CALHOUN HOUR - CHOICE

[vivariummods]

It has been two and a half days since the end of the virus takeover. The power, lights, and heating has been turned back on. All the newer areas have been sealed, BP is once again required in certain rooms, and it appears that everything is returning back to normal. Asides from Calhoun. Whether characters have chosen to give pieces of Calhoun to Zero, to hold onto them, or to destroy them, it does not matter. There has been no indications as to when he would ever be back, so there has been a robotic mouse void within the warehouse. Zero has refused to leave any information as to the status of rebuilding Calhoun, but they have left this one message for everyone shortly after the power restoration: "While you may be left alone to your devices, do not trick yourselves into thinking that there is a way out of here, or that you can do as you please. I will always be watching." It has been two days since Zero has left these parting words before entirely disappearing. When attempting to call for them, everyone will only be responded with silence. It's clear that they're still watching over the facility though, as any kind of rule breaking or suspicious activities would automatically be rewarded with an injection of Soporil β. True to their word, Zero is somehow monitoring the behaviors without saying a single word. It is not until the morning of Day 72 does everyone hear again from them again, through the speakers throughout the warehouse. "Good morning, Subjects. Today, you will be partaking in another experiment of mine. It has come to my knowledge that my assistant has been throwing these so-called "Calhoun Hours" every three days to keep everyone stimulated between his rooms. Don't assume that I will do anything similar of the sort. This activity has far more care and thought put into it than this camping nonsense, so let us begin." "The rules are simple: every test subject will be paired up and placed against each other. The collective will then have to vote for one of the pair. The one with the fewest amount of votes will be subjective to a punishment of my choice. The one with the most amount of votes will continue their dull experimental lives until the next set of events." "Any petty attempts of rebellion will be met with serious repercussions, so I would suggest that you rethink any sort of plans." "Now, best of luck, Subjects. We will talk again soon." BASIC INFO ✖ MINGLE ✖ VOTES ✖ RESULTS

Comments

RESULTS

[formicarium]

[ Eventually the elevators open, first for the winners then later for the losers after their punishment had been doled out. Of course some of the winners are a little worse for wear too, but that's all in the spirit of nice camraderie, right? ]

[ On the screens where AB Round votes are usually shown is this screen: ]



[ Under the screen is a list of everyone's votes for those interested. ]

[ Zero appears briefly, voice as lifeless and distorted as ever. ]

That concludes our experiment. Rooms will begin again in three days.

[ And with that tidbit Zero is off, and everyone is free to spend their time as they wish. ]

[puzzlinglad]

[With that debacle over Hershel comes out of the elevator looking completely fine?? He also looks about as confused as anyone else might be from this result, maybe a little nervous because, surprisingly, he didn't really think Zero was just being a kind and considerate soul.

For the time shortly after voting ends he'll of course be doing rounds, clucking up a storm and such. At this rate he really isn't sure how anyone fared, since some people apparently went and did something silly like take a blow to lessen punishments. Tsk tsk.

After that if anyone wants to be woken up around evening in the garden by a pretty undignified yelp, feel free. Hershel will be sitting there, looking completely shocked (pun absolutely intended) at his bracelet. After that he can probably be found wandering around the lounge or cafeteria when sensible people should be sleeping, so have at.]

[not_that_sasuke]

[Funny thing about narcolepsy is, it doesn't actually guarantee you'll get a good sleep at night. In fact, it does pretty much the opposite.

Despite dozing off at various times during the day, he's... well, not wide awake, but definitely not able to get back to sleep at the moment, either. Which is why Hershel may come across him staring dully at one of the magazines, not even really reading anymore at this point. He's so tired...]

--? Hershel? Are you alright?

[puzzlinglad]

[Have an immediately concerned look at that tired, buddy, but by this point he's probably realized Sasuke's got some weird sleep punishment going on so he can't do much more than sigh.]

Just... can't sleep. [That wasn't a lie, though 'not allowed to sleep' was probably a little closer to the truth. He walks over, stopping before he can sit with Sasuke, looking weirdly awkward.] Would you mind some company? At least until you nod off again.

[skyentificmethod]

[after voting, Ema heads over to Hershel; not in any particular rush, not even frowning or anything, but you know, it's good to see how your friends are doing, that kind of stuff's important, sure]

How'd it go?

[puzzlinglad]

[chill of you, ema, have a sigh after Hershel threw a concerned glance over. it didn't look like anyone was bleeding out, that's always good.]

Well in some ways, I'm glad Alfendi's alright at least- and not conscious for this, he'd be going mental. Don't know what my 'punishment' is supposed to be though, Zero just told me someone lessened it then let me out without another word on the matter.

[vengefulyears]

[By the time Hershel finds Clive, he's sitting in the grass in the garden with his chair nearby along with a small pile of flowers that he seems to be picking from and... tying them together? Maybe he's trying to make a flower crown so he can be an actual princess. Despite the light-heartedness of the activity, though, he doesn't actually look happy at all.

