Anniversary Game 9/Anonymous Game 13: Rebuilding Tyrian Falls

[Cream Tuatara]

Willam nodded. “These words are accepted.”

Sapphire Elephant. “For now, I’ll note.”

But who to change to? Willam thought it important to keep the pressure on someone.

He took a deep breath. “I think I’ll vote Charcoal Hyena, under the precedence that they expressed (to me specifically) distress about the lack of Spiked-relevant discussion in the thread; however, they themselves have not added any Spiked-relevant discussion and dodged my question about opinions regarding the Obli-gator.”

He considered alternatives, raising a finger. “Indigo Weasel’s vote seems like it’s trying to avoid being called a poke, which is also a bit odd.”

[Azure Mouse]

3 hours ago, Mauve Crocodile said:

If you ignore the RP

To not think in rp? Dare you trust all to have rp without intentions, to collect words and no meaning? There is information everywhere, small collections. Read all to understand? Like stones

[Mauve Crocodile]

1 hour ago, Melon Dingo said:

If my method of speech proves too difficult or irritating, I have other options. But for now, this will stay.

I tried Seeking Dingo's alignment, but the result was just 'right'... 

50 minutes ago, Azure Mouse said:

To not think in rp? Dare you trust all to have rp without intentions, to collect words and no meaning? There is information everywhere, small collections. Read all to understand? Like stones

I see I was as mistaken as the reports of The Lord Ruler's death! Please share the insights you gleaned from the roleplay posts. 

[Amethyst Scorpion]

*cough cough* Wh-why, who is it but the little orphan boy S-s-Scop. M-my p-parents w-were k-killed in th-this very t-town on th-this day some m-moons ago b-before my v-very eyes, t-traumatizing me p-p-p-permanently, orphaning me p-prematurely and g-giving me a h-h-horrible st-stutter.

B-but I es-escaped the orphanage and I w-will make my own f-fortune and m-make Mummy and Daddy p-p-proud of little S-Scop!

W-will somebody p-p-play wi-with me please? I am s-so l-lonely ever since my m-mommy and d-d-daddy were k-killed by S-s-s- *shudder, sobs* Spiked. N-n-nobody h-had time to p-play with me in the orphanage.

Ch-Chartreuse Penguin, come and p-play w-with me? M-my mommy read m-me a b-book about p-penguins once and they were so cuddly. The b-baby p-penguin c-curled up in the l-lap of the m-mommy p-penguin and d-daddy p-p-penguin who k-k-kept them s-safe and s-snug-- *SOB SOB SOB*

*Scop runs sobbing off into the night, plagued by traumatic memories*

I'm laying claim to the Stuttering cosmetic role, which I just invented just now

[Indigo Weasel]

3 hours ago, Melon Dingo said:

If my method of speech proves too difficult or irritating, I have other options. But for now, this will stay.

Lovely, then my vote stays until I find something that either annoys me more or actually makes me suspicious 

[Emerald Falcon]

After a tough but routine first day, Luciel plopped down at Bates' and ordered a drink. As the bar was quite a ways outside Tyrian Falls, not many customers were present and he could speak with Bates freely.

"So, how goes the hunt? Did you find what you want?", asked Bates cleaning the shelves and preparing the bar for the influx of customers.

"Nothing on the Ana end. She still refuses to see me and I cannot afford to blow her cover in public. We'll need to meet in private. But right now, I'm busy with the sheriff duties. Neglect them for too long or fail to protect these villagers and I'd come under scrutiny."

"You, my friend, have chosen the worst time to assume the role of sheriff at the Falls."

"Yeah, I'm beginning to think the same. This business of Spiked, it's hard to enough to protect myself and Ana, now I've got to look for them while protecting the villagers?"

"Hey, heavy is the... shirt? That wears the badge? Heh."

"..."

"Alright, alright. I might be able to help. What are your observations?"

