revivalproject | 001 - Speed Is Productive!

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001 - Speed Is Productive!

WHO: Tommy Shepherd and Anyone
WHERE: Hotel and Greenhouse
WHEN: First Days on Agra 10
WHAT: Settling In and Learning Practical Skills
WARNINGS: N/A yet, will update if change

Finding Pear Dice - Greenhouse Exploration

There is a serious issue here, namely that Tommy hates moving at snail pace. Part of the issue with being a speedster is that the mutation that made him move fast made a lot of the rest of him fast. Which included two things that were already a problem here on Agrii Whateverthefuck: his brain, and his metabolism. There was literally no turning off how fast his brain ran, even when he was choosing to operate in the sorts of time frames that humans do. Sure, he could slow it down some, but in the end how fast it ran meant that walking at normal human paces left his brain bored if there wasn't other stuff to do. Exploration, as it were, wasn't exactly the easiest for Tommy to manage. Which flowed into the second issue, his metabolism.

As much as Tommy wanted to speed around, make a full mental map of this place, figure out how to start improving it, he couldn't. His body needed food to fuel it, and speed was something that had to be sacrificed for the basic rule of survival. Which was literally the opposite of what Tommy had always thought he should do. He had managed to survive everything by running away, running to find answers, or otherwise using his speed as a survival strategy. Which meant not having enough food to maintain speed very long was sort of frustrating.

This was what led to Tommy staying in a relatively small area for his initial explorations. More than that, this is what led Tommy to a glass building, and through the doors. Was it wrong that he smiles the second he opened the doors and realized what was going on? Probably. Maybe not. Food. There is food in here. It isn't cooked, it isn't starch, but it's something.

And more than that? Another glowy orb. As weird as the previous one had been, this one Tommy is prepared for. Or so he thinks. When he touches it there is a moment of immobility as the system uploads to his brain, and a jolt that goes through him when a glitch prevents him from getting everything. But what he gets is enough to leave a grin on Tommy's face as he cracks his knuckles.

"Talk about a worthwhile project."

The only question is where to start. And the answer is easy. Bypass the seeds, ignore the broken irrigation system, and he makes his way up to the over-grown upper level. He moves to twisting, curling, monstrous vine covered in what looks like small cyan bananas. He plucks one down and just devours it in three bites. The peel is nutritious, and good for fiber, his new knowledge tells him. The flesh inside tastes something like a pickle, but one seasoned with lime. Full of good vitamins. Tommy laughs and pulls off his long-sleeved shirt and ties it around him at an angle to make a sling. Like he cares about being shirtless right now. Food is a great first step.

Over the next hours and days he starts doing more than a recurring task of gathering food. For one thing, overgrown plants absolutely have lots of dying and choked material below them. Tommy spends a lot of time squatting under plants, crawling around, and otherwise pushing things aside to start pruning back this dead material. It will be great fertilizer, his new knowledge tells him, even sets himself up a corner where he starts piling material until he can clear an area or tools enough to start a compost pile. When he isn't slowly working his way through one area he's trying to water everything he can. The problem, of course, is the process of watering, how to carry water from the fountain outside and in to the plants. This he solves rather clumsily, with a large, cup-like leaf from some durable sort of plant from a more tropical corner. The thing is more durable than he was expecting, and he doesn't care too much about the repeated treks. He even pours the water into a second leaf he pokes some small holes into near the top to make it more like a watering can.

Sometimes there is an advantage to fast brains: creative solutions to problems. And so it is, somehow, that digital age and tech loving Tommy Shepherd becomes, well, a farmer.

Personal Space - Hotel Exploration

In the early mornings and evenings when light isn't nearly deep enough for him to really want to work by, Tommy gets to the other tasks of living. Which means heading back to the hotel with a small selection of fruits and vegetables from the overgrown green house, together with some of what he can handle that is left over from the Whale Comb ~~those cherries are a serious advantage for someone who has trouble getting drunk~~. He walks through the halls and up to the third floor where he's set himself up, and if he passes anyone in the hall he offers over a piece of food, usually one of the cyan bananas he's come to enjoy that taste like pickles made with lime in the brine, or a crimson red cucumber that tastes, just faintly, like tomatoes seasoned with oregano. That one, he knows well, is starchy as hell, and that's great for survival.

