Anniversary Game 4/Anonymous Game 1: A Fresh Start

[Coral Swan]

Wow, 6 votes in 60 minutes has got to be some kind of record for stating my honest opinion. Does nobody else find it weird that Beagle and Albatross picked up on such a small thing to swing the vote, with so little time left in the day for a possible response?

I'm probably totally wrong here, so when I flip village, don't go lynching Beagle or Flamingo or Albatross just for my sake. But I believe that it was a valid opinion and that it deserved to be brought up by somebody.

I also think my vote on Flamingo was a much more honest move than @Opal Lion's vote on me here, or all the people that have decided to hang back and not be helpful this cycle. If I give Gecko a 5/10 on the scale of who's an elim, and Flamingo a 4/10, am I not justified to lynch Flamingo when a Gecko lynch seems impossible? If everyone was actually voting then it's possible that someone might agree with me and we could lynch Gecko. But that's not the case, so I had to settle for second best. Which I guess nobody here is cool with.

[Fuchsia Ostrich]

axolotl if you truly wish to stitch with a pinch hitter

[Salmon Meerkat]

Now that I'm actually available, I need to process all that just happened. If Swan turns up villager, I feel I should accept some responsibility for actually putting it in everyone's radar D1. I'm leaning village for Swan.

Thank you to everyone that came forward and posted since my last post. Mission accomplished.

What irks me a little is how quickly this bandwagon on Swan formed. What is even more concerning is how little the subsequent players had to back up their votes. Behold:

54 minutes ago, Magenta Albatross said:

Take a pinch hitter if you think so or rest up and carry on playing if you think it will be better.

I have some doubts on toucan. Out of swan and onyx, I'll go with swan for now so that it at least clears day 1 up.

 

52 minutes ago, Onyx Flamingo said:

Well... I don't think Gecko is ever going to show no matter if he has votes or not, but I agree with Weasel and Elephant that Swan voting logic and timing feels off.

 

50 minutes ago, Opal Lion said:

Since everyone seems to be hopping onto the Swan bandwagon, I suppose I will too. The more of us there are, the smaller the chance that Willshapers or Bondsmiths will be able to sway the vote. 

However, Beagle's reason for moving its vote to Swan left something to be desired, given how active Beagle had been. I would have suspected more evidence to back it up.

1 hour ago, Oxblood Beagle said:

axolotl Swan  . Swan, you made me uber suspicious with your last post. I was going to hold out on trying to lynch you until day 3, but given Axolotl, I'm inclined to just go after you now. 

 

2 hours ago, Coral Swan said:

I'm going to put my vote on Flamingo. Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like Beagle and Albatross are trying to switch the lynch off of Flamingo, and taking advantage of a fairly minor statement to do so. While I am definitely suspicious of Axolotl, I think that it is a legitimate question to ask why someone is emphasizing a tie for second place in the lynch rather than the current leader. I read that vote as a sort of poke vote, since it specifically asked for an explanation. I would rather lynch Taupe for not giving us the analysis they promised, but nobody else seems willing to buy that and if Flamingo flips elim this will give us a good place to go next.

^This is the post Beagle was referencing. And why was Beagle planning on lynching Swan later? "I was going to hold out on trying to lynch you until day 3" That sounds very suspicious. If Swan flips village, I would definitely keep an eye on Beagle.

[Oxblood Beagle]

1 minute ago, Salmon Meerkat said:

Now that I'm actually available, I need to process all that just happened. If Swan turns up villager, I feel I should accept some responsibility for actually putting it in everyone's radar D1. I'm leaning village for Swan.

Thank you to everyone that came forward and posted since my last post. Mission accomplished.

What irks me a little is how quickly this bandwagon on Swan formed. What is even more concerning is how little the subsequent players had to back up their votes. Behold:

 

 

However, Beagle's reason for moving its vote to Swan left something to be desired, given how active Beagle had been. I would have suspected more evidence to back it up.

 

^This is the post Beagle was referencing. And why was Beagle planning on lynching Swan later? "I was going to hold out on trying to lynch you until day 3" That sounds very suspicious. If Swan flips village, I would definitely keep an eye on Beagle.

