BOOK 1, CHAPTER 2: Discoveries and Rediscoveries
THIS IS WHERE THE CRACK BEGINS. For example, I had Toph being insecure in the first chapter because she can't bend and therefore can't see. But what do you know-Toph comes out with the most points in the first round. On one hand, it makes my job writing this a bit hard, but on the other... it makes this just that much more fun. >D
Anyway, I apologize for the delay-First, I had to eat dinner; then, my parents made me go out on a walk; finally, I had to finish actually writing the chapter, lol. @_@
BOOK 1: IN SEARCH OF THE AVATAR
CHAPTER 2: DISCOVERIES AND REDISCOVERIES
THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED
in order of their rankings
THE SCENARIO
An hour later, Sokka, Katara, and Toph found themselves leading Appa through the thick forests of the Spirit World.
"Are you sure you don't want to ride on Appa, Toph?" Katara said, looking back at the blind girl.
Toph stumbled, then replied snappily as she regained her balance, "I can manage on my own, thank-you-very-much." She brushed off her clothes absently before turning to face the wrong direction. Katara sighed and gently placed a hand on Toph's arm.
"Toph, why don't you just get on Appa. I'm sure it won't be long before we find Aang."
Toph shook her head and crossed her arms. "I'll manage."
Suddenly, Sokka stopped, and Katara narrowly avoided colliding into him.
"What-?"
"Shh," Sokka said, placing a finger over his lips. "I thought I heard something."
Katara and Toph stopped; Appa stilled himself and quieted his breathing. Sure enough, a few moments later, another rustle came from up ahead. Sokka carefully drew out his boomerang so as to not make a sound. Without warning, a pink blur flashed out from behind a tree and sent Katara toppling to the ground. Katara fumbled with her water skin and unscrewed it before waving her hand; too late, she realized that she couldn't bend and cursed under her breath. From the other direction came Azula; Sokka raised his boomerang and fended her off.
"What's going on?" Toph said, and Sokka grunted as he pushed Azula off.
"It's Azula and that other girl," he growled.
"My name's Ty Lee," she said, frowning, before smiling and adding, "Cutie."
"Can't have you interfering with our search," Azula said as she sparred with Sokka, who looked torn between hitting a girl and defending his life. "I already took care of Uncle-and now it's time for you."
Toph let out a yelp as Ty Lee knocked her over. But as Toph fell, a strange expression came on her face. She let out another high-pitched yip sound, her ears straining, before a grin began to spread over her face.
"Fabulous," she murmured before she kicked Ty Lee off. She continued letting out high-pitched yips at regular intervals as she went through the moves of earthbending, fending off Ty Lee. After a few moments of intense battle, Ty Lee lay on all fours, panting on the ground, as Toph stood triumphantly over her. Appa picked up Azula by the collar of her shirt and threw her a little ways away, eliciting a shriek from the princess. Realization dawned on Sokka's face.
"Echolocation!" he said quickly.
"Echolo-what?" Toph replied, and Sokka shook his head.
"Nothing-just keep making those... weird yips. You'll be fine!"
*
Meanwhile...
Ursa frowned as she stood before Ozai, her arms crossed over her chest. Zuko kneeled by Iroh, checking his pulse and his breathing.
"He's okay," he said shakily. Song bit her lip, her hands clasped in her lap as she kneeled beside him. Zuko sighed and looked at Song before saying briefly, "Thanks..."
"Why didn't you tell me that you were-?" she began, but she was cut off by Ursa's angry voice.
"How could you raise your daughter-our daughter-like that?" she yelled, gesturing at Iroh. "Stooping so low as to hurt one from her own family-how could you!"
Ozai remained silent.
"I did this all for your sake," Ursa said, tears in her eyes. "I disguised myself; I fled the Fire Nation; I went into hiding in the Earth Kingdom-all for the sake of our children and the future of the Fire Nation. And you raise-her-to be such a bloodthirsty, cruel child?" She bit her lip, then said: "Just like you."
"I raised Azula to be a conquerer, a winner," Ozai said simply. Ursa's gaze was filled with fiery malice.
"And what are you saying? That Zuko's a loser because he actually cares?"
Ozai gave her a cold look. "Yes."
Crack.
Song gasped as Zuko tensed. Ozai's head was turned, his cheek red with the mark of Ursa's palm. Ursa crossed her arms again, her chin up as she looked down at Ozai.
