[Network] POLL: Your opinion on Igor

[vessel_ken_amada]

[OOC: This post will be edited depending on what you say your characters are voting.]

Hello everyone,

I thought it would be useful to have a pulse on public opinion about the management of this place, so I am organizing a poll here.

How would you rate Igor's management of this place?

To clarify, what I am seeking is your overall opinion on how he is running the place. This includes how he shaped the cognitive areas, his policies on entry and exit, the rules he is imposing or not... He is basically the leader of this place, he should be subject to public scrutiny like any other political leader.

...Amazing: █ (1 vote)
......Good: ████ (4 votes)
.....Mixed: █ (1 vote)
......Poor: █ (1 vote)
.Atrocious: ████ (4 votes)
No opinion: ██ (2 votes)

Do not hesitate to expand your thoughts in the comments if you so wish.

[For now, Ken holds off voting on his own poll, to present it 'pristine' to others.]

Comments

[fogbornphantom]

I would personally vote somewhere between good and mixed. I suppose, with the lack of intermediary, "good" is the closest approximation when taken as a whole.

He isn't perfect. That much is clear. However, I do not believe he is malicious, and I've found that in my time here, I've made many meaningful and irreplaceable connections that I wouldn't have otherwise.

Being here has given me perspective. It has provided me with answers I might not find until much later, for better or worse.

It is overall a peaceful world. The lack of permanent death prevents lingering tragedy, even if it cannot erase the pain from said experiences. That it took over half a year for someone to meet even a temporary end is reassuring given the sheer variety of individuals present here.

His inaction is likely the place most open to criticism. The few times he has acted, it has yielded... mixed results. Transforming two residents into children to impart a lesson yielded drastically different results for each individual, yet it allowed their younger selves to build more ideal futures.

Even if it did not rewrite their older selves' histories, it gave those children a chance to escape their fate in another timeline.

Yet there is a question of agency, certainly, that cannot be ignored.

Ultimately, I do believe this Igor wishes to aid those who have leaved arduous lives, who may otherwise lack an efficient way to break their chains and seize happier futures.

And, as someone who has faced many amoral to outright malevolent gods, I believe that places him head and shoulders above others of similar power and position.

[seekerofjustice]

A poll on Igor's management of the Velvet Room? Well, I suppose it does make sense that there would be varying views of it.

I believe I would vote on my opinion being Mixed, personally. He's certainly been helpful. I'm sure he has good intentions for our being here and it is thanks to his and Lavenza's influence that I have made it as far as I have, but the lack of clear information he gives is a critical flaw I cannot ignore.

It gives the sense he's hiding something... which he most likely is. That begs the question of what he's hiding, but given his connection to my world's Amamiya-san and many other trustworthy people, I'm of the mind that he's currently not a threat.

That said, I've considered approaching him and asking for more information in the past. Perhaps you should present him with the results of this poll, and ask him in the event the results are largely low or mixed?

[lakebrat]

[Frog is refraining from voting at the present time.]

*Is* Igor a leader in the conventional sense? He's not democratically elected.

Could we, hypothetically, vote him out?

[vessel_ken_amada]

[Some time later...]

I don't really understand. The lack of an election is not relevant here. He clearly is the ultimate authority about how this place is run, even if more through magical rather than social influence. Maybe "ruler" rather than "leader" would be more appropriate?

[Ken may or may not have taken some time to read books to try to answer intelligently here.]

[phantomlotus]

Good.

(She does not elaborate.)

locked to trickster

[lakebrat]

Short and sweet. I like it.

[tricksterviolet]

What I think of Igor-san? Ah, that's a very complicated question... This version seems so different than the one I've spoken to in my own Velvet Room, so I'm a little confused on what to think.

He seems rather nice though. He may look a little scary, but he's just a mysterious, helpful old man in the end, isn't he? I think I'll vote that he's Good.

[rosemaudite]

Does 'mixed' count as neutral? I'm not sure I truly have a particular opinion.

[vessel_ken_amada]

I have added a "No opinion" option to the poll.

[youngestdawn]

Nose-sama is weird
I don't think he counts as a political leader since he doesn't have politics
Does he even do anything?
No oppinnion

[willowandoak]

[ Ren votes Atrocious without a second thought. ]

youre all delusional

[fogboundcrow]

In my defense, I still haven't voted yet.