Once he gets up to the hallway he lives in and puts the rest of the food away, it's about securing the place. Checking over windows that may be present to make sure there are no new cracks or hole. Checking the pile of dried leaves he gathered from the green-house and laid out on the floor to make something like a mattress ~~mostly a barrier from the floor to maintain warmth~~, and making sure his little degree of personal items are still around.

After that he goes down the hall and starts cleaning up other rooms. More people might come, and you never know what space they'll want for themselves. And he hates doing nothing.

When all of that is done Tommy sleeps. At least, he tries to. His body doesn't like more than four hours of sleep, stupid being fast. Which means often in the darkness of the night and early morning, Tommy moves quietly through the halls, one hand on the nearest wall to keep himself going in a straight and predictable line. Hopefully he doesn't scare anyone or start a fight.

[OOC: Wildcard or other starters available on request. You can message me here, find me on plurk @

churbooseanon or discord at Churby#4290. Happy to take Tommy's TDMs canon unless you wanna choose otherwise ~~except Billy, mostly because we changed up timing, hit me up on that one bro~~

Will do brackets but prefer prose.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

The change in his demeanor is instantly gratifying, and it lifts Katara's mood more than she can say. Being dismissed or underestimated has always been a peeve of hers, but he comes around so quickly that she's pretty sure now he didn't mean anything by it.

Her head cants slightly as he begins babbling at her using words she doesn't understand, or whose context seems off. "I don't know what 'hy... hydrokinetic'? means," she admits with a sheepish laugh. "I'm a waterbender." A flick of her hands lifts the water out of Tommy's leaf, and more besides from the fountain. It all streams up into the mass she'd just formed, making it grow larger.

"Watering the plants is important," she agrees. "And I can move a lot, but if we have to get it in through the door this might be enough to start. The dancey moves are the bending," she explains, waving her arms in more circular motions that cause the bubble of water to taper into a longer shape that'll be easier to manipulate through the door. "I know firebenders, and some of them can make lightning, too."

Water what? Who knows what that means other than clearly hydrokinetic. It's awesome, and the water curls up out of his leaf and he grins wider. That's just amazing, and he doesn't bother hiding the glee in his eyes.

"You're amazing. That's about the coolest display of powers in a while. I mean, it's gonna make things better, easier. If you're willing. Because, yanno, we gotta eat. People gotta eat, and you're just... Wow."

With his leaf mostly empty he holds a hand out to her. And then lowers it, frowning. Maybe she actually needs to keep her hands moving to do this?

"I'm Tommy."

Tommy's earnest praise makes Katara blush, and she nods eagerly. "Of course I'll help! I'd love to!" Because there's no way that she could decline to help in good conscience when she knows that there's so much work to be done to keep everyone here healthy and happy. On some level, she needs to be needed, and this is a perfect opportunity for her to prove her worth.

"I'm Katara," she says in turn, switching up her bending to allow for one of her hands to extend to him in greeting. Even though a bow is more typical, it isn't unheard of for friends to clasp hands. "It's nice to meet you. Have you done much exploring around here yet? I've never seen buildings like these before."

If he knew a bow was more common, he'd have offered it. But he's stuck in 'American' ways. Not that the term would mean anything to her. He grins and shakes her hand quickly. Then pulls back and starts walking toward the greenhouse, waving her along.

"I really only know the greenhouse and the hotel. Sorta growing things and taking care of my brother. He's sick right now. And I don't have the energy to run around. So, you a country girl then? Skyscrapers aren't common out there."

"I'm actually from the South Pole," she explains, walking alongside Tommy with the water flowing above and around them. 'America' definitely wouldn't ring any bells--she would wonder if that was some remote province of the Earth Kingdom, probably.

The news that Tommy's brother is sick has her frowning in concern. "Maybe I could come take a look once we're done here? I have healing abilities--maybe I could help him."

The South Pole? Tommy stares at her in shock. That's, like FREEZING. He ran there once, he wanted to hug a penguin. He didn't even get CLOSE because it was too cold, and while smart things ran faster when they were cool ~~he's looking at you computers~~ he just had issues dealing with the chill.

"Okay, you're definitely badass. I mean, I've never met someone that works water before. I mean, I guess Billy theoretically could..."

His mouth always gets ahead of his brain because he's thinking of so many things, but at last he stops. Heal Billy? That...

"He's got some weird sickness. He wouldn't let you close. He's paranoid."

