Burnt Spaghetti she/her Posted February 25 Posted February 25 1 minute ago, Doc12 said: Thistle sagged with relief at a familiar face. "Cindra! You're here! I didn't know who made it and who... didn't." They looked around again, wildly. "It's... it's my friend, Zymni. She's... uh. Not from around here - sensitive to sunlight. I found her hiding from the sun while foraging one day, and she... followed me home and I let them stay with me and work at my shop." They bit back a choked sob. "She was so excited for the Hero's Carnival, and I...lost her. I lost her when the chaos started and I haven't seen her since and I've been too busy to look for her - Goddess, i’ve been too busy to look for her - and now I don't even know if she's alive!" Cindra was saying something - making comforting noises that slid off Thistle’s ears. Suddenly all they could hear was their heartbeat pounding in their ears. They tried to focus on Cindra’s face, her wide, concerned eyes. Thistle attempted to steady their breathing. “She’s young, dark-skinned, bright eyes, loves to hide in shadows, which is why I’m checking all of them.” To anyone looking, Thistle’s face sharpened in single-minded determination, having found a purpose to cling onto. “Could you… Could you help keep an eye out for her?” “Hey hey its. Okay. You've been doing the best you can given the circumstances, its going to be okay” well it probably isn't okay, but one has to believe right? Hope is an important thing to have. Cindra put a hand on Thistles shoulder in an attempt to comfort. “You said the name was Zymni? Slow down I can't understand you while you're crying. Breathe. In and out. There you go. Loves shadows you say? Okay, that's something we can work with" certainly makes it hard to see someone though if they're dark skinned and in the shadows so, thats great. "I can help you look absolutely, we can even let others know to keep an eye out. If they aren't from Clocktown then perhaps they are more familiar with travelling and being on the road, so as long as they made it out of town i'm sure they'll be okay, right? Right now we can search the halls, but ultimately all we can do is take care of ourselves. Have you had something to eat? Something to drink?" 1
Wonko the Sane he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 Zymni flitted forwards through the dark, spooky forest, having the time of her life. Monsters lunged out of the darkness to snap at her, only to find her suddenly teleported behind them, her tongue out as she bopped them soundly on the heads. The more she thought about it, the more confident she was that these events were exactly the thing she'd come to Clocktown for. If there were answers about how to travel back to her time and Realm, they lay down this path. She grinned, turning a little twirl in the air as she continued pushing forward towards where she'd seen the group in the distance. Things might finally be looking up for her.
Doc12 Posted February 25 Posted February 25 4 minutes ago, Wonko the Sane said: Zymni flitted forwards through the dark, spooky forest, having the time of her life. Monsters lunged out of the darkness to snap at her, only to find her suddenly teleported behind them, her tongue out as she bopped them soundly on the heads. The more she thought about it, the more confident she was that these events were exactly the thing she'd come to Clocktown for. If there were answers about how to travel back to her time and Realm, they lay down this path. She grinned, turning a little twirl in the air as she continued pushing forward towards where she'd seen the group in the distance. Things might finally be looking up for her. She's alive! XD 16 minutes ago, Burnt Spaghetti said: “Hey hey its. Okay. You've been doing the best you can given the circumstances, its going to be okay” well it probably isn't okay, but one has to believe right? Hope is an important thing to have. Cindra put a hand on Thistles shoulder in an attempt to comfort. “You said the name was Zymni? Slow down I can't understand you while you're crying. Breathe. In and out. There you go. Loves shadows you say? Okay, that's something we can work with" certainly makes it hard to see someone though if they're dark skinned and in the shadows so, thats great. "I can help you look absolutely, we can even let others know to keep an eye out. If they aren't from Clocktown then perhaps they are more familiar with travelling and being on the road, so as long as they made it out of town i'm sure they'll be okay, right? Right now we can search the halls, but ultimately all we can do is take care of ourselves. Have you had something to eat? Something to drink?" Thistle nods, a little too fast. "Thank you, Cindra, I'm going to keep searching now." Cindra was still looking at them with eyes full of worry, and Thistle got the nagging suspicion that the worry was less for their friend than Thistle themselves. "If you're going to tell me to rest, I can't." Resting would mean sitting again and letting everything crash into them. Their store, abandoned. Zymni, forgotten in the tumult. A dozen faces in agony amidst the mud and trees whose pain Thistle couldn't entirely ease. If they could find Zymni, then perhaps. Perhaps they could settle enough to rest. Thistle smiled at Cindra again, too-bright. "I'm going to check the outskirts of the palace - I'll be safe, don't worry." A pause. "Thank you, again... I don't know if I had the chance to thank you, for getting me out..." A deep breath. "I... I'm sorry our plans to make flower crowns didn't work out... that would have been so much fun." 1
Myst He/Him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 Kieran tripped, a jagged rock seemingly from out of nowhere bringing him down. He hissed with pain, biting his tongue to keep the noise down. “Hssss, ow, ow!” Kieran hauled himself up, he’d been distracted, he thought he had heard something “Must’ve been the wind”
Wonko the Sane he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 7 minutes ago, Doc12 said: She's alive! XD Yeah. I decided that she got separated during the explosions and she's been trying to catch up to events ever since, as an explanation for why I have only a very fuzzy idea of what's been happening in the narrative. I figure that she'll probably catch up sometime in early N3A or late D3A, just in time for some kind of big dramatic action, hero-style. Zymni drew up short as she saw the wreckage of a battlefield ahead. What had happened here? She approached cautiously. Bodies littered the ground. Skulltulas, Peahats, Wolfos... it was like some kind of army had attacked the refugee group. What in the name of the Fused Shadow? Zymni decided not to look around too much more. She was very much afraid that if she did, she might find bodies that didn't belong to monsters. Instead, she turned ahead, and, worry heavy in her heart, continued the journey south. She'd finally realized that they were heading towards the Deku Palace. Why, though? A question for when she caught up, she supposed. For now, she couldn't be of any help from all the way back here. She stiffened her expression, and did her best to quicken her pace as she zipped forward between the trees. 1
Burnt Spaghetti she/her Posted February 25 Posted February 25 22 minutes ago, Doc12 said: Thistle nods, a little too fast. "Thank you, Cindra, I'm going to keep searching now." Cindra was still looking at them with eyes full of worry, and Thistle got the nagging suspicion that the worry was less for their friend than Thistle themselves. "If you're going to tell me to rest, I can't." Resting would mean sitting again and letting everything crash into them. Their store, abandoned. Zymni, forgotten in the tumult. A dozen faces in agony amidst the mud and trees whose pain Thistle couldn't entirely ease. If they could find Zymni, then perhaps. Perhaps they could settle enough to rest. Thistle smiled at Cindra again, too-bright. "I'm going to check the outskirts of the palace - I'll be safe, don't worry." A pause. "Thank you, again... I don't know if I had the chance to thank you, for getting me out..." A deep breath. "I... I'm sorry our plans to make flower crowns didn't work out... that would have been so much fun." Cindra smiled sadly, thinking about all the plans and preparation for the festival. She'd forgotten about the flower crowns. She really had been looking forward to that. She let her hand rest over her pocket, where the warm safflina and swift violet sat crumpled, "There is no thanks needed. Maybe.. Maybe after all this is over, we can revisit those plans. I hope one day soon we can sit over tea again and create beautiful things with all our friends. One day these events will merely be the stories we tell grandchildren as cautionary tales, and not as our current reality. I look forward to that time. I wish you all the best with your search, I'll keep my eye out around here."
Wonko the Sane he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 (edited) So, there was less analysis to catch up on than I expected, but here's the responses that came to mind while reading: 4 hours ago, Haelbarde said: While I feel like I've gotten a better feel for some of the mechanical consequences of the rules of this game, my conclusion was that nothing matters, at least not this loop. >> Which is a pity, because solving through mechanical analysis is my preferred approach. Alas. Now that's interesting, because from my perspective the majority of discussion so far HAS been mech analysis, and we've drawn some pretty extensive conclusions; one of which is that this is potentially the MOST important Loop of the game. What's led you to the opposite conclusion? 3 hours ago, Doc12 said: I think I'm following, and your narrative does make sense - what do you make of his pivot away from Wahr at the end of the day and asking me to vote on someone I suspected? Hm. Well, to be honest, I hadn't factored it in, likely because I really only skimmed N2A and had forgotten it. But it seems like it was far too late to be anything other than symbolic, given the size of the train on Wahr, right? So I guess I'd say it's tentative evidence against my hypothesis, but not really a full refutation or anything; and if the evidence starts to lean towards e!Archer, it's an action that deserves careful analysis, because then we know it was performative. 3 hours ago, Doc12 said: You guys are weird My analysis yesterday took me almost 3 hours, while I can write a full page of rp in like ten minutes. Analysis requires me to take notes on what everyone's saying, cross reference with what they said from other days, look for connections, and condense all they've said and done into a reads list. it makes my head hurt XD I mean, in fairness, maybe that's why I'm so bad at it. I almost never take notes or pay close attention to behavior, I just reason through things as I read and respond based on what comes to mind at the time. I could probably do with taking more notes; it would almost certainly make me a lot more effective. Ever so slowly, the sky began to lighten. Zymni cursed under her breath. She wasn't anywhere near to catching up. If only it weren't for this stupid way-too-bright sun that the Light Realm-dwellers were all so fond of. How could they even stand it? She pressed forward, racing the dawn. Every minute counted, and she didn't have the time to spare complaining about what she couldn't control. Edited February 25 by Wonko the Sane
Divergent He/Him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 As he waited for the man to return with the rations, Gor Elam couldn't help but think about home. It hadn't even been that long since he left the Goron Village, but he missed it already. How was his family doing? Were they still surviving despite the freezing cold that harassed them day and night? Were they still able to have enough food to eat? He felt worried about how they were doing. They were a resilient bunch, the Goron, but no race was ever invincible to the cruel whims of nature. His thoughts drifted to what had happened in Clock Town. How did a day celebrating the Hero of Time start so vibrant and festive and then later turn to havoc and chaos? Was this a premeditated attack by a surviving enemy of the Hero? He wondered whether the incident during the Hero's Carnival had any connection to the shift in the climate in his village. That made him feel a little anxious. Maybe the problems weren't over and were they to follow them here in the Deku Palace, he needed to prepare himself for the worst. But first, he needed to fill his stomach. 1
The Unknown Medallion he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 On 2/22/2026 at 8:49 AM, Archer said: I meant that if you exe me, I might end up village confirmed. ^ this you? Please do not claim this until L2D1. Worth discussing the possibility once we see what happens after L1N2. That's what an elim gathering rupees would say Our best case scenario is actually everyone getting max rupees every time. Sadly, in SE, the elims are generally more motivated and more likely to break from their usual playstyle to get an edge. Some villagers will do it, most elims will do it. Please do go for the max whenever you have the capacity to. D2 we should focus on pressure voting. We can consider this D3, once we know if there's an N2 NK. The absurd confidence of declaring Honor an elim felt like you made up a list of people - perhaps those you actually thought were villagers and were hoping to reverse psychology the NK onto a real suspect of yours. I misread it. Re: Elim strats: I usually start the game with a discussion prompt to get reactions. My plan was the one I had pre-written, to be posted D2. Didn't realize it wasn't a very original idea. Wonko's post made me move up the timeline. Further discussion was mostly to try for a freeze reaction. What I didn't want was an elim team that confidently knew what they wanted to do, in hopes they'd default to a standard NK. (Skipping the NK isn't a freeze btw, it's a planful decision.) You see what happened when I got an extra rupee D1 was I helpfully informed Aman that he'd made a mistake and went about my day Guess I should have kept reading that thread I did get confirmation that the GM doesn't automatically give your rupees just for posting. There is an effort bar, albeit a low one. One last thing on that, our best option in a vacuum is testing people who are hardest to read due to their playstyle. Going to respond to Wahr in a merged post: I don't disagree, but I'll note the difference between how you responded to this and how Burnt did. You laid out reasons that are pretty self-evident, while Burnt just said 'yeah, sue me :P'. It's elimmy to be worried about the perception of trying too hard, hence why I sussed Coder for being so self-conscious about it. Ultimately, if the elims were planning to skip the NK, they probably wouldn't be the first to discuss the possibility in thread. Me and half the players voted for you that round I tend to focus on inconsistencies, so we're a bad pairing. I do like the 'gosh, you suck!' energy of that vote, so I'll happily back off. Wahr The Unknown You had that one RP post that is stuck in my mind. I can't explain why I thought it was suspicious, and it's objectively not, but I keep going back to it. Reveal hidden contents Poor Heroshi got burned with the rest of the city but is still getting sus On 2/22/2026 at 2:44 PM, Wonko the Sane said: Why doesn't this put suspicion on me? I explicitly made sure to get extra posts in at the end of D1A in order to maximize rupees, and I said aloud that I was doing so. I don't have the numbers on the rest, but you've miscounted my posts. I received the maximum 10 Rupees at the end of D1A, as I planned for and said I was going to. I would recount your data, given that. I can understand that; it may well have been a mistake. As Archer pointed out, I robbed the elims of the opportunity