[OPEN] earth rumble yeaaaaa

[barefootbender]

Date & Time: Monday, March 18, 2:00 pm
Location: a small open area wedged between buildings just outside the Hold.
Characters: Toph Beifong (barefootbender) and you!
Summary: There was quite a lot of interest in Toph's earthbending, and she isn't going to pass up a chance to show off to everyone! Toph puts out a message to the network telling people where to go if they want to see (or if they wanna challenge her!), and everyone is invited. Snarkiness, blind jokes and amazing earthkaratemagic ensue. (Either prose or brackets are fine.)
Warnings: none anticipated


[Around lunchtime on March 18, the following video message is posted to the network:]

HELLO, fellow Transports! Today's your lucky day! I, Toph Beifong, greatest earthbending master who ever lived, teacher of Avatar Aang, have decided to take out some time to display my talent for the curious. I know some of you that I talked to a coupla weeks ago wanted to see, so here's your chance.

And more specifically... I'm gonna take some challengers! So if you think you can take me on, let's go! I'd like to see you try.

[The camera swings away from her face and down at the floor, where there's an incredibly intricate and detailed model of the streets outside of the hold, that appears to be made out of rock. A little stone figure of Toph is standing in an open area about 5 minutes away from the apartments.]

I found a little bit of space, so come to this spot. I'll be ready at about 2 pm.

A.

Toph told everyone 2 pm because she wanted a little time to get this area ready. It's actually pretty small, so it's really not ideal for the kind of enormous show she'd like to put on for everyone, but it'll do. As far as she can tell through her feet, this city stretches on for miles and miles and miles. It's amazing, really - even bigger than Ba Sing Se, and Ba Sing Se was enormous - and unlike Ba Sing Se, the earth below is almost entirely covered in rock and metal over that entire expanse of city. It's pretty crazy, this future stuff.

If you get there early enough, or maybe if you just happen to come across her, you'll find her lounging on the ground eating instant ramen out of a styrofoam cup, or squashing back down her "map," or clearing out chunks of broken asphalt and cinder block by sending them to the tops of the surrounding buildings with a swipe of her fist. She seems pretty focused on these little tasks.

B.

At 2 pm, whether people are there or not, she's ready. It's time for some exercise after sitting around for two weeks. She stretches, does some push ups and sit ups, and finally plants her feet flat on the ground. Thrusting her arms forward, a sheet of rock suddenly sprouts from the ground, and she turns about 30 degrees and does it again, until there's a ring around her.

Whether you just want her to show you some tricks, or you want to challenge her, it's best to just walk up and announce yourself!

...Otherwise you might get a sidelong, suspicious glance from her as she waits for you to say something, especially if you're a stranger or someone she's never met in person.

Comments

A

[priad]

A metal clad giant watches her, the only sound the buzzing of his powered armor as he shifts slightly, watching her motions. Eventually, he clumps heavily towards her, and rumbles in a voice a little too deep to be entirely human.

"I'll confess to being curious as to what you're about."

That's about all she gets as a greeting, the gunmetal figure looking her up and down thoughtfully. Mostly, Priad is just curious what the tiny little girl will do.

[barefootbender]

Thankfully for this big metal guy, Toph is already aware of the existence of enormous metal people - you can thank a certain Transformer for that. That fact, that's who she thinks it is when she senses him approaching from yards and yards away down the street.

But when he talks and it's not the same voice, it makes her stop and look at him. Even though she can't see, her expression of surprise isn't any different, eyes wide and eyebrows up.

"Huh? There are more of you??"

But he's kinda different from Wing. He's not entirely made out of metal. Her surprise twists into confusion as she listens for him to explain himself.

[priad]

"More of my kind? No, I am the only Space Marine in this place." He shakes his head, opening and closing his hand, which is accompanied by more metallic whirring.

Indeed he is not the same as Wing, Priad is mostly flesh beneath his armor, with no major augmetic replacement parts. He's posthuman, but still... human enough, for an 8 foot tall being.

