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"You already know this"
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Post by Souta on Sept 24, 2019 0:12:52 GMT -4
| | | | | Perfect. They have given the job of bus driver to the right person. A focused and well-honed man who wouldn't let anything slip by him. Just the man needed to drive the next generation of heroes to their training. No ifs or buts about it; Blank is the man required for this role. Only his affable nature and his mask can lead them on a safe and sound road to the mountain range. Perhaps they should remove the coverings on the windows so the students can see the bus narrowly avoiding rare passing cars or rails. That wouldn't frighten them.
Most of the teachers are sitting upfront near the driver seat. It makes sense: group most of the teachers in one place so Blank can't harm himself while driving. Meanwhile, he himself is currently at the back, resting next to a random student [Karen] as he reads a book. Any time the bus made any sudden movement, he would glance up front and stare at Blank who is just chattering away without a care in the world. He's not that disturbed by it, but when he's currently absorbed in his latest literature and every time he dares to turn the page, the seat keeps moving around.
"Should be an hour before we reach our destination...perhaps even a few minutes at the speed he's driving." he comments openly. It occurred to him he should be trying to at the very least talk to some of the students here. He signed up on 'chauffeur' duty to take care of a group, so he should at the very least be talking to one of them. Perhaps the one sitting next to him is a member of the group he's taking care of. "What are your expectations on this trip, hmm?" he states matter-of-factly, without any major rise in his voice.
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430 Posts
1 EP
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"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Sept 25, 2019 8:31:43 GMT -4
Given the grounds and facilities available on campus Karen was honestly surprised at how they seem to have several activities held outside the school. Today was another such trip. The advisory given was to pretty much prepare for an outdoors trip. The destination was a secret for now however as when they arrived at the bus early in the morning they would find the windows covered. It was a curious set up if not a bit old fashioned. After all nowadays one could simply turn on the GPS on their phone and immediately know where they were. That was unless they were headed somewhere without any reception. You would still get a general idea though of where you were before the signal is completely lost. Karen was no stranger to waking up early. She occasionally trained in the mornings so this much honestly wasn't a bother. With everyone else being on the sluggish side, there wasn't any particular need for her to play president and watch people and keep order. Their sleepiness was keeping them in line for her. There was a benefit to being a morning person. That didn't mean she wasn't going to keep an eye on people though. Even with a handful of teachers around there might still be a few things she could help out with and whatnot. She elected to sit near the back where she could see everyone simply by looking up a bit. Joining her was a certain teacher whom she had seen a few times but never really had any formal interactions with. The rest of the teachers took seats closer to the front so it was just the two of them at the back as the bust departed from campus. It was not the smoothest ride in the world. But with the windows covered it was hard for her to say if it was the driver's or the road's fault. She presumed it was no trouble though as none of the teachers seemed too concerned. If anything some of them looked too comfortable. Hopefully the students who still needed a bit of sleep could find opportunity to rest despite all that otherwise it was quite unfortunate for them. Unlike the others Karen was wide awake. She would have usually taken this opportunity to chat with someone awake too, but her only seatmate was a teacher and she didn't want to disturb his reading. And so she would spend the time fiddling on her phone checking on things and responding to messages and emails, giving a heads up to people that she may be unreachable for a while once they got to the activity proper. It would surprise her a bit then that the teacher beside her would start up a conversation. She would hastily put away her phone so as not to be rude. This man was with the disciplinary committee after all and she didn't want to give him any reason to think she was someone irresponsible or uncaring. This would be good chance anyway to learn more about what type of person Spymaster was. "It's hard to say sensei, since the destination is being kept from us. But I trust it will be a learning experience whatever happens. I'm very much excited and looking forward to it."Another bump in the road would interrupt her briefly. Were they even still on a road or off it? It kind of felt like the latter. "Is there a point to keeping the location secret sensei or is it just to surprise us? I did find it odd when we were told to prepare for an outdoors adventure but not where. Imagine if we ended up in a snowy mountain with no winter gear."She would joke a bit, unsure if Spymaster even had a sense of humor though she didn't show it.
