vivarium | 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

[Simon watches Sasuke turn away. He's... worried. He really, really wants to keep asking Sasuke about what happened, but even he's smart enough to realize he shouldn't. It doesn't seem like Sasuke wants to talk about what happened, and Simon doesn't want to damage their friendship by forcing him to open up.

So, he lets it go.]

O-Okay. I get it. I won't keep asking you what happened. But - just - no matter what happened, I'm on your side, so. Yeah. Maybe... that counts for something. I dunno.

[He falls silent for a while after that. When he does speak, it's quiet; reluctant.]

...Even if I hurt someone else here?

[Simon takes a moment or two to think about his answer. He's not the most eloquent speaker, so he's not sure if this will come out the way he wants it to, but... at least he's not fainting.]

I think... that I'd stay on your side even if you hurt someone here.

This whole game thing is, like, really, really scary. We've all done bad things since coming, here, I think. Even if you hurt someone 'cause you wanted to, and not because Calhoun was yelling at you, or you were feeling threatened or scared or anything else - I know you're a good guy. I know how bad you're feeling about it now. If you hurt someone, that's the game's fault, not yours.

[Another bout of silence. But eventually, he does utter a few more words:]

...Thank you.

[For the trust, even though he doesn't feel like he deserves any of it. Not anymore.]

You should still be careful, though.

I'm always careful! [Simon leans forward and almost topples out of the tree, totally ruining his point, but he doesn't seem to notice.] You don't have to worry about me, man. Just worry about yourself, okay? Besides, I'm, like, trying to be tougher.

[He tries to make some kind of angry, growling animal face to show off his toughness and hopefully make Sasuke laugh, buuuuuuut he realizes it probably won't work. He slumps back against the tree.]

So, um...

What happened, exactly...? If you wanna tell me, I mean.

[He starts in a way that would suggest he was about to try to grab Simon before he fell, but once he regains his balance, Sasuke settles back into place.]

...It's a game of truth or dare. I wanted two truths, but Calhoun said that was boring and dared me for the second one instead.

[He gives a low exhale. He hates admitting to it, even though it's his fault and that's the least he can do. If he didn't want to own up to it, he should have chosen a different course of action.

But he didn't, so here he is, words hesitant.] ...He gave me a knife and told me to stab someone.

[It's kind of heartbreaking to hear Sasuke confess to this - Simon certainly doesn't seem like he's led a life filled with conversations like these. Contrary to whatever Sasuke might have expected, though, he doesn't seem all that scared or upset by the news. He's just... quiet.

Sasuke's just a kid. It's striking Simon for the first time just how unfair it is for him to be here.]

I'm sorry... that's rough. You don't deserve to go through something like this. [He exhales, too, steadying his breath.] But - Zelos and Ema still voted Ally, right? They have to understand you didn't hurt anyone out of malice.

I thought for sure they would choose betray.

[That's what most people would do in that situation, wasn't it? If someone hurt you, you'd try to get revenge. And honestly?

That would have been fine. It wasn't like he had any rate to try to stop them. Not after what he did.]

Yeah? But you voted Ally anyway... [He speaks as softly as he can, like he's trying to be kind rather than accusatory.] That's okay. I think I'd do the same thing. I mean, how could I betray someone right after I hurt them...? If it had been me in your place, I'd feel like... I don't know... like I deserved whatever I got, or like I didn't deserve to protect myself. So - if you're feeling anything like that - I don't think that's bad, exactly.

[He pauses for a moment to mull over his thoughts, and when he speaks up again, his voice is a lot stronger than usual. He sounds like an actual adult, for once, which is crazy.]

Half of the people in this place would have tried to protect themselves by hitting betray, but you didn't do that. I think that makes you a good person, man. There aren't a lot of good people in the world, and there are even less of them in here. But you're one of them. No matter what you've done, I know you're inherently good, so I can't... blame you for any of this.

[Wow Simon, that was... actually very mature of you. If Sasuke weren't such a huge sad sack, it would have been extremely encouraging, even.

But as it is, he still doesn't look entirely convinced.]

--I'm not so sure about that. Heiji was right; I don't know enough about myself to tell, yet.

[Not if he apparently tried to stab his own brother, too. That's not really what an inherently good person ought to be doing.]

Heiji said that? [Heiji's a jerk!! Simon folds his arms across his chest, and he makes a note to bully Heiji into being nicer to Sasuke the next time they talk.]

Listen - you don't need to know who you are back home to know who you are here. Allying with Zelos and Ema was an undeniably selfless action - you were delaying your access to things like medical supplies and the dorm because you didn't want to make things worse. Right?

Even if you were a bad person back home - which I know you totally weren't - this place could be a second chance for you. You're not, like... defined by your past. You've done more good here than you're giving yourself credit for.

No, he's right. I... react badly to being surprised. [As they found out the hard way.] And besides that--

...We are affected by our pasts. I hardly remember anything about myself, but somehow, I know how to use knives. That's--

It's dangerous. [He's dangerous.]

We're affected by our pasts, sure, but they don't define who we are. It doesn't matter why you know how to do the things you can do, it just... matters how you choose to use those skills now that you're here.

Like, take this whole truth or dare thing - you did something bad 'cause Calhoun made you do it. That sucks, but now you know you shouldn't ever let him bully you into doing something you don't want to do. If nothing else, it's been a learning experience, and now you know how you need to behave in future grey rooms. You can treat this whole knife thing the same way - if you know how to use knives as a weapon, then you've probably got good reflexes, which is a skill you can use to help people avoid traps in puzzle rooms. You don't have to be dangerous. Take what you need to take from the past and apply it to the future without letting everything weigh you down.

[He's not sure if he's getting through to Sasuke, but...]

You, um - you mentioned you wanted two truths, right? So... you had at least one? Was that related to all of this?

...Yeah. He let me take a truth for the first round.

[Another pause. Man, this is just as hard to admit to.]

--I tried to stab my brother once. Apparently.

[Fits in awful nice with the overall knife theme.]

ambidex voting #8

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