Toph Beifong · 北方拓芙 (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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etrayalogs2026-10-03 07:11 pm
fieldtrip) wrote in etrayalogs2026-10-03 07:11 pm
Entry tags:
( I'll have to learn to walk again )
WHO: Toph Beifong (Open)
WHEN: Post mission 17, throughout October
WHERE: Primarily the Mall of America and Ramsey Farm
WHAT: Toph had a rough one. Feel free to run into her in the aftermath!
NOTES\WARNINGS: Mention of child death; will update.
In the immediate aftermath of returning from Watch Hill, Toph is initially at a loss. She gives in to a childish instinct and flops on the packed earth in her own familiar body and digs her fingers and toes in, revels in feeling everything normal, without any visual or auditory hallucinations, with her mind fully her own.
It's as much a relief as a plunge into the cold ocean on a searingly hot day.
But eventually, she has to get out; she has to leave the reassuring solidness of the dirt. She ducks as much attention as she can as the Etrayans trickle back in from the mission, and quickly assembles a functional but bare-bones train cart of her own to make use of the tracks and go the wrong way up them toward Ramsey Farm from the hospital.
She wants to see Oma. She wants to hide in her cave network, like she'd told Maya. And at first, she does -- she crushes her face into the badger-mole's fur and she hides in the darkness and she breathes out her tension until she can stop shaking.
Eventually she has to leave that, too. She won't let herself crumple into a weeping pile. It would shame her, but it would also just be plain embarrassing to Damian. That's not the kind of friends they are. Letting herself turn into a mess over what she did would be hurting him, too, in a way, whether or not he'd know how to express it.
Toph pulls herself together and the very day after they return can be found browsing the Mall of America -- that day, and several random days after. Turns out there's a lot of stuff you need to permanently make a home out of a cave. Who knew? She'd certainly never tried to build her own residence before. She'd always just taken advantage of whatever currently existed, already furnished, wherever she'd lived.
Fortunately, she can use her metalbending to make bigger train cars and transport all the furniture back, or slide it along the ground with earth-escalator movements. It's tiring, which means it's good. It lets her focus on something she's doing rather than anything she's feeling.
Others can find her, disgruntled, as she shops; or hauling things back in her custom-built train cars that are definitely not to any kind of safety code; or just holing up in her cave once it's all built, if you're the type to go looking for her.
WHEN: Post mission 17, throughout October
WHERE: Primarily the Mall of America and Ramsey Farm
WHAT: Toph had a rough one. Feel free to run into her in the aftermath!
NOTES\WARNINGS: Mention of child death; will update.
In the immediate aftermath of returning from Watch Hill, Toph is initially at a loss. She gives in to a childish instinct and flops on the packed earth in her own familiar body and digs her fingers and toes in, revels in feeling everything normal, without any visual or auditory hallucinations, with her mind fully her own.
It's as much a relief as a plunge into the cold ocean on a searingly hot day.
But eventually, she has to get out; she has to leave the reassuring solidness of the dirt. She ducks as much attention as she can as the Etrayans trickle back in from the mission, and quickly assembles a functional but bare-bones train cart of her own to make use of the tracks and go the wrong way up them toward Ramsey Farm from the hospital.
She wants to see Oma. She wants to hide in her cave network, like she'd told Maya. And at first, she does -- she crushes her face into the badger-mole's fur and she hides in the darkness and she breathes out her tension until she can stop shaking.
Eventually she has to leave that, too. She won't let herself crumple into a weeping pile. It would shame her, but it would also just be plain embarrassing to Damian. That's not the kind of friends they are. Letting herself turn into a mess over what she did would be hurting him, too, in a way, whether or not he'd know how to express it.
Toph pulls herself together and the very day after they return can be found browsing the Mall of America -- that day, and several random days after. Turns out there's a lot of stuff you need to permanently make a home out of a cave. Who knew? She'd certainly never tried to build her own residence before. She'd always just taken advantage of whatever currently existed, already furnished, wherever she'd lived.
Fortunately, she can use her metalbending to make bigger train cars and transport all the furniture back, or slide it along the ground with earth-escalator movements. It's tiring, which means it's good. It lets her focus on something she's doing rather than anything she's feeling.
Others can find her, disgruntled, as she shops; or hauling things back in her custom-built train cars that are definitely not to any kind of safety code; or just holing up in her cave once it's all built, if you're the type to go looking for her.
Tunnels!
