3668/Welcome to FullDive

Welcome to FullDive
Date of Scene:	15 January 2016
Location:	Alfheim Online <ALO>
Synopsis:	Kirito introduces Toph to VR, curious to see the result.
Cast of Characters:	Kirito, 20

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Kirito has posed:
    It's time for a certain Earthbender to dive into VIRTUAL REALITY!

    And Kirito's decided the best place to do this is the FullDive research lab at Union R&D. Well... it's called a lab, but...

    Mostly, the room just has a bunch of server racks and some nicely ergonomic reclining chairs - not unlike the sort one encounters at a dentist, but far plushier and without all the scary equipment around.

    Kirigaya Kazuto's seated sideways on one. He's put the call out - quietly - and set everything up.

    The rack-mounted servers hum quietly in the corner. Yui's voice comes from a spherical camera gadget mounted on one of the chairs. "What do you think, papa? Will it work?"

    Kazuto's expression is rather pinched. "I'm not a neurologist... but it SHOULD work. SOMETHING should happen..."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Luckily Kirito, at least that's what most people call him anyway, doesn't have to wait long. Not that she hasn't been in this part of Njorun before, but Toph is hardly helpless and able to find her way around despite her condition.

    A brief knocking on the door, and the blind earthbender steps into the room, her face turned towards the chairs that she can partially 'see' with her bending. Not to mention she did just hear Kirito's voice here. "Man, you really need all this stuff just to play a game? Usually Goldie just uses a controller and looks at his huge TV," she comments. Sure, technology isn't her field, not with her coming from a world where bending did most of the stuff. Sure, she can use a computer with Braille and voice assist, but it's hardly something she's focused a lot on. But then again, everybody is talking about these games all the time.

    So can you blame her for being a bit curious about this and if it will work?

    She moves over to one of the chairs, reaching out to touch it. "So we just sit in these, huh?"

Kirito has posed:
    Kazuto laughs lightly at the comment and steps over. "Yeah. And no. You only need the headset, but you'd regret diving for hours sitting on the floor. The gear over in the corner... those computers run our FullDive research. And right now I've got them running a small virtual environment for your first dive. Figured you'd prefer that over going straight into Alfheim!"

    Now that she's arrived, Kazuto's jumpiness is acting up. Under all the bravery and heroics he's really just an awkward teen in black clothing. "So... the way this helmet works? It talks straight to your brain. So it's kind of like being in a dream. Everything you feel, smell... maybe even see, every movement you want to make is controlled by it. You ready for it?"

    He's a bit excited! ... And a bit nervous at the same time... still though, Kirito hands Toph an AmuSphere. it's plugged into the wall with a cord. "Slip this over your head and lay down. It's an AmuSphere, the machine most people use for this. If it doesn't work we can try plan B. Just say 'LINK START' when you're ready."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Hey, I sleep on the ground and on rocks, but I get your point..." Toph says with a shrug as she moves to sit down in the chair. When he says that he's got it running a small virtual environment instead of the game the blind girl looks slightly surprised at first, though she nods. "That might be better, considering I haven't tried it before." Heck, they don't even know if it will work.

    Not even when he tries to explain it. Dreams are one thing, but electronic equipment working with her mind? It's strange to think about, especially when Kirito mentions that one sense she doesn't have. "I don't know if I am really ready and prepared, but I guess I never will be," she points out. But she takes the helmet thing she's handed and puts it on, having to push it down a fair bit due to her hairbun, though she eventually manages to get it on right before she lies back in the chair. Man, this feels a bit weird... The earthbender rolls her head and shoulders a bit to get comfortable. Just what does he mean by plan B? Does she even want to know?

    Though Toph doesn't hesitate at least, seeing no point in hesitating. So she closes her eyes, takes a deep breath and then speaks. "Link start."

Kirito has posed:
    LINK START indeed!

    Toph's awareness of where she's AT immediately plunges into... well, 'darkness' more than she's already used to, really. SEISMIC SENSE probably won't work the moment 'feeling her legs' gets mapped to a virtual avatar. A series of checks are performed as the device calibrates itself to her neurology! It even includes a series of labeled progress rings flashing past as each sensory module loads and links up!

    But this FullDive doesn't lead into a login screen or anything spectacular like that. Rather than bombard Toph with any complicated computer business at this early stage...

    It instead leads straight into a Virtual Environment.

    Toph's avatar manifests atop a FLOATING ISLAND. A large one roughly three hundred meters across. One giant tree's at the center of the island, surrounded by a field of green grass blowing in the wind. It's a warm summer day... but not TOO warm. And the transition from 'laying down' to 'upright' might be a bit odd.

