[ oh. very wait and see moment. riku swallows awkwardly, looks away. his own reflection says something cruel about him being so predictably selfish. shut up, he wills it again.
he does, in fact, follow her easily. the mirrors swim with their warped colours, but he gets the sense that she's telling the absolute truth about having the way out secured no problem. ]
I'm Riku. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but that might have to wait until we're outside.
[ Toph is still somewhat ashamed of her actions that day. Even if they weren't fully under her control, affected by the miasma as she'd been, she still feels responsible. A woman had died because she hadn't accounted for the miasma. And she hadn't until then understood how scary she could be, how metalbending could be used for more than cages and sliding down steel buildings if she lost her moral judgment.
She's been working on her mental resilience to status effects since then, so she continues to resolutely ignore any of the sounds from the mirrors as they walk, either hers or Riku's. ]
Yeah, your mirror guy is a huge jerk, [ she says bluntly. ] I don't blame you for smacking him.
[ riku's not the type to pry, but it's difficult to not have a scene like that attach to your impression of a person. given the effects of this space, though, it's kept away from this initial meeting, as he sighs and shakes his head. ]
Yeah, he's always like that. [ even if it isn't always the exact same being, reflecting his mistakes, the statement still stands. ] It's just been a while. Got frustrated.
[ smacking them did seem to be the preferred solution. he glances briefly at the mirrors in this corridor, but the images are too blurry to make out anything distinct for now. ]
Your reflection's a lot quieter. Guess it's different for everyone.
It's probably showing me carving up this giant snake in the most creepy way imaginable, right?
[ Toph huffs and walks a little faster, bare feet smacking the concrete floor decisively as she turns a corner. She realizes belatedly she's going to have to explain her uncertainty over what the mirrors are showing. ]
I'm blind, by the way. I sense things through the earth. [ Riku's getting the short version today -- Toph has given this explanation a lot and she's not in the mood right now to get into it in detail. ] This whole guilt trip is a little lost on me considering I'm just getting the sound effects.
[ riku trails, taking slow strides to maintain pace with toph's shorter legs. her explanation gives him pause - he had sort of worked that out, partly from his own experiences operating primarily with his other senses for nearly a year.
so he hums in acknowledgement, instead of reacting strongly. she's clearly capable, and her power considerable. ]
Sorry mine's so obnoxiously loud. They're not worth paying attention to, anyway.
[ Toph definitely likes the complete non-reaction Riku has to the news that she's blind, which takes some of the irritation out of her swift strides. Fortunately, the maze isn't that huge, and when you know exactly where you're going it doesn't take too long to get to the exit.
They round a corner and there's a door straight ahead of them. ]
Yeah, anybody who needs their mistakes shoved in their face that blatantly to learn them from is a lost cause, anyway.
[ guy who is only coping this well ("coping") ("this well") because this is like the fourth time this has happened.
her swift navigation impresses him, even with the size of the place and the skills she'd explained. it's a heavy door, and while he's got no reservations about her ability to open it, he's still much taller. so he reaches over her head to push it open. ]
Is that why my keyblade disappearing felt creepy? Sensory thing?
[ Toph is from the school of face every problem head on and smash it, and if that strategy doesn't work then she isn't interested. Not to say she doesn't ever do something more subtly -- particularly when it involves tricking people -- but her own personal weaknesses she's unrelenting about addressing.
She doesn't actually mind Riku opening the door for them even if he reaches above her head to do it. He's been chill and respectful of her abilities so far, which means she doesn't need to prove anything. She walks right out into the waning daylight without a thank you. ]
Yeah, basically. I think seeing people are used to their eyes tricking them, but if I'm sensing something, it's there. Rock solid.
Makes sense. It comes and goes when I call to it, so much that it's not really conscious.
[ the grungy twilight isn't the comforting orange he's used to from this time of day, and he squints in distaste as his eyes adjust. there's one last echo of running away again? from his reflection before the door swings closed with a thud. ]
Shut up.
