test drive meme

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Test Drive Meme The Pan Pacific Defense Corps was usually offered any of a variety of local buildings to set up their testing centers. For reasons of access and availability, most testing clinics were set up in central areas for any given community. Those of the PPDC staff on hand vary in their personal intensity. Some of the men and women wearing Strike Group insignia seemed overly serious, to the point of frowning with intensity at some of the youngest checking in for this testing round. Those from the K-Science division are tight with nervous energy as they direct prospective cadets through various activities. Everything was meant to measure potential, looking for that spark that meant they had somebody who was Drift Compatible. The majority of people were turned away after the first series of seemingly random tests, officials looking in eyes, placing odd looking contraptions over heads, asking for people to play a series of short games, one even in a virtual reality set-up.
	( SCENARIO ONE ) If you are still here now, you've made it past the first cut. You'll be sat down in a room with the rest who have made it this far, then systematically led into smaller interview rooms as pairs. If you came with a partner, they're your first interview candidate. If you came on your own, all your interviews are random assignment. All who have been asked to stay are required to sit through and conduct a series of short peer to peer interviews. The questions are straightforward. What is your least favorite color? Which tool in a standard toolbox is most useful to you? What time of day do you accomplish the most? Do you have children? What do you believe the Drift is like? Peer to peer interviews last for half an hour to an hour, and each person is asked to participate in at least three peer-to-peer interviews. There is no punishment for going off script. There is a one-way mirror looking into each interview area, and one door leading into the room with a small panel of glass located on the door. There is a clock on the wall in each room. The time they report is odd, when examined. These are not digital clocks, but timers, counting up time since the last Kaiju attack.
	( SCENARIO TWO ) Congratulations! You have been judged Drift Compatible, and sent home to pack after giving a definite yes to the Pan Pacific Defense Corps. The next thing you face down is the flight into Santiago, Chile, and the subsequent drive in to Valparaíso's Shatterdome. You and the rest of the crowd of soon to be PPDC Ranger Cadets have been gathered together to wait for the old bus scheduled to take you to the Shatterdome. While waiting in the open air, those from any Northern Hemisphere countries may find the summer weather strange. Today's high is going to be in the upper 80's, and there's not a cloud to be seen that's not clinging to the distant mountains. Welcome to Chile. When the bus arrives, it's another hour ride out toward the coastline to get to the Shatterdome. Even better? The bus Air Conditioner is broken. Safe travels, Cadets!
Please set up your own scenarios as you like. The above two scenarios are suggestions. Anything goes!

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Comments

Re: Yuri Lowell | Tales of Vesperia

[protagerrant]

This kid...

"If you become a jaeger pilot, everyone's going to have to deal with you." He almost left it at that, but he figured Luke would take it exactly the wrong way, so he elaborated. "If you can't earn the respect of your peers you have to face every day, how are you on going to make it? "

Re: Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss

[heliokleptic]

There's that blush again. Are all conversations with Guy going to get to him this way now? He's still not sure what to make of it, really. But he wasn't going to argue. He knew better than that, even if he found the idea of him inspiring Guy ridiculous at its core.

Didn't give him much of an idea on what to say after something like that, though.

"Okay... Lets both become Jaeger pilots then." His smile comes more easily, if still shyly this time. "Between the two of us, no one will believe it."

Re: Yuri Lowell | Tales of Vesperia

[heliokleptic]

"Oh man..."

Yuri's right, Luke does take it exactly the wrong way, eyes widening with concern and then turning to look slowly back toward the compound. When he turns back to Yuri, his expression is guilty. It takes him a second to respond, feeling out his words.

"I can... deal with people hating me. I've gotten pretty used to that. But... I just don't want to bring up anyone's bad memories, so I figured I'd avoid people." A pause, and then with a slight nod at Yuri. "Especially if they made it clear they know who I am."

"But..." He adds, rushing into the next sentence so Yuri lets him finish, then pausing when he isn't sure where to go. After a moment he sighs. "I guess you're right. I didn't really think about what it would be like if I actually make it."

Re: Yuri Lowell | Tales of Vesperia

[protagerrant]

Yuri let's him get it all out, not in a rush to butt in. He's not exactly thrilled to be having this conversation. Luke may not have killed all those people, but he stood for everything Yuri had hated for a long still. Still hated. If it wasn't so obvious that he was trying, Yuri would have been more than happy to leave him to the wolves.

“You can't just walk the walk. Jaeger pilots are heroes--That's the PR. If you can't make that work for you, they'll never put you in a machine, doesn't matter if you're the best pilot of the whole crop." He arched a brow. "And there's no guarantee you'll be drift compatible with this friend of yours."