Well go ahead. I knew that was coming, but I do not feel like lynching someone who reflects strongly as village. If swan turns elim, i will be greatly relieved. If they don't... well that means most of my main suspects cleared out as probably not elim. So for now I'm just going to pray this risk I took actually pays off. 

Also, the reason it formed so quickly is because I've been discussion it in PMs. Coral seems to be regarded as suspicious by a fair bit of the village, so yeah I organized turning around the lynch. No, I'm not eliminator. Do you really think an eliminator would go to all this trouble? If I were elim, i would have bussed my team mate and been done with it. Instead I'm trying to trust people and it's stressing me out. 

Anyway, this cycle is about to end. So, yeah. I'm just going to hope for the best. 

[Quartz Zebra]

I'm really sorry for disappearing, everyone - I'm terrible at thinking about what I want to post, and then following through on that. To try and contribute to the discussion, I've got an analysis of Beagle that got deleted twice by my own idiocy as I refreshed to see new comments without copy-pasting it somewhere, leaving me very annoyed, and my notes that are my thoughts as of the end of Night 1 - I hope to post an updated version tonight.

Beagle - nothing they said has been particularly alignment indicative, IMO. They don't really actually take a stance in all that many posts, which makes it difficult to read them. (I think that's just their playstyle, though, not necessarily them trying to dodge as an Eliminator.) Analytically, they're neutral. However, I think there's something to be said for the fact that they've helped to keep the chat alive, therefore I think there are many better candidates to lynch instead of Beagle.

1. Amethyst Scorpion
2. Azure Mouse
3. Amber Vulture
4. Charcoal Hyena
Blending into the shadows - posting but not anything game relevant? Slight elim read.

5. Chartreuse Penguin
6. Coral Swan
Corrected Beagle that there were no PM readers, however, backed up that claiming is dangerous. Not a read either way - I sense they'd do that regardless of alignment. Amendment (Page 4): The way they and other players I'm suspicious of interact (see Albatross), I feel suspicious of them for that.

7. Cream Tuatara
8. Emerald Falcon
9. Fuschia Ostrich
The first person who proposed an RNG lynch seemed to do so as a joke, but Ostrich seems to have taken it seriously, or else they were after a convenient excuse. Except… there were so many people there that they could have voted on anyone and have had much better sounding reasons as an Elim, so… I can't really say anything for certain, except it feels slightly off to me.

10. Indigo Weasel
11. Ivory Dragonfly
Seems innocent to me, even though I disagree about the 'no Day 1 lynch' argument. Village read.

12. Magenta Albatross
Backed up the "Claiming is bad" meta. Trying to blend in with the crowd? Slight elim read.
Further elim read when they completely ignored the major debate about gecko, and made a second vote on Scorpion "for no particular reason as of now except tone and in fear of getting a runaway wagon on coral" (who at the time of voting, had all of one vote on them.) For what should be obvious reasons, if Albatross does turn out to be evil, then that would make me suspicious of Swan too.

13. Mauve Crocodile
14. Melon Dingo
15. Mint Heron
16. Onyx Flamingo
17. Opal Lion
18. Oxblood Beagle
Falsely claimed that there were PM readers. Unlikely that both of Swan and Beagle are evil.

19. Pearl Chameleon
20. Plum Rhinoceros
22. Saffron Iguana
Advocates for trying to do something distinguishing in RP to make people stand out, which seems villagery.

23. Sage Kangaroo
I agree with Sage's first post strongly. I want to say village read, though that is likely me supporting those who agree with me, so it's not a read to be relied on. (Not that any of them are, Day 1, of course.)

24. Salmon Meerkat
25. Sapphire Elephant
Posts once, and doesn't say anything meaningful. Trying to blend into the background? Very slight elim read.

26. Scarlet Octopus
I read it as someone who's just trying to have a good time - a slightly tongue in cheek parody of heavy analysis posts. No particular alignment reads - it seems like they're just  here to enjoy themselves.

27. Sunburst Toucan
I… don't really see your argument? It was a poke-vote amongst many poke-votes, and they said they were against a Day 1 lynch, whereas many others weren't. I'd say I have a moderate (for Day 1) Elim read on them, after Gecko.

