PUT YOUR BEARD IN MY MOUTH
Stranger Things
trying on a metaphor
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Monterey Bay Aquarium
Xuebing Du
pixel skylines
Product Placement
@theartofmadeline
taylor price
🪼
will byers stan first human second
Andulka
Cosmic Funnies
Love Begins
AnasAbdin
we're not kids anymore.
titsay
Lint Roller? I Barely Know Her
Today's Document
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@kilahstorm
As promised, the Book 3 cover! Hard to believe we are here at last.
Fun fact, sketched this while new DR chapters were still coming out, around the middle of Book 3. (Just as well, because this probably would have ended up featuring even more characters otherwise)
The first scene for Book 3 is a bit of a shorter one, will be hoping to release sometime in May, we'll see!
< Previous || Comic Directory ||
Comic adapted from Ogro/Baithin’s Avatar fanfiction Distorted Reality
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And that’s it for this one! More of a bonus scene this time, I storyboarded this one back in 2019 on a bit of whim after rereading Distorted Reality, and it’s great to have finished it at last. It was great to get a chance to draw the characters as their canon selves.
Next up now is Book 3! My hope is to be able to announce the opening scene from Book 3’s Chapter 1 Ozai within the next couple of months, we’ll see. Planning to post the art for the Book 3 cover toward the end of the week, so keep an eye out!
As always, thank you all so much for all your support as always, and see you all in the next one!!
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For the full story of Distorted Reality, be sure to check out the original fanfic by Baithin!
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Current Progress on upcoming scenes Font/brush Resources About the project Other Distorted Reality related works
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AVATAR: The Last Airbender belongs to Viacom & NICKELODEON, Bryan Konietzko and Michael DiMartino. Distorted Reality the fanfiction and comic are fanworks unaffiliated with the official series.
Another great chapter from Rocket! Check it out!
thank you ao3 for being an archive and not an algorithm. thank you for letting me like things without consequences, thank you for being free with no ads, thank you for having lawyers to defend our freedom of speech. thank you tag wranglers. thank you to all authors and thank you ao3
The Taxidermy Puppet Show is at it again! This time with a Halloween special staring Baba Yaga the Russian Witch. This is a very loose translation of the fairytale “Vasilisa the Beautiful”. We hope this video peeks your interest to dive deeper into the story... and that you will never be able to think of Baba Yaga as anything but a taxidermy fox puppet!
Music: Camille Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre
Stingy in CANADA
One dancing ermine is about to discover if Canadians are generous or stingy cold blooded misers!
Home: A Meditation
Pikes Peak Zine Fest 2024 this Saturday!
WHEN: Saturday, Oct 5, 2024 (1:00 pm - 5:00 pm MT) WHERE: University of Colorado - Colorado Springs (UCCS) Berger Hall (Kraemer Family Library, 1420 Austin Bluffs Parkway, Colorado Springs, CO)
😷 Masks will not be required, but are HIGHLY ENCOURAGED! We will also have free hand sanitizer & masks on site.
🚙 Parking is free on Saturday in lots 222 & 224 directly in front of the event building.
🚌 Public transportation buses 9 & 34 run in front of UCCS. Route 9 ends in front of the event building.
Art by Kels Choo (@kookookchoo)
I’ll be set up at table 21 with my sister Summer! Come check us out!
Please enjoy a ridiculous story I wrote and performed with my taxidermy puppets. If I reach 50 likes, I will bring you another video. Sometimes, we just need to make odd art, am I right?
The gaang from the canon world! They're meant to be a bit older here, which is why Toph's hair has grown out a little.
Wasn't planning on this one, but wanted to do something a little different to celebrate the release of the Netflix show! It's had mixed reviews so far, but I can say I absolutely loved it, the excitement of seeing the familiar story retold in this new medium has had me falling in love with this series all over again. Now that the show has been renewed for two more seasons, I'm beyond hyped to see how they adapt Books 2 and 3.
(On the next Distorted Reality comic — work on the next scene is getting close to done, so hoping to be able to announce it sometime in possibly early April for a May release. Hope to see you all there!!)