"I've heard briefly about bending before. From a... student of mine, you might say. But I haven't se..." He notices her eyes, and says in a softer voice, "I haven't observed it."

[barefootbender]

[Toph doesn't get what he means at all, and he's still sounds more like Wing than an actual person. But she does pick up on that awkwardly avoided usage of the word "see." Well, at least he's trying to be considerate, even if he basically failed at it.

Smiling sarcastically, she crosses her arms and turns her body so she's facing him.]

That's funny. I've never observed it either!

A.

[innominata]

[ The girl watches Toph toss the rubble away for a moment before speaking up. ]

How do you do that?

Re: A.

[barefootbender]

[looks like she nabbed the attention of a passerby. Toph hurls another chunk up before turning towards the voice and dusting her hands off.]

Earthbending. Man, nobody knows about bending here, do they.

[innominata]

That doesn't look like any sort of bending.

[barefootbender]

[duh. jeez. maybe this one's a local and not a transport.]

Not literal bending, that's just what it's called. Well, I guess in the case of metal I could actually bend that.

A

[chore_boy]

Coby had always been one to appreciate exhibitions--there had always been a few Marines inspired to fight with one another for the sake of petty things and important things alike. Duels were not uncommon, especially not if even Admirals could partake in them. He stood out and watched Toph clear the area for her ring, adjusting the set of his saber so he could get into the habit of feeling it out.

Given her abilities, he wasn't certain how many people would actually be able to trump her. Whatever Devil Fruit she ate, he was certain it was a paramecia, though. His needless jargon and terminology would be vastly appreciated by only a handful of people.

[barefootbender]

Toph is busy pacing around in a half-squat stance, her footsteps slowly flattening the ground around her as she walked, when she calls out to the creepy guy silently watching her for the past few minutes.

"You gonna say anything, swordman?"

[chore_boy]

"Not really," Coby responded patiently, watching with each step as the girl altered the ground around her. Though, it wasn't exactly passive. She seemed to have to perform gestures of her body, however minute, to actually do all of it. It would still prove to be daunting to someone unacquainted with it at all, though.

"I'm here to observe--and, to remind you to clean up when you're done."

B

[controlledvariable]

[Geokinesis isn't entirely new to her, but it's still novel enough to catch her attention, which is why Steph suits up and heads out to the area Toph advertised.

She arrives early, but finds a spot on a nearby building, perching still and silent while Toph demonstrates to the gathered crowd and spars with any volunteers. It isn't until the crowd thins out that Batgirl jumps down to ground level. Her footfalls are light, nigh silent, despite the heavy boots; you can't sneak up on Batman without being light on your feet.]

Is earthbending common where you're from?

[She hasn't decided whether she wants to try sparring with the girl - it's definitely a possibility, hence the suit rather than civvies - so for now she's just going to indulge her curiosity.]

[barefootbender]

[Toph is waving goodbye to an audience member when she notices that the person who had been strangely perched on top of a building overlooking the area had moved. Of course, there was no way for Toph to know what the person had been doing up there, but the fact that they were up there at all, and for so long, was very conspicuous.

So combining the movement of this strange person off of the rooftop with the strangely light footsteps that followed on the ground behind her, it wasn't hard to reach the assumption that it was the same person. Whoa... you're giving her Airbender vibes, Batgirl.

Toph turns around to face the voice, pretty curious at this point.]

Yep, the Earth Kingdom's the biggest of the four nations. There are a lot of Earthbenders. Is creeping around buildings common on yours?

[controlledvariable]

[There's a brief moment of surprise at that question, and it quickly turns into Steph being impressed that the girl noticed her presence on the roof.]

Depends on the sort of crowd you run with. [It's a slightly evasive answer, but true enough. She's gotten used to talk to people who come from worlds where vigilantes aren't a common thing, but it can still be jarring.]

You must've started young, if you're already the greatest earthbending master. [She sounds a little amused, but not sceptical. She knows Damian Wayne, after all, he's got far more skills than a ten year old should have.]