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"You already know this"
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Post by Souta on Sept 25, 2019 13:06:57 GMT -4
| | | | | A great way to train oneself is to surround yourself in unfamiliar environments that are barely controlled or manipulated by any man-made factors. While a training facility can offer the highest level of training equipment, scenarios, and anything else a next-generation hero desires, nothing beats the outdoors for natural occurring danger and horrors to steel young heroes' minds towards quick thinking and other sorts of traits a hero needs to succeed. Sometimes one gets a bit 'lazy' when confronted with the highest kind of tech, so it's nice to keep the kids humble and train the old fashioned way: the outside.
Of course, going to Mt. Fuji isn't what he would call a proper survival spot. Nowadays, Mt. Fuji is placed under several regulations to make sure several hikers aren't endangered during their journey up the paths. Got to start off 'small,' he supposes. To give these kids a taste of outdoor survival, while also keeping them safe under their protection. The backlash would be huge if they lost any more kids, especially during this social climate. No major risks, but that doesn't mean they'll be cuddling these kids. They aren't going to suffocate them in safety vests or whatever. They are here to only observe them while they hike, that means no interfering unless it's a major life-endangering event. He doubts any of them will get themselves into too much trouble...but he did expect some trouble while they were climbing up this mountain. If any kid fell down a ditch and their quirk can't get them in safety in time, he'll have to intervene. But he doubts that will come to. That kid who falls down the ditch will be able to save themselves.
To hide this location from the kids he supposes, isn't only for safety purposes, but is to give the illusion of 'unexpectedness.' You can't determine when a disaster will strike. You can plan out for any general event, but when it actually happens, when the chips on the line, you need to adapt. Adapt to any location near you. Adapt to any villain. You can't expect to know every locale around you, whenever they send you out to do a job. He may be thinking more among the lines of his profession, but this goes as well for pro heroes; they can't predict where they'll be. Patrols, missions, anything can change in an instant, and they can be summoned away to a new job in a snap. Learning to survive is one way of adapting to the unexpected...Or perhaps Blank thought it would be a nice surprise for the kids. Perhaps to surprise them in going "LOOK KIDS, IT'S MOUNT FUJI!" while careening out the road and nearly crashing.
The student next to him seems to be ready for what is about to come, at the very least. Unlike some kids here who are still drained of their energy, she seems to be active enough to not be slumbering in her chair...and also active enough to not be screaming out loud in pure glee. She was just occupied with her phone before he asked her, probably trying to see where exactly they're going to. Keen eye. Either that or she wanted to distract herself from the bumpy trip. Understandable. This man's bus driving skills should be considered a form of training for these kids.
"Hmmm...who knows." He replies dryly, then pauses for a second. "...Would it make a difference if you knew or didn't know?" He asks Karen, as he adjusts his sitting posture. He places the book down as he adjusts his mask. "If we told you the location, would your performance increase or decrease accordingly?" He makes a silent note of Karen's comment about the weather. Around this time, there should be some snow, but not enough to be considered dangerous without any proper gear. They're not going up that high. "I'm sure you kids will be able to adapt to any weather if it calls for it. As for me…I hope to be surrounded by a warm day. The cold was never my forte." He 'jokes,' as much as a slightly monotone tone can be considered a joke. "A lot of people with fire-related quirks seem to either agree or disagree with me with that. How about you? You more of a warm weather or cold weather person?"
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430 Posts
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"Shooting Star"
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Oct 5, 2019 12:28:55 GMT -4
Serious teachers were always great. They gave straightforward answers to things and were concise and easy to understand without leaving much room for misinterpretation. With that in mind she would put Spymaster in the bucket of teachers that she felt were easy to deal with and get along with. It wasn't really a short list but with all the things that she busied herself with these days, one less teacher who could be a potential headache was always welcome. Though to be fair she hadn't really met any real "bad eggs" just yet. UA's employee roster was pretty solid. "It would make all the difference sensei!"She would say a bit excitedly. It was typical of Karen to worry about whether she had done enough to prepare or if she covered all her bases. She probably had more experience than most kids her age but she wasn't going to be too complacent. So on this point she would definitely affirm that there was a chance she could have done better. "I don't see why our performance wouldn't increase. If you can prepare for something then you can increase your chances of success."She avoided saying anything about being certain, even though she would usually think so. If things were being kept secret then it was easy enough to guess that part of the objectives of this trip involved dealing with unexpected and uncertain situations. This was UA after all so it was likely going to be a challenge even if she did know a bit more about it. It was hard to say if Spymaster was playing along with her joke but she was still glad to hear him entertaining her thoughts about the weather. "I would have to say it depends. But in general warm weather is better for more types of training and exercise so I suppose I would lean towards sunny days too."Honestly she was the last person to complain about the weather. Even the most accurate forecast can sometimes make mistakes so it's not like she found herself down from rainy days and such. It simply meant she had to change her plans. There was no point in overreacting and worrying about things beyond your control. You just had to do your best to work with or around it. Speaking of things she was hoping to do better at, it seemed getting clues out of Spymaster wasn't going to be that easy. Though it was a secondary goal besides just having a nice pleasant conversation with a teacher she didn't know that well. "You know a lot of people with fire-related quirks sensei?"
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"You already know this"
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Post by Souta on Oct 5, 2019 13:32:14 GMT -4
| | | | | He blinks as Karen tells him her thoughts on overall performance. "True. More training, more skills, more 'acknowledging' the situation in front of you will lead to less mistakes made in the field. And yet there's something that always plague you. The 'unexpected.' There's always something out there that, no matter how much you train for or how much you prepare for, seems to grab you out of nowhere. Take for example, camping. As much as many people would often grab the required tools, food, everything that books, sites, and previous experiences label as necessary, there's always that one moment to defy your expectations. Sudden change of weather, missing food, wildlife, anything can come out of nowhere." He adjusts his seating position. "What we hope to see today is how you kids will react to something similar to that."
He nods at her answer of the weather. "Hmm. Cold weather for non-heat related quirk users require more articles of clothing and can hamper someone's performance if push comes to shove. Not to mention potential death by freezing. Hot weather at the very least you only deal with heatstroke." He moves his head around slightly, looking at the blacked-out window. "Do I know any fire-related quirk users? Of course I do. Anything you do, whether it's spying or pro-hero related missions, it's better to do some networking. Teamwork. A concept simple to understand. Many quirks in one team need to be able to mesh well and adapt to one another. Several missions I had to deal with many kinds of quirks, including fire." He looks at her. She seems to be trying to get more specific answers out of him without making it too obvious. 'Seems to be' is the key word. Quite the nosy girl, she'll do well in his field of work.
"One day, sooner or later, you'll be put into a team with someone who's quirk does not work well with yours. Either it's personality wise or moveset wise. So far, have you met any fellow classmate whose power can possibly hamper your performance?" He asks her as he opens the book again. "If so, I suggest you get to training more with them to cover up those flaws." He turns the page, waiting for her answer. |
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430 Posts
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"Shooting Star"
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Oct 9, 2019 4:50:45 GMT -4
The honest answer was no. With a quirk as versatile and useful as hers the combinations she could form with the other quirks in her class were endless. Strictly in the context of her quirk working with other quirks she had yet to meet anyone who would be disadvantaged by flight and vice versa. Where the trouble came in was if you factored that her method of fighting was close quarters combat. That meant anyone with a hazardous wide area range quirk would be difficult to work with as there would be a danger of getting caught up in it herself. "I think I've been fortunate enough so far to not have much trouble working together with others. I'd like to believe I have a decent grasp of figuring out my role in a task with respect to the people I'm teamed up with to accomplish it."
"At the very least I can somehow tell whether someone might get in my way or not. But I'm not so sure vice versa. I'd always thought being able to fly or float was useful in almost any situation. Even in tight enclosed spaces, being able to float means I don't have to crawl. It's quieter too."She wondered if she sounded too boastful there. It wasn't as though she didn't understand Spymaster's point. But it was precisely because you couldn't always pick your teammates that you had to be able to adapt quickly. She felt that she already put that into practice. As for personality, again she was fortunate that there didn't seem to be any difficult people in 1-A. She had actually become extra wary about this ever since she had that conversation with Yumi in summer. The second years apparently had a fair share of drama and other such difficulties because of people with unique personalities and views. Said people were no longer in UA but they left their mark and some upperclassmen still carried the weight. She really didn't want to have to experience that herself. "I would like to think that my class is full of good cooperative kids sensei. But I guess it is true that it's not always the case in the hero business."
"Do you have any stories to share about people with difficult personalities? Just for reference. My guess is same goals but different priorities? Of course I don't have hero work experience, but my family runs a business so I sometimes see it there. People who are on the same team but can't get along due to different views."Being the kind of hero that he was, she could see why someone might not work well with Spymaster. She had heard about him being a sort of ninja. If she had to imagine the roles he took in a team operation, he was probably the one who worked separately on a side objective while the rest of the flashier team hit the main one. That was a little prejudiced on her part but it felt like a realistic expectation.
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"You already know this"
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Post by Souta on Oct 9, 2019 11:30:04 GMT -4
| | | | | Curious to be generally liked by many. To have a general reputation unclouded by any misgivings. Not that he doesn't mind the reputation of being a somewhat 'distant' teacher, but seeing someone else having a more...spotless image compared to his is a bit interesting. Of course, with her ego it's a bit hard to claim it fully spotless. She might grab the wrong public response if she doesn't watch her words. He has the benefit of sinking into the background for his job. A public image is far more dangerous in his line of work than most heroes on the field.
"Yes I heard...Height and speed...yes, that does seem useful." He remains unmoved after a bus has a sudden jolt, presumably the work of a certain Blank. "A lot of groups can use that in the field. Surveillance and recon, escape routes, transportation, hit-and-run, it's a versatile tool." He turns the page in his book. "Any quirk that can obstruct your path or trap you in an enclosed field might be something to consider for in the long run." For example, his own quirk of manipulating and creating thin strings, barely visible to the naked eye. That might be able to hamper Karen if it's indoors.
"Cooperative...hmm…" he's heard of stories before officially arriving here in UA. Some that are the result of common teenage drama. Others that were caused by outside influences out of their control, which consumed them. Events that stroked the fire within them. Others are extreme teen drama that are often times found in certain novels...that he himself often reads. Events like the festival and semper fi didn't help. This year appears to be more stable, so Karen does have a point. But in removing the more chaotic elements, they have replaced it with...weirder ones. He feels as if 1-B has slowly started to take up the noriaty of being the 'odd class.' Wonder if 1-A is less like that.
"...Well. You get the general gist of it. Seperate jobs and roles, with some overlapping...yes it is reasonable to compare it to a business." He nods as he turns the page in his novel. "If you were give me a role in that model...I suppose I would be the graveyard shift. The group of people who keep the place in check at 3:00 am. My colleagues here are those who you see everyday. Rarely do I interact with them on the job. The more common day shifts. But there are times that I am called to aid them, like this event for example. Seeing them up front, I can say that we have a large variety of fields we can cover. It's best to have a large assortment of skills to cover anything, wouldn't you agree? That way, whatever blind spots you may have can be covered up."
He turns the page as he looks ahead to see Blank talking away with others. With the way he's babbling, either he barely survived crashing into a delivery truck, or they have almost arrived at the location. Presumably a combination of both. He's gonna have to move up closer the drive back to make sure nothing else happens. "Hmm. Doubt I can finish this before we arrive there...a shame." he closes it as he places it on his chair. Think they got enough time for one last question. "Hmm...So. You earlier asked me something about the location. Have you managed to think up an inkling into where we're going, exactly? Any specifics brewing in your mind? Anywhere you might benefit from being in?"
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430 Posts
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"Shooting Star"
Student-Rank Quirk:
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Post by Karen Hoshizora on Oct 16, 2019 3:06:52 GMT -4
It dawned on her that Spymaster was one of those people who only seemed quiet and recluse, but had a whole lot to say once they got started on talking. She really enjoyed listening to his views and for the most part they made sense. His warning about obstructive quirks having poor compatibility with hers was a given. But in her mind someone with a quirk like that shouldn't and wouldn't create obstructions for her if the objective of the mission was to send someone in with amazing mobility to secure a target. If she had to clash and conflict with someone like that, then their problem was not their quirks but the lack of communication and not being on the same page. And in a lot of ways that was a much bigger issue than simply quirks being incompatible. By this time she wasn't too surprised anymore to hear that Spymaster actually favored a larger group with a wide variety of abilities to work together on a mission. This was something they cold both agree on. While there had not been any inter-class activities just yet she was already pondering how her class could work together in teams against other classes. "I definitely agree sensei. There are a lot of talented kids in my class. I hope when the opportunity comes, I can bring out the best in them working together."It seemed in all that talking their mystery bus ride was nearly at its conclusion. It had only been a couple of hours or so since they left Tokyo so it wasn't all that far. A train ride would have been a breeze. Unless of course they went somewhere that trains weren't readily accessible. That was always a possibility. Spymaster didn't forget that she was curious about their destination earlier. But rather than give out an answer it sounded like he was more interested in knowing if she had figured anything out herself. She smirked. Well the fact that their trip didn't take too long at all meant she had a general idea of how far they went. The problem was that particular region of Japan had all sorts of notable places. Pinpointing where exactly they ended up in was probably a shot in the dark. "Hmm, let's see. We were heading south to southwest from Tokyo. In the few hours we've been driving, assuming we were going straight not going around in circles, we would be somewhere in Kanagawa, Yamanashi or even Shizuoka at best."
"I don't think we're going to the sea area, since that warrants a different sort of preparations and things to bring that weren't on the list. Unless even that is part of the misdirection and you have things prepared for us on location."
"As for locations on land, I suppose we could be close to the Fuji Five Lakes. Maybe even Mt. Fuji itself. There are also a number of parks in the area near and past Hakone. If we really made it all the way to Shizuoka then that's even tougher to guess as there's mountainous area in the mainland or we could be in the Izu peninsula."Admittedly Karen pretty much only had tourist spot knowledge with regards to general geography there. Though she would be a pretty well-versed tourist. She wasn't someone who would know about secluded training grounds and the like. Even if Spymaster said to think of places they might benefit being in, she still found it rather vague. There was just too many possibilities and not enough clues to narrow it down. That was the best she could do with the direction they were heading and how many hours they had been on the road.
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Post by Souta on Oct 16, 2019 11:54:57 GMT -4
| | | | | Good ol' variety. Allows you to cover up any flaws that you may have. If you can't withstand extreme harsh winter weather due to your body composition or your quirk, someone with a heat related quirk can heat you up. If you need someone with large range and your skillset mainly involves close-combat and personal, someone else can pick up the slack. No such thing as a perfect agent. Even fictional supposed modified 'ultimate beings' have a flaw. People as a whole aren't perfect. In a way, he has that to thank for during his line of work. Imperfection allows him to pass off as several people, to investigate in areas one wouldn't be allowed in...to remove people if deemed necessary. A variety of imperfections. Even if he himself doesn't exactly work together with others, he can be sure to depend on them if a time of crisis arises. Both his team, and those imperfections.
Karen seems like the kind of person a lax student would look at and call a showoff. She used the movement and direction the bus was driving to determine the general path they were headed to. She used information she gleamed from her own personal experiences or research, then compounds them with common sense to narrow down the potential areas they would be head to. A smart head on that set of shoulders, if a bit smug. Could be a good teacher. At the very least, makes more sense than his role as a homeroom teacher.
"...It would be nice to witness the mountains and seas during this kind of weather...a shame both would be cold due to the weather around here...oh well." He shakes his head, sadly lamenting the fact that they are cursed to train out in the cold. Such a cruel fate. "Other than that...not bad." He looks at Karen, giving off the air of approval through the lens of a apathetic filter, and leans back a bit, covering his other eye with his headband. "When we reach there, let me know." He's done his share of socializing for the day, now to take a quick nap to recharge his batteries for the survival hike up Mt. Fuji. Unknowingly also charing himself for an upcoming disaster that none of them would have expected to occur. Such is the way of a hero: to expect the unexpected to happen at any time. Like Blank suddenly turning too fast.
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Post by Puglord on Oct 20, 2019 1:34:15 GMT -4
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1,835 Posts
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26 Years
Female
"Miss-Many-Thread"
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Post by Rosey on Nov 3, 2019 8:41:41 GMT -4
Added the double exp!
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