academyooc | test drive meme

Entry tags:

#test drive

test drive meme

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!

→ Directory ←

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

"Red." It comes out before he's actually thought about the answer, though it's easy enough to guess why. Kamina was always in red. He'd been particularly fond of a dramatic red cloak. It was a look that would have seemed ridiculous and out of place if anyone else had tried to wear it, but Kamina made it a part of himself.

"Ah..." He reaches up and runs a hand through his own hair, realizing he'd gone silent for a long moment there. He was glad he could finally remember his brother and feel something other than misery, but those feelings were still an easy way to derail him. "Because that was his color." He didn't clarify who 'his' was, if she knew him, she knew Kamina ten times better, probably.

She nods, accepting the answer and the move beyond it with equal unanimity of what subject bore more interest or importance.

"It isn't possible, even if each and every one of us proved Drift Compatible with more than one partner. The cost of Jaeger manufacturing and maintenance is very high. From what I understand, there are currently no more in production. Only one of the Mach V's has been finished."

They were entering the picture as reserve troops. Sakura wouldn't deny there is appeal in the possibility, but just as she sees that appeal, she also sees the practical realities that joining the program allowed her. Access to higher education and career paths the PPDC would help fund, in return for continuing service.

It's one way to get to medical school while still supporting her family, for all the disapproval they felt for her particular decision. For them, nothing less than piloting would be excuse enough for what she's done.

"We must be of assistance in whichever way we can. Completion of the program could still mean years of waiting for another piloting pair to retire, or for the next wave of Mach V's to be completed." If they ever would be.

His is a silence she shares, eyes downcast. She knows who it is he means, making a sound of assent in response to his words. Losing someone so close, with whom such an intense bond was shared, is unfathomable to Sakura. One day she might understand, but for now, she can only empathize from the limited scope of her own experiences.

She's lost her Grandparents, but she doesn't feel it equates to the same thing, only a recognition of grief and the non-linear nature of the mourning cycle.

"He had always seemed as warm as the sun." Red as it was on her country's flag, she hopes Simon understands her allusion. "It is a fitting color to have warm thoughts for."

"Don't point at your elders like that," was the immediate response to the finger being pointed in her direction, though if her memory served her correctly, the man in front of her wasn't that much younger than her. He was somewhere around her own younger brother's age, but Joo Mun had been raised to respect even a single year's worth of age difference. And that was one thing she was intent on making sure other people respected too.

Leaning back in her seat with her arms crossed, she regarded the man once more, squinting at him a little during her examination.

"So you ended up joining the PPDC too?"

Kate is here for one simple reason, helping people. Her dad isn't glad she left, trying to convince her that there were so many other people who could do the job in attempt to get her to stay in New York. But Kate was far too stubborn to just allow him to decide her life for her. So here she is at the Shatterdome, and she's finally at the age where her dad doesn't get to dictate her life decisions. Her family doesn't need support from her, so she's free to do whatever she'd like.

"The handful of us who stay will be." She hopes. There's something to be said for piloting a Jaeger, and stopping a kaiju in direct combat. But there are entire crews devoted to making the machines run. If she can't be a pilot, she'd settle for making sure the machines don't malfunction. (But she'd much rather be in the pilot seat.)

"Why'd you apply?"

The sudden voice nearby brought her out of her thoughts, head shooting up in surprise as she looked with wide eyes at the person addressing her. While the staffing at any Shatterdome was bound to be sizable and unmemorable, there were a select few faces that just about any and every one would recognize.

One of them just happened to be in front of her. The surprise of being caugh wandering around, more than the surprise of exactly who had caught her, tripped up her tongue.

"Wu- Ah- yeah. Some of the other guys have been telling me about how young some of them are this time."

"The sun might just be warm enough." He understands. That other people at once do and don't understand. He wasn't foolish enough to think that he was the only one that lost a loved one, or the only one that lost Kamina. He'd been a precious source of hope and courage to thousands. Kamina had believed in everyone's potential, and in doing so, shown them how to believe in themselves. For a long time he hadn't quite realized that, and had hidden alone in his grief. But it was strangely a relief to know that others shared it.

But he couldn't spend this entire interview thinking wishfully about his dead 'aniki'. He glances down at the next question on the paper. "This is one isn't bad... What's the most useful tool in a toolbox?"

Curiosity or not, it sparks some anger in Kou's eyes to be accused of it. He wouldn't ever throw the things his family has done for him in their faces. He's grateful to them, especially now. He bites his tongue and reminds himself that they aren't alone, here. It doesn't stop him from glaring.

"There wasn't a discussion."