The last statement was probably unfair, but he didn't want Guy to drift with Luke, him being an ex-spoiled rich kid the least of those reasons.

Re: Yuri Lowell | Tales of Vesperia

[heliokleptic]

Luke winces mildly, knowing that Yuri's saying the truth. "Actually, I'd be pretty surprised if I was." With the way things had been with Guy lately... Maybe in the past, but now a days he never knows what Guy is going to do or say. They definitely wouldn't be compatible that way.

"I guess I was hoping I'd just... meet someone who doesn't know or care about my family. Or... what dad did." He pauses, then reaches up to finger the back of his hair, tugging idly at the short strands. "But that was pretty stupid. No way my luck is that good."

Re: Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss

[protagerrant]

He smiles at the theatrics, but it turns wry. "No, I've never drifted. I couldn't find a partner back in Alaska, so I'm just as clueless as everyone else." Though he'd shown a baseline of compatibility with plenty of people, none of his prospects had been good enough for them to try a Drift.

Re: Yuri Lowell | Tales of Vesperia

[protagerrant]

"Everyone here is going to care about what your father did," Despite the emphasis, he tried to keep his tone level. It was a fantastically stupid and insensitive thing to say anyone could forgive his father, but Yuri tried to give him the benefit of the doubt. Luke was obviously bad at expressing himself along with being outstandingly naive. "But not everyone is going to hold that against you."

Would he himself have held it against Luke if he hadn't had his spiled lifestye shoved into his face so often? He didn't know.

Re: Yuri Lowell | Tales of Vesperia

[heliokleptic]

Oh shit. "I didn't mean that!" He sighed, but he was grateful that Yuri hadn't yelled at him for that, it came out a lot worse than he intended. "I just meant..."

But it didn't really matter what he meant, did it? If he'd learned anything from having so much of his life abruptly in the spotlight, what he intended, how he'd wanted it to come out, wasn't important. All that mattered was what he actually said. "Sorry, it doesn't matter. I know everyone's going to care."

He also knew it was true that not everyone would hold it against him, but how to explain... "And I know not everyone will hate me as much as they hated my father but... I guess." He pauses. "If you got to pick between someone whose the son of that guy, and basically anyone else, what would you do?" He doesn't wait for Yuri to respond. "Basically everyone is going to think the same way. And it's not like I can blame them."

Re: Yuri Lowell | Tales of Vesperia

[protagerrant]

"That's not a bad point." Very mild praise, but praise nonetheless. "But if this is what you want to do, you have to find a better balance between giving people space and facing them head-on. It's alright to try and change a person's mind about you, but only your actions can do that."

Re: Yuri Lowell | Tales of Vesperia

[heliokleptic]

Luke opened his mouth to say something, then closed it. Looking off with faint of embarrassment. He had been about to say he'd been trying, but looking back on it, had he really? Sure, he'd tried to argue his point a lot back in the beginning, and no one had listened. But hadn't he also kind of been an asshole? And had he ever not given up on it almost immediately? The only reason he was even around Yuri right now is because Yuri had made a point to invite him to stay, and then still spoken to him even when he tried to leave.

Maybe he'd be focusing so hard on how understandable it was for everyone to hate him he'd completely given up on the idea that maybe some wouldn't. Maybe just a few would think he was worth something other than being his father's son.

But he didn't really know how to put that into words, and the idea of it made his flustered blush increase, so he just manages, after a long moment to work out; "Okay. You're right..." And then, rather quietly. "Thanks."

Re: Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss

[ganbareist]

Guy is used to Luke being easy to fluster - it's one of the things about Luke he'd always known, really. Luke may have grown up a brat, but he was never able to handle praise or compliments - an awkward sign of the lack at home, which was all too clear to anyone who witnessed his relationship with his father. That - and a few other things about him that had always been kind, despite himself - is all part of why Luke effects Guy so much in the first place.

"That's more like it," he says, and it's genuine.

The crowd is mostly quiet or in small groups like the two of them, murmuring to each other and eyeing one another like the first day of school, and it's getting bigger as the majority finishes up. Guy had heard the PPDC had an almost immediate pass or fail result, once they saw or didn't see what they were looking for... whatever intangible "what" it was.

Would they hear their verdict soon?

Guy doesn't feel like his words have been wasted, and he's far calmer now than before, but it's hard for him feel if there was significant relief between the two of them. He'd been so analytic the last few years, maintaining distance, failing to maintain distance, being temperamentally judgmental... and it wasn't like Luke wasn't an easy read before. But Guy was at the end of his emotional rope right along with Luke now, trying to get a better grip. Everything had gotten complicated, and his relationship and conversations with Luke were frustratingly unpredictable to Guy because of it. He didn't like admitting it, but he knew a lot of that was his own damn fault, not just Luke's - and he never understood that fast enough. It was always when the heat of the moment was long past.

"And hey, even if we can't directly help, we can still be there. You're all I've got left after all... Well, almost."

You're all I have left. He could have said that better, he inwardly winces - he'd said that before, right before he made things really complicated, and without the little "almost" afterward.

"So, whatever happens, let's stick together."

Re: Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss

[heliokleptic]

Predictably, Luke turns bright red at mention of being all Guy has left. Well, almost. He was glad that was almost. It had been... honestly kind of alarming to hear in the first place, especially with how close Luke had been not long ago to taking his own life. He hadn't really thought Guy would care all that much if he disappeared. But he'd never tried to... quantify the important people in Guy's life before. He just assumed they had to be out there. Guy was the one who always had something to do, after all. Always somewhere to be and someone to help. Surely he'd made better friends than Luke by now.

He also didn't know what he felt about the sex that followed, or how he was supposed to take it. And honestly he had been avoiding thinking about it, assuming he wouldn't see Guy for months at best.

He reaches up to tug at the hair of the back of his neck absently, looking to the side and wishing for the blush to die down. At least the fact that he blushed easily -- a lifelong struggle -- meant maybe no one was getting any ideas. The important part was that regardless of everything else, at least this time he knew what Guy was saying.

"Yeah, let's not split up again."

[bushidork]

To his credit, Sugane didn't scream. He may have squawked a little, but it was easy enough to muffle it. Hopefully Tenpou didn't even notice. But...five second rule? They weren't going to eat them. Though judging by the semi-dissolved state of a few of the takeout boxes, he felt that he probably shouldn't rule that out as a possibility for Tenpou.

He took a position next to the sample tank, his arms awkwardly held at his sides, and tried not to look too hard at the specimen. It wasn't that it frightened him. After all, he was going to have to get used to Kaiju soon enough, it was more that he wasn't how he'd react if it decided to look back at him. It wasn't the most rational fear, but it would certainly reflect poorly on him if he were to start screaming like a little girl, a tendency he knew full well he had.

"Is there anything else I need to know, sir?"

Re: Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss

[ganbareist]

"So we're on even ground after all," Guy says, smiling a little. "So much for a sneak peek."

The Drift... an unspeakably world-altering development impacting the very core and history of mankind, psychic links made real. And Guy didn't think deeply about it. It was like staring into the sun of your secretive bullshit will be done for. Considering his behavior some one of the most important relationships of his life, maybe avoidance wasn't a surprise.

"We won't really know until we try, will we?" he finally answers with a sigh, looking at the table. "I'm not a picnic anymore, but that's not special. Whoever I Drift with," he says, pausing... then glancing up at Yuri. "They'll have their fair share too. Isn't that the point?"

Re: Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss

[ganbareist]

That's really all Guy wants to hear. Now he feels relief between them, if only in the "tension" meaning of the word. There's a brief moment where the corner of Guy's mouth twitches up at Luke's response - does he like getting a reaction out of Luke? Is it fond or is it a little mean, or both?

As if he didn't realize what memory that must have brought up, and couldn't see Luke's blushing intensify - not really wanting or willing to deal with that at all - Guy stuffs his hands in his pockets and casually leans back against the wall, looking out at the crowd.

"I wonder how much longer it'll take anyway," he says, airily.

Re: Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss

[heliokleptic]

Luke relaxes a bit at that, already finding this easier as long as he doesn't have to look Guy in the eyes. And it didn't hurt that maybe they'd... made up...? He wasn't sure what counted for made up anymore, and he knew Guy would be mad at him again, probably fore long. But... he guesses it's fine as long as they know they'll be okay in the long run.

He also leans back against the wall.

"Who knows...? There's a lot of people. It could be a while."

Re: Tamaki Suoh | Ouran High School Host Club | scenario one

[sparklyrichbastard]

"Do you?" He seems excited by the prospect. "But I'm certain we haven't been formally introduced until now. I'm Tamaki Suoh." He offers a hand and a bright smile. At least he's friendly.

[sparklyrichbastard]

That did the trick. The blood drains from his face. "D-dog? And little guinea pigs? They can't just do that..."

[sparklyrichbastard]

He tilts his head to the thought. "There's a sort of yellowish, brownish green that I think would be inordinately difficult to accessorize. So I suppose I could say that I'm not particularly fond of the color yellowish-brownish-green."

