Gears

[OOC: I had a splendid post iso-ing practically everyone, and then my computer crashed. I think more than three sets of nested spoilers is too much for it. I'm tired. My end conclusion was that Devotary of Spontaneity not being attacked as village is just improbable because if the elims thought that they were a Doctor going to the hospital [as they had to in order to attack Jondesu with any certainty], then they should attack Devotary without hesitation, even if Devotary had Sak, because then they could stop Devotary from surviving via Sak in the future. Jondesu wasn't a certain revival and a lone engineer couldn't fix anything of importance. Devotary would have been the superior kill given the apparent certainty concerning Jondesu because the engineers don't even help that much but the Doctor reviving someone just before a crucial moment can turn the tide. This of course implicates the Navigator because Devotary would have been incredibly suspicious if they hadn't been known to have an Aviar as an excuse for not being attacked, but even with that, it doesn't make sense. The Navigator is either a fortunate fool that was the incentive for the elims to build this entire scheme around, or they are evil, and if they are evil, I find it likely that Quinn is evil. If the Navigator is village, Quinn is probably village. If Quinn is evil, it means that they scanned another person instead of scanning me and they are gathering information on everyone. They may or may not be lying about the Brig. That's a tossup. Sidenote: All of the Navigator and Quinn theorising is the work of Tired!Gears who should never be trusted ever. ]

The Agent of the Ones Above has been dismissed. Patji is safe from that threat, at least. But alas, we have no information. To aid in the search, I shall examine what has been said, partitioned by person. Illwei: Quinn Philico [OOC: I wanted to iso everyone in the game, but my computer is making concerning noises, so make due with three.]

'Twas not my intent to force you to claim. I merely intended to ensure that you would be protected from harm and prevented from acting to ensure that they would live as a Crewmember and not learn roles as a Saboteur. The misrepresentation of opinions to pretend that it was entirely out of good will merely ensured that you would accept. The decision to claim was your own. You were not forced into it. You did not need to do it. The implication of a powerful role alone would have been enough. In addition, the Saboteurs have all the same information that I did. They know that I was not the kill target and that I am not one of them, so I could not have been Brigged, and then all of the targeting of other jobs on the ship, so they knew your role already. [From my searching, I don't believe sending anonymous private messages exists.] Surely it is better that the Crew knows as well so they can protect you. While I did not intend this outcome, is it not superior to my silence, leaving the elims to kill you while no protection exists? I would like elaboration on this point. Is it not the role of the Crew to ensure that important jobs are protected and that the Saboteurs are pinned down? I see no reason why I should not have acted in this manner. I see no reason why anyone would not have acted in this manner [save for those who reject the notion of dishonesty]. It succeeded. It was helpful [or rather, will be]. What more is to be strived for? [OOC: My character, Fourth of the Dark, is a person who is actively working against the Crew. They're a very traditional trapper, much like Dusk. Also, I claim elim a lot. I made it a trend. With Fourth of the Dark, I used "we" and "us" when referring to the elim faction because my character is basically a Saboteur [while technically not being part of them formally]. That has no bearing on my actual alignment. And I didn't force Quinn to reveal; they chose to do that after I requested protection for them. I can understand your suspicion, but I declare it unfounded. If you would like to persist in this unfounded suspicion, I will choose to disregard you and your points concerning me. Have a good day.]

Alas, Shade seems to be incapable of reading between the lines. I know I was not Brigged as I was able to act freely. If pressed, I can reveal my action, but I would prefer to abstain for a time. As such, Quinn cannot have attempted to kill me. I misrepresented my intent to make Quinn accept the offer easier. Notably, the only protection that comes from another also restricts movement. As such, imprisoning them is the best course of action regardless of their motives on this voyage. If they are truly aligned with the Crew, then keeping them alive until the end is invaluable. If they are aligned with the Saboteurs, then keeping them from learning any further information is the correct choice, and it also winnows the options for those who can kill. Now that Quinn has in turn requested the same offer, they cannot retract this request without seeming distinctly odd. The plan has in fact succeeded. Huzzah. I know with complete certainty that I was not Brigged. As such, that option is removed. A note: There is an option for anonymous communications? I was unaware. I didn't assume any such thing. I misrepresented my opinions intentionally to trap you into a strictly advantageous position. If you are in fact a Crewmember, then you should be fine with this. If not, then you have no choice in the matter.

The votes yesterday, with annotations. Philico votes Shade Quinn votes Biplet Tevris votes Tevris Szeth votes Szeth Azmine votes Illwei Illwei votes Azmine Order votes Zara for their unwillingness to vote This was noted, but alas, Order has been exonerated. Philico retracts Shade and votes Quinn for preferring the Saboteurs to win over the Agent I do note Tevris for their unusual questions Second votes Fourth Tevris votes the Captain Illwei votes Tevris for angering the Captain Order retracts Zara and votes the Captain Tevris votes Tevris Illwei votes Zara because of Order's hedging on that vote. Zara votes Tevris for their self-voting Shade votes Order for over-sharing Szeth votes Dawn for a false reason Philico votes Order for "gut reasoning" Second votes Roko for inclusive we [OOC: My character is actively working against the airship. That doesn't mean that I am a Saboteur, and it doesn't mean that I am not. Or I could be lying. Take your pick.] Tevris votes Roko The lack of reasoning is concerning. I would be perfectly amenable to their death. Biplet votes Order for leaving the vote despite saying it "won't stick" Quinn retracts Biplet and votes Illwei for voting Zara without reasoning despite having other suspicions. Szeth retracts Dawn and votes Illwei for commenting on their supsiciousness. Noted. Fourth votes Illwei for having "ducked Tevris's question" They did nothing of the sort. They answered the question. They had an answer of apathy. This is acceptable. This would be my answer as well. Illwei votes Order out of linked suspicion and also self-preservation Quinn retracts Illwei and votes Experience because of a mild read Tevris votes Order for a gut read on Illwei Philico retracts Order and votes Tevris [OOC: If I missed anything, yell at me.] Tevris is distinctly noted. I would be amenable to their death. I see no reason why Illwei was up for death. I think that Order's death was reasonable, though given their early falterings at other times, perhaps a tad bit strong. No one else is distinctly noted. Given a distinct lack of votes this late into the day, I shall vote Tevris [Tani]. Due to Quinn's action, I now know their role. The logic is obvious, but I shall leave it a "secret" for now in order to protect them. I do, however, expect them to die, so I would like to submit a request to Internal Affairs to put them in the Brig.

