CALHOUN HOUR - WOULD YOU RATHER

[vivariummods]

The morning of Day 6 starts off with a loud siren. Said siren keeps on going for five long seconds before a terribly scratchy voice comes on. "Uuuuuup and at 'em, test subjects! No sleeping in today, so all of you come on down to the lobby, unless you want to hear some more of siren_001.mp3!" True to Calhoun's word, that terrible alarm will continue to go off until everyone gathers in the newly lit lobby. With all the florescent lights now on and working, it's clearer to see just how dull this warehouse is. Everything is a boring metallic colour, there are plates covering up any windows, and every door remains shut tight (other than the one leading to the Greenhouse). The elevators have gone back to being closed off from entry, and standing tall and right in front of them is Calhoun. Two suspiciously clothed tables stand on either side of him, with objects clearly under those sheets. "Sssssssssssssso! I think it's about time we tried something new around here. I'd like to introduce you to something call 'Calhoun Hour'! I've done a few of these before, so I know how to run a real fun one!" He snickers into his paws for a suspiciously long time, then looks back up. "Today's is called 'Would You Rather'. Yeah, yeah, I know, boring title, but I'm a mouse, not some poetic title maker. Anyway, it's pretty simple. We play a few rounds where I give you two choices and you tell me which one you'd rather do. Here's the catch though: I'm pairing you all up, asides from this one comatose test subject, and you're going to give me your decision together as a pair. So, I'll get three votes in total. I'll tally them up and see which is the most popular choice. The teams who didn't choose that choice will now be forced to do it!" He puts up a paw and waves his entire arm back and forth, as if cutting the air. He stops for a few seconds though, mid-wave, then resumes right away. "No ifs, no buts, no ums, you gotta do it! Think I won't keep you all here until you get it done? Because I will, but don't think about trying to cheat the game by all agreeing to the same thing so there are no losing parties. I better see a losing party, all right?" Calhoun then lowers his arm then walks over to a table put his paws underneath the cloth (tippy-toeing to reach...) and pulls out a few sheets of paper. He walks around to hand them out, sometimes missing and just tossing the sheets into midair, but paying it no mind. "This will tell you who you're paired up with and your first round, so get to it! You got ten minutes to decide!"

Comments

[babel_hacker]

[Even if he's not a decent guy, Atsuro literally see no reasons why he should lie and go back on his word. If they're stuck here together, it's better if they can get along somehow.]

Maybe! If there's a talking mouse, why not a girl of steel?

[babel_hacker]

Ugh... I want to avoid the spiders, but that mouse - Calhourn - said he won't give us spare clothes without anything in return.

[He shudders at the thought of having spiders on him.]

[babel_hacker]

...Shit.

[He finally swears, the reality of the situation hitting him harder than before. The previous rounds are easier to handle, because at least they can move on. But this? Broken fingers or blinded in an eye isn't as easy to recover.]

I don't want to pick, since... what if being blinded in one eye is permanent?

[elliexir]

[ Ellie stops rubbing her wrist (thinking back to what Kaidou said about it possibly breaking a blister) and begins to circle her right hand around her left pinky finger. She looks up. ]

But what if everyone picks broken fingers? Then he's going to force us to blind ourselves anyway, and then the vote would have been for nothing.

[elliexir]

[ Ellie's heart stops and she can't really find anything to say. She doesn't know if they've made the right choice, by making this a tie, but if they've also voted for fingers... Then everyone would have been forced to blind themselves.. ]

[ She just looks at Atsuro to see what he might say or do. ]

[fushuuu]

[Turning to leave, fuck this]

[fushuuu]

Tch... This is stupid.

[elliexir]

Yeah, well, your face is bad at doubles.

[ Not said super seriously. She just wanted to make a 'your face' joke and just be on her way to get herself yelled/shocked at again. ]

[fushuuu]

[rolls eyes]

[and continues on towards Calhoun

o snap whatcha gonna do]

[toybombs]

[After the event, Rio finds a nice little corner to crouch down in, sobbing brokenly as she holds her hand and rocks in place. It hurts, it hurts, it huuuuuurts.

Why? Why did they have to go through this...?]

[elliexir]

[ She gives a small smile. ]

Right? Well, I hope you're ready for a punch from the girl of steel.

[babel_hacker]

What're you going to do?

[babel_hacker]

[Atsuro's just staring at the table. Did they make the right choice? He wasn't expecting them to actually be forced to do what they voted for. He looks from the table, seeing Ellie staring at him.]

I...

[He doesn't want to do it. None of the options sound nice to him. But if he doesn't do it... Ellie would. It's either one of them, and not both, right?]

I-I'll do it.

[elliexir]

[ The real question is whether or not he could still be able to make her feel better after they go and blind themselves. ]

I'd like to see you try, bowl head!

[elliexir]

[ grabbing onto his arm again, that's what she's going to do!! ]

Hey! C'mon, what's your deal?

[babel_hacker]

I'm ready whenever you are! Give me your best shot, girl of steel.

[He stands right there, smiling widely. Mostly from their current good mood.]

[elliexir]

Uuuuunless your partner is a murderous and creepy clown.

[elliexir]

[ It takes her half a second to process what he said, but immediately, she shakes her head. ]

What? No. Hell no. If one of us has to do it, then... Then I should do it.

[ She's the one who kept trying to convince them to do the opposite of what they want to do and all, so she feels responsible for this. Not to mention that, well, he's the new guy. Even if he only arrived a few days after her, it seemed dickish as hell to let him do it. Of course, this is all before they find out that both of them have to do it... ]

[babel_hacker]

Then... should we vote otherwise? It wouldn't be pointless if the vote's split between us.

[He looks at the other groups. What would they vote for...?]

[elliexir]

[ Ellie... isn't doing so well either. She just got back from macing her left eye (she luckily covered the right side of the face to avoid any further damage) and, to say the least, she'd rather get punched in the face than have to do deal with this. Not to mention, she doesn't exactly know how to treat getting maced in the face, so she's not sure what to do first, but she figures that cold water will help, so she was on her way back to the Greenhouse when she spots Rio. Rinsing out her eye is important, but making sure that Rio is okay is more urgent. So, she just walks on over and sits down next to her. ]

... Hey.

[elliexir]

I think so... If the votes are at least split down in half, he can't force us to do something.

[ Sweet summer child... ]

[elliexir]

Ugh, and that's like making a deal with the devil. Who knows what he'd want us to do.

[elliexir]

[ Atsuro is doing a really good job at this. So far, he's managed to cheer her up the most out of anyone here, and he's only been here for like two days. Anyway, Ellie nods and makes a fist with her right hand. She pulls back and acts as if she's readying for a major punch, to put her entire weight into it, but when she actually goes for it, she just taps her knuckles to his shoulder. ]

Boom.

[formicarium]

[ Just at that question, Calhoun starts to snicker into his paws. ]

Oh? Are you starting to consider doing something for me, test subject?

[formicarium]

[ Calhoun yells after him. ]

Just where do you think you're going, test subject?