enodia_ic | LEADERSHIP EVALUATION

LEADERSHIP EVALUATION

Exploring the Riftlands can be a dangerous endeavor, even for Liminals, so it's always important that members of the Explorer Division keep their powers honed, their bodies fit, and their minds sharp. It's also important to ensure that those most qualified to be in charge are placed there. To that end, Samuel J. Thornton has called all the members, both primary and supplementary, together for their first Leadership Evaluation.

Thornton holds these evaluations every few months to determine who will be placed in charge when the Division divides into smaller groups to carry out different missions and investigate different areas. The evaluation has three parts: combat practice, an obstacle course, and the (much dreaded) written strategic/leadership assessment. The evaluations tend to take a few hours and moods among the Division members run the gamut. Some take it quite seriously, studying and training ahead of time and giving it their all. Some act as if it's just another requirement from Thornton and treat it like any other training session to be overcome or endured. Some only show up because they know if they don't Thornton will put them on administrative leave (ugh). Regardless, it's a big day for the Division.

During combat practice, each member will face off against a handful of robotic combatants with customized programming based on Thornton's assessment of their skills. This is held in a moderately-sized training room in the middle of the hall. During the obstacle course, each member will be given places to reach and tasks to complete throughout a maze of obstacles that run the gamut from shifting walls to collapsing floors to blasts with a numbing (and gradually paralytic) effect and beyond. The engineers in Operations and Security have really outdone themselves this year! This is held in the enormous training room at the end of the hall. During the written strategic/leadership assessment, each member will take a long, comprehensive exam designed to assess their reasoning, their empathy, their strategic prowess, and their leadership ability. This is held in a moderately-sized training room at the beginning of the hall that has been filled up with desks.

Non-Explorer residents from across the Station are also welcome to participate if they want to test their mettle, though they may find themselves being recruited by Thornton if they do exceptionally well. Otherwise, they are welcome to show up and watch the action through a series of monitors that line the basement hallway. Even the room with the written exam appears on one screen for some unknown reason. It's a bit of an event. [Non-Explorer Character A] even brings refreshments and has printed up some little flags and trinkets featuring the names of some more impressive (at least in their opinion!) contenders. Are they trying to be supportive or psych someone out or just trying to make a buck? It's hard to say.

» THE EVALUATIONS: Complete the form below to have your character's leadership evaluation scored. Only characters that comment here are eligible for leadership roles.

HOW THIS WORKS

Every few months, the Explorer Division will hold Leadership Evaluations. These evaluations will use player forms and RNG to determine which characters are going to be placed in leadership positions during upcoming explorations of the Riftlands. This doesn't translate to any particular power or authority in the game day to day, but is something for players to play off of and will change throughout the course of the game.

IC all characters in the Explorer Division must complete this evaluation. Even if a player doesn't complete this form OOC, it will be assumed that their character competed unless specified elsewhere.

Thornton is notoriously strict and difficult to please, so it isn't uncommon for evaluation scores to be absolutely brutal. But don't take it personally. He's just trying to help you realize your potential!

Fill out the form below to see how your character handles the evaluation!

» DURING THE EVALUATIONS: For those lingering in the halls waiting on their results, those watching the challenges play out on the monitors, and anyone else that's hanging around.

» AFTER THE EVALUATIONS: After the evaluations have wrapped up for the day.

» OOC - QUESTIONS, COMMENTS, CONCERNS!

(CODE)

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

Enoch refuses the drink, but she knew he would. He does take the little piece of paper, which he reads with a completely unamused expression. (Crysta may detect the slightest quirk of his lips as he fights to not smile at her drinking game rules.)

"This is serious," he scolds. "People risk their lives in the Riftlands. These absurdly dangerous evaluations—" He gestures to the monitors with his stylus. "—are the only time these meathead explorers get to feel useful."

She rolls her eyes twice within three seconds, once because he didn't accept her very kind offer of hospitality (she knew he wouldn't,) and again because she knew this all already. "So like actually. If you think about it." she counters, "I'm celebrating their dedication to dying in stupid ways in the exact way they'd wanna be celebrated? Like gladiators. Or footballers."

"Submit a request for them to build audience stands next time," Enoch suggests. "Hearing your shrill voice heckle them in real time can only provide motivation."

Next time implies that he's accepted that Crysta will be at the Station indefinitely, an idea he's still getting used to. But they've agreed to a truce, and so he won't fight it. (Not as much, anyway.)

On the screens, a new person is starting their combat practice against the battle robots. "Have a favourite contender yet?"

