MR74: The Politics of Gods

[Amanuensis he/him]

1 minute ago, Hoid Slayer said:

I'm sorry

I want to trust you, Aman

But I am not backing off this ledge

[Araris Valerian he/him]

6 minutes ago, Amanuensis said:

If you don't want to vote Coder or BBB, I am down for considering Penguin or KSauce as an alternative today.

And I’d prefer KSauce of these two, though that probably isn’t going to change the mind of anyone relevant.

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

5 minutes ago, Amanuensis said:

You didn't forge me, Amanuen

No, all you did was identify the vote that would not be flipped

*cue battle music*

[Doc12]

2 hours ago, Hoid Slayer said:

I went over BBB's behavior;

C1, he voted me for accusing Polly without evidence.

He then dropped the vote on me, switching to TwinStorm.

He called sus on Araris and Twin, and left his vote on TwinStorm the entire day.

C2, he attacks Twin and says he's suspicious of me.

This cycle, all he's done is say he doesn't know what to do, and vote himself.

Now, a lot of what he has done is odd. But not having any ideas? Not doing anything, to the point of voting himself? That doesn't read elim to me. Because I suspect one of either Aman or Araris, maybe even Doc, is elim - and I don't see any of them directing BBB here. So I won't vote him.

Now, for CD, the other rival:

First, I don't think the elims would have let the CD train pile so quickly if they are against his death. There has been little defense for CD. As for his actions:

C1, CD poke-voted me.

Then, CD retracted the vote on me before I even responded - which, I will admit, is kinda weird - and didn't do much until voting BBB. At the time, BBB wasn't likely to get the exe. Later, CD retracted his vote and voted TwinStorm for cycle end.

All of this does seem somewhat elim indicative.

C2, CD was decently active in the discussion on Saturday. He voted BBB "to make a tie" with less than an hour left in the cycle, but then switched to TwinStorm last minute. Why? Why would an elim make such a move, drawing attention to them?

This cycle, CD has been vocally against BBB. He has been attacked for his defensive stance; yet, as I stated in QF 76, and I state again, I've seen CD act defensive even outside SE. I actually went back and reread part of QF 76: a game in which CD was notably innocent.

I may not fully support CDs actions, but more than anything, they are consistent

So instead, I want to try something else

I'm going to follow my gut

Let's be honest, my vote on TOW isn't doing anything

So let it rest on Araris Valerian

Araris has made plenty of factual analysis, but none that I truly agree with. And from someone with his experience, frankly, I'd expect a little more. It feels somewhat like trying to drag our attention away from what matters.

I get the CD thing. For me it's Penguin - they're a little erratic, but they're also acting consistently. 

46 minutes ago, Amanuensis said:

FTR I do think his response to my starting elim Bondsmith theory was a tell but I also think Araris is a better exe candidate for tomorrow

Possible worlds right now are this:

World One: E BBB, V Coder

In this scenario, e!BBB is sacrificing himself. This would either imply his teammates are bussing him for long term gain (only KSauce) or that he's gone rogue and his teammates are either staying out of it (Penguin) or voting the CW (me, Araris, Doc).

World Two: V BBB, E Coder

My current worldview, mostly because I feel like BBB escalated to a self-vote way too quickly to be a sane / faithful elim. In this scenario his team is either sticking onto BBB (KSauce) or are bussing him (me, Araris, Doc). Both TOW and Penguin aren't on the wagons, which might imply that they are not teamed with either BBB or Coder, but in TOW's case I doubt they're active enough to help.

World Three: V BBB, V Coder

In this world, at least one of Araris/Doc/me would need to be elim for that to work, but more likely two. In this scenario Penguin is very likely their third as there's no reason for him to get involved in yet another V/V cycle.

World Four: E BBB, E Coder

Not impossible, assuming that BBB got the agreement of his teammates to get bussed today. The question would then be if KSauce would join both of their teammates or if one of them would attempt a CW (Araris, Doc, Me)

 

Personally I think Coder is the play today, as BBB voting himself increases the risk factor of a miss exe

I like this analysis. I do agree that the self-exe isn't really helping the elim team and does seem like a villager who gave up. 

23 minutes ago, Hoid Slayer said:

I don't know about BBB and CD

But the more I look over what they've done, the more I feel like we don't have any reason to vote them out any more than KSauce, or TOW, or Penguin, or even Doc

Also

What do you mean by CW, and what makes you assume KSauce is the third link here?

Honestly, I don't see this as very possible since I feel like elims should be able to force a village kill relatively easy this cycle if the village remains without unity

I don't like the direction this cycle is headed

We both know KSauce had little to no chance of death last cycle

Though your delay there was definitely one of the things that most defend you in my eyes

The only reason I can immediately think of for an e!Araris to do that is to save BBB - and I don't think BBB looks elim to me, partially for his self-vote

But hey, maybe you told him to do that to then clear him

So should I vote BBB then?

