[ open ] Valparaíso, Jewel of the Pacific

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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!

Comments

Re: Historic District Tourist Traps

[protagerrant]

Yuri didn't have any specific goal in venturing out on the town besides just getting away from the oppressive atmosphere of the base. Tough luck he still had to wear the uniform, but it'd feel less stuffy after he broke it in... Alright, no, it wouldn't; he knew from experience. He could pretend, though.

The uniform itself was getting a lot of attention, but it wasn't so bad. He'd just managed to score an apple off of one of the street vendors who had definitively had something to say about the overbearing ugliness of the dome, but Yuri could only guess at what with his only real clues being 'Shatterdome' and the brief, aggrieved look on the women's face. Regardless, she had patted his cheek and sent him off with the apple free of charge, and it was by far the best damn thing he'd eaten all week.

He didn't recognize Tenpou as staff, but he could recognize the signs of someone who had no idea what they were doing. He hastily finished off his apple and tossed the core into an unobtrusive bush, making his way over with his hand sin his pockets.

"Do you... Need some help with that?"

[paperbacks]

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...?"

[protagerrant]

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."