At least until he notices Hershel approaching from the corner of his eye. Clive pauses his work and looks up at him, smiling weakly and offering him a small wave.]

[blind_badass]

*Snake hears a familiar pair of footsteps as he's walking along. His right arm is in a sling made from his jacket.* Hershel? Did you make it out all right? What happened to everyone else?

[not_that_sasuke]

[Surprising absolutely no one, Sasuke will at some point be found in the garden, back in his favorite tree because he's actually healthy enough to do that now.

Perhaps somewhat surprisingly, he... appears to be asleep? It's sort of odd, considering he's not really the type to take naps and more often than not goes to sleep late and wakes up early, but hey, it's been a rough day, maybe he's just a little tired.

The concerning part is that, with the way he's slumped up there, it looks like he could fall at any moment. It also doesn't look like he's about to wake up soon...]

[detectiveofthewest]

"...!" Shit, there wasn't anyone else around and Heiji couldn't... call... for help...

That was cool, though. Heiji was just going to hang out under the branch, trying to figure out if making some other noise would actually startle Sasuke out of the tree. Well, if he did fall, he could catch Sasuke, right?

[puzzlinglad]

[A little while after his initial rounds Hershel headed to the garden for a breath of fresh air- okay, it was the same air but he could pretend. Frankly he was kind of stressed out waiting for the other shoe to drop with Zero's punishment, whatever it was, and to top it off quite a lot of people weren't doing well. He hadn't even seen Sasuke yet, who knew what happened, he could be bleeding out somewhere from trying to help him out, if he did, and yes okay maybe he was going a little overboard on the motherhenning. Nervous energy did that.

When he catches sight of Sasuke he's relieved but then quickly concerned. It wasn't really like Sasuke to look like he was in a perilous situation in his home, the garden tree. Even without his fret levels off the charts he'd be pretty concerned.

Waking him up suddenly probably wasn't going to help, so with a frown he started his climb, reaching Sasuke after a few moments before putting a steadying hand on his shoulder. This wasn't a bad idea at all, clearly they both wouldn't lose balance and fall.]

Sasuke...?

[skyentificmethod]

[Well, that looked dangerous. Ema peered up at the tree, yup, definitely a precariously perched Sasuke in there. Now, scientifically speaking, all sorts of things slept in trees without any problems at all. Birds, monkeys, sloths, termites... Still, humans weren't on that list so may as well do her due diligence.]

Hey, kid.

[after brief thought, she punctuates this by tossing a snackoo at him--shouldn't be enough to tip his balance, but maybe the delicious aroma of "chocolate" will wake him. At the very least he'll have a snack when he wakes up.]

Re: RESULTS

[detectiveofthewest]

A: I'm going to refrain from making electricity puns
Heiji was looking none too pleased about the prospect of 'punishment', but at least no one was going to electrocute Alfendi or break Clive's arm or anything, so that was good.

"So? What's this p--" An intense shock of pain, originating from his bracelet.

Heiji had never been electrocuted before (that he remembered...?), but he recognized the symptoms at once. He doubled over, grabbing instinctively at his wrist, but of course there was no way he could take the bracelet off. "...!"

B: After figuring out the punishment
After figuring out what his punishment was, Heiji was going to search for a few of the others. His fellow losers, for one thing, to figure out what their punishments were. And of course he needed to track down whoever had lessened his punishment.

C: KIND OF TAKING THIS PERSONALLY, TBH
Later that evening and after a few zaps as punishment, Heiji was sitting out in the garden, maybe watching the water or lodged up in the branches of a tree. He looked distinctly unhappy, with his knees drawn up close to his chest. His was resting his chin on top of his arms.

He probably should have been counting his blessings that he hadn't gotten stabbed, but Heiji seemed to be taking this punishment personally...

B

[puzzlinglad]

Since Hershel found himself busy with Jake first he'd come and find Heiji a little while after. The lack of an obvious injury was nice, though it didn't really mean anything other than Zero was being less blunt with whatever he was doing. Enjoy this rampant concern as he came over.

"Heiji, there you are. Are you alright?" He sighed. "Stupid question, probably, but what did he try to do to you?"

C

[blind_badass]

*Much later, as Snake's had time to move about and figure out everyone else's punishments, he wandered back to the garden to find Heiji. While it was quite unfortunate that Heiji couldn't talk (Snake thought Heiji had a pleasant speaking voice), it didn't mean they couldn't communicate.*

Heiji, are you around? I think I might have come up with a solution to our temporary problem.