Maybe

I don't know

But I want to do something different

If the village is in there:

You know what I want you to do

This is the vote count with Returned (Trusting KSOS here because I still don't know Returned)

BBB (5): Coder, BBB, KSauce, Willshaper, Windrunner

KSauce (1): Penguin

Coder (3): Araris, Doc, Aman

Penguin (2): TOW, Stoneward

Araris (1): Hoid Slayer

I'm willing to entertain E!Araris theory. But I don't think we can realistically exe him in the last few hours before rollover, given who I see active. Even if Aman and I jumped, which Aman already says he doesn't intend to, it won't be enough to exe Araris. Ronight is going to be a case of making sure someone we want to die die, and I think CD is a viable enough E! partner that I'm willing to let my vote stay on them. 

EDITED THOUGHTS:

I think, given the state of the current cycle, that BBB is innocent because of how long the vote has stayed stacked on him. If he's Elim, there's no reason for him to stay in the lead for this long when Araris, Aman, and I are willing to vote on someone else. It seems more likely that our top two suspects KSOS and CD just attached themselves to the vote and called it a day

Edited September 9, 2025 by Doc12

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

Just now, Doc12 said:

I get the CD thing. For me it's Penguin - they're a little erratic, but they're also acting consistently. 

I like this analysis. I do agree that the self-exe isn't really helping the elim team and does seem like a villager who gave up. 

This is the vote count with Returned (Trusting KSOS here because I still don't know Returned)

BBB (5): Coder, BBB, KSauce, Willshaper, Windrunner

KSauce (1): Penguin

Coder (3): Araris, Doc, Aman

Penguin (2): TOW, Stoneward

Araris (1): Hoid Slayer

I'm willing to entertain E!Araris theory. But I don't think we can realistically exe him in the last few hours before rollover, given who I see active. Even if Aman and I jumped, which Aman already says he doesn't intend to, it won't be enough to exe Araris. Ronight is going to be a case of making sure someone we want to die die, and I think CD is a viable enough E! partner that I'm willing to let my vote stay on them. 

Can we try?

If no one comes online, I'm willing to switch to BBB

But I'm set on at least taking this as far as I can

[Amanuensis he/him]

@KaladinsSenseOfHumorSpren how do you feel about Coder and Penguin again? Would you be willing to vote either?

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

6 minutes ago, Amanuensis said:

@KaladinsSenseOfHumorSpren how do you feel about Coder and Penguin again? Would you be willing to vote either?

What about Araris?

@ThatOneWorldhopper@IcedOutPenguin@CoderDrag0n8@BigBadBagsworth

[Araris Valerian he/him]

@ThatOneWorldhopper @IcedOutPenguin Are y’all content to sit on side trains and not participate in the exe in any relevant way? If not, I’d ask you to change your votes to either BBB or CD. Or engage with Hoid if you really don’t like me, I guess.

Edit: If v!BBB exes himself and that leads to a misexe on me tomorrow I’m gonna be kinda miffed because this game is super winnable.

Edit 2: I could knock a vote off of BBB but it would require voting alongside Hoid…

Edited September 9, 2025 by Araris Valerian

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

7 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

@ThatOneWorldhopper @IcedOutPenguin Are y’all content to sit on side trains and not participate in the exe in any relevant way? If not, I’d ask you to change your votes to either BBB or CD. Or engage with Hoid if you really don’t like me, I guess.

Ouch

It’s not that I don’t like you

Just that you being elim is the best hunch I have

If you aren’t evil, then the real elims must be laughing their heads off at us right now

[Araris Valerian he/him]

1 minute ago, Hoid Slayer said:

If you aren’t evil, then the real elims must be laughing their heads off at us right now

Guess that’s my backup strat for this game. Homicide by maniacal laughter.

3 minutes ago, Hoid Slayer said:

Ouch

It’s not that I don’t like you

Just that you being elim is the best hunch I have

 

I’ll pretend this is a ploy from v!you to avoid the NK.

[KaladinsSenseOfHumourSpren He/Him]

VC:

BBB (5): Coder, BBB, KSauce, Willshaper, Windrunner

KSauce (1): Penguin

Coder (3): Araris, Doc, Aman

Penguin (2): TOW, Stoneward

Araris (1): Hoid

 

Araris... is tempting. If what people are saying is right and elims tend to exe people who are not in the same activity bracket, then it would make sense. BBB... the self-vote does not feel alignment-indicative to me, as no player would rationally do that regardless of alignment. I voted him because I didn't have any other ideas. I don't see why so many are voting Coder, he still feels like a lost villager. Penguin feels exactly like he did last game. You know what, Araris.

[Amanuensis he/him]

2 minutes ago, KaladinsSenseOfHumorSpren said:

as no player would rationally do that regardless of alignment.

Humans are irrational, friend  I've seen it happen lots and have done it myself. I would say 8/10 times its a frustrated villager

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

So, with half an hour left in Cycle 3, this is the Vote Count as I see it:

Araris Valerian (2): Kaladin's Spren and Hoid Slayer
Big Bad Bagsworth (2): Coder Dragon, and Big Bad Bagsworth
Coder Dragon (3): Doc12, Amanuensis, and Araris Valerian
Iced Out Penguin (1): That One Worldhopper
Kaladin's Spren (1): Iced Out Penguin

If there are any errors in it, please point them out.

