Post by kyozuki on Mar 29, 2009 14:45:07 GMT -6
((Uncertain exactly how much TARP's Ty-Lee differs from the TV one - I'll assume TV for this, just for the sake of simplicity.))
"Lah-dee-dum... doo-de-doo... rim-bim-bom-be-dum..."
Ty-Lee stood on the steps of the garden, doing one-handed handstand press-ups as she hummed random ditties. Her loose clothing was bunched up, looking decidedly scruffy - people generally didn't design clothes to look good upside-down. Her delicate hand was splayed on the wooden step, bearing what little weight she had with ease. Her bright, shining eyes looked up (down?) at the palace, her cheeks flushed from standing on her head, framing her little button nose, while her long braided ponytail was curling and uncurling on the wooden surface as Ty-Lee lowered and raised herself with practiced ease.
"It's a long, long way, too-oo Ba-Sing-Se, and the something, something, something-or-other..." Switching to the other hand, Ty-Lee pirouetted, bringing an upside-down view of the pool into view. She could see a couple of the turtle-ducks quacking their way across the water. Most people would take a few seconds to interpret the upside-down picture. For Ty-Lee, it was second nature.
"Lah-de-de-dee-doo..." pushing off with her hand, Ty-Lee flipped her way along the path to the shade of the tree, finishing her gymnastics session with a smartly executed aerial going into a perfect acrobatic landing, one foot in front of the other. Sitting down under the tree, she laid back, pulling her long ponytail out to the side as she buried her head in the soft grass and closed her eyes.
Now this brought back memories... Ty-Lee could remember playing here back when she was young (whereas now, at 14, she was of course not young in the slightest). She could remember playing with Azula, Mai and Zuko back before Zuko had been banished. Back when she'd been perfecting her natural talent at acrobatics - boy, Azula had been jealous, and no mistake. And Zuko had been so adorably transparent in his affections for Mai.
"...hey, isn't that?..."
"ssshh, she'll hear you..."
Ty-Lee quizzically opened one large eye, looking in the direction of the whispered voices. Two of the servant girls were hiding in the shadows of the building, trying to be inconspicuous and not get Ty-Lee's attention. Always one for a little fun, Ty-Lee propped herself up on one elbow, beaming at them as she held her other hand up high, wiggling her fingers in a cheery 'hello'. The servant girls, panicking at being caught, disappeared back into the palace.
"Hmph" Ty-Lee pouted, lying back down. The girls round here were no fun. Everyone was scared that she'd paralyze them on a whim. And alright, Ty-Lee was not one to let a golden pranking opportunity slip by, but she was far from malicious. Still, that was the price you paid for being friends with Azula. People imprinted her attitudes onto you.
Ty-Lee's face became wistful, her hand sliding absentmindedly to play with one of her bracelets as she thought back to her days in the circus, and their abrupt ending when Azula had 'asked' her to help find the Avatar. She'd been really happy back then. Away from the monochromatic oppression of being just one of a matching set - honestly, her parents might have thought having septuplets was an honour, but Ty-Lee had felt trapped. Just a face among faces. Forever getting confused with sister number two, or six - usually six, because they both had ponytails. Even the fact that she was a brilliant gymnast hadn't distinguished her any. So she'd gone somewhere that people would definitely notice her. And not just notice, but applaud, and call for more. People could say what they wanted about little attention-seeking Ty-Lee; most people just didn't understand the rush and sense of belonging you got when a tentful of people cheered you on high above their heads, gasping as you made the pre-planned stumble halfway out, holding their breath as you slowly cartwheeled along the final few feet, before erupting into applause as you raised your hands and took a bow. They didn't know her, she didn't know them, but they loved her all the same. And the actual circus performers were a closer family than any you'd meet anywhere. The camaraderie, the back-slapping and the congratulations on another show well done; nothing could compare. Ty-Lee could never have got enough of it; no-one appreciates a cool drink of water more than a man dying of thirst. No-one laps up attention more than the lonely.
And then Azula, her old childhood friend had arrived out of the blue. And that had all been taken away. She still had fun of course - it didn't get much more exciting than capturing the Earth Nation capital - and she'd experienced plenty of new sights and sounds (that funny boy with the boomerang, for instance..) but there was still something missing. It wasn't that she had fewer friends - any friends were better than none - but none of them could supply that extra something that the circus had given. Mai (spirits bless her) was aloof and snooty, Zuko was reserved and sullen, and Azula... to be honest, Ty-Lee wasn't sure what to make of Azula. She was most definitely someone you didn't want as an enemy, and yet Ty-Lee couldn't help feeling that maybe there was something worse than being Azula's foe: being her friend.
