jaegeracademy | [ open ] Valparaíso, Jewel of the Pacific

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[ open ] Valparaíso, Jewel of the Pacific

Characters: OPEN to all!
Location: The city of Valparaíso, Chile.
Date/Time: The first weekend of March (1st & 2nd).
Summary: The first group of Cadets are finally released on the city of Valparaíso. With a curious city wanting to meet them, both Cadets and Staff of the Shatterdome itself will find plenty of people willing and curious to hear what it is they're up to - not to mention complain about the unapologetic ugliness of the Shatterdome.
Additional Notes: Cadets are expected to be in uniform and represent the PPDC at it's best. For more information and any questions, please refer to this post in the OOC community.

Valparaíso is a city with an old reputation, struck hard by the Panama Canal back at its completion, and struggling and rising to a place of cultural prominence since. Nowadays it remains an important sea port along the Chilean coast, though not as busy as San Antonio, and has helped foster artistic communities and a wealth of Chilean culture well worth recognition and appreciation on its own.

For such a beautiful city, the Shatterdome is both an honor and an eyesore. The Cadets from the new program are a subject of gossip and fascination, novelty selling them in the short term in ways that weren't sustainable over time.

For those who hadn't been able to spend time outside looking over the city, Valparaíso provided all kinds of sights and hidden gems, from murals on stairs to a hundred plus year old tram that runs the hillsides, museums paying homage to the 16th Century roots of the city, to statues and architectural structures and beaches galore. Free from the industrial efficiency of the Shatterdome for a short time, where will the Cadets and Staff find themselves today? The possibilities might not be endless in actuality, but they were a far cry more varied than the last two weeks had been!

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Please, Franziska they're basically buddies in American terms. Hilbert tries to stifle his laughter the best he can, but it's coming out anyway. Simple, huh. But if she couldn't even get it, then there truly was no hope for the rest of them.

"I thought for sure you'd get it on the first try! I mean, you're pretty good with things like this." It's an attempt to cheer her on, even if it might fail, and one of the boys around fifteen cracks a joke that makes the others laugh. Hilbert doesn't know what they said exactly - something about the cadets' training, for sure - but it didn't sound very nice. Almost like a taunt or tease.

... Maybe he'd take one back to the Shatterdome to practice with.

Yuri liked to think he was doing alright being in a huge city like this when he'd only lived ever seen two other places his whole life: his hometown, Telluride, which wasn't exactly bustling despite being on the outskirts of LA, and the Alaska Shatterdome, which definitely hadn't held a candle to this level of activity. He didn't have a clue where he was, but when getting home was as easy as heading towards the ocean, it didn't faze him too much.

The toughest thing was not being able to just chat up anyone on the street. Being able to have a conversation without having a sir or m'am somebody sounded like a pretty good time to him, but he hadn't really studied any Spanish in his month of leave between academies. Hadn't really believed the PPDC wasn't just going to shut the door in his face.

Nobody he could talk to just left people watching, but he couldn't exactly just plop himself down at one of the outdoor cafes without any money to at least buy a drink...

But evidently, one of the waiters had got him staring, waved him over and offered him a glass of water along with a long, incomprehensible stream of Spanish that meant absolutely nothing to Yuri. The hand gesture for Sit down and have a drink he caught, though, and managed a bemused 'Gracias', settling down and stretching his legs out so the dark of his uniform could soak up the sun.

It'd be rude to take up the space for too long, but he was in a perfect position to watch the people go by on the street, He could finish the water, at least, and try to think of where to go next in the mean time.

She's used to it, in a way, his actions and his thought processes. The memories of such are slowly coming back as she sits here beside him. But she's not really the nostalgic sort most of the time, so it's fuzzy. Half-filled thoughts and holes in her recollections. It makes her wonder if he deserves the attention of someone who might give more than take.

Speaking of taking, though, she examines the sandwich carefully--his, not hers.

"No. I'm just content to catch up with you, at this point, only somewhere more... private." Yes. So what if she wants to be alone with him? So what if she's suddenly well aware of the fact that she missed him? Her voice softens. "If that's alright."

"It's... very strange," Tenpou begins after a moment's hesitation. It's not that he doesn't want to describe the experience, it's that he can't. He speaks four languages fluently, but they all lack the appropriate words. The language of science seeks to avoid ambiguities, but human minds are by nature places of dreamlike ambiguity and half-formed philosphy. "You might try talking to Yancy Beckett about it if you're interested, though. Drift seems to come very easily to him."

Tenpou smiles with a slight hint of embarrassment. Hanji is a respected colleague, so it's difficult to speak the truth. After excelling at nearly everything he'd ever tried in life, Tenpou's utter failure at Drift came as a shock. "I'm afraid I'm not very good at forming connections with people."

The PPDC uniform stood out for its dullness among the brightly colored fashions of Valparaiso locals, so the Jaeger Academy cadets failed to blend in almost as spectacularly as the imposing bulk of the Shatterdome itself failed to blend into the Chilean hillside. Tenpou had been in the army himself, and even though it had been a good fifteen years ago he still remembered the way it felt to be seen as a walking uniform, rather than as a human being. Even after joining the PPDC he'd refused to accept a uniform and rank, preferring instead to wear his own stained lab coat and curry-splattered ties.