    The only question is... how much of this VR land is reaching a certain important sense?

    Kirito appears a few moments after Toph does. His avatar rezzes into existence a few short hops away.

    Toph's avatar is based on herself, though it lacks the detail KIRITO's. He's in his usual black longcoat... and peering warily Toph's way. Unsure how she's going to react.

    Or what she's experiencing.

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    The moment the words leave her mouth the blind girl immediately tenses, trying to deal with the sudden sensation of... well, whatever this is!

    With her bending not transferable to this virtual reality it's as if a regular person just lost their ability to see. Though the moment she feels /something/ though, she feels herself drawing a gasp. The air tastes fresher here, different than the one inside Njorun. There's grass between her toes, earth underneath the soles of her feet, wind tugging at her hair that seems to no longer be underneath a heavy helmet. Okay, this is beyond weird. It's probably a good thing she's kept her eyes closed. The regular sensory input she's used to experiencing is more than enough at the moment, especially when she has to deal with not being able to 'see' like she normally does.

    When Kirito logs into the virtual environment he might not be surprised to see Toph stumble just slightly as if regaining her balance, raising her hands up to her head. "Okay, okay... THIS is weird!" she says, keeping her eyes closed. It looks like her fingers are searching for the AmuSphere she just put on, even if she knows that she's not really somewhere with grass and wind right now. Her real self is in a chair with a helmet on her head.

    "You there? Kirito?" she asks, turning slightly as she reaches out, fumbling. And then she opens her eyes and pauses, her expression turning to a mix of shock and confusion before she blinks several times. Though she's still fumbling for /something/ with that outstretched hand.

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito's not really sure how appropriate it is, what happens next, but seeing Toph fumbling around - maybe for him, maybe not...

    "I'm here!" He quickly answers, reaching out and gently grasping the questing hand as proof.

    It feels WEIRD. Oh it's warm and gives like flesh, but the texture's a bit too SIMPLE for a person's hand. It lacks some of the intricate roughness, creases... but it's still a warm, friendly hand!

    "Looks like you connected alright! Yeah. It takes a bit of getting used to. ... So... anything?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    When Kirito takes her hand it's clear that Toph is a bit surprised at first, though she doesn't pull her hand away nor do anything else. But she doesn't look like she's afraid at least. "Man, your hand feels a bit weird too." Yup, everything in this virtual reality is now under the category of 'weird'. Deal with it.

    Even after he has posed his question, it appears that Kirito will have to wait a few seconds before Toph responds, although rather hesitantly compared to how she usually talks. "I... don't really know what it's supposed to be like," she finally says rather quietly.

    Up close Kirito should be able to notice some things though. In real life, Toph's eyes are pale, pupils barely visible in those pale green irises. Her avatar's eyes look normal, and though her eyes are unfocused and don't really look back and forth, it does seem like she is turning her head far more than she does in real life. "It's... kinda fuzzy. Like cotton." Obviously it's hard for her to explain this entire concept. And she does close her eyes for a few seconds before she pulls her hand back and then moves to simply flop down on her butt with a heavy sigh.

    "Gimmie a minute."

Kirito has posed:
    The avatar's eyes are brown and not her strange pale ones, but what they LOOK like compared to what she's actually seeing 'through them' is something Kirito can't really tell obviously!

    He lets go once it's clear that she's not about to freak out or anything though. And seats himself across from her. "I guess... since you've never seen anything before... your brain's not used to anything FullDive's giving it?" He mumbles aloud. "Yeah. Just take a bit."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    No, Toph isn't the type to freak out as she's usually calm and cool headed. Even in strange situations like this. Kirito is here and clearly not freaking out either, which is good. So let's just approach this from a logical standpoint.

    What Kirito says does make sense though, and she nods. "Yeah... I was born blind. And everybody says my eyes look blind too, so..." She sighs, reaching a hand up to rub at her forehead. "It would make sense. They do talk about having to retrain the brain after accidents and all that crud. My brain never learned how to see in the first place since my eyes are messed up." Maybe that's why it's so weird now. And why she's keeping her eyes closed. "It's strange to not have my bending here either, too," she adds with a forced chuckle. Obviously that's something she's more used to.

    Though her eyes do carefully flutter open again, and she squints slightly. "I... think I get what light is. It's still really fuzzy, though." They do mention that people are sharp eyed, so she supposes it's not supposed to be like this. "Do you see as well here as you do for real?"

