[ open ] Welcome to Chile, Cadets.

[supportadmin]

Characters: ALL.
Location: Valparaíso Shatterdome, Chile.
Date/Time: February 15th-28th.
Summary: The first shipment of recruits into the new Jaeger Academy program arrive. Some are staggered throughout the month, but they all have the same basic greeting. Here you are, there's where you sleep, here's what you wear, get going.
Additional Notes: See here for additional information. For information on the current weather, check out this link.

The Shatterdome didn't look futuristic, swatches of metal and concrete transforming a portion of the harbor into five enormous bays. Nevermind that only two were currently in use. The stark greys stand out against the colorful face of the city, a hulking monolith that's been carved into the face of the city that had once upon a century been termed the Jewel of the Pacific.

Note: Players are welcome to start their own interactions outside of the three main prompted scenarios. Go wild!

Comments

[spareheir]

Kou gives his name and age, then stands around with the others to wait. Well...they're off the bus at least. That particular misery is over. It's time to begin the intense training, then. In an hour, anyway. Until then, they'll just have to stand around and wait it seems like. Maybe it's alright to make conversation?

He turns to the cadet next to him and decides to give it a shot. "It's nice here, isn't it? It was winter at home."

[bushidork]

Sugane has been standing ramrod straight since Lt. Contreras appeared, so the sound of Kou's voice almost makes him jump out of his skin. When his heart rate slows down again, he manages to stammer out an answer.

"R-right. It's summer in this hemisphere."

It's not the smartest answer, but it's the best he has right now. All of this is kind of overwhelming, not so much because he doesn't know what to expect (he does), but more because it's finally starting to sink in that it's actually happening. Honestly, the heat isn't helping. He hasn't had nearly enough time to adjust from winter in Tachikawa to summer in Valparaiso.

[spareheir]

That's not stunning conversational skill, no, but it is a response. Kou will take it. He laughs cheerfully. "There was a snow delay at Narita. Mmm, the sunlight feels nice. To think that somewhere so peaceful was built to respond for combat."

[bushidork]

"It does sort of stand out, though." The Shatterdome doesn't exactly blend into the landscape at all. Sugane usually isn't the sort to give much thought to aesthetics, but even he can notice that. There must have been a huge outcry when the construction started. "There's no question where the city ends and the Shatterdome begins."

It made it easy to get into the mindset necessary to start training, but he still sort of hopes that things are a little less grim inside the walls of the building. Sober, maybe, and understated, but not grim like the outside of the building.

[spareheir]

Ugly buildings don't exactly put Kou off. After all, most of the cities in Japan have some impressively utilitarian buildings from after the war, but at the prompt he turns and gives the Shatterdome and barracks a look over. The surroundings may be beautiful and charming, but it's true that the buildings themselves are wholly industrial.

It's nice. Tough. His own home is so scenic and pleasant that somewhere like this is exactly the change of pace that he needs. It's a constant reminder that home is far away from here, and that they're training for something serious.

"Maybe we'll be allowed into the city one day."

That might help this other boy feel more at ease. If you find something unpleasant, having an escape from it goes a long way. Even just school, or in this case, field trips.

[bushidork]

"Cadets are allowed into the city on weekends and during any additional time earned on merit." If it sounds like he's quoting something, that's because he is. What, he doesn't really remember any more, but he's read and memorized any literature sent from the program or that he's looked up himself, just in case. This is extremely important, after all, and he doesn't want to mess it up. That would explain why he's a ball of nerves at the moment.

[spareheir]

Kou quirks an eyebrow at that response, but smiles and nods. Sure, alright. That doesn't sound so bad after all. Besides, this guy seems like he could use a field trip. Kou's skimmed the cadet handbook and the safety sheets, but he's far from having them memorized yet. They just got here!

"This city is famous for it's beauty. We'll probably find something scenic to look at over the weekend."

[bushidork]

He's not sure if that "we" is a general sort of "we" or if it's an invitation, but either way it's sort of a relief that someone is being friendly (Not that Kou hasn't been being friendly from the start, but it's taken a while to register.) Sugane doesn't relax a lot, but he does sort of decompress slightly. He did some basic research on Valparaiso before he left, but he's not really sure where he even wants to go when it comes to sightseeing.

"I was thinking more about where I was going to go eat, to be honest."

[spareheir]

The cafeteria food is kind of heavy and bland, so Kou can understand that sentiment. He considers this for a moment. "There port is rumored to have unique and flavorful restaurants." Kou offers, sounding like a book now himself. A guidebook, in fact.

