Avatar: The Last Airbender - NoSelfControl: A must-read
A few months back, I fell helplessly in love with the animated series "Avatar: The Last Airbender" by Nickelodeon (NOT the M.NIght Shalalal movie (that one's so horrendous that the fanbase started cheering when word got out there probably wouldn't be another one) or the one with the blue aliens).
That alone is worth checking out for anybody who doesn't know it yet.
Awesome art, epic storytelling, fascinating characters that grow and develop as the series progresses, some squee-worthy worldbuilding.....anything a good story needs, this one has it.
I started spreading the love in form of christmas and birthday-presents (I chipped together with my family and it helped that you can get all 3 seasons over at amazon.co.uk for a good price).
And now I've fallen in love all over again, of all things, with the main villain for the first season: Commander Zhao.
He's hot-tempered, ambitious, cunning, completely lacks a moral compass, ruthless, cruel, looks manly without his shirt on....sombody you just love to hate.
And then I stumbled across rufftoon 's Watertribe AU comic, where Zhao has his memories taken away by the spirits and is left in the hands of his enemies....who have no clue what to make of that.....and he is left believing he is one of them.
The art is out of this world, matching the original series bit for bit, and the same goes for the story-telling.
If I have managed to spark your interest only in the slightest: GO READ!!!!
It is amazing. Stunning. Riveting.
Piece of advice: Take care not to start when you have other plans for the day, because the darn thing has almost 450 pages, is unbelievably well written and the artwork alone will keep you glued to the screen, never mind the adventures of the out-of-the-frying-pan-into-the fire tenacious, grumpy, desperate, hopeful, hot, angry, proud, confused, determined Commander Zhao.
If you start, you WON'T be able to stop.
If you do want to read (you have been warned! Make sure there's plenty to drink and to eat next to where you're sitting!) you can find the story here:
http://noselfcontrol.deviantart.com/art/Water-Tribe-001-69837313