Post by A Long Display Name Here on Jan 10, 2007 18:01:21 GMT -6
OOC: Just so you all know, I took a bit of artistic license with this Toph post; I wasnt playing her when she met up with Halaku and the Hunt, and I didnt feel like sorting through post upon post to find things. So here it is, judge it. ;D
Darkness, nothing but darkness in her world. A black expanse in which no light could enter. Not even the strongest light could penetrate that wall of ebony, so thick it was. It wasnt, though, that she was afraid of the light. Far from it — she welcomed the light's pleasant warmth. No, Toph Bei Fong didnt fear the light — she was just blind.
Just! The twelve-year-old girl snorted. It was her blindness that made her upper-society parents treat her like glass, blinding them to her true strength. In truth, Toph was an earthbender, a powerful one, her blindness paving the way before her. Just because she was blind, it didnt mean she couldnt "see." With a loud sigh, Toph fussed with her hair. It looked like a giant poof-ball, she knew, having felt her head every which way. It was times like these that she'd foolishly wish for a set of working eyes; but Toph knew that she wouldnt really rather see the way everyone else did. Her blindness gave her an edge — and that was very important, considering she was "The Blind Bandit"!
"And the crowd goes wild as The Blind Bandit takes the ring!" screamed the announcer in Toph's head. "Hey, everyone!" she imagined herself saying. "Who's ready to RUMBLE?" Her room transformed into the Earth Rumble arena, the crowd shouting happily as the earthbender known as "The Boulder" face her. He was trying his best to sneak around her, but with vibrations like that, a saber-toothed moose would have a better chance of going by undetected. Vibrations shifted as the Boulder lifted his foot ever so carefully. With a quick stomp, Toph raised a rock from the ground and sent it flying at the rather horizontally-gifted man.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering porcelain brought her thoughts back to earth — pun intended. In her daydreaming, she had accidentally hit a vase and broke it. She wasnt in the Earth Rumble arena; she was in an inn along the road to Ba Sing Se, with a group of Avatar hunters called, most imaginatively, The Hunt. The Hunt, though led by two bender-hating Galgori, Halaku and Nanashi, was comprised of bender and non-bender alike, united in their quest to capture and kill the Avatar. It was a strange setup, but it worked — so far.
For as long as she lived, Toph would never forget the day Halaku and the Hunt sought her out. It was a rumble like any other - that is, she won. Some waterbender accepted the announcer's challenge, and the fight was on. The waterbender's name was Shijin, and Toph could tell his heart wasnt in the fight, She decided to go easy on him, just a bit. Oh, she still kicked his butt, but she didnt humiliate him. Curiosity got the better of Toph; unfortunately, Shijin disappeared right after the match, so she couldnt question him.
Speed up to dinnertime. The Bei Fong family was just sitting down to dinner when a servant rushed to her father and murmured something about visitors — when he stepped in. His footsteps were rock-steady, and his vibrations gave Toph the image of absolute strength. In fact, that strength radiated from every pore in his body. Introducing himself as Halaku, the man asked her father point-blank if Toph could join their group. No preamble, no beating around the bush. That took guts, and Toph was impressed.
She recalled a great wave of hope swell in her heart at these words. She had remained silent; it took all her willpower to refrain from pleading. When her father said no, not even hearing Halaku out, Toph was far from disappointed; rather, she was furious.
She slipped out under the cover of the night, joining Halaku and his kinswoman, Nanashi. Halaku said something about setting off at first light. Nanashi murmured something in reply, surprising Toph with her politeness...even calling her "Miss Toph." And her footsteps! They were light as could be without flying. It was a sharp contrast between kinsfolk, to be sure, but Nanashi did have an aura of danger emanating from her as well.
Then there was Jun, the Fire Nation bounty hunter. Along with her scent-tracking beast, Zen, the woman was more like a man, speaking her mind and being rather crude. It was refreshing to hear another high-society type shun her class and lineage. Jun lived to fight, something the little earthbender admired greatly. Zen...was Zen. Till now, the beast frightened Toph, though she knew it attacked on Jun's orders only.
The rest of The Hunt... ah, most of them didnt impress her. There were two boys slightly older than her, Shijin, and another rambunctious thing named Yuan. There was also Jiao, another Galgori, but one that didnt emanate the same sense of danger as the other two.
Skip forward to morning. When her father realized what she had done, he gathered a posse of the town's strongest fighters — including her Earth Rumble opponents. The fight was short, but intense. As Halaku's chain whizzed past her ear, she could hear Nanashi's blade singing as it cut through air and warrior alike. Zen was next to her, Jun sitting astride, fighting furiously. Toph, she fought as many as she could, though the melee was different from what she was accustomed to.
When they finally made it out of Gaoling, Toph realized she could never go back home. Members of the elite class would shun her, and her father would keep a closer watch. No, she could never go back. But strangely...that was okay. She despised being so sheltered, so protected, and if her freedom came at the price of losing her parents, so be it.
Toph plucked at her clothes, her milky-gray eyes seeing nothing, her body seeing everything. With an even louder sigh than before, Toph fussed with her hair again, trying to make it fit her headband, Out of everything she left behind, she missed the people who did her hair the most. Grinding her teeth, Toph attacked her hair again, muttering something about being a hairbender.
Hopefully, thought Toph as she combed her unruly locks, we can find the Avatar and his friends at Ba Sing Se. The last fight between the Avatar and the Hunt had been intruded upon by Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, and her two buddies — whatever their names were. Ah, well, no matter. Even if the Hunt didn't find the Avatar today, she could probably coax Halaku into sparring with her. After all, Toph reasoned, finally getting her hair into place, he's gotta exercise that shoulder of his....