1. Quite a few people claiming to mass-communicate. Koros [Ostrich], Aylia [Hyena] and WitLees [Chameleon] are all sending messages to everyone in the village. Unless the Spiked are gambit-hungry, at least one of them is a villager. In addition, Aylia claimed to be messaging everyone AFTER I mentioned to Koros that one of the Spiked indication for me was a player communicating with everyone and that I was keeping an eye on Koros and WitLess. So for Aylia to proclaim mass-communication after that indicates Koros and Aylia are likely not Spiked together. 
2. Cream Tuatara genuinely feel like they care for the village. Their suspicion on Hyena seems to come from a natural village perspective.
3. Another notable Fallian (what do you call the occupants of Tyrian Falls?) is Obli-gator [Crocodile]. The first person to change suspicion and give a valid reason, as well as one of the few seemed to be leaning towards catching the Spiked than narrating their life stories. Leaning villager here.
4. A group of Fallians [Dragonfly, Chameleon, Elephant] shouted out their suspicion once and did not speak about it later even though have spoken after that. Among these, I'm most suspicious of [Ivory Dragonfly] who suspected [Magenta Albatross] earlier in the day, and spoke recently but did not mention about the suspicion or change it. It's odd when you consider Albatross hasn't spoken at all. Chameleon on Hyena is the same case but not as suspicious as they previously spoke 14 hours ago. Elephant on Scorpion is also similar to Dragonfly. But I get the feeling that Dragonfly is deliberately trying to hide behind whereas Elephant has made some comments about Smokers. 
5. Unsure why Swan voted on Dingo.
6. Noting down that Weasel voted on Dingo for "unaesthetic way of communcating" even though Dingo already had a vote. Reasoning might have passed if it was the first vote, but when it's the second vote on a player, it's a red flag.

"Well, it seems like you don't need any help, sheriff! You're doing quite well all by yourself."

"Yeah, but just how well is yet to be seen."

"You know what, you can leave a report here. I'll keep it safe and you can come back and check it for information later or compare it with your future reports."

"That's a smart idea. I'll just keep it slightly coded in case it ends up in wrong hands."

---

Sheriff's Report

• At least 1 V in Ostrich, Hyena, Chameleon.
• Hyena/Chameleon likely not E/E.
• Gut V on Tuatara. 
• Leaning Mild V towards Crocodile.
• Dragonfly, Elephant, Chameleon all different shades of E.
• Swan - Dingo?
• Leaning Mild E on Weasel.

[Azure Mouse]

3 hours ago, Mauve Crocodile said:

see I was as mistaken as the reports of The Lord Ruler's death! Please share the insights you gleaned from the roleplay posts

Perhaps the reasoning for a vote? William cast his vote within a quote, a line of dialogue, string of words. To read all is to understand all, collections. Stones on the shelf, different sizes, different meanings, organized to form a decoration

[Onyx Flamingo]

Agolac arrived at the market, making sure to keep his list in hand to stay on track. However, as he scanned the available food, it crossed his mind that he hadn't yet contributed to the ongoing discussion about the Spiked. Nasty business that, but what could you do. So before he forgot, Agolac spoke up to whoever was (or wasn't) listening.

"I'm not entirely sure what to do here. But my understanding is that the only way to find Spiked is to kill them, yes? So Chartreuse Penguin, I think is a place to start. Maybe?"

Then Agolac promptly left the market and returned to his house. Upon arrival, he not only found the crinkled shopping list in his pocket, but also the exact items on said list already neatly arranged in his cupboard. Agolac tossed the list into his fire before it caused any further confusion.

[Salmon Meerkat]

9 hours ago, Melon Dingo said:

Is this Dutch? My translators had difficulty identifying it, but they eventually settled in on German, part of a song.

[OOC: Gosh, that checks out!]

It was a quiet morning, and the market square thronged with Tyrianers; lingering, laughing, gossiping without any particular sense of urgency. Aurelien sat on an upended crate and ate his baywrap. The remnants of the shattered clay bricks were strewn over the ground. Marv was mad as all fires, but that couldn't be helped. Part of Aurelien wondered if it was sabotage. 

His hands clenched tightly about his baywrap. Unthinkable to someone who had grown up in Tyrian Falls, perhaps. But there were the events of the past year. And he remembered a time of siege and smoke, when the Iron Hawks had been sent to raid properties belonging to House Erikeller. 

Tyrian Falls was a long way from where he'd grown up. But Aurelien had learned a long time ago that home was where your people were. Once, his people had been Fifth Cohort of the Iron Hawks. Perhaps he'd aspired to more. It was as the smokestack from the bakery's chimney now.

He thought of going over, surprising Flavia. He had just risen to his feet when Marv grunted, "There's a sheriff in town."

"A what?"

"Dunno," said Marv. "Guardsman, maybe. Haven't heard that word before."

"What about him?" Aurelien asked, settling back down on his crate.

