one way or another

[computation]

Who: Closed event threads for Liv's characters -- Root and Toph.
Where: Various.
What: Root has a doppelganger and kills her repeatedly. Toph has a doppelganger and has to face some emotions. One of them is having a much better time than the other. Contact me if you're interested in a thread!
Warnings: All of the Root and Shaw threads will have direct discussion and sometimes depiction of suicide.

Comments

[melnik]

[ His eyes widen when she says they knocked over a building. Holy shit. But okay, it does sound like she can work with that. It's not like she can be outclassed by herself, right? ]

Right. Okay, so you need to plan your attack with simply that in mind. What is the best way to take on an earthbender?

[ Not to mention something else rather important. ]

You also have one major thing to your advantage. Backup. Use it wisely and she won't stand a chance.

[fieldtrip]

[ Major fights between benders, especially earthbenders, can really result in some hefty property damage. Toph hasn't had an occasion to go all out in quite a while now, and she's annoyed to find she's fallen out of the habit. In that context, this is a fun opportunity... ]

You're right, [ she agrees, ] I'm used to fighting with my friends. I don't mind taking backup.

[ She's not stupidly prideful, okay. Toph knows she contributes to whatever team she's on; she doesn't need to do things alone. And she doesn't hesitate to list out what her real weaknesses are to Miller, who she trusts completely. ]

I'm an unusual earthbender. [ She's just clarifying that to say she's answering the spirit and not the letter of his question. ] The best way to take me on is something from the air, flying or projectiles. Air and earth are opposite elements. Or one time I burned my feet -- that really sucked.

[melnik]

[ Right, he didn't expect her to take offense to it. It's just the practical thing to do, even if backup in this case doesn't end up needing to do more than stand in as a distraction. And the need to accept help really didn't appear to be the problem.

Their communication may be rather limited right now, but surely there will be others at the safehouses who would extend a hand. And of course there's him. There's no question of that.

He's learning more about this elemental business in the process, bringing a hand to his chin as she talks about it. ]

You mean, it really works like that? [ Like earth is weak to air and air is weak to fire and so on... ]

Alright then. An aerial assault could do the trick... but get her to burn her feet somehow and you've handicapped her without having to inflict violence in return.

[ He likes that idea. ]

[fieldtrip]

[ She doesn't have a background with video games or fantasy novels to understand something like type match ups, so she doesn't totally get what Miller is asking; she takes her best guess. But Toph did legitimately earn her mastery, and it being almost wholly self-taught means she has an intuitive rather than academic understanding of the elements. She's used to being a teacher enough that she tries to give a fuller explanation. ]

With bending? Uh, kind of. It has more to do with the style and the mindset than the elements. Earth is about facing things head on, air is about agility and avoidance. It just doesn't make as much sense to me, like it's not my native language. Understanding your opposing element can really fill in weaknesses and make you a lot stronger, but since I'm blind, that's a little bit tough for me with air.

[ Aang really struggled to learn earthbending, but simultaneously, Iroh invented lightning redirection from studying waterbenders. So there's two sides to that coin. Toph would absolutely be pursuing the other side if she could. ]

Maybe I could get Kakashi to make some kind of fire trap for me... Distract her with projectiles, lure her into a fire trap?

[ That sounds really plausible. Toph agrees going for her feet, which keep bothering her in winter anyway, might be the best idea. ]

[melnik]

[ For as much as he doesn't understand it, it's a very interesting topic, actually. Clearly there is a strong martial arts connection imbued in the skill; it simply surpasses any normal description of a hand to hand technique that one might normally attribute to esoteric things like the concepts of earth and air. But even if he weren't inclined to, Miller must accept the logic because he's seen it in action.

He hums a thoughtful sound at her explanation. ]

I can see why it requires such a deep level of intuition to be successful at.

[ All the more reason she is noteworthy for overcoming the obstacles she has. Back to the plan though, before he gets too lost in the weeds. ]

Now we're talking. I could offer you some help in the projectiles department, but in this case, something a bit more... traditional might be a better fit.

[ Guns are useful and all, but not so much if you're trying to avoid doing major damage. ]