OOC: Just so you all know, that was three-and-a-half pages, hand written.
And the judgement is...?
Darkness, nothing but darkness in her world. A black expanse in which no light could enter. Not even the strongest light could penetrate that wall of ebony, so thick it was. It wasnt, though, that she was afraid of the light. Far from it — she welcomed the light's pleasant warmth. No, Toph Bei Fong didnt fear the light — she was just blind.
Just! The twelve-year-old girl snorted. It was her blindness that made her upper-society parents treat her like glass, blinding them to her true strength. In truth, Toph was an earthbender, a powerful one, her blindness paving the way before her. Just because she was blind, it didnt mean she couldnt "see." With a loud sigh, Toph fussed with her hair. It looked like a giant poof-ball, she knew, having felt her head every which way. It was times like these that she'd foolishly wish for a set of working eyes; but Toph knew that she wouldnt really rather see the way everyone else did. Her blindness gave her an edge — and that was very important, considering she was "The Blind Bandit"!
"And the crowd goes wild as The Blind Bandit takes the ring!" screamed the announcer in Toph's head. "Hey, everyone!" she imagined herself saying. "Who's ready to RUMBLE?" Her room transformed into the Earth Rumble arena, the crowd shouting happily as the earthbender known as "The Boulder" face her. He was trying his best to sneak around her, but with vibrations like that, a saber-toothed moose would have a better chance of going by undetected. Vibrations shifted as the Boulder lifted his foot ever so carefully. With a quick stomp, Toph raised a rock from the ground and sent it flying at the rather horizontally-gifted man.
CRASH!
The sound of shattering porcelain brought her thoughts back to earth — pun intended. In her daydreaming, she had accidentally hit a vase and broke it. She wasnt in the Earth Rumble arena; she was in an inn along the road to Ba Sing Se, with a group of Avatar hunters called, most imaginatively, The Hunt. The Hunt, though led by two bender-hating Galgori, Halaku and Nanashi, was comprised of bender and non-bender alike, united in their quest to capture and kill the Avatar. It was a strange setup, but it worked — so far.
For as long as she lived, Toph would never forget the day Halaku and the Hunt sought her out. It was a rumble like any other - that is, she won. Some waterbender accepted the announcer's challenge, and the fight was on. The waterbender's name was Shijin, and Toph could tell his heart wasnt in the fight, She decided to go easy on him, just a bit. Oh, she still kicked his butt, but she didnt humiliate him. Curiosity got the better of Toph; unfortunately, Shijin disappeared right after the match, so she couldnt question him.
Speed up to dinnertime. The Bei Fong family was just sitting down to dinner when a servant rushed to her father and murmured something about visitors — when he stepped in. His footsteps were rock-steady, and his vibrations gave Toph the image of absolute strength. In fact, that strength radiated from every pore in his body. Introducing himself as Halaku, the man asked her father point-blank if Toph could join their group. No preamble, no beating around the bush. That took guts, and Toph was impressed.
She recalled a great wave of hope swell in her heart at these words. She had remained silent; it took all her willpower to refrain from pleading. When her father said no, not even hearing Halaku out, Toph was far from disappointed; rather, she was furious.
She slipped out under the cover of the night, joining Halaku and his kinswoman, Nanashi. Halaku said something about setting off at first light. Nanashi murmured something in reply, surprising Toph with her politeness...even calling her "Miss Toph." And her footsteps! They were light as could be without flying. It was a sharp contrast between kinsfolk, to be sure, but Nanashi did have an aura of danger emanating from her as well.
Then there was Jun, the Fire Nation bounty hunter. Along with her scent-tracking beast, Zen, the woman was more like a man, speaking her mind and being rather crude. It was refreshing to hear another high-society type shun her class and lineage. Jun lived to fight, something the little earthbender admired greatly. Zen...was Zen. Till now, the beast frightened Toph, though she knew it attacked on Jun's orders only.
The rest of The Hunt... ah, most of them didnt impress her. There were two boys slightly older than her, Shijin, and another rambunctious thing named Yuan. There was also Jiao, another Galgori, but one that didnt emanate the same sense of danger as the other two.
Skip forward to morning. When her father realized what she had done, he gathered a posse of the town's strongest fighters — including her Earth Rumble opponents. The fight was short, but intense. As Halaku's chain whizzed past her ear, she could hear Nanashi's blade singing as it cut through air and warrior alike. Zen was next to her, Jun sitting astride, fighting furiously. Toph, she fought as many as she could, though the melee was different from what she was accustomed to.
When they finally made it out of Gaoling, Toph realized she could never go back home. Members of the elite class would shun her, and her father would keep a closer watch. No, she could never go back. But strangely...that was okay. She despised being so sheltered, so protected, and if her freedom came at the price of losing her parents, so be it.
Toph plucked at her clothes, her milky-gray eyes seeing nothing, her body seeing everything. With an even louder sigh than before, Toph fussed with her hair again, trying to make it fit her headband, Out of everything she left behind, she missed the people who did her hair the most. Grinding her teeth, Toph attacked her hair again, muttering something about being a hairbender.
Hopefully, thought Toph as she combed her unruly locks, we can find the Avatar and his friends at Ba Sing Se. The last fight between the Avatar and the Hunt had been intruded upon by Princess Azula of the Fire Nation, and her two buddies — whatever their names were. Ah, well, no matter. Even if the Hunt didn't find the Avatar today, she could probably coax Halaku into sparring with her. After all, Toph reasoned, finally getting her hair into place, he's gotta exercise that shoulder of his....
OOC: Just so you all know, that was three-and-a-half pages, hand written.
And the judgement is...?
