Scene #3974: Musings about Metalbending and Magic

Owner	Pose
Toph Beifong	It's not that hard for Ziggy to stay at the Stark mansion, luckily. Aside from having to help feed the potentially dangerous chocobos, one of them due to her foul temper, the other due to her ditzyness and tendency to summon flaming meteors, the only other thing Ziggy has had to deal with is Toph demanding some help with her bending out on the beach. But it's not the first time he's been around rocks and other hard things flying at his head, now is it? Today though Toph's left the house guest alone for most of the day, and been focusing on her lessons in the living room. Around lunch time however there's a loud knock on his door, as Toph calls out for him. Nopes, she doesn't even use an indoor voice in her own home, it appears. "Hey, Zigzag! You wanted to see some proper metalbending, didn't you?" she hollers. Sure, he's seen her bend a metal table at him and undent Scott's car. But maybe the loudmouth girl doesn't consider that really difficult nor impressive. Who knows? She's certainly quick to state her opinion of other earthbenders who lack her power and finesse, that's for sure!
Ziggy Grover	"Ranger Green, Ranger Blue has nearly completed the paint job. Ranger Red wishes to speak to you." Dr K replies, as Ziggy pokes at a tablet. "And I can see you -trying- to deactivate the program, so do not try and claim communication difficulties." "Uh... do I have to talk to Scott right now? I'm, uh... I'm in the middle of, uh, assisting Mr. Stark with his, uh.... studies of the, uh... meteorite. It's... unusual." "Ranger Green, if you were assisting Mr. Stark, I would think you would be doing so from within one of his laboratories, not a guest room." "... I'm helping out by not being underfoot?" "If only you were -that- helpful around here..." Dr. K mutters, before shaking her head. "Fine. But you cannot avoid speaking to Ranger Red forever, as he has the directions to Mr. Stark's locale and says if you're not coming back, he'll bring you back himself. Apparently, tied to a chain attached to the rear bumper of his car." "Uh... someone's at the door. Ziggy out." It's with a look of relief that Ziggy greets Toph. "Hey. Saved by the bell."
Toph Beifong	It's a bit hard to not overhear the talk that Ziggy was having with Dr. K on his tablet, but Toph doesn't comment on it when Ziggy opens the door. Likewise the look of relief on his face is lost due to her blindness, though she does nod and gestures for him to follow her down the hallway. "You're welcome, you can help me with labeling my mineral collection." Just to make sure he follows she does reach out and tug on his sleeve, but he should be used to her being bossy with most people. "So she calls up often to nag, huh...?" Toph inquires as they walk down the hallway, and she opens the door to her room. Which isn't like most teenage girls' bedrooms, now is it? Of course there are no posters on the walls, and it's fortunately very neutral in colour. It looks like it was just a normal guestroom that's been gradually taken over by somebody who likes tossing some dirty clothes around here and there. There Braille books and normal books on one bookshelf, with a desk nearby. On it is a state of the art computer with a Braille keyboard, and next to it a large Chinese looking string instrument. In one corner of the room there's a small Iron Man suit, though upon inspection it's without functioning repulsors and machinery. It just looks like somebody added glowing lights in parts. Including in the mask's eyeholes, making them impossible to look out of. The most notable thing about Toph's room however are all the shelves on two of the walls, lining them with rocks and pieces of metal, all of varying sizes. Why, there are even several bottles filled with sand! For now Toph walks over to a large crate though, opening it... and inside there are even more pieces of ore. Just how much metal and dirt does she have?
Ziggy Grover	"Oh, she keeps tabs on all her rangers," Ziggy comments. "I don't know how she can even monitor my -breath- from where she is," Ziggy responds, following along. "Scott wants to talk to me, and usually that means I stand there, he talks about how responsible I need to be, and then he -takes over- training from Dr. K. And he's stricter about it too. Well except he doesn't resort to small things like cleaning the floor with a toothbrush. It's more like... a -lot- of pushups." Flexing his not-so-magnificent physique, Ziggy shrugs. "I did manage to grow muscles, though." (Makes you wonder what he was like -before- he became a Ranger.) Stepping into Toph's room, Ziggy steps up, pokes at a rock. "Man. You've got a... dirty room."
Toph Beifong	"... 'her rangers'?" Toph asks, raising an eyebrow. "I know she made the spa-- the ranger suits, but she's your boss too?" Dr. K seems to be good at giving orders and leading the research though, it appears. When he talks about the monitoring however, Toph huffs. "And I thought having Jarvis follow my every move here at home was weird to begin with..." Scott seemed nice enough when she met him, but then again team mates usually are stricter with each other from her experience. When Ziggy comments on having bulked up after joining the Rangers, Toph looks as if she's about to say something... but the earthbender is quiet for a few seconds before she speaks up. "Muscles aren't everything. If you want to bulk up, then you could always start hauling boulders along with me." Sure, her room isn't exactly the tidiest, but dirty? Toph frowns a bit, then gestures with her hand. The rock that Ziggy poked shifts, and it moves to smack his finger back. "It's not /that/ dirty!" she protests. "It was worse when I first moved in here, Pepper said there were footprints, handprints and buttprints everywhere. Then she got rid of the white carpets." With a grunt Toph picks up a large box within the crate, then sets it down on the floor, flopping down on her butt next to it. The box seems to be a collection of various metals. Shiny metals, by the look of it. "So... what kind of metalbending do you want to see?" she asks. He might have noticed that there are several bended things around the house. Iron Man figurines, some statues here and there, not to mention the huge statue Toph made for Tony and Pepper's wedding as a present.
Ziggy Grover	"She says she's our -mentor-," Ziggy grumps, turning over an interestingly transparently green rock before sticking it back in place. "She's younger than us, and she's -still- saying that anyway. Except nobody else disagrees. Probably because if they did, she's got -things- in that lab of hers that she can use. Flynn told me a story once about that year they were together before I joined and... say, is that actually gold...?" Picking it up, Ziggy ponders it. Maybe it was pyrite...? "There's a -lot- of dirt and rocks here, I think that counts as 'dirty'," Ziggy replies, before putting down the shiny thing. "Oh, metalbending...? Anything, I guess... I mean, I can be a metalbender too, but it only works on spoons."
Toph Beifong	"Hey, young people can be mentors too!" Toph comments with a determined look on her face. "I've had students older than me but who knew far less about earthbending than I do." It's true! Too many people are dismissed by the fact that they are young, and that's a fact. "If she made the suits and are teaching you how to use them, then yeah... she tecnically /is/ your mentor." Are you going to argue with Toph about it too? It doesn't look like she's in a mood to argue anyway, fortunately for Ziggy. Though she does roll her eyes when he seems to think she has gold in the box. "No, that's not gold. I got the rarer and more expensive samples in another box along with gemstones," she states, pointing up to a shelf with a more intricate looking box on it. "Rocks aren't dirty, all of these have been washed and cleaned." Probably because Pepper insisted. The joking claim about him being able to bend spoons though? That makes Toph cant her head. "It only works because it isn't /real/ metalbending. Real metalbending is /this/!" With that Toph raises her hands and gestures with them, and the metal in Ziggy's hand begins twisting, shaping itself... into a small metal Green Ranger, complete with details.
Ziggy Grover	"She's not our -mentor-, she's our... uh... resident mad scientist, inventor, and eavesdropper... oh god, you're listening in right now, are you, Doc?" "I'm sorry, your -mentor- can't hear you over the foot in your mouth, Ranger Green," a vaguely snappy voice answers. "Sorry, doc," Ziggy mutters. There was no further response. "Oh, she'll get over it," Ziggy responds, waving a hand dismissedly in the air, before pausing, and then bringing it down to poke at the statue in his hand. "Man, you made it look like me in the ranger suit. Niiiiice. Though you know, the fin could be a little... pointier. On the other hand, that's pretty awesome. Can I keep it...?" Bringing his hands together, Ziggy makes the statue 'vanish', without waiting for an answer.