Re: Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss

[protagerrant]

"I guess so," he says evenly, gaze level with Guy's, letting the promise both of them were to cautious to verbalize hang between them.

If Yuri were to be honest--and he wouldn't be, not right now, maybe not until the Drift dredged up both their shaded histories--he would have said he thought the Drift felt like this: a conversation that existed entirely in things unsaid, foregrounded only by everything he knew about Guy, everything he knew about himself that he saw in Guy. A chill seeped down his spine as he considered himself under Guy's scrutiny. All these months he'd been letting the PPDC prepare him to Drift with someone, and despite his own preparation... He suddenly felt vastly unprepared for someone to Drift with him.

Well, he had a few months more to go to correct that. And he would.

[righthemisphere]

[He listens, standing still and quiet but everything about him reads easy. He's on the clock, sure, but screaming the guy down into the ground isn't going to help anything. That's not his job and besides, it's not his style.

But they know he's here. That's a good sign. Sounds like he's only missed the first orientation. Alright. He can work with this.]

Yeah that happens sometimes. Brand new Shatterdome, you know. Takes a while to get all the grit out of the system.

I can't tell you for sure but I think the office is this way. [He nods and starts off in the direction his brother had gone, walking slow enough to be side by side with their newest cadet. He walks with an unmistakable saunter and from the way his body moves in it, it's completely natural. He probably couldn't stop it if he tried. Not that he notices he does it.]

You got a name?

Re: Guy Cecil | Tales of the Abyss

[ganbareist]

Guy holds eye contact with Yuri as the moment stretches. Seconds tick by, feeling shorter and faster somehow, and Guy's fake expression melts off. He knows they're passing any acceptable length of silence in civilized conversation, logically, but he doesn't look away - Yuri doesn't either, so he's just as much to blame! - and he just can't figure out the words that say more than saying nothing.

As little as Guy had thought of the Drift itself, he had imagined the type of people he'd be able to Drift with en entirety. It would have to be a complete stranger, he'd decided. Another survivor. Someone else with giants crushing their memories. Probably someone not very nice - his deeper thoughts might disgust someone too noble. The most common conclusion Guy reached was, quite simply, a criminal with a chip on his shoulder.

He swallows, the bob in his throat sliding, under Yuri's gaze. Now, in just a few minutes, he isn't so sure he's right about that, and for the first time he feels unprepared.

Yuri Lowell... the orphan brat who'd pulled his hair, called him names and yelled at him to believe in himself. It feels like he was inside his walls already, and they hadn't even talked.

[ganbareist]

[Deep into his interviews now, Guy could immediately make a call on the people who were just bad at talking. He could relate - certainly better than he could relate to confident, demanding bravado, even though he knew perfectly well how to manage that too. Well, it wasn't like talking would be what they needed when they were in the Drift.

The lounging young American who sits across from him looks relaxed and easygoing, for his part, even in this stiff interview room under these circumstances. He wears a tied-off construction jumper and hands are scarred and rough, a worn pair of gloves shoved into his back pocket while he's inside filling out forms - definitely hard labor class.

He sizes his partner up, and smiles pleasantly.]

Red. And, my name is Guy Cecil. Nice to meet you. What's yours?

[righthemisphere]

[(That's probably true but Striker Eureka's change of pilot is personal and comes from a rift between brothers and that's always sad. A shame when things go south, but if Raleigh were in Chuck's shoes? He'd have forced his dad to let him in the moment he was strong enough to operate the motion controls - decent existing drift partner or not.

But it's none of his business and so he's not going to ask. Even if he and Yancy had spent a fair amount of time gossiping about it when the switch was announced.)]

Good, good. Did you come straight in from Sydney?

[He was kinda of expecting them last night if not earlier. He and Yancy had been in for a week or so. Had a chance to examine the facility a little, escape into the outside world and explore the closest town.]

[heliokleptic]

Luke was pretty sure the Andes was not one mountain but multiple mountains. He wasn't sure if that sounded awesome or terrifying, and is happy that Andrea remembered to pull them back on topic before he had to admit wasn't sure he was that into mountain biking.

He skims his question list, guessing where this is going. Getting distracted enough that he misses the hint that he might actually make it past the interviews. "No way." He wouldn't go so far to say he'd never picked up a tool in his life... but when he had it was mostly going through Guy's stuff, moving things around just to piss him off.

"But my friend who is told me the answer to this question once." One boring day when Luke was reading off quizzes from his mom's magazine to go avoid going stir crazy. He pauses, actually remembering what Guy had said. "Chisel." The rest wasn't exactly something you put on your resume, though.

Maybe if he moved on fast enough she wouldn't ask him to elaborate. "You?"