to blunder. I tend to neglect the possibility of enemy errors in these games; unconsciously assuming optimum play from the other team. But regardless, I'm still confused about why you think it's alignment indicative. What is the motive for e!Wonko to make that mistake (if such it be) that v!Wonko wouldn't have? I'm sympathetic to Araris's argument that I'm being a little too passive, just sharing observations rather than proactively planning. But you seem to be arguing that my explaining strategies for the elims is suspicious behavior. Surely if I were an elim, and I wanted to alert the elims to that strategy, I would do it in the doc? This is more or less the motive behind my Archer vote. I have suspicions about him, but they're not well-formed yet. However, he's also in my opinion the number one best Villager for us to kill right now. As for me, I was kind of hoping on farming rupees this loop, but I'm also open to being a sacrifice; I'm definitely vocal enough to be a good choice of villager to confirm (though I also think that I'm only mediocre at the game, which makes me slightly less ideal). As I mentioned before, my gut on this tells me that decision was a pivot in response to the discussion D1A. So they originally planned to lie low, but having so much attention called to that strategy motivated them to switch it up and go for the riskier play, to avoid predictability. I could very well see Archer making that call. In particular, there's a light in which his initial response to me can read as attempting to get out in front of me calling exactly what he had been planning up to that point. It's only a moderate suspicion, but combined with the fact he's a pretty good choice of exe even if he's a Villager is what motivates my vote. This... feels distinctly like a mask claim, no? Like, barely even an attempt was made to disguise that. I don't know you very well, so I can't really assess how this indicates your alignment, but it feels like you want us to think you have a mask, while making it seem like you're hiding it. If you genuinely are hiding it, that was... not very subtle. Are you asking to be exed? That's what Burnt was talking about there, and it's seemed up to this point like you were at best neutral on the possibility of you dying. What's changed? Do you have any actual justification for that vote? Because I'm very wary of a vote that supports an existing train, apparently cast entirely for playful reasons. The question isn't how you guessed that it was allowed. It's why the thought jumped to mind for you when no one else was yet considering it. What specifically brought it to your mind as something the elims might choose to do? Well, my suspicion with Archer would be that he initially DID plan on losing the round, but pivoted in response to the discussion. Given that, he'd still have to verbally commit to his prior claim that he'd be happy to be exed, while hoping that it doesn't actually happen. Notably, while his volunteering has been repeatedly brought up today, he hasn't directly commented on it whatsoever, and has instead been actively working on solving for a different person to kill today. Now, that can also be explained as him reacting to the lack of an NK with a more focused desire to exe an elim, but I do think it's worth paying attention to. Now hold on, neither Burnt nor I was saying that. We both said that we should be looking for an elim if possible, BUT that we should as a secondary consideration be thinking of what the list of dead players will look like if we DO lose the Loop. Archer absolutely IS one of my bigger suspicions, for reasons I outlined as I voted for him. He's just ALSO the person I'm happiest misexing if my suspicions are wrong. You also can't send Post more than 5 people in a cycle, if I'm understanding the rules correctly. I mean, or until they've used the mask twice, right? Once they no longer have the powers, I don't see any harm in revealing what they did with them. Did you seriously think that was a possibility after the discussion that day? What would their thought process have been, in your mind -- after reading our explanation of the dynamics at play -- that would lead them to still default to treating this like a normal game? I see your thinking, but I really don't see it as particularly indicative on Burnt. She does not fold easily under pressure, as I recall; her response is totally in character with what e!Burnt would have said. Does it read to you like it was a premeditated decision, unmotivated by the discussion that day? That seems notably less likely than the alternative, to me. Huh. Yes, that is you saying something that has already been said, like, a lot. It has been THE biggest discussion topic so far this game. Which, honestly, kind of raises your trust level for me? I feel like you would have been made aware of this in the doc. The issue with that is that if there's an elim in there, the dead doc is a terrible place for private communication, and they don't get to know whether it's safe until AFTER they're done communicating there. Not saying we shouldn't be going for elims -- we should -- but I'd caution very strongly against treating the dead doc like a PM if we do. Not sure why treating the dead doc like a PM is a problem tbh. You can never be sure PMs are safe in a normal game, in fact, the dead doc at least you can retroactively know was safe after the loop. On 2/22/2026 at 6:40 PM, Archer said: How about some reads, huh! Derp Clears —Village: Mistfallen Soldier L1N1, Mistfallen was confused whether or not an NK occurred, which wasn’t yet possible, as an elim would know if they had been coordinating who would put in the kill. The edited self depreciation sells this as genuine for me. —Light village: Honor’s Ghost L1N1 seemed not to realize deaths weren’t possible yet. This tracks for a genuine low active, rather than a lurker. —Light village: Coder L1D1 and beyond, Coder references their relentless pursuit of rupees. I think that on balance, drawing attention to yourself so much feels villagery, although I’m careful to call self-conscious behavior villagey. Elims Wouldn’t Say That: –Village: Coco L1D1, they discuss skipping the NK, which was the ultimate course of action. I doubt the elims would bring it up publicly beforehand. Bonus comment: L1D1, they ask if there’s anything left to do. That’s presumably on the elims’ minds, but it’d be weird to ask the same question publicly. —Village: Wahr L1D1 they discuss skipping the NK, which is a conversation best kept in the elim doc. —Light village: Doc L1D1, they made this comment which I can’t imagine them sharing if they had an elim doc to put it in. Light read because Doc’s cheeky. Situational and Other Reads —Very light village: Divergent L1N1, they made this post asking for permission to share their thoughts, which they later did. My theory would be that an elim pushing the pace just suggests it, while Divergent saying they’re ‘mulling it over’ feels genuine. This is easily mistaken for an elim trying