[ uuugh. he pinches the bridge of his nose, quelling the irritation, before looking back to toph. she looks... a lot younger than expected, now they're outside. ]
[ She's about to comment on his relentless pest of a mirror self, but then he asks why she'd helped him and Toph pivots on her bare heel to give him a look of disbelief. ]
Why wouldn't I? You might have needed help. Actually, you did need help.
[ Toph smirks at him. If anything, this hint of pushback makes her like him more. She likes people who both stand up to her and respect her at the same time. ]
Uh-huh. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you needed a little girl to rescue you from the big scary maze.
Yeah yeah, you wouldn't be the first person. I'm like the local totally overkill building cleanup crew.
[ Toph has done a lot of cleaning up and fixing buildings around Aldrip in the past ten months. She doesn't mind it, but she really is overkill. Enjoying being out in the fresh air, she laces her fingers together and stretches her arms out over her head, considering what to do next. ]
You want a burger? That's what I usually do with new people. You seem new.
You're what, twelve? Who gave you a license for working in construction?
[ this is quickly turning into a very silly conversation. ]
A burger sounds great, actually. [ he doesn't remember the last time he'd eaten something like that. coffee and whatever pity food aerith or leon had brought him had practically been his entire diet for weeks before ending up here. ] I am. New, that is.
I'm fourteen, thanks, and nobody gives me a license.
[ She just does what she wants, obviously. Like now, as she takes that as enough of a confirmation and sets off walking toward her favorite burger place, once again figuring Riku will follow. ]
All right, hit me. What are your newbie questions?
[ follow he does, barely masking a laugh with a shake of his head. this kid was something else, and shockingly... really easy to talk to. he missed easy banter like that. ]
A bunch got answered already. The basic idea of the place is annoying and senseless, but the concept of a trap is one I'm pretty familiar with.
[ and might have had a regretful hand in enforcing one of those himself. he presses that memory down again quickly. ]
I am curious about how long everyone's been here. What about you, Toph?
[ Toph is who she is and she isn't waiting for permission or asking for forgiveness. Sometimes that's abrasive, but a lot of the time it's refreshingly straightforward. She's not looking to prove anything and she doesn't mind going out of her way to help people. ]
I think almost a year by now? [ She's not exactly keeping track, but it is her birthday around this time of year so Toph has recently been forced to consider it must be getting close to a year. She'd shown up only a couple months after turning thirteen. ] Don't take the premise too seriously. It's not like they're literally putting us in prison or whatever. Things can suck, but we still have, like, houses and friends and jobs.
[ Toph isn't going to sugar-coat life in Aldrip, but she also comes from a world that recently wrapped up a century-long war, and she's been to Lake Laogai, among other places. She has a real sense of perspective for her age on what constitutes a prison. ]
[ the hum of acknowledgement he gives her is supposed to be neutral, but doesn't quite have all of the frustration filtered out of it. a year. riku had been processing this with the mindset of someone who had already spent so long waiting, that another period of time was nothing, but that time seemed to stretch further the more he learned. ]
Yeah, the premise didn't line up from the start. It feels like a normal world, aside from not being able to leave.
[ even the weirder experiences so far weren't too removed from what he'd experienced elsewhere. ]
What do you mean, feels like a normal world? How many have you been to?
[ Toph still has a bit of conceptual difficulty with what's going on here. She's far from stupid, but computers are fairly abstract ideas to her, and being in a "simulation" similarly doesn't quite sink in. As a result, she tends not to include that in her newbie explanations, because if she doesn't understand it herself she doesn't think she should be the one explaining it.
Her closest understanding is that this is like the spirit world. You can get stuck here, reality itself is malleable and bends, and time doesn't pass right between here and the natural world. That's been enough for her so far. ]
[ he shrugs vaguely. it's pretty obviously more than a few, by that response.
"normal world" might be a bit of a stretch, but it's not different enough that riku feels like the distinction is important. even less so if this was some sort of simulation - that meant the real issue would be whatever state they were all in outside of this, if they still had forms outside of it at all. ]
Worlds all have their own orders and rules. It's unusual to have a lot of people from other worlds in one, but not unheard of.
