[OPEN] It's Exam Season

[curingidiocy]

WHO: Dr. Ratio, Itadori Yuji, Fushiguro Megumi, any other student taking the exams + anyone who enters the cafeteria
WHAT: A bunch of teenagers willfully subjecting themselves to exams, with Dr. Ratio as the proctor.
WHERE: Main Base Cafeteria
WHEN: May 13 + 14
WARNINGS: None unless you think high school exams deserve a warning

[ Ratio had not expected to be proctoring exams so soon after arriving to an isolated, ruined planet, but life always had its ways to surprise you. It is a development he welcomes, however, as it means there are students interested in learning.

Unfortunate then that the base has little to no locations suitable for education. The library's overhead lights were broken, and there were far too few seats. The only option at such a short notice was the cafeteria. But Ratio is adaptable, for adaptability is sign of an open mind and excellent problem-solving skills, both of which he has in spades.

Over the two days of May 13 and May 14, Outsiders will find a corner of the cafeteria cordoned off for the exams, blocked by bristol panels that separate the space from the rest of the cafeteria. A man with a plaster bust over his head will be standing near by, apparently proctoring the exams. ]


[ Top-level sections in the comments! ]

Comments

Cafeteria

[curingidiocy]

[ Anyone not participating in the exams can pop in and interact with Ratio during the exams! ]

[elfsufficient]

[ Fern had seen that network post and wandered to the cafeteria on this first day... She isn't sure if this endeavor applies to her because she's been homeschooled her whole life, and also, many of those subjects seem so foreign to her... Calculus?

Still, it's her curiosity that takes her to the cafeteria sometime before the exams begin; she's always been an early riser, and without her teacher to take care of here, her mornings are suddenly... very open. So here she is. ]

Excuse me... are you Dr. Ratio, perhaps?

[curingidiocy]

[ The man in question is in the middle of preparing the space for exams, currently adjusting the bristol panels meant to separate the exam takers from the rest of the cafeteria and obstruct any visual distractions.

He is also wearing a plaster bust over his head, which... sure is a choice. It doesn't seem to impede his ability to function, despite there being no obvious openings for his eyes or anything else.

He pauses in his work to look at Fern when addressed. ]

That would be me. Is there something you require?

[elfsufficient]

[ That... That sure is a choice. For a moment, she wonders if that might really be his actual head, but it's almost worse that he's simply wearing it like one does a helmet. But then again, she's already met a boy who can turn into a full-on eldritch horror and a woman who is green, so... ]

Um...

[ Wait, no, this is definitely still really weird. She was going to ask about the exams, but— ]

Why are you wearing that...?

[curingidiocy]

I have found it counterproductive to be without it in an academic setting.

[ In reality, it's something of a routine for him while teaching. While he initially wore the bust so he wouldn't have to see idiots, he also found that people were far less distracted in class when he had it on, so he simply grew used to wearing it while engaging in his teaching job.

During the exam, it will serve much the same purpose while he watches over the exam takers. ]

[elfsufficient]

. . .

[ I'm sorry, but what....... ]

Does it... help you think more clearly...?

[ Help her understand... does she even want to understand? ]

[curingidiocy]

Indeed, it also serves to isolate me from the five senses, which means I can think without interference. But that is not the primary reason I wear it while teaching. My students do not need any more distractions than they already have access to during my lessons.

[ Yeah, as if somehow the plaster bust isn't more of a distraction than his appearance. ]

NOO i lost this notif im sorry

[elfsufficient]

[ Fern can see how wearing such... headgear? Could help one focus more by dulling the senses, but her face pulls into a frown at the, uh. Implication that his face is a distraction to his students? Just what is he trying to say... ]

Maybe it's because I don't know of your true appearance, Doctor, but isn't the this distracting in and of itself...?

[ Then again, if she thinks about the proctors of the mage exam she'd just taken... ]

Pre-Exam Jitters

[curingidiocy]

[ Who doesn't get these? Students can talk among themselves here while Ratio sets up the exams. ]

[newphew]

[ hunter looks excited!!!! what a fucking freak ]

Finally, some way to prove my worth!

[ this is normal ]

Lunch Time

[curingidiocy]

[ Ratio will be sitting in the exam area, marking the exams that have just been completed. Anyone can come bother him during this 2-hour period. ]

[the_fourteenth]

[Raidou's heard about these exams, and while he's not participating - he's got plenty of his own studies to do - he does like to be helpful. That's why, while everyone was still in the middle of the previous test, he got to work in the cafeteria kitchen. He works part time as a ramen chef, and knows the kitchen has the ingredients for it, so that's what everyone is getting. Still, it's way better than any of the pre-prepared stuff.

While the students are free to help themselves, Raidou will come by with a bowl for the... doctor, was it? Who seems to be wearing a some sort of mask, maybe?

Ratio is approached by a young man in all black clothes and a hat that almost looks military in nature. Raidou might have even snuck up on him accidentally, being the quiet type.]

Ah, excuse me. Were you hungry?

[curingidiocy]

[ With the bust on, his five senses are blunted, which is exactly the way he prefers giving himself space to think, especially in the din of the cafeteria.

The exams themselves are a piece of cake to mark, but as always, he prefers to take his time and annotate every single question in the interest of helping his students. If Raidou's looking while he approaches, there's one set of exams that have far more red marks all over it than the others, which is the one Ratio seems to be staring (can he even see??) at right at this moment.