not to catch similar heat to Wonko and I, so it’s a light read. —Light village; Wonko Situationally, choosing not to NK when you’re under suspicion means you’re likely to end up in a pool of four suspects, rather than five. There’s still reasons to do it, but it’s risk. *** I'm left with a POE of TUO, Araris, TJ, Ashbringer, Hael, Burnt, Hoid. Is that because I'm less likely to ascribe derp clears to players who fit the meta I'm familiar with more? Is it likely the elim team has a better mix of new and old faces? Probably. Lets discuss where I've gone wrong! Also, I realized I clocked that one Unknown post because it didn't have any dialogue in the RP. Probably a false positive from my pattern recognition subconscious. Unknown Burnt Dialogue is hard when you have a boring character, not much time, and an unfamiliar setting On 2/22/2026 at 9:07 PM, Ashbringer said: If I had to guess, about halfway through the night, with a more engaged team (ie one with you/Archer, perhaps Coder) deciding earlier. Depends how much a team not involved in D1's meta-discussion reads into the meta, or how much a team that was involved would want to explain the strategy that actually happened. E!Wonko or E!Archer could just leave the kill up to another member pretty easily. Assuming the kill was actually skipped. I see the value in one team "throwing" the first loop in order to get a better (or worse) picture for the Village in terms of alignments, but it's still a little backwards to me, and what you'd said earlier about the rationale for skipping a kill was somewhat confusing. If the Elims want to throw, they can do so at any time by NKing one of their own, if one isn't caught - obviously that's not ideal for them if it's obvious, but without the alignment-judging abilities of Process of Elimination it becomes easier to not make it so. ... actually... hmm. Perhaps I get the reasoning. Less of a pool, and less early, in the case of a win. Still odd to me. Part of the game with skipping kills in a game with roleblocks is that if you purposefully withold a kill, you 4x your chances of a roleblocker hitting any one Elim and announcing it to the thread, rather than the one Elim actually sending in the kill. I can see a world where the elims withhold the kill n1, then kill regardless n2 to make us think Wahr is an elim I'm beginning page 6 of d2, wish me luck
Wonko the Sane he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 At last, as dawn began to fully get underway and Zymni began to feel the sensation of her essence eroding in the blooming Light, she dove down to the forest floor to find a place to hide out through the day. Frustrated, she found an abandoned badger's den that could accommodate her, and crawled inside. She'd made remarkable progress, but the group was still a quarter day's journey ahead of her. Once again, she'd be forced to sit out the day, waiting anxiously for the blasted sky-fire to go dark again so she could continue trying to catch up. Well, she reasoned, at least this time, they were unlikely to get farther away while she waited. For whatever reason, it seemed like the Deku Palace had been their destination. With any luck, they'd still be there when the sun set, and she could finally unite with Thistle and the others. She settled in for a long day's wait. Whew! five RP posts. I do not know how you people do this; some of you write more than my entire cycle's worth of RP in a single post, and call that low effort. Anyway, looking forward to seeing how the elims have decided to respond to Wahr's execution. See you all after turnover! 1
Ashbringer he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 1 hour ago, Divergent said: Gor Elam breathed a sigh of relief when the guard's expression changed from one with hostility to one with understanding. He didn't know what he would have done if it hadn't come to a peaceful resolution. He had never been a fighter before and though he had journeyed a long way from the Snowhead region, of which he had encountered different types of monsters along the way, he had mostly overcome those obstacles by being more strategic with his route and only getting into a fight if he knew he could handle the amount of monsters he were to face. He knew that if he tried to run away, this person would have pursued him relentlessly, and Goron weren't exactly known for having the swiftest of speeds. "Our diets tend to comprise more of minerals. Perhaps, we could be called mineralarians? But, I'm well-aware other races do not share the same tastes for ores and rocks as we, Goron, do," he answered the guard. "I am open to any food you may have available. Thank you for your kindness." He shared a smile with the man who soon went into the kitchen to fetch a ration for him. He found that it was a good idea for these guards to hand out rations themselves rather than have a bunch of people coming and going in the kitchens, and potentially cause a mess, especially when so many of them were not only hungry, but also exhausted and antsy. AraRaash - perhaps for now AraMarton - gave a quick nod in assent, as if that information was something he should have thought of before. In truth, the Goron family he'd been with briefly had seemed to eat whatever Coliver or the others in their little troupe had cooked up, but it did make some sense. Reminded him a bit of home, actually. Most things did. The kitchens themselves were bustling, and AraMarton wasn't particularly sure if that was normal or not. "Excuse me... can I get a meal for a Goron? He's got a mineral preference but speed is probably better." And, like a strange plant-based clockwork, within a few moments he held a small but deep bowl of stew in his hands. The Deku didn't seem much for conversation, but they understood him well enough, which was also a bit surprising. Though not as surprising as the bit of shiny material within the meal. "I'm not sure if the dumplings are just stale or if they're actual rocks, but we've got stew!" AraMarton said upon his return, but the Goron seemed lost in his thoughts a bit. He handed the stew over anyway. "Again, apologies for the fuss, and for... well. The name's Marton, from one of the further oceans. Did you make it out with anyone? I don't believe I caught your name." 1
Myst He/Him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 Kieran pulled himself off the ground, frantically searching his surroundings, he knew he heard something… he just didn’t know what… ”Is anyone there? Anyone!?” No response came. He grabbed his short sword - it had fallen to the side as Del fell - unsheathing it as well. He brandished it around. This was legitimately scary “Im sure its just someone lost as well” he said unconvincingly