"Badass?" she asks, entirely unfamiliar with the term. From the way he says it, she gathers it's a good thing, in spite of how it sounds. She could agree with him about hugging penguins, though, and they'll definitely have to have that discussion at some point in the future.

For now, her brow creases in concern. She knows how she would feel if her brother were sick and there was nothing she could do to make him feel better. "Well... my powers work better with injuries than with sickness, but if there's anything I can do for him I'll try it." She offers him a conciliatory smile as they approach the greenhouse building.

"It's too bad there aren't any tiger seals here--my Gran Gran always used to make a stew for me and my brother Sokka when we were sick as kids, and it had seaweed noodles and tiger seal meat in it."

Getting a mage of Billy's caliber to allow it is another question entirely. Tommy doesn't know what to do but to keep on like he's been keeping on. Which means taking care of these plants so there is food.

"Never heard of making noodles out of seaweed," Tommy explains, and he's invested. All forms of noodles are good. As for the other thing... that makes him frown. "Isn't hunting seals illegal?"

That's weird, he's never hard of people that ate them. Not in the modern day.

"Illegal? Not anywhere I know of. Tiger seals are one of the main sources of food for the Water Tribe. It's not like anything grows down there except different kinds of seaweed in the water. It's just frozen tundras and ocean as far as the eye can see. We do occasionally get traders who come down from the Earth Kingdom to exchange bags of rice and grain for pelts and beads, or even some of the weapons the warriors know how to make."

Life at the South Pole wasn't easy, to put not so fine a point on it.

"Seaweed noodles are great, though. They're great served with seared fish on the top, too." Her stomach gives a little growl at the thought of her grandmother's home cooked meals. It's been such a long time since she's had anything like the food of her tribe, and she knows she won't be getting any now that she's on a different world.

Water tribe? What is that? Earth Kingdom? Wow, that's definitely new and interesting. He does dash forward, though, a quick fifty mph jaunt to the edge of the greenhouse to start coaxing the door open.

"Never heard of a Water Tribe. Or people living on the South Pole. Maybe you're from some future where we've messed up the planet too much."

Katara makes a noise of surprise when Tommy rushes ahead, nearly dropping the water but managing to recover before it hits the ground. It swirls safely back up above her head. The question of where (or when) she lives is forgotten for a moment.

"How did you move that fast?" she asks. "That was incredible!" She's seen Aang move at incredible speeds with his airbending, but this can't be that--he'd said he didn't know anyone else who could control the elements, more or less.

"Says the girl that's making water do what she wants it to do, like that isn't the most amazing thing ever," Tommy counters. Because he's not that amazing. There are fast people. Then again, he's the only one here so far as he knows, so maybe he's not crazy. Okay, yes, he IS pretty amazing.

Still, it's a compliment, and he loves it, grinning wider.

"I'm super fast. That's, like, slow for me. But there isn't enough food for me to really show off."

While it is an objective fact that she's one of the most powerful waterbenders back on her world, and the only waterbender on this one, Tommy's words still make her giggle. Her bending might not be the most amazing thing ever, but it's definitely special to her, and she's happy to use it to help other people.

The idea that the speed he just displayed is slow to him is a little mind-boggling, but Katara is pretty good at learning to adjust to things.

"Not enough food? That makes sense, I guess. Maybe with this water we can start to change that."

Bending IS the most amazing thing ever. Which is something that should be respected. But he grins with her just taking it as in stride as best she can, because Tommy is the best. He does get the doors open and stands in the way of them.

"Come on, be careful let's get that in, and then I'll show you to the area we're working on."

The water flows in through the door just ahead of Katara, and she follows Tommy to one of the upper levels. It has the look of a garden run wild and only recently tamed, if only in part. She loves it, and the wide, clear windows seem to intrigue her.

"This place is great!" The water floats in lazy loops and circles overhead as she looks around.

"It is. I work here a lot, because food and all," Tommy agrees, moving carefully through the plants. The paths are still sorta choked over, so he doesn't dare use his speed in here most of the time.

"Is there, like, a way you can make it more like rain or something? Letting the water all fall hard at once could hurt the plants."

It feels weird, to be so worried about them. But he's doing it anyway. This place has already positively impacted him.

"Rain? Yeah, I think I can do that. And I can do something about these vines, too, once we're done watering everything."

Once they're in a spot central enough to evenly distribute the water, Katara bends her knees slightly to distribute her weight, her arms making wide, circular motions. Above them, the water rises, forming into sphere and then a disk that flattens out. It hangs above them, rippling gently, until droplets begin to fall gently around them. She's silent as it 'rains'--the focus required keeps her attention fixed until the water is depleted.