[OOC: My apologies for not existing for a sustained duration of time. I had exams. Soon, I shall have more exams, but that is a problem for Future!Gears. Due to the exams, I neglected to pre-write my analysis, so in a rare twist, you shall now see Gears analysis post-viewing the GM PM. Congratulations, commiserations.] Once again, they send ships to Patji. I suppose the flaw was in making it seem like an accident. Perhaps slaughtering all of them will make a stronger impact. I have been informed that an Agent of the Ones Above has infiltrated the ship. This too will not stand. Taking the technology of the Ones Above will allow them to tear us apart. The Agent does not have to live to see victory, so we must destroy as many parts as possible before we bring the ship down. The ship has adequate medical supplies, at the very least. Those who are attacked once shall be placed in the Hospital. Visiting is permitted, though it only seems useful to infiltrate and then act upon the victims. Unfortunately, medical supplies are limited in a closed system, and there’s no point in wasting those precious few items on people who show themselves to be inept enough to fall victim to the Enemy twice. The Engineers can fix the parts we shatter, but notably, they can also remove the Agent’s improvements. Perhaps only do so if no parts are sabotaged, or if the current sabotaged part is useless. Doctors can visit to heal people. I do wonder why they don’t simply work in the hospital on a day-to-day basis, but ‘tis not my responsibility to understand the ways of the mad. The Trappers are respectable enough to understand the ways of death. I offer you good fortune in your hunts. Several jobs on the ship also depend on the airship’s part. Internal affairs can protect and stop anyone, but if the brig goes down, the person locked up gets hurt anyways, so it functions far better as a roleblock. The Navigators can track people because apparently, every person on the ship is tagged and will show up on an individual map at the Bridge. I do not believe I signed a consent form for that. The Biologist can track DNA with the lab equipment, and notably can target those in the Hospital. The Messenger can speak to the ones in charge of this whole debacle via the communications hut, but knowing upper management, that will do nothing. The Investigator can illegally inspect confidential information in the records room via stolen keycards. Somewhat important, I’d say, but only every two iterations as they are inept at searching through paperwork. Five of the airship parts merely accommodate duties on the ship, which implies ineptitude on someone’s part. What a waste of design. Efficiency is key. The Crew’s Mess allows for anonymous messages. Sabotaging this will make the messages nonymous, which is the equivalent of making the messages die. The Aviar Holding Area is the best part of the ship, obviously. Three birds are given each cycle, no more, and I wish to be one of the ones that receives the birds. Sak is obviously superior as it defends your life. However, it is limited. Kokerlii keeps the wretched Navigators from watching you. Seems more helpful for the Saboteurs, but then again, we can just sabotage the Bridge. The Twins speak to another at will. Useful only when information should be shared to a trusted individual privately. The Captain’s Quarters are only important if sabotaged, resulting in an angry captain, which is quite frankly hilarious. The Crew’s Bunks doles out secrets, but beware the death of them. The Engine Room causes chaos. The rooms, in the format of NAME - SABOTAGE IMPORTANCE - REPAIR IMPORTANCE Brig - Middling importance, higher as time goes on - Low importance early on, higher importance later Bridge - Middling importance, higher as time goes on - Low importance early on, higher importance later. Laboratory - High importance - Middling importance, higher importance later Communications Hut - Low importance - Low importance Records Room - High importance every second cycle [if you lack any of your own] - Low importance Crew’s Mess - Low importance - Low importance Aviar Holding Area - High importance - Middling importance Captain’s Quarters - Low importance - Low importance Crew’s Bunks - Low importance early on, high importance later - Low importance early on, high importance later Engine Room - Low importance early on, high importance later - High importance early on, low importance later. Fair fortune, fellow hunters. May you see the knives flash before they bury themselves in your flesh. Alas, it appears that I have arrived late. There are very few things of note thus far. I will say that Zara’s statement concerning the futility of the vote is perfectly acceptable and in fact mirrors my own opinions on the matter. Doctors seem mildly useful only if they are clever, but the pool of potential Doctors is limited to everyone who didn’t speak, so then the Saboteurs have eyes to kill. I note Order for their noting of Zara, seemingly overplaying an innocuous statement. I note Tevris as a potential Agent candidate for their odd question, and just in general for erratic behavior. I would say that there are likely four Saboteurs. Tundra, I will note that engineers can undo “improved” parts. That is all.

@Illwei, Weill, Weighted Illness, Coming of the Second Plague, Casper, Root of All Evil, Razi, Raphaella, I hereby bestow upon you a strange combination of shoddy skills, ludicrous luck, and mystifying mistakes that have somehow caused me to have a 100% elim win rate thus far [despite being mechanically confirmed elim C1 in one game, Quinn]. I want it back when you're done though, since I do still wish to win my elim games. Fair fortune, my friend. May the knives ever land in someone else's back.

