tushanshu | Video 002: Update

[There's a Toph on the screen resting her feet up on the desk, grinning and looking . . . well, smug. Definitely pleased with herself.]

[And . . . older?]

[Must be the light, right? Her bangs seem longer, though. Heavier. Even more prone to falling across her eyes. And her face just has a slightly different weight to it that's hard to explain.]

[Grin is completely the same, though. Some things just don't change.]

Hey, I'm back!

I guess technically I never left, and most of you didn't know I was gone in the first place. [Her grin widens.] Whatever. I feel like I'm back, and that's the point.

If you're wondering [(And yes, she hopes you are.)], basically I did the whole "go home through the Dreaming" thing where you don't really go home, but you get to live out what happens in your world just like you're there. Pretty good stuff. Found out a few things.

Basic rundown:

The war? We kicked butt. Stopped the Fire Lord, saved the world from looming destruction, all of that. I started up a school for metalbending. Started with just a few students, but now it's really taking off. Have to expand the place when I've got the time and the money.

Everything's in a lot better place now, even if it's still pretty much a mess, so can concentrate a lot better on this place. [Can that grin get any wider?] Plus I've got the metalbending to back things up.

[And yes, she'd love to show it off -- how did you guess?]

((ooc: Toph has officially been canon updated to the beginning of The Rift and is feeling a lot better. Age is now approximately 15.))

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You went back home... but you... didn't?

[The lightness doesn't fade in her tone whatsoever.]

Pretty much.

Your body stays here. Basically, you're asleep. And your mind is off experiencing whatever you were supposed to be doing at home through the Dreaming. So it's like you're there -- just not.

Your body catches up with it, too. I was thirteen before. Like . . . days ago. However long it's been, anyway.

[ Casey's not bothered by the lightness. Just confused by all this weird everything here. ]

A dream within a dream? The more I hear about this place, the more confusing it gets...

Actually, we're pretty clear on the "not a dream" bit. So just one dream inside a reality that kind of sucks sometimes.

Generally halfway decent, though, when something isn't sinking or exploding or invading.

Are... are all of those happening at once?

[ Because Casey's heard about the sinking, but exploding and invading? why ]

[Wow, kid. Nervous much? Reminds her of one of her own students, anticipating doom at any given moment.]

[. . . She doesn't give him a lot of patience with such things either.]

Well, the Chihuelans just left, so the invading is pretty much done for now. And exploding hasn't happened for a while, so.

Just sinking, so we're pretty good.

Don't count on it too much, though.

[So helpful, Toph.]

[ You ain't seen nothin' yet, Toph. They've got an iron will when it comes to medical things... but really not much else. This whole thing is freaky, okay? ]

I've heard about the sinking... This whole thing just keeps getting better and better.

[Oh, she knows. Just . . . what is life without trolling the newbies a little bit?]

[But her voice tempers, losing some of the brassier edge. We won't say it softens, but you know. Closer.]

You've got two choices here. You can flail around or get pissed off or whatever. I've tried that one. It doesn't work. At the end of the day, you're pissed off and you're still here.

Or you can accept that even though it's stupid and freaky and probably any other word you can come up with, you're stuck here for a while. You take your breaks when you can get them, make whatever life you can when you can, and keep moving.

Well, wouldn't you say it's a good idea to figure out what's going on first before you try moving forward? There's just a lot that seems to be different between where I'm from and here.

[Cleaning her ear with a pinky.]

I figured that was a given. My advice was more to not freak out about whatever you find . . . because in the end, it's not going to matter how you feel about it anyway. Mr. Flippers keeps doing whatever.

[Typical non-gentle, blunt Toph advice: Relax, kid. Things will be fine in the end. The world keeps moving and behaving as you don't expect it to -- flow with it.]

[She knows he won't follow it right away -- if he chooses to follow it at all. But she'll still offer it. It's the only way she's discovered how to survive.]

Mr. Flippers... Asti?

[ That's the name Casey was given, anywho. ]

Yeah, I suppose you're right. I-I guess it's just my unfamiliarity talking...

That'd be him. Tu Vishan, if you're feeling formal. I'm usually not.

[Actually, that's a "pretty much never."]

So Mr. Flippers it is.

How long have you been here, anyway?

Um, about two days. It sounds like you've been here a lot longer.

Working on two years. Unless you count the year I was apparently nowhere.

Still kind of ticked off about that one.

Apparently nowhere? [ Two years is a long time, but a missing year entirely? ] What does that mean?

It means I went to sleep one night, and when I woke up, it was a year later.

Before you ask, no, it's not like that "just happens." Not to most people, anyway. So you're probably fine.

Um...

Did you ever find out what caused that?

Nope.

[Still so helpful, Toph.]

That's that part I mentioned about Mr. Flippers doing whatever.

Video 002: Update

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