academyooc | test drive meme

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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!

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[Back on Shatterdome turf, at last. It felt good after a month's suspension, but he knew it wouldn't last long. They told him he'd have to start at the bottom again--any screw up during the first three months, and he was out on his ear, just like anybody else. That, as well as extra training and restricted free time, was one of the many benefits of getting "reassigned" (as the official papers said) to the Valparaiso Academy.

Yuri's CO hadn't been so diplomatic about telling him the news.

So he had to make sure to dot his 'sirs' and not cross his arms when standing at attention, iron his uniform, shine his boots, the works. Thankfully, he'd nailed down the science of where, when, and how to sneak off. Just because he was used to the rigmarole didn't mean it didn't get to him, sometimes.

So he had eaten a hasty lunch, not even bothering to sit before he'd ducked out of the cafeteria and headed for outside, finding a secluded rail to lean against as he took off his jacket and pulled out his hairtie. He did a quick double-check for anyone approaching who might dock him for 'being out of uniform' before he tilted his head back to look at the cloudless sky, his shoulders finally relaxing in the clean, stiff starch of his uniform shirt.]

Edited 2014-01-29 03:28 (UTC)

( Leila also took her lunch a bit too quickly, mostly to find a place to read in peace. Normally she'd retire back to her room and hole herself up there but she decided to find a different spot this time. The weather's still too warm for her taste but it's a nice day out and a nice day out was always something to look forward to, coming from a place that has an unpredictable weather system.

She remembered passing by a secluded area during one of her walks around the Shatterdome and thought that might be a perfect spot to read (also, to get caught and be given a reprimand for loitering). She didn't notice the place being occupied however, only realizing it after she'd gone around the corner.

For a brief moment, she stopped in her tracks, blinking then mildly lifting an eyebrow at him. Already, her mind's listing down violations one by one. It's only after a headshake that her mouth started talking. )

Oh — I didn't think anyone else would be ... here.

( She didn't expect anyone else to be there. After all, it was lunch time and it wasn't as if there were any places to go to other than the Mess Hall. )

[Yuri had seen that critical look enough to count off the offenses along with her. He just arched an eyebrow back at her, partially ironic, partially challenging, and deliberately took a moment to roll his sleeves up to his elbows: another violation, or two if each arm counted for one.]

Me neither. [His tone was mild. She could report him, sure, but he doubt she'd do it. It wasn't worth the reputation of a nark for something so small. Might as well try to make nice instead] I'm Yuri.

( She knew a taunt when she saw one — and the look he returned (along with the upward roll of the sleeves) was exactly that. A seemingly childish one but a taunt nevertheless. No, definitely not worth it and she found no merit in it either. After all, if it's deliberate on his part, then he sure didn't need her help on getting caught. Leila's more than certain he could do it on his own without her intervention. )

I'd imagine so. It isn't a very noticeable location if one's not paying attention closely. ( That, and everyone's most likely having lunch still. She offered him a brief smile before she took a step back and around. ) In any case, I should go.

They'll ding you if you're too anti-social.

[That probably wasn't true--or very true, anyway--but it definitely could be. One just had to look at some of the most popular Jaeger pilots to notice that most of them had pretty affable personalities. They just seemed to eat, sleep, and breathe good PR. And the Drift, well, you couldn't get friendlier than that.

He was kind of messing with her, but his smile was easy and sincere: trying to share the joke instead of cracking it at her expense.]

( Now that made her stop. )

Wha — No, they wouldn't.

( ... would they? She obviously hadn't considered that. She understood how apathy might lead to incompatibility towards drifting but there was nothing in the readings that she went through about being anti-social. Being anti-social didn't mean lack of empathy. Not to mention that there wasn't any rule like that in the handbook, otherwise she'd have given attention to it.

And really, she was about to argue that — until she saw his smile. Not exactly teasing (though she had a feeling a part of him was just doing that awhile ago) but it had worried her for a moment back there. )

... That was terrible.

Friendship is the foundation of successful drifting.

[He intoned it with all due solemnity, a direct quote from some pamphlet or another that'd been with their official Cadet literature. He was still maybe warping the rhetoric to his own purposes, but he really didn't want to start off his first day making enemies. That was more of a second week kind of thing.]

( She opened her mouth to argue about that — that while it's true, it doesn't mean it's a prerequisite — but Leila had a feeling this conversation will soon devolve into some kind of a debate. Which she's not really in the mood for at that moment. Not that she minded debates but she was hoping to spend her lunch time more productively with less arguments.

Sighing, Leila decided against leaving for now and settled in one of the corners of the railing, opening her book. )

That line isn't a very effective quote if you're actually looking for friends.

No. Probably not.

