voting for *river-bird's contest has begun! Please vote for the wittiest/funniest submission [link]
--
Features! (Continued from last journal- 17 feature spots, you comment, I feature you. Then you make a new journal and feature me and 16 others ^^)
1.
[link]
[link]
[link]

2.}}}

deviantART: by:syonanto

I'M BACK BITCHES

Tornado warning in my hometown

lulzLive Chat with Rufftoon xD

Can this movie get any more lulzier?

Introducing: Aang

what everyone's foaming about

new last airbender weapons pics

liveaction Sokka, Katara behind-the-scenes!

Anime North 2009 review

Anime North pics tsunami IS HERE

Final phase... Edit: Noah Ringer's double

AVATAR: "Last Chance"...

Last Airbender images surface EDIT: Yue?!

Jessie Flower's autograph- interested? hell yeah.

KATAANG WEEK 2.0

OMFG...OMFG. JESSE AINT ZUKO FO SRS

ATLA: JESSE... you've really done it now. T_T

Jackson Rathbone interview (on Sokka)!

Avatar Nick Mag Continues!

Let's all be generic

Happy Holidays + Tagged + COMMISH?

LMAO! [Jesse/ATLA]

Jesse as Zuko = win. ((Edit: or is it?))

ATLA live action = REPENT.

ATLA live action= WHAT THE EFFFF.

BAM.

Oh noes... tagged.

So I bought new shoes today...

Think Mai's kickass? then PLZ READ. [EDIT:WOAH]