Ty-Lee sighed and rolled into a handstand from her lying-down position. She wasn't in the mood to get philosophical. Time to take her mind off things.
"Ahyup!" Ty-Lee spun sideways and went cartwheeling along the path, the dizzying change of direction not even phasing her. This was what Ty-Lee loved about what she did - when you were spending more time upside-down than right-way-up, you didn't have time to get existential. There was only the here and now. And Ty-Lee was damned if she was going to let anything get her down. Because that was how Ty-Lee dealt with things. Mai got bored. Zuko got angry. Azula got vengeful. And Ty-Lee got happy. It made life so much easier and bearable if you made a conscious effort to be cheerful. It wasn't hard, to tell the truth - you just had to think bubbly thoughts and the happiness took care of itself.
"Um.... Miss?"
Ty-Lee swerved off the path and tumbled into a standing position. There was another servant girl, standing on the steps, looking quite nervous. It seemed to be their natural state.
"Yep?" Ty-Lee replied, skipping up the stairs. The servant girl shrank back while trying very hard to not look like she was shrinking back; no small feat, but one that was bound to cause tension. And that was bad for one's aura.
"Oh, loosen up dear" Ty-Lee said cheerily, placing her hands on the girl's unresisting shoulders and pressing her thumbs against the shoulder blades. The girl gave a small "yipe!" as Ty-Lee unbuttoned the tension in her back muscles - having a knowledge of chi points was useful for more than just paralyzing people. "So, what's happening?"
"Well, uh.." the servant girl dithered for a little, still getting used to the sudden feeling of looseness and relaxation. "Princess Azula called for you. Said it was urgent."
Ty-Lee looked out at the garden, giving a little sigh. She'd had liked to sit and relax a bit more. But still - duty called. And who knew, maybe it was something exciting. She'd been getting a little bored in the palace. And being out on a mission stopped her dwelling on her problems.
"Are you alright, Miss?" the girl asked, seeing Ty-Lee's far-off expression. Ty-Lee turned back to the girl and grinned ear-to-ear.
"Of course" she said sunnily. "I'm always alright."
The smile was genuine. The reply wasn't.
"Lah-dee-dum... doo-de-doo... rim-bim-bom-be-dum..."
Ty-Lee stood on the steps of the garden, doing one-handed handstand press-ups as she hummed random ditties. Her loose clothing was bunched up, looking decidedly scruffy - people generally didn't design clothes to look good upside-down. Her delicate hand was splayed on the wooden step, bearing what little weight she had with ease. Her bright, shining eyes looked up (down?) at the palace, her cheeks flushed from standing on her head, framing her little button nose, while her long braided ponytail was curling and uncurling on the wooden surface as Ty-Lee lowered and raised herself with practiced ease.
"It's a long, long way, too-oo Ba-Sing-Se, and the something, something, something-or-other..." Switching to the other hand, Ty-Lee pirouetted, bringing an upside-down view of the pool into view. She could see a couple of the turtle-ducks quacking their way across the water. Most people would take a few seconds to interpret the upside-down picture. For Ty-Lee, it was second nature.
"Lah-de-de-dee-doo..." pushing off with her hand, Ty-Lee flipped her way along the path to the shade of the tree, finishing her gymnastics session with a smartly executed aerial going into a perfect acrobatic landing, one foot in front of the other. Sitting down under the tree, she laid back, pulling her long ponytail out to the side as she buried her head in the soft grass and closed her eyes.
Now this brought back memories... Ty-Lee could remember playing here back when she was young (whereas now, at 14, she was of course not young in the slightest). She could remember playing with Azula, Mai and Zuko back before Zuko had been banished. Back when she'd been perfecting her natural talent at acrobatics - boy, Azula had been jealous, and no mistake. And Zuko had been so adorably transparent in his affections for Mai.
"...hey, isn't that?..."
"ssshh, she'll hear you..."
Ty-Lee quizzically opened one large eye, looking in the direction of the whispered voices. Two of the servant girls were hiding in the shadows of the building, trying to be inconspicuous and not get Ty-Lee's attention. Always one for a little fun, Ty-Lee propped herself up on one elbow, beaming at them as she held her other hand up high, wiggling her fingers in a cheery 'hello'. The servant girls, panicking at being caught, disappeared back into the palace.