28. Taupe Gecko
Votes with no explanation. Elim read - please defend your vote on Octopus. Also, random lettering, which I don't know what it's supposed to be…
Many pages later: And we're into IKYK territory. Great. If a Gecko lynch happens, that's fine, if it doesn't, that's also fine. I don't think I can add anything to this debate others haven't said already.

29. Turquoise Gorilla
30. Violet Axolotl

[Orlok Tsubodai]

AG4/AN1 - Night 2: Take Care Of My Son

Elyle stood in front of his inn, facing the crowd of townsfolk. 

“All right, all right,” he said, quieting the shouting. “I’ll come with you. But hear me out, first.”

The anger surrounding the group seethed, but they did no more than murmur. 

“This town is insane,” Elyle began. “You’re murdering me. I’ve served you for years, and yet you throw me away like garbage because I might, might, be a murderer. You don’t actually know. Most of you barely have a reason!

“Shame on you all. Shame on this town. This isn’t justice. All of you know that. This is a desperate, flimsy hope that somehow you’ll find the killer or killers by murdering your way through each other, one by one. I wish you luck.”

He paused. “I have only one last request.”

“Why should we listen to him?” someone shouted, and was quickly hushed. 

“Because I’m about to die,” Elyle said, “and there will be another death tonight regardless.”

He looked around. “Take care of my son. That is your duty, now. Those of you who have killed his father, I beg of you: take care of my son. And I hope he grows up to be better than you.”

A knife took Elyle in the throat, and the blood spilled onto the door of the inn which had once been his home. 

---

Coral Swan (Elyle) has died. They were a Village Lightweaver.

Vote Count
Coral Swan (5): Oxblood Beagle, Onyx Flamingo, Opal Lion, Magenta Albatross, Sapphire Elephant, Indigo Weasel
Onyx Flamingo (2): Coral Swan, Plum Rhinoceros
Indigo Weasel (1): Amethyst Scorpion
Mint Heron (1): Ivory Dragonfly
Pearl Chameleon (1): Violet Axolotl
Taupe Gecko (1): Sage Kangaroo

Night Two has begun. It will end in 24 hours time, at 10pm GMT on the 19th January. Day Three will be slightly delayed, but ought to start around 00:01am GMT on the 20th January.

Player List
1. Amethyst Scorpion
2. Azure Mouse
3. Amber Vulture
4. Charcoal Hyena - Cannoc - Villager
5. Chartreuse Penguin
6. Coral Swan - Elyle - Village Lightweaver
7. Cream Tuatara
8. Emerald Falcon - Aldrick
9. Fuschia Ostrich
10. Indigo Weasel
11. Ivory Dragonfly - Nolan
12. Magenta Albatross
13. Mauve Crocodile
14. Melon Dingo - Quentisan - Village Edgedancer
15. Mint Heron
16. Onyx Flamingo - Squawk
17. Opal Lion
18. Oxblood Beagle - Jai
19. Pearl Chameleon
20. Plum Rhinoceros
21. Quartz Zebra
22. Saffron Iguana - Emalia - Village Lightweaver
23. Sage Kangaroo
24. Salmon Meerkat
25. Sapphire Elephant
26. Scarlet Octopus
27. Sunburst Toucan - Vanna
28. Taupe Gecko
29. Turquoise Gorilla
30. Violet Axolotl

[Fuchsia Ostrich]

I ended up removing my vote on axolotl. Please correct the vote tally. Unless a vote manipulator put it back

Edited January 18, 2018 by Fuchsia Ostrich

[Oxblood Beagle]

Jai looked at the bloody body. 

He had done this. 

He had protected his friend, who he was sure was innocent, from dying. But at what cost? 

Something broke within him, and he started to cry. Storms, he couldn't have them see him cry! 

So he ran. Ran away from the scene. Ran back to his alley. And still he wept, because now there was another orphan on the street and it was his fault. 

[Orlok Tsubodai]

18 minutes ago, Fuchsia Ostrich said:

I ended up removing my vote on axolotl. Please correct the vote tally. Unless a vote manipulator put it back

Sorted - thanks for the heads up.

[Salmon Meerkat]

Well, Beagle? And Swan, I suppose I need to remedy some of this, for soiling your image D1...

---

There was a highstorm that evening.

Fierce, unforgiving, the harsh mother that Nature is. The rain was unrelenting, soaking everything through. The town shut itself into its homes for the night and prayed to the Almighty that a stray boulder would not crash through their roof.