You've Got Mail - How It Should Have Ended
I love February for all of its misery. I’m indifferent to Valentine's day but ugly weather leaves me inspired. Nothing makes me more eager to sit at my desk and create than terrible gray weather.
So how do you celebrate another lovely, gray month gone by? You rewrite the ending to one of the most popular romantic comedies of all time. That’s right! It’s time to take a deep dive into the movie You’ve Got Mail!
Why You've Got Mail you ask? It’s a cult classic. Great characters, a fun use of the trope enemies to lovers and excellent themes. It's perfect, you say, but I disagree!
I just don’t believe Kathleen Kelly is happy to see Fox as her secret pen pal. The whole movie is building up to this moment and I feel it was would have written the ending a bit differently.
Kathleen is a character lost in her fantasy. Two cars nearly collide on the New York street as she comments to her employee how lovely a day it is. The two drivers start yelling at each other but Kathleen blissfully ignores them. She is in denial that her store will be affected at all by the big bookstore moving in next door, believing the virtues of her story books will keep her safe. And even when she does have to face the reality of closing, she and her coworkers choose not to dwell on it but to instead look at it as a brave thing. Kelly’s inability to face reality is her major character flaw but it is also her charm. When Fox comes to her bookstore, he finds her perspective “enchanting”. He is delighted by her and is afraid to break the illusion by revealing that he is her competition right next door.
Fox has had to face reality very early in life. Having a unique home life with many “mothers” broke any childhood illusion he may have had early in life. He has a very young aunt, a brother that could be his son, and a stepmom who would be very happy to have him in her bed. He was raised in the world of businessmen which gave him a very cold reality check. Life is stark where money rules. Still, he allows himself a small fantasy that love could be a real thing, and he allows himself to chat to a delightful stranger via email who he of course realizes one day is Kathleen.
That is when the real fantasy begins for Fox. He starts to imagine he and this wonderful woman could, maybe, love one another. Kathleen, the one whom he has destroyed the livelihood and legacy of, has made him a hopeless romantic. Now who is the dreamer?
Meanwhile, Kelly is having to face the music. She had been moving through life others had written for her. She had had the bookstore her mother wanted her to have. She filled the role of bookstore owner just as her mother had and she enjoys the comfort of her co-workers' company through blissful days. But now all of those dreams have come and gone. She’s waking up to her own story Kathleen realizes she might be ok with losing the bookstore. She doesn’t really love her nerdy boyfriend who is stuck in the past where the internet doesn't exist and typewriters rule. He has been living in a fantasy too and it is no longer attractive to Kathleen. Our heroine starts to see that the world demands she take hold of her reality. All of her friends aren’t interested in following in her footsteps - all but Fox.
As Kathleen faces her reality, she and Fox begin to meet in the middle of their once very stark differences. He, through his banter, helps her find her footing and she helps him dream of a life no longer alone. But Fox is afraid. He is afraid to hit her with the truth that he is her fantastic, understanding, mystery man on the email chat. How can he be sure that she is ready to embrace reality and not be lost in a fantasy like all the other storybook lovers?
Finally, he makes his move at the end of the movie. He sets up a date for them to meet but arranges to see Kathleen beforehand. This is his last date with her before the illusion is broken. He uses this moment to tell Kathleen that he wishes she would be able to find a way to forgive him for being responsible for closing down her bookshop. After all, she found a way to forgive the fabulous email guy for standing her up almost a year before. In his own way, Fox is telling her that he hopes she can find a way to forgive him for breaking her illusions and making her face reality - something he is about to do to her all over again when she meets him for this final date and realizes her fantasy man has been Fox this whole time. As the movie would have it, Kelly leaves without promising any forgiveness and Fox finds her waiting for him later on, surprised and relieved he is the fantasy she had been dreaming of.