"And what are you going to do now?" she hissed. "You can't bend here. You can't do anything." She turned and walked back to Zuko, Song, and Iroh, then faced him again. She said softly: "Who will win now?"
*
Meanwhile...
Bumi snorted and chuckled as he held up a writhing bug.
"Very delicious," he said, giggling. "This grub-it's a little-known Earth Kingdom delicacy!"
Without another word, Long Feng turned and walked away, disgusted.
Aha... That was much longer than I expected/intended. -_-; I mean, I want to make it so that the events are somewhat believable; at the same time, this is an icontest, not a fanfic contest, so... lol. Anyway!
THE CHALLENGE
As you can see, there were lots of conflicts in this chapter. Therefore, your icon must have something to do with fighting or a battle. Icons may include bending in this round, as it's fairly critical for battles in the Avatar universe ;) It can be a physical battle, internal battle, whatever. Just make sure that it's conveyed clearly, otherwise people might not get it.
Your icon may not be peaceful. This means no screencaps featuring meditation (unless it is disturbed in a way that fits the theme), pastel colors, peaceful words, or elegant script fonts (grungy script fonts are okay, though, as are Gothic fonts). I'll let you know if your icon feels too peaceful. :)
HOW TO SUBMIT
Submit all icons to this screened post in the following manner:
URL: http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l173/hliconchallenge/atla_battle/userpic.png
Name of the character you play
REMEMBER:
■ One icon per iconmaker.
■ Icons must fit LJ standards: 100x100 or smaller; 40kB or smaller.
■ Icons may not feature fanart, contain excessive vulgarity, use bases made by someone else, or be plagiarized. In addition to that, icons must be made fresh for the challenge.
■ Icons do not have to contain the character that you play. They can if you want to, though.
■ Do not advertise or use your icon until after the entire challenge has been concluded. This way, your identity remains anonymous.
Icons are due on Friday, May 4 at 7:00PM PST. Have fun!
In the future, please don't ask me if your icon was okay or if it fits the theme. ^^ Just check the sidebar; if it's been approved, your ID will disappear from it. Give it about a day to be approved, seeing how, with all my exams coming up, I'm not sure if I can be very prompt.
Also, you may have noticed that I didn't include your notes in the voting like what I do at avatar_hush. This is because I feel that, if your icon is successful, it should be able to speak for itself and shouldn't have to rely on outside notes. :) That way, it's fair for everyone.
*goes off to finish homework*
- hl
Anyway, I apologize for the delay-First, I had to eat dinner; then, my parents made me go out on a walk; finally, I had to finish actually writing the chapter, lol. @_@
BOOK 1: IN SEARCH OF THE AVATAR
CHAPTER 2: DISCOVERIES AND REDISCOVERIES
THE CHARACTERS INVOLVED
in order of their rankings
THE SCENARIO
An hour later, Sokka, Katara, and Toph found themselves leading Appa through the thick forests of the Spirit World.
"Are you sure you don't want to ride on Appa, Toph?" Katara said, looking back at the blind girl.
Toph stumbled, then replied snappily as she regained her balance, "I can manage on my own, thank-you-very-much." She brushed off her clothes absently before turning to face the wrong direction. Katara sighed and gently placed a hand on Toph's arm.
"Toph, why don't you just get on Appa. I'm sure it won't be long before we find Aang."
Toph shook her head and crossed her arms. "I'll manage."
Suddenly, Sokka stopped, and Katara narrowly avoided colliding into him.
"What-?"
"Shh," Sokka said, placing a finger over his lips. "I thought I heard something."
Katara and Toph stopped; Appa stilled himself and quieted his breathing. Sure enough, a few moments later, another rustle came from up ahead. Sokka carefully drew out his boomerang so as to not make a sound. Without warning, a pink blur flashed out from behind a tree and sent Katara toppling to the ground. Katara fumbled with her water skin and unscrewed it before waving her hand; too late, she realized that she couldn't bend and cursed under her breath. From the other direction came Azula; Sokka raised his boomerang and fended her off.
"What's going on?" Toph said, and Sokka grunted as he pushed Azula off.
"It's Azula and that other girl," he growled.
"My name's Ty Lee," she said, frowning, before smiling and adding, "Cutie."
"Can't have you interfering with our search," Azula said as she sparred with Sokka, who looked torn between hitting a girl and defending his life. "I already took care of Uncle-and now it's time for you."
Toph let out a yelp as Ty Lee knocked her over. But as Toph fell, a strange expression came on her face. She let out another high-pitched yip sound, her ears straining, before a grin began to spread over her face.
