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jinjinbun β :CAPSTAANG: Properly Balanced
Published: 2009-07-12 16:56:26 +0000 UTC; Views: 8623; Favourites: 103; Downloads: 37
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Refers back to this: [link]CAPSTAANG WEEK, DAY ONE:
12/7 CONJURED CONFIDENCE WALKS THE SIDEWALK
His breath now breathes unfulfilment
Which for a moment he just pushes aside
It's getting old now
It's getting old now
It's getting old...
------
"I'm so sorry I wasn't there. So, so sorry."
"It's okay," she said without emphasis, shifting her thighs beneath the hard press of his elbows and forearms. "Stop kicking yourself. Or should I do it for you? It doesn't take more than one leg to do THAT."
Don't apologize, is what she wanted to say; You're not the one who's at fault.
But that wouldn't have made any difference to him, really. Maybe he'd just gotten used to shouldering the blame.
//"I'm sorry I wasn't here. I'm sorry I ran away." "I'm sorry." //
Even now the lightness of her left side weirded her out. Felt like there should be a foot somewhere, dangling invisibly from the bandaged stump.
Aang being here helped, though. The way he leaned into her, without caring that she was less than whole... He balanced her out with the weight of his tears.
Cry me a river, Aang. Maybe it'll wash away this stupid guilt you have, and drain you dry.
...Actually, you're not even SUPPOSED to be the one who's crying.
---
Don't call me when your moods are properly balanced
'cause I was there now for the worst part of this
This was it, then, wasn't it? ...the end of the line. No more Earthbending battles, no more adrenaline rush or hard-won respect. No more Greatest Earthbender Ever.
Anyone who looked at her now would see nothing but a poor little gimp girl, blind and crippled -- sitting here with the Avatar sobbing on her knees.
---
I twitch and cling to these,
these images that I foresee
I jump at any noise that the night,
the night it brings
"I never thought this would happen," Aang mumbled through the fabric of her lap. "Never, in a hundred years..."
Neither did I, Twinkletoes, she thought, staring sightlessly ahead into the emptiness of her future.
...Neither did I.
Conjured confidence walks the sidewalk
Holding its breath as it all passes by
You know, as it all passes by...
I don't wanna hear, I don't wanna hear, I don't wanna hear it anymore...
---
FIN.
[Sorry for the lapslock and massive Taangst. First time doing this Week, and frankly, all caps would have made it hard to read.
Please tell me if this is wrong though, so I may change it in the future.][Also, Toph's current feelings stem from a sense of despair, which is probably to be expected after suffering such a grave injury. Thus, her view of the future is not exactly rosy and optimistic at the moment. But she'll get better.]
Characters belong to Mike and Bryan and Nickelodeon. Lyrics from "Properly Balanced" by The Honorary Title.
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Comments: 56
i love how there's a story behind all your drawings.
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Man, I remember that. It made me so sad, and yet it's something to think about. Because, even in real life, what "defines you" can be taken away in the blink of an eye.
But it's through experiences like that you discover that you're still you.
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That's exactly what I was trying to convey with this series of drawings. Seriously Kii, you must have mind-reading powers or something. It's crazy. x3
All too often it seems to me, Toph is defined by her constant toughness, without taking the time to explore her seeming invulnerability (at least physically, mentally less so) I feel there is part of her that forever remains two-dimensional.
In any case, shit happens, and we have to move on somehow.
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Dude... wow. This... is somewhat scary. O_o I guess... I didn't know I had mind reading powers.
I totally understand what you mean. I feel that way myself sometimes. And yeah, junk happens. I know it well enough.
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Aw, wasn't meant to be scary. Was just surprised at the interlinking... great minds think alike, Y/Y? 
BTW, I forgot to ask earlier, but did you ever get that removable disk of yours back? :/
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Good scary. Not bad scary. Like, huh, that's cool. Heehee. I'm fine.
yeah. I did. ^____^
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Did you kill the thieving bast-- uhh, I mean. He didn't erase anything?
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XD No, no. Everything's there. ^_^
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HOLYFLYINGBADGERMOLEBABIES THE AANGST!
I'll give you my leg, Toph! ;0;
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AANGST INDEED. 'TIS MY BREAD-AND-BUTTER IT SEEMS.
You're so noble! T^T
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the torture of the guilty...
aang, you must to accept that, if you want to help the people...
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Words cannot describe the beauty of this picture.. the emotion.
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See above comment/response-- think it sums it up, mostly.
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What the-!?
Couldn't she just get the Mechanist to jury-rig a new foot for her? I mean, he's make like, three fingers for himself.
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I think those were made out of wood though, and wood's a no-no for earthbending. Plus, the guy probably didn't mind losing those fingers too much in the pursuit of knowledge. Tophy's just working through the post-trauma shock right now... she'll buck up later, no doubt.
The concept is sound though, and I was thinking how the Mechanist would make her an artificial limb that could both support her weight yet allow her to walk without putting too much stress on her limb when she lifts it... as well as being able to let her earthbend. Someone suggested space rock, but I don't remember if they mentioned anything about the density being lighter than that of iron or steel.