Seriously? Okay, if you're the expert, lay it out for me. Pay me back for rescuing you.
[ Toph is sincerely interested -- this sounds more comprehensible than all the tech talk -- but she's also ribbing him again. They're fast coming up on the burger place and she's ready to hear all about other worlds.
It's the kind of thing she'd like to travel around and visit if it were possible for her. ]
[ he scoffs at the teasing, but falls contemplatively quiet right after. explaining this kind of thing generally fell to the more talkative members of their little light defender squad, even if riku probably understood it better than some of them. or they'd hand the task off to ienzo, always happy to lay out details even if he tended to get carried away with academic terminology.
after a long pause, he fumbles over the beginning of the explanation anyway as they arrive at the burger place. ]
Each world's got... There's different knowledge in them, different origins. Some are really isolated. [ his own home being one of them, though with the occasional comings and goings of the aforementioned light defender squad these days, it's opened up a bit. ] Others are almost like - hubs, I guess, for people from all over.
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expiationlogs2024-10-14 08:59 am
no subject
he does, in fact, follow her easily. the mirrors swim with their warped colours, but he gets the sense that she's telling the absolute truth about having the way out secured no problem. ]
I'm Riku. I'd say it's nice to meet you, but that might have to wait until we're outside.
no subject
She's been working on her mental resilience to status effects since then, so she continues to resolutely ignore any of the sounds from the mirrors as they walk, either hers or Riku's. ]
Yeah, your mirror guy is a huge jerk, [ she says bluntly. ] I don't blame you for smacking him.
no subject
Yeah, he's always like that. [ even if it isn't always the exact same being, reflecting his mistakes, the statement still stands. ] It's just been a while. Got frustrated.
[ smacking them did seem to be the preferred solution. he glances briefly at the mirrors in this corridor, but the images are too blurry to make out anything distinct for now. ]
Your reflection's a lot quieter. Guess it's different for everyone.
no subject
[ Toph huffs and walks a little faster, bare feet smacking the concrete floor decisively as she turns a corner. She realizes belatedly she's going to have to explain her uncertainty over what the mirrors are showing. ]
I'm blind, by the way. I sense things through the earth. [ Riku's getting the short version today -- Toph has given this explanation a lot and she's not in the mood right now to get into it in detail. ] This whole guilt trip is a little lost on me considering I'm just getting the sound effects.
no subject
[ riku trails, taking slow strides to maintain pace with toph's shorter legs. her explanation gives him pause - he had sort of worked that out, partly from his own experiences operating primarily with his other senses for nearly a year.
so he hums in acknowledgement, instead of reacting strongly. she's clearly capable, and her power considerable. ]
Sorry mine's so obnoxiously loud. They're not worth paying attention to, anyway.
no subject
They round a corner and there's a door straight ahead of them. ]
Yeah, anybody who needs their mistakes shoved in their face that blatantly to learn them from is a lost cause, anyway.
no subject
[ guy who is only coping this well ("coping") ("this well") because this is like the fourth time this has happened.
her swift navigation impresses him, even with the size of the place and the skills she'd explained. it's a heavy door, and while he's got no reservations about her ability to open it, he's still much taller. so he reaches over her head to push it open. ]
Is that why my keyblade disappearing felt creepy? Sensory thing?
no subject
She doesn't actually mind Riku opening the door for them even if he reaches above her head to do it. He's been chill and respectful of her abilities so far, which means she doesn't need to prove anything. She walks right out into the waning daylight without a thank you. ]
Yeah, basically. I think seeing people are used to their eyes tricking them, but if I'm sensing something, it's there. Rock solid.
[ And then... not, when it vanishes. ]
no subject
[ the grungy twilight isn't the comforting orange he's used to from this time of day, and he squints in distaste as his eyes adjust. there's one last echo of running away again? from his reflection before the door swings closed with a thud. ]
Shut up.
