vivarium | ambidex voting #8

Entry tags:

ambidex voting #8

A M B I D E X V O T I N G

Chop chop, everyone downstairs to the first floor! You're all done the puzzle rooms, so you know what to do. Well, most of you, but it's pretty basic, just enter any Ambidex Room you like (they're not elevators, you ignorant test subjects) then vote! How does voting work? Very simple! Pick Ally or Betray, and that's it! But with every round, there's always some prizes, depending on what you vote, so here's this rounds:

For anyone who chooses Ally, well, if your opponent chooses Ally as well, then 2BP for each of you. You get all that friendship, blah blah, whatever.

For anyone who chooses Betray, and gets a Betray in return, your BP doesn't change at all, but you might get some coins for your trouble, let's saaaay, 20? Generous, I know.

Now, the best part: for anyone who chooses Betray and their opponent chooses Ally, Calhoun will be very generous with his prizes, again! You'll get 15 coins and a memory! Also, as usual, those who pick Betray get 3BP instead of just 2.

But if you're the poor sap that chose Ally and got stabbed in the back, well, sorry, you lose 2 BP. At least you got stabbed for the greater good, right? And plus, you might get a little something. He'll talk to you later about it.

But anyway, happy voting! Calhoun will see all of you later with the results.

BASIC INFO ✖ VOTES + FORMS ✖ RESULTS + REACTIONS

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

*For someone who got Betrayed this round, Snake doesn't look too upset about it. In fact, he's looking thoughtful about the whole experience. He'll be looking for several people but he won't say no to you should you choose to chat with him.*

Ah, the number one person Heiji was looking for! He wasn't overly concerned about Snake's results for this round, but he had been looking for Snake since the memory incident. So he wasn't at all shy about coming right up and launching into conversation.

"Hey, Snake! I been looking for you. How're you feeling?" Shenanigans in the last puzzle room aside, he was just so genuinely happy to see Snake looking well again that it came through loud and clear in his voice.

*Heiji sounded quite happy to see him. Which, in turn, did make Snake happy. But he wasn't going to fall into a puddle of goo. He'd already done that by indulging in a daydream.* I'm feeling a lot better, thanks to you and everyone else who calmed me down. I think now that the memory isn't so...fresh that I can try to be more accepting of it.

Heiji nodded, reassured that Snake seemed to be taking things well. "Okay. Just thought I should check on you. Thought ya might be embarrassed and avoiding us or something. I wanted to say that... well... it sounded like it was really awful. Especially for a kid waking up alone like that."

He looked away, suddenly and uncharacteristically shy. "I mean, like you said, it happened a while back, but still. If you ever need help or anything, don't think twice about asking, okay?"

*Well, he WAS partially avoiding people, just so he could regain his equilibrium. But he couldn't stay away from people forever. His breakdown had happened and he would have to learn from it and move on.*

I understand, Heiji. I just needed a little time to think by myself. However, I don't think I'll ever doubt that you, Hershel and Clive have my best interests at heart. *It HAD been reassuring to wake up with people near...but why was he hugging a stuffed cat again?*

I have had time to think about why it affected me so badly and I have come to a rather unsettling conclusion. If it's true.

For some reason, hearing that Snake trusted him made Heiji happy all over again -- though he wasn't really sure why. He already knew that Snake trusted him, so... why? It was confusing. But nice?

"Yeah? What conclusion is that?"

Also, clearly he had been hugging Sleepy Cat because Sleepy Cat was the best.

*Sleepy Cat was very soft and huggable, he'll give it that.*

Heiji, if Calhoun and by extension Zero is going to give us our memories back piecemeal, what if those include memories that our brains made us forget due to self-preservation?

If Heiji ever got a stuffed animal, maybe he'd give it to Snake.

"You mean it was something you repressed because you couldn't deal with it at the time?" Heiji crossed his arms. "Yeah, that's more than possible. I mean, the brain is a pretty imperfect medium. It creates false memories, gives you back information you thought you'd forgotten all about at times when you least expect it..."

And more pertinently -- "It might give you back the memory of when the accident actually happened. If you were awake for that. Of course, that's not just in regards to you. It could just as easily apply to anyone who's had a traumatic event."

Well, you said it yourself. That was terrible thing for a child to have to go through alone. Perhaps that's why it felt so terrible to me. Because I hadn't really remembered it until now. I can only hope that whatever accident happened that I honestly didn't even see it coming and that's why I don't remember.

It does make you wonder, do we all have terrible traumatic things in our pasts that we'll be forced to remember here?