"How was that?" she asks when it's done, grinning. Both of them are drenched as a result of the rainfall, but that was to be expected. One swift bending move pulls the water from their clothes and hair, and she lets that pour out onto the dirt.

"I bet I could freeze a layer of water on the ceiling," she suggests. "Since it's so warm in here, it would melt gradually and drip on the plants."

Something about the vines? Tommy doesn't know what she means. But the water? He might just grin and dance around in it a little. That's good. That's very good. He loves it. Loves it so much because he's never seen this himself. It's exciting. And when she's done he grins and moves over to a nearby bit of dirt.

"That was pretty cool," he answers as he sticks his fingers into the soil to check it. "You didn't need to pull it from me, though. I could have shaken it all off. As for the ceiling, don't melting things run down slopes? Like, would it drip down or melt to the side? And would it block the light? You should run it by Vision, he's the smart one. Can come up with a decision there."

Because the ice might prevent the sun from even coming in. He doesn't know, he isn't sure.

"If I made evenly-spaced icicles, they'd let the water drip down all over. I could make it pretty clear, too, but I don't mind bringing in new water every day if that won't work." It's not like she has any other pressing engagements here, after all, and she likes having something to do.

It hadn't occurred to her that Tommy could shake the water off, but she supposes that makes sense for someone that can move as fast as him. "I'll remember that for next time, but it's no trouble."

As for the vines, she spots one that looks good to demonstrate with, and then after confirming it's part of the foliage that needs to be cleared, she takes her bending stance again. "I can use waterbending on things that have water in them, like plants. See?" The vine pulls away from the tree, and she tosses it away with a wave of her hand.

That... Tommy stares in shock and oh boy you better bet that his brain is running SO MANY calculations here. How much faster it might be to clear paths like this. How they could tease vines free easier so they could put them on proper runners. So many things.

"Okay, unless you're needed for healing or something, I don't suppose I can call dibs on you for helping out here."

Because she's about the most useful person, like, EVER.

"Of course I'll help," Katara says, nodding eagerly. While she never would have imagined herself becoming a farmer, she never really could have imagined any of this situation happening to her, and yet here she is.

"Do you think the plants need more water or was that enough for today?"

If she had any idea how much energy she's saved him today, and possibly in the future, Katara would realize just how much of a hero she was. But for now he's grinning, because of course he is. And he raises a finger to indicate she wait.

Because, right now, he can blow a bit of energy.

He moves as quick as he dares through the plants, which isn't anywhere near top speed but is definitely faster than even a sky bison could fly, fingers dipping in and out of soil all around to gauge dampness. Then he's back at her side, just a few minutes used. There was a lot of area to cover.

"It's really good. I might ask for your help tomorrow, though. Shit, I don't even know what to do with the rest of my day. Probably more pruning. Unless you need help setting up space in the hotel or something. Sorta feel like I owe you."

Katara is still in total awe of Tommy's speed. That he can move like that without even being a bender is still a little hard to believe, but this is a new world with new possibilities. She tries to follow him with her eyes as much as she can until he's back beside her, and she gives a nod.

"I can help tomorrow, too. It's not like I have to worry about fighting a war here," she says, then realizes that was probably an overshare and laughs breezily.

"I found a room, and it could use more cleaning, but I think I'd rather stay here and work more in the garden. You don't owe me anything--everyone needs to pitch in for the sake of the group, right?"

A war? Wow, Tommy goes immediately to looking sad. How can he not? That's... She's young. Like him. More than him. And that hurts, knowing she had to deal with that. But he can see it, what control like hers could do for someone in a war. And if there are people of other elements too, that's bad.

But she makes him smile. She's awesome, and she's driven, and Tommy respects that.

"Okay. These plants are really complicated and strange. Let me help you learn them? Because, you know, not everyone wants to deal with data uploads in their brains."

"Would you teach me? It's kind of a lot, and it might take a while," Katara points out. "I don't know how to make anything grow--the only plants that I'd ever seen before I left the South Pole were pine trees and different kinds of seaweed. But, I like to learn, and I want to help, so..."

With a grin, she places her hands together, one fist in her open palm, and gives Tommy a little bow. "Teach me everything you know, Sifu Tommy."

001 - Speed Is Productive!

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