Instead, Accelerator had a very unfortunate conversation with Damian, and now he's on his way to Ramsey Farm. He isn't sure if Toph is here, it just seems like a good place to start. If she isn't then he'll move on, maybe try sending her a message over the network to get her attention. After what Damian told him he needs to check in on her, and he isn't going to take a break until that's done.
He arrives and heads down into the tunnels, his choker in normal mode. Relying on his crutch while walking through them isn't great, but this is Toph. He doubts he needs to go far before she'll know he's there. In fact, as he starts wandering he calls out. "Hey, brat! You in here?"
no subject
There also aren't any light sources down here for seeing people as of yet, so if Accelerator needs help in that department, he's on his own. Toph is currently earthbending caves into more proper rooms, shoring up the walls with increasingly intricate architecture. It's gone far past plain, packed earth by now and is approaching a level of textural detail closer to mosaics. The fine precision work is helping calm her nerves, serving as almost a form of meditation.
Meanwhile, the rest of the place is a whirlwind mess of various pieces of furniture, decor, and living supplies, completely disorganized. Discarded packaging lies strewn about to top it off. Oma rolls over sleepily on her side in the corner, a furry lump already the size of a draft horse, grumbling at the intrusion and then settling down again as she recognizes the culprit.
"Get in here," Toph calls back, turning away from the wall she was working on and toward the entrance. "I want your help sorting this place out. I don't want it to look like trash."
She does care about how things look, much as she wished she didn't. And she does need a sighted person for that.
no subject
He frowns as he scans the light over the furniture and supplies, briefly pausing at the badger mole, before he heads in the direction of Toph's voice. When he sees her he's going to stop and look around some more. It looks like she's been incredibly productive, which he supposes is better than her being a depressed lump.
.... It's kind of hard to picture Toph as a depressed lump. Maybe this is her version of it, because there's no way she isn't okay after what happened on the mission.
"You planning on moving in here," he asks, moving over to the walls to get a better look at the detail she's put into the construction of the place.
cave!
--- Toph!! Hey!
no subject
She'd also known Maya was there long before she got close, and is around the next corner, practically on top of her, looking deadpan. A tiny girl standing silently in the total darkness is a bit of a jumpscare. ]
Don't go wandering around in caves by yourself without me. I haven't gotten everything shored up yet -- you might get stuck in a cave-in.
[ Toph would eventually find her, of course, but that's not the point. ]
no subject
[ as it stands now, she is good and jump-scared ]
Eeeek!!
[ jumps about five feet into the air like this is scooby doo, even though she was explicitly looking for toph. funny how it just works out like that ]
Toph!
[ you startled her.... ]
mall
Curious, Tristan makes their approach, keen to observe before speaking up or inquiring.
no subject
So here she is, browsing Silliams Wonoma for cookware. She's standing in the middle of a display area where every kitchen appliance is shaped like some kind of dog. Some of these are effective, and some of them make the viewer wonder how they got past product QA testing. Toph is frowning in consternation at the array of them.
Tristan's approach is impossible for her to miss, given they're in contact with the ground. She tosses over her shoulder: "Do you know anything about kitchen stuff? Because I have no clue."
SILLIAMS WONOMA..........
"Enough to get by," they reply, taking the ask as cue to step in closer. "Though I would have to read instructions for some of the more unfamiliar things. What is it you are looking for, Toph?"
no subject
Spotting Toph, he joins her in a flash.
"What is all of this?" he asks, as he takes in sight of her.
no subject
She's standing on a flat metal platform with an angled triangular front to it, serving as a windbreak so she's protected while she bends the connection to the track beneath in a deceptively smooth and easy fashion. Behind her is another car laden with a mismatched assortment of furniture, random pieces she liked with no real plan in mind.
"I'm setting up shop in a cave," she says shortly, "so I need stuff for it. Get up here, your running is majorly distracting."
The ceaseless rapid-fire pattering of feet smacking the ground is noisy to her earth-senses, especially while she's trying to focus on making sure she doesn't hit an oncoming train. There's plenty of room beside her for someone else if they don't mind being on what seems to be a hastily put together high speed train car.
no subject
"Impressive. Ever thought of studying engineering?" he remarks as he takes it all in, before returning his attention to her.
Given his profession, her tension is something E-Soul recognises. It's unsurprising — a fortnight of dread, either barely holding on or extremely vulnerable isn't easy to shake off. He doesn't address the mission directly yet, though.
"Why the move?"