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academyooc2014-01-20 08:39 pm
supportadmin) wrote in academyooc2014-01-20 08:39 pm
Entry tags:
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. |
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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.
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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! | |
Sugane Tachibana | Gatchaman Crowds
Sugane is sitting ramrod straight in his chair with his hands folded in his lap. He's wearing a suit he dragged up from the back of his closet and ironed within an inch of its life before arriving at the facility, so you can imagine his chagrin at seeing so many of his fellow candidates dressed casually in their street clothes. Don't they realize how important this interview is? They can't possibly be treating it with the level of seriousness and dedication that it requires.
He's already memorized the interview questions and his answers to them, so there shouldn't be any problems. He's sure to impress the observers with his dedication and focus. At least that's what he's been telling himself all morning.
[ooc: I'll match however you want to respond. Present tense, past tense, prose, brackets, anything is fine.]
no subject
"Good afternoon. Yaichirou Shimogamo. Are you ready to begin?"
no subject
"Sugane Tachibana, pleased to meet you. If you don't mind, I can ask the first question." He wasn't quite sure if it was nerves or if his voice really did come out about twice as loud as it should have. Possibly both. At least no one was laughing at him for being excessively formal this time. "So, er..." He had the questions memorized, so what were they?! "What's your least favorite color?"
no subject
That wasn't supposed to come out as a question, but he was a little thrown off-balance by Tachibana's intensity. Was he just nervous, or were they expected to show that level of enthusiasm? Should Yaichirou try being more enthusiastic too? Had he done the last few interviews entirely wrong? What a horrible thought.
"Yellow." But was that thorough enough? "It's just garish. Entirely unnecessary." So he said, to a man with yellow hair and yellow eyes. He realized this as soon as he finished speaking and hastily moved on.
"And you? What's your least favorite color?"
no subject
It's not his strongest answer and he knows it. He's far more confident in the rest of them. For example, he's thought quite a bit on this next one. It seems like a far better way to judge someone's character than a question about colors, anyway.
"Which tool in a standard toolbox is most useful to you?"
no subject
"Wrench. It's the most difficult tool to improvise. A hammer or a screwdriver may be used more often, but there are plenty of substitutes that would serve the same function in a dire situation. The wrench only serves one function, but it is the only thing that can serve that function and that specificity makes it vital."
There was a pause while he gauged Tachibana's reaction. He'd had a hard time deciding between screwdriver and wrench. There may not be wrong answers, but there are certainly wrong arguments.
no subject
"I would say that a tape measure would be the most useful. You can't start a project until you've measured everything out and planned it and even after the first measurements are done, you can use the tape as a straight edge if you need to mark something out. It's also something that's easy for a beginner to use, so even if you're not proficient with the rest of the set, there's still a job that you're capable of doing."
They were both good ideas, really, but when it came to what was most useful, it should be something simple that you could get the most use out of. At least, those were Sugane's thoughts on the matter.
"What time of day do you accomplish the most?" Another simple answer, but since he'd taken charge of asking the questions, he would wait patiently to hear what Yaichirou had to say first.
no subject
Yaichirou nodded, trying not to look too worried. A tape measure. Why hadn't he thought of that? Such an answer indicated meticulous planning, pride in one's work, and Tachibana had even managed to work in a message about being inclusive. Honestly, compared to a wrench-- but this was an interview, not a competition, right? He was fine.
"Mornings." This was an answer he could be confident in. Everyone knew that morning larks were hard-working and morally superior. "I find that there are fewer distractions before the rest of the world wakes up. And you, Tachibana?"
no subject
Sugane was a morning person to begin with, so it was definitely an easy question for him to answer. "Early to bed and early to rise" was the sort of lifestyle that invited teasing when you were his age, but it didn't bother him. He had very strict routines to follow and they'd always served him well, so he saw no reason to be ashamed of them.
"Now for the next question, I think I may as well say right away that I don't have any children. Do you?" They both seemed a bit young for it, but it was part of the interview, so he had to ask.
no subject
"Do younger brothers count?" He certainly felt like he was taking care of children, and it was no easy task to keep them in line. But his annoyance gave way to sheepishness almost immediately; look at him, taking advantage of a serious interview to make immature complaints. He cleared his throat and straightened himself.
"That is to say no, no children. What do you believe the Drift is like?"
In his haste to move on, he hadn't realized they were already at that question.It was a good thing Tachibana would go first. Yaichirou had spent a long time on this question and try as he might, he couldn't find an answer that really satisfied him. He'd scripted a few, of course-- one must be prepared-- but they were always wrong. Too clinical, or too vague, or too cheesy. His previous interview partners were just as awful.
He sat back and studied Tachibana, intensely curious. The boy had proven himself intelligent thus far. Time to see what he could do.
no subject
"I don't know. I don't think I'll be able to know unless I've experienced it myself."
It was an answer he was satisfied with, but he didn't know if anyone else would be.
Welp, that flipped the Asshole Switch. SORRY SUGANE?
He hadn't actually meant to say the words and certainly didn't mean them to be so forceful, but he found himself irrationally annoyed.
"The question isn't what the Drift is actually like. It's what you believe the Drift is like. You're a recruit for a Jaeger Academy. Even if you weren't, it's impossible for anyone to escape the commercialization of the Jaeger program. You may not have a good understanding of the experience, but if you claim that you haven't thought about it enough to have an opinion then I would have to call you a liar."
He sat back and folded his arms across his chest. Later he might regret being argumentative in an entrance interview but his disappointment would have to subside first. Growing up around politicians should've steeled him against evasive answers, but he never expected anything from the conniving men who Father worked with. His fellow recruits were supposed to be better than that.
HE'LL ENDURE
It wasn't that Sugane was being evasive or not making an effort to give a proper answer, it was more that he wasn't the most creative or abstract of thinkers. Serious-minded to a fault, he was the sort of person who needed to have something concrete in front of him before he could understand it. He expected his answer to be laughed at or scoffed at, but he hadn't expected to be called a liar, considering nothing could be further from the truth.
GOOD MAN.
"I can't force you to answer, but you ought to sit down at least. We're still being observed." He nodded at the one way mirror. "If you embarrass yourself now, you'll never get the chance to Drift."
Never mind that he was the one who'd instigated.
no subject
"That was my answer. It's your turn."
no subject
"I think it sounds unpleasant. It's an invasion of privacy and the emotional aspects of it add uncertainty, which is precisely what you don't want in a life or death situation, and I imagine having another person's memories floating around in your head is a significant distraction. Fortunately none of us are here to enjoy an easy career path. Like all the challenges of the Academy, I believe that the rewards of mastering the Drift are well worth the trouble.
no subject
"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.
no subject
"Preventing loss of life?"
No, that wouldn't do. This was too important to be indecisive. He drew himself up to his full height and fixed Tachibana in a stare that was almost defiant.
"We have the chance to serve in what may be the most successful military endeavor of all time. Without the PPDC, efforts against the Kaiju would be fragmented and ineffective. The Jaeger program has saved countless lives and given mankind a chance at a future. It's united countries that may never have been allies. It protects the cities that our forefathers built. If we succeed, we can contribute to all of that. If you don't find that rewarding..." He shrugged and spread his palms. "I'm not sure what to tell you, really."
no subject
"I see. I never thought about it that way." Now probably wasn't the best time to think about it, though, since they should be focused on ending the interview and moving on to their next round instead of arguing.
"Are we finished?"
no subject
It was a stark contrast to the self righteous arrogance of his speech. He was back on autopilot, just acting out the appropriate formalities. His opinion of Tachibana wasn't part of the script.