"I quite enjoy the notes made by the Scribe." The first order of business is to say. The next: This Ruby X has offered nay Of information we so seek to find. A summary of votes from the last time, Though prosody may hinder this today. I hope that words in sonnet form will stay As comprehensible as are for I. The first is cast by Illwei on le Quinn In hopes that it will keep their broken streak. The next is also Wei on new Azmine, No reasoning that I can find and seek. Araris throws a Stab Vote™ at Dan in What seems quite standard, nary interest piqued. The Bringer of the Ash stabs at the Gem, Then Lumi votes on Matrim for a wrong Conclusion; hear incomprehension's song. Then next a dearth of votes 'til moment when Mateo pokes Jondesu. After then, Quinn votes Araris for their vote along With bits of tone. Yet more votes before long, With Wei on Dan for meta. Anger sent. The Pancake votes for Quinn on gutted cod. Then Danex votes to strike at the odd Wei. The Azmine whacks at Szeth with a great rod, And Dannex's vote on Wei goes away. Le Matrim finds the Danex sashay quite odd, And Vonnie votes for Szeth, they choose to say. At sunrise, Quinn retracts from Valar's An, Citations of confusion from the lips, And Matrim takes back that Dan's punch with a fist And Azmine takes back their Szeth whack of hands. The Wei stabs at the Ruby with a pan; Araris follows close enough to kiss. Quinn piles on the Gemstone in a twist And Gears declares a secret vote at hand. The Arbalist decides to follow Gears In what can only be described as rude. Jondesu hops upon the Gemstone cheer (To Archer: Yes, I think I have to sue.) The Wei takes back the vote on Ruby here, And slides it onto Gears (That does work too.) I think the Wei-Araris is of note For voting on the person who was gone In quick succession, I know not the odds, But seems odd when two were such alone. I shall soon drop in activeness a bit And expect a lower quality of Wit, For finals fast approach and I do fear That time may not allow me to be here.

I finished reading through the mighty thread; Alas, conclusions were not drawn or formed. I thought the votes poor-founded, which is norm, But then I saw that most of them were dead, Retracted as the players gained their heads, So then I found myself so very torn Between not voting, as my oath I've sworn Decrees, and eating secrets 'til I've fed. And so I made the choice to stand my ground And vote upon a person who would not Be kind enough to grace us and be found When their sweet presence we so greatly sought. 'Tis not the best decision for the town, But then again, we'll see what we have caught. While reading through the first game of this line, I noted several action-borne results. To truly see what secrets this game holds, I must attempt a secret vote this time. In interests of transparency, I find Declaring my decision good as gold. In order to maintain my ways of old, I hereby say who I shall vote in rhyme. I do declare a secret vote on Books For not existing when the game's afoot. Initially, the Ruby my hand took, But then the ninjas offered their input. I note this wagon for I am quite shook By leaps to a dear player who ne'er put. [OOC: Basically, I gained no conclusions by rereading the thread, most likely because my brain is defunct until finals end, so I wanted to test for secret rules by doing a secret vote that wouldn't break my tendency to not vote D1 by voting uselessly. I was planning on voting Ruby, but everyone suddenly voted on them, so I'm voting Books in secret instead. If you follow this vote, I'm obligated to be offended. This is by definition a vote that shouldn't do anything.]