Haelbarde he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 Feeling a little more like himself for having eaten, now it was time to sleep. He was very tempted to just curl up beside the hearth, but that would probably be rude. So he wearily stomped out into the hall. Half an hour of trying to find anything resembling a bedroom later, with a lot of trying to flag down someone who looked like they knew what they were doing or where things were, only to fail to do so quickly enough before they hurried past and down another hallway, he stumbled back into the same messhall he had started in. Sleeping by the hearth it was. Rolling up, sleep found him quickly. 1
Divergent He/Him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 6 minutes ago, Ashbringer said: AraRaash - perhaps for now AraMarton - gave a quick nod in assent, as if that information was something he should have thought of before. In truth, the Goron family he'd been with briefly had seemed to eat whatever Coliver or the others in their little troupe had cooked up, but it did make some sense. Reminded him a bit of home, actually. Most things did. The kitchens themselves were bustling, and AraMarton wasn't particularly sure if that was normal or not. "Excuse me... can I get a meal for a Goron? He's got a mineral preference but speed is probably better." And, like a strange plant-based clockwork, within a few moments he held a small but deep bowl of stew in his hands. The Deku didn't seem much for conversation, but they understood him well enough, which was also a bit surprising. Though not as surprising as the bit of shiny material within the meal. "I'm not sure if the dumplings are just stale or if they're actual rocks, but we've got stew!" AraMarton said upon his return, but the Goron seemed lost in his thoughts a bit. He handed the stew over anyway. "Again, apologies for the fuss, and for... well. The name's Marton, from one of the further oceans. Did you make it out with anyone? I don't believe I caught your name." Gor Elam was pulled away from his thoughts when he felt someone nudge him. He turned and it was the guard, who had returned from the kitchen and had brought him the food he had promised. "I'm Gor Elam from the Goron Village in the Snowhead region," he beamed. "A pleasure to make your acquaintance, Marton. I had been traveling on my own since leaving my village and somehow made it out here after getting hit by debris during the commotion over in Clock Town. It would be nice if I could meet the person who saved me and brought me here." 1
Amanuensis he/him Posted February 25 Author Posted February 25 N2-A is now closed. Please stand by for D3-A. It might take me a bit. 2
Amanuensis he/him Posted February 25 Author Posted February 25 (edited) LG110, Day 3-A: Save the Queen Day 3-A will end on Thursday, February 26th @ 10:00 PM EST. Professor Kashika She found the girl in the east corridor, sitting on the floor with her back against the wall and her knees drawn up, watching the traffic of exhausted people moving past her with the particular stillness of someone who has used up their capacity for reaction. The Deku mask — the Hero's mask, Kashika reminded herself, and felt the weight of that land freshly — had gone slightly luminous in the low torch light. An artifact effect, or the mask's own nature. Hard to say without instruments. Kashika sat down on the floor beside her. The Deku girl looked at her. Then looked away. "Your grandfather sent you to me," Kashika said. "So I already know you're not an ordinary Deku Scrub. You don't need to be shy." A pause. Then the girl made a sound — a sequence of short, reedy notes that rose at the end in the rhythm of a question. "I know," Kashika said. "It's frustrating. Your mind knows what it wants to say and your body has different ideas." She settled her back against the wall. "I've been the Woodfall Ambassador for six years, which fortunately for you, means I speak Deku. So here is what I want you to do: speak to me as if you're speaking your own language. Don't try to translate it. Don't think about the sounds. Just tell me what you want to tell me and let the mask do the rest." The girl looked at her with the mask's fixed expression, which communicated nothing. The eyes underneath it — Kashika could just see them, the way you see a face through thin fabric — communicated quite a lot. Then she spoke. What came out was Deku, a stream of it, the quick overlapping syllables that the Scrubs used when they had a great deal to say and limited patience for the pace of other languages. But underneath it, like a melody heard through a wall, Kashika could hear the shape of something else. A girl's voice. Telling a story. She listened carefully, asked three clarifying questions, and listened again. When the girl finished, Kashika was quiet for a moment. "Two separate actors," she said. "The figure wearing the mask — this new Skull Kid — who your grandfather believes is unconnected to the Dreamers. And the Dreamers themselves, who were using the chaos as cover." She turned this over. "The mask theft happened before the Dreamers arrived at the shop. Before the Skull Kid appeared at the Carnival. Someone knew the mask was there, knew the night of the Carnival was the moment to move, and moved precisely." She opened her notebook. "And separately, the Dreamers raided the shop's collection. Different goal. Different timing. They're not coordinating, and the Skull Kid might not even be aware of the Dreamers' machinations." The girl made a shorter sound. 'Makes sense.' "Your grandfather is a difficult man to surprise," Kashika said, mostly to herself. She wrote for a moment, then stopped. "And the Stalchildren here. The Deku Queen taken in the night." She looked at the notebook without seeing it. "The Dreamers have been busy." She closed the notebook and stood, brushing dust from her coat. "Come with me," she said. "There's something I want to show you." Her workroom was the only room in the palace that looked like she'd had a hand in furnishing it. The Deku aesthetic ran to carved wood and growing things; Kashika's ran to stacked paper and instruments in various states of disassembly and a large chalkboard that she'd had carried from Clock Town in pieces and reassembled here over the course of an afternoon that Ishala still occasionally mentioned. The Moon Tears were stored in a case against the far wall — thirty-two of them, each in its own velvet cradle, the crystallized tears of the moon caught on the business scrub's counter thirty-three years ago and brought by his children to her father, who had brought them to her. She unlocked the case. She did not take out a Moon Tear. She took out the thing beside the case: a small ocarina, pale blue-white, the color of winter sky just before the light gives out. It was not large — sized, in fact, for a child's hands, which had been intentional. "Moon Tear," she said, handing it over. "The same one the Hero of Time traded to the business scrub when he first arrived in Termina. I made this four years ago, after managing to locate it." She watched the girl turn it over. "I've tested it. In my hands it functions as an ordinary ocarina. I could not trigger any particular property from it beyond the acoustic." She folded her hands. "I had begun to think my theory was wrong. That it required a