Toph Beifong	Eavesdropper indeed. "If she's a mad scientist, then she needs to work on her evil laughter. I think it's required or something," Toph dryly adds with a smirk. And the blind girl looks mighty pleased with herself when Ziggy compliments the little figurine she bended. Well, of course it was supposed to look like him! When he comments on the fin though? "It's not like I've gotten a good look at the suit yet," she snorts. The moment he uses a magic trick to make the figurine disappear though, the metalbender arches an eyebrow where she sits. "You know, those tricks might impress little girls like Lizzie," she begins, raising her hand again, then she does a quick motion with a twist to it. Wherever Ziggy has ended up hiding the figurine, it will undergo a slight bending revision as the fin gets a bit pointier. And Toph grins in a mischievous manner. "But personally I see through all tricks like that. Seeing people are at a disadvantage when they rely too much on their eyes. I've got my bending," she proudly adds. "But yeah, you can keep it." The metal wasn't that hard to get, after all. And if he likes it...
Ziggy Grover	"Oh c'mon, it's not like you can -see- where... YIPE!" Withdrawing the statue from his pant pocket quickly, Ziggy moves a bit gingerly. "Give a fellow warning, will you?" Ziggy grimaces. "I'm too -young- for this." Keeping said statue carefully in his hands in case it goes all porcupiney on him, Ziggy squints at Toph. "You're saying -no- magic tricks will ever work on you? Nothing at -all-?"
Toph Beifong	How she loves proving people wrong. As Ziggy withdraws the figurine from his pocket, Toph can't help but grin and snicker. "You forget that I don't see the way most people do. I see through my /bending/. When I touch the ground or stuff that's earth based," she explains, knocking her knuckles against the stone floor, "the vibrations carry throughout the earth. And I can /sense/ earth and metal around me. Like the metal buttons on shirts, coins in people's pockets, the pacemaker that Goldie's got..." She trails off slightly, and she looks somewhat relieved when Ziggy asks his next question. "I can see how people move, how they shift things in their hands, subtle movements and all that. And when you did the coin trick with Lizzie I could tell what you were doing all the time. It's about distracting people to look somewhere else when you do it, and hide it from their vision, right? Doesn't work on me!" She does point at the figurine however. "I'm done shaping it, I just had to fix the fin like you told me to! Not going to bend it anymore." Instead she begins picking up some other metal pieces from the box.
Ziggy Grover	"Oh, so you can feel people -moving-, can you?" Ziggy replies, cautiously tucking the statue in his -jacket- pocket this time. "I think Doc mentioned something about your bioenergy flow. Does that mean you -feel- things around you all the time?"
Toph Beifong	"Why do you think I'm able to fight like I do?" Toph comments, beginning to shape the metal in her hands into what looks like a badgermole. "It's not like I can turn my bending on and off, it's just... there. Like how you can't turn off your sense of smell." The badgermole slowly shapes itself into a dragonlike creature as Toph works, a pensive look on her face. "I can 'see' people around me, and I can tell how they are going to move, where their feet are going to end up as they lift them from the ground. You could hide your hand behind your back and I would be able to tell how many fingers you're holding up..." So yeah, her way of seeing the world around her isn't exactly limited by much. "If I'm on something that it's made of earth though, I can't 'see' a thing. Which is why I hate swimming, being in zero gravity. It's kinda useful when I need some sleep though and don't want to get woken up," she adds and jabs a point towards her bed.
Ziggy Grover	"Doesn't the bed still connect to the ground so that you can sense things, or... huh." Reaching out, Ziggy prods at the bed. If it was a waterbed, then, it'd make plenty of sense. Otherwise, who knows. "So basically, you're saying you're blind when you're off your feet? Like, if I got you a rocker, and you're not off it, you wouldn't be able to 'sense' anything I have?"
Toph Beifong	It appears that Tony has only invested in the very best of beds for the guestrooms, even if they aren't as big as the one in the master bedroom. And Toph's bed is no different, with a rather comfy mattress. "I can't sense vibrations through non-earthen stuff," Toph clarifies. "So while I might feel it if somebody is stomping next to my bed, I can't 'see like I do now." As for sensing? "I can sense earth and metal around me, even if I'm not touching the ground. Remember how I was able to sense how there was metal around us when you teleported us onto that space station? Though it was only when I touched the walls that I could tell we weren't on earth. Like..." How to explain this? She lets out a sigh, and finishes shaping an intricate badgermole statue in her hands. "When you did the magic trick for Lizzie, I could tell exactly how you moved the coin. If I had been sitting on something I couldn't see through, I would only be able to sense that there would be a coin there, I wouldn't be able to see how you did it." Hopefully that makes sense. It's not often she has to explain things in this much detail, most of the other Union people know that she can see through the ground. But it doesn't hurt to let her friends know how it works, right?
Ziggy Grover	"Hmmm... I see, I see," Ziggy says, finger to his chin, rubbing it in thought as he starts striding back and forth. "So, if you had your feet up, sitting down, like... right there on that very bed, you wouldn't be able to see through -any- of my magic tricks, then? Because you have to understand, a magician has his -pride-. You can't let the audience see through your tricks. I mean, if there were a superhero who could see through things with x-ray vision, I would totally be trying to block -that-." Coming to a stop, Ziggy nods, as though settling on something. "So, right, you sit there, and I am going to come up with a -trick- you can't see through."
Toph Beifong	The blind girl can't help but arch an eyebrow as Ziggy begins pacing back and forth, voicing his thoughts out loud. At least it sounds like he got the gist of her explanation of how her seismic sense works. "Well, I'm used to seeing through anything," she shrugs. But it does seem like Ziggy takes this as a challenge. While Toph doesn't seem entirely convinced, she does get to her feet and moves to the bed, sitting down and pulling her feet up with a grin. "Good luck coming up with a magic trick I won't see though," she responds cheekily, resting her hands on her knees. Heck, if he uses his brain he might try to use something besides a /coin/ that she can easily follow through her bending anyway. So perhaps she does look a /little/ curious about what kind of magic trick he might come up with. "I totally get total bragging rights if I figure out your trick though," she adds.
Ziggy Grover	"What, right now? I don't have -all- my magic tricks and I have to think of something that would work for someone who's blind..." Ziggy says, bringing a finger up and wagging it. "Although I think... hm. I need to do this with an audience. This works better with an audience. Where's Tony and Pepper...? Do you think JARVIS would see ... JARVIS would see through it, I think. BANNED."
Toph Beifong	"I thought you mentioned something about magicians having pride?" Toph prods where she sits. "And Jarvis works as an audience. And don't worry, he only tattles to Goldie, and only about stuff that he needs to know." The electronic butler speaks up at that moment. "Mr. Stark and Mrs. Potts-Stark are busy tending to matters regarding Stark Industries, Mr. Grover. And while I am more perceptive than most people are, it would make little sense for me to explain the magic trick to Miss Beifong. Nor to Mr. Stark himself, be assured." Looking a bit amused and perhaps used to Jarvis' mannerisms and speech, Toph points upwards. "See? And seriously, you don't know any magic tricks that would work for blind people?" Well... she kinda doubts most blind people would find regular magic tricks amusing.
Ziggy Grover	"I never -really- had to do that...! I just do, like... handcuffs, cards, that sawing trick... but you'd probably see through most of those. Or I could try the rope trick, but you wouldn't see it at all..." Ziggy pauses, as the hamster in his head grinds that squeaky wheel. "Huh... maybe that might work. For you -and- an audience." Snapping his fingers, Ziggy nods. "I'll even do it as dinner entertainment. Or breakfast entertainment."
Toph Beifong	Wait... handcuffs?! It's not often that Toph's face turns red, though she obviously tries to act like nothing's the matter where she sits. Maybe it's best that Ziggy is caught in contemplation about magic tricks, which allows her to regather her wits, swallowing and trying to act all natural. Though... she's not sure just what this rope trick is about either. "O-okay," she coughs, sitting up straight. "I'll talk with Goldie and Pepper and let them know. So... uh, you need rope for the trick? Anything else?"
Ziggy Grover	"Rope, audience... a bunch of hard boiled eggs..." Ziggy muses, thinking. "Make sure they're actually hard boiled. I don't want any raw eggs. Those things are messy if you do it wrong..."
Toph Beifong	Eww, raw eggs. "Yeah, don't want that in my hair or whatever you're thinking of doing with them," she huffs, then slides off of the bed and back onto her feet. "Now come on, if you're not going to show me some magic tricks then I can show you some more metalbending. Outside! And you can work on your teleporting training at the same time," she adds while reaching out to grab onto his arm and drag him with her.