fandomhigh | Rookiehood 101, Tuesday, Period 4

When Reno stepped into the classroom today, he was... dressed somewhat unusually. It wasn't that he wasn't wearing his usual suit, mind. It was more that his white button-down was now in a remarkable state of tie-dye, and there were multicolored ferret-footprints up and down his jacket. Not to mention the random blue streaks in his hair, and the technicolor ferret that was ravaging the contents of the wastepaper basket over in the corner.

Perhaps surprisingly, he was grinning.

"Yo, Rookies!" Mako, the ferret in the basket, honked counterpoint to Reno's greeting. "This week, I'm gonna talk a little about that chip you might have sittin' on your shoulder when you step into a new situation, yo. You know the one, I'm thinkin'. It's that little voice in the back of your head that makes you damn sure that you're gonna get in there, and you're gonna be better than anyone else who ever did the job, and how dare whoever is sittin' three ranks above you not take the job as seriously as you do when you only been around for like a week, and they've been there for freakin' ever, yo."

He gave Elena a pointed look at that, his grin not wavering in the least.

"Some Rookies learn to lose that chip a bit slower'n others, but when they figure it out, they do a damn good job of it, yo. See, thing is, there ain't nothin' the matter with wantin' to do a good job. But when you get past the point of doin' the job, and you get into a place where you're sacrificing yourself for it, you've just stopped being whatever it is you're trying to prove you are... And you've started bein' a damn fool."

He shifted his weight a bit, almost uncomfortably, and then he leaned back against his desk, arms crossing over his chest.

"When you do what you're doin', make sure it's for the right damn reasons. Ain't gonna impress nobody by shuttin' yourself off just to prove you're better, yo. So this week, we're going to do a nice, simple assignment. No syrup, no Jell-o, no feathers even though they were funny as hell. Just talk about what you think the difference is between doin' the job for the sake of doin' what needs to be done, and doin' it because you got somethin' to prove."

A pause, and then he pulled a gold coin out of his pocket and flipped it. "Makita, you won the coin toss, yo. Go stand by Elena, there, Rookie. Maybe see if she knows anything about how to get ducks outta a kitchen while you're at it, yoto."

[Open!]

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Showing off that chip on your shoulder.

Where you can sit, contemplate Reno's sudden foray into a hippie lifestyle, actually listen to the lecture, take notes, throw paper airplanes, or whatever. Reno's got his money on Squall being the one to pick the 'whatever' option.

When you step up to a new role, how much effort is enough? How much is too much, and how do you know when you've gone beyond getting the job done right along into being detrimental to your own health and your cause? Do you rely on your superiors to tell you when enough is enough? Do you listen to them when they do?

One of whom is in for serious comeuppance for those ducks, by the way. As is another certain Rookie-with-an-uppercase-R. Makita just gets props for having an awesome hat.

And Mako! Reno brought him to class today to keep him from trying to terrorize the waterfowl currently residing in his kitchen.

This lesson was brought to you by the letters F and F, and the numbers 7, 8, 10, and 13. And by viewers like you.

Chloe Saunders

Chloe was listening to the lecture, but she was also a little distracted by it due to Reno's new and different look.

He didn't seem to be gremlin bit...

Yamanaka Ino

Ino? Ino was just going to sink into her chair and amuse herself by stealthily filming Mako with her phone's video recorder.

She was listening, and if pressed would be able to spout the lecture back at him, but honestly she was more interested in Mako especially after, well. After.

Edited 2010-05-18 17:56 (UTC)

Tahiri Veila

Tahiri wouldn't try and bet against Reno when it came to Squall and the 'whatever' option. Just saying.

She was listening to the lecture, though -- the odd expression on her face was partly amusement at Reno's outfit (if he'd had a sudden change in fashion sense she wouldn't judge) and partly . . . look, the whole sacrificing-yourself-for-a-mission thing was never not going to touch a nerve at least slightly.

Just for more complicated reasons now.

"Maybe you've got somethin' to prove by getting the job done," she snarked mildly. "Generally speakin' it's a fairly normal rule of thumb to give it your all and then try and give it a little more. Maybe that 'little more' isn't a whole lot--but what if it is? There's no harm in working harder than you got to. Ain't going to be no use to anyone if you don't know where your limits are and pressin' them is the only way to find out."

Chloe chewed on her bottom lip as she thought about how to respond to all of this.

"You always put in as much effort as you c-can," she stammered, blushing a lot as she kept her eyes firmly on her feet while she spoke. "S-sometimes you have to make that decision yourself b-because the s-superiors or the ones with that p-power are the ones trying to hurt you." She shook her head. "S-sometimes you have to make the decision that the job is not as important as your health and s-safety."

Or, if you were Chloe, you decided that the thing that needed to be done was worth whatever harm came to you as long as it kept other kids from going through what you and your friends were going through.

She was too smart to say that out loud where Ino could hear her, though.

Edited 2010-05-18 13:39 (UTC)

Karla

"It depends on the role, I guess," Karla said. "And the stakes. If everything's on the line, you give your everything back. I'll admit that I'm one who'll keep going even beyond the point of detriment, but sometimes...sometimes you just have to."

Not looking at Reno or Elena, no. "And even if it turns out you are just doing it to prove something, well, stretching your limits isn't exactly a bad thing. And if you get yourself hurt, you'll have learned something. The job of your superiors is to make it so you don't hurt yourself so badly that you can't recover in time for the next job."

Ben Skywalker

Squall Leonhart

Squall listened to the lecture. Whatever.

(Why would I care about how other people do their jobs? As long as they're not putting the team in danger, it doesn't affect me.)

"You give as much effort as the job requires," Squall answered bluntly. "Do it as well as you possibly can. But if you burn yourself out because you've got something to prove, that's just stupid."

"If you can give a little more, you weren't giving your all to begin with," Squall pointed out.

"That's a lot of faith to put in your superiors," Squall snorted. "It's better to rely on yourself."

"You don't think there's room for going above and beyond the call of duty, then?" Ino asked, tilting her head ~~and wishing LJ would give notifs~~. "'Cause ain't that giving more than your all?"

"I didn't say that it was always justified faith, but it is their job," Karla pointed out. "And if you're trying to prove yourself so much that you're putting yourself in danger, then they'd better be the kind of superiors who'll do that job. Otherwise you're a fool twice over."

"No, it's just giving your all at things you weren't supposed to be doing," Squall answered. "And that's fine, as long as you're still doing your job."

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Rookiehood 101, Tuesday, Period 4

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