CALHOUN HOUR - BINGO II

[vivariummods]

Early in the morning of Day 84, an announcement booms from the warehouse speakers: "All test subjects report to the first floor lobby immediately for your next experiment." Zero's unmistakable garbled voice goes silent afterwards. Once everyone gathers downstairs, they'll be treated to an unexpected sight: Zero standing in front of them in the flesh. Standing tall (at 5'4"...), they're donned in the same piece of clothing everyone remembers them in: a black raincoat (large and long enough that it covers their entire body, leaving no distinguishable features), a full facial gas mask, and matching black gloves. It seems as if Zero really dislikes showing skin... "Today, you will be participating in a game of, what you may call, 'Bingo'. I believe most of you have participated in this before. The rules and explanations are on the back of the cards." An arm is raised to motion towards the paper cards scattered on the nearby table, then it falls again. "Due to some... unfortunate events, I will monitor you in person. However, do not underestimate what will happen to you should you decide to cheat, escape, attack, or do anything that will break my rules. Your bracelets are still very functional and my cameras will continue to record every move you take, so I suggest that you refrain from doing anything foolish." "Now begin." BASIC INFO ✖ LET'S PLAY BINGO ✖ TURN-IN ✖ POST-EVENT

Comments

[detectiveofthewest]

NO THEY WEREN'T NOW SHUSH.

"I... it's fine, whatever." It had been a while since Heiji was solidly tsun, so this was kind of like old times...

"Anyway, you're only five points away from getting 'better' food. That's pretty good, I figure."

[not_that_sasuke]

Gee Heiji, you've never been so tsun around him before. Are you gonna be ok there...?

"Three more rounds... I wonder what they'll have?"

[detectiveofthewest]

It's fine... it's probably fine.

"In the puzzle rooms, or in the cafeteria?" Heiji was. Really looking forward to that food. "There're usually two Calhoun Hours, so we probably have another surprise waitin' for us."

[not_that_sasuke]

"The cafeteria. We'll find out about the puzzle rooms soon enough." He's not even going to bother trying to predict what fun adventures await there.

[detectiveofthewest]

"I'd settle for some fresh fruits and vegetables. And tea. Maybe some miso..." No one get Heiji started on the kind of food he'd like to be eating.

"At least Alfendi's in pretty good shape right now, and Jake's got his vision back." And Clive... maybe he'd be back like Alfendi had been. One could hope.

[not_that_sasuke]

"Hot tea sounds good. And rice, too." It doesn't even need to be very flavorful; as long as it tastes better than the gruel.

"Hopefully with everyone in better shape, we'll have an easier time getting through the next set."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Nooo, don't talk about rice!" Goddammit, this was the face of despair. "I been tryin' not to think about it! It's so fluffy and wonderful..."

Shut up, okay, you didn't understand how much Heiji missed it. "Nice and fresh, with some okonomiyaki..."

[not_that_sasuke]

"There was yakisoba in that labyrinth..." Sasuke might not be big on meals, but he'd like something that doesn't taste awful at least.

[detectiveofthewest]

Heiji just sort of looked at Sasuke with dead black beady bird eyes, doing an excellent impression of Mr. Hershel Layton. He could use some yakisoba right now...

[not_that_sasuke]

"It wasn't spiked, either. Or at least, none of what I ate." Though he'd also admittedly stopped pretty quick when Ema started feeling ill.

[detectiveofthewest]

"There wasn't any when I got there... although there was a pretty nice sandwich." You monsters, eating all the yakisoba.

"Been some granola bars lyin' around the last few puzzle rooms lately, but I ain't too sure why. They keep well, I guess."

[not_that_sasuke]

"I thought those were to help with the symptoms after we got each others' memories." Mainly because he also figures Zero didn't actually want them getting sick all over his shiny, shiny room.

[detectiveofthewest]

"If that were the case, it'd be better to give us somethin' like crackers and flat soda, or peppermint tea," said Heiji, looking a bit skeptical that Zero would even care.

"Or some over the counter medicine for the headaches and so on. Or not subject us to his quack procedures in the first place."

[not_that_sasuke]

"It's weird that he'd give us anything at all unless there was a reason for it, though..." This is Zero, after all. He didn't seem the type to do anything if there wasn't a logical explanation for it, even if they didn't know what that explanation was.

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, I'm just grousin'." GRANOLA BARS, UNACCEPTABLE!!!!!

"Hey, I got a question for ya. You think people change, or mostly stay the same?"

[not_that_sasuke]

-? Where did this come from?

"It depends, but... everyone changes after a while, don't they?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah," siad Heiji thoughtfully. "I'm thinkin' about what Hershel said, 'bout us maybe bein' different people after we get our memories back.

"If ya think about it, we're really not the exact same person day after day, it's just that we change so gradually no one notices. But I think some things stay the same."

[not_that_sasuke]

"...Probably. Otherwise we would have all acted the same when we didn't have any memories at all." There was clearly some core personality that differentiated them from one another. "But... does it matter? Even if we had all of our memories, going through something like this would have changed us, too."

[detectiveofthewest]

"I dunno, I think it matters. Not havin' the rest of your memories for context means you're examining the ones you do have with extra scrutiny. Tryin' to figure out who ya are. 'Fact, I think a couple of us might end up more ourselves than we were before."

He grinned broadly. "But me, I'm basically the same."

[not_that_sasuke]

...

"So you think you're an exception?" He... sort of follows, but...

[detectiveofthewest]

"To what? Trying to fish for clues? Nah, I been tryin' to figure myself out since day one. But I do think I ain't react the same way as everyone else to certain stuff."

What's that supposed to mean, Sasuke...

[not_that_sasuke]

"...You don't think you'll change as much as the rest of us might once we get our memories back." Is generally what he was trying to say, but well.

"...Do you really think any of us will change a lot because of it?"

[detectiveofthewest]

"Oh yeah. I don't think so, 'cause of all the stuff I remembered already. Plus I figure Zero wants to get us off balance. So I ain't gonna give him that satisfaction!" After all, if Heiji could deal with bodies falling from the sky and people trying to set themselves on fire, he was sure he could deal with most things.

"Well, I don't think it's possible to remember somethin' real traumatic and not change at all." For instance, memories of their abusive older brother...

[not_that_sasuke]

Yeah, no, we're not going to talk about that guy. Let's keep talking about Heiji instead.

"But it sounds like you've already remembered some traumatic things..."

[detectiveofthewest]

"Yeah, and I think it affected me some, but..." You know what, so much talking about Heiji, WHAT ABOUT TALKING ABOUT SASUKE.

"Well, what about you?"