The rules are long and complicated, so Elaboration must be so as well. Bear with me as the monsters we unveil Revoke their fear as they we come to know. But do not let this recall give you hope For fear can never die; it only dwells Within that shadowed forest we call Hell. The truth: You only reap that which you sow. Behold the entities that which you fear. They used to feed on fear of lurking dark, But now that expeditions have grown near, They feed on fearful knowledge, clear and stark. They speak in words that you alone can hear: We thank you for the gift of easy marks. Alignment is a fickle thing that sings Of loyalty, that bitter, poisoned lie, But trust is precious in these bitter nights, So we still trust, despite all that it brings. We fear the Worshippers of Elder Things. The Expeditioners must stay alive Until the rituals demand they die. The monsters in the deep, to me they sing: Conspire with your fellows to strike down The ones who think they know the cold, hard truth And crawl atop the corpses of the drowned, Uncaring of their ignorance from youth. They disrespect our lineage and crown, So demonstrate what’s lurking here in sooth. Our company is joined by a man, Professor William Dyer, he is known. With piercing glares and altering his tone, He somehow stands as twice all that he can. His opposition stands as Forth of Dan, The Herald of the Monsters in Night’s Home. Despite his closeness to the great Unknown, He can ne’er become a true madman. Through shadows, Silence stalks the forestry With poisoned drinks and hammering and Death. The killer brings protection from sharp teeth While holding back the monsters and the rest. Beware, for maddened Silence could just keep The shades from claiming bloody killer’s breath. Surveyors search for treasure in the deep, With odds of finding anything so low, But benefits are ever worth the blow. The darkness comes to claim you in your sleep, The madness comes to haunt you in your dreams, But when you wake, your eyes treasure behold. Despite the fact your flesh is bitter cold, You hope to once again traverse Beneath. The Idols of the Things will drive you mad, The Transcript burns away after its use, The Mask doth hide your face, so ironclad With straps that wear away when they see you. The Pendant marks you as one of the pack, But monsters kill their precious servants too. The Scribes will murmur in the dead of night And bright of day with words of shadows here Within the mantra of the lurking fear That stalks through all their nightmares into light, That whispers that they really shouldn’t fight, That masquerades as dear friends shedding tears, That watches all their scorned attempts and jeers, That knows the pen is weaker than sword’s might. The voices lead them to the corridors Where strangers stalk the halls with cold, dark eyes. They watch the shadows march beneath the floor And shiver as great knowledge finds their mind. The madness ever asks for more and more, And endings always offer naught but time. The Expert of the Shadows doth possess A set of Bones of Silver gleaming bright. They shall survive the first death of the night, Refusing harshly Death’s gentle request With cunning eyes and wings that left the nest Of safety bound in argentum and light That shines before the darkness and still fights With wicked blades and brings the final rest. The shadows halt before the Expert one. Inherent life flows through forgotten veins. The Expert wields wrath and fury’s sun. To face the darkness, one must know its name. “Death, my bitter enemy, you are done!” The Expert cries with stalwart heart and strain. There are some people with a splendid gift Known as Alar, the stalwart Iron Will. Emotion burns away, the heat distills The mind into a blade that can carve rifts Between reality and fiction, sift The madness and the bitter, bloody kill From better days when life was nice and still, When bloodshed never came nor must desist. The ones who choose the agony of Bone Are strong enough to fight off hated Death. With ashes in one hand and pain so sown, They stand before one blow, though not the rest. Fools that they are, they truly should have known That people always answer Death’s behest. The lurkers in the night soon will go mad From horrors in the dark, but they do know The routes of their good mark, see where they go. In turn, the darkness sees all that they had. Door Listening is safer by a tad; A reputation has its own worth, though, And if you’re wrong, then nothing you will know, For people take precautions against fads Some monsters choose to be a Crowded Voice, With counting still in jeopardy, and lies Becoming necessary blades of choice. Some feast, or at the very least, they try, Though others choose instead to item foist Upon unwitting strangers who seem wise. The items we possess will strike us down; Until that day, quite useful they remain, Though surely they will ever cause us pain. The Spellbook channels power from the drowned, And conjures R’lyehan Mist to blind the town. Alas, the madness takes tolls on the sane, And stable minds it feasts on and doth drains. The items that they take will ne'er be found. The crossbow is a danger, shedding blood, But sometimes danger is the prices we pay For safety’s sake, for purifying mud, For turning wretched night to shining day. Your life, your death, the streets crimson shall flood. You strike them down, just like the voices say. The Silver is a Dust we say we need; In sooth, the cravings only make us slow, But holding back the Shades is a great blow, And generosity can surely be. The Poisoned Weeds from yonder Fen do seem To be an asset to the ones who know The ways to use the poison denote Cessation of activity, not dreams. The Pendant, Mask, and Transcript we’ve discussed. They can be found within the Survey’s lair. The items offer boons, but blades they rust. Audacity is wise, but do take care. The items should be used just when they must, For usage is a limit on repair. The horrors of the world make men mad. And silence them and bind them in their place. However, once they’ve had just the one taste, They’re rendered quite immune to roam and pad Through shadows grinning broken myriads. The dreamers see the remnants of the chase And shatter under horror’s monstrous face. Beware the night, for it brings all the bad. Survivors shatter at the seams when fought, With madness at the edges and the core. Perhaps survival was then all for naught When life becomes a fantasy and more. Beware the coming of That Which Was Taught. Your world shall remain here nevermore. The Shades are Wrathful for those who draw blood Within the watchful hours of the night, So only shoot the monsters if you’re right, Lest you draw your body through the mud. Note speaking to the masses is freedom, And actions are by turn, not by the light. The execution burns the items bright, And death is just the monsters eating buds. Manipulation happens before all, And searching happens prior to the death At night alone, though changed in fall Of light and gleaming gold, behold the rest, Of madness and insanity et al And dreams of drowned ones rising from the nest. I offer my apologies for not Existing for a lengthened period. Despite my present hunger for spilled blood, By family I was quite sadly caught. At least my lengthy work was not for naught Since none have deigned to analyse the stuff, So I can merely post what I wrote up And carry on with nary a stray thought. Alas, the thread was chatty whilst I worked, So now I must catch up on what I missed. The shadows ever-present, they do lurk. Lament the flow of time, but 'tis what it's. I don't know how I'll do my MO here, With words in strictest prosody. The agony is evident to see; My choices cause me many a few tears From anger and a great deal of fear Concerning loss of labor to the teeth Of horrifying hungry Shard that eats The work of posts to great completion near. Alas, you may have to make do with lack. Analysis with poets is lacklustre. Behold what happens when a corpse you hack To feast upon the mind within and stir A new identity without a knack. I shall return once I have read the thread Entirely with comprehension dawned And shadows burned away by willing pawns. This is a lengthy task that I do dread, To read all of the words that have been said, And surely more will randomly be spawned As people speak about the world they fawn. Beneath the weight of words, I shall be dead. Alas, the skill at parsing is subpar, And all the things I know are worthless here. A shadow in the darkness carves the scar Of darkling nightmares, monsters, and great fear. Beware the fallen angels in the stars. They shall return the drowned to mortal spheres. We ate a poet, terrible mistake, For now we’re obligated to speak thus. Despite all efforts otherwise, we must Lest Shadows see our shining mind and take The orbs we’ve crafted from the dead and break The minds within and make the metal rust And render all our plans to naught but dust, So we must speak like this for our own sake. Behold the realm of madness we have found, Which stains the soul with nightmares gleaming red. The monsters lurk beneath the shadowed town, So run off now to sleep within your bed. The light will not protect you from the drowned, So might as well just let them take your head.

I shall play as Roko the Basilisk in the aspect of Fourth of the Dark.