[bushidork]

"I was reading about the food that the city is known for, too." He was mostly concerned with seeing if there was anything around that he would actually be able to eat. It's not that he's a very picky eater, but he's not too familiar with South America in general, except what you can pick up from the travel documentaries that tend to come on after the news. "It actually looked really good."

[spareheir]

Most of what Kou has seen looks like a stomachache waiting to happen, but maybe a delicious way to go. He's excited for the juice bars, though. That much he's sure about. What he really wants is to check out the scenery and the local nightlife. Maybe with some juice, why not?

"I'm already excited for Sunday."

[bushidork]

"For Sunday? You're thinking that far ahead already?"

Sure, Sugane had thought about what he'd like to eat but he's way too wrapped up in his first day jitters to actually think past the next few hours or so. Sunday seems a million years away. There's so much that they'll need to do today, let alone the rest of the week, and he's determined to do his best at it. There's no time to daydream about food.

[spareheir]

"Sure. I've never seen this city before." Not to mention the food, but honestly, it was both. He'd looked through all those guidebooks for a reason, after all!

"Should we look forward to lunch first? Do you think it's soggy noodles? There's always soggy noodles, right?"

[bushidork]

Sugane isn't so sure there will be and that's a distressing fact he hadn't even considered before. What would they be served as food? Hopefully there would be some sort of concession to the wide variety of backgrounds among the cadets, but since when has cafeteria food made concessions to anyone? He really hopes it isn't one of those first come first serve situations where the most popular dishes are gone by the time most of the people make it to the counter...

"I don't know. I'm not sure I'll be able to eat anyway." Way too nervous.

[spareheir]

"They'll be running us later. You should probably try." Kou shrugs, wondering briefly what they will eat for lunch. It's not a major concern, though. Whatever they'll be fed will be something deemed edible by the Chilean government. That's good enough, isn't it?

"The running should be fine, and the swimming. Hmm. It's the Kwoon classes I'm not prepared for. I guess if everyone starts as a beginner it should be alright."

[counterattacked]

It's taking a while to get everything sorted out, but that's to be expected. Eren's standing a little restlessly to the side, hands in pockets to keep them still as he watches the others check in. Even before he'd had cause to dedicate himself to becoming a Ranger, he'd always imagined traveling the world, of seeing new and exotic places. Ever since he was a kid. So being here in Chile is a dream come true in more than one way. They're not here to sightsee, though, and he's not going to lose sight of that. No way.

He seems to shake himself out of something when he realizes he's being addressed. Tears his wide eyes away from the scenery and the proceedings to study the cadet next to him.

"I guess. It's pretty hot," humid, more like, which is probably worse. Spoiled by mild California weather all his life, Eren's never had to deal with very harsh winters. Or very harsh summers, for that matter. He tips his head toward Kou curiously.

"Where are you from?"

[spareheir]

It is humid, but so is Japan in the summer. Far worse than this. Kou smiles, and shrugs. He's jetlagged, boy is he jetlagged, but he's not bothered by the weather at all.

"Japan." He replies, assuming the other boy won't have heard of the town he's from, not with such an American accent. Though he'd be familiar with Tokyo most likely, which had been true once. Things had changed in Japan, just as they had elsewhere.

[counterattacked]

"Hey, really?" If he sounds surprised, it's because he is, though he really shouldn't be. He's not entirely terrible as far as geography is concerned—hanging out with Armin when he was younger meant collecting all sorts of miscellaneous knowledge through plain old osmosis—but he'll be better at capital cities and famous landmarks than smaller towns, for sure.

Japan, though, that's half a world away from everything he's ever known. It just drives home how much humanity has to pull together, now.

"What's it like?" He asks, then seems to realize this is a broad question. "Besides colder, I guess."

[spareheir]

Kou doesn't seem to mind the question if the laugh is anything to go by, but he doesn't quite know how to respond. What is Japan like? Hmm. "What's America like?" He counters, but it isn't actually a challenge, just teasing. He pauses and contemplates seriously for a moment how best to explain such a subject so broad.

"It's organized. Except for the streets, those are a mess sometimes. It's clean, but some of the beaches get really dirty. It's full. Every train in the city during the rush hours is packed so tight you can't get inside and if you do you can't get out. People hide their television antennas so they won't have to pay the tax. In the park in September there are spiders that make nests above the paths and scare the tourists. It's like anywhere else, I think?"

[counterattacked]

He's curious! Even if it all sounds pretty normal until the spiders. He gives Kou a stare that suggests he's trying to decide if he's getting jerked around, then scoffs and shakes his head. And joking or not, he does his best to answer the question posed to him in return.

"Not too different. Except for the spiders, I guess." They have spiders, but not so many that they're...scaring tourists....