But this falls flat for me. The fact that Kathleen leaves Fox to meet her pen pal proves that she is still secretly hoping that there is someone better than Fox out there. This is why she feels not genuine when she says she had hoped it was him all along at the end of the movie. If she had hoped it was Fox all along, why did he find her in the park waiting for someone else? Imagine this had been the scenario instead:
Fox returns to the gardens to reveal to Kelly that he is the email pen pal only to be stood up by her. He looks around but she is simply not there. When he returns to his boat, he opens up his email and finds he has mail. It’s Kelly. The email reads as follows:
NYC152,
I’m sorry I wasn’t there to greet you at the park today. I know you probably think I’m getting back at you for standing me up at the coffee shop. That wasn’t why, but I was reminded of that time when I was getting ready to meet you. I had been nervous and anxious and all sorts of flustered. But I was excited. I was excited to finally meet someone who I felt could actually understand me.
This time it was different. I realized that this time I didn’t really want to meet you. I’m sure you are charming and lovely but you couldn’t possibly be all the things I’ve conjured you up to be and I’m sure I couldn’t be everything you imagine me to be either. I guess I realized that no matter how wonderful you would be, I was going to be disappointed, simply because you would finally be real.
It’s not either of our faults for being human, it’s just what it is. And seeing how we are now both in the business of disappointing each other, I have to admit that I haven’t been completely honest with you. I’ve been seeing someone these past few months. I never thought of it as a serious relationship until I imagined meeting you today. I realized that if I was going to be meeting someone new, I rather hoped that you would turn out to be someone like him. In fact, I realized that I would be disappointed if you weren’t him.
I am really sorry to be saying this to you, but you have helped me once again, possibly for the last time. I know you never intended this but you have helped me realize that I love this man I have been seeing. It took the chance of meeting you to understand that. I really hope you can forgive me.
That is how we know that Kathleen wanted Fox in the end. She gives up her fantasy of the perfect guy to have the reality of Fox. Imagine that next date. Imagine how that kiss would feel with her knowing she wants him and with him knowing that she loves him for who he is - harsh business man and all. Both characters have grown through their flaws and the themes have tied up nicely. Now that is a holiday classic!
the official zutara dissertation: conclusion
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6
This dissertation set out to prove that Zutara, rather than Kat.aang and Mai.ko, should have been the endgame ship of Avatar: The Last Airbender. It has discussed why Zuko and Katara would make a good couple within the text, how the narrative was setting them up for a relationship and why a Zutara endgame would have served the themes and messages of the show, as well as the arcs of all the characters involved, better than the canon relationships did.
Many have argued that Zutara is too complicated, too deep, too much for a kids’ show - that much of the subtext and narrative and analysis that really makes Zutara brilliant cannot be easily understood by children. But the reason that Avatar: The Last Airbender still stands the test of time today is because it did care about those very things, because it took difficult, complex issues and still managed to make them meaningful, nuanced and understandable. If ATLA could depict imperialism, colonialism, redemption, genocide and war, I see no reason why it could not have pulled off an enemies-to-lovers ship literally coded in the DNA of the show.
In conclusion, Zutara should have been canon because it would have fixed almost all of the narrative, thematic and character problems I have discussed over the course of this dissertation, and elevated the show to near perfection. The choice to deny Zutara of the ending they rightfully deserved is thus undoubtedly one of ATLA’s biggest flaws and its greatest loss.
But as Dante Basco, Prince Zuko himself and captain of the Zutara ship, put it: “Sometimes the feeling of what could have been is stronger than what actually happened, because the memory of perfection lasts longer.”