specific individual, or a specific lineage, or something I simply couldn't replicate without more data." A pause. "Your grandfather used to hum you a lullaby. Did you know there's another name for it?" The girl went still. "Play it," Kashika said. "The way he hummed it to you. Don't think about the notes — you know them. You've always known them." The girl raised the ocarina to the mask's mouth. A single note came out, tentative. Then silence. Kashika waited. "Again," she said, quietly. "From the beginning. And don't stop when it sounds wrong. It won't sound wrong for long." The second attempt lasted four notes before the girl's hands dropped. "You're trying to play it perfectly," Kashika said. "You're correcting yourself before you've finished the phrase. Stop correcting. Just play it the way he did — all the way through, even if it's imperfect. Especially if it's imperfect." A long pause. The sounds of the palace at night came in under the door — distant voices, the creak of timber, someone coughing in one of the dormitory corridors. Then the girl played it. It was not perfect. It wavered in the middle, and the third phrase came in slightly late, and the final note was held just a beat too long. It was exactly the way a child plays a song learned by ear from someone who loved them, and that, Kashika understood in the moment, was precisely the point. The light in the room changed. Not the torchlight — something underneath it, or threaded through it, the particular quality of illumination that existed in no lamp and no window but had a color somewhere between gold and the first warm feeling after cold. It came from the mask, and then it was everywhere at once, and then it was gone. The girl on the floor was not a Deku Scrub anymore. She was small, and dark-haired, and wearing a green cap that was slightly too large for her, and she was staring at her own hands with an expression that moved through several complicated feelings in rapid succession. Then she looked up at Kashika, and the expression simplified into something universal in every language that Kashika knew. She stood and put her arms around Kashika's waist and held on with the particular grip of someone who has been running for twenty-four hours straight and has finally been given permission to stop. Kashika, who was not an especially sentimental person, put one hand carefully on the girl's back and waited. "All right," she said, after a moment. "All right." The green cap fell sideways. Kashika straightened it. The girl's grip loosened. Then it did not loosen further — it simply stayed, and after another few seconds, it went slack altogether, and Kashika realized with mild alarm that the child had fallen asleep while standing up, held vertical only by the fact that she was leaning against someone. Her knees were already beginning to go. Kashika caught her before she hit the floor. She looked up and found, somewhat inevitably, that Squircle had been watching in the doorway — the road-worn young man who had, by all accounts, materialized in the Mask Shop at precisely the right moment and had spent the hours since functioning as an impromptu guardian to a girl he'd met during a catastrophe. He had the look of someone who had also not slept and was running on something beyond caffeine or willpower, but who was prepared to continue running on it for as long as necessary. "The east dormitory," Kashika said, shifting the girl's weight toward him. "Somewhere warm. She's done for the night." Ishala appeared in the doorway ten seconds later, which meant she'd been waiting outside it, which meant she'd heard some portion of what had happened. She had a look on her face that she would have denied was soft. Behind her, and somewhat below her, was the monkey. He was old. Kashika had known him for six years and he had been old when she arrived; she had no precise sense of how old, only that his face had a settled quality to it and his grey hair had gone silver at the temples and he moved with the deliberate care of someone who had learned long ago not to waste energy on unnecessary speed. He had been the Queen's companion for 33 years, at least. He had also been, briefly and unjustly, imprisoned in the Deku Palace's own dungeon, and he had not forgiven the former King for this, which was reasonable. He spoke. The sounds were fast and low and specific. "He says the Queen is alive," Kashika said, for Ishala's benefit. "She was taken to Woodfall Temple. The eastern approach, through the back route the monkeys use — they have three scouts watching the entrance." She listened. "Alive. Conscious, he thinks, though he only has the scouts' report and they're not — precise observers." She tilted her head. "He says there were Dreamers. And something else. He can't describe it in terms I can translate cleanly. Something old inside the temple that wasn't sleeping the way it should be." Ishala's expression did not change. She was very good at that. "Odolwa," Ishala said. "Or something like It," Kashika said. "The Hero of Time defeated Odolwa. Defeated — not destroyed. Returned the Giant to its proper place." Kashika moved to the chalkboard. "If the Dreamers have a way to reverse that. To pull the Giant back out of its rest, use it — or worse, use the Queen as leverage over it—" She wrote the word leverage and circled it. "The Giant won't distinguish between Dreamers and the rest of us. We can't count on it to." Ishala walked in and stood in front of the chalkboard, reading the equations Kashika had been building for the last four hours. "You'll need the girl, won't you?" "Yes." "Show me." Kashika picked up the Deku mask from the table where she'd set it. She held it up to her own face. Nothing — the same nothing it had always given her, the solid passivity of an object that knew it was in the wrong hands. She passed it to Ishala, who tried with the same result. The monkey hopped up onto the table and regarded the mask with his wizened eyes and tried for himself, turning it over and tapping the painted wood once, firmly, as if that might help. Nothing. He set it down and looked at Kashika and said something very short. "He says it knows who it belongs to," she said. Ishala looked at the mask. "Same age." "Near enough." "Same clothes." "I noticed." "What are you thinking?" Kashika picked up the mask again and turned it over. The painted face gazed up at her, eyes closed, patient. "I'm thinking that the Hero of Time was a child, and he is thirty-three years gone, and this world is in exactly the kind of trouble that summoned him the first time." She set the mask down carefully. "I'm thinking that the universe has a particular fashion sense." She paused. "And I'm thinking we need that girl at Woodfall Temple tomorrow." The dawn came gray and close, the swamp holding the light the way swamps hold everything — reluctantly, at depth, releasing it only when they had no choice. The courtyard had been cleared of ash. The tables in the Royal Chamber held the remnants of the night's meal, and the people