[he glances around a bit, seeing how people at other tables are holding their cue sticks, before giving it a try himself. he lines up a couple of shots unsuccessfully then manages to sink a ball. he's getting used to it.]
This isn't so bad. Just simple angles and momentum.
[ She really had thought that. Teasing aside, Toph isn't going to set someone up for failure unless they have it coming or they're a student. She wouldn't do that to a friend. ]
Now put them all on the table and see if you can only sink the ones with stripes on 'em.
[ Perhaps it's becoming obvious why Toph needs a partner for this game. She's aware of the rules behind pool because she'd lurked and listened long enough, but it's not like she can tell which ones have stripes and which don't. ]
I just have to act like a clueless little girl for a few minutes and I can get someone to explain anything to me, [ Toph points out with a careless shrug. ]
They're supposed to go in number order, smallest to largest.
[ Toph laughs a little. ] Right?! If they're gonna fall for it, they deserve it.
[ That's her general mentality, anyway. She kicks her feet lightly like a little kid as she listens to Kakashi practicing. ]
Okay, so the way this works is that we have to lose sometimes. You just do your best and be yourself and I'll fix everything, including making it believable.
[ Sure enough, Toph lets him play a few games completely unaided, taking the part of clueless bored sibling hanging around to spectate. She'd practiced it with Shinjiro last time and there's no reason to change it now.
After a few rounds, she rubs her hands together eagerly. ] Ready to start cleaning up?
[ Kakashi may get more of a tutorial on effective cheating than on effective pool playing with what follows. This is far from Toph's first rodeo, and it doesn't take more than a shift of her foot, maybe a light tap against the ground under the table, to make a pool ball roll the way she wants it. Doing it subtly and fooling people is what makes it entertaining for her. Sometimes shots Kakashi narrowly misses sink anyway, sometimes the opponent's shots slimly avoid their intended target.
About an hour or two later, Toph decides to call it quits while the quitting's good and slaps Kakashi heartily on the back. ]
Wow, you got really good at this! [ she says cheerfully, in her long-suffering sibling persona. ] Let's trade these in and do something to celebrate.
Noodle soup I can do. [ She doesn't know ramen specifically, but there's about a million versions of noodle soup back home.
Toph sets off, exchanging their chips for cash and getting a little more introspective by the time they're outside. Having fun with Kakashi helped settle her nerves, and her thoughts, and she feels ready to maybe talk about something that's been bothering her. ]
Hey... did you get involved at all when that snake spirit got her organs stolen? And there was this cursed miasma everywhere?
Yeah, I looked with Miller. ... You and Rusty okay now? What kind of sick was it?
[ This is actually exactly what she wanted to talk about, but Toph edges her way into it, wanting to make sure she doesn't make this out to be a big deal. ]
I had to check into the clinic for a bit, but it turned out okay. I don't usually get sick so it was kinda weird...
[he seems to ponder her question.]
It was just like everything stopped working right. Aches all over, my nose wouldn't stop running, I had a pretty bad cough. Wouldn't want to do it again.
[ She pauses, a little hesitant, her stride slowing to a normal person's pace instead of Toph's usual no-holds-barred march down the street. ]
Miller and I were fighting all these snakes, and as they died they released more of the miasma, and it's like I got... I don't know, dosed all at once or something.
[ She hadn't even considered that, and the idea makes her disgruntled. Toph doesn't typically use denial as a coping mechanism, but it's seriously tempting to pretend that could never happen again. ]
My bending was fine, it was just... I lost control for a second. [ Her voice turns quieter, more introspective than normal. ] I never lose control.
I don't get out of control because I get upset, [ Toph huffs, miffed at the implication but not really able to refute it given that she'd been the one to bring it up and suggest it. It's true that she would not like being overwhelmed with emotion to the point that she acted on impulse, but that wasn't exactly what happened... ]
It's like -- I was fighting, and everything was fine, I was handling everything like normal, and then it felt so easy to do something I wouldn't normally do.
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expiationlogs2024-04-14 10:44 pm
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[he glances around a bit, seeing how people at other tables are holding their cue sticks, before giving it a try himself. he lines up a couple of shots unsuccessfully then manages to sink a ball. he's getting used to it.]
This isn't so bad. Just simple angles and momentum.