As a rebuttal to your rebuttal: Quintessential. Also Ashbringer, Archer, and StrikerEZ @Ashbringer, @Archer, @StrikerEZ

I shall play as Roko the Basilisk. Sidenote: A good number of my exams fall during the early days of the game, though I shouldn't miss more than a cycle.

A question to people: What "felt off" with my kill choices? I don't really understand why everyone thought they were weird. I would like to talk about pinch-hitters. More specifically, the concerning trend of inactive pinch-hitters. Pinch-hitters are intended to be an active replacement for an inactive person, but the people who tend to sign up for a pinch-hitter position often do so because they are too busy to play the game, which is exactly the opposite demographic we want as a pinch-hitter. The problem is that an active person able to play the game would just... sign up for the game. I don't know if this is a problem that can truly be solved without forcing some people to just not play. Just read the dead doc, and I'm glad that the true elim team evaded notice from the deceased even after the collective minds of the masses came together. To my teammates: Excellent job. I'm glad we managed to escape without bussing Tani. Concerning the anon voting mechanic: I would say that it only changed hammering and counterwagon strategies. Both sides want information of what everyone is doing, so being open with information is strictly beneficial until you're trying to meaningfully change the vote. I mean, I was planning on PMing Jondesu before the game since they were returning, and I always find varied perspectives on the game to be interesting.

Illwei (2): Tani, Bridge Gears (1): Jondesu Jondesu (1): Illwei Illwei, your vote on Jondesu increases my suspicion of you. Your vote on Tani seemed reasonable. Your thoughts about people voting Archer after Tani ceased existence were acceptable. Your points about activity had merit. But Jondesu? Your comments about Jondesu amounted to the following: This implies that you think Jondesu is village because of their existence. This gives no reasoning in the slightest for the "off" feelings. I would have been amenable to the Taniel X, but given all the options of the current era, I have to vote Illwei. The Jondesu vote feels wrong in the worst ways. A switch from a reasonable option to a different one for no reason. This also makes me vaguely suspect the Illwei/Tani distancing team, but to a lesser extent.

Bridge, you're not allowed to copy/paste PMs into other places. That is expressly forbidden in the SE rules. While this does reduce my suspicion due to the nature of comprehension, it is against the rules. I will, however, retract my vote on Bridge for the time being as this is quite convincing. You are still incredibly noted for other statements, but that might be playstyle differences. Concerning Illwei's switch: Paranoia thinks that Illwei intentionally tied it so we couldn't orchestrate a tie to save our skins now, but that's probably wrong. I want to think that the Wei is village, but I find myself unable. Wei, you are trusted slightly, and in the event that manage to scrounge up a reason against Tani that amounts to more than their vote on Archer [at a time when it would have been self-pres], I'd follow you. If you get a case against Bridge that amounts to more than their D1 existence, I'd follow you. But if someone that I somewhat trust makes a case against you that amounts to anything of substance, I'd follow them. The village must be unified, or we die. I'm leaning towards Tani out of the Wei/Tani/Bridge group, but I'd still be willing to kill any and all of these people. Wei, I trust you slightly more than I trust the others here, but that doesn't amount to much. By cycle end, I will likely be voting Tani or Bridge, but I don't see much of a reason to suspect Tani. The only reason I'd do so is to try and ensure the village unity thing so we can actually catch an elim. Bridge: Who will you be voting? All villagers must vote as a bloc on one elim to win, so we need to come to an accord. For that matter, @Jondesu, @Tani, @PizzaPower55, @xinoehp512, who will you be voting? I know Jondesu is already voting, but that vote is basically useless while it sits on me because you can't get the village majority since I won't self-vote and if you're an elim, then you don't have the majority with all votes on me unless a villager votes on me [if you're a villager, you keep your vote on me, and all 3 elims capitalise on that and vote me off to win, then it's useful, but that's only useful for the other team]. Just for you, Taniel. Just for you. I am not you, you are not me. I am not you, you are not me. I am not you, you are not me. I am not you, you are not me. I am not you, you are not me. I am not you, you are not me. I am not you, you are not me.

