Ateyo icon by @Shadowwolf (Shaddie)

The first time I saw Avatar it was just before Christmas. I had been living approximately 4 months prior without access to television, and I didn't particularly frequent the movie theater during that time either, so I hadn't seen any commercials (except for the first, vague trailer that was released a long time ago which I watched online) for the movie. I didn't know anything about it. All I knew was that it took place on an alien world, and James Cameron was involved. I went in pretty excited because hey, who doesn't love Terminator and Aliens?

I cannot express in words how this movie moved me, but I left the theater a changed person. I have never cried in theater before, but it really hit me emotionally in a way no movie has managed. I became more and more enthralled, from the first time Jake sees arrows in the tires of the Hell trucks, to when he first runs on his newfound Na'vi legs, to when we see our first glimpse of Neytiri. The language, the music, the colors, the plants, the viper wolves, thanators, banshees, dire horses, characters, storyline, romance, drama, action, omg. This movie had everything that I had ever wanted to see in a film.

I left the theater not fully understanding how much I loved the movie. It was amazing, but it wasn't until I watched it again, and again, and again, before I realized just how obsessed I was with it. I saw it 7 times in theaters, and almost equal that amount outside of theaters. And I have the extended edition pre-ordered now. I can't wait to see it again in all its glory!

After I saw the movie the first few times, I couldn't draw at all. I felt so satisfied having watched it that I knew that no matter what I drew, no matter HOW talented I could become, nothing I made would ever be as good as that movie. So why try? I was like, dazed. Reverently shocked to such a degree I could do nothing but think about Avatar. And to this day I would do anything to be immersed in that fantasy world. I would do anything to be a Na'vi. Also I have THE BIGGEST GIRL CRUSH on Neytiri. She is my role model. Sexiest lady in film ;o

So yeah I'm pretty much obsessed with the movie to a probably unhealthy degree. I think I need to go to some Avatarics Anonymous or something.

Oh right, anyway, this was an icon for Ateyo, aka Nate, who shares my passion for the movie :)