Long Game 89: Blessings of Metal

[Mat]

Hi everyone! Have to brush up on the Blessings but otherwise it seems like this game won’t be so mechanic heavy  Forgot about the tied votes not killing anyone, and the closed PMs

The Wandering Wizard

Edited September 18, 2022 by Matrim's Dice

[The Unknown Ajah]

41 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Hi everyone! Have to brush up on the Blessings but otherwise it seems like this game won’t be so mechanic heavy  Forgot about the tied votes not killing anyone, and the closed PMs

The Wandering Wizard

Mat. There, now no-one will die.

[Kasimir]

Someone killed TarHiin.

A death of the mind, and then of flesh and bones. KeSaam swept the path of his rock garden, the broom scratching against the stone. The last rock, he'd found sunwarmed in the courtyard of a Luthadel lord, had hastily parted flesh enough to snatch the rock up and stuff it inside for safekeeping. It was an oval-shaped rock, glinting inside with little gleaming spots of quartz. 

It now took pride of place in his rock garden, next to a jagged chunk of obsidian he'd pried from the heart of the ashmount Tyrian on a Contract that had been rather more dicey than KeSaam would've liked. If KeSaam had his way, he would stay in the Homeland forever, in his home with his rock garden and sipping tea on his porch.

But TarHiin was dead, and the Third were chafing at the constraints that had been set upon them.

In the wisdom of the First.

KeSaam did not like Contracts. He did not like the world above. It sat uneasily with him that the Allomancers could simply reach out and take control of kandra, even if the knowledge was fiercely-guarded now. But the Second were made for duty. It was graven on their bones. KeSaam did his duty, because the Contracts guaranteed the sanctity of the Homeland.

Because they remembered, the First and the Second, the days of fire and obsidian knives, the days where the Flaw was ruthlessly exploited and kandra exterminated by the humans. Because the Contracts were awful, but they were the best protection the kandra had, a formalised span of service. Because they were useful, the lords and ladies left them alone. The Contracts kept the Homeland safe.

A terrible price to pay.

KeSaam hadn't expected a lifetime of service. But he was kandra.

He endured.

Someone had killed TarHiin. He let out a long breath. The broom scratched against the stone, but his thoughts felt no cleaner. Only cluttered. Humans had done it, but there were those among the Third who would see it as a provocation and demand escalation on the part of the kandra. He knew that, the way he knew to shape flesh.

MaTriim and NoVeel had both accused each other of dissent, according to cavern rumours. KeSaam wasn't sure. It was too soon to tell. Perhaps so, but he'd a healthy respect for Stiiik [OOC: @_Stick_, please feel free to find a better name I can't do this and RP both .__. For anyone who's curious, decided to go with Paalm and Haddek style kandra names instead] and expected that she would conceal her views with subtlety. But he thought she'd been acquainted with some of the firebrands among the Third...

Edited September 18, 2022 by Kasimir
OOC colour, not sure if this helps

[Stick.]

Wait there’s no PMs? :[

5 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Have to brush up on the Blessings but otherwise it seems like this game won’t be so mechanic heavy  

True, and I actually kinda like it that way. Easier to follow  

2 hours ago, Kasimir said:

MaTriim and NoVeel had both accused each other of dissent, according to cavern rumours. KeSaam wasn't sure. It was too soon to tell. Perhaps so, but he'd a healthy respect for Stiiik [OOC: @_Stick_, please feel free to find a better name I can't do this and RP both .__. For anyone who's curious, decided to go with Paalm and Haddek style kandra names instead] and expected that she would conceal her views with subtlety. But he thought she'd been acquainted with some of the firebrands among the Third...

Yeah it seems like I’m the only player without an RP name xD Stiiik is fine. 

[---]

For some reason I thought this started on Sunday 

The Unknown Novel

Alcatraz 6 comes out this week I'm so excited 

[Kasimir]

1 hour ago, _Stick_ said:

Wait there’s no PMs? :[

KeSaam, too, was very sad that there would no be ability to confer privately with other kandra :[

He had expected it, and was prepared for it, but the idea that he could not assault his brothers in Preservation with discussion of the Sacred Queue and corgi memes was heartbreaking.

1 hour ago, _Stick_ said:

True, and I actually kinda like it that way. Easier to follow  

How was he going to live without complex rules?????????????????????

*Not Canon

[The Wandering Wizard]

Hello there! I'll be back in a few hours, probably.

Edited September 18, 2022 by The Wandering Wizard

[Araris Valerian]

It was certainly an odd thing, not remembering one's generation brothers and sisters. ArVaal paced the tunnels of the Homeland, the crystals in his True Body glinting softly green in the cavern's light. Menace they might be, the Thirds at least had an appreciation for the open sky, the world outside the Homeland, where one could enjoy a sunset from the comfort of a porch. One could respect that in them, but that did not change the danger they posed to the safety of all Kandra. The Thirds needed to be discovered and put in their places, whatever the cost, for it would not be as great as the harm should they succeed in taking control.

As ArVaal thought over the faces and True Bodies that he had seen lately, some of them sparked what might have been hints of memories. Nothing was sure, but MaTriim had prompted no such recollection. It was as good a place to start as any, he supposed.

 

[Shining Silhouette]

I think I'm going to like a less mechanic-based game

Xino

[Conquestor]

ConQuis watched on as Kandra after Kandra accused each other of betrayal. It was a rather disappointing and even frustrating sight. The homeland was protected by secrecy, only a few people actually knew where the homeland was. If the Second generation stayed here they would be safe. The Thirds could get a taste of what it would be like to be hunted down and destroyed.

No, we couldn't risk what might happen to all Kandra. We were already a mistrusted race and if a few of us destroyed what little trust we had with people, then the rest of us might never be able to get it back. No, the rest of the Seconds were right, we must root out this dissention before it was too late.

According to our laws, there must not be ties in the vote to imprison. We are a people of justice, and we cannot afford to fight amongst ourselves, well more than we are. "Why Mirtaam (TUN), are you looking to tie the votes? The only way we can root out the dissenters is through finding connections between them. We cannot do that without imprisoning someone."

[Mat]

1 hour ago, Araris Valerian said:

As ArVaal thought over the faces and True Bodies that he had seen lately, some of them sparked what might have been hints of memories. Nothing was sure, but MaTriim had prompted no such recollection. It was as good a place to start as any, he supposed.

Out for revenge after the QF, I see

33 minutes ago, Shining Silhouette said:

I think I'm going to like a less mechanic-based game

Someone who understands  

11 hours ago, Kasimir said:

MaTriim and NoVeel had both accused each other of dissent

I didn't ever accuse TUN, to clarify here. Currently voting Wiz, for a reason that isn't a poke.

Conq's vote (though I don't really agree with it) feels like v!Conq to me but other than that I'm takeless.

[Kasimir]

The rock garden swept, KeSaam sat on his porch and sipped at his tea.

He'd last taken on a Contract to impersonate a minor noble, before his return to the Homeland. Sometimes, he thought, you could take on a role, hold it dearer to you than bone, and then it clung like dust, even months later, in the comforting tunnels of the Homeland. You could not shake it off you.

Remnants of Tancred Malreaux clung to him. The Contract had gone on for months on end. KeSaam had not killed the man, but he had worn his bones, wielded that soft smile like a knife, and turned over the information to the noble family that had Contracted for him—Heron, KeSaam thought, that was the name—and left orphans in his wake. But you didn't wear a man's bones for months, and not expect to find some trace of him haunting you, as though he were a ghost.

It wasn't the bitter-leaf tea that Tancred Malreaux had enjoyed. It was a brew made from lichens and moss.

Tancred had loved his porch. And his study.

You could hate what the Contracts made of them. Of the kandra. And you could still accept it was necessary. That duty demanded of you what you would rather not give.

The accusations were beginning to trickle in. He pulled out a slate and began scribbling.

Quote

WiiZaad (1): MaTriim
MaTriim (1): NoVeel

MaTriim, by all reports, had been the first to begin the chain of accusation and counter-whisper. KeSaam set down the warm mug of tea on the porch, gently. NoVeel, then, had responded by accusing MaTriim. No one need be imprisoned, NoVeel had reasoned.

KeSaam knew NoVeel's sort. [OOC: Currently /shrug on TUN and washing the difference.] That ConQuis and IllWei had reportedly seized on that was something worth noting.

He scratched out further lines with his chalk. Accuracy, timing—those things mattered. Tancred Malreaux had known that. He had known about opportunity, and selecting the right moment.