Upon seeing the vote count, I know with complete certainty that Illwei lied. The public vote count was as follows: Tani (1): Illwei Archer (4): Matrim, Tani, Pizza, Jondesu Matrim (2): Bridge, Quinn Bridge (1): Gears The alterations are as follows: Archer voted Matrim, and Illwei voted Matrim. Illwei, I don't particularly suspect you for this action as Archer flipped vil and the tie doesn't actually make the end happen sooner, but it is quite noted. The problem: We have no suspects The players: Gears C'est moi. Tani I know Archer was accusing them, but I genuinely do not see what they've done as suspicious thus far. Jondesu Strong opinions about revealing PMs, but not much there. Illwei I don't remember them at all. This is concerning. xino An odd Matrim vote that went nowhere, but not much there. Bridge Their actions have been conspicuously Not Village, but I don't really see how they'd help elim!Bridge, especially given v!Archer. Pizza Too quiet to tell. Given that there was a kill C1, the team can't be Pizza/xino/Jondesu. I know that Pizza technically existed C1, but based on the fact that they claim to have forgotten to even submit a PM, I dare say they likely were not active enough to submit a kill. I know this is a dangerous assumption, but I think narrowing the pool is at least somewhat helpful here, particularly since I have no read on the relative inactives at the moment. The pool of Possible Evil [extracting myself and the chronic inactives because there must be at least one person outside that pool]: Tani, Illwei, Bridge. I see no reason for voting Tani. Archer's suspicion of them seemed quite unfounded. However, I see very little reason to trust them, so if someone scrounges up a case against them, I'd be willing to vote them [particularly since with 3 elims, we have to be unanimous]. Illwei lied. I can understand why they would do so, but still noted. Bridge suspicion somewhat depended on Archer suspicion, but I have noted them for reasons I don't quite remember. I'm leaning towards Illwei on principle, but I do understand that the switch likely comes from a villager since the tie wouldn't help the elims at all. I would be willing to kill any of these, which is concerning. Let me go look at my Bridge iso and see if I come up with new conclusions. I looked at my Bridge iso, and I determined some suspicion because they were either wrong or lying about what happens when you don't pick a PM pal C1. They said as follows: "They told me that if I don't choose anyone then I would get a random one and I got interested in that." This information is incorrect. I asked Ash, and Ash told me that the PM would go to waste. I don't think the GM would give a different response to two different players. I don't know why they would say this since it seems more advantageous to just say they forgot, but it was noted. I would be willing to vote Bridge or Illwei for lying, particularly since I have literally no evidence on anyone, which is quite concerning. I can see a village reason why Illwei would lie, but I can't see any reason for Bridge to do so as village. If anyone can muster a case against anyone, I would be happy to hear it. I will note that the active players weren't killed first, with Quinn being the first "active" kill out of the standard active pool of Archer, Matrim, Illwei, Quinn, Tani. The village killed more actives than the elims. In fact, this seemingly intentional lack of murdering actives incentivised Archer's unfounded suspicion of Tani for no other reason then the fact that she was active. The kill of an active person now makes me ever so slightly concerned about Tani since they may be trying to invalidate the only reason for suspicion on them, but my paranoia says that it's someone framing Tani. Reasoning for remaining on Bridge: I was busy from right after I submitted my vote all the way until past rollover. Reasoning for voting Bridge: I wanted to encourage a tie between Bridge and Archer as it wouldn't hasten defeat if the E/E Bridge/Archer theory was wrong and it would increase mixes to XLo if it was right. I was planning on switching to Archer, but I didn't have the time. Sidenote: I don't remember why they were read as village.

The point is as follows: If we're wrong, we lose nothing. Parity still happens at the same time. If we're right, we give ourselves an extra mix before we're doomed [since we kill 2 elims in a cycle]. If just one of them is an elim, then we also lose nothing compared to if we correctly X-ed the elim, and since either could possibly be an elim independent of the other, we'd save ourselves the suspicion. But alas, the general populace seems to disagree. I hereby swear to have my vote on one of Bridge or Archer by the end of the cycle. I suspect Archer more, but I want to encourage the tie between the two. If Bridge remains an auxiliary option, I will likely switch to Archer as I think their suspicion on Tani is entirely unfounded and defended with flimsy, twisted evidence. Basically, if it's not tied near rollover, I'll switch. I may not have time to post about it because I will be busy until right before rollover. And now for some long overdue RP. It had been a long time since Roko Vin had attended a ball, and it she still didn't know how to dance properly. The only dance she knew was that of steel and iron, zinc and brass, Pushing and Pulling. But alas, the dancing had not lasted long, for a great many people had offended the hosts and were tossed out of windows, and another great many had been defenestrated without the hosts' permission. Considering that Vin was in fact here to throw people out of windows, she probably didn't have much room to criticise, but she truly felt that defenestration was a bit tacky. Altogether too much screaming, and such a mess at the end. She preferred coins and the glinting shine of steel and the quiet gasps of a dying man. But no, she had been hired to throw people out of windows. Truly unfortunate. All the coins in the world couldn't compensate for the fact that her ears would suffer for the next week. And the mess... No, she would never take a job of this sort again.

I exist, I'm alive, I did terrible at the math competition, and now I'm sad. The two main targets this cycle appear to be Archer and Taniel, with auxiliary suspicion on Bridge. [Update from Future!Gears: Wow, Bridge is so much more suspicious now that they've demonstrated their opinions. Why couldn't you have waited for about an hour?] An important question from Future!Gears: Should we try for the tie? Since the goal is parity, it won't actually change when we lose. I know that anon voting makes that more difficult, but we can just X anyone who lies about their vote, since they are almost certainly an elim. We can tie Bridge and Archer, possibly. The Mat and Tani votes might make that difficult, but if we're bold, we can try to tie all of them [Do not do that. The mass tie was a joke. Do not do that.] Sidenote: I am so glad that the threads aren't locked and merged. It makes isoing so much easier. Archer iso. Tani. Bridge I can see Archer and Bridge as elims lying about having a PM together by murdering their PM buddies. You assume they were honest. That is a fallacy. I like the murdering PM buddies theory. Does the general populace want to try and tie them? If we're wrong, we lose nothing [since it wouldn't change time to parity], and if we're right, we give ourselves an additional mix before XLo. If someone tampers with the vote or lies about their vote, we can execute them. Could I have a "vote count" so I can see where we stand? I'm a bit behind the times.

This will likely be my only post of the cycle. I am currently at a math competition with limited access to the internet. About half of this post was written yesterday, so if it seems disjointed, that is the cause. Liranil posted twice. The first of which was a statement of existence. The second was vague agreement but adding nothing. As such, Liranil was likely not killed for their own existence. The Matrim implication is a possibility. The low-info route is also one. My paranoia thinks that Matrim knowingly slaughtered the person they were implicating to make themself look better as obviously they wouldn't waste their implication efforts like that. As I was quickly skimming the thread to see what I missed, I noted this statement. Grouping people together based off of what one of them says is entirely reasonable [even if I'm not fond of it], and Danex attempts to cast doubt upon the method by saying that it is invalid, specifically using the point that they have no control over Kings. That has no relation to the point. Kings suspected Danex for no reason specifically over all the other people that they could have suspected without reason. This entails a link. If Danex had repudiated the statement via other means, such as pointing out the likely villager-ness of all involved, then they would be fine, but they attack the method of gathering information. This indicates to me that Danex has no rebuttal to the claim being made, and that Danex wants to refute the claim. The only reason why Danex would want to refute the claim is if they know that Kings is an elim and don't want to die after that. Then there is this post. Their previous post was about how given elim!Kings, we should kill Danex. Now they mention being suspicious when no such thing was mentioned. Combined with my paranoia, Mateo is solidly Noted. In the world of e!Mat, I suspect V!Kings and Dannex since my main suspicion of Danex depends on Kings being an elim, and I don't think Mateo would try for the bus so early. I think killing Kings is optimal at this point since them flipping elim will semi-clear Mateo and implicate Danex, and them flipping vil will semi-clear Danex. If I fail to vote, it's because the struggling internet here died right before I succeeded in doing so.

Alas, there are not that many rules to analyse. The anonymous vote mechanic is the only item of relevance. Hammers, bandwagons, and counterwagons all become both uncertain and uncontested. I propose we act as normal and execute anyone who lies about their vote without a reasonable excuse. Vote counts will be homemade in this game. Poke votes are even more pointless. 14 players, 20% = 2.8, 25% = 3.5. 3 elims, most likely. Public service announcement: I will be gone on Saturday in a place with questionable wifi. Ah, I missed a great deal of conversation due to non-existence. Post-by-post Archer: 3-person [concur], sheep the Wei [terrible idea], free choice [concur], coloured votes [apathy], give suspicions [yes] I just realised you can tab. Wow. I'll use this for reads if any "vibes" exist. Lumi: Useless poke vote [what's the point?], will track votes [of course], PM taken [needless], 3 elims [concur] Mateo: 3 elims [concur], Archer don't announce sheephood [inconsequential], free choice [concur], will liveblog votes [alright], poke vote [useless], give suspicions [yes] Liranil: Exists Danex: Gut elim on Archer [really? I don't concur], coordinate PMs [If we do chain, the elims can just PM whomever they choose and say that they are opposed. Also, I refuse, and I'm sure others will do whatever they want. I'm PMing who I want.] Lumi: Vil!Danex [really? I don't concur], PMs useless [true] Danex: Neat, PMs all we have [true, but still useless] Kings_way: Optimise PMs [valid] Lumi: Say who's PMing who [terrible idea since elims can easily sever private communications this way, no one else seems to have complied], PMing Archer Tani: Coordinate [alright], color votes [alright], share [alright] Lumi: Honesty [true] Order: Chain of PMs fails [they were never intended to succeed] Danex: Banter Taniel: Banter Order: Chain of PMs fails [see above] Lumi: Best case [true] Order: Supports choice [valid], only X those near the dead to maintain chain [the intention is not a game of telephone. That would be ineffective.] Danex: No chain mail Taniel: IKYK! [This statement, as well as Taniel's post wherein they agree, seems dramatically overstated, though Tani does have a very dramatic personality.] Lumi: Just say it. Order: If not chain mail, then no point in spread [exactly] Taniel: Elims won't kill "next to" people. [Wrong, assumes we will X the ones near dead to maintain chain when that was never the intention in the slightest] Order: Terrible reasoning [true] Lumi: No, vil reading Tani [really?] Order: Activity is helpful Lumi: Trust? Order: Trusts Quinn, Archer, Taniel, Danex [really? That seems inordinate] Quinn: Agrees [really?] Danex: Surprised [exactly] Archer: Banter, pre-write [as Araris said in the Aftermath, inconsequential], say suspicions, unsure about sharing Danex: Releases Archer Tani: Banter Lumi: True. Archer: Pre-written, won't share [concur] Wei: Sus of Mateo, exists Mateo: OK Bridge-Four: Exists Wei: Sharing top suspicions useless just share votes [true], Mateo nitpicky [true, but not especially noted], saying PM partner is bad [concur], village reads, truce, claim who to vote for [Order's opinions have been consistently strange], suspicions and trusts [slight concurrence] Order: Doesn't like getting suspicion [OrderSuspicion++; Who cares if you get suspected? What matters is what helps the village, not what helps you.] Illwei: Will suspect them, 3 elims, PMs don't matter [true] Conclusions: Tani and Order are strange. Wei seems oddly not strange. Lumi's trusts are weird.

I think we should have a discussion about how we treat inactives. As a general rule, we don't touch them. It's probably considered rude, or perhaps stems from the "innocent until proven guilty" ideology. By leaving them alone, we make them a black box of ignorance. Yes, contribution crusades exist, but that only culminates when no leads exist. The village only won this game because Ash had to submit the kill instead of blocking Quinn. Otherwise, the village thunderdome would have been its undoing. Active people tend to accumulate evidence against them by the very nature of being. By extension, actives die and die early because evidence can be twisted to suit what we want to believe. We kill them because we can build cases against them, and to not investigate a lead when you have one is folly. The status quo is as follows: Villagers lock themselves into their trenches, holding true to their justified cases against other people, and inactives are untouched. Thunderdomes have become the rule rather than the exception. I don't think this is healthy. To not actively slaughter the thunderdomed, the inactives and unsuspected await. But killing someone who's not even there is not considered to be an option, so we kill people on flimsy cases and turn right back to the thunderdome. How should we treat inactives? Kill them heartlessly whenever we seem to be circling to the same suspects? Kill them when there are no other options? What should we do with them? Inactives are a useless kill because they don't give any information, but what can the village do when the elim team is semi-inactive? We end up circling around each other like wolves, trapped in the cases we've been building, ignoring those who aren't connected because why would we kill those who don't give us anything? How can we escape this? Can we escape this? Or are we doomed to thunderdome ourselves into oblivion, because once an inactive flips village, it's back to the thunderdome? I don't know what we can do about this. I don't know if this has a solution. I just think that lately, the village has tearing itself to pieces, no elim intervention required. [This was a very long and rambling paragraph, and I don't know if it makes sense, but I hope it does, and I hope we can find a way out.] The game was excellent, though for some reason, I scarcely remember any of it. Quinn, good job on catching Ash. Elims, I consider this your game in my heart. I'm sure everyone deserves a mention, but I can't remember what you've done, so assume I gave you fancy prose aplenty regaling your skills to the masses.