And then it passed, leaving crem and puddles in its wake. A soggy reminder of the destruction.

Durthu walked the dark streets, carrying a small sphere, recently infused, for light. The stars above were briefly obscured by passing clouds. Water dripped from rooftops, dimly reflecting the sphere's light. His boot splashed in a puddle. Ironically, he felt safer walking the dark streets than mingling with the village during daylight. A lot had changed in the past two days. So surprising how the hearts of people could change.

Durthu paused. Besides the gentle plip plop of the runoff, he heard a softer sound. A sniffle, a whimper. A feeble cough. He looked around him, scanning the dim road for the source of the sound. He took a tentative step, straining his ears. A shuffle, in an alley. Quietly, he crept towards it, sphere held aloft. As he approached the neighboring building, he noticed scorch marks on the walls, side by side with fresh planks. The inn... 

He turned back to the alley and peered in. The light of the sphere was just not enough to see, so he stepped closer.

Someone inside scrambled back and slipped, splashing down in a puddle. A child's gasp cut through the darkness. Durthu froze. A child? Where was its mother? And why is it out after a highstorm? He held the sphere higher and reached out his hand.

"Don't... don't worry. I won't hurt you," he said. He took another step forward, now close enough to see the child. It was a young boy, rather damp, with reddened eyes from crying. Durthu leaned over, dropping to his level. He held out his hand.

"You can come with me. I have a dry house, you can stay a while," Durthu offered. The child stared at him for a moment, studying him with his young eyes, before slowly placing his hand in Durthu's. Durthu smiled and stood, guiding the child out into the street and back towards his own home.

[Onyx Flamingo]

Squawk didn't know what to feel. She felt elated to be alive when she was sure the noose was coming for her. She felt disgusted that she accused someone of being an Odium sympathizer and was wrong. She understood how the villagers that hung Melon Dingo must have felt so sure and yet be so wrong as well. Squawk didn't want to die but she didnt want to kill either, and yet that seemed to be too much to ask of the almighty.

Squawk rationalized that Elyle served chicken to customers sometimes, he wasn't completely innocent.

It didn't help.

 

[Oxblood Beagle]

He heard the highstorm coming. Jai had never gotten around to finding somewhere to stay. 

So, he stayed in the stables, with the chulls and horses and other beasts. He still had some infused spheres, although some of his other ones had gone dun. The infused ones he held out as he sat in the middle of the stables, listening to the storm rage outside. 

"I need to get out of here," whispered Jai. He saw shamespren collect around him, like falling petals. He let them fall. 

And, as the highstorm raged, he let himself remember how his parents died. A boulder through their room. He had been spared, for some reason. But his parents had been gone in an instant, for it had smashed through the storm protections. He felt guilty for surviving. Why them, and not him? Why had he even stayed here in the first place?

There were no answers that came to mind. 

[Ivory Dragonfly]

Okay, back from school and there’s SO MUCH to catch up on, so sorry if I come off as slightly distracted. 

Swan lynch shouldn’t have happened. I didn’t trust Swan but never really suspected them either, and it’s a shame we lost a contributing village member. That said, I don’t know if anyone in it can be pegged as elim, as Swan herself said.

Thanks to my accusations, Flamingo and Albatross have become active participants, and looking at their posts I now mostly trust them actually.

alright have to write a research paper but will try to post before I go to bed. Sorry for low quality of this post. 

[Azure Mouse]

Not that I could have done much, but i wish I could have been online, because seriously, you guys lynched Swan? Without having looked back over the end of cycle, surely there's going to be something sus with that massive bandwagon...

 

[Amethyst Scorpion]

I want to look over that bandwagon, and I’m also curious, did anyone participate in the PMs discussing it, but then not join? I’d wonder about that if so, and it’ll be somewhat dependent on who tells us that information too.

[Oxblood Beagle]

50 minutes ago, Amethyst Scorpion said:

I want to look over that bandwagon, and I’m also curious, did anyone participate in the PMs discussing it, but then not join? I’d wonder about that if so, and it’ll be somewhat dependent on who tells us that information too.

No. I only talked to people I trusted pretty much completely. However, not everyone who voted on Swan is someone I talked to. I never talked to Opal, and I'm still unsure of Weasel. That's about it. 