[Araris Valerian he/him]

Alright. Araris. Pretty sure BBB will flip green and y’all will just exe me next cycle, so it’s better to just get it over with now. Then y’all can off CD or KSauce next cycle and hopefully live to get the free alignment scan.

Edit: Note that this pulls Windrunner onto myself

Edited September 9, 2025 by Araris Valerian

[Amanuensis he/him]

Hrm.

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

16 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

I’ll pretend this is a ploy from v!you to avoid the NK.

… except it’s not?

I mean what I said

9 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

Alright. Araris. Pretty sure BBB will flip green and y’all will just exe me next cycle, so it’s better to just get it over with now. Then y’all can off CD or KSauce next cycle and hopefully live to get the free alignment scan.

Feeling empty inside, Ekkar Loral strolled back into the courtyard as the sun completed its descent. A lone figure sat in the center of the field; Arlun. Slowly, carefully, Ekkar walked over and sat down next to him. Inside, he still felt shattered. But it was Ekkar who had led the opposition against him in the final hours, and it was Ekkar who advocated for his death. It would not be Ekkar who let him die alone.

[KaladinsSenseOfHumourSpren He/Him]

9 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

Alright. Araris. Pretty sure BBB will flip green and y’all will just exe me next cycle, so it’s better to just get it over with now. Then y’all can off CD or KSauce next cycle and hopefully live to get the free alignment scan.

Edit: Note that this pulls Windrunner onto myself

VC:

BBB (2): Coder, BBB

KSauce (1): Penguin

Coder (3): Doc, Aman, Willshaper

Penguin (2): TOW, Stoneward

Araris (4): Hoid, KSauce, Araris, Windrunner

Willshaper changed when I shaped, since it was with me and BBB since it was two of us. Now, Aman gets it with higher seniority.

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

Edit: Note that I find Araris’ self/vote even more elim-indicative

A villager should never resign themselves to death

I’ll accept it from BBB, but not from an experienced player like Araris who has advocated over doing everything possible

In my eyes, clouded though they may be, this reads like an attempt to clear oneself after seeing the effect it had on BBB

[Jo and the Bush all/any]

8 minutes left

[Amanuensis he/him]

Despite me being suspicious of Penguin, I am kinda tempted to vote KSauce ngl  probably for a bad reason but I feel like elims are more likely to be keeping track of the extra votes + keeping the village up to date on them is easy cred.

Just now, Hoid Slayer said:

Edit: Note that I find Araris’ self/vote even more elim-indicative

A villager should never resign themselves to death

I’ll accept it from BBB, but not from an experienced player like Araris who has advocated over doing everything possible

In my eyes, clouded though they may be, this reads like an attempt to clear oneself after seeing the effect it had on BBB

I do think v!Araris is more likely to self-vote than e!Araris. You just referred to Araris as experienced, which means you need to account for e!him already considering that someone might call them out on that. But if he is willing to bow out and focus on IRL stuff (I know he started a new job recently), he's got that agency, so I won't exactly stop him.

I am curious though @Araris Valerian. Why don't you think I should be on the table for the exe tomorrow?

[Araris Valerian he/him]

6 minutes ago, Hoid Slayer said:

A villager should never resign themselves to death

Well, in a v!BBB world I die next cycle based on comments from you and Aman and we lose 100%. But if I die this cycle, maybe you exe someone else.

Just now, Amanuensis said:

Why don't you think I should be on the table for the exe tomorrow?

IDK. Exe whoever you want. I just don't want a scenario where it's ExLo and I'm doomed to die.

[Amanuensis he/him]

4 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

Well, in a v!BBB world I die next cycle based on comments from you and Aman and we lose 100%. But if I die this cycle, maybe you exe someone else.

IDK. Exe whoever you want. I just don't want a scenario where it's ExLo and I'm doomed to die.

To be clear I would prefer getting a partner before you, but I totally get where you're coming from. I'd just say it's not a foregone conclusion.

Edited September 9, 2025 by Amanuensis

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

4 minutes ago, Araris Valerian said:

Well, in a v!BBB world I die next cycle based on comments from you and Aman and we lose 100%. But if I die this cycle, maybe you exe someone else.

Ekkar whispered under his breath. It was a prayer, repeated again and again. He prayed to the God King, to the Returned. He prayed to Austre, for the first time in his life. The moon was high in the sky, the courtyard empty. From the shadows on its borders, silent eyes looked in. Waiting.

”Goodbye, Arlun.”

[Doc12]

This is so stupid. Can someone remind me what Lylo and Exlo mean? It feels like Aman, Araris, and I are agreeing that at least one of Ksauce and CD are probably Elim. Now that the vote has been pulled of BBB, Can't we pile on CD and make that count?

[Hoid Slayer He/Him]

Make a vote

Cause time is up