Kirito has posed:
    "Yeah. More or less. VR doesn't give you as much... 'information' at once as real eyes unless you're focusing hard on something though. Maybe that'll work in your favor. Once you get used to it...?"

    He's really, REALLY not sure if she can. Or will. "Either way... welcome to FullDive. You can experience anything in here from flying to eating any food you want without gaining weight. Or adventuring with other people connected to the same environment!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    That sounds good, Toph decides. So she nods her head a little, blinking twice as she tilts her head back, a slightly dazed look on her face. "It's different blurry when I turn my head like this..." she says. Will she get used to this, will her brain be able to process the information that the FullDrive is feeding it?

    "I think I will pass on the flying, I have gone flying with Goldie before and it wasn't exactly my thing. Bring on the pizzas and banana splits though!" she jokes. But flying might be less scary and more interesting if you can see. Or maybe not.

    Adventuring with other people might be fun too, like real adventuring. But why not go on real adventures? Games aren't real though, so maybe that's why. People play games for the immersion effect they say... Toph turns her head towards Kirito. She blinks again, tilting her head just slightly before she leans closer and squints her eyes even more. Which might be kinda weird to see the blind earthbender do, even if this is her avatar. "You're... dark fuzzy? That's you right?" Wait... is this actually working?

Kirito has posed:
    "Huuuh. Sounds like your brain is getting the input... but hasn't learned what to do with it yet. That's good though! It means you can maybe adapt." And he can't help but grin a little as hope fills him when she points out that she can indeed make out a DIFFERENCE with him.

    "That's me.--eeh?" Having her lean in on him has him tensing up and making a rather weirded out expression himself! Like a deer in headlights!

    "This technology might be a wonder for other blind people on my home world who aren't good enough to 'see' with their feet like you. Let's see though..."

    Kirito decides to hold out a hand though. "SYSTEM COMMAND. Generate Objects, pepperoni pizza in pizza box!"

    With a light THUMP a rather generic pizza materializes a foot off the ground and lands solidly.

    It's a pizza alright. With steam wafting from the venting holes in the box and THAT GLORIOUS SCENT!

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Well, there's nothing wrong with my /brain/ from what I know! The scans they have taken in medical are normal they say, I think they would have let me know if something was wrong," Toph points out. Unlike him she doesn't tense up nor make a weird expression. She recognizes the tone in his voice easily enough however, and she snorts. "I thought you were used to VR technology, what are /you/ freaking out about?" Though luckily for him she does lean back again, clearly not intending to get all up in his face.

    "You mean they really haven't tried it on people who have lacked senses before? Like deaf people?" Man, living without sound would be really weird. But she is quiet when Kirito holds out his hand and speaks what sounds like a command. And she blinks when she hears something hit the ground nearby, and she turns her head a bit towards it, blinking a few times though obviously not looking directly at the pizza. "Woah! I can even smell it!" Obviously not worried Toph leans forward, fumbling a bit as she reaches for the box, pulling it close in front of them as she opens it and grabs a slice. At least she's not completely helpless, especially not with the promise of pizza. When she takes a bite though she pauses, chewing it. "The taste seems pretty real..." Then the earthbender holds the pizza slice up in front of her, squinting her eyes. "This is different fuzzy." Toph pauses. "I'm not explaining this well, am I...?"

Kirito has posed:
    "D-did I say there was?!" Kirito blurts nervously. Girls. Girls are always giving him trouble. "... N-nothing. Just... errr... nah. Just a culture thing." Or.. maybe something more, but he wants off of that topic fast.

    PIZZA DISTRACTION MAKES THE BEST DISTRACTION!

    "And all without filling your belly in reality! ... Some people get carried away with this and forget to actually eat. ... Or they eat too much in VR and it spoils dinner since they stop feeling hungry for a while. Brains are tricky. But..."

    He reaches up with one hand to scratch at his chin, peering himself now. "You're probably seeing colors. My dark clothes are black... pepperoni's red. The cheese is white? And your clothes are... mostly green." He tries to explain.

    "Yeah. There's been some tests. But every person's case is different. I had no idea what you were going to experience!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    Man, he's skittish like a bunnyroo.

    While Kirito talks Toph takes a moment to eat some more pizza, munching on her slice of pizza. It feels like she's really eating, with the taste, chewing, swallowing, the warmth of the fresh pizza... Heck, when she talks with food in her mouth it has the same effect. "Well, I kinda prefer the real stuff, but this isn't too bad." Might be a good way to connect with friends and family before the warp gates though, she'll give it that.

    So that's colours?

    Black is dark of course, which would make sense. She holds up the pizza again, and yeah... it's different. And it's slightly less fuzzy now. Then she takes notice of what's beyond the pizza slice. "That's... blue?" she asks, her voice quiet. If the sky in here is the same as the real sky. Curiously Toph tilts her head down, man this is really weird... her clothes are the same colour as the grass. So that's green...

    Several tests, different results... No, they had no idea what would happen if she tried this. Though she seems a bit distracted from her pizza. "I think... I think it's becoming slightly less fuzzy now..." the young girl states, blinking her eyes a few times as she stares at her pizza slice.

Kirito has posed:
    "The sky's blue." Kirito affirms, a bit of impish triumph leaking into his tone - and he just cant' help but smile a bit. WELCOME TO A NEW PART OF THE WORLD, Toph! .. he wants to cry out.

    But he of course, doesn't do that highly embarassing thing.

    "Great to hear. ... If you get used to this, the next big thing would be Alfheim Online..."

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    So she can see colours correctly... at least she assumes so. Because it's different, that she can tell. Even if it's new territory it seems like the FullDive is working, albeit gradually and slowly. But it kind of makes sense.

    Though she does reach a hand up to her head, closing her eyes. "Maybe... it's getting sharper, but I think I'm getting a headache from all of this." She puts the slice of pizza down on the grass, it's not real anyway, and she leans forward, resting her elbows on her knees. "Even if I didn't really see things clearly, it's... more than I thought my first try would be like. Maybe I'll see more the next time I try."

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito can't help but wince. A headache? "Guess... I shouldnt' be surprised. It's like straining a muscle you've never used. Yeah, maybe you should log off. Want me to get you out of here?" The boy offers, tone a little uncertain.

    "You sure have something neat to try now though!"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Maybe I need to take it easy in the beginning unless I wind up with a broken brain or something," she agrees with a nod, keeping her eyes closed for now. "So yeah, I should log off. How do I do that? Link end?" Hey, it's worth a try.

    But yeah, he's right. This is kinda neat in addition to being strange. Though she can't help but wonder. "Do you... do you look like you do for real?" she asks, clearly curious. Even if she didn't get a sharp look of him.

Kirito has posed:
    "..." Kirito scratches the side of his head before answering that one. "Pretty close, yeah. Later I'll tell you how that came about. Ah... logging out usually requires a menu. But... since you can't see the menu details... let's see... SYSTEM COMMAND: Initiate Logout, ID 'Toph', timer five seconds!"

    With a *Blip* a rectangular window showing the countdown appears in front of toph. A whitish grey color with black text. Probably just a blur to her though, huh?

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    "Well, unless the menu is in Braille it won't do me much good," she points out with a smirk. Which might give Kirito a heads up for something that should be implemented if blind people are to play the game.

    Though upon hearing the blip Toph can't help but open her eyes, despite the headache she's experiencing... and she looks right at the weird symbols in front of her...

    Then suddenly, she finds herself lying down in the chair, with the helmet on as she lets out a gasp. The headache is still there, though none of the 'colours' or such are there any longer. Instead she feels the sense of metal around her, her hearing is sharper than it was in the VR.

    She blinks, then exhales and reaches up to take off the helmet in a slow manner without a word as she sits up and reaches a hand up to rub at her face, swinging her feet off of the chair and setting them down on the floor so she can 'see'. Yeah, this... is more familiar. And less headache inducing.

Kirito has posed:
    Kirito's on the next reclining chair over. His gadget was a bit heavier. A full headset, not a headband, but he hoists it off easily and sits up, looking her Toph's way...

    And Yui's voice sounds from a gadget on Kirito's chair. "Congratulations, Ms. Bei Fong! Your first FullDive went well?"

    "She got a headache... but I'd say it went well." Kirito interjects.

    Yui questions this. "A headache...?"

Toph Beifong (20) has posed:
    At first Toph is quiet, rubbing her forehead as she sets the AmuSphere aside. Hearing Yui's voice isn't too surprising, she's heard it before after all. "As well as it could have gone, I guess... and yeah, it's not too bad though. I'll just grab some Tylenol, drink water and go to sleep, and hopefully it will sort itself out," she says without much concern.

    Getting to her feet she turns towards the door, relieved that her bending is as it's supposed to be. "... thanks. I think I'll head home now. Maybe we can try Alfheim some other time. I... just didn't want lots of people around in case it didn't work or if I freaked out or something." Which would have been awkward as she hates being seen as anything but her strong and confident self.