Though Zuko and Katara’s story ends in tragedy, it is this very tragedy that still makes them so fascinating all of these years later ‐ because the final element of Zutara’s brilliance is the idea of what might have been, in what has been left solely to our imaginations. In the greatest of ironies, therefore, it was only by leaving the story of Zuko and Katara unfinished that it was able to become the beautiful tale it is today ‐ more powerful and compelling, perhaps, than it could ever have been in canon.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
Araeph, 2017. Araeph’s Greatest Hits, Vol. 2. https://at.tumblr.com/burst-of-iridescent/araephs-greatest-hits-vol-2/zfcozrmeby19
Certified Bi Fangirl Disaster, 2020. The Cave of Two Lovers foreshadows the Zutara interactions in the Crossroads of Destiny. https://at.tumblr.com/theotterpenguin/645662327005478912/p30gsur9gexe
DevilDogDemon et. al, 2021. The Effect of Kataang on Aang’s Character Arc. https://at.tumblr.com/burst-of-iridescent/devildogdemon-juldooz-atla-negromouthandafro/hs2r37t0uipp
FunFanFin, 2017. How Zutara Fulfills The Show’s Key Themes. https://at.tumblr.com/funfanfin/dentist-open-up-me-wellokay-so-not-only-does/pnwuyp5pxxc4
Marsreds, 2017. It’s called the Cave of Two Lovers, not the Cave of Two “Treasured/Close/Platonic Friends”. https://at.tumblr.com/marsreds/its-called-the-cave-of-two-lovers-not-the-cave/njy7bj7qkoko
My Bated Breath, 2020. Wants vs Need - A Comparison Between Kataang, Taang, and Zutara. https://at.tumblr.com/my-bated-breath/wants-vs-need-a-comparison-between-kataang/vvhl7irrdk69
RoyalTeaLovingKookiness, 2019. The Romantic Framing of Zutara. https://at.tumblr.com/royaltealovingkookiness/i-think-the-anon-who-sent-the-zuko-lost-azula-in/rpfdg8oxfmfq
SneezyPeasy, 2021. Get in losers, we’re stanning Zutara. https://at.tumblr.com/sneezypeasy/get-in-losers-were-stanning-zutara/0x2mbtmsp3xu
SneezyPeasy, 2021. Why Aang’s Lines Sound Preachy in The Southern Raiders. https://at.tumblr.com/sneezypeasy/why-aangs-lines-sound-preachy-in-the-southern/q78urhuqp6lm
SunMoonTurtleDuck, 2021. Why Zuko Had To Take Azula’s Lightning for Katara. https://at.tumblr.com/theotterpenguin/its-true-zuko-would-have-taken-the-lightning-for/ki6rg04v45h2
TheMomentofDavyPrentiss, 2017. Why I Believe Katara Canonically Had Romantic Feelings for Zuko. https://at.tumblr.com/themomentofdavyprentiss/why-i-believe-katara-canonically-had-romantic/m7a6x8a521n8
TheOtterPenguin, 2022. A Counter Argument to “Zuko Would Have Taken The Lightning for Anyone!” https://at.tumblr.com/theotterpenguin/why-is-zuko-would-have-taken-the-lightning-for/amyfkr6oaz45
Precious. That was her name and it described her and her family perfectly. When I posted this photo on the Animal Shelter’s FB page, it went viral. I had calls from rescue groups near and far wanting to take her and her pups into their foster programs. But before anyone could, the Retriever family’s owner came to reclaim them.
It’s not normal for a mother and her puppies to be reclaimed due to the amount of money and time it takes to care for so many dogs. But when the owner came to reclaim, I understood. In walked a mother with her daughters and one grandchild. They were here for their four legged members of the family. The mother was thin and walked as though she had been on a long journey that was slowing her down bit by bit. But her children were as lively as the puppies. Originally they had thought they were going to have to surrender the dogs because the apartment they had just moved to was not going to allow all of these dogs to move in with them. But they made the mistake of saying one last goodbye.
I led them down to see the Golden Retriever and her pups and the moment the mother dog caught sight of her owner she let out a joyous yelp! “Oh Precious, don’t make me cry!” The mother scolded the Golden but I could see tears were already welling up. The children gathered around and stared at their dogs locked up in a kennel. Talks of saving one of the puppies started to spread amongst them. Then I heard another daughter mention the possibility of saving two. Then the granddaughter began to cry as she saw her favorite puppy sitting in the corner in an empty dog dish. Suddenly it was determined, they were going to get their dogs back! Calls were made and soon an uncle was reported to have said the dogs could come to his farm out in the country. It couldn’t be better! I watched the daughters each grab their favorite pup and carry them to the car as the mother signed the reclaim papers.