He does not start, even with Raidou's silent approach, but he looks up when addressed and takes a moment to observe the young man before him. ]

You may set that on the table here.

[ He gestures to the empty space in front of him, far enough away from the exams to avoid mishaps, and then goes right back to his musing, ignoring the food. Sorry Raidou. He does intend to eat it. He's just thinking right now. ]

[the_fourteenth]

[He nods and sets it down as instructed, with a polite little bow to follow it up.]

I hope you enjoy it. It's a lot of work you're all doing over these two days, so I wanted to help.

[Not to interrupt what he was doing or anything. But Raidou figures there must be something to this guy if he's inspired Yuji, of all people, to study so hard.]

[curingidiocy]

[ If nothing, at least the people here are thoughtful and considerate. He can hardly recall a time when a student would gift him something in thanks for his work, much less a stranger. Not that he seeks such things, but it comes as a small surprise, is all.

He's silent for a beat. ]

Well? If you have questions, speak.

[ Abrupt, sure, but he has never been one for indirectness. ]

[the_fourteenth]

[Raidou makes a quiet, surprised noise at the abrupt statement.]

Ah. I was-- I know you're tutoring on high school subjects. It seems like you have a pretty full curriculum already. I've been looking for help on my own studies. Someone to check my answers, since it's a lot of memorization. Ah, I'm studying to be a shinto priest. I have the answer keys.

[Since there's probably no one among the Outsiders who would know all this stuff anyway.]

[curingidiocy]

[ Shinto priest? A local religion of some sort, then? He's curious in the way one would be when confronted with something new. As someone who has studied the Aeons, he always finds it interesting to see how local beliefs have been influenced by them. In this case, however, it's unlikely Aeons have had any influence, and that piques his curiosity even more. Even in the farthest planets, cut off from the interstellar economy, religion often found basis in the Aeons.

...However— ]

Is there a reason you have not asked any of your peers or another adult on base to assist you?

[ This is a task easily handled by anyone on base. Why, then, has he not already asked another? ]

[stonehearts]

( Aventurine comes swanning in as best as the man can in sweats, this time with food from the main part of the cafeteria -- two trays of the best food he can find being served. Which isn't saying a lot, but Aventurine will take what he can get.

Sliding one in front of Ratio, Aventurine picks a seat across from the other man. )

Well? Found any geniuses yet?

[curingidiocy]

[ It isn't until Aventurine speaks that Ratio raises his head, pausing in his work to straighten from the hunched position he'd taken while marking the exams. With the wave of a hand, the bust on his head vanishes and he sighs, gathering the papers together to be put aside.

Those papers are littered with red marks, typical of anything marked by Ratio. ]

If geniuses were so easy to find, perhaps I would not have to dedicate my time to ridding humanity of its idiocy.

[stonehearts]

If they can make a whole society out of them, they're certainly not in short supply. ( Aventurine counters, gesturing with a fork. ) Though considering that Nous has THEIR hands full ignoring some of the better ones, we could be sleeping on hundreds.

( This is, of course, a tease. He's just happy to bicker with Ratio again, instead of being dead. )

[curingidiocy]

[ That's a flat look you're getting from him, gambler. ]

To date, there have only been eighty four members of the Genius Society, which has existed for over hundreds of Amber Eras. How many individuals do you think have existed during that time?

For there to be less than a hundred over the span of such a colossal time frame, the probability of a true Genius arising is infinitesimally small. So, on the contrary, they are in extremely short supply.

[ He only gives Aventurine a pointed look at the jest, before pulling forward the tray of food and tucking into it without a word. ]

[stonehearts]

( Aventurine throws his hands up in apology, before shoving more food into his face. )

I'm just saying, there have been plenty of geniuses without being a Genius. And, ( He clinks his fork on his glass of water, almost as if he's in idle thought but mostly to make sure he has Ratio's attention. ) I think that it doesn't make the man. Or genius, as it were.

[curingidiocy]

[ Is Aventurine... pitying him? Because he's not a member of the Genius Society? Ratio's eyes narrow, agitation set into the frown of his mouth. ]

I hardly care for the label nor do I desire it. What I have accomplished and what I will accomplish will not change, even if Nous should one day gaze upon me. Anyone who believes Their disregard for me to be a mark of shame is an idiot.

[ It comes out a little more heated than intended, and he realizes he's erred. He promptly shuts his mouth and focuses on the food in front of him, though he doesn't have much of an appetite now. ]

Exams are Done!!!

[curingidiocy]

[ You're free! Any post-exam talk can happen here, and Ratio will be lingering in the cafeteria for a while to field questions and look over the exams. ]

[eyescar]

[ As soon as the exams are all done, Yuji ends up collapsed in one of the chairs in the cafeteria, looking absolutely exhausted. He can't remember the last time he used his brain so much, and he's stretching his arms out across the table in front of him before he sighs heavily. ]

That was worse than fighting a curse all by myself...

[ That's hyperbole. Nothing has been as bad as fighting a particular curse, but...

Turning his head, he looks around the room. Does anyone else look as exhausted as he does...? No.

Damn...

Leaning back, eventually, he rubs at his face, groaning. ]

I don't think I did well at all...