I would appreciate not dying tonight, but I'm not going to get upset if I get targeted or killed. I took a gamble, it didn't work. 

[Sage Kangaroo]

So Taupe never posted.

Not really surprised at this point.

Not sure what to make of that.

Glad I didn't participate in that odd bandwagon right there.

[Cream Tuatara]

Well, it definitely looks like there was some suspicious voting going on at the end of the day.

[Amber Vulture]

I’m supporting Beagle on this one. I had an Elim read on Swan, so lynching Beagle for a gamble against them is something I can’t really criticize. Honestly, I’d have likely voted on Swan myself if I got on in time. I’d prefer to be kept in whatever loop there is, of course, and feel that last minute lynches by PM are very bad for the village because there’s no discussion, especially on the part of the accused, but I don’t think Beagle’s an Elim for acting as they have. If they continue to behave in this way, or if anyone else tries something like this for that matter, I will vote against them. It doesn’t work, it just hurts the village. I hope we can all learn from this, though.

Ivory, I think you were the one who mentioned Track practices. Track in the winter? I feel for you  

[Pearl Chameleon]

Sorry for not posting last turn. I was rereading D1 in hopes of getting a better grasp of who is who, and it took longer than I thought.

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I'm going to tentatively put my vote on Pearl Chameleon, mainly because the way they bolded the vote count D1 seemed a tad misleading to me. In short, they bolded everyone tied with two votes, while doing nothing to emphasize the one person accused with three votes. Was that intentional or accidental, @Pearl Chameleon?

@Violet Axolotl  It wasn't intentional. I didn't even notice until you mentioned it. Sorry about that.

 

I have strong village reads on both Ivory and Gecko. Ivory has been very helpful and active. He's been changing his opinions here and there, but it seems to be because he's trying to be open to feedback. Gecko has a tendency not to defend himself when pressured by the lynch which isn't a typical village move, but it's definitely not an elim move. I have a slight village read on Beagle, but I disagree strongly with how he dealt with the Swan lynch.

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Also, the reason it formed so quickly is because I've been discussion it in PMs. Coral seems to be regarded as suspicious by a fair bit of the village, so yeah I organized turning around the lynch.

@Oxblood Beagle I understand that some players heavily use PM's and that's just as valid as being active in thread (and it seems that you're doing both- your activity is commendable). However. To consolidate a lynch within PM's and have a last minute bandwagon is not helpful for the village. On its own it would have made me suspicious of you, but given your other posts, I don't think you're elim. The problem with taking control of the lynch this way is that players are less invested in providing their reasoning in thread because they have already discussed it in PMs. At least, I'm going to assume that's why so little reasoning was laid out in thread, which is one of the things that feels so off about the lynch. Providing little reason in thread also prevents the village at large from contributing to the arguments given, either by bolstering them or, more often, knocking them down. Which is really important. I don't like that a couple of players decided on a lynch candidate to sneak up on. And I don't think that was anyone's intention (exempting the elim(s) who voted on Swan). I think you all truly believed that Swan was an elim and were doing your best to move the game forward. I'm only saying that I disagree with the method.

I would appreciate if everyone who voted for Swan explained what their thinking was at the time.

I'm definitely feeling that one of the players who joined the bandwagon on Swan is an elim. It was an easy way to get involved while ensuring the death of a villager and hiding yourself in the crowd, all at the same time. I'm not against bandwagons per say but the one last cycle came out of left field. It was too quick for anyone to process, and I am not comfortable with that.

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I'm going to put my vote on Flamingo. Maybe I'm wrong, but it looks like Beagle and Albatross are trying to switch the lynch off of Flamingo, and taking advantage of a fairly minor statement to do so. While I am definitely suspicious of Axolotl, I think that it is a legitimate question to ask why someone is emphasizing a tie for second place in the lynch rather than the current leader. I read that vote as a sort of poke vote, since it specifically asked for an explanation. I would rather lynch Taupe for not giving us the analysis they promised, but nobody else seems willing to buy that and if Flamingo flips elim this will give us a good place to go next.

