002 - Video

[dustonmyfeet]

[The feed flickers on to Toph in a swivel chair, idly twisting back and forth as she talks. Restlessness is plain in her features. Her tone is wry.]

Okay, so. Since I seem to keep getting questions about it, if you couldn't tell, I'm blind. [She illustrates this by waving a hand in front of her face.] Yep, that means I can't see anything. Complete darkness. All of that. Ooooooh.

[She leans back, looking especially wry.] So if we can get past the incredible magic blind girl thing now, I've got a question.

Normally I have a way I can "see" through my feet, but with the turtle on the fritz, that's not working, and I'm not just going to sit around and pick my toes whenever Mr. Flippers decides he's got a head cold.

I need someone -- or a couple people, I don't care -- who know how to fight blind. I'm a fast learner, and I know how to move, so teaching me isn't going to be a problem.

Only complication? You have to come here. I'm at Korra's in the Metal sector. She's currently out saving the world or something, and I'm not getting run over trying to reach you. She's got the space here, so it shouldn't be a problem.

Comments

You're fine. ;P Welcome back!

[dustonmyfeet]

[Yes, in some ways it probably could have been good to clear up the nature of the two Leos . . . but most likely it was something that would still come across at some point. For the moment Toph accepts that they are able to teach her, and if she questions what they are, she figures that for the moment it either doesn't matter or isn't her business.]

[Meanwhile, though, Leonardo doesn't need to worry -- Toph actually smiles again at his request. It's action; she can show off something she's good at rather than talk about what she isn't or is currently lacking.]

Okay, then. [And she crosses a bit more towards the center of the mats, giving herself space.]

[She begins in a low, guarded stance, knees bent, her features taking on an absolute focus. It's as though in that moment she could see and hear everything, react to anything.]

[For a long moment she holds it, breathing in and out. And then she moves. The movements of her hands and feet are sharp, defined, each movement in its place and no movement wasted. Earthbending consists of the strong, grounded stances and actions similar to the Hung Ga kung fu style. It does not flow like the other styles of bending; instead, it demands, wresting obedience from its element. Toph is plainly strong and fast; her delicate appearance is indeed an illusion. In her bending, she is all that one would not expect from a tiny girl -- tough, unyielding, and absolutely competent.]

[Both Leos may easily be able to see earthbending's relation to martial arts -- though unlike martial arts, it rarely contains movements that indicate direct contact. Although bending requires learned movements and stances, it is psychokinetic. Primarily the only contact they will see -- a suddenly exposed palm as though to stop a rock aimed for the chest, for example -- are defensive.]

[Toph snorts, coming to an end.] . . . It doesn't have the same kind of effect without the rock actually doing anything. I'm betting it probably looks like some kind of weird dance. But if I'd actually been doing it inside, this place would either be pretty torn up or completely wrecked -- and the street with it.

welcome back, bb <33

[duelkatana]

[Toph starts moving. And Leonardo can't help the smile that stretches his face.]

[Her motions are strong. Within moments, he can see the clear influences of Hung Ga in her movements - the strong footing, purposeful motions, and pure strength behind every movement, commanding the world around her. He imagines this must be quite a sight when the power's working properly; even without the rocks flying around, the raw power in every motion she makes is wholly impressive.]

[He can see, too, where it differs from the martial arts of his world. There are palm thrusts that seem to indicate strikes, but the follow-ups are more often defensive than offensive; points of aggressive contact seem far and few in-between. She's also tightly grounded, rarely shifting position on the mat, which further drives home the unyielding nature of her style.]

[All in all, he believes her when she says that the place would be totaled. She may be small, but the power in her movements just now was no laughing matter. And it's definitely something they can work with.]

Seems like it's heavily based on the Hung Ga style... with some influences of Chu Gar. [He looks towards the younger ninja in the room, tilting his head in an invitation for his input. Leonardo may be the sensei here, but he's more than happy to hear what his double might have to say.] What do you think?

haha <3 I need to stop apologizing.

[anything_it_takes]

[Leo's grinning too. Any of Toph's earlier tentativeness regarding her surroundings is gone, replaced by a strength and confidence of movement that most sighted people would envy.

What does he think? Well, big Leo's style evaluation is spot-on, so there's not much more to contribute on that front. Instead he offers his foremost impression:]

I think all we really need to do is show her how to find the guy and where to hit him. Replace that palm strike with a fist and they definitely won't be coming back for more.

[It will be a little more complicated than that, naturally; with her build, she will need more fluid movements to contend with an opponent's greater weight and strength. Toph is incredibly strong, competent and fast, but the fact is most people looking for an easy victim will have a significant height and weight advantage. Taking that directly head-on is a losing proposition – luckily, the two ninjas in the room are experts in force redirection; it's a cornerstone of both ninjutsu technique and philosophy.

But she has more than enough strength and control to hit somebody where it hurts hard enough to floor them for a significant amount of combat time, at the very least.]

Her footwork is strong too. It wouldn't be hard to turn those into sweeps. [Toph's firm grounding and low center of balance are definite strengths, which means she can exploit any opponent's comparative weakness in those areas.]

It doesn't look weird, by the way. More like a strength-building kata.