"Thank you! That would be much appreciated. It's large, but it's not very heavy. I was planning to put it on my desk to surprise my lab assistants." He thrust the oversized sytrofoam moai into the cadet's hands with a sigh of relief and began to dig through his pockets for a cigarette. He'd gone almost a half hour without smoking and that had to be a new personal record. With his arms free, the "STAFF" badge danging from the front pocket of his lab coat was easy to see.

"By the way, I'm Dr. Tenpou with the department of cryptozoology, but you can just call me Ten-chan. And you are...?"

"It's a remarkable city, in some ways. Nothing to turn one's nose up at, culturally." She shifts her weight slightly, looking over to Hanji more directly. "I won't meddle. I'll just observe, as well."

Yuri's eyes darted over him, wary and considering. Science type, for sure, so probably not a stickler for the rank rules, even though he still under the category of people Yuri should be calling 'sir'. And science stuff aside--which Yuri found by turns weird and uninteresting already--this guy was obviously kind of off the beaten path. Well, that was fine with him, as long as he could get a handle on what to expect.

"Ten-chan." He sounded it out musingly, the meaning obviously lost on him. "Long as you don't rat me out for it. Sir." With some shifting, he managed to get the thing under on arm, balanced on his hip, and could then look at Tenpou with an arched brow--definitely insubordinate. "Cadet Lowell. Yuri. If you don't mind me, saying, this thing's kind of overdoing it for a paperweight."

He might or he might not, but he's not looking elsewhere. He could have, but he never did, something about end of the world proposals and the like tend to keep a man faithful to the woman he did them too. His eyes are firmly on her face as they talk and he nods a little.

"So long as private has AC, I'm fine with it." So yes, he's totally fine with private. He doesn't mind being alone with her, he's missed her and it shows in his eyes and his voice. "I've missed you, Catherine."

Whatever he said about his name and the history of Chile is quickly forgotten after he talked about his plans for that so-called piece of art. "You're displaying it?" She coughs as some smoke gets in her mouth. "Where people can see it?" Possibly underneath piles of coffee cups, take-out menus and maybe, just maybe, things that are work-related?

"Like they'd let me in, with this polarizing uniform?" she scoffs. Earlier, she walked in front of the parliament, saw all the people dressed for work, and walked away. Didn't feel like she'd belong there anymore. "I won't have time to properly study law when this course is over." She furrows her brows so hard, she thinks she might cry. She blames the smoke.

"Stop that!" She quickly reaches for his cigarette, which causes the bag of books she was carrying to swing around. "I have a swimming test next week and all that smoking is bad for my lungs!"

She chuckles at the AC comment, not minding a little heat herself. In fact, she finds the temperature rather tolerably middling. But after a pause, she lays a hand on his knee, not too close to his food, and waits for his reaction.

"You shouldn't have."

She didn't come straight from Alaska, unlike him. But he just chuckles right along with her, bumping his shoulder against her's again because he lacks a free hand really to pat hers with.

"Why not? You're gorgeous, intelligent, and eat the food I find at random street vendors. I think that's every reason to miss you."

With everything set aside, she's honestly got her hands free to do whatever she wants. The sandwich is balanced precariously, sure, but it's fine. The compliments are almost too much, and they're a little overwhelming when she's been alone for so long.

"You've always been too kind."

Leaning in closer, nearly knocking her hat off, she drops her voice.

"I might have missed you, too. I've never met anyone else who mattered."

Edited 2014-03-08 23:02 (UTC)

Morning with Kou-- open for crashing!
It was nice to have some time away from the Shatterdome, but Yaichirou was not thrilled about this morning's errand. When he'd offered to help Ichijou find a birthday present for his little sister, he just was trying to be polite and maybe diffuse the tension. He didn't expect that they'd actually have to do it. Still, he was a man of his word, so he couldn't back out now.

He surveyed the street with trepidation. There was a distinct difference between knowing what to get a two year old and knowing where to find it.

"How's your Spanish, Ichijou?" He was using English for once. Japanese might be more comfortable between native speakers, but this forced him to slow down and not sound as doubtful as he felt.

Afternoon- Bellavista Hill area
By the afternoon, Yaichirou had had enough of the crowded streets and of people trying to chat him up when he only understood 1 in 10 words they said. All that he wanted was some peace and quiet, but that proved hard to find. Valparaìso was smaller than Kyoto, but Kyoto was his city. He knew where to find all the sleepy cafes and hidden shrines that weren't on the tourist maps. In Valparaìso he was the tourist, and even when he managed to communicate around the language barrier, all anyone wanted to show him was this museum or that funicular. It was maddening.

Eventually he'd found a relatively isolated staircase near Bellavista Hill. It wasn't perfect but it was good enough, and it did give him a good view of the bright buildings that perched on the steep incline, apparently oblivious to the laws of physics. He sat on the top stair and scribbled absently on he back of a brochure from the naval museum. He wasn't much of an artist, but if he couldn't buy his mother a post card yet then this was the next best thing.