[ uuugh. he pinches the bridge of his nose, quelling the irritation, before looking back to toph. she looks... a lot younger than expected, now they're outside. ]
Why did you come and check on me?
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Why wouldn't I? You might have needed help. Actually, you did need help.
So you're welcome.
no subject
I'd have been okay on my own. Happens all the time.
[ totally normal circumstances, it's fine. ]
Don't get me wrong, thanks. It was just unexpected.
no subject
Uh-huh. Don't worry, I won't tell anyone you needed a little girl to rescue you from the big scary maze.
no subject
So that's how it's gonna be? Alright, next time I smash a mirror, you'll be the first person I call to help clean it up.
no subject
[ Toph has done a lot of cleaning up and fixing buildings around Aldrip in the past ten months. She doesn't mind it, but she really is overkill. Enjoying being out in the fresh air, she laces her fingers together and stretches her arms out over her head, considering what to do next. ]
You want a burger? That's what I usually do with new people. You seem new.
no subject
[ this is quickly turning into a very silly conversation. ]
A burger sounds great, actually. [ he doesn't remember the last time he'd eaten something like that. coffee and whatever pity food aerith or leon had brought him had practically been his entire diet for weeks before ending up here. ] I am. New, that is.
no subject
[ She just does what she wants, obviously. Like now, as she takes that as enough of a confirmation and sets off walking toward her favorite burger place, once again figuring Riku will follow. ]
All right, hit me. What are your newbie questions?
no subject
A bunch got answered already. The basic idea of the place is annoying and senseless, but the concept of a trap is one I'm pretty familiar with.
[ and might have had a regretful hand in enforcing one of those himself. he presses that memory down again quickly. ]
I am curious about how long everyone's been here. What about you, Toph?
no subject
I think almost a year by now? [ She's not exactly keeping track, but it is her birthday around this time of year so Toph has recently been forced to consider it must be getting close to a year. She'd shown up only a couple months after turning thirteen. ] Don't take the premise too seriously. It's not like they're literally putting us in prison or whatever. Things can suck, but we still have, like, houses and friends and jobs.
[ Toph isn't going to sugar-coat life in Aldrip, but she also comes from a world that recently wrapped up a century-long war, and she's been to Lake Laogai, among other places. She has a real sense of perspective for her age on what constitutes a prison. ]
no subject
Yeah, the premise didn't line up from the start. It feels like a normal world, aside from not being able to leave.
[ even the weirder experiences so far weren't too removed from what he'd experienced elsewhere. ]
no subject
[ Toph still has a bit of conceptual difficulty with what's going on here. She's far from stupid, but computers are fairly abstract ideas to her, and being in a "simulation" similarly doesn't quite sink in. As a result, she tends not to include that in her newbie explanations, because if she doesn't understand it herself she doesn't think she should be the one explaining it.
Her closest understanding is that this is like the spirit world. You can get stuck here, reality itself is malleable and bends, and time doesn't pass right between here and the natural world. That's been enough for her so far. ]
no subject
[ he shrugs vaguely. it's pretty obviously more than a few, by that response.
"normal world" might be a bit of a stretch, but it's not different enough that riku feels like the distinction is important. even less so if this was some sort of simulation - that meant the real issue would be whatever state they were all in outside of this, if they still had forms outside of it at all. ]
Worlds all have their own orders and rules. It's unusual to have a lot of people from other worlds in one, but not unheard of.
no subject
[ Toph is sincerely interested -- this sounds more comprehensible than all the tech talk -- but she's also ribbing him again. They're fast coming up on the burger place and she's ready to hear all about other worlds.
It's the kind of thing she'd like to travel around and visit if it were possible for her. ]
no subject
after a long pause, he fumbles over the beginning of the explanation anyway as they arrive at the burger place. ]
Each world's got... There's different knowledge in them, different origins. Some are really isolated. [ his own home being one of them, though with the occasional comings and goings of the aforementioned light defender squad these days, it's opened up a bit. ] Others are almost like - hubs, I guess, for people from all over.