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Oh that poor thing.
Well, I would've just gone with metal. ^_^
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That would make things a lot simpler, yes. ^^
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'Sides, not only would it look BA, but Toph would have a constant source for metalbending! ^_^
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you know, before I watched the previous image I hadnΒ΄t realized Toph was missing a leg.
ThatΒ΄s... so messed yet so cool... messooled up!
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My sis actually kinda couldn't stand to look at the picture-- only for short periods, she said.
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ItΒ΄s kinda weird, coz legs are basically TophΒ΄s weapons, so seeing her without one of them is like... I donΒ΄t know, if we saw Aang without his arrow, or Zuko without his scar.
ItΒ΄s weird.
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THE TAANGST OMT.
I'm having a bit of a throwback to the "She's Your Sister, Sparky" drawing. Is this related or do you just like taking off Toph's limbs?
She'd find a way to work past the handicap anyway. X3
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AFTER SO LONG IT REAPPEARS. O8
Yup, that's the one. It's somewhat of a sequel to that ^^ I snuck the link for it at the very top there, but it might've gotten lost in the confusion. As for the removal of limbs, it's... I dunno. Partly symbolic?
Given enough time she would. I think at this point she's just suffering from the throes of post-traumatic stress, given the (what my sis best termed as) "feel of un-Tophness".
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I KIND OF MISSED IT.
I knew it! XDD Oh, you did, too. The bold words were distracting. 8DD How~? Or is this an ignorant question?
Yeah, that'd be expected. But somehow I think she'd start fighting the problem earlier just to get Aang to stop sooking. X3
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AH, TAANGST, MON AMI. I EMBRACE YOU.
I was afraid that would be the case. But there was so much text I was like "Screw it" and stuck it up there. XD Hmm, how to say it? Her... soul, perhaps? More like her identity... it's like being an artist who suddenly went blind, or a musician who suddenly went deaf.
She is fighting, a little. "Why the heck is AANG crying? The wimp. I trained him better than that D<"
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TEARFULLY, OF COURSE.
X3 Ooooh. I see. Hence the "no more Blind Bandit" line.
XDDD <3333 NO SYMPATY HERE.
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OF COURSE WITH TEARS, THERE IS NO OTHER WAY. (AND PERHAPS A FLORAL BACKGROUND OR TWO. XP)
SYMPATHY IS FOR WUSSES. AND AANG KNOWS BETTER.
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AND SOME CLOSE CONTACT. >D AND SOME SHOUJO BUBBLES?
HE REALLY DOES. BUT HE'S TOO EMPATHETIC FOR HIS OWN GOOD. <3
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WHY NOT, SHOUJO BUBBLES ARE GOOD FOR THE SOUL (TO LAUGH AT, IF OVERUSED >
EMPHASIS ON PATHETIC. UNTIL TOPHY COMES TO TOWN.
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WHERE DO THEY COME FROM, ANYWAY? XD SOME RANDOM PERSON JUST BLOWING BUBBLES IN THE BACKGROUND...
I WAS THINKING THAT AS I TYPED IT OUT. XDDD LOAD THE TOPH.
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yay more taang where Toph is the lovely Tomboy we all know and love her for
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Oh, so sad
I like it that Toph's hair is hiding her face.
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the Taangst...it saddens me
"Conjured confidence walks the sidewalk
Holding its breath as it all passes by
You know, as it all passes by..."
I may have to use that
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They're pretty nice lyrics, yeah. I just had a heck of a time trying to adapt them into something I could draw for the week.
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Hmm...
Is it possible that Toph could learn to earthbend a rock leg?
It would never be the same as the real thing, but maybe she could still be the greatest earthbender ever.
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It may be possible. At this point, she's just not very inclined to think positively, so... but she'll come around. ^^
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Yup.
After all, she's a stubborn one, being an earthbender.
She may become focused on Aang rather than herself.
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Apparently all these pure-hearted conventional heroes have massive guilt complexes, so that's definitely a possibility for them. 
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Yeah.
Hell, she may even earthbend herself a rock leg just so she can use it to literally kick his butt. Ouch!
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aaah the taangst
it burns with its sadness and tear-jerkiness
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'msorry it hurts. 
Leastways, there's fluff toward the end of the week? ^^
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Yipes! For Toph to loose a leg is like a normal person losing a leg and an eye!
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Yup, I'm... still trying to figure out exactly to what extent her life would change, because of it. But definitely, it's doubly significant.
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Ok. Here's what should happen. Aang and Sokka travel back to the swordmaster's place in the Fire Nation. They get the rest of th meteor rock. Then sokka and the Mechanist forge an artificial leg out of it. Since it's space earth, Toph can bend it allowing it to function like her own leg.
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Mmhmm, I was considering something like that-- although first to make sure the space earth would have to be durable yet light enough so that wearing a construct of it daily isn't a pain.
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