Roko the Basilisk in the aspect of Vin would love to dance the Dance of Bloody Knives.

Confusion. Vast and varied arrays of confusion. A thought: Bus? Another thought: This feels like confirmation bias on Araris. A third thought: Murder is good. A fourth thought: So heavy-handed though? A fifth thought: Sadeas? A sixth thought: A post-by-post of D3. [The numbers got off somewhere and I don't know where because when I check through individually, it's fine. This concerns me. Help.] Striker: Votes Araris for D1 vote patterns Lumi: Votes Araris for Illwei inconsistencies. Elandera: Elims targeting highprinces to control the world? Araris: Votes Tani for their vote. Notably, assumes V!Whysper as a predicate for Tani suspicions and finds people voting on them suspicious. Whysper: Votes Books by finding the people that voted on them suspicious [booksSuspicion--;], leans village on Quinn [noted], shades Striker [strikerSuspicion--;] Books: Good points about Whysper vote. Whysper: Questions Danex trust. Taniel: Votes Quinn, changes to Striker on Araris's reasoning [weakly noted]. Quinn: Points out assumptions in Araris's vote, asks Taniel for reasoning Tani: Votes Quinn, still rejects the notion of explaining a vote. Lumi: What in LG74? Taniel: Maia. Quinn: ? Tani: ? Striker: Good responses to Whysper's attacks. Lumi: Finds self agreeing with Striker Striker: People change Araris: Notes issue with confidence [in my experience, they always possess a tone of confidence even whilst they fall apart internally over their terrible decisions], pushes more votes [a good idea in any case] Ys: Reasoning on Lumi's Araris vote Quinn: Danex flip means nothing about Araris, Araris suspicious for timing, reasoning of Wei vote. Ys: Okay. Taniel: Vote for those who people agree on X-ing [disagree, but valid opinion] Lumi: Some thoughts, Whysper/Ash not E/E [so Ash is apparently clear now], Tani is strange [always] Araris: Lets go of Taniel, votes Books for Contribution Crusade [which I am against on principle] Tani: Weird voting? Whysper: Tani is strange [tanielSuspicion--;] Elandera: Votes TJ out of gut [noted] Striker: Worried on wrong track [we might have been considering that we needed to throw knives at someone else to get it done, though considering that Araris is still on the table, perhaps not] Gears: Amenable to the Araris X, swears to vote, never shows [sorry, was dragged away by family] Striker: Very few people are active. Books: V!Dan claim help, wasn't trying to find elim on wagon just alt target Tani: Indecisive villager Whysper: Ta. Taniel: Honest Araris: Books = quiet. Lumi: Elandera's votes feel wrong Tani: Ah. TJ: Votes Books for suspicion from previous cycles [from a glance, this suspicion is that they are more focused on mechanics than reads and thoughts on the game itself, not anything actually incriminating in and of itself] Books: Votes Archer for vague, nebulous suspicion and self-pres. Quinn: Doesn't remember what TJ says. TJ: Conjuration Araris: Sad self-vote Books: ? Lumi: A. Ash: Tad bit burnt, Whysper drawing odd conclusions [good points, good points] Quinn: Exists Ash: Votes Books for activity, lack of reads, willing to CC [noted] Araris: Votes Whysper for "playing it safe", but in c/p notes, has "no strong read" in there. Noted. Tani: Confused Ys: VC? Striker: Questions Araris about their thoughts [good points] Araris: Noted as trend, not suspicion, not!elim!Books [interesting] Ruby: Votes Araris, thoughts Books: Busy Araris: Vote Whysper! Books: Sure if won't die Araris: Ash, vote Whysper! Ys: Votes Whysper [I know they're new and just bandwagoning, but I haven't liked their votes all game] Ash: Votes Whysper [you've been itching for it this whole time, so I'll let you go], dislikes Ruby's vote Araris: Concur Books: Votes Whysper Elandera: Doesn't like sudden change so votes Books [noted, but tolerable] Books: ? Striker: Shift? Araris: Life before Death. Elandera: Whysper shift specifically I came off the last turn with a worsened impression of Araris. Books, Striker, Quinn feel vaguely fine. Tani and Ys feel off in the standard "I don't agree with you at all" way. Now for the Whysper iso. Araris's bit about Whysper: At the end of it all, I am left with paranoia towards Araris and vaguely positive opinions towards a variety of people.

I had a post-by-post, but the Shard is ever hungry and devoured it twice. As such, I'm resorting to iso-ing. Thank ghost!Wei for short cycles. Araris I dislike the Contribution Crusade™ on principle, but I feel incredibly conflicted about Araris. I would be amenable to the Araris X, but I'll hold on to my vote for now, until Tired!Gears can get some sleep and make better decisions. I will vote, though. This I swear upon my non-existent honour. Good night.