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[ She really had thought that. Teasing aside, Toph isn't going to set someone up for failure unless they have it coming or they're a student. She wouldn't do that to a friend. ]
Now put them all on the table and see if you can only sink the ones with stripes on 'em.
[ Perhaps it's becoming obvious why Toph needs a partner for this game. She's aware of the rules behind pool because she'd lurked and listened long enough, but it's not like she can tell which ones have stripes and which don't. ]
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[he says drily as he starts gathering balls to the table.]
Do they just...go randomly, or?...
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They're supposed to go in number order, smallest to largest.
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[he jests, he jests. he starts methodically knocking balls around, mostly getting them into the pockets.]
I don't know how your plan is going to pan out, though. Knowing my luck the first mark you sucker into a game will be some kind of shark.
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[ That's her general mentality, anyway. She kicks her feet lightly
like a little kidas she listens to Kakashi practicing. ]Okay, so the way this works is that we have to lose sometimes. You just do your best and be yourself and I'll fix everything, including making it believable.
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[he's a little dubious, but not that much so. toph is pretty incredible, after all.]
I think I'm as practiced as I'm gonna get. Not promising to win my first game or anything.
timeskip?
[ Toph hops down off the table. ]
We'll play a few games where I don't do anything. It'll help you get the hang of it so when you start winning it makes sense.
sure!
[he's not sure how she plans to cheat at pool, but he knows better than to underestimate her.]
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After a few rounds, she rubs her hands together eagerly. ] Ready to start cleaning up?
[ Kakashi may get more of a tutorial on effective cheating than on effective pool playing with what follows. This is far from Toph's first rodeo, and it doesn't take more than a shift of her foot, maybe a light tap against the ground under the table, to make a pool ball roll the way she wants it. Doing it subtly and fooling people is what makes it entertaining for her. Sometimes shots Kakashi narrowly misses sink anyway, sometimes the opponent's shots slimly avoid their intended target.
About an hour or two later, Toph decides to call it quits while the quitting's good and slaps Kakashi heartily on the back. ]
Wow, you got really good at this! [ she says cheerfully, in her long-suffering sibling persona. ] Let's trade these in and do something to celebrate.
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[ah kakashi, dry as always. but he smirks as he says it.]
Celebrate? Like what?
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[ True sign of Toph friendship: sharing the credit. ]
I don't know, what do you usually do for fun when you aren't living in the woods?
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[ She's still waiting for an answer to that!! ]
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[he normally just eats stuff like stir fry carry out back home but he doesn't even know if that's a thing here!]
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Toph sets off, exchanging their chips for cash and getting a little more introspective by the time they're outside. Having fun with Kakashi helped settle her nerves, and her thoughts, and she feels ready to maybe talk about something that's been bothering her. ]
Hey... did you get involved at all when that snake spirit got her organs stolen? And there was this cursed miasma everywhere?
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[rusty being, of course, his personal dog. that's not to speak of the dogs he found on the street that were suffering.]
Did you?
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[ This is actually exactly what she wanted to talk about, but Toph edges her way into it, wanting to make sure she doesn't make this out to be a big deal. ]
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[he seems to ponder her question.]
It was just like everything stopped working right. Aches all over, my nose wouldn't stop running, I had a pretty bad cough. Wouldn't want to do it again.
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[ She pauses, a little hesitant, her stride slowing to a normal person's pace instead of Toph's usual no-holds-barred march down the street. ]
Miller and I were fighting all these snakes, and as they died they released more of the miasma, and it's like I got... I don't know, dosed all at once or something.
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Did you lose your senses again?
[that's the only thing he could think of that would make her pause like that.]
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[ She hadn't even considered that, and the idea makes her disgruntled. Toph doesn't typically use denial as a coping mechanism, but it's seriously tempting to pretend that could never happen again. ]
My bending was fine, it was just... I lost control for a second. [ Her voice turns quieter, more introspective than normal. ] I never lose control.
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[he has a feeling toph wouldn't appreciate being overwhelmed by emotion.]
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It's like -- I was fighting, and everything was fine, I was handling everything like normal, and then it felt so easy to do something I wouldn't normally do.
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[to put it plainly, that sucks.]
How long did the effect last?
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thread wrap and move to new thread??