Quote

WiiZaad (1): MaTriim
MaTriim (1): NoVeel
Stiiik (1): KeSaam
NoVeel (1): IllWei

It did not particularly surprise KeSaam that IllWei had latched onto NoVeel's comment. It was common enough for kandra to lament the state of affairs that the council's decision had landed them in. [OOC: Do not have a way to say this in RP and it's killing my brain so - Illwei latching onto it makes a wee bit more sense to me than Conq. I'm of the view that sometimes you just have to poke the obvious because you can't take it for granted. So that's what it is. Conq...well. More in a bit.]

ArVaal though, that old grouch, had made things more interesting. It was early, yet, and KeSaam did not think the others had yet come to a decision, but the movement was something he noted anyway. ArVaal had accused MaTriim.

Quote

WiiZaad (1): MaTriim
MaTriim (2): NoVeel, ArVaal
Stiiik (1): KeSaam
NoVeel (1): IllWei

All of a sudden, MaTriim was the leading contender for imprisonment.

But it was early yet.

And then, ConQuis, inscrutably, had queried as well after NoVeel's desire to tie the votes...

....By tying the votes between MaTriim and NoVeel. Was it protective of MaTriim? KeSaam was not certain. It was early. He knew it was early. But he kept his eyes open all the same. The apparent contradiction did stand out to him. Was ConQuis too quick to seize on NoVeel's comment? KeSaam did not know. The slight incongruity did ask to be pursued.

[OOC: Also no good way of saying this in RP - I'm trying something new. Orange means that I am willing to further pursue this if someone gives me reason / can be persuaded to vote this person. Go wild.]

13 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

I didn't ever accuse TUN, to clarify here. Currently voting Wiz, for a reason that isn't a poke.

KeSaam was corrected—his sources of cavern gossip seemed to have gone somewhat faulty.

All because he could not be bothered to bestir himself with more than his porch or his rock garden.

He suspected that he knew what was going on with MaTriim here.

[OOC: Yeah I realised I was confused and that you'd gone on Wiz, whoops. Should've done a tracker earlier  I legit nearly said 'yes, I know, I use 'accuse' in RP-speak for vote' and then only just internalised that TUN =/= Wiz >> ] 

Edited to add:

Oh, yeah: WiiZaad  

Edited September 18, 2022 by Kasimir

[Stick.]

7 hours ago, Kasimir said:

How was he going to live without complex rules????????????????????

Unimaginable  

29 minutes ago, Kasimir said:

Yeah I realised I was confused and that you'd gone on Wiz, whoops

I'd also mistaken Mat's vote on Wiz to be on TUN until literally just now, actually. Saw TUN's reactionary vote on Mat and somehow assumed Mat's earlier vote was on TUN cuz that's usually how them D1 squabbles go lol. Hadn't given much thought to TUN's vote for that reason but now I'm unsure what to think of it. I can see the 'no one will die' comment as an elim trying to give off a village mindset, but it also just seems kinda arbitrary. 

48 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Currently voting Wiz, for a reason that isn't a poke.

Also I'm missing something - why is Wiz suspicious? @Matrim's Dice @Kasimir I mean they hadn't even posted before Mat's vote which made it look like a random D1 vote but you say there's a reason, Mat? 

[Mat]

I don’t know about Kas, but I voted Wiz because he’d followed the thread 22 minutes ago at the time of my first post, and he hadn’t posted himself.

Then that normal ‘Hi hello’ post today makes me wonder why that didn’t come yesterday.

[Kasimir]

51 minutes ago, _Stick_ said:

Also I'm missing something - why is Wiz suspicious? @Matrim's Dice @Kasimir I mean they hadn't even posted before Mat's vote which made it look like a random D1 vote but you say there's a reason, Mat? 

[OOC: Bah I'm too tired to RP this. I did give myself a cosmetic role that I'll be trying to fulfil as much as I can but I will give myself a break from this one for the moment.

Basically, it's a really perfunctory answer from Wiz - Mat votes on Wiz, and Wiz sort of shows up, does a "I'm here!" and fades out. My sense of Wiz from playing I think...three (?) games with Wiz is that I wouldn't rule out the possibility it's a thoughtless V!Wiz thing. But something about it bugs me - it's like it's a low commitment post that's immediately responsive to a poke (zero commitment more than low commitment) and that displays a sensitivity to being voted on. And as I said with reference to Illwei and actually Araris in the last QF - yeah sometimes these are dead obvious things with likely responses, but you gotta flip the rock anyway and see what comes out.