"Asking questions. Taking notes."

A dirty bandage was now wrapped neatly about Jurald's thumb. It had been clean earlier, but the work had disagreed with the cloth.

Aurelien chose his words carefully. He'd been an intelligencer, a long time ago, for a job. People always thought you were as thick as two bricks if you stood by your principal's side, and glared, showed some bicep, and said little. And if you were a mercenary.

"One of Sidor's?"

"Outsider," Keirasti interjected. "Bad time for one to come by."

"True," said Aurelien, thoughtfully. "Asking questions isn't bad though." Privately, he thought that people weren't taking the threat of the Spiked as seriously as they could be. If this sheriff was asking questions about the Spiked, and in general, being thoughtful, then that gave him a somewhat better gloss, in Aurelien's eyes.

Rumour had begun to spread all around the marketplace about some altercation between Willam and Aylia. Far as Aurelien could tell, he didn't really disagree with Willam there. If Willam were truthful, that seemed reasonable grounds for suspicion. Though he'd very much like to hear Aylia's side of things. There was always a fine line between malevolence, incompetence, and lack of confidence. He'd learned that with Fifth Cohort. But you always had to probe, anyhow. That was the way these things worked.

Then there was old man Ciril. Half the market square had heard him shout about the need for Smokers. Perhaps strangely, while Aurelien had his reservations about Ciril, he sort of liked the boldness of that statement. Perhaps it was meant as a lure, to see who bit, who protested, and maybe figure out that those people were Seekers. He nearly scoffed at the idea. As if Tyrian Falls were some hotbed of Allomancy! But no, it took a particular sort of boldness to assume that sort of position, and Aurelien figured that if Ciril were Spiked, he was a bold one.

OOC: I have an exam next week, and it is eating into my time more than I would like, so I think I am going to state upfront that I will be less free than I would like to be. I do not want to actually be doing any close reading or serious playing until I have at least finished the first round of revisions because I am prone to getting distracted. This means I will functionally be scarce until at least Sunday.

Edited December 29, 2022 by Salmon Meerkat

[Mint Heron]

Those that PM'ed everyone are probably just people who like making PM's, and I feel obliged to defend my Obli-gator buddy as a fellow true believer in the Lord Ruler's inevitable return, and will continue to do so until I have some evidence their allegiances lie elsewhere. I wouldn't be that disappointed if we went with a Contribution Crusade today, but I want to try and suggest at least one alternative so that we don't end up killing an inactive with no discussion or additional information.

13 hours ago, Saffron Iguana said:

Okay, I'm a little late, but I'm here now. Time for a little RP before I try to analyze this crazy situation.

This is the only thing that seemed at all odd to me. What crazy situation is this referring to, exactly? It's Day 1, I don't think anything really crazy has happened yet, and there's not much to analyze. But perhaps a Spiked, with extra information at the start of the game to process, would feel like they have more information to analyze, making this comment seem less out of place in their minds.

Is this an incredibly weak reason to vote for someone? Yes.

Is it Day 1, where I have literally nothing else to go on, making it my best and only lead? Also yes.

Therefore, Saffron Iguana/Taltin Kerriel.

[Melon Dingo]

• Amethyst Scorpion (1): Sapphire Elephant
• Azure Mouse (1): Sage Kangaroo
• Charcoal Hyena (3): Cream Tuatara, Pearl Chameleon, Salmon Meerkat
• Chartreuse Penguin (2): Amethyst Scorpion, Onyx Flamingo
• Ivory Dragonfly (1): Emerald Falcon
• Magenta Albatross (1): Ivory Dragonfly
• Melon Dingo (2): Coral Swan, Indigo Weasel
• Plum Rhinoceros (1): Mauve Crocodile
• Saffron Iguana (1): Mint Heron

Well. That's not what I expected to happen. But sometimes that's what you get to work with.

 

Mauve Crocodile does seem rather go-getting, which is appreciated. But I wish to hear more from Charcoal Hyena before interfering. What others see as non-engagement, I see a form of questioning, of following a laid-down string that no one picked up. That, and Reverse's conversations with Aylia have been entertaining, if not enlightening. I'd prefer that they continue. But I have little more to add, and an explanation from their own mouth would be best.