"Fabulous," she murmured before she kicked Ty Lee off. She continued letting out high-pitched yips at regular intervals as she went through the moves of earthbending, fending off Ty Lee. After a few moments of intense battle, Ty Lee lay on all fours, panting on the ground, as Toph stood triumphantly over her. Appa picked up Azula by the collar of her shirt and threw her a little ways away, eliciting a shriek from the princess. Realization dawned on Sokka's face.
"Echolocation!" he said quickly.
"Echolo-what?" Toph replied, and Sokka shook his head.
"Nothing-just keep making those... weird yips. You'll be fine!"
*
Meanwhile...
Ursa frowned as she stood before Ozai, her arms crossed over her chest. Zuko kneeled by Iroh, checking his pulse and his breathing.
"He's okay," he said shakily. Song bit her lip, her hands clasped in her lap as she kneeled beside him. Zuko sighed and looked at Song before saying briefly, "Thanks..."
"Why didn't you tell me that you were-?" she began, but she was cut off by Ursa's angry voice.
"How could you raise your daughter-our daughter-like that?" she yelled, gesturing at Iroh. "Stooping so low as to hurt one from her own family-how could you!"
Ozai remained silent.
"I did this all for your sake," Ursa said, tears in her eyes. "I disguised myself; I fled the Fire Nation; I went into hiding in the Earth Kingdom-all for the sake of our children and the future of the Fire Nation. And you raise-her-to be such a bloodthirsty, cruel child?" She bit her lip, then said: "Just like you."
"I raised Azula to be a conquerer, a winner," Ozai said simply. Ursa's gaze was filled with fiery malice.
"And what are you saying? That Zuko's a loser because he actually cares?"
Ozai gave her a cold look. "Yes."
Crack.
Song gasped as Zuko tensed. Ozai's head was turned, his cheek red with the mark of Ursa's palm. Ursa crossed her arms again, her chin up as she looked down at Ozai.
"And what are you going to do now?" she hissed. "You can't bend here. You can't do anything." She turned and walked back to Zuko, Song, and Iroh, then faced him again. She said softly: "Who will win now?"
*
Meanwhile...
Bumi snorted and chuckled as he held up a writhing bug.
"Very delicious," he said, giggling. "This grub-it's a little-known Earth Kingdom delicacy!"
Without another word, Long Feng turned and walked away, disgusted.
Aha... That was much longer than I expected/intended. -_-; I mean, I want to make it so that the events are somewhat believable; at the same time, this is an icontest, not a fanfic contest, so... lol. Anyway!
THE CHALLENGE
As you can see, there were lots of conflicts in this chapter. Therefore, your icon must have something to do with fighting or a battle. Icons may include bending in this round, as it's fairly critical for battles in the Avatar universe ;) It can be a physical battle, internal battle, whatever. Just make sure that it's conveyed clearly, otherwise people might not get it.
Your icon may not be peaceful. This means no screencaps featuring meditation (unless it is disturbed in a way that fits the theme), pastel colors, peaceful words, or elegant script fonts (grungy script fonts are okay, though, as are Gothic fonts). I'll let you know if your icon feels too peaceful. :)
HOW TO SUBMIT
Submit all icons to this screened post in the following manner:
URL: http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l173/hliconchallenge/atla_battle/userpic.png
Name of the character you play
REMEMBER:
■ One icon per iconmaker.
■ Icons must fit LJ standards: 100x100 or smaller; 40kB or smaller.
■ Icons may not feature fanart, contain excessive vulgarity, use bases made by someone else, or be plagiarized. In addition to that, icons must be made fresh for the challenge.
■ Icons do not have to contain the character that you play. They can if you want to, though.
■ Do not advertise or use your icon until after the entire challenge has been concluded. This way, your identity remains anonymous.
Icons are due on Friday, May 4 at 7:00PM PST. Have fun!
In the future, please don't ask me if your icon was okay or if it fits the theme. ^^ Just check the sidebar; if it's been approved, your ID will disappear from it. Give it about a day to be approved, seeing how, with all my exams coming up, I'm not sure if I can be very prompt.
Also, you may have noticed that I didn't include your notes in the voting like what I do at avatar_hush. This is because I feel that, if your icon is successful, it should be able to speak for itself and shouldn't have to rely on outside notes. :) That way, it's fair for everyone.
*goes off to finish homework*
- hl