"I haven't been out of California since I was little, though," he admits. So he won't be too helpful giving him an idea of what America is like as a whole. 'California,' because getting any more specific tends to be a waste of time, even if Kou would probably recognize it, if just by reputation. Telling people where he grew up too often leads to pitying looks or sympathetic words that he doesn't want or need. They'd moved around too much in the past few years to call anywhere 'home,' after that.

"Not until now, anyway," he adds, as if in afterthought. "You can tell, huh? That I'm American."

[spareheir]

"Sure. I have a television, too." Kou grins again, and shrugs. Americans are all over TV, everyone knows that. California he's very familiar with, not only because of television, but because it has such a history of attacks. It's impossible not to pay attention to something like that. He considers the other boy for a moment. Yeah, old enough to remember all of that. Maybe the same age as Kou, or just a little younger. He must have been around 9 when the first attack came. And it had been in his own home territory.

For a moment, Kou finds himself gazing into the distance over the harbor, remembering things that had nothing to do with California, or this other boy. He snaps out of it quickly enough, and tries to put aside the lingering unease. Yes, that's a question better left unasked for the time being. Maybe later, when they weren't all strangers to one another. He stores the information away and shrugs it off. "I've been there once. It smelled like grease and the ocean. But I was impressed."

and then I got distracted wrangling dinner threads

[counterattacked]

Americans are all over TV in America, it never properly occurred to him that the same might be true elsewhere. Kou's English is pretty damn good, he's impressed by it. Eren knows some high school Spanish, a few rude words in German by virtue of his father attempting to be secretive about his profanity on occasion. That's about it. He doesn't seem put off by the silence or the short bout of unease. Kou's right on the money, he wouldn't even really mind talking about it, though it inevitably leads to an emphatic argument on his part that is, probably, best left for later. They're all strung tight enough today. "Grease and the ocean" wins a bit of a grin. It's about right. He rocks back on his heels.

"Yeah, I never got to travel much. But I grew up near the ocean. We used to hang around it all the time when we were kids," and there's a fondness there, even if it's a long time displaced. (He was ten when Trespasser hit his hometown. He hasn't forgotten it. He never will.) Ducked the gangs of assholes that tended to congregate in the neighborhood to waste the day near the shore with Armin.

it's all good I'm enjoying that too

[spareheir]

Kou understood a decent amount of German himself, and even some French. But it was English that he'd been raised from a young age to speak well. It was one of the top languages to learn for business, and so he had, since as far back as he could remember. His English wasn't perfect, he was learning that quickly when it came to frustrations in voicing certain things or simply understanding which words were military terms and which ones were simply unfamiliar. Still, he felt that he was handling the language swap fairly well.

Travel has been a big part of Kou's life, on the other hand, so it's odd to imagine not having done any. It must be even more exciting for this boy to be here, then. "My family lived in a mountain town. We had a river instead." He says instead, careful not to use the word hometown. The city where he was born was a different matter all together.

herding shiganshinas is a little like herding cats true story

[counterattacked]

It's still impressive! If this were the Japanese Shatterdome he'd be practically hopeless with the locals, being bilingual is hard. And so is travel, when you're three minors largely ducking heads and scraping by on disaster relief and government aid. No matter how badly you might want to get away.

Not that there weren't plenty of people willing to help out the orphans left behind in the wake of the attack, especially since Trespasser was both the the first and the most iconic. But they'd avoided committing to much as much as they could. Out of several things. Anger and stubbornness and pride on Eren's part. Fear of separation, a wariness of strangers and a survival instinct that had been fostered in the aftermath, in the refugee centers, long before any support programs were founded. As long as they had each other, they could figure things out. And they did. Eren cranes his neck to look beyond Kou at the rest of the recruits.

"Japan's a pretty long way away," not that he blames him for taking the plunge. "You come alone?"

gasp it's been 5 days wow sorry I meant to check back in case someone jumped in but I sucked instead

[spareheir]

"Seventeen thousand kilometers. Ten thousand, five hundred miles." Kou responds thoughtfully. He's quoting guidebooks at people again now, and he's rounding numbers off too, but who's going to correct him? Besides, shaving a few hundred miles or kilometers off the distance is sort of reassuring, somehow. It's far, but not impossibly far.

The second question isn't as easy to answer. There's no number to spout off, no statistic to shove forward to take the brunt of things. Kou glances aside and frowns a little, then he shrugs and looks back to Eren. He might as well admit it now. They'll be living together, there might be mail or phone calls eventually. After they're allowed to have those things again, that is. "I thought a friend was coming. He must have changed his mind. It's just me for now."