sleeping in the dormitories and along the corridor walls and in the corners of the gardens were sleeping the deep specific sleep of those who had earned it. Kashika stood at the entrance to the main hall and looked at the faces gathered there: Clock Wards in their dented helms, Deku Scouts with bags and bands of fresh Deku seeds, refugees who had crossed the swamp road twelve hours ago and were now, improbably, being asked to cross further. Danna was at the front, back straight, the cut above her eye still visible. Ishala was beside Kashika, her sword at her hip. The monkey sat on the throne's armrest with his arms folded, silver-haired and grave. Kashika did not have a talent for speeches. She had a talent for explaining things clearly and expecting people to understand them. "The Deku Queen is in Woodfall Temple," she said. "The same people who sent the Stalchildren against this palace took her there. We believe they're attempting to use her to reawaken something in that temple for some nefarious purpose. If they succeed, the threat to this palace — and to everyone currently sleeping in it — becomes considerably worse." She let that sit for a moment. "We are going this morning. Some of you will come with us. Some of you will stay." She looked at the room. "I will not tell you that the ones who stay have the easier task. This palace has good walls and good scouts and the people in those dormitories deserve protection. Staying is a choice. So is coming." She straightened her coat. "I will tell you that we cannot do this with half a heart in either direction. Decide now, and decide clearly, and do not apologize for whichever you choose." The fire in the courtyard pit had burned down to embers. Outside the gates, the swamp was waking up — birds first, then insects, then the soft settling sounds of water finding its level. Somewhere above all of it, still, the moon. Kashika picked up her notebook and her coat and the pale blue ocarina that had worked, finally, in the right hands. "Right," she said. "Let's go save the Queen." Meanwhile... A woman was walking into the Royal Chamber, eyes a bit too wide and scanning the room, hands still a bit too pink despite thorough washing from yesterday's horror. "Coliver?" she said, looking at the assembled faces that were currently assembling their own judgements upon this interruption. "Excuse me, I'm looking for my friend. I haven't seen her since-" "We're all missing people," one of the more gruff members retorted. "North Gate fell with most of the people in it, most of my men in it." "No, you don't understand!" the Zora said. "My name is Makazi, and Coliver and Marton and I all made it here. Marton was fighting, but Coliver was trying to get food in the gardens, or helping out with the injured - I saw her here! Last night! Safe!" Makazi looked at the people in front of her. "Someone has to have seen her. Please?" RP Quest: Join the rescue mission to Woodfall Temple and Save the Deku Queen @Ashbringer disappeared overnight and was removed from the Loop. Players can now vote to remove one of their own from the Loop. Player List 0 Amanuensis Ap the Apprentice 1 @The Unknown Order Heroshi 2 @Araris Valerian Arenta 3 @Wahrheitswächter Wahi 4 @Ashbringer Coliver 5 @coco.pudding Amora 6 @|TJ| Cosmetica 7 @Honors Ghost meeee 8 @Haelbarde Link the Goron 9 @Wonko the Sane Zymni 10 @Doc12 Thistle 11 @Burnt Spaghetti Cindra 12 @CoderDrag0n8 Squircle 13 @Mistfallen Soldier Kieran 14 @Divergent Gor Elam the Goron 15 @Archer Ouae the Zora 16 @Hoid Slayer Avery Edited February 25 by Amanuensis 4
Myst He/Him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 (edited) Okay, so I think we can reasonably say Ashbringer is not Elim. If he is, the Elims are doing a very weird Strat. Edit: Burnt to None I missed @Archer Edited February 25 by Mistfallen Soldier
Archer he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 @Ashbringer same reminder that you don't know who may be added to the doc later, but on the off chance you become a trust circle, it's worth strategizing together in there. Suppose the elim kill was blocked N1. Wouldn't you skip this kill to hide that? The obvious read is E!Wahr, and they want to dilute the pool. Whoever was sussing Ashbringer last night can have some free village cred, no point making waves of you're about the murder them 23 minutes ago, Mistfallen Soldier said: @Archer Correct, correct, incorrect, okay, that's false information. I was sorely tempted to send some PMs last night pretending to be other people, but I didn't because I forgot to. It would be really helpful if y'all would sign your names to your letters. Doc gets a vote because when I said let's kill Hoid, they said ok but it won't do anything. Why not just say ok sure. You scared to actually make a counter wagon with teeth?
Wonko the Sane he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 (edited) 37 minutes ago, Mistfallen Soldier said: Okay, so I think we can reasonably say Ashbringer is not Elim. If he is, the Elims are doing a very weird Strat. Agreed. I did think last Night about the possibility of the NK hitting an elim -- largely because it would radically increase trust for that elim, and when the Loop came up as a Village victory, suspicion could be thrown on Wahr, claiming the NK must be a damage control response to us hitting an elim with the exe, trying to increase the suspect pool. But if they were going that route, it seems unlikely to me that they would choose e!Ashbringer as that sacrifice, given how poorly positioned he is to take control of Village sentiment. He also fits the profile of an ideal target for the elims: someone who has no significant mistrust against them that the kill would squander, but who is relatively inactive, so giving them more trust doesn't help too much. I will say that the public acknowledgement last Night that the elims need to kill at least one person to win the cycle means that this ISN'T necessarily a condemnation of Wahr, though. Now that we all know that, it's honestly just the most practical call to kill someone N2A, to leave them most flexible to respond to today's exe. If we hit a villager, then great; they've already hit their necessary ratios, so they can skip the N3A kill and win the Loop with the absolute minimum number of confirmed villagers. If we hit an elim, then they're well-positioned to kill again tonight, maximizing the suspect pool. Edited February 25 by Wonko the Sane
Myst He/Him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 34 minutes ago, Archer said: Correct, correct, incorrect, okay, that's false information. Thought I was correct with the third. Seems I read wrong. I have one more chance Currently I’m actually leaning Dive. He wanted to vote for someone who wasn’t on a team with Wahr, but said he didn’t know who - fishing for our knowledge He keeps asking a lot of questions as well, which isn’t alignment indicative, but he’s not then responding to the answers of those questions. It’s not a lot, but it’s more than what I have on Doc.