But it wasn’t long before the Golden Retriever family came back. The uncle, after seeing how many dogs there were, revoked his offer, leaving the four legged family stranded without a place to stay. On the return trip, only one daughter came, walking Precious through the door slowly, with her puppies bouncing in beside her. I was struck by how similar the Retriever family reflected their human family. Precious was thin and had seen a lot in her short life but there wasn’t a mean bone in her body. In fact, her gentle spirit had almost brought her down fall for though her puppies were old enough to eat food, she was still allowing them to nurse. All that suckling had shriveled her up to skin and bones but still she wagged her tail and tolerated the puppies’ mayhem. But now this mirror was about to be shattered as the family broke up and got adopted out to different families. Precious was adopted first. Though she was the mother, her looks and personality were truly golden and she got snatched up into a wonderful new family. The in-laws of the new owner of Precious came to pick her up from the shelter since the owner was working and wouldn’t be off until we closed. They told us of their grand-dogs and how they lived just across the street from their son and daughter in law. I thought it was fitting for Precious to be heading into another big family.
Thanks to the puppies being young, cute and sponsored, they all ended up getting snatched up and into new homes in no time at all. But as I took pictures of the pups with their new family members, the faces of their human family were being mirrored back to me. Here these adopters stood with a piece of these dog’s past owner’s heart. It was sad to see the first owners leave a part of themselves here at the animal shelter. But it was wonderful to see others find value in what the owners left behind. Their broken hearts were picked up, adopted and deemed precious by perfect strangers.
Most dogs brought to the shelter are looking for a new beginning. The dream is to find a human being who wants them not only as a companion but to fulfill a sense of purpose amongst us. However, some dogs don’t need to be told what their purpose in life is. Some are born fully confident in what they are on this earth to do and none stand out to me more than Bartholomew.
Bart, I believe, was born to bring good tidings to all people. Now before you start imagining a sweet little dog who would snuggle with you as you lay sick on a bed, let me quickly point out that he wasn’t the sympathizing type. I met the woman who had brought Bart to the shelter and she told me how she had found him at the local grave yard. She had been sitting by the tombstone of her deceased husband, reliving the days she had had with him when suddenly this funny, little brindle dog came right up to her, sat on the grave and said “Gosh, it’s hot out here”.
Even though he was a little forward, it had been as if the dog had fallen from the sky, sent by her husband to comfort her in her moment of sadness. Bart was more than happy to oblige but after a little while, the dog recognized sitting under the blazing summer sun was no picnic and decided it was time to move on. The woman’s thoughts of loneliness and grief had been forgotten, thanks to him, and so his job was done.
I don’t think Bart foresaw just how much help we human beings often need. The woman could not bear the thought of letting her four legged angel wander the graveyard. The tables turned and suddenly it was the woman sitting with Bart and not the other way around. She began calling everyone she knew and knocking on houses nearby to find Bart’s home. I could just imagine Bart’s exasperated face. Helping this woman was supposed to be sitting by her side for a few minutes and then moving on but now the only way this woman was going to find peace was if she made sure her angel was safe. Apparently he tried to slip away a few times but the woman was on a mission. It was dusk before she finally caved and called animal control to come bring the dog to the shelter. I met her the next morning when she came to check on Bart to make sure he was comfortable. She told me his story and the whole time he stood there at the front of the kennel with his tail wagging as if saying “And it all ended happily ever after – can I go now?”
We promised to take good care of Bart and hoped to find him a home. I wondered what this “angel dog” would think of people after living at the shelter for a few weeks. Bringing peace and goodwill landed him in purgatory! Would he walk away from here determined never to comfort another human being again? Would he walk away from the shelter at all?
I got my answer when I arrived to work early one morning to see Bart had not only escaped his kennel but had also somehow escaped the chain link fence and barbwire that runs around the shelter perimeters! The dog was as free as a bird but with all that freedom he chose to sleep on the door mat to the shelter’s front entrance. He was ready to greet the first visitor with a hug and a kiss. In fact, when I opened my truck door, Bart literally jumped in with Zander and I still inside. He was so happy to have some human interaction! He pounced on the dash ready to go drive around and brighten the world’s day. I must admit, he made me laugh, but I called him out of the seat.
“I’m afraid the people here are the ones we’ve got to inspire,” I told him and he seemed to take it to heart.