Edited 2014-03-09 02:58 (UTC)

"I am going to make a good effort." It's kind of a stock phrase, but that's about where his English conversation is at this point. You can memorize all the phrasebooks in the world and still not be capable of a natural-sounding conversation and he knows that, but it's still frustrating. He's never had to deal with a language barrier before. His English is good enough to get by day-to-day at the academy, but his Spanish is minimal at best, as the huge plate of fries and other assorted meats and eggs can attest.

"Would you like to have some?"

His stomach actually lurches at the thought of eating anything, but Hilbert forces it away and takes a seat.

"Anything to help out a fellow cadet. I'm pretty full myself, but I'll stuff my face as much as I can." He grins in what he hopes is a reassuring way, though it might be a tad grimacy. How to tackle it... "What's your favorite part on it? We'll take it like that, and if one of us gets sick of eating one food we'll switch off."

"I wish I knew!" Hanji sighs and leans forward, propping her elbows on her knees and cupping her chin in her hands as she stares wistfully across the garden.

"There's so much we don't know about them - they're probably natural-born, somehow. But we don't know why they're attacking us or how we fit into their ecosystem - if they have one. That's the problem with aliens..."

"Don't worry about meddling - we'll have plenty of time for that over the next few months, hmm?" Hanji laughs, "They're our responsibility, after all. Even if they wash out later"

"I might," Hanji muses, "But Drifting isn't really my area of expertise - even if it's interesting, in its own way."

She settles a hand on her hip and sways back on her heels as she considers him thoughtfully. He isn't very good at forming connections? She's never noticed. She always got along just fine with Tenpou. Then again, she's a bit of an oddball herself, even if she's a friendly oddball. Her face splits in a grin and she gives him a slap on the shoulder.

"Well, at least there's always the lab."

After a little shoving of his sandwich he gets a hand free and he reaches over to take her hand now. He's trying to show his appreciation for her since they were apart for so long, he's never been alone in that time but he's never had anyone like her around him that's for sure.

"No, I don't think I have."

But then he's reaching up to gently try and push her hat up, away from her face so as to see her eyes better. He gulps as well before replying.

"That's saying a lot coming from you."

Hilbert finds himself mimicking her position too, though he's only using one hand instead of both. Kaiju seriously weren't his forte or anything, but listening to Hanji be so passionate and interested in it even outside the classroom kind of makes him want to learn more too. Machines were pretty easy to understand in comparison to living things like like kaiju... and people. That's partially why he ultimately preferred them. And the were super cool.

He feels his stomach twisting queasily, but at least his voice doesn't waver in his offer. "I promise I'll be your eyes if I become a Ranger, ma'am. It'll be useful to know too. I mean, we might find eggs or something in one of the Kaiju someday!"

Yaichirou wasn't staring because that would be rude, but he had definitely been watching out of the corner of his eye. From a distance he could only see the drunken march of the moai statue and a pair of legs emerging from underneath it and he had been entertaining himself by imagining what kind of idiot it might be. He idly flipped through the stereotypical dumb American tourist, a pushover parent who bought it on their brat's command, some horribly misguided archaeology buff... and then it lumbered close enough for him to see the man responsible.

"Tenpou!?"

He didn't mean to call out and he regretted it instantly. The last thing he wanted was to be seen in public with that crime against art, and now he had ruined his only chance to escape with his dignity. Damn it.

"I... I didn't realize you were stationed in Valparaíso."

Despite his best efforts, he addressed the statue as much as Tenpou. In his defense it was too hypnotically awful to look away.

It's remarkable how appreciated she feels even with such small gestures. She's touched, infinitely pleased that they're here together. Maybe it'll last a while, this reunion. There's a tinge of hope in her voice.

"I try to be honest with you. You know that."

She reaches up to touch his cheek now, and leans in to press a soft, experimental kiss to his lips.

Why not meddle? Meddling is one of those things she's super good at. Well, okay... Not meddling, but paying very close attention and making sure they don't step too far out of line.

"And if they're irresponsible to start... Well, the sooner we should send them off."

Sugane frowns at the thought of eating himself sick. He's never been the sort to overeat and he generally tries to eat healthily and sensibly, though there are the obvious exceptions made for occasions like this. This, however, goes way beyond his usual threshold.

"I think you eat all at once." He demonstrates by attempting to get a little bit of everything, though "everything" covers an awful lot. He does actually like how it tastes. A lot. There's just far too much for any reasonable human being to eat alone.

The other cadet watches the demonstration, and even if that's how they have to eat it it doesn't make this any more appetizing. But even if it's just a little bit, it'll be a help... That's the mantra Hilbert thinks about as he gets himself a utensil to use.

"Alright. Well! Let's do our best, right? Maybe we can give whatever's left to some kids or something like that," he muses as he pretty much portions out a part for himself. Better to set a goal and then to add onto it. "Sorry if I don't help much in the end."

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