I, for one, am not sure what to think of Emerald Falcon. They posted their own analysis in a format easier to pick apart, but I'm finding parts of it quite easy to do so. Hyena, Ostrich, and Chameleon claiming to PM everyone is likely more indicative of the kind of player they are, rather than their own alignment - I agree that the three openly claiming to do so all being Spiked is statistically unlikely, but I'm struggling to find a non-statistical reason for such, and that leaves plenty of likely Spiked who can remain silent. I agree on Cream Tuatara seeming Village, but as above I don't really agree with their conclusions. Same with Mauve Crocodile.

But the vote on Ivory Dragonfly seems strange. Yes, Ivory Dragonfly did not mention their vote on Magenta Albatross in their most recent post. That post was two words, and clearly not a direct interaction with anything game-related. That's its own reason to wonder, but Dragonfly's hardly alone in it. And Albatross has not posted yet, yes. Is that a good reason to change directions? Why should Dragonfly reflect on their vote of an individual who has contributed nothing, in a situation where nothing has changed? Compared to Pearl Chameleon, who voted Hyena (who had received a lot of discussion and changes) Dragonfly just seems more innocent to me.

The other two notes are related to me, and the two voting for me - I'm uncertain whether or not Swan knew I posted before they voted me, and I've already expressed the extent of my opinion on Indigo Weasel. This is rather odd to read, but I like it. But it does feel again like a strange thing to focus on. Maybe I just lack self-Preservation.

Another note is less related to Falcon and more to Pearl Chameleon. Despite their claim that they would PM everyone, and a message I sent them several hours ago, I have yet to hear from them. They even read my message. I'm curious to hear if Falcon or others have had actual communications, or if that promise remains undelivered.

I'm not voting Emerald Falcon for any of this. Dissent is not a sign of opposing alignments, and they are one of the few who has contributed to have dissent to oppose. Multiple parts of their post seem village to me, even a few of the flaws. But I will vote Pearl Chameleon, for the reasons above.

[Salmon Meerkat]

2 hours ago, Melon Dingo said:

• Charcoal Hyena (3): Cream Tuatara, Pearl Chameleon, Salmon Meerkat

 

[OOC: Unfortunately, I do not have the time to package this in RP. So OOC it is.

Slight positive to Dingo for being this blase despite being close to being a lead train. However, only a little - it is not exactly the eleventh hour, and we do not know if there is Emotional Allomancy in the offing. Whilst I have been immensely enjoying Dingo's RP and thus do not wish to see him dead this early, I had not registered that Cham also had a vote on Hyena, which moderately alters my calculus.

Consequently, I am minded to vote Mint Heron - I am a little thrown by the defensiveness and self-consciousness in the framing of his vote.

I believe this should leave us with a series of ties, and I would be interested to see what the Americans desire to do with it. When, I suppose, I have the energy required to process it. Which will come after finishing revision.

]

Edited December 29, 2022 by Salmon Meerkat
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[Emerald Falcon]

5 hours ago, Salmon Meerkat said:

Rumour had begun to spread all around the marketplace about some altercation between Willam and Aylia. Far as Aurelien could tell, he didn't really disagree with Willam there. If Willam were truthful, that seemed reasonable grounds for suspicion. Though he'd very much like to hear Aylia's side of things. There was always a fine line between malevolence, incompetence, and lack of confidence. He'd learned that with Fifth Cohort. But you always had to probe, anyhow. That was the way these things worked.

It's probably not a good thing that he kept missing important bits like this. He walked up to Aurelien who had just mentioned the confrontation.

"Excuse me, I was perhaps in the other part of the town and missed the argument. What was it about? Is it just the part about Willam "locking" in Obli-gator as villager?"

2 hours ago, Melon Dingo said:

But the vote on Ivory Dragonfly seems strange. Yes, Ivory Dragonfly did not mention their vote on Magenta Albatross in their most recent post. That post was two words, and clearly not a direct interaction with anything game-related. That's its own reason to wonder, but Dragonfly's hardly alone in it. And Albatross has not posted yet, yes. Is that a good reason to change directions? Why should Dragonfly reflect on their vote of an individual who has contributed nothing, in a situation where nothing has changed? Compared to Pearl Chameleon, who voted Hyena (who had received a lot of discussion and changes) Dragonfly just seems more innocent to me.

Luciel scratched his head confusingly. He was a bit annoyed. Perhaps... they did it different at Tyrian Falls? As far he knew, civilians did not question the methods of the sheriff. 

