thecooler | Days 8-11 - Test 1: Aptitude

Who: All Initiates
What: LACUNA begins her testing phases
When: Days 8-11
Where: Area 2 - Testing Grounds
Warnings: To be updated, but as this is a testing regimen, it will most likely contain language, violence, mentions of sensitive topics (up to and including pondering the murder of children)

At 06:00 hours on the morning of Day 8, every terminal, be it the one in the living quarters or one of the personal terminals within the rooms, begins broadcasting the sound of a klaxon. This sound, loud enough to reverberate, continues for 30 seconds before it ends as abruptly as it began. The lights raise and after they are fully illuminating whatever area your character may have been rudely awoken in, LACUNA's cold voice fills the silence.

"Good Morning, Initiates. Today will begin Testing. Our first Test Round will be for Aptitude measurement only. As such, blows that would otherwise be fatal will spare you. You have one hour to prepare. Afterwards, proceed to the cryopod chamber for further instruction. Thank you."

As incredibly forthcoming as she's been previously, any attempts to question her further are met with cold silence.

(OOC: The Test will be divided by day and function, and for more information, check out the sweet prompts below, also organized by date! You're not required to use this post, but it may be easier if you haven't found a partner! Feel free to make your own posts, either as actions or network posts as well! Remember, it isn't 100% necessary to obey her commands...)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Well, he missed the very obvious scar through her back and stomach from a katana that should be illegal everywhere. A simple bruise isn't enough to really rustle her jimmies anymore. It hurts, but she'll live.

"Hm, I suppose that could be true for some of the others here too." She's not sure if she feels that way about herself just yet. "Aerith Gainsborough," she holds out her hand for him to shake if he wants. "Have you explored the facility yet?"

"Wesley Wyndam-Pryce." He accepts the handshake. No sense in being disagreeable, even if the circumstances did make him wary.

"I'm afraid I have not. I was a bit preoccupied with the prospect of the tests, since I suspect I'll be subjected to them myself in the near future."

He gestures vaguely at the ceiling of the common room.

"Besides, I get the impression that our charming hostess might frown on... snooping."

"Well, we can explore a bit. She doesn't really get very pushy about it, unless we go further than the light and heat traverse. I wouldn't suggest going down the corridor where are rooms are. The temperature drops very quickly."

Frostbite is going to be an issue here, she thinks.

"Besides, I guess with the name of the place, that shouldn't be too surprising. And there are some blast doors that lead out to another area, but they have yet to move so we can't tell what's behind them."

Effective at neutralizing biological prisoners but not detrimental to most machines. Efficient.

Also frustrating.

"I'm sure we'll find out what's behind them in due time. And by due time, I mean the most inconvenient possible time."

She sighs and rubs her arm again. It aches now that her attention has been brought to it and without potions, the only solution for a quick fix isn't something she's going to bother with.

"I'm sure we will, but something tells me we won't like it. Our guide seems to think that dried food that tastes like chemicals is good enough, after all. I doubt she understands the distinction of flavor." Aerith shrugs. "Maybe it's more of a test in that way."

Wesley notices the rubbing of her arm. She insisted she needed no medical care, and he's uncertain what he could offer even if she were receptive, but it's obviously bothering her more than she's letting on.

But he forces himself not to be distracted by it. Best to let it go.

"I actually suspect that our captor is fully aware of how..."

Hideously revolting.

"...unappetizing. How unappetizing the meals are."

He sighs.

"I assume it's to promote cooperation. If every slightest creature comfort must be earned, she can keep us quite submissive indeed."

Well, when all of your boo-boos can be fixed with magic and Materia, suddenly being without that again is awkward. Although, if someone were to offer her painkillers, she might just kiss them. Because she's not going back to her pod unless she's forced.

"Oh, I'm sure, after all of the yelling that one of the others did the first day. Some are better than others, thankfully." She shrugs a bit. "I've never been the kind of person to not help others, so I think that's fine. Besides, helping each other is part of the testing we've been enduring the last few days."

Helping others, as a habit. Now didn't that sound familiar.

Still, it's reassuring. He's rather tired of allying himself with morally dubious and outright despicable people, and particularly of wondering when the alliance would come back to bite him..

"I fortunately haven't encountered any of the fighting between... residents. Thus far. Everybody I've encountered has been more or less friendly."

There's no one who is as morally upright as Aerith, unless it's Zack. She just tries to be nice to as many people as she thinks deserves it. It's served her pretty well so far.

"Well, it's true that most of us are a friendly bunch, I would suggest that you stay away from the man called Anakin. Unless you can defend yourself against someone with supernatural strength and a metal arm.

"Healing here is a little on the low end here. I can do a little and I think Yuna can as well, but if you're seriously injured, the only solution is to take you back to your pod so that LACUNA can heal you. If you want to believe her."

Supernatural strength and a metal arm. Violent. Trapped in there with them.

And here he was afraid being imprisoned and experimented on might be too fun.

"Well, I shall try to avoid irritating him."

[Of course, having said that, it was inevitable that he was going to run into that metal arm at some point. That seemed to be how his life worked.]

"I will say, your limited healing still sound more advanced than what I'm used to. I'm quite used to recovering from injuries the old fashioned way, so I'm not eager to be careless with my safety."

At least he can't morph into a bunch of monsters or want to do experiments on them that involve selective breeding? Although, to be fair, Aerith's standards for who might actually be a good person are sort of low at this point.

"It might be best to attempt to avoid him altogether, but I know that it's a little impossible with our numbers being so low."

And she's sure that Anakin will make himself very much known to the rest of the people stuck there. He hasn't really tried to be subtle after all.

"The old fashioned way? You mean without any sort of magic involved? I'm sure you're not the only one who's used to that, but if you are injured, don't hesitate to let me know. My skills might be limited, but I'm more than willing to offer them to those in need."

Days 8-11 - Test 1: Aptitude

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Wesley wouldn't know about being impaled with a ridiculously large blade.

Of course he wouldn't!

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I'M NOT DEAD

Lies and falsehoods, Zombie friend.

What no shush I wasn't eating these brains you can't prove anything

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