[fairsfair]

[ You know what's great? Tear gas. A ton and ton of it (or at least something similar that gives just about the same symptoms) all flowing right out of Jake's elevator once the doors open. Jake staggers right after and is in nothing but a coughing fit. Typical of being exposed to tear gas, his eyes are shut tight and tearing up in some feeble attempt to provide relief (so if you ever wanted to see him cry, well, happy birthday). Breathing is hardly a thing and so is trying to get anywhere. He may have been stuck in this shitty warehouse for over two months, but like hell he knows this place like the back of his hand. Disorientation and pain doesn't help, so the best thing he can do right now is to try and just stumble away from his elevator and find a wall or something. This probably isn't his first time experiencing tear gas, even if he has no recollection of it, so he at least knows not to rub his eyes or anything, but there is no way that he's used to dealing with this. ]

[ So do whatever you want, find him shortly after he gets out or way later when he's somewhat better. The gas that Zero used is apparently some custom shit so he's going to be blinded for some days. That's totally what he needs in his life. ]

[ (PS: Did you also know that intense anger is apparently one observed symptom of tear gas? Go figure.) ]

[puzzlinglad]

[hey bud, not doing so well huh. have hershel pretty much right after they get out, since there's pretty clearly something wrong over there.]

Jake? What's wrong, are you- [he's just gonna go to jake's side, and holy shit your face looks bad.] Bloody- is there anything I can do?

[detectiveofthewest]

Shit, man. That looked a whole lot worse than pepper spray. But Heiji... couldn't say anything, so. The best he could do was make a bit of noise, hold a water bottle out and bump Jake's hand with it.

Hopefully, Jake was smart enough to realize someone was there and what they were holding. Hopefully, Jake would not just dramatically smack the bottle out of Heiji's hands, sending it flying across the room where it would idk hit Clive.

[skyentificmethod]

[well, worrying about coming up on jake unseen is kind of a non-issue at this point but it's easy enough to hear when ema is coming because that group drag queen alternate outfit request hasn't gone through yet. she stops a bit in front of him, pausing as if contemplating the situation. now, there hasn't been any squawking yet so there is a very low chance of irritable mother henning incoming, though that in itself may be odd.]

Everything okay?

[ask a stupid question...]

[blind_badass]

*Snake wasn't an altruistic person by nature. However, after hearing from Hershel that Jake had been blinded by tear gas, he knew he could offer some unique assistance in Jake's predicament. He found Jake sometime later in the garden with thanks to Hershel.*

I realize you're more than capable of dealing with hardship but I thought I might be able to give you some advice on your temporary condition. If you needed it.

[vengefulyears]

[When the doors to Clive's elevator open, he just sits there for a moment in complete shock. Everything seems so... quiet? He looks out and sees the others emerging from their elevators and gathering in front of the screen, but he doesn't hear any voices or footsteps or anything. That's when it sets in that shit, he's deaf now. Guess that explains why there was a literally deafening explosion-like sound just before the doors opened. Well, he asked for a punishment and he got one all right, though this is definitely not the kind of punishment he was expecting.

Soon enough he wheels himself out of his elevator to look at the results for himself - god, it's so surreal that he can't even hear the squeaking of his chair anymore. After he studies the results for a few minutes, he pulls out his journal and pen, flipping open to a blank page and writing "I can't hear" in big letters. Then, he carefully rips the page out of the journal, folds it up and puts it in his blazer pocket. It would be nice if he could stick it on the back of his chair, but he doesn't have any tape or glue or any other kind of adhesive, so he'll just have to whip it out of his pocket to show people when necessary.

From then on he can be found either stuffing himself with gruel in the cafeteria or laying in the grass in the garden - basically once again not going out of his way to approach people. He feels so detached now, suddenly having to live in a world of silence. Obviously he's not going to respond at all to people calling his name or making loud noises around him or whatever, so it'll take some effort to get his attention.]

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji sat down next to Clive in the grass, making a point of touching his throat and shaking his head. He couldn't speak, Clive couldn't hear, Jake couldn't see. Trifecta~

The symbolism wasn't lost on Heiji, but it just sort of pissed him off and he couldn't really see the humor in it right now so.

[skyentificmethod]

[Ever since that excuse for a game, Ema's been feeling kind of out of it, but that's no reason not to check in when she sees Clive tucking in to his gruel. After calls to catch his attention don't work, she sits down beside him with a curious look, tapping his shoulder then shrugging palms open in the universal sign of 'what gives'.]

[blind_badass]

*Snake, being one of the losers in this contest, emerges from his elevator. He's very calm. Almost too calm and a trifle too pale, as there's sweat beading his forehead. Both of his arms are hanging at their sides, limply. He starts walking, to see if he can find -anyone- to help him.*

I really do hate to be a bother, but could someone be so kind as to pop my right arm back into its socket? It seems to be dislocated.

[detectiveofthewest]

"...!" Heiji was at Snake's side at once, touching a hand to his forehead and taking in that unusual pallor with no small amount of distress. He couldn't speak, but there was only one person in the warehouse that was that familiar with Snake, and hopefully Snake would realize who it was quickly.

He took Snake's prosthetic hand and tugged at it, seemingly trying to urge him to kneel down.