That's for why Wiz in particular. My ulterior/secondary motive is that I'm trying out a variant of Drake/Maili and seeing how it goes. I've mentioned this before, but am being a bit circumspect about what it entails. But I think it should be pretty obvious what I am doing/hoping to achieve!]

Edited to add:

51 minutes ago, _Stick_ said:

I'd also mistaken Mat's vote on Wiz to be on TUN until literally just now, actually. Saw TUN's reactionary vote on Mat and somehow assumed Mat's earlier vote was on TUN cuz that's usually how them D1 squabbles go lol. Hadn't given much thought to TUN's vote for that reason but now I'm unsure what to think of it. I can see the 'no one will die' comment as an elim trying to give off a village mindset, but it also just seems kinda arbitrary. 

[OOC: I can see it going both ways, which is why I'm fairly noncommittal about it. It's a provocative action, which TUN must know would attract negative attention. Given E!TUN's allergy to aggressive attention, I could give a fractional Village point for it. But it's diluted by the fact that I haven't seen E!TUN in action in forever, and I'm fairly certain TUN will have changed his playstyle by now, and relying on ancient playstyle memories gets you burned.

I also recognise that TUN's calculus is somewhat perpendicular to mine, so I am not even sure projecting that way makes sense. So he gets a /shrug from me and the acknowledgement this is a rock that had to be flipped. (By which I mean that sometimes you just have to ask the question or pursue the line of inquiry, regardless of whether you think it is going to be fruitful. Because sometimes the asking is what matters. But okay, anyway.) Moving on.]

Edited to add 2:

34 minutes ago, Matrim's Dice said:

I don’t know about Kas, but I voted Wiz because he’d followed the thread 22 minutes ago at the time of my first post, and he hadn’t posted himself.

Then that normal ‘Hi hello’ post today makes me wonder why that didn’t come yesterday.

It is curious that I have a better intuitive feeling about this post than I did for pretty much every single thing Mat said in the QF. Which is bloody loltastic because this is absolutely an early D1 post in every sense of the word and makes me wonder if I'm actually drunk.

I await the return of Terribad Gut Feelings about Mat and the discovery that he is actually Evil .__.

Edited to add 3:

Missed the Xino vote. Don't hire me as a vote counter. I will bow my head in vote counter shame.

Quote

WiiZaad (1): MaTriim
MaTriim (2): NoVeel, ArVaal
Stiiik (1): KeSaam
NoVeel (2): IllWei, ConQuis
NottIt (1): Taazzel

Updated vote count. You're welcome, future Kas.

Edited September 18, 2022 by Kasimir
formatting

[xinoehp512]

Hi everyone! Feels like it's been a bit.

I'm confined to mobile for the foreseeable future so I'm sure that will do great things to my already stellar activity levels. 

Standard reminder ties are of the eliminators yadda yadda yadda I'm sure this is nothing new. Maybe slight sus towards TUN for his attitude towards ties but it was the second post in the cycle he didn't exactly have much of a choice. :P.

Sadly I can't do vote counts on a phone. I can already tell keeping track is going to be a headache...

For now I will put pressure on Wizard.

[The Wandering Wizard]

1 hour ago, Matrim's Dice said:

I don’t know about Kas, but I voted Wiz because he’d followed the thread 22 minutes ago at the time of my first post, and he hadn’t posted himself.

Then that normal ‘Hi hello’ post today makes me wonder why that didn’t come yesterday.

It was 11 last night and I really should have been asleep

1 hour ago, Kasimir said:

Wiz sort of shows up, does a "I'm here!" and fades out.

I had to go get ready to leave and didn't have much time. I tend to check in on Sundays but not post.

[SymphonianBookworm]

Hi, sorry I was away for a bit. I've had a lot of homework and just work these past couple of days.
 

Spoiler

Did I miss anything important?

 

[Araris Valerian]

3 hours ago, Matrim's Dice said:

Out for revenge after the QF, I see

Nah, you'll have to wait until you're busy at EOD for that to happen . 

[The Unknown Ajah]

9 hours ago, Illwei said:

For some reason I thought this started on Sunday 

The Unknown Novel

Alcatraz 6 comes out this week I'm so excited 

Sighs.

I'd be more excited if I'd read the later books yet, only gotten through book three so far.