"Hmph" Ty-Lee pouted, lying back down. The girls round here were no fun. Everyone was scared that she'd paralyze them on a whim. And alright, Ty-Lee was not one to let a golden pranking opportunity slip by, but she was far from malicious. Still, that was the price you paid for being friends with Azula. People imprinted her attitudes onto you.
Ty-Lee's face became wistful, her hand sliding absentmindedly to play with one of her bracelets as she thought back to her days in the circus, and their abrupt ending when Azula had 'asked' her to help find the Avatar. She'd been really happy back then. Away from the monochromatic oppression of being just one of a matching set - honestly, her parents might have thought having septuplets was an honour, but Ty-Lee had felt trapped. Just a face among faces. Forever getting confused with sister number two, or six - usually six, because they both had ponytails. Even the fact that she was a brilliant gymnast hadn't distinguished her any. So she'd gone somewhere that people would definitely notice her. And not just notice, but applaud, and call for more. People could say what they wanted about little attention-seeking Ty-Lee; most people just didn't understand the rush and sense of belonging you got when a tentful of people cheered you on high above their heads, gasping as you made the pre-planned stumble halfway out, holding their breath as you slowly cartwheeled along the final few feet, before erupting into applause as you raised your hands and took a bow. They didn't know her, she didn't know them, but they loved her all the same. And the actual circus performers were a closer family than any you'd meet anywhere. The camaraderie, the back-slapping and the congratulations on another show well done; nothing could compare. Ty-Lee could never have got enough of it; no-one appreciates a cool drink of water more than a man dying of thirst. No-one laps up attention more than the lonely.
And then Azula, her old childhood friend had arrived out of the blue. And that had all been taken away. She still had fun of course - it didn't get much more exciting than capturing the Earth Nation capital - and she'd experienced plenty of new sights and sounds (that funny boy with the boomerang, for instance..) but there was still something missing. It wasn't that she had fewer friends - any friends were better than none - but none of them could supply that extra something that the circus had given. Mai (spirits bless her) was aloof and snooty, Zuko was reserved and sullen, and Azula... to be honest, Ty-Lee wasn't sure what to make of Azula. She was most definitely someone you didn't want as an enemy, and yet Ty-Lee couldn't help feeling that maybe there was something worse than being Azula's foe: being her friend.
Ty-Lee sighed and rolled into a handstand from her lying-down position. She wasn't in the mood to get philosophical. Time to take her mind off things.
"Ahyup!" Ty-Lee spun sideways and went cartwheeling along the path, the dizzying change of direction not even phasing her. This was what Ty-Lee loved about what she did - when you were spending more time upside-down than right-way-up, you didn't have time to get existential. There was only the here and now. And Ty-Lee was damned if she was going to let anything get her down. Because that was how Ty-Lee dealt with things. Mai got bored. Zuko got angry. Azula got vengeful. And Ty-Lee got happy. It made life so much easier and bearable if you made a conscious effort to be cheerful. It wasn't hard, to tell the truth - you just had to think bubbly thoughts and the happiness took care of itself.
"Um.... Miss?"
Ty-Lee swerved off the path and tumbled into a standing position. There was another servant girl, standing on the steps, looking quite nervous. It seemed to be their natural state.
"Yep?" Ty-Lee replied, skipping up the stairs. The servant girl shrank back while trying very hard to not look like she was shrinking back; no small feat, but one that was bound to cause tension. And that was bad for one's aura.
"Oh, loosen up dear" Ty-Lee said cheerily, placing her hands on the girl's unresisting shoulders and pressing her thumbs against the shoulder blades. The girl gave a small "yipe!" as Ty-Lee unbuttoned the tension in her back muscles - having a knowledge of chi points was useful for more than just paralyzing people. "So, what's happening?"
"Well, uh.." the servant girl dithered for a little, still getting used to the sudden feeling of looseness and relaxation. "Princess Azula called for you. Said it was urgent."
Ty-Lee looked out at the garden, giving a little sigh. She'd had liked to sit and relax a bit more. But still - duty called. And who knew, maybe it was something exciting. She'd been getting a little bored in the palace. And being out on a mission stopped her dwelling on her problems.
"Are you alright, Miss?" the girl asked, seeing Ty-Lee's far-off expression. Ty-Lee turned back to the girl and grinned ear-to-ear.
"Of course" she said sunnily. "I'm always alright."
The smile was genuine. The reply wasn't.
to Toph.
Congrats. 