There never was. He could give his case to his parents in hopes they might fall on his side and try to influence things, but he didn't have sway over any of it personally. The same as with basketball, the answer had nearly been 'no.' But then they'd thought things over again and realized they could spare him. It wasn't a joy filled moment for him after all.

It's the same answer she's given time after time, to the point where by now it's automatic. "Nails," she says, feeling that, too, might make sense to Simon in a way it hasn't across other cultural divides. She glances down to the paper, really dreading the last question on the list. There was no way not to sound a fool in front of someone who knew the reality.

Please let us be interrupted before then!

"Which one is most useful to you?"

"A drill." He hadn't thought about this question before but the answer came easily enough. There was really no other option. "With a drill and some perseverance even a normally weak person can break through any obstacle."

Since that answer came easily he could direct some thought to the puzzle of Haruno-san's. His first thought when it came to nails was that they were piercing and could make a good weapon, if used with precision. But if she was interested in a weapon, there were still better options. The same with a drill, certainly it could hurt someone, but that sounded like a really shallow objective. So maybe that meant... "Could it be... Are you the type that likes to make sure things hold together?"

Edited 2014-02-18 05:42 (UTC)

She tucks a strand of hair behind her ear. The honest truth is a little too raw for her, though there are little tells that why she's here is beyond what she'll say. The shortness of her hair, cut recently. The fact her dye job went down to the roots for now. Her nervousness, but a lack of doting yearning after the end objective.

It'd be nice, but it wasn't everything.

"Duty," she says in the end. "I had to try. I wanted to, also. I don't want to sound like I'm here for anything other than what I want! It's a chance to make a difference, no matter what happens from here."

All of those tells really don't tip Kate off to anything. She's a bit too straightforward to really notice Sakura hiding anything. She just nods in understanding.

"I get that." She doesn't have a reason to be here besides her own desire to help. Even if she is incredibly apprehensive over sharing her mind with somebody else. But who wouldn't be?

Andrea walked toward the unfamiliar woman, inclining her head forward in acknowledgment. "Sixteen is generally the youngest. Chuck Hansen blazed that trail for teenagers the world over, and some of that's spilling over on our doorstep."

She came to a stop nearby. "What division are you working in? Andy Martin." She held out her hand.

"I always thought he was a special case... like, he's always had some kind of talent for it. Or maybe that's what I'm used to hearing from my mother all the time."

She relaxed a little more at the conversation which was thankfully empty of commands and clear shows of rank, tilting up the rim of her cap once more so she could more clearly see the woman in front of her. It was a little different seeing a name and face on TV all the time than having it in front of you, but to be honest it wasn't really the pilots that had always caught Joo Mun's eye during the broadcasts. The Jaegers, now those beauties... wow...

Her hand moved automatically to shake the offered one, smiling as she did.

"I'm Ah- oh, Joo Mun Ahn. J-Tech division. It's good to meet you"

All the better. Sakura finds herself smiling, more relieved that she's not saying anything that seems problematic. It does let her relax, to the point where angling off the questionnaire doesn't bring up the same degree of unease as it would have earlier.

"Have you ever been to South America before?" Chile sounds so far off from anything Sakura knew, it's difficult to imagine.

A drill? Certainly useful for boring through objects, but more than anything, it fit Simon and Kamina, in a way she didn't know fully how to articulate. She says nothing about his choice, smiling and nodding her head in agreement with his analysis. Correct or incorrect, she'd agree either way.

"Yes, I do like to help things hold together. They're also useful, a basic in many kinds of construction. To build well, and evenly, to a better future, I would like that."

Rebuilding or reconstructing as was necessary, and all of it as building blocks toward dreams involving a medical career, if not one in Jaeger piloting.

"Once when I was really young. After the kaiju attacked dad didn't want us going anywhere near the Pacific." But here she is, very obviously defying his wishes. His wishes were pretty awful in Kate's book anyway. As long as she believed that, everything was fine. Besides, her sister and her step-mother are still up there giving him company.

And he was the one being scolded for giving a flippant answer? By rights, they could just call an end to the interview and be done with it now that they'd both answered all the questions, but Sugane found that he needed to ask another.

"What rewards are you talking about?" He certainly wasn't in it for any sort of reward. He wanted to join the program as a way to protect people and nothing more. Yes, there was a certain amount of celebrity that was inevitably going to be involved if he was successful, but that wasn't in any way his motivation.

She knows of Tamaki, even if she hasn't met the man in person. But rich kids all vaguely know each other, even if they're not particularly close. All the rumors she hears just make her roll her eyes, there are rumors, and then there are lies so ridiculous that nobody believes them.