Oh well, better explain it clearly. This person has made the wrong conclusion from my statements. 

He strode forward confidently and stood in front of the fellow named Reverse, answering him as directly as he could.

"My issue is less that Dragonfly are not changing their vote and more to the fact that they aren't contributing to the discussion. They clearly could post as they did, but decided to do it in a non-contributory way. One of the Spiked-indication is they plonk down votes and try to go unnoticed WHILE posting, which is what it looks like Dragonfly is doing. For sure, WitLees [Chameleon] is also guilty of this and I did mention I was suspicious of them. But all the discussion around Aylia happened AFTER the last time WitLees spoke, which was my point [OOC: this is assuming they haven't been online since the last time they posted]."

3 hours ago, Melon Dingo said:

I agree that the three openly claiming to do so all being Spiked is statistically unlikely, but I'm struggling to find a non-statistical reason for such, and that leaves plenty of likely Spiked who can remain silent.

"You misunderstand. I wasn't talking about it statistically. It just isn't optimum/orthodox for the Spiked team to do because more number of Spiked sharing info = more chances of confusing who is supposed to know what = more chances of a slip-up, which is why I mentioned there might be at least one villager among the three UNLESS the Spiked like gambits and taking risks. All these are observations to re-look in the future."

58 minutes ago, Salmon Meerkat said:

Whilst I have been immensely enjoying Dingo's RP and thus do not wish to see him dead this early, I had not registered that Cham also had a vote on Hyena, which moderately alters my calculus.

[OOC: Sorry for the mention, and all the best for you exams, but] "Why does WitLees suspecting Aylia alter your decision, and what is your opinion on WitLees. I don't recall you mentioning them when you spoke earlier. Is the reasoning you provided to suspect Heron greater than your reason to suspect Aylia or do you just not want to kill her anymore?"

4 hours ago, Melon Dingo said:

Another note is less related to Falcon and more to Pearl Chameleon. Despite their claim that they would PM everyone, and a message I sent them several hours ago, I have yet to hear from them. They even read my message. I'm curious to hear if Falcon or others have had actual communications, or if that promise remains undelivered.

"This is interesting. They haven't been in communication with me privately as well. However, unlike you, I did not reach out to them. But, I'd like to know if there were other private communications from them too."

[Mauve Crocodile]

5 hours ago, Mint Heron said:

Those that PM'ed everyone are probably just people who like making PM's

This is the only thing that seemed at all odd to me. What crazy situation is this referring to, exactly? It's Day 1, I don't think anything really crazy has happened yet, and there's not much to analyze.

Do talkative people generally announce their intentions? 

I think this line of inquiry better suits a Azure Mouse vote. Mouse deflected my question about what was consuming their focus in the early stages of the game by suggesting they could have been parsing the roleplay, but when asked to provide receipts, they had little to show for it. 

The Lord Ruler's mercy is now bestowed upon Rhino.

9 hours ago, Emerald Falcon said:

1. Quite a few people claiming to mass-communicate. Koros [Ostrich], Aylia [Hyena] and WitLees [Chameleon] are all sending messages to everyone in the village. Unless the Spiked are gambit-hungry, at least one of them is a villager.

You could weakly argue that most of them are likely villagers to avoid repetition. The approach mimics that of evil AN12 Falcon. Since they were caught early on, I find it unlikely the Spiked embraced the strategy again. 

54 minutes ago, Emerald Falcon said:

"This is interesting. They haven't been in communication with me privately as well.

Ditto, which I find slightly villager indicative. If it was a conscious plan, they would have followed through on it. 

[Charcoal Hyena]

Aylia sat at her desk, staring at the piles of parchment in front of her. It seemed that everyone in the village had something to say, and they all wanted her attention. She was relieved that the majority of the messages seemed to be supportive of her efforts to root out the Spiked, but there were a few dissenting voices as well. Some people seemed to think that the whole idea of the Spiked was just a paranoid delusion, and that Aylia was wasting her time and resources.

As she read through the messages, she made a list of the people who seemed most suspicious. She had a gut feeling that some of them might be the Spiked, and she was determined to find out for sure.

She stared at the list. Twenty-two people. 

First, there was Koros, who with his smooth words and charming demeanor, could easily be hiding a sinister nature. Then there was Onidsen, with a quiet and seemingly harmless presence. Could he be lurking in the shadows, waiting to strike? 