49 minutes ago, SymphonianBookworm said:

Hi, sorry I was away for a bit. I've had a lot of homework and just work these past couple of days.
 

  Reveal hidden contents

Did I miss anything important?

 

Not really.

Not liking Araris’s vote on Mat, since he has decent reasoning for the Wiz vote. And since it was a joke, Mat.

@Ashbringer, I'm NoVeel now btw.

 

[---]

Tun is likely village and if he's not he's never on a team with Mat

Araris

[Araris Valerian]

4 hours ago, Illwei said:

Tun is likely village and if he's not he's never on a team with Mat

Araris

I agree with the first part of this post, in that e!TUN would likely only retract from v!Mat at this point if the elims had a different preferred target and neither of the two other players with 2 votes was elim. And his defense of Mat has no reasoning, so it would be a poor e/e play. Which means all things considered, Mat is a bit less likely to be elim than random, since his e/e pairing with TUN is unlikely. (to clarify, I'm talking this out both to make sure that I actually agree, and because we have newer players that probably care to hear some reasoning behind things)

My vote is going to fall on Stiiik instead then.

[Conquestor]

11 hours ago, Kasimir said:

And then, ConQuis, inscrutably, had queried as well after NoVeel's desire to tie the votes...

....By tying the votes between MaTriim and NoVeel. Was it protective of MaTriim? KeSaam was not certain. It was early. He knew it was early. But he kept his eyes open all the same. The apparent contradiction did stand out to him. Was ConQuis too quick to seize on NoVeel's comment? KeSaam did not know. The slight incongruity did ask to be pursued.

"Hmmmm, I must be getting old." ConQuis thought to himself. It wasn't like him to not take thought when he spoke. It was a slip up that he was sad to have made, but it made no difference. As things have moved on since his words, however, he would have to be more cautious in the future. Now we're dangerous times. Long time friends and allies could be your darkest enemies in the next moment. 

MaTriim was... An interesting person. They smiled and were a great friend, but ConQuis always got the feeling that they would just as easily stab you in the back. Things have swayed back and forth so much as people have shouted at one person and then another. 

ConQuis paused in his thoughts as he grabbed a small white crystal and absorbed it into his body. A second later, a similar crystal came out of his hand and he put it down on the ground. He liked shaping his body into fantastic shapes, unlike any Noble, Skaa, or Terrisman. It helped him to feel at home. In this form, in this shape, he was not fulfilling a contract. It did have its cons though. He looked again at the crystal he put down, it was cracked. Yes, these materials were beautiful, but fragile. In times like these, it may be best to go with something sturdier... But not bone. No, that would make him itch and worry what imaginary master would have him do. 

Turning his thoughts away from such dark dwellings, he focused his attention to the matter at hand. The imprisonment. 

Quote

WiiZaad (2): MaTriim, NottIt (xino) 

Stiiik (2): KeSaam, ArVaal 

NoVeel (1): ConQuis

NottIt (1): Taazzel

ArVaal (1): IllWei

WiiZaad was being far too quiet despite being one of the people being highly investigated. Stiiik was asking questions and started to be investigated himself. Perhaps his questions hit too close to home? Perhaps not though. ArVaal came up as a point of discussion among many circles, however, he himself is one of those Investigating Stiiik. Is it an attempt to take some of the focus off of himself? Of course, what Kandra wants to be at the center of attention at a time like this? Whether seen as too bad or too good, you will not have much time left in the free air. 

 

Edit: @Matrim's Dice Why all of the  emojis? You've had one in almost every sentence. 

Edited September 19, 2022 by Conquestor

[Kasimir]

3 hours ago, Araris Valerian said:

I agree with the first part of this post, in that e!TUN would likely only retract from v!Mat at this point if the elims had a different preferred target and neither of the two other players with 2 votes was elim. And his defense of Mat has no reasoning, so it would be a poor e/e play. Which means all things considered, Mat is a bit less likely to be elim than random, since his e/e pairing with TUN is unlikely. (to clarify, I'm talking this out both to make sure that I actually agree, and because we have newer players that probably care to hear some reasoning behind things)

[OOC: Just newer players? ]

[Mat]

6 hours ago, Conquestor said:

Edit: @Matrim's Dice Why all of the  emojis? You've had one in almost every sentence. 

No reason lol. I mean, most of them (maybe all) were after a reference to the recent QF, so I suppose that’s the reason.