By the way, I may have found the secret to our cake scheme from some months ago.

[fogboundcrow]

Honestly, I'm not sure what to vote for.

(This doesn't mean it's a vote for no opinion. That would imply I don't have an opinion to begin with.)

I am grateful for all the connections I have made here, and doubly so that we can stay in touch even when all is said and done. There are many people here I hold dear. I have experienced a great deal that I might not have otherwise.

I can see the good that this place has done for others as well. Magpie seems happier on the whole, and I got to meet and connect with his younger self as well. I'm glad that I can be here for Hawk and Akira-kun, and you, obviously, and that I was able to meet Amamiya-kun years earlier than I was "fated" to.

But if Igor-san has all this power, I often find myself wondering if he should do more.

Sparrow is still incapable of processing a great deal of information that is pertinent to the operation of this world. Falcon remained under Shido's control, forcing us to quite literally force our way inside his head without his consent. I suppose you could argue that Igor simply snapping away Shido's programming would be no better, but at least it would have been swift.

At least there wouldn't be anything lingering behind.

Sparrow has struggled here. I'm sure he isn't alone. If Igor-san can bring us all here, provide us with so much, and even change people's age at a whim, then why can't he take more direct action?

He has given us entertainment, certainly. Holiday balls and markets and the like. I wouldn't call him uncaring.

But when I think of the specificity of how I feel, that's where I find myself hesitant above all else. Is it better to have a benevolent but passive entity overseeing us, or better to have someone more transparent and hands on?

locked to raven

[vessel_ken_amada]

is agency irrelevant
are you okay with him doing whatever he wants as long as the results are satisfactory

[Oh, lowercase. He is mad, even if he's trying to hold it in because he likes Raven too much.]

[vrdr_mods]

Obviously, as an attendant of this Velvet Room, I can't give an impartial opinion.

None of us can, so I suppose it's only fair that we abstain from the vote itself.

However, this post leaves me questioning if some form of direct feedback would be beneficial. While I can't guarantee that my master would take all feedback into account, it's clear that there's a certain degree of unrest.

[seekerofjustice]

I do believe that more communication and clarity would be helpful on all fronts. It would, at the very least, give us a chance to be on something more akin to equal terms.

[cognicat]

[oh no]

"Hi, Lady Elizabeth! Everyone does seem kinda upset, huh? I know you could do something about it!"

[gorobo]

Artrocious without a doubt. Who is that bug-eyed, long-nosed piece of shit to decide who can leave or not? How about knowing that he can fuck with someone's cognition at a whim because they're not playing the 'game' nicely enough here? Or downright changing someone's body for... reasons I fucking guess. True agency is clearly not on his agenda.

I could go on.

[fogboundcrow]

Yes. The alterations are the most worrisome aspect of all of this.

Even if it's only happened twice, the fact that it happened it all means that it could happen again, without warning, and none of us could stop it.

[pancakeboy]

[Magpie's hand flutters briefly over Mixed before coming down hard on Atrocious. Take that, so-called "Igor". And your stupid nose, too.]

[pheasantboy]

I don't want to judge things I likely don't understand well too harshly. It's clear there's an opportunity here, if we're able to take it.

However, I don't believe those opportunities are being managed well.

[And Sparrow hits Atrocious. Igor could have saved Ren, and didn't, and Sparrow will never forgive him.]

[fogoflies]

[seekerofjustice]

I get the sense you're trying to sow more chaos. I would ask you don't, but I suppose that doesn't really matter, does it?

[cognicat]

[Oh look, an audio recording. To those not in the know, this sure will sound like a whole lot of excited meowing. Godspeed, Morgana.]

"Wow, I get to listen in on this thing too? It's almost as good as being a human! Anyway, I'm gonna vote Good! Because Igor created me, and I trust him, and even if he doesn't get things right all the time, I know he's got humanity's best interests at heart! You should all listen to Raven, he knows what's what.

"I'm taking off a point because ... seriously, listen to you all. Yeesh! Guest satisfaction is important, Igor."

[fogboundcrow]

Wait. You're still here?!

[Do pardon the surprised reaction, Morgana. Seems this lil' dude didn't expect that.]

[tricksterfiend]

_{[Fiend leans over Ken's shoulder and mutters 'poor'. However, as Ken cannot vote twice on the poll, and Fiend does not have a phone yet, this has no effect on the votes.]}