[He let the line of conversation drop for now, figuring she'd be happier just to be left in peace to read. And he was here for the same thing, anyway. He'd only been between academies for a month, but settling back into the whole routine was grating.

They didn't have much more time to kill before they had to walk back. Might as well get the most of it.]

( She gave him another minute, to see if he's going to add or follow up to that statement. When he didn't, Leila finally settled down on the floor to continue reading. Or at least, attempt to continue reading. She didn't entirely understand what she's doing there, especially since he seemed to be the type who preferred to be alone.

For a moment, she paused and looked up at him — only for her to shake her head and look back down on the page she's reading. She was tempted to comment on something but then again, she'd rather not, knowing it would spark up another conversation. )

[He catches the look, arching a brow at her briefly before going back to being lost in his own thoughts, staring at the sky.

Thus occupied, he does leave her along for a good few minutes, only breaking the silence by suddenly straightening, rolling down his sleeves.]

Hey. We need to be getting back pretty soon, or someone's going to miss us.

[Luke was not looking any more comfortable in uniform, yanking at the collar with a quiet whine as he looked for somewhere out of the way to spend his free time. He didn't exactly dislike being around people, but in his experience it made it harder for them to yell at him if he wasn't around. Anyway, this was all just kind of... A lot. He'd never been on his own before, and now he was alone on the other side of the world.

He honestly didn't notice Yuri, that he'd headed for the same out-of-the-way escape, until he was almost upon him. But when he does notice he stops abruptly, staring, and clearly debating just walking away. ]

Edited 2014-02-01 19:56 (UTC)

What the hell are you doing here...

[He doesn't sound angry so much as resigned, and his eyes over flicker to Luke for a moment before he goes back to staring at the sky.]

Nothing??

[He sounds nervous, apologetic, and looks around like he's thinking of leaving]

I was just looking for... somewhere to hang out, I guess. Sorry...

[He very heavily considers telling Luke to get lost so he can have some peace, but... honestly, he was afraid the kid would listen to him and scamper off in that kicked dogged way of his. Yuri didn't like feeling like a bully.

But he also didn't like pampering spoiled rich kids.]

If they catch you wandering around out here, you'll get in trouble. Why aren't you in the cantina? Food not up to your standards?

You like it?

[he couldn't help it. he actually hadn't come out to escape the food. he'd eaten it. But he couldn't imagine anyone enjoying enjoying it]

I like having three solid meals a day.

[Yuri was beginning to think that Luke couldn't go three feet without putting his foot in his mouth--truly the product of a life time of being sheltered.

He levered Luke with an unimpressed look, folding his arms in front of him.]

Unless you're planning on getting in there and cooking for yourself, don't complain.

[He flusters a bit]

I didn't!! You brought it up.

[Despite the basic attempt to defend himself, he still kind of sounds like a kicked puppy]

I didn't expect you to actually say something that stupid.

[He threads a hand through his lose hair, sighing.

[Is about to argue back but just, bites his tongue on it, fairly obviously, turning his eyes away, and then shortly thereafter the rest of his body.]

Sorry for bothering you.

[Dammit, there it was again: That feeling of being the bad guy. It churned Yuri's stomach unpleasantly.]

Look--You can stay. I don't care. There aren't that many secluded places around.

[As this run-in proved.]

[Jerks his head back a bit, obviously genuinely surprised by this offer. He debates still leaving anyway. Not to make Yuri feel bad but... to avoid it, actually. The guy obviously doesn't like him, even if he was nice enough to invite him to stay. But he was honestly exhausted from everything and really needed the breather. So after a moment he hesitantly moves toward the fence, still leaving plenty of room between him and Yuri, and sits next to it, pulling his needs up a bit but leaning back against the chain link.]

...thanks.

[Yuri just makes a dismissive hand waving gesture, sinking back into his own thoughts for the moment. After a few moments of quiet, he does glance over at Luke, taking in his posture. He has to bite back another sigh--the kid looks run down, not far off form how Yuri feels himself. If he's honest with himself, he doesn't want to add to that, no matter how much he hates everything Luke stands for.]

[At the very least, Luke seems to be able to keep to himself. It's not like he would know how to talk to Yuri anyway, he's fine being quiet. Hopefully quiet enough that he isn't a bother. Though he's starting to regret sitting... it was hard to stop thinking about the fact that there's no way Yuri actually wanted him to stay and just offered out of some habitual kindness and now no matter what he did he would be intruding.

After a few minutes of sitting in silence, he gets up.]

[The movement catches Yuri's attention again and he steels himself as he looks over at him. He had o break this damn tension.]

So... they didn't kick you out after the interviews. Congrats.

Yuri Lowell | Tales of Vesperia

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