"Ok, first, like. You'll be cheering right with me, Doctor Teakettle calling the birdsong shrill." She says, with no real malice this time. For once, she pauses to consider the contenders he's pointing to, playing with the top of her can as she does. The spectre of their brother hangs heavy in this air. She knows Gavin would smoke them all, and would like to see him do it. She doesn't say that, of course.

Instead, in the cool tone she may also use for discussing racehorses; "Obviously my flatmate. I've sacrificed my dishwasher for those hands. Gravity kid seems cool. And any girl who can bug out is all right with me. Who do you like?"

Edited (i said cool twice) 2023-05-26 20:13 (UTC)

"I never cheer for anyone," Enoch says dryly. "Why give praise before you know if they've earned it?" He writes down Crysta's choices, not caring if she sees. So far, The Flatmate and Gravity Kid have interesting powers but no apparent leadership potential. Of course Crysta would be impressed by Annie—she could be a leader, if she wanted it. He pauses with his stylus against the screen, trying to decide if he feels annoyance at Crysta thoroughly invading his modest social circle at Enodia.

(He rates himself an 8 out of 10 for Emotional Maturity in this moment. Could use improvement.)

Enoch is about to offer his critical take on these three when he realizes that the one facing off against the robots right now is Parson Starling. Two opponents down already, and it's been barely a minute. "Do you have anything in there that isn't as cheap as a White Claw?"

Crysta had been about to open her mouth and say something about her concern regarding Enoch's surgical link to his tablet stylus. But she raises her eyes to see what he sees, and quietly, for once, just passes him the cooler and murmurs, "At the bottom," which is indeed where she'd stashed a few Enoch-worthy beverages. Just in case.

She watches another practice robot demolished and scoffs. "God. Who is he even showing off for."

Despite his killjoy personality, Enoch enjoys a drinking game, so long as the setting is appropriate. This setting is not... ideal, but nothing about the circumstances are ideal, so he reaches into the cooler and pulls out a canned craft beer. According to the rules, he already has to drink for a robot losing a limb, which he does now.

"Everyone, I imagine. He was an exploration leader before his demotion." Enoch still isn't sure who was behind Parson taking a step back from Explorer duties—the director, or Parson himself. "Trying oh-so-hard to prove he hasn't lost his touch."

Edited 2023-05-27 02:29 (UTC)

Enoch playing along with her games at all would normally delight Crysta and render her incredibly obnoxious. But the dark cloud of resentment and mistrust makes her forget about that. (For now!) Her drink is for all her providing trash drinks to her colleagues, not White Claw either; it's a canned craft cocktail, something floral and gin-y, and she takes a long sip in tandem with her brother.

"Well it's tacky they let him compete at all. Like. Let him stay demoted, he has an advantage."

Edited 2023-05-27 02:56 (UTC)

"Now, now. IRIS is all about second chances. Who among us, really, can say we haven't accidentally killed someone?" Enoch's tone is light, almost chatty. He has long since boxed away the inconvenient emotions associated with that particular exploration, and now watches the monitors with nothing but scientific interest.

Parson throws a punch but it goes wide, dragging him out of step from where he meant to be. "Uh oh. Someone's having trouble with his inertia."

Edited (permission from jenny to dunk on her boy) 2023-05-27 03:27 (UTC)

Crysta has not had the luxury of time to process what an exploration even is, let alone who or what Parson was, now. Other than, apparently, very bad at punching. She realizes she's watching too closely, and sinks back, letting herself settle into an air of bored satisfaction. "Well. Looks like he'll be needing a third chance. Yikes. ...And that for sure counted as Power Impotence." She drinks accordingly, and raises her eyebrows in expectation that Enoch will follow suit.

Edited 2023-05-27 04:29 (UTC)

Enoch smirks, and takes another drink too.

Despite the slip, Parson's tussle with the robots easily puts him in the top ranks of the combat portion. "Annoying," Enoch mutters. Not that he's rooting against Parson's success. That would be childish. Only that he's spent the past five years watching certain people excel effortlessly at the Leadership Evaluations, and... Well. Never mind that.

"I bet a twenty that he screws up the obstacle course," Enoch says as the evaluations move on to the next person.

"Oh you're on, he's going to be on this terribly cocky cloud for all of it." Does she think that or is she just being contrarian in case it wins her money off Enoch? It's not clear. Possibly both. She follows their contestant closely into the obstacle course, but takes a drink that is not part of the game to steel herself. She makes her voice low but still very casual, as a question that's been nagging at the back of her mind is dangerously treading into Real Shit Zone, a place she rarely visits. "SO like. Have you talked to him...since?"

Edited 2023-05-28 01:35 (UTC)

LEADERSHIP EVALUATION

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch

Crysta & Enoch