|TJ| he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 (edited) If e!Wahr, pool dilution can be done by either alignment's death imo. They will probably mix it up, not only through but we might have to be wary of bussing during the day as well in case we become certain of someone's elimness later. v!Wahr is more likely to lead to v!Ash than not. There is as possibility they would want to kill e!Ash anyway to avoid clearing a bunch of village but we have to see if that's the strategy they are going with. There is a thought here that the elims simply did not know there was an elim kill in N1. It is more likely than normal because D1 was no vote and usually there are no kills in games before the voting begins. It is also a valid strategy to wait and see what happens in D2 before starting the kills. They might think along the lines of "wait to see who gets eliminated to decide on the strat", so a deliberate no-kill to just wait and decide (and not because they specifically want to limit info) is also a valid strategy to keep in mind. edit: i just realised the last paragraph was essentially what Wonko said here, this is what i get not posting before reading the thread >> 3 hours ago, Wonko the Sane said: I will say that the public acknowledgement last Night that the elims need to kill at least one person to win the cycle means that this ISN'T necessarily a condemnation of Wahr, though. Now that we all know that, it's honestly just the most practical call to kill someone N2A, to leave them most flexible to respond to today's exe. If we hit a villager, then great; they've already hit their necessary ratios, so they can skip the N3A kill and win the Loop with the absolute minimum number of confirmed villagers. If we hit an elim, then they're well-positioned to kill again tonight, maximizing the suspect pool. I think I'm considerably good with moderate village reads on Wonko and Mistfallen. Edited February 25 by |TJ|
Divergent He/Him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 3 hours ago, Wonko the Sane said: Agreed. I did think last Night about the possibility of the NK hitting an elim -- largely because it would radically increase trust for that elim, and when the Loop came up as a Village victory, suspicion could be thrown on Wahr, claiming the NK must be a damage control response to us hitting an elim with the exe, trying to increase the suspect pool. But if they were going that route, it seems unlikely to me that they would choose e!Ashbringer as that sacrifice, given how poorly positioned he is to take control of Village sentiment. He also fits the profile of an ideal target for the elims: someone who has no significant mistrust against them that the kill would squander, but who is relatively inactive, so giving them more trust doesn't help too much. I will say that the public acknowledgement last Night that the elims need to kill at least one person to win the cycle means that this ISN'T necessarily a condemnation of Wahr, though. Now that we all know that, it's honestly just the most practical call to kill someone N2A, to leave them most flexible to respond to today's exe. If we hit a villager, then great; they've already hit their necessary ratios, so they can skip the N3A kill and win the Loop with the absolute minimum number of confirmed villagers. If we hit an elim, then they're well-positioned to kill again tonight, maximizing the suspect pool. Agreed that I think it's more likely that Ashbringer is village. I don't think I would clear Wahr prematurely though before we find out the outcome of the loop since I could see how Ash would be a good kill regardless of Wahr's alignment (if v!, it is as you mentioned that Ash wouldn't be a high impact clear if we lose the loop; if w!, it muddles the pool and makes it more difficult to discern who among the eliminated resulted in the loop's win). 3 hours ago, Mistfallen Soldier said: Thought I was correct with the third. Seems I read wrong. I have one more chance Currently I’m actually leaning Dive. He wanted to vote for someone who wasn’t on a team with Wahr, but said he didn’t know who - fishing for our knowledge He keeps asking a lot of questions as well, which isn’t alignment indicative, but he’s not then responding to the answers of those questions. It’s not a lot, but it’s more than what I have on Doc. Mmm I haven't really reread D2, so that's why I didn't want to make any premature claims before having done that (outside of my thinking that it is unlikely for it to be someone on his wagon) On the second point, valid, something I experienced when playing the AG was how cumbersome it is to quote posts, so unless I find that I'm unsatisfied with the answer and have additional insight to share or follow up questions, then I wouldn't quote respond to it anymore (most likely I either agree with it or I'm keeping a mental note on it for later)
Stick. she/her Posted February 25 Posted February 25 feels like an obvious attempt to make wahr look v cuz if they ARE both v then ash seems like an ok target in the sense that they wouldn’t want to clear one of the louder voices there’s another world where ash is e but wahr isn’t and the elims went through a bit of a philosophy shift last turn. in that world 2 of the 3 remaining elims will hard bus the 3rd today and ride that cred to the win prolly cuz u make the bussed player ur red herring to make e!ash look soft cleared, and the other 2 are disassociated anyway.
Archer he/him Posted February 25 Posted February 25 Let's all accuse each other now; we're being too theoretical. 11 hours ago, Wonko the Sane said: Agreed. I did think last Night about the possibility of the NK hitting an elim -- largely because it would radically increase trust for that elim, and when the Loop came up as a Village victory, suspicion could be thrown on Wahr, claiming the NK must be a damage control response to us hitting an elim with the exe, trying to increase the suspect pool. But if they were going that route, it seems unlikely to me that they would choose e!Ashbringer as that sacrifice, given how poorly positioned he is to take control of Village sentiment. He also fits the profile of an ideal target for the elims: someone who has no significant mistrust against them that the kill would squander, but who is relatively inactive, so giving them more trust doesn't help too much. I will say that the public acknowledgement last Night that the elims need to kill at least one person to win the cycle means that this ISN'T necessarily a condemnation of Wahr, though. Now that we all know that, it's honestly just the most practical call to kill someone N2A, to leave them most flexible to respond to today's exe. If we hit a villager, then great; they've already hit their necessary ratios, so they can skip the N3A kill and win the Loop with the absolute minimum number of confirmed villagers. If we hit an elim, then they're well-positioned to kill again tonight, maximizing the suspect pool. m8 you're never beating the allegations. I can see why people think you're an elim (that's a compliment) 7 hours ago, Divergent said: Agreed that I think it's more likely that Ashbringer is village. I don't think I would clear Wahr prematurely though before we find out the outcome of the loop since I could see how Ash would be a good kill regardless of Wahr's alignment (if v!, it is as you mentioned that Ash wouldn't be a high impact clear if we lose the loop; if w!, it muddles the pool and makes it more difficult to discern who among the eliminated resulted in the loop's win). Mmm I haven't really reread D2, so that's why I didn't want to make any premature claims before having done that (outside of my thinking that it is unlikely for it to be someone on his wagon) On the second point, valid, something I experienced when playing the AG was how cumbersome it is to quote posts, so unless I find that I'm unsatisfied with the answer and have additional insight to share or follow up questions, then I wouldn't quote respond to it anymore (most likely I either agree with it or I'm keeping a mental note on it for later) Counterpoint, low poster has less to lose in terms of rupees. NKing elims early L1 when they stand to lose the least and get 20 in compensation is good play. Was Ashbringer going to hit 20 this loop? We can put a pin in this until L2. 3 hours ago, Stick. said: feels like an obvious attempt to make wahr look v cuz if they ARE both v then ash seems like an ok target in the sense that they wouldn’t want to clear one of the louder voices there’s another world where ash is e but wahr isn’t and the elims went through a bit of a philosophy shift last turn. in that world 2 of the 3 remaining elims will hard bus the 3rd today and ride that cred to the win prolly cuz u make the bussed player ur red herring to make e!ash look soft cleared, and the other 2 are disassociated anyway. Is Wahr worth defending, now that they know there's a village appetite to exe them? Genuine question.
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