Next, Reverse, who with his mysterious background and vague explanations confused Aylia. And WitLees, with his sudden appearance and sudden disappearance, who was cheerful for one second and foreboding the next. 

Aylia sighed and leaned back in her chair, feeling frustrated and overwhelmed. She knew that she needed to keep her wits about her and be careful, but it was hard when she felt like she was constantly surrounded by danger and uncertainty.

[OOC: *regrets sending RP PMs to every single player*

More to come after I respond to everyone

I'll be here for about fifteen minutes then I must leave for a few hours, so if I don't respond to you now, I'll be back later]

 

1 hour ago, Emerald Falcon said:

"This is interesting. They haven't been in communication with me privately as well. However, unlike you, I did not reach out to them. But, I'd like to know if there were other private communications from them too."

Aylia recalled talking with WitLees for a moment. There wasn't much to note from that conversation—he had disappeared quite suddenly after spreading paranoia about a possible appearance of Ruin.

[Azure Mouse]

1 hour ago, Mauve Crocodile said:

I think this line of inquiry better suits an Azure Mouse vote. Mouse deflected my question about what was consuming their focus in the early stages of the game by suggesting they could have been parsing the roleplay, but when asked to provide receipts, they had little to show for it. 

Is only speaking of the possibility of things, of the importance of acknowledging all that is said

tbf the real lack of analysis comes from being out in the sticks with little cell service celebrating the holidays with family. Better analysis will come with the night, as I will be back home this afternoon

[Salmon Meerkat]

3 hours ago, Emerald Falcon said:

"Excuse me, I was perhaps in the other part of the town and missed the argument. What was it about? Is it just the part about Willam "locking" in Obli-gator as villager?"

3 hours ago, Emerald Falcon said:

[OOC: Sorry for the mention, and all the best for you exams, but] "Why does WitLees suspecting Aylia alter your decision, and what is your opinion on WitLees. I don't recall you mentioning them when you spoke earlier. Is the reasoning you provided to suspect Heron greater than your reason to suspect Aylia or do you just not want to kill her anymore?"

[OOC: I think it is far easier and more conducive for clarity if I continue to do this in OOC text. I also do not currently have the time on my hands to couch this in RP, as much as I have been enjoying this and Aurelien's planned character arc. 

I do not have a strong opinion on Cham, so Cham is functionally null to me, potentially a negative null, due to the stability of his vote. We do not have any PM interactions as I am not a very talkative person in PMs. I would not rule out at least one of the Spiked deciding to be assertive and assume thread control, but this has been an exceptionally low tempo D1, so I feel it is the sort of environment conducive to Spiked (and very arguably, Village) complacency.

Philosophically, if I do not read a player, I am indifferent to their dying on D1.

My view and my retraction on Hyena comes down to several things:

-The altercation was me trying to find a RP way of talking about Tuatara's suspicions of Hyena. I think it is a good starting place for pressure: that is, mourning the lack of discussion but not particularly taking interest in doing something about it. At the same time, I have (you will, I am afraid, have to take my word for this) mislynched players before for this exact reason. This is why I believe it is a good starting place for pressure, but also stated in the post that I wanted to hear from Hyena.

Emphases mine:

9 hours ago, Salmon Meerkat said:

Rumour had begun to spread all around the marketplace about some altercation between Willam and Aylia. Far as Aurelien could tell, he didn't really disagree with Willam there. If Willam were truthful, that seemed reasonable grounds for suspicion. Though he'd very much like to hear Aylia's side of things. There was always a fine line between malevolence, incompetence, and lack of confidence. He'd learned that with Fifth Cohort. But you always had to probe, anyhow. That was the way these things worked.

I think you need to pressure the player to get a sense of whether it is Spiked performativity, a player with a lack of confidence in handling thread discussion, or a player who is unable to do so. The fact that this is an anonymous game without access to player history only makes the need for a response and a gauge more acute.

-I do not see substantive value from placing a third vote on Hyena to pressure Hyena at this juncture. Hyena being tied in the lead will do just fine to elicit the response I want, I did get pinged by Heron's post, and I generally like midcycle ties - I think it is valuable to get a sense of players' priorities. There is a trade-off between broadening the voting pool and anchoring a train, but as this is D1, and there was at least twelve hours and thirty five minutes left in the cycle when I voted Heron instead

-So in short, my response to your question is that I feel your question is a loaded one and I disagree with the framing. Trading off against D1 reasons feels like a crapshoot. I am more interested in whether it makes sense or generates value to have my vote where it is. And if it does not, then I will move it.

ED1T: Omitted a word up there - if I do not Village read a player, and I have been fairly open about my Village reads thus far, then I am indifferent to their dying on D1.

I also did not complete the sentence due to getting distracted by my homework. I should say that I felt the trade off was worthwhile given the time left in the cycle.]

Edited December 29, 2022 by Salmon Meerkat

[Indigo Weasel]

Mmmm tasty discussion

Personally, I do not find sending PMs to be alignment indicative. So, I won't be supporting any trains on people for JUST that reason. If there's more to it, then that's different. 

I shall continue to watch and think for now. 

[Charcoal Hyena]

13 hours ago, Emerald Falcon said:

Quite a few people claiming to mass-communicate. Koros [Ostrich], Aylia [Hyena] and WitLees [Chameleon] are all sending messages to everyone in the village. Unless the Spiked are gambit-hungry, at least one of them is a villager.

OOC: Do you imply that perhaps at least one in the set is elim?

11 hours ago, Salmon Meerkat said:

Rumour had begun to spread all around the marketplace about some altercation between Willam and Aylia. Far as Aurelien could tell, he didn't really disagree with Willam there. If Willam were truthful, that seemed reasonable grounds for suspicion. Though he'd very much like to hear Aylia's side of things. There was always a fine line between malevolence, incompetence, and lack of confidence. He'd learned that with Fifth Cohort. But you always had to probe, anyhow. That was the way these things worked.

I don't like the idea of labeling someone "indisputably not Spiked". It reeks of tmi.

Willam

[Ivory Dragonfly]

13 hours ago, Emerald Falcon said:

Albatross hasn't spoken at all

*tilts head* isn’t that the whole point of a poke vote, my dear falcon?

[Sunburst Toucan]

All this talk of rampant Spiked had Avil Ejir walking in circles, trying to discern his allies from his enemies. Amidst the chatter and the arguments, people pointed fingers at one another. Avil had gotten word that someone would be put up for execution before nightfall...Despite what he'd told himself about running away from this cursed town -yes, cursed it was- he could not leave his friends at the mercy of the Spiked. He would find them, and he would return Tyrian Falls to its former glory.

And so he got to work. He paid attention to every word that the townsfolk uttered, and he made notes. He had been rather forgetful lately, so he'd made sure to jot his thoughts down on paper for easy reference. To the crowd, he said, "Willam may come across as suspiciously forthright with his views, but I do not necessarily believe it to be a characteristic of the Spiked. While I would agree, paranoia aside, that the Obli-gator seems to have the town's best interests at heart, I think that Willam exaggerated his inclination to trust the Obli-gator. I would think that the Spiked have sense to stay warier and more reserved with regards to such claims of credence."

He paused and looked down at his notes once more before continuing. "Furthermore, I take issue with Weasel's accusation towards Reverse. It seems unwarranted and, if I may say, rude.

"I do not like the fellow, though I can hardly say this merits an execution. This brings me to my next matter: Reneau brings up a good point against Taltin Kerriel [Scorpion]. They might think it a weak reason, however I think that catching on to subtle things such as these are often the most helpful when it comes to hunting the Spiked." He coughed. "Not that I...have any experience with this. I am new to this town you see.

"Taltin spoke of crazy situations to analyze, but arguably nothing too crazy has gone down as of yet. From what I've heard, this is the norm for Tyrian Falls. It has suffered countless Koloss attacks and this is nothing too new. I am thus led to suspect whether Taltin is part of certain...other conversations that are a little crazy and require his analysis."

[Salmon Meerkat]

4 hours ago, Mauve Crocodile said:

You could weakly argue that most of them are likely villagers to avoid repetition. The approach mimics that of evil AN12 Falcon. Since they were caught early on, I find it unlikely the Spiked embraced the strategy again. 

[OOC: I did not play in AN12, but a quick scan of the game indicates that Falcon was not in fact caught early on - he seems to have jumped. Players got sidetracked. Gosh, that game was just weird mechanically. Only Araris thought that Falcon's opening mass PMs was suspicious, and that had more to do with the circumstances of the mass PMs (excessiveness, lack of any other interest in the thread.) Illwie also had a vote on Falcon, I believe.

I would assume this is why you say 'weakly argue' but I find the choice of AN12 just a very odd comparator because whilst he did not publicly announce he was doing so, AG8 Spiked Cham did very well for himself opening mass PMs. He even managed to influence low activity players to lynch Archer D2 via them. Falcon is a case I don't believe has a good comparator because he was opening every possible permutation of group PM to the point the GM was cursing and swearing at him. That's startlingly different from opening one on one PMs with every player.

However, it is time for me to properly focus on studying and to not get dragged into every small point.]

[Cream Tuatara]

"With regards to those mass-PMing," Willam began, "my first thought was that one and only one was Spiked, but I confess that line of thinking is completely unjustified. I don't think it's likely that two Spiked can be found in [Pearl, Hyena, Ostrich I think was the third], but there's really no reason they can't all be villagers. So I won't use it as reasoning, but, well, it's a feeling."

He decided to next give some more reads. "Falcon I want to read village but I appreciate Dingo's picking apart of Falcon's post, as it subdues my desire to village read anyone willing to post a big analysis as of now. That being said, I do village read Meerkat quite a bit at the current moment, and I like the thinking behind their Heron vote.

"As for the Obli-gator, I do village read them but not as much as advertised. I inflated my read of them to see how people would react; see if anyone would bite, and, well--

35 minutes ago, Charcoal Hyena said:

I don't like the idea of labeling someone "indisputably not Spiked". It reeks of tmi.

Willam

"Someone bit." Willam paused for dramatic effect. "While I don't think this is entirely condemning, I don't think Hyena suddenly pulling out an easy elim read after dodging the same question earlier looks good for them.

"For clarity, I initially strong village read Obli-gator and asked for other opinions. Hyena commented on that post but avoided mentioning my village read, only now coming back to vote me for it after I've vocally suspected them. That's worthy of note, in my estimation."

4 minutes ago, Sunburst Toucan said:

"I do not like the fellow, though I can hardly say this merits an execution. This brings me to my next matter: Reneau brings up a good point against Taltin Kerriel [Scorpion]

Willam raised a finger. "I can't say I particularly agree with Heron myself, but I will point out that Taltin Kerriel resembles an Iguana far more closely than a Scorpion."

[Charcoal Hyena]

4 minutes ago, Cream Tuatara said:

"Someone bit." Willam paused for dramatic effect. "While I don't think this is entirely condemning, I don't think Hyena suddenly pulling out an easy elim read after dodging the same question earlier looks good for them.

OOC: With all respect, doing something suspicious intentionally still makes the behavior suspicious, no matter how you frame it.

What question was it that I dodged?

Edit:

 

5 minutes ago, Cream Tuatara said:

"For clarity, I initially strong village read Obli-gator and asked for other opinions. Hyena commented on that post but avoided mentioning my village read, only now coming back to vote me for it after I've vocally suspected them. That's worthy of note, in my estimation."

I see your 'for clarity'.

I didn't explicitly comment on it as I was still in character, but I did mention that I didn't like it:

Quote

Despite her words, Aylia couldn't shake the feeling of unease that lingered within her. She had never encountered a Terris Steward before, and the idea of someone not knowing their purpose or even their own Master was unsettling to her. She couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for Willam, knowing how difficult it must be to live in such uncertainty. And yet, she couldn't shake the feeling that there was more to his story than he was letting on.

 

Edited December 29, 2022 by Charcoal Hyena

[Sunburst Toucan]

7 minutes ago, Cream Tuatara said:

Willam raised a finger. "I can't say I particularly agree with Heron myself, but I will point out that Taltin Kerriel resembles an Iguana far more closely than a Scorpion."

Saffron Iguana

8 minutes ago, Cream Tuatara said:

"Someone bit." Willam paused for dramatic effect. "While I don't think this is entirely condemning, I don't think Hyena suddenly pulling out an easy elim read after dodging the same question earlier looks good for them.

"For clarity, I initially strong village read Obli-gator and asked for other opinions. Hyena commented on that post but avoided mentioning my village read, only now coming back to vote me for it after I've vocally suspected them. That's worthy of note, in my estimation."

Avil mused on this statement. It was as he had suspected, but he did wonder what Willam had to say about Aylia's rather delayed response to Willam's reaction test. Was this accusation retaliatory from Aylia? She had not immediately accused Willam of this seeming revelation of excess of information when he had first expressed it, but rather after Willam had accused Aylia of being guilty.