Heiji considered this for a moment. "Probably, though maybe not as dramatic as yours," he concluded. "I mean, people don't live their lives in a bubble. Even if someone lives a pretty normal life, they might remember the time they got trapped in an elevator and ended up claustrophobic, or a time they almost drowned as a kid."

Of course, pretty much all the things Heiji remembered were traumatic for a normal person, so...

"I think the important thing to remember is that the stuff Calhoun shows us is most likely cherry-picked, and might be intended to make us do one thing or another. Like what happened with you. What were the chances that of all the millions of memories you have, that one would've just popped up?"

True. It might have been a test. A test to see if I'd crack. *Which, to be perfectly honest, he'd gotten into a fair bit of hysteria. It had led him to wonder if this might be a trait in him that he'd forgotten with his amnesia. The only way to prove it would be to remember other painful things and remember how he'd reacted.*

"Maybe," said Heiji. "But things turned out all right. You did have us all worried for a little while, though."

Worried was perhaps an understatement; Heiji had never seen Snake like that before.

*Be thankful his sister isn't here. You'd see a lot more levels of unhinged.* Thankfully. *He canted his head to listen around to the group at large for a moment.* I don't hear any cries of dismay so I'll assume the only betraying going on was in our group.

Oh, dear.

"Yeah, things were pretty quiet this round. Speakin' of which, what happened with your group? I was going to ask you about it earlier..." Only he'd gotten distracted, of course.

*Well, Heiji was just checking on his well-being, which was thoughtful of him. Snake will let that go.*

It's interesting. Although we did have a Betray-Betray, there's a reason for it. Kuzuryuu told us what he was planning.

"Oh, he told you he was gonna pick Betray? That sounds like him. He give you a reason, though? I mean, he usually ain't shy about stating his mind and all."

Actually, the real reason Heiji had been surprised was because Snake and Enjolras had seemed like more or less a sure bet. Certainly Heiji wouldn't have had any problem allying with them.

Edited 2014-10-28 00:48 (UTC)

I'm not sure but judging from what I heard from both him and Enjolras, each of them seems to have some kind of...beef with the other, for lack of a better term. Sort of like Clive and Zelos.

Heiji frowned a little. "Well... to tell you the truth, Enjolras is kind of annoying. But Kuzuryuu ain't seem like the kind of guy to make his decision just based on that. Maybe somethin' happened during the sixth round?"

He'd just have to look into this a bit further. "I'm glad he didn't have a problem with you, though. Actually, I wouldn't mind bein' on a team with him again. I can kinda understand where he's coming from."

I can only base my speculation on the tones of voices and each of them seemed to be less than friendly to the other. Clive and Zelos popped into my mind as an imperfect comparison but...if something actually did happen between them, it would explain a few things.

It's hard to tell if he does or does not have a problem with me. Although he can be equally annoying, in the way a young child can. I helped him out in the darkness but he got on my nerves.

Edited 2014-10-30 00:08 (UTC)

Heiji just... had to laugh a little at that. Snake getting a taste of his own medicine...

"I like Kuzuryuu. He's kinda rude sometimes, but he's honest. Someone else might've just not said anything or promised to Ally and chosen Betray... but he ain't like that. Plus, he's pretty smart. Even if he does think everyone's got an angle." He crossed his arms.

"If you want to know what he thinks of you, you can just ask him. In the meantime... guess I gotta worry about next round."

Well, everyone does have an angle. *Even if the angle is to play this game straight and true.* I suppose I could ask him about that although I berate him for a choice comment of his. *Snake shook his head.* When I offered to get him out from the hallway, obviously he'd need to hold my hand to do so. Out of the entire dangerous situation we were in, he initially refused to hold my hand because the only people who did that were a parent leading a child or two people who were dating. Honestly.

"Actually..." said Heiji, "What he said was true. Maybe things are different in America, but something like that really isn't something you just do. I ain't say anything because we were in a jam and all, but... he was probably pretty surprised. To put it lightly."

Gosh, Snake, did you just hold hands with anyone? Here's your scarlet A.

You have got to be kidding me. *He grabs the bridge of his nose and makes a sound.* How else was I supposed to lead everyone to safety without holding a hand? Wave a magic wand?

"Yeah, I know. I'm just sayin' that's probably why he was kinda weird about it. If he agreed to do it anyway, then I'm sure he understood your reasoning."

He paused. "Oh, and you probably could've just asked him to grab your arm or shoulder or something."

Not that Heiji really minded holding Snake's hand, exactly...

Edited 2014-10-30 07:00 (UTC)

Then he'd bumping into me constantly. No, holding hands in that instance was perfectly acceptable. *he shakes his head* At least you were mature enough about our situation.

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject