[open] Day 215 - outside the Forge

[tophgirl]

Who: Toph & you!
Open: Open
When: 215, afternoon
Where: Outside the Forge
What: With her bending limited, Toph is looking for another way to fight.
Format: Will match!
Warnings: Excessive levels of awesome from Toph...err...I mean... none.


It's taken Toph a few days to come to terms with the fact that there are ridiculous limitations on her bending. She's tested and retested them, trying to see where she can push it, but everything leads to the same inevitable conclusion. Her bending is limited.

So what's she going to do about it? No way is she going to accept just sitting around and helping out with little odds and ends in this place. She wants to be out on that Skyway, kicking ass and maybe finding Aang, Katara, and Sokka. She needs to find some way of fighting that plays to her strengths without relying on her bending...which probably means learning to fight with a weapon. If Sokka could do it, it can't be that hard.

The question then is — what kind of weapon should she get? Which is how she ends up outside the Forge that afternoon, examining weapons and trying to determine what would work best for her.

Comments

[windgod]

[Oh yeah...it might behoove him to remember that not everyone came from the same world as him.]

Oh, uh...think of it like...hand to hand fighting where all you can do is punch and dodge.

[To emphasize his point, Ippo hopped up onto the balls of his feet and threw a few jabs; each one lashing out fast enough to cause an audible snap in the air.]

[tophgirl]

[Good strength. Terrible form for earthbending, but the way he's moving on his feet reminds her a little of Aang. As does the mention of dodging.]

That's not fighting. That's dancing.

[windgod]

Dancing?

[The quip took Ippo out of his groove and he planted his feet on the ground, sounding confused but also understanding the divide in their cultures might be an issue here.]

Well...I suppose some aspects are like dancing, but its a lot more involved that that. It takes a lot of timing and an understanding of how to properly apply force, just dancing around the ring doesn't really serve a purpose. Well...here, let me show you instead.

[Ippo wasn't too well versed in explaining things verbally, but one thing he could do was show what he could do; thankfully, there was a wooden training dummy someone had set up out here to test weapons on and Ippo figured it was as good a thing to demonstrate his point.

In a flash, he was back up on the balls of his feet and his arms were held in front of his face as he took his stance, his eyes barely peeking over the edges of his fist as he began to sway his shoulders ever so slightly.]

*BAM*

[His first jab came out hard, rocking the dummy where it stood rooted as Ippo's fist slammed into it and pushed off, sending the energy from his blow back through is arm and back down into his core as he began to turn with the momentum and send his other fist slamming hard into the dummy's side where the ribs would be on a normal human.]

*BAM*

[His hook hit even harder, denting and splintering the wood underneath his bare hand as the dummy's rod threatened to tear itself from the ground. Once again, Ippo pushed off of his strike, dropping down into a slight crouch and rolling his body with the momentum as he came back up, sending everything he'd built up along with the tension he'd amassed as if someone had snapped a rubber band holding him back.]

*CRASH*

[His fist slammed into the solid wood head of the dummy with devastating force, crushing half of it outright as a visible stream of air came out the other side. The sheer force of the strike finally tore the dummy out of the ground and sent it spinning a few times before it slammed into the ground with a violent thud.

With his demonstration done, Ippo lowered himself out of his boxing stance and turned back to Toph, a little sheepish towards the fact that he felt he'd overdone things just a little bit.]

Whoops...I think I overdid it a little, but I hope that helps explain boxing a little better.

[tophgirl]

[Toph was, despite herself, a little impressed. Just a little. There was no denying this guy packed some serious power, even if his style looked ridiculous. (Toph continued to have an instinctive distaste for any fighting style that didn't keep the feet solidly rooted to the ground.)]

I bet you're a big hit in the ballroom.

[Sorry, Ippo — once she's latched onto an idea, she doesn't let go of it. Ever.]

So you can use this little dance routine on the Skyway?

[windgod]

[Well...apparently it wasn't impressive enough a display to separate Boxing from Dancing, but at the very least he'd given it his best.]

Actually, it's a lot more effective out on the Skyway. I function best inside my opponents personal space, so I haven't had any problems so far getting into a proper rhythm; the quarters are usually pretty tight, so it works well enough.

[tophgirl]

Guess I can get that. What types of monsters do you go up against?

[windgod]

Hmm...there's a few of them out there that I've run into. Squirts are pretty common, they come in packs and move really fast; they're pretty easy to put down but their numbers make them a problem sometimes. Gasfellas are also pretty common, you've probably seen a few yourself; big, mean guys with orange hoods and hammers...they even come in giant sizes!

[He's totally making a wide gesture with his arms for emphasis.]

Then there are Peckers...kinda like squirts, only birds and twice as annoying. Scumbags are less common...big, bloated looking things that smell like rotted fruit, I've only seen one of them myself. That...about covers what I've seen, there's probably a lot more out there I haven't though.

[tophgirl]

[Mot of the time, Toph enjoys the fact that many people don't immediately notice she's blind. She also gets a real kick about needling people about it. But there's always a thread of genuine irritation.]

Oh yeah, I've seen those. They're AMAZING! [Can you sense the dripping sarcasm? Can you identify its source?]

[windgod]

[At first, Ippo interpreted the remark as genuine amazement...after all, if this had been the first time she'd ever seen a creature like that, wouldn't it be fantastical?

Then the sarcasm hit him. He stopped for a moment and really took the time to give Toph a real look...]

O..oh my you're...I apologize! I had no idea!

[Much like the loveable idiot he is, he knee jerked into a full on bow as he gave his apology...some things never changed.]

[tophgirl]

You didn't "see" that I was blind? [Isn't she hilarious?]

[windgod]

Not at all! You moved so naturally that it just didn't occur to me, again, I apologize if I offended you.

[You can stop the prolonged bow Ippo...I mean it's a habit but this is just embarrassing.]

[tophgirl]

Apology accepted. [So magnanimous. You should feel honored by her generous forgiveness, or so her tone says.] A lot of people who can "see" don't actually see a lot. They're so distracted by whatever that they miss the details.