 

Well they trying not to lynch person whom they think that probably villager... What reasons you have to not trust them more than to anyone else in this game? If I remember right it's not the first time when you stating that counteracting to them(or atleast counteracting to Beagle). If you think that Beagle or Albatross is elim why not lynch them then you would know that Flamingo is probably also elim... I absolutely don't understand what you trying to achieve. Swan.

I'm slightly leaning elim for @Indigo Weasel because of this post. Particularly the last part where Weasel emphasizes how they don't understand Swan's reasoning. I can understand the general point of view that Weasel is trying to convey. I can also understand Swan's reasoning for voting on Flamingo. It's not as out there as Weasel implies. Given the following bandwagon, I wonder if Weasel was part of a larger elim plan to get a helpful villager lynched. And as far as I can tell, this is the first time Weasel expressed suspicion of Swan. It just seems so sudden.

My gut has a very bad feeling about Albatross. It's somewhat hard to explain though. I have to take a closer look at them.

Sunburst Toucan seems to be blending into the background while still trying to participate. I have a neutral read on them right now, but I'll keep an eye on them.

[Oxblood Beagle]

8 minutes ago, Pearl Chameleon said:

Sorry for not posting last turn. I was rereading D1 in hopes of getting a better grasp of who is who, and it took longer than I thought.

@Violet Axolotl  It wasn't intentional. I didn't even notice until you mentioned it. Sorry about that.

 

I have strong village reads on both Ivory and Gecko. Ivory has been very helpful and active. He's been changing his opinions here and there, but it seems to be because he's trying to be open to feedback. Gecko has a tendency not to defend himself when pressured by the lynch which isn't a typical village move, but it's definitely not an elim move. I have a slight village read on Beagle, but I disagree strongly with how he dealt with the Swan lynch.

@Oxblood Beagle I understand that some players heavily use PM's and that's just as valid as being active in thread (and it seems that you're doing both- your activity is commendable). However. To consolidate a lynch within PM's and have a last minute bandwagon is not helpful for the village. On its own it would have made me suspicious of you, but given your other posts, I don't think you're elim. The problem with taking control of the lynch this way is that players are less invested in providing their reasoning in thread because they have already discussed it in PMs. At least, I'm going to assume that's why so little reasoning was laid out in thread, which is one of the things that feels so off about the lynch. Providing little reason in thread also prevents the village at large from contributing to the arguments given, either by bolstering them or, more often, knocking them down. Which is really important. I don't like that a couple of players decided on a lynch candidate to sneak up on. And I don't think that was anyone's intention (exempting the elim(s) who voted on Swan). I think you all truly believed that Swan was an elim and were doing your best to move the game forward. I'm only saying that I disagree with the method.

I would appreciate if everyone who voted for Swan explained what their thinking was at the time.

I'm definitely feeling that one of the players who joined the bandwagon on Swan is an elim. It was an easy way to get involved while ensuring the death of a villager and hiding yourself in the crowd, all at the same time. I'm not against bandwagons per say but the one last cycle came out of left field. It was too quick for anyone to process, and I am not comfortable with that.

I'm slightly leaning elim for @Indigo Weasel because of this post. Particularly the last part where Weasel emphasizes how they don't understand Swan's reasoning. I can understand the general point of view that Weasel is trying to convey. I can also understand Swan's reasoning for voting on Flamingo. It's not as out there as Weasel implies. Given the following bandwagon, I wonder if Weasel was part of a larger elim plan to get a helpful villager lynched. And as far as I can tell, this is the first time Weasel expressed suspicion of Swan. It just seems so sudden.

My gut has a very bad feeling about Albatross. It's somewhat hard to explain though. I have to take a closer look at them.

Sunburst Toucan seems to be blending into the background while still trying to participate. I have a neutral read on them right now, but I'll keep an eye on them.

Yeah, it wasn't great, but did you see Axolotls post? I didn't want Flamingo to die, so I considered Axolotl a better target. But after he posted... well I'm not a heartless monster, elim or not. That made it less about the game and more about the person. So yes, at that point a last minute turn-around was better than lynching Axolotl. If you feel like you could have lynched them after what they said, that's your issue. But I didn't feel it was right to lynch someone for an emotional breakdown. So I went with the next best option I had- Swan. Clearly, it didn't work as well as I would have hoped. 

Also, Albatross is one of the ones I'm pretty sure is village. Their PM expresses some great points and very villagey stuff. 