Every day for the next week Bart was getting out of his kennel. I never did catch him climbing the fences but every time he was out he made a bee line to the front door of the shelter. If it was open he would come in and greet us all with his wide smile. If it was closed, he would pace around until a visitor came for him to greet or a kennel staff employee shooed him back to his spot on the adoption floor. He ended up making a lot of people’s day. He got his picture taken with a young police officer who found him charming. He kissed many volunteer faces and even got his story told on a local news channel! Brightening people’s day was Bartholomew’s mission and there was no stopping him. It was becoming impossible to keep him away from people; the in-between had no power on this bright little spirit.
Though he was a lover, Bart had a hard time finding a home. He was loyal to his mission in comforting others which sounds nice but made him a bit untrainable. He was not loyal to any one person. The idea of being there for only one person, I think would have disturbed him. Once he had cheered you up why would he stick around? I guess that’s the hard part about being a source of inspiration for people. After you’ve motivated someone you have to leave them alone to do the hard work of changing. Bart knew he could cheer and inspire but that was all he could do; only we could decide to bring about the real change that was needed.
In the end, Bart did end up finding a home. I always wondered how he got along but deep down I believe he’s chosen the nomadic life, wandering neighborhoods looking for someone new to smile on.
Awaiting the playmate.
I figure it’s about time I made mention of my one and only dog who works at the shelter right along with me: Alexander the Great. We call him “Zander” for short; “the great” kinda gets to his head. And yes, it’s spelt “Zander” with a “Z”... maybe one day I will tell you the story as to why that is. Zander has been coming with me to the shelter ever since I got him. He is one of the few dogs who looks forward to going to the shelter each week. To him it is a place for us to meet and play with new dogs, perform tricks for customers and to relax in my office chair or under my desk. This year will mark our fifth year working together at the shelter. Zander helps me read the shelter dog’s personalities and to see how they would react in meeting new dogs. His insight is very important to me and I often have him to thank for some great photo oportunities. That’s not to say that we haven’t had a few close calls before. Xander has never gotten sick or injured from a dog at the shelter but dealing with high energy, anxious, scared and often desperate dogs can definitely wear on the both of us sometimes. He loves having a job though, and I always feel a twinge of guilt when I don’t take him every day to work with me. He’s almost always eager to come. Thursdays are our usual work days together. I am very proud of my Boston Terrier. You are sure to see more of him as I continue to blog about shelter life. He is definitely a presence here in the in-between!
I couldn’t decide if I was feeling more like predator or prey. He’d been sniffing around the yard as I watched him through my camera lens. I had named him “Muscles” because this stout dog was at least 50 pounds and could nock your legs right from underneath you! As I sat in the grass, I felt like a hunter targeting a lion. The suspense was thick because this powerful Pocket Pit Bull could not see me; he was blind. I took a step towards him and in a swift movement, Muscles had lifted his wide head and pointed his ears in my direction. He sniffed the air and zoned in on my location. Suddenly I was no longer the hunter.“So this is how a rabbit feels,” I thought to myself as I stood perfectly still.
The moment he lost interest, I broke from hiding and called out his name! “Muscles! Here boy!”
With a mighty dash, Muscles transformed from dog to missile as he made a bee line to where I stood. It was like the beast was using sonar to find my location only he would have bulldozed right through anything in his way to get to the one who called him. I was amazed at his carelessness. Being blind hadn’t made him cautious but rather reckless! I didn’t move as he tore across the yard to my feet. I nearly fell on my face as Muscles literally crashed into me! He exploded into a million kisses and danced circles all around me. The only thing to fear about this dog was his intense affection for mankind. Muscles could sniff out a lot of things but finding a companion in the dark was truly his greatest treasure.
Just in case you thought receiving a laundry basket full of puppies was a rare occurrence, it’s not. I took this picture just yesterday. When snapping a few photos, this little guy waddled out and smiled. The whole composition reminded me of a rocket ship having landed on an alien planet; “Greetings human, we have come in peace! It appears our ship’s coordinations were a bit off. Could you tell us where exactly we have landed?”