B

[courageous_wit]

Hermione was looking forward to seeing earthbending. Aside from Korra, there weren't any benders left in Paradisa. She was grateful Toph was willing to demonstrate. She arrived by foot, not wanting to startle the blind girl with the loud crack of an Apparation.

"Hello, Toph," she greeted the girl pleasantly. "It's Hermione."

[barefootbender]

Toph visibly brightened up when she heard the voice. "Hermoine!" It was maybe the one person she really wanted to come! Sure, they don't really know each other yet, but if Hermoine was gonna teach her a special way to read, she had to be nice.

She stepped out of the ring she made to jog over to her eagerly. "Hi! Um, how are you?"

[courageous_wit]

"I'm doing well." She held out her hand so Toph could easily touch her. "I'm pleased to finally meet you in person. Your earthbending is amazing."

She never had the chance to meet Toph before now, but she read about the girl. It was nice to put a face to a name.

B.

[scour]

ctsv is on this. He doesn't just challenge people and then completely forget about it! So he's there just shortly before 2pm, quiet, silent, watching her set up the ring -- and attributes her earthbending to magic of some sort. Damn. Ever-changing terrain might be a pain to deal with, but if he's quick enough on his feet, it souldn't matter much.

He scales his way up the wall of the ring until he's right at the top. It takes him a while.

Once there, he cups his hands around his mouth, and shouts as loud as he can.

"Hey! Over here!" ctsv hesitates on how to introduce himself. "It's C. 'c' 't' 's' 'v'."

[barefootbender]

The sudden voice makes Toph jolt and she freezes, waiting and listening carefully for any kind of movement or noise. Where the hell did that come from?! She hadn't felt footsteps or anything that would indicate a person is getting close to her.

But now that a second has passed, she processes the voice. That voice.

Scowling, she turns towards him, flustered at the fact that HE somehow managed to sneak up on HER.

"What the heck! Are you flying or something, noisejerk?!"

[scour]

ctsv can't help but be a little bit pleased by Toph's reaction. She's obviously the flustered one, not him, and that means that he's winning! For now, at least.

ctsv draws one of his tiny thorn-swords and slams it down on the wall he's standing on, leaning nonchalantly upon the hilt.

"Maybe," he says. The word doesn't come out quite as smugly as he'd meant it to, since he still has to shout ensure that his tiny voice can be heard. "You ready to find out? What's the deal? See if I can dodge your... earthbending?"

voice; which I assume will turn into a logged thread ;D

[scalded]

I'm surprised you haven't built yourself an earthbending arena yet.

voice;

[barefootbender]

I've been thinkin' about it.

But if I'm really the only earthbender here, I can't exactly start a new tournament or something.

B!

[invocation]

Kyouko hadn't caught the announcement, but she wanders around enough to know when something's up.

Something is most certainly up. The ground, to be exact. She watches, impressed despite herself, when a rock just shoots out of the air. She knew about magic, of course, but the Puella Magi were more flashy, all bright colors and explosions of light. This was different, and so it was interesting. The girl in the center of the makeshift arena looks younger than her, but there's something about the ease in which she moves that suggests skill and familiarity. Kyouko knows a fellow soldier when she sees one.

"Oi," she calls out. She's carrying a bag of chips, per usual, and talks as she chews. "What are you doing? What kinda magic is that?"

Re: B!

[barefootbender]

Toph feels another person approaching, but it's not until she draws closer and speaks that she pays much attention to her. An older girl by the feel of it, more around Katara's age, but maybe not nearly as stuffy as her.

"It's not magic," she says, with the faint frustration of someone who's had to explain this so many times already. "It's earthbending. Pretty cool, huh?"

Re: B!

[invocation]

"How was I s'posed to know? It looks like magic." She sounds a little put-out, but curiosity wins over her mild annoyance, and she takes a few steps closer.

This girl's eyes. There was something wrong with them, but even she isn't rude enough to comment on such a thing, not at the moment, anyway. Instead: "It's not bad." This is the closest to praise she's going to get for now. "How d'you do it?"