[Sapphire Elephant]

19 minutes ago, Pearl Chameleon said:

I would appreciate if everyone who voted for Swan explained what their thinking was at the time.

 

I was PMed by Beagle right towards the end of the cycle - with about an hour and a half left - asking me to change my vote from Tuatara to Axolotl. Beagle was fairly certain that Onyx Flamingo was village, and thought Axolotl was a better target - at least because of what seemed a poor reason to place a vote. I was amenable to it, because I also felt that Flamingo was probably village.

However, before I could post my vote for Axolotl, Axolotl posted their response. I just couldn't lynch them after that. Couldn't bring myself to do it, even to save someone that I was pretty sure was a villager.

I've been pretty sold on Beagle's villageyness since D1, when they PMed me asking me to post more. So when Beagle suggested a Swan alternate lynch, I was so caught up in the moment of trying to save Onyx and deciding to stop the train on Axolotl, that I didn't even think through the ramifications. I found the suspicions Beagle brought up to be compelling. So I voted.

For what it's worth, I still think that Beagle's village. Their reaction to the outcome of the lynch in our PMs reads very village to me.

[Pearl Chameleon]

@Oxblood Beagle Fair enough. I admit that I wasn't thinking about Axolotl's post when I was writing mine, and the compassion of SE'ers is one of the things I appreciate about this forum. Though the comment about me lynching Axolotl was unnecessary. I'm starting to get a better picture of what happened now that you and Sapphire have posted about it. I think what really struck me about the bandwagon for Swan was that not much reasoning was posted with those votes. It's hard to tell from the end of D2 why Swan was picked specifically. Especially considering she didn't have any votes on her previously. I hope the others who voted on her also chime in.

[Onyx Flamingo]

42 minutes ago, Pearl Chameleon said:

@Oxblood Beagle I understand that some players heavily use PM's and that's just as valid as being active in thread (and it seems that you're doing both- your activity is commendable). However. To consolidate a lynch within PM's and have a last minute bandwagon is not helpful for the village. On its own it would have made me suspicious of you, but given your other posts, I don't think you're elim. The problem with taking control of the lynch this way is that players are less invested in providing their reasoning in thread because they have already discussed it in PMs. At least, I'm going to assume that's why so little reasoning was laid out in thread, which is one of the things that feels so off about the lynch. Providing little reason in thread also prevents the village at large from contributing to the arguments given, either by bolstering them or, more often, knocking them down. Which is really important. I don't like that a couple of players decided on a lynch candidate to sneak up on. And I don't think that was anyone's intention (exempting the elim(s) who voted on Swan). I think you all truly believed that Swan was an elim and were doing your best to move the game forward. I'm only saying that I disagree with the method.

I would appreciate if everyone who voted for Swan explained what their thinking was at the time.

The reason it was so fast was because it didn't feel right to lynch Axo after his post... I know I didn't feel comfortable discussing it in the public space because it felt a bit more personal nature and didn't want to make a big deal out of it... After all the first reason to play this game is to have fun and make sure everyone is comfortable with it. but with so little time left I did think Weasel and Elephant made good points about Swan's behavior. But now I know I was wrong.

[Oxblood Beagle]

15 minutes ago, Pearl Chameleon said:

@Oxblood Beagle Fair enough. I admit that I wasn't thinking about Axolotl's post when I was writing mine, and the compassion of SE'ers is one of the things I appreciate about this forum. Though the comment about me lynching Axolotl was unnecessary. I'm starting to get a better picture of what happened now that you and Sapphire have posted about it. I think what really struck me about the bandwagon for Swan was that not much reasoning was posted with those votes. It's hard to tell from the end of D2 why Swan was picked specifically. Especially considering she didn't have any votes on her previously. I hope the others who voted on her also chime in.

Not everyone felt so bad about lynching axolotl... oh. Well then. Opal Lion was the only one to vote on axolotl after that post. They edited the post it was in, but it was there. Possibly alignment indicative? Idk. But frankly, today was a stressful day. So I'm going to go to bed. 

Don't worry about me pulling something like that again. I'll probably die before then, and I wouldn't want to. That kind of circumstances does not show up very often, plus I won't even be able to be on at rollover anymore.