It's only a thirty minute interview, she can deal with that much of him at least. Plus... the guy's made it all the way to the shatterdome, he has to know what that means right?

"Let's do that. I'm Kate Bishop. What's your favorite color?" Might as well get straight to it.

Edited 2014-02-18 21:51 (UTC)

Andrea's smile warmed perceptibly. She wasn't half as good with the technical side of things as she wished, but everyone working in J-Tech had her respect for what they did. The rest of the Shatterdome as well, but there was something about the ones plotting and calculating and getting in elbow-deep in everything that made Hydra Corinthian tick that had her paying closer attention. K-Science was slightly more removed.

Her handshake was firm and warm, palms of her hands calloused. There was once a time, back in university, where her hands had been smooth and soft. That was a long, long time ago.

"It's always a pleasure to meet one of the minds behind the machinery. Did you transfer in recently, or have you been in the area since official opening time?"

She had to admit that it was kind of nice meeting the person inside the machine she'd devoted endless hours into working on. The edge of resentment that some of her fellow mechanics had toward rangers for banging up a Jaeger during combat was something Joo Mun never carried. A machine could always be best appreciated when in use, after all.

She also had to admit that shaking hands with someone whose hands matched her own in worn use was a pretty good feeling too.

"I just got here a few days ago. It always feels so big when you first get into a Shatterdome; I've only been around the places I need to be so far." She gave a little smile then, a hint of playfulness behind it.

"Not the places I'd like to see yet."

Sara couldn't help it. She glanced over to the side at the psychoanalysts. One of them scribbled something down on a pad, making Sara's stomach tighten nervously. "Kind of," she admitted. "But if we can't handle talking about anything in front of these guys, how are we going to handle the Drift? Besides, I wanted to say something while I knew you weren't going to be able to run away from me again." This seemed like as good a place as any for that.

She perked up when he said he wanted her to do well, a new light finding its way into her eyes. "Really?" she asked. She bobbed her head up and down eagerly. "You're right. We can do this. I know we can." She reached out to take both of his hands in hers. "Together, we can do anything."

She took a deep breath. Setsuna had said they could make up their own questions, right? Sara's mouth quirked into a smile. "How do you handle unexpected situations?" she asked.

"It might!" Sara insists, and she feels a burst of triumph as it bumps to a stop. A few feet down the road, Sara can hear the faint echo of groans and some of the other recruits start trudging towards the bus.

Sara turns to Sakura and grins, before she makes her way onto the bus, greeting the driver with a cheery "Hello!"

She tries to mask her disappointment with her perkiness, in fact. Inside, the bus is ten times hotter in the confined space. She had thought there'd be air conditioning. As she climbs into one of the front seats, glancing over her shoulder at Sakura, she reaches up to wrench one of the windows down. It's not much, but it's better than nothing.

"So what made you sign up for this?" she asks the other girl, as she does.

Edited 2014-02-19 22:04 (UTC)

[ Setsuna winced a bit at the reminder of how cowardly he'd been during that last meeting. He had actually ran too...

But that sheepish reaction was immediately overcome by quickened breath and an even faster heartbeat, as Sara took hold of his hands. Their warmth was all too familiar, as was the utter glee in her voice (his reward for bringing back that beautiful smile) and he couldn't stop his instinctive need to close his fingers over hers.

The touch wreaked havoc on any thought he might have had about dissuading her from believing in him. He was going to ruin everything. Why did he have to be so weak? But just that phrase ("Together, we can do anything"), it was enough to make him believe in the possibility, even if just for this moment.

Thankfully, he didn't have to flounder for a proper response, as she was already tossing a different question his way. One that he was wholly unprepared for. ]

"Unexpected... ?"

[ He blinked, wide-eyed, once or twice in confusion. This felt a lot riskier than it would have coming from anyone else... He attempted another shrug. ]

"You know me. I'm great at rolling with the punches. Unexpected crap keeps things interesting. Better than the same thing day after day."

Edited 2014-02-19 23:59 (UTC)

Sara wouldn't have expected any other answer from Setsuna. Not her Oniichan. She wouldn't have expected any different answer from him, and staring down at the way his fingers interlaced with hers and rested over them, she couldn't help feeling a strong, warm, pleasant feeling. They could do this.

"I agree," she said. She wrinkled her nose, but the expression was still mostly directed down at her hands. She didn't want to separate them or direct her gaze anywhere else. "If you have to do the same thing all the time, you'll stagnate. Then you can't grow. Right?"

Threaded | Top-Level Comments Only

Page 22 of 24

test drive meme

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject